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 Greet, Hey, or Howdy.
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.
Last week was wedding related in that the prompt words were Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue. Since I never approached anything near a wedding it seems appropriate that this week I should try to catch up and go for White Wedding. It is a bride’s privilege to be late. I just hope the groom waited!
This is a song by Billy Idol that was released as the second single from his self-titled studio album in 1982. Although not his most successful song it is probably his most recognisable one. It certainly contains many Hey’s! I hope you enjoy it.
Hey little sister, what have you done Hey little sister, who’s the only one Hey little sister, who’s your superman Hey little sister, who’s the one you want Hey little sister, shotgun
It’s a nice day to start again It’s a nice day for a white wedding It’s a nice day to start again
Hey little sister, who is it you’re with Hey little sister, what’s your vice and wish Hey little sister, shotgun (oh yeah) Hey little sister, who’s your superman Hey little sister, shotgun
It’s a nice day to start again It’s a nice day for a white wedding It’s a nice day to start again
Take me back home, yeah
Hey little sister, what have you done Hey little sister, who’s the only one I’ve been away for so long (so long) I’ve been away for so long (so long) I let you go for so long
It’s a nice day to start again Come on, it’s a nice day for a white wedding It’s a nice day to start again
There is nothin’ fair in this world, baby There is nothin’ safe in this world And there’s nothin’ sure in this world And there’s nothin’ pure in this world Look for something left in this world Start again
Come on It’s a nice day for a white wedding It’s a nice day to start again It’s a nice day to start again It’s a nice day to start again
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 the words Old, New, Borrowed, or Blue amongst the title or lyrics.
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.
Unusually, today I am chosing a cover version of a song. It was written by The Knife, a Swedish electronic music duo which consisted of siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer. They formed in 1999 and disbanded in 2014. If you look up some of their music I’m willing to bet that you will find some that you really like!
The group toured little and gained stronger international recognition when José González covered their song “Heartbeats” on his 2003 album, Veneer. The cover was used by Sony in a commercial for BRAVIA television sets, and released as a single in 2006.
Here is Heartbeats with lyrics, and fantastic graphics that mimic those of the official video of The Knife original. The word “BLUE” appears only once!
Lyrics
One night to be confused One night to speed up truth We had a promise made Four hands and then away
Both under influence We had divine sense To know what to say Mind is a razor blade
To call for hands of above, to lean on Wouldn’t be good enough for me, no
One night of magic rush The start, a simple touch One night to push and scream And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes The colours red and blue We had a promise made We were in love
To call for hands of above, to lean on Wouldn’t be good enough for me, oh
To call for hands of above, to lean on Wouldn’t be good enough for me
And you You knew the hand of the devil And you Kept us awake with wolves’ teeth Sharing different heartbeats in one night
To call for hands of above, to lean on Wouldn’t be good enough for me
To call for hands of above, to lean on Wouldn’t be good enough for me
…..and here is the fantastic Bravia colour TV advert
San Francisco’s steep hills proved to be the perfect setting for Sony’s iconic Balls ad. The electronics company wanted to celebrate colour in order to promote their Bravia high-definition LCD televisions. This was the brief Fallon was tasked to visualise. And to do so, they hurled 250,000 bouncy, coloured balls down the rolling hills of the Golden City, which results in a glorious cascade of colour.
The ad was directed by Nicolai Fugslig (MJZ), who insisted on everything being shot live in camera.
The striking visuals are accompanied by the gentle acoustic sounds of José González which, along with the graceful slow-motion, gives the ad a daydream-like quality that remains with you well after the ad finishes. In fact, the music is so powerful that many people simply refer to the ‘Sony Balls’ TV commercial as the ‘José González advert’.
What you discover:
The shoot took three days
Around 50 students on roller skates were required to use brooms to clear all the balls at the foot of the hill at the end of each take
Agency: Fallon Creative: Richard Flintham Director: Nicolai Fugslig Production Co: MJZ
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 a City, Country, County, State, or Town.
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.
If I tell you that you are going to listen to the greatest song written by Ralph May you may well be a little confused. It is an enduring song that has been covered by over 200 artists all around the world and, sadly, is as relevant today as it was when it was written in 1969.
The song was inspired by Ralph McTell’s experiences busking and hitchhiking throughout Europe, especially in Paris. He was originally going to call the song “Streets of Paris, but eventually London was chosen, because he realised he was singing about London and, also, there was another song called “The Poor People of Paris.”
McTell’s song contrasts the common problems of everyday people with those of the homeless, lonely, elderly, ignored, and forgotten members of society. They are still there!
This video tracks The Streets of London, and Ralph Mc Tell, through the years, and has a great interview with the singer telling the background to the song. He tells it far better than I could.
This one shows some great views of London streets, the people inhabiting them, and great street art, including a Banksie!
and this one is Ralph Mc Tell’s 70th birthday performance accompanied by John Williams. Still fantastic after all those years!
There are so many covers of this song, all with their various merits. The very sad fact that the problems that caused this song to be written 52 years ago still exist show how inept mankind is at fixing inequality!
Streets of London
Have you seen the old man in the closed down market Kicking up the papers with his worn out shoes? In his eyes you see no pride, hand held loosely by his side Yesterday’s paper telling yesterday’s news
So how can you tell me you’re lonely And say for you that the sun doesn’t shine? Oh, let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
Have you seen the old girl who walks the streets of London? Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags? She’s no time for talkin’, she keeps right on walkin’ Carrying her home in two carrier bags
So how can you tell me you’re lonely And say for you that the sun doesn’t shine? Oh, let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
In the all night café at a quarter past eleven Same old man sitting there on his own Looking at the world over the rim of his teacup Each tea lasts an hour then he wanders home alone So how can you tell me you’re lonely And say for you that the sun doesn’t shine? Oh, let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
Have you seen the old man outside the seaman’s mission? Memory fading with the medal ribbons that he wears? In our winter city the rain cries a little pity For one more forgotten hero and a world that doesn’t care
Oh, how can you tell me you’re lonely And say for you that the sun doesn’t shine? Oh, let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week the prompt is Comparisons.
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.
Jim asks us to take two songs and discuss an association between them. Well, off I set and I wrote about One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” and the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” and the fact that the former song seemed to have copied a large chunk of the classic music of Baba O’Reilly.
There were two major problems with my write up. The first being that I don’t like One Direction’s music, the second was that their video of this track was abysmal.
Then, on Thursday, Jim wrote about Blow Away by George Harrison and so I abandoned my original idea and decided to write this instead. Apologies, and thanks to Jim!
It is hardly surprising that often we hear a song and think we’ve heard it before. There are, in Western music, only 12 different notes to play and, with all the variations, there are only 4017 chords available (many of which are hardly ever used) so it is not unusual for different songs to have the same sequences of notes.
Firstly, I offer George Harrison’s Blow away . Taken from George’s eponymous 1979 album, BLOW AWAY was the lead single released on 14th February, 1979.
At 51 seconds you will hear the refrain “Blow away, Blow away, Blow away.“
Day turned black, sky ripped apart Rained for a year ’til it dampened my heart Cracks and leaks The floorboards caught rot About to go down I had almost forgot
All I got to do is to love you All I got to be is, be happy All it’s got to take is some warmth to make it Blow Away, Blow Away, Blow Away
Sky cleared up, day turned to bright Closing both eyes now the head filled with light Hard to remember what a state I was in Instant amnesia Yang to the Yin
All I got to do is to love you All I got to be is, be happy All it’s got to take is some warmth to make it Blow Away, Blow Away, Blow Away
Wind blew in, cloud was dispersed Rainbows appearing, the pressures were burst Breezes a-singing, now feeling good The moment had passed Like I knew that it should
All I got to do is to love you All I got to be is, be happy All it’s got to take is some warmth to make it Blow Away, Blow Away, Blow Away
From Bissau to Palau, in the shade of Avalon From Fiji to Tyree and the Isles of Ebony From Peru to Cebu hear the power of Babylon From Bali to Cali, far beneath the Coral Sea
Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up, up, adieu. Ooh ooh Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up, up, adieu. Ooh ooh Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up, up, adieu. Oh
From the North to the South, Ebudæ into Khartoum From the deep sea of Clouds to the island of the moon Carry me on the waves to the lands I’ve never been Carry me on the waves to the lands I’ve never seen We can sail, we can sail with the Orinoco Flow We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away)
We can steer, we can near With Rob Dickins at the wheel We can sigh, say goodbye Ross and his dependencies We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away)
We can reach, we can beach On the shores of Tripoli We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away) From Bali to Cali, far beneath the Coral Sea We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away) From Bissau to Palau, in the shade of Avalon We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away) We can reach, we can beach Far beyond the Yellow Sea We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away) From Peru to Cebu hear the power of Babylon We can sail, we can sail (Sail away, sail away, sail away) We can sail, we can sail
I’m not suggesting any skulduggery or intention to copy. There are bound to be similarities occasionally. So long as there is no deliberate intention to defraud, and the songs are enjoyable, I don’t care!
Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week the prompt is Elevator Music.
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.
Now, I have a big problem with this week’s prompt. We do not have elevators in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and I understand that Elevator Music does not have lyrics. Furthermore, Elevator Music is deemed to have ceased to exist with effect from 2009 when Muzac filed for bankruptcy, however they were rescued by Mood Media in 2011, although they ceased trading as Muzac in 2013.
We do have Lifts in the UK but most of our buildings have so few floors that it is hardly worth listening to just a few bars of indeterminate music. Instead, we like to stand silently ignoring all other lift occupants!
So, if you’ll forgive me, I shall interpret Elevator Music as something that lifts the spirits and, thus, I have chosen to offer you the peculiar internet phenomenon of Where the Hell is Matt?
Matt Harding quit his job in 2003 and travelled the world on a minimum budget whilst filming himself dancing, often in front of a famous landmark. Initially just sending videos to his family and friends, he soon became an Internet phenomenon.
His first successful video, in 2005, featured him dancing a “jig” in many different places around the world. The video garnered popularity on the video sharing site YouTube. There are now five major videos plus two outtakes and several background videos on YouTube. Matt dances alone in the first videos. In 2008 others join with him doing the dance “jig”; in 2010 he does the Diski Dance in South Africa. In 2012, the video shown here, he works with other dancers, sometimes using a local dance or another dance step.
On July 22, 2008, and again on July 25, 2010, and July 10, 2012, and June 14, 2020, NASA featured Harding’s videos on the APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) Web site. Text accompanying these videos, under the heading “Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth,” claims that humans worldwide share a common love of dance, stating that “few people are able to watch the above video without smiling.” Harding himself has joked that he is impressed by his appearances on APOD, especially since his videos have nothing to do with astronomy, nor are they pictures.
They are, however, uplifting, and they show how everyone dances, irrespective of age, gender, colour, ethnicity, beliefs, you name it – it makes no difference. Even the youngest of children will start moving rhythmically to music, I’ve even seen birds and animals joining in.
Wouldn’t it be marvellous if the Israelis and Palestinians were dancing instead of fighting, or if any other conflict could be settled by a dance?
Here, for your pleasure, is Where the hell is Matt? 2012. There are lyrics below, and all the credits are at the end of the video. Sit back and enjoy!
Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week Jim asks us for a song with a title, or lyrics, containing one of the words Heaven, or Hell.
This week I’m cheating because I’m reusing a song that I used in August 2020 for a prompt of “below”. However, it is a corker and well worth watching again, and again!
Some of you may remember that it featured video of Jim’s dance instructor because he spotted the secret camera that I’d installed in the dance studio and destroyed all images of his dancing!
First though, here is The Pretty Reckless with Heaven Knows. The song is from their second studio album, Going To Hell, released in 2014.
Heaven Knows – Isle of Wight festival 2014
And here is Jim’s dance instructor dancing to the official recording of the original release. Jim swears that he wore a simple leotard for all his lessons!
Jimmy’s in the back with a pocket of high If you listen close You can hear him cry Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Sing it Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Way down below, way down below
Judy’s in the front seat picking up trash Living on the dough Gotta make that cash Won’t be pretty Won’t be sweet She’s just in here on her feet
Sing it Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Go Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Sing Tell her so We belong way down below Oh oh, tell her so We belong way down below Way down below, way down below Way down below, way down below
I’ve got what it takes, man I see every day I’ve got a better wise man I know that I worth
One, two, three and four The devil’s knocking at your door Caught in the eye of a dead man’s wife Show you life with your head up high Now you’re on your knees With your head down low Big mental, she wear it to go Tell her it’s good Tell her okay Don’t do a God thing they say
Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Oh oh, tell her so We belong way down below Way down below, way down below Way down below, way down below
I’ve got a better wise man I know that I worth I’ve got what it takes, man I see every day
Jenna’s in the back with a pocket of high If you listen close You can hear the crying Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Oh oh, tell her so We belong way down below Oh oh, heaven knows We belong way down below Oh oh, tell her so We belong way down below
Way down below, way down below Way down below, way down below
Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week we should aim for a song that contains one of the words Fix, or Make
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.
The word that features here is “make” and Jim postulates that it means to create something. However, in this song it is attached to “war”, and to make war is far from creating, it is pure destruction!
In the first two verses the dying soldier speaks to his own comrades, i.e. the “brothers in arms”. Only in the final line does it become clear that all enemy soldiers are included within “brothers in arms”.
“Brothers in Arms” was first released as a single on 14 October 1985. The song is reported to be the first CD single ever released; it was released in the United Kingdom in 1986.
In 2007, the 25th anniversary of the war, Knopfler recorded a new version of the song at Abbey Road Studios to raise funds for British veterans who, he said, “are still suffering from the effects of that conflict.” “Brothers in Arms” has become a favourite at military funerals.
There are just so many fantastic performances of this iconic song that it is difficult to pick one that is the best. I particularly like this one. There are so many reasons why, most of which would be of no interest to you whatsoever. Being an ex soldier of some 28 years and 151 days I can’t help but have an affinity with my brothers in arms.
Here, for your enjoyment, is Dire Straits playing Brothers in Arms LIVE at Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, Wembley Stadium, 1988. You might just spot someone you recognise, at 6:22, helping the band out!
The following are a selection of recordings. Some of them are excellent, none of them are bad. I believe they all show what a huge part of himself Mark Knopfler puts into this song, every time!
Brothers In Arms – With pictures of Brothers in Arms
Brothers In Arms – Royal Albert Hall – Which shows that they still perform well in 2019
Brothers in Arms – 1996 London
Brothers in Arms – Wembley 1985
Brothers in Arms
Dire Straits
These mist covered mountains Are a home now for me But my home was the lowlands And always will be Someday you’ll return to Your valleys and your farms And you’ll no longer burn to be Brothers in arms
Through these fields of destruction Baptism of fire I’ve watched all your suffering As a battle raged high And though they did hurt me so bad In the fear and alarm You did not desert me My brothers in arms
So many different worlds So many different suns And we have just one world But we live in different ones
Now the sun’s gone to hell And the moon’s riding high Let me bid you farewell Every man has to die But it’s written in the starlight And every line in your palm We are fools to make war On our brothers in arms
Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. This week we should aim for a song that contains one of the following Arrivederci, Bon-voyage, Ciao, Farewell, Goodbye, Hasta la vista, Sayonara, Shalom
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’m taking you back to 1969 when Mary Hopkin gave me a present, for my 21st birthday, in the form of her second single “Goodbye”.
The song was written by Paul McCartney. For the recording, Mary Hopkin sang and performed acoustic guitar, while McCartney played bass guitar, an acoustic guitar introduction and solo, along with lap-slapping percussion and drums. Backing vocals, horns and strings, in Hewson’s arrangement, were overdubbed. The session was filmed by Apple’s Tony Bramwell for a promotional clip. In the footage, Hopkin can be seen miming to the song inside the studio, combined with shots of her and McCartney in the control room listening to a playback. I love the shots of the backing singers who are obviously having the time of their lives with their moment of fame!
To assist Hopkin in learning the song, McCartney recorded a solo demo at his home, 7 Cavendish Road, London, in February 1969. The song was arranged by Richard Hewson, who had also orchestrated “Those Were the Days,” and produced, along with its flip side, “Sparrow”, by Paul McCartney on 1 March 1969 at Morgan Studios in Willesden. To better match Hopkin’s voice, the key was raised from C major to E major. The recording was Apple’s first official double-A-side, and the first Apple record to feature a full-fledged picture sleeve.
Paul McCartney’s demo of ‘Goodbye’ was released in 2019 on the Abbey Road 50th anniversary super deluxe box set.
"If only half of the history that has happened in Nottingham had happened in some other place, that place would be famous; but because it did happen here no one knows".
