Song Lyric Sunday – 25 July 2021 – Chasing Cars

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Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week the prompt is to find a song that may include, or reference, one of the following: Automobile, Car, Jalopy, Vehicle.

If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.

This week I offer you a really lovely and haunting song, Chasing Cars.

This is a song by Scottish-Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Eyes Open (2006). It was recorded in 2005 and released on 6 June 2006 in the United States and 24 July 2006 in the United Kingdom.

Lead singer Gary Lightbody said he wrote the song when he became sober after a binge of white wine. The song has a plain melody over sparse guitars, which has an ever-building crescendo. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said “It’s the purest love song that I’ve ever written.” The phrase “Chasing Cars” came from Lightbody’s father, in reference to a girl Lightbody was infatuated with, “You’re like a dog chasing a car. You’ll never catch it and you just wouldn’t know what to do with it if you did.” True of so many young men! 

In 2019 this song was noted as the most played song of the 21st century on UK radio.

You don’t get much purer or simpler love than that expressed in the words: 

“If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?”

I’m offering a choice of three versions, and it’s difficult for me to choose a favourite. If you only have time to look at one then I would suggest you listen to the reworked version Live at the Albert Hall from November 2011. 

This is a great example of why live music matters. See the joy on the musicians faces and the power of audience participation.

Read the comments on YouTube to see how people are affected by this song.

Lara Mitchell

“When this song came out….I was in prison….this song would take me away….away…and I’m just now exploring his other music..I love this man! OMG! His smile! How can one not smile back.”

Julie Dean

“This was our favourite song. And I whispered it to my husband as he was dying.  I cry every time I hear it.  But it is still my favourite song.”

Kelly Murphy-Stevens

“When my dog was at the end of life and he did not know what was going on. He was as thin as when we rescued him from the streets many years earlier. I did not want to let go. I would lay down with him on my chest and we chase cars. He made me so human.”

The second video is an acoustic version from The Quay Sessions in Glasgow from August 2018. This, again, shows the joy of the artists (only three this time), and the total absorption of the audience.  They know they will be invited to join in, in fact they were invited to do so at the beginning, but they are so engrossed by the performance that they almost miss their cue!

The final version is the Official US release video. This is included just to show how it started out.  Although it is still beautiful, and moving, it is almost a disappointment compared to the live versions.  What am I saying? No version of this song could disappoint. I’ve been listening to all three, and others, for over a week now.  You know what? I rather like this song!

Chasing Cars

Snow Patrol

We’ll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don’t need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don’t quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They’re not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we’re told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that’s bursting into life

Let’s waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we’re told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that’s bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they’re all I can see

I don’t know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Natah Connolly / Gary Lightbody / Jonathan Quinn / Tom Simpson / Paul Wilson

Chasing Cars lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Our world – our problem | Peter Matthews — Whispers and Echoes

Please click on the link below to see my latest haiku published yesterday.

The world is dying Humankind has abused it Now’s the time to heal Peter Matthews, a country boy at heart, lives with his wife in the suburbs of Nottingham, England.  His greatest achievement is that he has aged fairly gracefully but has avoided growing up.  Peter has written poetry from the age of sixteen and blogs regularly […]

Our world – our problem | Peter Matthews — Whispers and Echoes

Poetry, You, Me, and Wordsworth

I recently posted a spoken word poem which was, itself, a re-run of my Rapid Rhyme #30. This started off by saying that “None of us are Poets” but went on to suggest that we could all have a go and have fun along the way.  We do, after all, primarily blog for ourselves. 

I had some lovely responses, but also a couple of “should I really be trying to write poetry – who do I think I am?” replies.  

Caroline at doesitevenmatter3 thought that the fewer comments received, whenever she posted poetry, was a commentary on her poetry writing. 

Sue, at nansfarm, received a comment of “good try” for her poetry, which she equated with a school report saying “could do better!”

My reply was:

I think that with your comment, and Carolyn’s, we need to encourage you both that “Yes, you can!” (write poetry).

All of art is in the eye, ear, touch, smell, taste, sense of space, or other sensory effect, of the receiver. Not forgetting that the first sensor is you!  If it pleases you, job done!

I think we all tend to be self-deprecating about our output and, in truth, there is a huge spread of talent in varying degrees across WordPress. There are some sites that produce poetry every day, even some that produce multiple poems every single day. How on earth they do it is beyond me.

I have learned to love haiku, and appreciate its subtlety, simplicity, and elegance. I have always liked limericks and have posted several hundred.  I love rapid rhymes that tend to be written to the pace of my walking, and I appreciate more complex forms that I occasionally have a go at.  Some modern rap I find to be really sophisticated and colloquial forms of poetry can be a joy to listen to.

I find myself listening to more spoken word poetry and comparing one narrator with another.  Some recordings are absolutely abysmal in my opinion, but that is only my opinion.  Each of us hears differently, and appreciates differently.  Just because someone has a brilliant acting voice, or book reading voice, does not mean they do justice to poetry. 

Try it out for yourself.  Choose a poem you really like, or a well known classic.  Look up different readings and listen to them.  You may find a perfect example – for you, and that is the whole point – it is a personal preference.

For example, If I choose “Daffodils” which many people are familiar with and listen to a reading by XXX I may love it.  If I listen to YYY reading it, I may loathe it. It is the same poem, with the same brilliant words, and the same lovely images but spoiled for me because I do not hear it the same way! Perhaps I just don’t like the way it is presented.  Maybe it is because the reader doesn’t really believe in what they are doing.  Let’s face it, some people could read a railway timetable and make it irresistibly entertaining.  Stephen Fry springs to mind!

Here, for your enjoyment, are some alternative versions of William Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’ 

(Cumbria – England) – BBC – 12th April 2016. This may not play outside UK.

A reading by Ralph Fiennes

And now one that I do not enjoy, read by Jeremy Irons

Here it is set to music by Dave Camlin, recorded and performed by Sing In! and Sing Owt! community choirs in west Cumbria in March 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis.

and, finally The Wordsworth Rap – Cumbria Tourism

Advice for married men — bluebird of bitterness

How to help your wife when you retire!

by guest columnist Hal Hickenlooper It’s important for men to remember that as women age, it becomes harder for them to maintain the same standards of housekeeping as when they were younger. But when you notice this happening with your wife, try not to yell at her. Some women are oversensitive, and God knows there’s nothing worse than […]

Advice for married men — bluebird of bitterness

We are all poets

I remember discussing poetry with a soldier friend in a bar in Germany when we were probably aged 20.  We wouldn’t have been drunk because we could not afford more than a couple of small beers but it was good to get out of the barracks and live a little.

I had recited a poem I’d recently written and he stated that he had never tried to write any poetry, and doubted if he had a poetic bone in his body.  He probably did not put it quite so eloquently! However, I responded, saying that we were all poets, whereupon I encouraged him to come up with a verse.

After a bit of thought he produced:

I have a motorbike which goes well

and a car, but it’s not very good! 

Now, if that isn’t poetry I don’t know what is!

Song Lyric Sunday – 18 July 2021 – Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye

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Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week the prompt is to find a song that is about Breakup.

If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.

I have chosen Judy Collins and Leonard Cohen singing Hey, That’s no way to say Goodbye . This rather poor quality video was recorded in 1976 but the sound quality is good. The song was first recorded by Judy in November 1967 with Leonard’s version following shortly afterwards. The two had a little bit of history as is intimated in the introduction.

There is more information after the lyrics for those who may be interested. I do hope that you enjoy the music.

Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye

Leonard Cohen

I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm
Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm
Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new
In city and in forest they smiled like me and you
But now it’s come to distances and both of us must try
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye

I’m not looking for another as I wander in my time
Walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme
You know my love goes with you as your love stays with me
It’s just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea
But let’s not talk of love or chains and things we can’t untie
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye

I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm
Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm
Yes, many loved before us, I know that we are not new
In city and in forest they smiled like me and you
But let’s not talk of love or chains and things we can’t untie
Your eyes are soft with sorrow
Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Leonard Cohen

Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Leonard Cohen seemed such a troubled soul. He was so mixed up with sex and love. He fell in love almost too easily, but he also fell out of love easily. Basically, he was a lonely man who felt complete only with a female counterpart, but he could not settle into some form of conventionality. He needed to be and to feel free, so he repeated the same cycle over and over again.

In this instance the girl is leaving and the singer is watching her pack her things, not knowing quite what he should do.

He described the genesis of this song as follows:

“This song arises from an overused bed in the Penn Terminal Hotel in 1966. The room is too hot. I can’t open the windows. I am in the midst of a bitter quarrel with a blonde woman. The song is half-written in pencil but it protects us as we manoeuvre, each of us, for unconditional victory. I am in the wrong room. I am with the wrong woman”.

In November 2016, the singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, renowned for his plaintive ballads, died a few months after the woman who inspired many of them, his Norwegian lover and muse, Marianne Ihlen. Theirs had been a large and chaotic romance that was in many respects a product of the particular times (the 1960s) and the specific place (the Greek island of Hydra) in which they met. The relationship’s legacy was a catalogue of classic songs, a great deal of heartache, but also a lasting sense of the creative power of love. His final goodbye to Marrianne was sublime:

Dearest Marianne,

I’m just a little behind you, close enough to take your hand. This old body has given up, just as yours has too. I’ve never forgotten your love and your beauty. But you know that. I don’t have to say any more. Safe travels old friend. See you down the road. Endless love and gratitude.

your Leonard

She died aged 81 on 28 July 2016, in Oslo. Cohen died later that year on 7 November 2016.

Farewell Daisy | Peter Matthews — Whispers and Echoes

Daisy appeared in my Almost a Catastrophe on 11 June. Sadly, we had to say farewell to her on 21 June.

Click on the link below to see my haiku which appears on Whispers and Echoes today.

Time to say goodbye There can be no healing now Thank you faithful friend Peter Matthews, a country boy at heart, lives with his wife in the suburbs of Nottingham, England.  His greatest achievement is that he has aged fairly gracefully but has avoided growing up.  Peter has written poetry from the age of sixteen and blogs […]

Farewell Daisy | Peter Matthews — Whispers and Echoes

None of us are poets – Spoken Word

A couple of readers have encouraged me to do more Spoken Word Poems. An easy start is to record some of those I’ve already written. Here is Rapid rhyme #30 repeated in glorious surround sound. I hope you enjoy it.  

In case you can’t bear to listen to my voice I have included the words at the bottom.

None of us are poets, it’s very plain to see

we write some words and if they rhyme then it was meant to be

but there again if words don’t rhyme it doesn’t mean it’s prose

It may be verse, or something worse, a finger up your nose

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None of us are poets, it’s why I wrote these words

to prove to you it’s very true that cows are seen in herds

A bull will come along to serve, that is his given task

He’s making love to cows all day and doesn’t have to ask

*

None of us are poets, I think I’ve proved that fact

but have a go, it’s fun to do, just sign the poet’s pact

Stand on your head, write with your toes, and sing a happy ditty

For those of you who think you know the rhyming word is kitty

Smile time #3

Dolphins having fun

Sharing time with kayakers

Gifting smiles to all

Song Lyric Sunday – 11 July 2021 – Butterfly

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Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week the prompt is to find a song that includes Bugs or Insects.

If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.

It is 3 weeks since I posted anything, the longest break since I started my blog. Various reasons which I will not list here but, hopefully, I’m back.

This week I’ve chosen a song by The Hollies, a favourite group of mine. The song is Butterfly which appeared on their second studio album (also called Butterfly) released in 1967.

This was their seventh album in England overall and It was also the last new Hollies album to feature Graham Nash until 1983’s What Goes Around. This album, like its predecessors For Certain Because and Evolution, featured songs written solely by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, and Tony Hicks. The album was a Nash-led project, and he featured as the lead vocalist more than on any prior album.

I do hope you enjoy it.

Butterfly

Hollies

We met on the shore of the Lemonade Lake
Weeping willows looked down where we lay
Orange blossoms I smell in your hair
Butterfly, flutter by, butterfly by

Waterfalls, send your ripples to us
Here on the shore of the Lemonade Lake
Pond lilies play hide and seek with the fish
Rabbit run, run rabbit, rabbit run by

Roaring mountain is standing close by
Covered with snowdrops and glistening with dew
I hear the sound of a small hummingbird
I took your hand and I waltzed off with you

Come to the top of the mountain with me
Jump on a cloud and we’ll float to and fro
Seeing the countryside covered with grass
And the top of the mountain with candy-floss snow

Butterfly lazily drinking the sun
Lavishly sprinkled and painted with gold
Here in the land of the mist and the lake
Me and my true love will never grow old

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: G. Nash

Butterfly lyrics © Gralto Music Ltd.