english
Song Lyrics
The best songwriters are often unheard of, and they are usually not the best interpreters of their own songs. However, this is not the case for every songwriter, as the many of the songs below will attest.
The best songs say something about the world around them or the nature of human character. Pop music, especially the Top 100, is usually not where the best music can be found. Sure, it is “popular”, but as Transformers 2 and Twilight have proved, it does not have to be good in order to be popular. In some decades though, especially the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, pop music was centered on the song as a piece of art. This can be heard in the works of Motown to the epic sounds of Pink Floyd.
The songs selected below serve two purposes. First, they are meant to expose you, the eager learners of America, to songwriters or songs that you may know nothing about. Second, the songs might be familiar, but not studied on the deeper levels that they deserve.
Enjoy this week, and comment on the songs in the Discussion Board. However, do not discuss the same exact songs as everyone else. That is so boring for everyone. Be adventurous and discover something that you would not ordinarily listen to.
You Are My Sunshine
Written by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell
Performed by Norman Blake
Most of the classic kid’s songs that are taught to preschoolers now were once classic American tunes or older British rhymes. “You Are My Sunshine” is taught to preschoolers, yet they are never taught the full version of the song, which is about losing the one you are in love with.
The link that is provided leads to the Norman Blake version which is on the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soundtrack.
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qerg0LyLi6c
Lyrics:
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'll always love you and make you happy,
If you will only say the same.
But if you leave me and love another,
You'll regret it all some day:
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
You told me once, dear, you really loved me
And no one else could come between.
But not you've left me and love another;
You have shattered all of my dreams:
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains. / So when you come back and make me happy
I'll forgive you dear, I'll take all the blame.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
Strange Fruit
Written by Lewis Allen
Performed by Billie Holiday
Instructor Note:
Strange Fruit was one of the first songs that dealt with racism. Lewis Allen (a pen name for Abel Meeropol) was actually a white in the North who had heard stories regarding the lynchings in the south and throughout the country. He wrote this in response to the horrendous stories that he heard. Families would even go so far as to take pictures of the bodies hanging from the rope or as they were on fire nd send them as postcards to their relatives.
Billie Holiday nailed this version of it, and it was very popular throughout the country. However, it was banned in many southern states because of its content. They claimed it was for the graphic nature of the song, but it was more because they did not want to admit their wrongdoing.
Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9FZMHNhJ80
Lyrics:
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the Southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and twisted mouth,
The scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
A Change is Gonna Come
Written and Performed by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke wrote this song about the first days of the Civil Rights Movement. It also has a second meaning in that it also discusses the death of his son, who was only a toddler at the time. It should be noted that the line discussing the movie theater was not included in other popular versions of the song. This is especially noticeable on Otis Redding’s version. Redding seemed to have wanted it to be more widely acceptable, so those lines are removed. Despite this, the song has endured over the decades and performed in its complete and shortened versions.
Sam Cooke was murdered a year after this song’s release at a motel room. He did not live to see the song’s peak in 1965 or its continued success.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBlaMOmKV4
Lyrics:
I was born by the river
In a little tent, and o just like that river
I've been running ever since
It's been a long long time coming, but I know
A change is gonna come, oh yes it will
It's been too hard living
but I'm afraid to die 'cause I don't know what's up there
beyond the sky, It's been a long time coming,
but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will
(I go to the movie and I go downtown / Somebody keep tellin me / don't hang around)
It's been a long time coming, but I know / A change is gonna come, oh yes it will
Then I go to my brother
and I say brother help me please
But he wind up knocking me
back down on my knees
There have been times that I thought
I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time, but I know
A change is gonna come, oh yes it will
Abraham, Martin, and John
Written by Dick Holler and performed by Dion
At the end of the 1960’s, assassination had gripped the country. The tensions after the Civil Rights Movement and then the escalation in Vietnam provided a breaking point for many. This song was wildly popular on its release as it seemed to bring the country together in grief.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5hFMy4pTrs
Speech Made by Robert Kennedy announcing the assassination of Martin Luthor King. The crowd, mostly African American, did not know about King’s assassination, and Kennedy’s speech is considered one of the greats because it was spur of the moment and not written down. On this same video, the audio from Robert Kennedy’s own assassination is given.
Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyCWV_N0EsM
Tom Clay’s Radio Edit: This was put together by a Detroit DJ who wanted to make a statement about the ‘60’s. If you read the work of many writers from the early ‘70’s, especially by Hunter S. Thompson, there was a feeling that the people of the ‘60’s failed to deliver their promise of world peace. They did. However, it is a goal to always strive for:
Tom Clay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uqNLnEzDLA
Lyric:
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone? / He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young. / You know, I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend John? / Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people, / But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin? / Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people, / But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.
Didn't you love the things that they stood for? Didn't they try to find some good for you and me? And we'll be free / Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby? / Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill, / With Abraham, Martin and John.
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY ZAGAR AND EVANS
Even with all of the turmoil in the 1960’s, it was an incredible time of optimism. How many of these items listed have already come true?
Zagar and Evans were a one hit wonder, but they made one heck of a one hit.
Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhNM2K8cmU8
Lyric:
In the year 2525 / If man is still alive / If woman can survive / They may thrive
In the year 3535 / Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, and say / Is in the pill you took today
In the year 4545 / Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew / Nobody's gonna look at you
In the year 5555 / Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs got nothing to do / Some machine is doing that for you
In the year 6565 / Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too / From the bottom of a long glass tube
In the year 7510 / If God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
Maybe he'll look around himself and say/ ”Guess it's time for the Judgement day”
In the year 8510 / God is gonna shake his mighty head then
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been / Or tear it down and start again
In the year 9595 / I'm kinda wondering if man is gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give / And he ain't put back nothing
Now it's been 10,000 years / Man has cried a billion tears / For what he never knew / Now man's reign is through / But through eternal night / The twinkling of starlight
So very far away / Maybe it's only yesterday
In the year 2525 / If man is still alive / If woman can survive / They may thrive
In the year 3535 / Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do or say / Is in the pill you took today ....(fading...)
Written and Performed by Carole King
I would be remiss in my duties as an educator if I did not include Carole King in a discussion about songs and songwriters. She first began writing songs in the late ‘50’s for acts like the Shirelles and other Motown artists. King broke out on her own in the early ‘70’s, and completed what is considered to be the best album by a female songwriter: Tapestry.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UofYl3dataU
Bonus Carole King Song: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8KlYc0xG80
Lyrics:
So far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're just time away
Long ago I reached for you and there you stood
Holding you again could only do me good
Oh, how I wish I could
But you're so far away
One more song about moving along the highway
Can't say much of anything that's new
If I could only work this life out my way
I'd rather spend it being close to you
But you're so far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're so far away
Traveling around sure gets me down and lonely
Nothing else to do but close my mind
I sure hope the road don't come to own me
There's so many dreams I've yet to find
But you're so far away
Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
Doesn't help to know you're so far away
Written and Performed by Gordan Lightfoot
Gordan Lightfoot takes a troubadour tradition to songwriting. His songs are always poems that tell a story, and he has continually traveled and sang his songs like the bards of old. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” is based on the real events of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald that broke apart on Lake Superior in November of 1975. Lightfoot’s song immortalizes the lost sailors in a way that will ensure that they are not forgotten.The only thing I hate about this video is that the stupid editor breaks into the song during the guitar hook.
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgI8bta-7aw
The best Gordan Lightfoot love song has to be this: “If You Could Read My Mind”
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqMG3VR5PP4
Lyrics:
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on downOf the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.
The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind
When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.
The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early. London Calling Performed and written by The Clash
With the Punk Movement of the mid and late ‘70’s, bands reacted against the prog rock of Pink Floyd and other bands that went on and on and on in their concerts. Bands like The Damned, The Sex Pistols, and others did not sing about “love” or any of the other topics that dominated music over the past decade. They did not have flowers in their hair, and they never wanted any either. Instead, they were surrounded by a Britain and America that were in the midst of an oil crisis, sanitation strikes in the U.K., and the constant threat of nuclear warfare by the Soviets. These feelings came out in their lyrics.
The Clash were the artists amid bands that were anything but artists. They were also overtly political, and wanted to make statements about the conditions of the world.
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfK-WX2pa8c
Interview with the Clash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVygiX0KEEw
Lyrics:
London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared - and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard,you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
'Cept for the ring of that truncheon thing
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, live by the river
London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go at it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out - and draw another breath
London calling - and I don't wanna shout
But while we were talking I saw you nodding out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in / Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear / Cause London is drowning and I, I live by the river
Now get this / London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial / And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling
I never felt so much alike, like-a, like-a...
Along with Leonard Coen, Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed, Nick Cave is our greatest living songwriter. His early work with the Bad Seeds were a training ground for his wide-ranging lyrics. His most notable subjects include murder ballads, songs of faith, and definitely songs of love. He believes that a love song is in fact a tribute to God as God is the embodiment of love.
However, this does not mean Cave is a pious individual. He routinely refers back to his heroin use for song material, the death of his father, and other darker subjects in life.
For the first song, Into My Arms was written (he claims later) while he was in rehab. It is considered by many song and music critics to be the finest of modern day love songs.
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEUgORVsECs
Lyrics
I don't believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms
Into my arms, O Lord / Into my arms
And I don't believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you I wonder if that's true
But if I did I would summon them together
And ask them to watch over you
To each burn a candle for you
To make bright and clear your path
And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love
And guide you into my arms
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms
And I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
So keep your candlew burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms
Printed from Scott Ainslie's website: cattailmusic.com/LyricsandNotes/Wayfaring.htm
Scott's notes about the song and a link to an mp3 sample are also available there.
This is an example of a murder ballad from the album, aptly titled, Murder Ballads. It was actually a big hit in the mid-90’s, which would not happen today with the tight control over lyrical content that is allowed on the radio. In other words, if it isn’t crap, then it isn’t really played.
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XbehX3W8N0
Lyrics:
They call me The Wild RoseBut my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me it I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one
She stared in my eyes and smiled
For her lips were the colour of the roses
That grew down the river, all bloody and wild
When he knocked on my door and entered the room
My trembling subsided in his sure embrace
He would be my first man, and with a careful hand
He wiped at the tears that ran down my face
[Chorus]
On the second day I brought her a flower
She was more beautiful than any woman I'd seen
I said, "Do you know where the wild roses grow
So sweet and scarlet and free?"
On the second day he came with a single red rose
Said: "Will you give me your loss and your sorrow"
I nodded my head, as I lay on the bed
He said, "If I show you the roses, will you follow?"
[Chorus]
On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he knelt (stood smiling) above me with a rock in his fist
On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow
And I kissed her goodbye, said, "All beauty must die"
And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth The Weeping Song Lyrics by Nick Cave and Performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
With this song, we have a simple lyric that explores a deep and often overlooked subject: physical grief. We have all cried as children. Weeping, though, is so much more an adult occurance. With Blixa Bargeld, Cave’s guitarist, the story is told through a conversation between father and child about the differences between the two.
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqhOVY58zIo
One of the best interviews with Nick Cave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oq-m-AIspE
I mentioned Blixa Bargeld earlier. He got his start with a German band called Einsturzende Neubauten. He has since left the Bad Seeds, but Neubauten’s music and stretching of musical sound is incredible. This is a song called “YouMe &Me You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ulbK3tUMNg
Lyrics to the Weeping Song:
Go son, go down to the water
And see the women weeping there
Then go up into the mountains
The men, they are weeping too.
Father, why are all the women weeping?
They all are weeping for their men.
Then why are all the men there weeping?
They are weeping back at them.
This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While all the men and women sleep.
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long.
Father why are all the children weeping?
They are merely crying son.
O, are they merely crying father?
Yes, true weeping is yet to come.
This is a weeping song
A song in which to weep
While all the little children sleep.
This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long.
O father tell me are you weeping?
Your face seems wet to touch.
O then I'm so sorry father
I never thought I hurt you so much.
This is a weeping song / A song in which to weep
While we rock ourselves to sleep. / This is a weeping song
But I won't be weeping long / No. I won't be weeping long Printed from Scott Ainslie's website: cattailmusic.com/LyricsandNotes/Wayfaring.htm
Scott's notes about the song and a link to an mp3 sample are also available there.
In the early ‘90’s, the war in Bosnia killed thousands of people. The capital of Sarajevo was under constant siege. Snipers were paid to kill anyone who walked through the streets. They were paid even more to kill children as they were playing because the parents would then run out and try to rescue them.
Here is another story about a Christian and a Muslim who were shot and their bodies left in no-man’s land: http://www.ksmemorial.com/romeo.htm
While U2 was on their Zoo TV tour at the time and would show images and interviews with those in the war zone. It often killed the momentum of the concerts, but they wanted to let a world in the throes of a victorious Cold War that there were still conflicts in the world with young people dying. Here is a news report that highlights this somewhat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36hwf3pVANE
One story that came out of the war was that of a beauty pageant that was held underground as bombs fell on the city. In the documentary, Miss Sarajevo, dust can be seen falling from the ceiling during the pageant. At the end, all of the contestants lined up on stage and held a banner that read “Don’t let them kill us.”
This song came from that.
Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuEt7EvPMVU
Lyrics:
Is there a time for keeping your distance / A time to turn your eyes away
Is there a time for keeping your head down / For getting on with your day
Is there a time for kohl and lipstick / A time for cutting hair / Is there a time for high street shopping / To find the right dress to wear
Here she comes / Heads turn around / Here she comes / To take her crown
Is there a time to run for cover / A time for kiss and tell / Is there a time for different colors
Different names you find it hard to spell
Is there a time for first communion / A time for East 17 / Is there a time to turn to Mecca
Is there time to be a beauty queen
Here she comes / Beauty plays the clown / Here she comes / Surreal in her crown
Dici che il fiume / Trova la via al mare / E come il fiume
Giungerai a me / Oltre i confini / E le terre assetate
Dici che come fiume / Come fiume... / L'amore giunger / L'amore...
E non so più pregare / E nell'amore non so più sperare
E quell'amore non so più aspettare
(You say that the river / Finds the way to the sea / And like the river
You shall come to me / Beyond the borders / And the thirsty lands
You say that as a river / Like a river... / Love shall come / Love...
And I'm not able to pray anymore / And I cannot hope in love anymore
And I cannot wait for that love anymore)
Is there a time for tying ribbons / A time for Christmas trees
Is there a time for laying tables / And the night is set to freeze
My Mom
Lyrics by Chocolate Genius.
Just go and listen. Lyrics are in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh510D9a_g8
