“It’s raining outside
Water falls from the sky
And it’s sad but it cleans all the dirt from the streets”
(from “New Clothes,” by Amy Belle)
A new day, a new week, a new month. A chance to begin again, again. And similar to the lyric, rain may not always be welcome and uplifting, “but it cleans the dirt from the streets.” I enjoy a good rainstorm and the feeling of a light, warm rain on a hot summer day. And in a time of such angst and suffering in society, it is good to think about new beginnings, or perhaps continuations of those things we have paused…
Amy Belle is a Scottish singer-songwriter whom my sweety and I first saw on a DVD on which Belle sang a duet with Rod Stewart during his One Night Only! concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, in 2004. The two sang “I Don’t Want to Talk About It,” by American songwriter Danny Whitten (1943-1972), who also recorded the song while working with Neil Young’s backing band, Crazy Horse, though Stewart’s cover recording was a greater commercial success.
Sweety and I, and a couple of friends of ours, watched the One Night Only! DVD often and would usually replay “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” several times. (That song probably deserves a post of its own, sometime…)
A friend of Stewart’s had spotted Belle busking in London and helped her make contact with his manager; later, she appeared with Stewart at his 2004 show. In 2008, we learned from one of my nieces that Belle had released several recordings of her own: Slipping Under (2003) and Acoustic (2008), both of which I purchased in the iTunes Store. Lost in the Shortcut (2009) is the latest work of hers I could find on the internet.
“New Clothes” comes from the album Slipping Under. The song be the perspective of one abandoned by a lover who was unable to commit to the relationship. Belle’s sound is a cross between folk and pop, and her recordings are lovely things to listen to from time to time, recalling fun times and music shared with friends and family, and thinking of the things we will do together when we can gather again. (Maybe even in some new clothes.)
Now you know a little about why this is my song of the day for today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Here’s the audio for the song from the Amy Belle YouTube topic channel:
Full, unofficial lyrics are available courtesy of Musixmatch.com.
Song of the Day for Today 