This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. "Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen The final track on The Boss's "Born To Run" album from 1975 (among my top 2 rock albums ever), this is an epic tale of gang culture in Bruce Springsteen's New Jersey streets. I love a story, and this one is full of imagery and fabulous characters - The Magic Rat, The local cops Cherry-Tops. Driving guitars from the E Street Band and a truly glorious sax from the Late, Great and Mighty Clarence Clemons at about 4 minutes make this very special. I love you Big Man. "And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine Over the Jersey state line" "The midnight gang's assembled And picked a rendezvous for the night They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign That brings this fair city light Man, there's an opera out on the Turnpike There's a ballet being fought out in the alley Until the local cops, Cherry-Tops, rips this holy night" "Beneath the city, two hearts beat Soul engines running through a night so tender In a bedroom locked in whispers Of soft refusal and then surrender" "Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz Between what's flesh and what's fantasy And the poets down here don't write nothing at all They just stand back and let it all be And in the quick of a knife, they reach for their moment And try to make an honest stand But they wind up wounded, not even dead Tonight in Jungleland" "Jungleland"
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC The Rangers had a homecoming In Harlem late last night And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine Over the Jersey state line Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain The Rat pulls into town, rolls up his pants Together they take a stab at romance And disappear down Flamingo Lane Well, the Maximum Lawmen run down Flamingo Chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl And the kids 'round there live just like shadows Always quiet, holding hands From the churches to the jails Tonight all is silence in the world As we take our stand Down in Jungleland The midnight gang's assembled And picked a rendezvous for the night They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign That brings this fair city light Man, there's an opera out on the Turnpike There's a ballet being fought out in the alley Until the local cops, Cherry-Tops, rips this holy night The street's alive as secret debts are paid Contacts made, they flash unseen Kids flash guitars just like switchblades Hustling for the record machine The hungry and the hunted Explode into rock 'n' roll bands That face off against each other out in the street Down in Jungleland In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage Inside the backstreet girls are dancing To the records that the DJ plays Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners Desperate as the night moves on Just one look and a whisper, and they're gone Beneath the city, two hearts beat Soul engines running through a night so tender In a bedroom locked in whispers Of soft refusal and then surrender In the tunnels uptown, the Rat's own dream guns him down As shots echo down them hallways in the night No one watches when the ambulance pulls away Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz Between what's flesh and what's fantasy And the poets down here don't write nothing at all They just stand back and let it all be And in the quick of a knife, they reach for their moment And try to make an honest stand But they wind up wounded, not even dead Tonight in Jungleland
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20/12/2018 0 Comments I love that song - Christmas - "A Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl"Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl Enough has been written about this tune. It is a joy. Enjoy it. "They've got cars big as bars They've got rivers of gold But the wind goes right through you It's no place for the old" "You were handsome You were pretty Queen of New York City When the band finished playing They howled out for more" "You scumbag, you maggot You cheap lousy faggot Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it's our last" "The boys of the NYPD choir Were singing "Galway Bay" And the bells were ringing out For Christmas day" Fairytale Of New York
by Jem Finer and Shane Patrick Lysaght Macgowan It was Christmas Eve babe In the drunk tank An old man said to me, won't see another one And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew I turned my face away And dreamed about you Got on a lucky one Came in eighteen to one I've got a feeling This year's for me and you So happy Christmas I love you baby I can see a better time When all our dreams come true They've got cars big as bars They've got rivers of gold But the wind goes right through you It's no place for the old When you first took my hand On a cold Christmas Eve You promised me Broadway was waiting for me You were handsome You were pretty Queen of New York City When the band finished playing They howled out for more Sinatra was swinging, All the drunks they were singing We kissed on a corner Then danced through the night The boys of the NYPD choir Were singing "Galway Bay" And the bells were ringing out For Christmas day You're a bum You're a punk You're an old slut on junk Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed You scumbag, you maggot You cheap lousy faggot Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it's our last The boys of the NYPD choir Still singing "Galway Bay" And the bells were ringing out For Christmas day I could have been someone Well so could anyone You took my dreams from me When I first found you I kept them with me babe I put them with my own Can't make it all alone I've built my dreams around you The boys of the NYPD choir Still singing "Galway Bay" And the bells are ringing out For Christmas day 19/12/2018 0 Comments I love that song - Christmas - "Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth" by Bing Crosby and David BowieBing and Bowie from a TV Special in 1977. Little Drummer Boy is a Christmas Song written in 1941 . In this version, the "Peace on Earth" counterpoint was especially written for the show and David Bowie, who it is suggested hated "Little Drummer Boy". At the time, I thought "Wow!, Bowie on a Bing Crosby Special? What is that about?". The song is introduced with some corny "Old Timer", "Young Generation" chat about Christmas and Christmas music. As it happened, there was no need for me to be shocked. The song worked, and Crosby and Bowie's voices (at least to my ear) work beautifully together. Incidentally, this single became one of Bowie's best selling during his career, with total estimated sales over 400,000 in the UK. "Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth"
Come they told me Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum A new born king to see Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum Our finest gifts we bring Pa-rum-pum-pum-pum Rum-pum-pum-pum Rum-pum-pum-pum Peace on earth, can it be Years from now, perhaps we'll see See the day of glory See the day when men of good will Live in peace, live in peace again Peace on earth, can it be Every child must be made aware Every child must be made to care Care enough for his fellow man To give… This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. Ian "Hide In Your Shell" by Supertramp From Supertramp's 1974 masterpiece "Crime of The Century" This song deals with loneliness and mental instability issues, and is sublime. "Don't let the tears linger on inside now 'Cause it's sure time you gained control If I can help you, if I can help you If I can help you, just let me know" "Love me love you, love is the way to (So what you gonna take him to?) Help me help you (So what you gonna make him do?) Why must we be so cool? (So what's he gonna) Oh so cruel? (So what's he gonna) Oh, we're such damn fools......." "Hide In Your Shell"
Written by Richard Davies, Roger Hodgson Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group Hide in your shell, 'cause the world is out to bleed you for a ride What will you gain, making your life a little longer? Heaven or hell, was the journey cold that gave you eyes of steel? Shelter behind painting your mind and playing joker Too frightening to listen to a stranger Too beautiful to put your pride in danger You're waiting for someone to understand you But you've got demons in your closet (you've got demons in your closet) And you're screaming out to stop it (and you're screaming out to stop it) Saying life's begun to cheat you Friends are out to beat you Grab on to what you can scramble for Don't let the tears linger on inside now 'Cause it's sure time you gained control If I can help you, if I can help you If I can help you, just let me know Well let me show you the nearest signpost To get your heart back and on the road If I can help you, if I can help you If I can help you, just let me know All through the night as you lie awake and hold yourself so tight What do you need, a second hand movie star to tend you? I as a boy, I believed the saying the cure for pain was love How would it be if you could see the world through my eyes? Too frightening the fire's becoming colder Too beautiful to think you're getting older You're looking for someone to give an answer But what you see is just illusion (what you see is just illusion) You're surrounded by confusion (you're surrounded by confusion) Saying life's begun to cheat you Friends are out to beat you Grab on to what you can scramble for Don't let the tears linger on inside now 'Cause it's sure time you gained control If I can help you, if I can help you If I can help you, just let me know Well let me show you the nearest signpost To get your heart back and on the road If I can help you, if I can help you If I can help you, just let me know I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know, I've got to know I wanna know you, I wanna know you, Well let me know you, I wanna feel you, Oh, I wanna touch you, Please let me near you, let me near you Can you hear what I'm sayin'? Well I'm hopin', I'm dreamin', I'm prayin' And I know what you're thinkin' See what you're seein' Never, ever let yourself go Hold yourself down, hold yourself down Why don't ya hold yourself down? Why don't you listen, you can trust me (So what you gonna take him to?) Oh there's a place I know the way to (So what you gonna make him do?) A place there is no need to (So what's he gonna) To feel you (So what's he gonna) To feel that you're not alone (So what's he gonna do?) Oh won't you hear me? (So what you gonna take him to? ) I know exactly what you're feelin' (So what you gonna make him do?) 'Cause all your troubles are within you (So what's he gonna) So begin to (So what's he gonna) To see that I'm just bleeding too (So what's he gonna do?) Love me love you, love is the way to (So what you gonna take him to?) Help me help you (So what you gonna make him do?) Why must we be so cool? (So what's he gonna) Oh so cruel? (So what's he gonna do ?) Oh, we're such damn fools This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. Ian "Regret" by New Order I fell in love with the guitar opening on my first hearing on the radio, but never heard the name of the group or song. I ended up going to HMV in Oxford Street and asking the assistant if they knew which song went "Ching, chingy ching, chng chng chng" and they actually recognised what I was trying to sing ! It is a great sound from the 1993 album "Republic" "Regret" by New Order
Maybe I've forgotten The name and the address Of everyone I've ever known, It's nothing I regret Save it for another day, 'cause The school is out And the kids have run away I would like a place I can call my own Have a conversation on my telephone Wake up everyday, that would be a start I would not complain 'bout my wounded heart I was upset, you see Almost all the time You used to be a stranger Now you are mine I wouldn't even trust you I've not that much to give We're dealing in the limits, And we don't know who with You may think that I'm out of hand That I'm naive, I'll understand On this occasion, it's not true Look at me, I'm not you I would like a place I can call my own Have a conversation on the telephone Wake up everyday, that would be a start I would not complain 'bout my wounded heart I was a short fuse Burning all the time You were a complete stranger Now you are mine I would like a place I can call my own Have a conversation on the telephone Wake up everyday, that would be a start I would not complain 'bout my wounded heart Just wait 'till tomorrow I guess that's what they all say Just before they fall apart Written by Stephen Hague, Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management US, LLC This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. Ian "Words of Love by Buddy Holly" I my view THE love song. Simple, straight forward and beautiful. I see no point in making things complicated and so this is just brilliant. Recorded and released in 1957. "Words of love you, whisper soft and true Darling I love you" "Words of Love"
By Buddy Holly Words Of Love lyrics © Peermusic Publishing Hold me close and tell me how you feel Tell me love is real Mm, mm, mm, mm Words of love you, whisper soft and true Darling I love you Mm, mm, mm, mm Let me hear you say The words I want to hear Darling when you're near Mm, mm, mm, mm Words of love you, whisper soft and true Darling I love you Mm, mm, mm, mm Mm, mm, mm Mm, mm, mm, ah ah ah This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. "Under The Weather" by KT Tunstall I heard this a long time ago and found that my mood changed. The beautiful lilting sound just makes me feel better. As it happens, this song is about someone who thinks they have problems and issues and is feeling down about them but realises that everyone faces problems like hers. Taken from KT Tunstall's debut album from 2004, Eye To The Telescope. I have posted about KT Tunstall in my "A-Z List of Worthies", <KT Tunstall page here> "And it's simply irrational weather Can't even hear myself think Constantly bailing out water But still feel like I'm gonna sink" "'Cause I'm under the weather Just like the world And I need somebody to hold When I turn out the light You're out of sight Although I know that I'm not alone Feels like home" "Under The Weather"
Songwriters: Katie Tunstall / Kt Tunstall / Tommy Danvers Under the Weather lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC Under this national rain cloud I'm getting soaked to the skin Trying to find my umbrella But I don't know where to begin And it's simply irrational weather Can't even hear myself think Constantly bailing out water But still feel like I'm gonna sink 'Cause I'm under the weather Just like the world So sorry for being so bold When I turn out the light You're out of sight Although I know that I'm not alone Feels like home Feels like home You say you feel like a natural person You haven't got nothing to hide So why do you feel imperfection Cut like a sword in your side? 'Cause you're under the weather Just like the world So sorry for being so bold When I turn out the light You're out of sight Although I know that I'm not alone Feels like home Feels like home Feels like home Feels like home Yes, it feels like home Yes, it feels like home 'Cause I'm under the weather Just like the world And I need somebody to hold When I turn out the light You're out of sight Although I know that I'm not alone Feels like home "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong This song seems to have been around for ever, although it was released in 1967 by the brilliant Louis Armstrong, but I am loving it more and more as I get older. I believe that this was the only the second time Satch came across my radar, the first being in the 1965 comedy western "Cat Ballou". Sentimental and beautiful, yes. But this is indeed a wonderful world we are living in. If you don't believe me, catch the 2011 David Attenborough / BBC trail link below. And yes, depending on my circumstances when I hear it, this song is capable of stopping me in my tracks and bringing a tear. Stunning. "The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They're really saying I love you" "I hear babies crying, I watch them grow They'll learn much more than I'll never know" "Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world Oh... Yeah" "What a Wonderful World"
by George David Weiss / Robert Thiele © Carlin America Inc, BMG Rights Management US, LLC, Imagem Music Inc I see trees of green, red roses too I see them bloom for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world I see skies of blue and clouds of white The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself what a wonderful world The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They're really saying I love you I hear babies crying, I watch them grow They'll learn much more than I'll never know And I think to myself what a wonderful world Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world "Say It Ain't So, Joe" by Murray Head This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. "Say It Ain't So, Joe" by Murray Head This is a song that I remembered from the mid 1970s. Murray Head suggests that it is about fallen heroes and he heard the phrase in the title during a documentary about Richard Nixon in 1975. But it first cropped up after a scandal in the twenties, when Joe Jackson, the famous baseball player, was rumoured to have taken a bribe to sink his team in the final of the World Series. His fans hung around the stadium chanting "Say it ain't so, Joe". I liked the original version of the song, but prefer the 1979 version by Gary Brooker - especially the guitar work. The 1977 version by Roger Daltrey isn't bad either, featuring both John Entwistle and Keith Moon from The Who. "They told us that our hero has played his trump card He doesn't know how to go on We're clinging to his charm and determined smile But the good old days are gone" "Don't you think we're gonna get burned We're gonna get turned We're gonna get learned Cause we're gonna get turned We're gonna get burned" "Say It Ain't So, Joe" by Murray Head
Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe please tell us it ain't so They told us that our hero has played his trump card He doesn't know how to go on We're clinging to his charm and determined smile But the good old days are gone The image and the empire may be falling apart The money has gotten scarce One man's word held the country together But the truth is getting fierce Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so We pinned our hopes on you Joe and they're ruining our show (Ooo Babies) Don't you think we're gonna get burned (Ooo Babies) Don't you think we're gonna get burned We're gonna get turned We're gonna get learned Cause we're gonna get turned We're gonna get burned We're gonna get learned Yes, we're gonna get burned We're gonna get turned We're gonna get learned Yes, we're gonna get turned We're gonna get learned Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe please tell us it ain't so They told us that our are hero has played his trump card He doesn't know how to go on We're clinging to his charm and determined smile But the good old days are gone Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so We pinned our hopes on you Joe and they're ruining our show The image and the empire may be falling apart The money had gotten scarce One man's word held the country together But the truth is getting fierce Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know Say it ain't so, Joe please Say it ain't so I'm sure they're telling us lies Joe please tell us it ain't so Oooooo That's not what I want to hear Joe and I've got a right to know This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. Ian "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon One of my favourite Paul Simon solo songs, from the 1973 album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon". The song works on many levels, but I think mainly looking back to the old world from the new and the world looking better in technicolor. But I am not expert in interpretation of such things ! "When I think back On all the crap I learned in high school It’s a wonder I can think at all" "Everything looks worse In black and white" "They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the world’s A sunny day, oh yeah I got a Nikon camera I love to a photograph So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away" "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon
© 1973 Words and Music by Paul Simon When I think back On all the crap I learned in high school It’s a wonder I can think at all And though my lack of education Hasn’t hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall Kodachrome They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the world’s A sunny day, oh yeah I got a Nikon camera I love to a photograph So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away If you took all the girls I knew When I was single And brought them all together For one night I know they’d never match My sweet imagination Everything looks worse In black and white Kodachrome They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the world’s A sunny day, oh yeah I got a Nikon camera I love to a photograph So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away |
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