Yeah me, I’ve finally reached the end of this series albeit six months later than I intended. As I’ve said before it’s not been my favourite themed series as nearly all the months are named after Roman gods, festivals or numbers so not as interesting as I thought it would be, but I didn’t want to give up on something that’s nearly complete, so here we are at August, 12 calendar months on from the September 2022 post that got this series going (but 18 months in real time of course).
Although the month of August started off being called Sextilis in the original Roman calendar, named for its status as the sixth month, in 8 BC the month was renamed in honour of the Emperor Augustus. According to legend, he chose this month as his namesake because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.
Something I did find interesting when researching our calendar year, however, was that it doesn’t quite tie in with the solar calendar which is 365.2422 days in length. As well as an extra day being added every four years to keep things in line there has to be another adjustment made every hundred years, but even then not exactly every hundred years, which is why we didn’t have one in the year 2000 which would have happened during my lifetime. Should I ever find the secret to everlasting life I will see that adjustment being made in the year 2100… but I’m not holding out much hope.
But enough about calendars and onto the songs. As ever I’ve had to depend on suggestions put forward by my lovely followers and despite me not knowing any August songs, there still seem to be plenty out there. First up we have Ernie Goggins with his contributions. Here are his own words:
A couple of suggestions for August. The first, appropriately, is First of August by Joan Shelley, a singer-songwriter from Kentucky whose voice I like a lot. This version was recorded at the US Embassy in London. The second is some reggae from Duane Stephenson. August Town is actually about the district in Kingston of that name and nothing to do with the month, but after letting some outrageous rule-bending pass last month, I assume you’ll be alright with that.
Well, two very different genres there Ernie but both beautiful songs in their own right. As for the rule-bending, it kind of had to happen with this series to keep the song count up per edition! This post a case in point as we proceed.
Next up we have Martin from New Amusements with his song suggestions. Here is what he said about them, which doesn’t sound very positive but we all have different tastes so maybe the rest of us will like them:
Struggling to think of any August songs I can recommend. Of those I can find, the ones I dislike least include The First Day In August by Carole King, August Hair by Robyn Hitchcock and August Was A Heavy Month by Bob Geldof. Oh, and Taylor Swift has a song called August, doesn’t she?
As for Ms Swift, whatever Martin thinks of her and her song (he doesn’t specifically say), she has certainly taken the world by storm, and because of her new boyfriend, was credited for making the recent Super Bowl final the most watched event since the first lunar moon landing in 1969. The power of pop eh?
… and finally we have Swifty with this song from her folklore album written and recorded during the 2020 lockdown.
Khayem usually pops up in the comment boxes with a suggestion or two and he didn’t let me down for this month. Here are his own words:
For August, I immediately thought of August & September by The The (covered by Elbow) but I suggested that for your September round up. So, my offering for this month is August Day Song by Bebel Gilberto. Originally a single in 2006, this is a live version performed in Rio circa 2013. All I will say is, if I saw that Bebel Gilberto was performing live on an open air stage, I would be right there at the front, not paddling in the sea…!
Thanks for that Khayem, a lovely Latin American vibe, perfect for a cold February morning here in Scotland.
And here is where a bit of rule-bending is an absolute must. Until Khayem mentioned it, I had totally forgotten that the real name of that man in a Zoot Suit, who along with his Coconuts, also brought much Latin-infused joy to cold and dreich Scotland. Yes I’m talking about August Darnell whose stage name was Kid Creole.
I’ve never had the opportunity to include Kid Creole and the Coconuts around here before, which is bizarre, as whenever I’m asked what my favourite ever concert was back in the day, their flamboyant show at Aberdeen’s Capitol Theatre in the mid ’80s comes a close second to the 2 Tone Tour gig which still sits at No. 1. Here is one of their hit songs, Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy, taken from the album Tropical Gangsters. The band fused a particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean, and Cab Calloway styles, conceptually inspired by the big band era. To watch them on stage was a riot of colour complete with a jungle stage set for the Coconuts to perform on, and I think I smiled throughout the whole thing. Thanks Khayem for reminding me of it.
Well, here we come to the end of this series. For a while there last year it didn’t look as if I would ever return to it but against all the odds here we are. It’s not been my favourite series I must admit, but I have enjoyed getting all the contributions from followers. I’ve discovered a lot of hitherto unheard of songs and of course, like the one above, I’ve been reminded of ones long forgotten.
I’ll have to get my thinking cap on now and come up with another idea for a new series. Some stall after a couple of posts but others like my Full Moon in Song series can last for years. As I say, thinking cap needed.
Before I go here’s an example of a Mondegreen. Until I went off in search of the lyrics to Annie…, I always thought the eight lines of, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a, at the end of the song were actually eight lines of, ono ono onomatopoeia. What can I say, every day’s a school day.
Until next time.
Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy Lyrics
(Song by August Darnell)
They say that all is fair in love and war and child, believe it
When mama stayed in St. Tropez, she had a fall or two
And I’m telling it to you straight
So you don’t have to hear it in another way
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy
They say that out of sight is out of mind and child, believe it
Your mama was in search of love, but all she got was used
And I’m telling it to your face
So you don’t have to hear it in another place
Bring it to me gently now
Don’t forget, I’m just a child
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
See, if I was in your blood then you wouldn’t be so ugly
Oh!
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be a
Yes, I’m telling it to you straight
So you don’t have to hear it in another way
Bring it to me gently now
Don’t forget, I’m just a child
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
Oh Annie
I’m not your daddy (mama’s baby’s papa’s baby)
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