It’s been a game of two halves, or actually a game of three thirds, but my annual viewing of the very seasonal film Love Actually, is now complete. Spotted that it was on television this week so recorded it and dipped in whenever I had a free hour or so (it’s a very long film).
Like just about everything this Christmas, it made me sad, but also gave me hope.
Sad, because the wonderful Alan Rickman was one of the main cast members and of course we lost him earlier this year. Realising that this film is now 13 years old, I have just worked out that he was my age when it was filmed. In terms of the conveyor belt of life, I am a fair way down the line now, and there is still so much I want to do and achieve – This shitty year of loss is taking its toll and making a lot of us really appreciate what we still have.
The hopeful part is because of Hugh Grant’svoice-over at the start of the film, which goes as follows:
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think of the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion is starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phonecalls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion…, love actuallyis all around.”
Thirteen years on and many of us are indeed feeling very gloomy about the state of the world but having just rewatched Love Actually (yet again) it does remind me that at the end of the day, love usually wins out, and we even have the wonderful Bill Nighy (playing rock and roll legend Billy Mack) to remind us of that, through the medium of song. As he points out however, it is very hard to substitute a one syllable word like love with a two syllable word like Christmas but he makes a brave attempt and ends up making it to the coveted No. 1 spot in the process, with his version of the classic Troggs‘ hit, Love Is All Around. After briefly celebrating his victory at a party hosted by Sir Elton John, Billy decides that his long-suffering manager Joe is in need of affection and suggests that he and Joe simply celebrate Christmas by getting drunk and watching porn! A hilarious but very touching scene. Yes, new friends come and go, but never forget those who have been with you for the journey.
Bill Nighy is one of my favourite actors and I am constantly amazed by how he can play an aging rocker like Billy Mack one minute, and perhaps a senior civil servant or downtrodden husband the next, using exactly the same mannerisms and quirks of speech. Please God let him grace our screens for many more years to come.
The song I want to feature for this post is the one used for the closing credits of the movie, God Only Knows by The Beach Boys. Now this is one of my favourite songs and was written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher. It was released in May 1966 (very close to my favourite year for music 1967) as the eighth track on the wonderful Beach Boys’ album “Pet Sounds” and is of course from the baroque pop camp, of which I am so fond. The sentiments expressed in the lyrics were not specific to any God, and could be addressed to any “higher power”, being a song apparently about moving forward after loss. Well I don’t know about that because the lyrics seem to infer that moving forward would be nigh impossible. Whatever, it is still one of the most beautiful songs of the 20th century so thank you Brian and the boys for giving it to us.
God Only Knows by The Beach Boys:
So, “What’s It All About?” – I think it’s pretty obvious, don’t you?
God Only Knows Lyrics (Song by Brian Wilson/Tony Asher)
I may not always love you But long as there are stars above you You never need to doubt it I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you If you should ever leave me Though life would still go on believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you God only knows what I’d be without you If you should ever leave me Well life would still go on believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would living do me
God only knows what I’d be without you God only knows what I’d be without you God only knows
Well, I’m just back from a work “do”, part Christmas and part farewell for someone who is retiring, and realise that if I don’t post something Christmassy soon, the big day will be upon us. I had until last weekend felt distinctly un-Christmassy, but darling daughter (who is back at home with us) wanted the tree up a week earlier than is usual, so we obliged. What with that, and the fact I have been busy writing cards and playing festive music, I have at last been imbued with the Christmas spirit. (The cocktails I have just consumed this afternoon were of course also imbued with spirit, but of a very different, tasty kind.)
Christmas in glossy mag land!
But what on earth of all the many Christmas songs should I feature? I think it is a given that Fairytale of New York by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl is the best Christmas song ever – A bittersweet folk ballad that really has stood the test of time. Instead however I have been thinking back to the mid-1970s when just about all the mainstream artists of the day released a seasonal ditty. Ironically they are, on the whole, the songs we still hear today on the radio and on compilation CDs. Why is this I wonder? First of all we consumed our music in a very different way back in the ’70s with whole families sitting down to watch Top Of The Pops every week – A few slots on TOTP pretty much guaranteed you the coveted Christmas No. 1 position and boy must those royalties still be rolling in for Slade and Wizzard, who between them assumed blanket coverage of December 1973’s airwaves with both Merry Xmas Everybody and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.
But no, I am going to roll forward to Christmas 1975 when an artist I had not really taken much heed of until that point released a very satisfying seasonal record called I Believe In Father Christmas. His name was Greg Lake, first of King Crimson and then of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I only discovered last weekend that Greg had passed away a few days previously, yet again (like Bowie and Rickman) at the age of 69, and yet again of cancer.
I Believe In Father Christmas by Greg Lake:
Greg wrote this song as an objection to the commercialisation of Christmas which in the intervening 40 years just seems to have got worse. Back in 1975 it reached No 2. in the UK Singles Chart but unlike some other Christmas songs from that era I feel it has stood the test of time. Something that I wouldn’t have known then was that the instrumental section between verses comes from a Suite by Prokofiev. If I had been a fan of prog rock back then this might have made sense, but being a teenage girl I really wasn’t. Those of us who had older brothers were a bit more au fait with artists such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer who were attached to that sub-genre, but I didn’t, so was far more interested in my teen idols at that time, who often went by the name of David.
Thinking back to Christmas 1975, this song coincided with a very busy time for me school-wise as it would have been the year I sat my important Scottish “O” Grade Prelims (all 8 of them), in the build up to the holidays. Listening to a bit of festive music on our little kitchen transistor radio, whilst having breakfast before yet another big exam, would probably have been a bit of a tonic that set you up for the day. Also, thinking back, the ’70s were a bit of a grim time in Britain, so maybe the public took to buying seasonal tunes in their millions to make life just that little bit cheerier. Other big-selling records from that time were by Mud, Johnny Mathis, Paul McCartney, Mike Oldfield, Boney M and even The Wombles. Sadly, other than something by Jamie Cullum (who I think would make a really great Hobbit), I haven’t heard anything else new being released this year and somehow I can’t imagine Kanye West “Wishing It Could Be Christmas Everyday”.
So, “What’s It All About?” – I think I’ve just made myself sad and that was not the intention of this post at all. Sad because I think the heyday of the Christmas single is behind us; sad because I am reminded of the people I would have listened to this song with back in 1975, and most are either no longer with us or are no longer part of my life and finally; sad that all these years later Christmas still seems to be primarily all about “stuff”. Time to head off for a strong coffee I think to counteract the comedown from the afternoon cocktails, and perhaps time for another listen to Fairytale of New York, as for some bizarre reason that song always cheers me up!
RIP Greg – He will be looking down, “Wishing us a hopeful Christmas and a brave New Year”.
I Believe In Father Christmas Lyrics (Song by Greg Lake/Peter Sinfield)
They said there’ll be snow at Christmas They said there’ll be peace on Earth But instead it just kept on raining A veil of tears for the Virgin birth I remember one Christmas morning A winters light and a distant choir And the peal of a bell and that Christmas Tree smell And their eyes full of tinsel and fire
They sold me a dream of Christmas They sold me a Silent Night And they told me a fairy story ‘Till I believed in the Israelite And I believed in Father Christmas And I looked TO the sky with excited eyes ‘Till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn And I saw him and through his disguise
I wish you a hopeful Christmas I wish you a brave New Year All anguish pain and sadness Leave your heart and let your road be clear They said there’ll be snow at Christmas They said there’ll be peace on Earth Hallelujah Noel be it Heaven or Hell The Christmas we get we deserve
I have picked a very bizarre year to start nostalgically revisiting the tracks of my years, as we have lost just so many big names – Since January I feel as if I have been either writing obituaries, or reeling at how someone I may have just written about suddenly passes away. It was not until I did the research needed to write about Prince that I truly appreciated the sheer breadth of his talent – Only ten days later he was dead. Some of the departures have not been quite as shocking however and although I wrote about Leonard Cohen earlier in the year, he had at least been gifted with a reasonably long and very interesting life.
Sadly, next year will probably bring more of the same, as the musical heroes I have grown up with are simply reaching that age where the grim reaper is, according to the laws of probability, more likely to come a-callin’. Interestingly however, with musical heroes, you will always have that great back catalogue to revisit and enjoy whereas with Victoria Wood, I am still desperately sad that she will no longer pop up on our television screens with her very funny comedy sketches; I am sad that Alan Rickman will give us no more great Hans Gruber type characters; I am sad that Children In Need will no longer be presided over by Sir Terry Wogan; and I am sad that Ronnie Corbett’s “armchair monologues” are consigned to history. What a year.
The person I had started to write about, but who then passed away before I could press the “publish” button, was Pete Burns, ex-frontman of the ’80s band Dead Or Alive. An unusual person to have chosen to write about you may think as he was latterly more famous for his numerous plastic surgery procedures, and his participation in some of the less savoury reality TV shows. No, I don’t think anyone would class Pete Burnsas someone who has left a lasting legacy in the world of pop music but back in mid-October his massive 1985 No. 1 hit You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) was the unexpected crowd-pleasing number in a show Mr WIAA and I had gone to watch at our local theatre.
You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) by Dead Or Alive:
Back in October we had an anniversary but as it wasn’t a particularly significant one in terms of the number (that will come next year), we didn’t feel the need to celebrate unduly with a posh dinner. Instead we thought a trip to our local theatre might be a good idea for a night out. But what was on? It turned out to be one of those Tribute Reunion type shows called 80s Mania where we would be treated to (looky-likey) performances from all the big mainstream pop acts of the 1980s. Very much from our era so we bought some tickets and headed down for a night of reminiscing.
I don’t know about you but one of the most troubling scenes for me in a horror movie is when a character you think of as young (a bride, a child etc.) suddenly turns around and is in fact a bit of an old crone – Totally freaks me out (along with dolls, puppets and clowns but think that’s universal). Now I’m not saying that some of our fellow theatre-goers were old crones, but it is quite troubling to see middle aged women in ra-ra skirts, cropped silver jackets and crimped hair complete with ribbons! Anyway, the dressing up is not for me unless it’s age-appropriate, so we tried to ignore the horror of it all and settled down to enjoy the show once the lights went down.
It turned out to be a great, fun-packed extravaganza where only four performers (one girl and three men) and a few dancers managed to recreate, wait for it, the musical output of: Gary Numan, Phil Oakey, Boy George, Alphaville, Kim Wilde, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Toni Basil, Wham!, Madonna, Kraftwerk, Adam Ant, Madness, Erasure, Duran Duran, Tony Hadley, The Buggles, Aneka, Ray Parker Jr, Cyndi Lauper, Nena, Giorgio Moroder, Tears For Fears, A-ha, Depeche Mode, Trio, Bananarama, Simple Minds and last but not least Dead Or Alive.
It was of course also a bit of a pantomime of a show, as some of the above artists used to wear remarkably over the top costumes and sport some very distinctive haircuts (think Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Adam Ant and Phil Oakey). One particular tribute act performer always walked on with a cheeky grin on his face as if to say, “Guess who I am now?”. Not difficult to guess at all as it turned out!
Of course with these kind of shows, audience participation is positively encouraged. Early on there was a smattering of ra-ra skirt wearing, middle-aged ladies (buoyed up by alcohol I suspect) up on their feet, but the rest of us were playing it cool. As the evening wore on the numbers on their feet increased until by the end, the whole audience was joining in. And that is where my Pete Burnsreference comes in – Although just about everyone got up on their feet for Karma Chameleon, Baggy Trousers and surprisingly, A Little Respect by Erasure the real stand-out performance was when Dead Or Alive (tribute act style) hit the stage. Oh yes, even the old stick-in-the-muds, who had remained firmly seated until that point were up on their feet, spinning those imaginary records around in the air (including my good self, hubby and hubby’s “big boss” who coincidentally was sitting a few rows in front of us). I certainly remembered this record from back in 1985 and it was indeed a big hit at the time, but in my memory banks I had kind of just lumped it in with all those other records by the myriad of over-the-top androgynous performers around at that time. Hadn’t expected it to bring so much joy all these years later.
Once home, that show, and my memories of mainstream pop music from the 1980s went down on my list of potential ideas for future “posts”. Seven days later, news came through that Pete Burns had died aged 57, following a sudden cardiac arrest. I don’t think anyone would have been massively surprised as he’d had all sorts of health issues over the previous ten years, most of them arising from his increasingly ramped up addiction to cosmetic plastic surgery. At the time of his death Pete Burns was totally unrecognisable from his Dead Or Alive days and I will take the higher ground and not include pictures of the freakish mannequin he turned into, but of the Pete I remember from mid ’80s Top Of The Pops, up on stage “spinning around like a record”.
A very handsome young Pete Burns
So, What’s It all About? – To want to change your appearance as drastically as Pete did in his later years is unusual and doesn’t seem to be conducive to a long and happy life. In some ways it is probably best that they did end their very flamboyant lives at a young age as I can only imagine it would have become more freakish with time. Does make me sad however and makes me even more determined not to go down the “nip and tuck” route – Where would it all end?
This year really has made many of us, of a certain age, reassess our retirement plans but one thing is for sure, although a night out watching the outrageous acts of the 1980s perform their very memorable hits has its merits, I won’t be wearing my old ra-ra skirts or crimping my hair anytime soon. I have always loved fashion and if I look after myself and dress age-appropriately I might just get away with not having to do anything too drastic to keep age at bay.
And talking of fashion (specifically trousers which I do a lot around here), after that show we did remark on just how much leather was around in the ’80s which in turn reminded me of a very memorable scene from the show Friends. Still makes me laugh now and confirms that I never, ever want to own a pair of leather trousers!
You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) Lyrics (Song by Pete Burns/Steve Coy/Wayne Hussey/Tim Lever/Mike Percy)
If I, I get to know your name Well if I, could trace your private number, baby
All I know is that to me You look like you’re lots of fun Open up your lovin’ arms I want some, want some
I set my sights on you (and no one else will do) And I, I’ve got to have my way now, baby
All I know is that to me You look like you’re having fun Open up your lovin’ arms Watch out here I come
You spin me right round, baby Right round like a record, baby Right round round round You spin me right round, baby Right round like a record, baby Right round round round
Before I got side-tracked by other things, like writing my landmark 100th post (still basking in the afterglow of having reached that momentous number), I had revisited the Randy Crawford song One Day I’ll Fly Away which is featured in this year’s John Lewis Christmas ad. It led me to share the version performed by Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann’s lavish movie Moulin Rouge!. Her male co-star and love interest in that movie was Ewan McGregor, my favourite Scottish actor. In fact no, my favourite actor full stop. I am currently eagerly awaiting the sequel to the 1996 film Trainspotting which is due to come out early next year where he very memorably played the character Renton, a young man caught up in a world of addiction and squalor in, ironically, “culturally rich” Edinburgh – Harrowing scenes but also scenes of great humour and on some lists, it is ranked Best Scottish Film of all time.
His role in Moulin Rouge! could not have been more different as in this one he plays a writer/poet who has come to live amongst the Bohemians of Montmartre during the period of LaBelle Époque. It is not long before he falls in love with Satine, the star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge nightclub played by Nicole Kidman and for me, the whole film was an absolute spectacle, with fantastic music throughout.
Ewan and Nicole sing their Love Medley
I hadn’t realised until going to see that film in 2001 that both Nicole and Ewan were such great singers, but they were, and one of their very memorable duets, Elephant Love Medley, was compiled from 13 different Love Songs – If you are around my age, you will recognise all of them. They came just too thick and fast when I watched this song being performed first time around but once home, and with the newly purchased CD in the player (it was 15 years ago now), it was easier to identify and remember all of them. Here is the clip followed by the list, in the correct running order, of all 13 songs from which snippets were plucked. Very aptly for this year, I think my favourite segment is when they sang a few lines from theDavid Bowie song Heroes.
Elephant Love Medley by Ewan MacGregor and Nicole Kidman:
Medley compiled from: Love Is Like Oxygen – Sweet Love is a Many-Splendored Thing – The Four Aces Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes All You Need Is Love – The Beatles Lover’s Game – Chris Isaak I Was Made For Lovin’ You – Kiss One More Night – Phil Collins Pride (In The Name Of Love) – U2 Don’t Leave Me This Way – Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes Silly Love Songs – Paul McCartney and Wings (Repeated) Up Where We Belong – Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes Heroes – David Bowie I Will Always Love You – Dolly Parton Your Song – Elton John
The final song used for the medley was Your Song by Elton John. It was originally released back in 1970 and although I knew it well, I had been too young back then to really appreciate those great lyrics by Elton’s long-time collaborator, Bernie Taupin. By the time I was a teenager in 1973, Elton John was one of the biggest singer/composer/musicians on the planet, his albums “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” receiving massive critical acclaim. But, at that time my focus was very much on my oh so good-looking teen idols, the Donnys and the Davids. Elton by this time had embraced the full glam-rock persona with ever more outrageous outfits, glasses and footwear, but not someone I saw as a potential teen idol.
One of Elton’s outrageous outfits!
This is a roundabout way of saying that it was not until going to see Moulin Rouge! in 2001 that I truly appreciated the sentiment of Your Song, and actually dug out a really old cassette tape from the loft that, amongst others, contained my new favourite song. Again maybe it’s the old romantic in me, but what a wonderful thing I thought, to have a song written specially for you which includes the line: “How wonderful life is, while you’re in the world”. Unlike Pattie Boyd, who seems to have had oh so many songs written about how wonderful it was to have her in the world, I am pretty sure no-one has ever written a song for me. At best there may have been a limerick or rhyme (of the non-smutty nature) in a Valentine card at some point, but still perhaps time if Mr WIAA decides to take up the art of song-writing in later life. The really ironic thing is that hubby’s real-life profession is actually mentioned in the song, but in a bit of a derogatory fashion. Yes it is a great source of mirth in our house that one of the lines from Your Song goes as follows: “If I were a sculptor (bit of aside laughter at the ridiculousness of the suggestion), but then again, no”. It turns out that Bernie Taupin decided that it would be preferable being “a man who makes potions in a travelling show” than to be a sculptor although I beg to differ!
Your Song by Elton John:
So, “What’s It All About?” – It’s good in later life to revisit songs you may not have truly appreciated first time around because you were just far too busy swooning over your latest teen idol, who happened to have great hair, teeth, waistcoats and headwear. (That would be Donny Osmond in his trademark purple cap then!) I sadly did not appreciate Your Song first time around so was glad to rediscover it properly after watching Baz Luhrmann’s lavish film. Yet again, the subject matter for both the above songs is that old chestnut love but as I have mentioned here before (just a few times), that is indeed what it’s all about. We seem to be living in a bit of a troubled world at the moment but I will remain positive and hope that love will win out in the end.
Until next time here is the Moulin Rouge! version of the song, Baz Luhrmann style. Both have their merits but it’s the simple pared down version by Elton for me now – Unlike Pattie Boyd I may never have any songs written for me, or about me, but in the meantime a nice piece of sculptural jewellery will do nicely. The man who makes potions in a travelling show is not the one for me!
Your Song Lyrics (Song by Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
It’s a little bit funny this feeling inside I’m not one of those who can easily hide I don’t have much money but boy if I did I’d buy a big house where we both could live
If I was a sculptor, but then again, no Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do My gift is my song and this one’s for you
And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world
I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss Well a few of the verses well they’ve got me quite cross But the sun’s been quite kind while I wrote this song It’s for people like you that keep it turned on
So excuse me forgetting but these things I do You see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or they’re blue Anyway the thing is what I really mean Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen
And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world
Well this is embarrassing. After basking in the glory of having just reached the momentous target of publishing 100 posts; after being incredibly grateful to my band of blogging buddies for leaving such great comments and finally; after telling everyone I would carry on for another 100 posts – I now have writer’s (or should it be blogger’s) block!
To be fair it’s not really blogger’s block, it’s just that the list of ideas for “songs and stories” I have jotted down over the months for future posts, now seem a bit dull and boring. I always thought that writing about songs would be easy as I could never, ever run out of material, so could it be that my best stories are behind me? I do hope not. Also as a self-confessed anorak when it comes to listings, cataloguing and alphabetisation, that magical number 100 against “No. of Posts Published” on my WordPress Summary page, is a really tidy one, and when I next press the “publish” tab, it will turn into a bit of an untidy number 101.
Lots of significance however to the number 101 – There is of course the torture room in the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which has in turn been the inspiration for the Radio then TV show Room 101 where celebrity guests are invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to that fictional room. Works well and hosted by the affable Frank Skinner whom I am warming to more and more as both he and I get older. His Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio is one of my favourites.
1984 Film Poster
Frank Skinner
Although there have been many albums inspired by the aforementioned novel, the only one I remember personally is The Eurythmics’ soundtrack album for the film Nineteen Eighty-Four which contains the song Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four), but not something I have in my collection nor would I want to (too intense for my liking). Having lived in Aberdeen for the best part of the ’80s I do feel disloyal to Annie Lennox for having said that, especially as about half the locals I worked with claimed they’d been to school with her (must have been a very big school), but not one of my favourites from that era. Nonetheless Ms Lennox always gave 110 percent as they tend to say on those reality/singing/karaoke shows (or should that be 101%) and also gave us some very striking and androgynous looks over the years.
But back to the number 101 – It does of course also look very much like a “binary number” and if I remember correctly (ok I cheated and looked it up), it equates in decimal to the number 5. There have indeed been many bands and songs with the number 5 in their name – The Jackson 5, Maroon 5, The Dave Clark 5, Five and of course those personable Pearsons from Reading, 5 Star!As for songs, I recently featured that upbeat ditty from McFly called 5 Colours in Her Hair (although not sure if my readership appreciated that one too much).
Final thoughts on the number 101 – Since starting this blog I have found myself in the company of some serious music buffs whose knowledge way surpasses my own and the first time I joined in with The Chain Gang, the link was to a song by the 101ers whom I hadn’t heard of until that point. They were the band that a young Joe Strummer (whose name has cropped up on these pages) left to join The Clash. The band’s name apparently came from the number of the squat they lived in at 101 Walterton Road, Maida Vale. I saw it as a “palindrome number” so came up with the suggestion Pacific State, the 1989 electronic chill-out track by that other palindromic outfit 808 State. Looking back, this choice was probably met with raised eyebrows as not the kind of thing you often see appearing over on The Chain. It was a favourite of an ex-colleague of mine, or rather I kept thinking it was whereas the one he actually did like was called Pacific Highway by someone else. It has become a great source of mirth however that I always got the two mixed up but ended up getting to like the wrong one better anyway. Oh yes, we know how to keep ourselves amused up here in Scotland during the long, dark, winter nights. (And, I only mentioned that because he is one of my very few real-life friends who know about this place.)
So, “What’s It All About?” – I think it’s just about having a bit of a crisis of confidence when sometimes you feel it’s best to quit whilst you’re ahead, but don’t really want to. Having revisited my list of “song and story” ideas however, there are definitely still quite a few in the tank, so you’re stuck with me for a while yet. I will quickly therefore get this post out of the way, as once onto number 102 it won’t seem quite so daunting and will simply be back to business as usual.
Glad All Over Lyrics
(Song by Mike Smith/Dave Clark)
You say that you love (Say you love me) All of the time (All of the time) You say that you need me (Say you need me) You’ll always be mine (Always be mine)
I’m feelin’ glad all over Yes, I’m a-glad all over Baby, I’m glad all over So glad you’re mine
I’ll make you happy (Make you happy) You’ll never be blue (Never be blue) You’ll have no sorrow (Have no sorrow) ‘Cause I’ll always be true (Always be true)
And I’m feelin’ glad all over Yes, I’m a-glad all over Baby, I’m glad all over So glad you’re mine
Other girls may try to take me away (Take me away) But you know, it’s by your side I will stay I-I’ll stay
Our love will last, now (Our love will last) ‘Til the end of time (End of time) Because this love, now (Because this love) Is only yours and mine (Yours and mine)
And I’m feelin’ glad all over Yes, I’m a-glad all over Oh, baby, I’m glad all over So glad you’re mine
Other girls may try to take me away (Take me away) But you know, it’s by your side I will stay I-I’ll stay
Our love will last, now (Our love will last) ‘Til the end of time (End of time) Because this love, now (Because this love) Is only yours and mine (Yours and mine)
And I’m feelin’ glad all over Yes, I’m a-glad all over Baby, I’m a-glad all over So glad you’re mine
So glad you’re mine, now (Mi-i-i-i-i-i-ine) I said I’m so glad you’re mine (Mi-i-i-i-i-i-ine) So glad you’re mine, now (Mi-i-i-i-i-i-ine) Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa (Mi-i-i-i-ine)
Well, didn’t think I’d reach this landmark so soon but after only 10 months of blogging I’ve made it to 100 posts – Averages out at…, well you can do the maths, but probably why I’ve not had much time for other hobbies this year (or seen as much of my friends, or got that promotion, or kept on top of the garden) but hey, I think I’m about to get one of those virtual blue “congratulations” badges from the WordPress people, so all worthwhile!
So, why did I start blogging? For all sorts of reasons probably but I realised that something had to be done last year on New Year’s Eve, when holed up in bed with a nasty cold. Due to miss the Hogmanay celebrations we are so fond of here in Scotland, and with not much to do except feel sorry for myself, I picked up my iPhone to do a bit of stalking, I mean Facebooking. Anyone who uses Facebook will know that there is a little box at the top with the prompt, “Whats on your mind?” – I took them literally. A thousand words later I was done (but not recommended as if you’ve ever done a 1000 word post on your iPhone you’ll know that after 500 words it starts to really slow down, only letting you key in one letter every 5 seconds). Most of my friends either ignored it or put it down to the delirium caused by my malady but one kind soul did submit the comment, “I see you’ve been busy sharing your thoughts. All the best for 2016”. Hmm… what would be the best for 2016 I wondered – Not sharing my thoughts on Facebook that’s for sure!
And so I discovered WordPress – Ideal, I could write away to my heart’s content without bothering any of my friends. A couple of decades ago I would have probably gone down the Carrie Bradshaw route (a bit of an idol of mine despite her expensive taste in shoes) but I no longer live in a city and I don’t think any of my middle-aged friends would appreciate having their sex lives strewn across the world wide web. No, it had to be something else and for some time I had thought it would be a good idea to write about those memories conjured up by a song or piece of music. After a few false starts and changes in format, WIAA? came about, and it has been quite a journey (as they say on those televised, reality-cum-singing shows).
The SATC girls
Carrie Bradshaw, writer
Carrie Bradshaw, single girl
First of all I had expected at least a few of my friends and family to read what I was posting but it turns out they don’t, so that is quite liberating and allows me to regale all sorts of tales from the past without fear of redress. Secondly, I hadn’t expected to make “blogging buddies” which I kind of think I have. Thanks to everyone who has left comments over the months, especially the hard-core music bloggers (their sites on my sidebar) as I know the song choices here at WIAA? are not always to their taste, but I’ve had to stay true to my remit of writing about what is relevant to me at the time, and if it happens to be the worst song in the history of mankind, then sobeit. (Hopefully not gone there yet but when National Treasure Sir Terry Wogan passed away I did include The Floral Dancealthoughno-one would begrudge me that one I’m sure).
An unexpected bonus of writing about songs is that you have to do a fair bit of research beforehand and it has been a joy finding out so much more about the artists and songs than would ever have been possible first time around – It has been an education indeed, especially as I was always more of a “geek” about music, recording chart rundowns, alphabetising record collections and memorising books of hit singles.
What on earth to include in this historic post then? As it turns out that’s an easy call. Over the months it has become apparent that the year I keep coming back to is 1967 which is very bizarre because I was just a little kid then. I have put it down to the fact that songs from back then have not yet become over-familiar; no unpleasant memories are attached; spiritually I think I would have been a flower-child; the radio stations I listen to often play songs from that year and finally the sub-genre (I had no idea there were so many) I find myself warming to most of all, is orchestral/baroque pop.
A few months ago, over at A History of Dubious Taste, Jez featured the song Different Drum by Linda Ronstadt as part of his “Sunday Morning Coming Down” series. (To be fair the song is actually attributed to The Stone Poneys but she was the voice of the aforementioned Poneys.) I was smitten, and immediately had to make a purchase which wasn’t easy as it was one of those “buy the whole album or nothing” deals. It was of course from 1967, and was of the baroque pop/rock persuasion.
Different Drum by The Stone Poneys featuring Linda Ronstadt:
The song was actually written back in 1965 by Mike Nesmith of The Monkees, before he joined the band, and is penned very much from a male perspective but was tweaked a little for a female songstress. The song tells of a pair of young lovers, one of whom wants to settle down, while the other wants to retain a sense of freedom and independence. The narrator wants to remain free, telling the other that they’ll “both live a lot longer” if they part ways now. I can see a pattern forming here as the 1964 song We’ll Sing In The Sunshine by Gale Garnett (featured last time)told a similar tale but I’ll put it all down to “the times” as not something I could ever have done myself, being an all or nothing kind of girl.
Linda Ronstadt
Mike Nesmith
Before discovering this song, my only memories of Linda Ronstadt were from the late ’70s and of her big hitBlue Bayou. She was cute as a button back in 1967 and even in 1977 she was the girl we all wanted to look like. I have written recently about how this was a really confusing time for young people in Britain – Out of the big cities, we still dressed like Amercian kids in wide flared jeans and oufits like the ones Linda Ronstadt wore (I had hair like this in 1977 although my mum made me take the flower out for school), but our boyfriends had adopted the clothes of their punk-rock idols. A right bunch of odd couples we must have looked – The song my new boyfriend (he’s been mentioned before and his ears will be burning wherever he is) and I adopted as “our song” in 1977, was indeed Blue Bayou. What I hadn’t realised then was that Linda had previously been with The Stone Poneys and unbelievably, once she set out on a solo career, her original backing band was The Eagles.
Lnd Ronstadt circa 1977
In all, Linda produced more than 30 Studio Albums and has won 11 Grammy Awards. It is with great sadness that I have now discovered she has Parkinson’s disease, and “can no longer sing a note”. This nostalgic revisitation of the “tracks of my years” can be somewhat harrowing at times – Where have the years gone?
The orchestral pop genre that emerged in the late ’60s and which I seem to be so fond of, incorporated symphonic strings and horns played by groups of properly arranged studio musicians. Many pop arrangers and producers worked orchestral pop into their artists’ releases, including George Martinwith the Beatles, and John Barry for his scores to the James Bond films. Burt Bacharach (who has featured here a lot) and the Beach Boys‘ Brian Wilson were also seen as “gods” of orchestral pop.
As for baroque pop/rock, by early 1966, various groups had began using baroque and classical instrumentation. The Zombies‘ single She’s Not There marked the starting point and would inspire New York musician Michael Brown to form the Left Banke, whose song Walk Away Renée was possibly the first baroque pop single. Other examples include Spanky and Our Gang‘s Sunday Will Never Be the Same, and of course TheStone Poneys‘ Different Drum, all of which used harpsichord and strings.
An extremely long post this so thanks for bearing with me if indeed you have. I wasn’t sure if I would keep going after 100 posts, as blogging does tend to impinge of the rest of your life, but I’ve enjoyed it all so much I think I will, until it no longer works for me.
Again thanks to those followers who have jumped in with comments – Chris, Marie, CC, Jez, Rol, C, The Swede, Rick, Lynchie, Ovidiu and anyone else I might have missed. It is much appreciated and I have in turn learnt so much from your blogs. Thanks also for allowing me to be part of The Chain Gang, despite my lame choices, and finally thanks to Denise Marsa for finding my post about her Lucky Starsduet with Dean Friedman and whom I cannot believe that I have as a follower.
Last but not least there is of course Mr WIAA to consider, who has had to spend long evenings watching television on his own this year whilst I have been beavering away on the computer. Couldn’t have done it without him though and despite the odd raised eyebrow when I am yet again caught blogging when supposed to be doing something else more worthy, on the whole he has been my biggest supporter. Not so much travelling to the beat of a different drum this year therefore, more a case of the same drum being in different rooms of the house. Post a hundred and one, here I come….
Different Drum Lyrics (Song by Mike Nesmith)
You and I travel to the beat of a diff’rent drum
Oh, can’t you tell by the way I run
Every time you make eyes at me Wo oh
You cry and you moan and say it will work out
But honey child I’ve got my doubts
You can’t see the forest for the trees
So, don’t get me wrong it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I’m not in the market
For a boy who wants to love only me
Yes, and I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty
All I’m sayin’s I’m not ready for any person
Place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me
So Goodbye, I’ll be leavin’
I see no sense in the cryin’ and grievin’
We’ll both live a lot longer if you live without me
Oh, don’t get me wrong it’s not that I knock it
It’s just that I’m not in the market
For a boy who wants to love only me
Yes, and I ain’t sayin’ you ain’t pretty
All I’m sayin’s I’m not ready for any person
Place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me
So Goodbye, I’ll be leavin’
I see no sense in the cryin’ and grievin’
We’ll both live a lot longer if you live without me
A strange week where I am having a few days off work in order to do all sorts of practical housey-type chores but instead have done everything but. When you are a student and have exams you will do all manner of things rather that buckle down to studying (even flat-cleaning) and now at my age, rather than clear out the loft, do a spot of emulsioning and rake up some leaves, I keep being drawn back to WordPress, Blogspot, my Gmail account, YouTube and Wiki. It is a disaster of the highest order but all too easy to let happen it seems!
So, what have I been thinking about this week musically? By chance, a really lovely song has come into my life and although not really an earworm (which I have discovered is a calque from the German ohrwurm) I have played it so often now that it is starting to reach the point of over-familiarity – Will have to stop now.
We’ll Sing in the Sunshine was a song both written and recorded by Gale Garnett in 1964 and was a big hit in the US that year. It also won the Grammy Award for “Best Traditional Folk Recording” in 1965 but for some reason it had never been on my radar before, despite having been recorded by just about everyone – Dean Martin, the Fleetwoods, Bobby Bare, Skeeter Davis, Sonny & Cher, Wanda Jackson, Susan Maughan and Dolly Parton. This week I have become both smitten, and troubled by it.
We’ll Sing in The Sunshine – Gale Garnett:
First of all this song has a beautiful harmonica intro which gives it a sweet folksy vibe and then there is also the great hook which has been lodged in my brain all week. That is the smitten part. When I listen to the lyrics properly however I just get really sad:
We’ll sing in the sunshine We’ll laugh every da-a-y We’ll sing in the sunshine Then I’ll be on my way
How awful to have this wonderful year of laughing and singing and sunshine, only to walk away. It is hard enough in life to get one soupçon of that feeling, so why on earth would you then want to walk away? This is where I become troubled – When Gale wrote this song was it just a bit of silly lyric writing that didn’t really make any sense (from the Mike Batt/Katie Melua school of song-writing) or is she making a big philosophical statement about life? Did she just have commitment issues or was she talking about how rubbish it is to have this wonderful life but then get old and die? Not sure, but makes me sad – A touch of the old “mortality reality check” which has been happening a lot this year because of the sheer number of departures from the world of music.
I have written before about how I keep coming back to the music of the mid to late ’60s in this blog for all sorts of reasons, but possibly one is that I was simply born about a decade too late. Spiritually I think I would have been a flower child. Although this song was from 1964, the video clip above has been put together by someone who obviously associated the lyrics with the hippy movement and perhaps 1967’s Summer of Love, before it all started going a bit wrong.
Gale Garnett herself was actually born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved to Canada with her family when she was 11. She made her public singing debut in 1960, but managed to have a parallel career in acting making many appearances on television shows and films. By the late ’60s she too had begun to be more influenced by the counter-culture and recorded several albums of psychedelic-inflected music with The Gentle Reign.
So, “What’s It All About?” – As Alfie discovered, at the end of the day it’s all about love, and if you do find someone you want to sing with in the sunshine, walk with in the sunshine, laugh with in the sunshine, ignore Ms Garnett’s silly lyrics and please, please don’t walk away. Maybe it’s just because I’m an old romantic (who doesn’t have commitment issues) but I think you are possibly one of the lucky ones!
We’ll Sing In The Sunshine Lyrics (Song by Gale Garnett)
We’ll sing in the sunshine We’ll laugh every da-a-y We’ll sing in the sunshine Then I’ll be on my way
I will never love you The cost of love’s too dear But though I’ll never love you I’ll stay with you one year
And we can sing in the sunshine We’ll laugh every da-a-y We’ll sing in the sunshine Then I’ll be on my way
I’ll sing to you each mornin’ I’ll kiss you every night But darlin’, don’t cling to me I’ll soon be out of sight
But we can sing in the sunshine We’ll laugh every da-a-y We’ll sing in the sunshine Then I’ll be on my way
My daddy he once told me “Hey, don’t you love you any man” “Just take what they may give you” “And give but what you can”
“And you can sing in the sunshine” “You’ll laugh every da-a-y” “You’ll sing in the sunshine” “Then be on your way”
And when our year has ended And I have gone away You’ll often speak about me And this is what you’ll say
“We sang in the sunshine “You know, we laughed every da-a-y” “We sang in the sunshine” “Then she went away”
You know the festive season is just around the corner when John Lewiscomes up with another of their “heart-warming” Christmas ads. I first watched it properly a few nights ago and much to my chagrin, this year they are using one of my all-time favourite songs, One Day I’ll Fly Away. The version for the ad is by South London band Vaults (no The apparently) but the version I fell in love with many years ago was byRandy Crawford. Incredibly, despite being from Georgia, she didn’t ever crack the Billboard Hot 100 in the US but achieved great success in Europe and the UK, making it to No. 2 in our Singles Chart in 1980 with the song.
One Day I’ll Fly Away by Randy Crawford:
My chagrin comes from the fact that a song I have always loved, will by the end of the festive period, have lost all its charm due to having been listened to just once too often. One upside of blogging however is that it does leave very little time for television, so what I do watch nowadays tends to be very carefully cherry-picked from recordings or on-demand services (that would be Netflix then) – With any luck I might be spared the over-exposure. To be fair however, the ad, featuring a very excited Buster the Boxer joyously jumping up and down on a trampoline from Santa, is a great one, and not the sadvert they were accused of putting out last year. I do wonder whether it actually does lead to a hike in sales nowadays, when so many of us do our Christmas shopping online, but they have kind of set the bar for this new artform and as yet have seen off the competition. A lot of course is down to the song choice, and I certainly can’t fault Vaults performance in this one (One Day I’ll Fly Away – John Lewis style).
But back to the song itself – In 1979 Randy Crawford sang with The Crusaders, providing vocals for their excellent hit Street Life. Joe Sample and Will Jennings from The Crusaders then wrote One Day I’ll Fly Away specifically for Randy. The song is apparently about emotional bondage and the longing to be free of it. Coincidentally it came to mind the other Sunday (the same day I took to “tipsy blogging”) on my drive to the supermarket when I felt I had just too much to do that day. How wonderful I thought it would be to get off the hamster wheel and just keep on driving, flying away to a new less busy life. (Just to be clear no emotional bondage to be free of, as Mr WIAA is a great other half, just wouldn’t mind there being a bit less “to-do-list” bondage in an average week.) Needless to say I didn’t fly away that afternoon but did the shopping and then went home to cook the Sunday dinner as per usual!
But the video clip I’m going to share today is actually from the sumptuous 2001 Baz Luhrmann musical Moulin Rouge! where Nicole Kidmanturned in a great performance playing Star CourtesanSatine. Who knew she could sing so well (I didn’t anyway) and the scene in the amazing “Red Room Elephant” where she sings One Day I’ll Fly Away was my favourite of the whole movie. Satine is not particularly yearning to be free of emotional bondage or even to-do-list bondage, but she longs to leave the life she is living at The Moulin Rouge, and become a “real” actress.
One Day I’ll Fly Away by Nicole Kidman:
This was a typical Baz Luhrmann, over-the-top production with many great songs but with a very simple boy-meets-girl storyline. Enter poet/writer Christian, played by my favourite Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, who falls in love with Satine. Who knew he could sing so well either, but the pair of them performed many memorable duets in that movie some of which I will leave for another day.
No great light-bulb revelation with this post other than a pleasant revisitation of a song I have enjoyed over the years, albeit prompted by a Christmas ad. It is my abiding hope that it doesn’t get ruined for me over the festive period through over-exposure. One mini revelation however was finding out that the main hook in the song (its title) was based on the opening sequence from Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers – Every day’s a school day!
One Day I’ll Fly Away Lyrics (Song by Will Jennings/Joe Sample)
I follow the night Can’t stand the light
When will I begin? To live again?
One day I’ll fly away Leave all this to yesterday What more could your love do for me When will love be through with me Why live life from dream to dream And dread the day when dreaming ends
One day I’ll fly away! Leave all this to yesterday! Why live life from dream to dream!? And dreamt the day when dreaming end
This has been a truly dreadful year for loss. In my first 10 days of blogging I had written about the deaths of three of my heroes from the world of music and film, and as the year has progressed there seems to have been little respite. Of course once I thought about it a bit more, this being a blog mainly about artists from the ’60s and ’70s, it was going to be highly likely that some may well leave this mortal coil before I got round to writing about them. Most of these people will be of advanced years by now and in many cases already past their biblical three score and ten.
There were exceptions however. I wrote about the 57-year-old Prince only 10 days before we heard of his sudden death and I was actually in the process of writing about music from the ’80s which featured an amusing story about Pete Burns (also 57), when his sudden death was announced. Will have to come back to that one now from a different angle.
This week (a momentous one indeed) also saw the death of Leonard Cohen. As it turns out I wrote briefly about Mr Cohen as part of another post back in February, in the context of him being one of the new discoveries I made as a student in the late ’70s:
“After a confusing 1st Year at University where my friends and I still had ties to our old lives and friendships from school days, by the start of 2nd Year we had finally morphed into late-’70s students. We dressed in interesting clothes from charity shops (they weren’t called vintage in those days), hung around dingy bars and listened to “The Songs of Leonard Cohen” (in between attending lectures of course). Looking back, the tracks of my years had up until then, revolved around what was on Top of The Pops, what was played on BBC Radio 1 and the music from film soundtracks so this was a whole new branch of music that I hadn’t really experienced before. Artists like Cohen didn’t release singles that would appear in a chart show run-down, but whole albums of songs to be listened to late at night, in a soporific condition with preferably, a significant other.
Also, the great thing about having a boyfriend who flat-shared with an older brother, was that you immediately had access to their record collection as well. Being of the opposite sex and having a few more years’ worth of vinyl, his collection was vastly different to my own and so it came about, that in late 1979 I fell in love with the music of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Carole King and last but not least, Leonard Cohen.”
Since then his name has cropped up many times when researching other artists, specifically women artists. I got the impression that he really “liked” (in the truest sense of the word) women and they liked him right back, often helping him out at times when a little nudge in a certain direction was required.
Judy Collins recorded his song Suzanne in 1966 and it was she who persuaded him to get out on stage and start performing his songs himself. She first introduced him to television audiences during one of her shows in 1976, where they performed duets of his songs, and was once quoted as saying, “People think Leonard is dark, but actually his sense of humor and his edge on the world is extremely light”. I like that considering his style of music produced albums often quoted as being full of songs to slash your wrists to!
Leonard and Judy Collins
His songs often had girl’s names in their titles and So Long, Marianne was inspired by Marianne Ihlen whom Cohen met on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. Cohen said she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. The two hit it off and lived together throughout the ’60s. She died earlier this year and Cohen’s words, written to her before her death were read out at her funeral. “Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine… Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road”.
The song Suzanne was inspired by Cohen’s platonic relationship with Suzanne Verdal, the then-girlfriend of sculptor Armand Vaillancourt. Its lyrics describe very literally the routine they enjoyed when they met. Suzanne would invite Cohen to her apartment by the harbour in Montreal, where she would serve him tea, and they would then walk around Old Montreal past the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, where sailors were blessed before heading out to sea. I have always loved that song and am amazed how he managed to convert such seemingly simple routines into such colourful and romantic lyrics, “And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China”.
Suzanne by Leonard Cohen:
When I wrote about Jennifer Warnes a couple of months ago it came as a surprise to me that this American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, most famous for having performed on no less than three Oscar-winning songs from movies, was also a close friend and collaborator of Mr Cohen. In the ’70s, Cohen toured twice with Jennifer Warnes as a backup singer and she would become a fixture on Cohen’s future albums, receiving full co-vocals credit. In 1987 she recorded a tribute album of Cohen songs, “Famous Blue Raincoat” even though her career at the time was in much better shape than his. “So this is a real friend,” he said. “Someone who in the face of great derision, has always supported me”. The tribute album helped restore Cohen’s career in the U.S.
Leonard and Jennifer Warnes
I am glad that Mr Cohen’s music entered my life when it did and he has left a great body of work for us to enjoy forever. I also love that he had all these great relationships with women who seemed to really appreciate having him as a friend. Says a lot about the man. RIP Leonard.
Suzanne Lyrics (Song by Leonard Cohen)
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river You can hear the boats go by You can spend the night beside her And you know that she’s half crazy But that’s why you want to be there And she feeds you tea and oranges That come all the way from China And just when you mean to tell her That you have no love to give her Then she gets you on her wavelength And she lets the river answer That you’ve always been her lover And you want to travel with her And you want to travel blind And you know that she will trust you For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind. And Jesus was a sailor When he walked upon the water And he spent a long time watching From his lonely wooden tower And when he knew for certain Only drowning men could see him He said “All men will be sailors then Until the sea shall free them” But he himself was broken Long before the sky would open Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone And you want to travel with him And you want to travel blind And you think maybe you’ll trust him For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.
Now Suzanne takes your hand And she leads you to the river She is wearing rags and feathers From Salvation Army counters And the sun pours down like honey On our lady of the harbour And she shows you where to look Among the garbage and the flowers There are heroes in the seaweed There are children in the morning They are leaning out for love And they will lean that way forever While Suzanne holds the mirror And you want to travel with her And you want to travel blind And you know that you can trust her For she’s touched your perfect body with her mind.
Wasn’t going to mention the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election in America as have tried to stay away from controversial topics since starting the blog. I seem to be one of the few in my little circle who hasn’t however, so here goes. (The caveat of course being that the following is just my opinion.)
I was not in the slightest surprised that the election went Trump’s way, just as I was not surprised in June, with our referendum on whether to leave or remain in the EU, that the Leave camp won.
First of all polls don’t work – Too many people are not keen to share what they know could be construed as unpopular views, albeit ones they hold, thus we end up with the Shy Tory, the Shy Brexiteer and now it seems the Shy Trump-Supporter. Yet how campaigns are run is dictated by polls so here’s an idea for future elections and referendums – Forget what the pollsters say and LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.
Talking of the people, here in the UK it became clear after our referendum just how divided we were as a nation and now it appears the US has gone the same way. The urban areas appear in one colour whereas the mainly rural and traditionally industrial areas appear in another colour (Scotland and N. Ireland being the exceptions but then we have our own devolved parliament/assembly). Whoever has been in charge for the last couple of decades hasn’t been LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE. Just as in the UK after Brexit, I don’t believe for a minute that the vast number of Trump voters in the US agree with his very extreme views but if they would rather go down that route than vote for the alternative, there seems to be a very bigproblem.
So here we are in a state of limbo in the UK awaiting the outcome of the machinations that will decide whether we go down the hard or soft Brexit route. In the US they will find out what kind of President Donald J will become – The businessman-cum-reality television star will set up home in The White House! In an era of 24-hour Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reality TV, Netflix, X-Box, iPhones, iTunes, Soundbites, Drive-through McDonalds, Zero-hour contracts, Temporary contracts, Student loans, Crippling house prices, Aging populations, Sink Estates, Clothing at throwaway prices – none of it surprises me. As for Mr Trump, I am trusting there are enough checks and balances built into the constitution of the United States to save anything truly dire happening.
But this is supposed to be a music blog and these are the two songs that have come to mind to compliment this post. The first is One Love by Bob Marley & the Wailers.Marley wrote this song during the turmoil of the Jamaican elections of December 1976. Marley had supported Michael Manley when he won the election in 1972 and became Prime Minister of Jamaica, but four years later, although Marley was by far the most popular person in Jamaica, he refused to take a political stance as the country was divided between Manley’s People’s National Party and the Jamaican Labour Party. It was very violent time in the country, and Marley tried to stay politically neutral while offering peace and shelter however he could – His home was kind of a safehouse for people with nowhere to go.
One Love by Bob Marley & the Wailers:
This second one is Come Together, a song written by John Lennon but performed here by the Arctic Monkeys for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. It was ironically inspired by a political campaign, when Timothy Leary stood against Ronald Reagan for Governor of California. Although Lennon freely admitted that the lyrics are gobbledygook, I love this performance, and the sentiment of “coming together”.
So, “What’s It All About?” – I get that there are a lot of forgotten people out there who feel as if they have been hung out to dry by successive governments, but the challenges are just so insurmountable that we seem to be reaching a tipping point whereby life in the western world will just carry on getting a little harder every year.
I do fear for my daughter and her generation who were sold the dream of going to University in order to get a good job, but in reality, for the majority, the only jobs they get are in retail or hospitality (we have the most highly qualified army of baristas in history). They are generally heavily in debt due to student loans and if they ever do manage to buy property, they will just make it onto the first rung of the ladder, the only rung they will ever be able to afford. We have middle-aged parents in large houses with offspring raising a family in converted basements for goodness sake. We will of course try our best to help, and those little cartoons you see showing recent retirees “spending the kids inheritance” don’t amuse me – The majority will need you, and your cash, for some time to come.
I do try to keep my posts light and amusing and realise that this one hasn’t been at all. Felt it needed to be said however as this is primarily a web-log (with music thrown in). Hopefully back to business as usual soon!
One Love Lyrics (Song by Bob Marley)
One Love! One Heart! Let’s get together and feel all right. Hear the children cryin’ (One Love! ); Hear the children cryin’ (One Heart! ), Sayin’: give thanks and praise To the Lord and I will feel all right; Sayin’: let’s get together And feel all right. Wo wo-wo wo-wo!
Let them all pass all their dirty Remarks (One Love! ); There is one question I’d really love to ask (One Heart! ): Is there a place for the hopeless sinner, Who has hurt all mankind just To save his own beliefs?
One Love! What about the one heart? One Heart! What about? Let’s get together and feel all right As it was in the beginning (One Love! ); So shall it be in the end (One Heart! ), All right! Give thanks and praise to the Lord And I will feel all right; Let’s get together And feel all right. One more thing!
Let’s get together to fight This Holy Armagiddyon (One Love! ), So when the Man comes there will be no, No doom (One Song! ). Have pity on those whose Chances grows t’inner; There ain’t no hiding place From the Father of Creation.
Sayin’: One Love! What about the One Heart? (One Heart! ) What about the? Let’s get together and feel all right. I’m pleadin’ to mankind! (One Love! ); Oh, Lord! (One Heart) Wo-ooh!
Give thanks and praise to the Lord And I will feel all right; Let’s get together and feel all right. Give thanks and praise to the Lord And I will feel all right; Let’s get together and feel all right.
What's It All About? 