A Daily Dose of Music for Your Heart and Soul
Hi again, friends!
I’ve heard that today’s post went into the the junk folder for some email subscribers. That’s probably because of the more than 20 links the emailed post contained, since I included a top-21 songs list.
So here is a single link to today’s post, with my apologies for the extra email if the original message did make it through your spam blocker:
Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 30, No. 6: Allegretto tranquillo: Venetianisches Gondellied
Steve
I first heard today’s selection nearly 40 years ago. I recall sitting with one of my brothers and his friend, and they were helping me learn to identify classical music pieces playing on the friend’s stereo. I was hopeless at guessing as I didn’t know enough about the periods, styles, and characteristics of each composer’s music. I know more now, and I still have a lot to learn.
One piece playing that night truly mesmerized me. It was a piano work by the German early Romantic composer, pianist, organist and conductor Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) from his Lieder ohne Worte (Songs without Words); what I came to know later was a series of eight books each with six short piano pieces composed between 1829 and 1845. The piece played was from Book 2 (written 1833-1834, when Mendelssohn was only in his 20s!), Opus 30, No. 6, the Allegretto tranquillo: Venetianisches Gondellied (“Venetian Boat Song”). A passage from it that completely captured me starts at 1:32 in the video I chose for today’s post. Years ago, my brother referred to that part as a “terribly hot trill.” It repeats a few times in this sublime but occasionally dramatic and highly technical piece. I can imagine sitting in a gondola, floating along the canals of Venice as this music plays.
This is an extraordinary, soulful piece of music. I found a few versions on YouTube, and the one below was the most beautifully played, partly because of the slower, highly-controlled tempo in the pianist’s excellent interpretation of the work.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thank you for joining me here.
Here is the video of Italian pianist Roberto Giordano (b. 1981) performing in the Chiesa di San Giorgio, Salerno, Italy, from his YouTube channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
PS: As I mention in yesterday’s post, I’m pushing “pause” on the blog for a few weeks to take care of some other priorities. But… you didn’t think I was just going to step away and leave with nothing to listen to, did you?
Here in no particular order are some favourite songs from my 750 posts so far on Song of the Day for Today. I invite you to listen to one a day, or all at once, or pick and choose! (You may notice that, over time, there are some formatting differences among the posts, as I changed layout elements, added full lyrics, included the album names/years issued for the songs, and signed my posts…)
I’ll see you again in a few weeks!
“Rest your head
You worry too much
It’s going to be alright
When times get rough
You can fall back on us
Don’t give up
Please don’t give up”
—Kate Bush from “Don’t Give Up, by Peter Gabriel
For a while now, I’ve had a few notes jotted down about today’s selection, a wonderful and expressive duet of English singer, songwriter, producer and dancer Kate Bush (b. 1958) with English musician, songwriter, singer, record producer and activist Peter Gabriel (b. 1950).
Gabriel wrote the song inspired by historical photographs he saw that were taken during the Great Depression, when much of the world fell into a decade of economic and social decline after the United States stock market crash in 1929. It was a tough time for most people as there wasn’t a lot of aid out there to help them get by. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we support each other in this life and how helping someone gives us a lift. And, taking this thought further, how the act of receiving help is actually a gift to the person providing the support.
With all this in mind, today felt like a good day to share this lovely piece of music with you.
[Peter Gabriel]
“In this proud land we grew up strong
We were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail
No fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I’ve changed my face, I’ve changed my name
But no-one wants you when you lose
[Kate Bush]
Don’t give up ’cause you have friends
Don’t give up you’re not beaten yet
Don’t give up I know you can make it good
[PG]
Though I saw it all around
Never thought that I could be affected
Thought that we’d be last to go
It is so strange the way things turn
Drove the night toward my home
The place that I was born, on the lakeside
As daylight broke, I saw the earth
The trees had burned down to the ground
[KB]
Don’t give up you still have us
Don’t give up we don’t need much of anything
Don’t give up ’cause somewhere there’s a place where we belong
Rest your head
You worry too much
It’s going to be alright
When times get rough
You can fall back on us
Don’t give up
Please don’t give up
[PG]
Got to walk out of here
I can’t take anymore
Going to stand on that bridge
Keep my eyes down below
Whatever may come
and whatever may go
That river’s flowing
That river’s flowing
Moved on to another town
Tried hard to settle down
For every job, so many men
So many men no-one needs
[KB]
Don’t give up ’cause you have friends
Don’t give up you’re not the only one
Don’t give up no reason to be ashamed
Don’t give up you still have us
Don’t give up now we’re proud of who you are
Don’t give up you know it’s never been easy
Don’t give up ’cause I believe there’s a place
There’s a place
Where we belong
[Outro]
Don’t give up
Don’t give up
Don’t give up”
“Don’t Give Up,” by Peter Gabriel.
Lyrics retrieved and annotated from the notes section of the YouTube video post.
“Don’t Give Up comes from Peter Gabriel’s fifth studio album, So (1986), a record he co-produced with Canadian musician, songwriter and producer Daniel Lanois (b. 1951) and collaborated with other artists, including Bush, American art-pop/avant-pop/electronic composer, musician and film director Laurie Anderson (b. 1947), and Senegalese composer, singer-songwriter, musician, actor and politician Youssou N’Dour (b. 1959). Both Gabriel and Lanois have also teamed up with one of my all-time favourite artists, someone you’ll find a lot of on this blog, English musician, composer, producer, author and visual artist Brian Eno (b. 1948).
To me, the word collaboration is sometimes a fancy way of referring to helping someone with a project. “Yeah, let’s do a collab…” On this blog, you might find there’s a maze of the interconnection of artists among many of the songs I feature (which I try to illustrate by mentioning or linking their names to such shared works, or simply linking to previous solo works I’ve posted about… and, there are plenty of links in today’s post to get you started!). So maybe life really does imitate art… or is it the other way around? At any rate, helping is a theme I’ve been pondering lately, something I feel is essential in making our world—and art—so much better.
And today, I also want to let you know that I am going to hit “pause” on the blog for two or three weeks following tomorrow’s Classical Sunday post. Spring has sprung: there’s stuff to do and help to give (and receive), plus I also need to focus on other priorities for a bit.
I will miss you, my blogging community, while not posting, though this website and its 750 blog posts will still be live. I invite you to cruise around my index/search page to search for songs/artists… you’re welcome to visit for as long as you like. And hey, I’ll still be around if you comment on a post or want to contact me with a general question—or send me a request for when the pause button gets released.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks so much for joining me here. I truly appreciate your visits, likes and comments.
Please enjoy the official video from the Peter Gabriel YouTube channel:
Be well,
Steve
A song I often hear on Apple Music is “Everyday Is Like Sunday,” recorded by the English-American rock band, Pretenders. It’s title is a pleasant reminder to me whenever I hear the song that, in retirement, each day feels like it’s on a weekend.
I remember the Pretenders from soon after they formed in 1978, and their early music gained popularity soon after I hit adulthood. Songs that dominated the radio airwaves included “Brass in Pocket” from their 1979 debut, self-titled album, and “Middle of the Road” and “Back on the Chain Gang” from their third, Learning to Crawl (1984) which also included the slower ballad “My City Was Gone.” These and many other tunes showcase frontperson, lead singer and primary songwriter Chrissie Hynde’s smooth vocals, which contrast with her appearance which combines hippy, hard rock and new wave vibes.
Born in the USA in 1951, Hynde moved to London, England, in 1973 in search of a band. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to strike up a musical act, she founded the Pretenders in 1978. The group remains active today, though Hyndes and drummer Martin Chambers (b. 1951) are the only original members remaining; two other founding members died in the early 1980s from complications of drug use.
The band has an impressive discography with 11 studio albums (the latest of which was issued in 2020), four live records, four compilations, an EP, six video albums and 54 singles. And I didn’t know until today that “Everyday Is Like Sunday” is not one of Pretenders’ original compositions but rather a cover of a Morrissey recording from his 1988 debut solo album, Viva Hate.
“Trudging slowly over wet sand, back to the bench
Where your clothes were stolen
This is the coastal town that they forgot to close down
Armageddon, come Armageddon, come Armageddon, come
Everyday is like Sunday, everyday is silent and gray
Hide on the promenade scratch out a postcard
And how I dearly wish I was not here
In the seaside town that they forgot to bomb
Come, come, come, nuclear bomb
Everyday is like Sunday, everyday is silent and gray
Trudging back over pebbles and sand
And a strange dust lands on your hands and on your face
On your face, on your face, on your face
Everyday is like Sunday, win yourself a cheap tray
Share some greased tea with me, everyday is silent and grey
Everyday is like Sunday, everyday is like Sunday
Everyday is like Sunday, everyday is like Sunday”
“Everyday Is Like Sunday,” by Morrissey and Stephen Street.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
The magazine American Songwriter says in an article from five years ago that the song is about “the dreariness of a tourist town out of season,” which for some strange reason had the lyricist Morrissey calling out for nuclear armageddon. Seems harsh.
After listening to Morrissey’s original today, I prefer the Pretenders’ rendition. While both versions feature string sections, the cover has a cleaner melody and a more layered sound, giving it a softer edge and creating a more contemplative mood. I also hear a subtle country twang in one of the guitars.
Interestingly, my grammar-checker picked up the song title as improper usage, which I had only considered after I read that warning. And for what it’s worth, I agree: “Everyday” means ordinary or typical and describes something used every day. “Every day,” however, means “each day,” which is what I think Morrissey and Street were going for, as in, “each day is like Sunday… in the dreariness of an off-season resort.” Oh well, not for me to correct a published work… I very much like the song, regardless, and I hope you do, too.
The Pretenders’ version of “Everyday Is Like Sunday” comes from the original soundtrack album for the cross-country road trip film Boys on the Side (1995) and also appears on the band’s four-side, 81-track compilation album Pirate Radio (2006).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the official audio from the Pretenders YouTube channel:
And for comparison’s sake, here’s Morrissey’s original:
So, which version do you prefer? Please drop me a note in the comments section and let me know!
Warmly,
Steve
It’s been over a year and a half since I posted something by the alternative rock band Metric. While I don’t listen to them as much as I used to in the early 2010s, they are still one of my favourite Canadian bands.
The two previous Metric songs I’ve shared are “Artificial Nocturne” and “Gimme Sympathy,” both from the deluxe, expanded version of their 2012 blockbuster album, Synthetica.
“Breathing Underwater” is an uptempo piece that I believe is about persistence in facing the challenges life brings and adapting to changes beyond our control. It’s about accepting our existence instead of looking for something fake to replace it. And it’s about realizing that everything in life is flawed, including our heroes… so it’s not wise to elevate anyone too highly in our perceptions, as that can become fantasy; they’re human and will probably disappoint us sometimes. In short: stay grounded, and stick with the real thing.
“I’m the blade
You’re the knife
I’m the weight
You’re the kite
They were right when they said
We were breathing underwater
Out of place all the time
In a world that wasn’t mine to take
I’ll wait
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
I’m the blade
You’re the knife
I’m the weight
You’re the kite
They were right when they said we should never meet our heroes
When they bowed at their feet, in the end it wasn’t me
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Nights are days
We’ll beat a path through the mirrored maze
I can see the end
But it hasn’t happened yet
I can see the end
But it hasn’t happened yet
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Am I breathing underwater?
Am I breathing underwater?”
“Breathing Underwater,” by Emily Haines and James Shaw.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The official video for the song is a mashup of quick edits of indoor and outdoor scenes from the Synthetica series of concerts, studio photoshoot scenes, and various backstage and street scenes while on tour. I particularly enjoy the brief clip starting at 0:22, where the band frontperson and lead singer Emily Haines skips across the stage to the beat of the music in front of a massive outdoor crowd. It looks like she’s having such a fun time! The indoor concert scenes remind me of the concert, which my sweety and I saw in November 2012. It was a fantastic show with high energy and excellent music.
In 2012 Haines told Spin magazine Synthetica is “about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. Synthetica is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It’s about what is real vs what is artificial.”
I remember the release of the album was a considerable and ambitious, multi-pronged marketing effort for Metric and their label. They went all-in, producing three different versions of the album, and creating a word hunt game on their website, allowing listeners to stream the album a month before its June 2012 release. Playing with Haines’s quote about originals vs. copies or fakes, they also launched a mobile app that allowed listeners to remix songs on the album, blurring the lines between the original and reproductions. I also remember many clever ads with themes from the album, and of course the music videos. These elements worked together to successfully push the new music out, selling high numbers quickly in Canada and the USA pre- and upon release.
Synthetica is one of those albums I enjoy playing in its entirety occasionally, and I always appreciate the bouncy, driving beat of today’s selection.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the official video from the metricmusic YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Content Warning:
This post contains discussion about child abuse.
A few days ago, when surfing through YouTube video suggestions, I saw a video of a 1994 BBC interview with American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (b. 1959). In the video, she speaks of her song, “Tom’s Diner,” a restaurant in New York, New York, USA, where she used to eat breakfast when living and working there. She had envisioned that song as a piece for vocal and piano, but as she didn’t play piano or know anyone who did, she decided to perform and record it a capella.
Then this morning, sitting in the car dealership waiting for the service staff to work on our car, the shop’s public address system mainly played non-descript, forgettable, but some intrusively bland background music. Then, Vega’s single “Luka” played. “Luka” follows the track “Tom’s Diner,” the opener on Vega’s second studio album, Solitude Standing (1987).
Working downtown in the 1980s, a new record release was a great excuse to shop at the record stores on the bus ride home. I remember listening to the album a lot, and I recall how the song was innovative in talking about societal issues at a time when that just wasn’t done.
Nowadays, many people and celebrities are open about being abused or living with mental health issues. Some consider it oversharing, while others find it validating the emotions they’ve suffered in silence throughout their lives. Speaking up normalizes the experiences of the self and others and is a very courageous act I’ve been privileged to witness several times.
“Luka” received massive radio airplay and brought Vega significant commercial success and critical acclaim. She used this platform of fame to tell of her inspiration for the piece: in a documentary for Dutch TV, she said, “I wanted to write about child abuse… I had to think of how to write about a subject that no one talks about.”
Explaining further on a Swedish TV special, Vega said, “A few years ago, I used to see this group of children playing in front of my building, and there was one of them, whose name was Luka, who seemed a little bit distinctive from the other children. I always remembered his name, and I always remembered his face, and I didn’t know much about him, but he just seemed set apart from these other children that I would see playing. And his character is what I based the song Luka on. In the song, the boy Luka is an abused child—in real life I don’t think he was. I think he was just different.”
“My name is Luka
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes, I think you’ve seen me before
If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was
I think it’s ’cause I’m clumsy
I try not to talk too loud
Maybe it’s because I’m crazy
I try not to act too proud
They only hit until you cry
And after that, you don’t ask why
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore
Yes, I think I’m okay
Walked into the door again
Well, if you ask, that’s what I’ll say
And it’s not your business anyway
I guess I’d like to be alone
With nothing broken, nothing thrown
Just don’t ask me how I am
Just don’t ask me how I am
Just don’t ask me how I am
My name is Luka
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes, I think you’ve seen me before
If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was
They only hit until you cry
And after that you don’t ask why
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore”
“Luka,” by Suzanne Vega.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I haven’t heard “Luka” for many, many years, but as soon as it played this morning, I recalled the discussions in the 1980s, which, too slowly, have opened up the way for shining a light on society’s dark secrets, leading to protection of victims (though progress on that, too, has been far too slow and really should be more of a priority for governments that seem more motivated to cut taxes, benefitting mostly those who are wealthy).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the official music video from the Suzanne Vega YouTube channel. And, a factoid I found in Wikipedia: the Luka character is played by Jason Cerbone, who was later cast in a child’s part in the TV series The Sopranos (1999-2007).
With kind wishes,
Steve
A note to readers: If you or a child you know is experiencing abuse, there are resources to help.
In Canada:
Kids Help Phone: https://kidshelpphone.ca
In the USA:
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: https://childhelphotline.org
Elsewhere in the World:
Contact your local family violence prevention organization, shelter or police agency for assistance if you or someone you know is in danger.
Life is naturally full of ups and downs, and yesterday was a perfect example of this.
No sooner had I finished publishing my post on The Big Moon’s fun, vibrant and uplifting “Your Light” did I see a news segment announcing that Canadian guitarist and singer Tim Bachman (b. 1951), a founding member of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, a world-famous band from my city of Winnipeg, Manitoba had died. Then, near bedtime, I saw an news headline telling that Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist Gordon Lightfoot (b. 1938) had also passed. He was and is a “national treasure,” as the Canadian-born musician Robbie Robertson (b. 1943) dubbed him.
It was a sad day for the Canadian music industry and fans who have listened to these two men’s music for many years. And, it’s alarming to think of all the many artists of the 1960s and ’70s from around the world who have crossed over from this existence in recent years, gifted people who created so much beauty and inspiration in their lives and are now gone.
Lightfoot was another standard in the “playlist” of my childhood home, popular with the whole family, and all his songs always take me back to that time. I remember his music as a steadying kind of influence, and a reliable friend in solitude.
A leading figure in Canadian folk, folk-rock and country music, Lightfoot is known for advancing the folk-pop sound of the ’60s and ’70s. And biographer Nicholas Jennings said of him, “His name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness.” Lightfoot’s 1970 hit “If You Could Read My Mind,” the lyrics of which were inspired by his divorce, speaks of that latter emotion (please see my post from two years ago on that song). It’s a beautiful and poignant piece, a favourite of Sweety’s and mine.
Jennings’ statement on the emotions Lightfoot wrote and sang of is represented so masterfully in his song, “Beautiful.” This morning I sat with the Apple Music playlist, Gordon Lightfoot Essentials, and this slow-tempo piece again captured my heart and soul with its pure, soft, gorgeous melody and sentiments on deep, abiding love.
“At times I just don’t know
How you could be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you
And you were made for me
And I know that I won’t ever change
‘Cause we’ve been friends
Through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
Laughing eyes and smiling face
It seems so lucky just to have the right
Of telling you with all my might
You’re beautiful tonight
And I know that you will never stray
‘Cause you’ve been that way
From day to day
For such a long, long time
And when you hold me tight
How could life be anything but beautiful
I think that I was made for you
And you were made for me
And I know that I won’t ever change
‘Cause we’ve been friends
Through rain or shine
For such a long, long time
And I must say it means so much to me
To be the one who’s telling you
I’m telling you
That you’re beautiful”
“Beautiful,” by Gordon Lightfoot.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
“Beautiful” is the closing track on Lightfoot’s seventh studio album, Don Quixote (1972).
At times like these, realizing that such a vital and enriching voice is gone forever isn’t easy. However, the music of Gordon Lightfoot lives on in his many recordings and the memories of those fortunate to witness him perform.
Farewell, faithful troubadour.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Here’s the audio from the Gordon Lightfoot YouTube channel:
With love,
Steve
After consulting my long list of possible songs and then cruising around YouTube suggestions this afternoon, I found a fabulous, upbeat tune by a band I hadn’t heard of before, The Big Moon, an alternative rock band from England.
“Your Light” is a light, indie rock number that starts with a sustained synth/vocal chord, then an electric keyboard reminiscent of the 1980s, then the basic drum beat, before the “four-to-the-floor guitars and pianos” (as lead singer Juliette Jackson refers to them) and drums join in at 0:30 with a lively, toe-tapping road trip beat.
The official video for the song was filmed in a farmer’s field in Essex, England, and shows the band members joining Jackson on a bike ride, in formation along a paved path then on tractor trails, as they perform various moves choreographed to the song’s playful and witty lyrics. What fun!
“Don’t don’t don’t don’t say another sorry today
One more time is more than you mean anyway
Lately I’ve been fine, floating away
Got so out of touch and started to levitate
Now we just hang around like a haircut growing out
This planet never needed gravity to drag you down
But days like this (days like this)
I forget (I forget)
My darkness (my darkness)
And remember your light
And remember your light
Don’t don’t don’t don’t blame another night on the moon
Suntime’s faith just sings to a different tune
Why do you have to take it out so hard on yourself
We were promised the world, so was everyone else
So maybe it’s an end ’cause this don’t feel like a stop
But every generation probably thought they were the last
And days like this (days like this)
I forget (I forget)
My darkness (my darkness)
And remember your light
And remember your light
Oh oh ohhh
(Do I wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself)
(Do I wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself)
I wanna speak but I’m wondering how
And I wonder since when was my voice a foreign object in my mouth
But what you’re doing for me
I wish I could do, I could do it for you
Yeah what you’re doing for me
I wish I could do
I could do it for you (I could do it for you)
‘Cause days like this (days like this)
I forget (I forget)
All of this (all of this)
And remember your light
And remember your light
And remember your light
(I don’t wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself)
And remember your light
(I don’t wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself
Wanna lose myself)
And remember your light”
“Your Light,” by Juliette Jackson.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
“Your Light” was released as a single in the fall of 2019, leading up to the January 2020 issue of the band’s second studio album, Walking Like We Do.
On the band’s intentions for the album, Jackson told Apple Music, “I’d love to tell you that we made an album to distract you from the scary things in the real world, but it’s more about facing up to them and finding your strength in turbulent times.” And about the second track, “Your Light,” she said, “I was thinking about how hard it is to tell if things are worse now or if they have always been this way and I just grew up and started paying attention. It feels like we are at this unprecedented tipping point, but then it occurred to me that every generation before us probably had a moment when they thought they were going to be the last generation on earth. This song is about freeing yourself from all of it, just for a moment. It’s a thanks to the one person or thing in your life that knows how to come in and open your curtains and light up the darkness—and restore your strength so that when you clatter back down into the real world, you have the strength to fight your battles, whatever they are.”
We all lived in a much different world when this album came out, two months before the World Health Organization declared a worldwide pandemic in March 2020. It’s noteable that many of the comments on the YouTube video post refer to the song raising people’s spirits during the Covid-19 pandemic. With 7.7 million views, people have clearly caught the song’s positive vibe and enjoyed it. It’s the type of content that should be filling people’s timelines instead of the online arguments and vitriol that consume so much of the time, energy and good feelings in our world.
Whether today has been a good or a wobbly start to your week, I hope this song will add infectious positivity and fun to your life.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official video on the NME Records VEVO/YouTube channel:
And here’s an episode of NME Records’ Song Stories in which Jackson and drummer Fern Ford talk about the making of the song and video.
Ride on,
Steve
Hello, and welcome to Classical Sunday!
When I finally and somewhat reluctantly signed up for Apple Music about two years ago, I browsed around to find playlists I’d enjoy. One of these is Classical A.M. It’s been quite a while since I listened to this set, which I find is good background music for a quiet morning. (I say I joined somewhat reluctantly because, as I’ve mentioned before, it concerns me that streaming services pay so little to music creators. That’s one of the things that is so messed up about the music industry, but that could be the topic of an essay, never mind a music blog post. I digress…)
Anyway, starting the playlist on “shuffle” this morning as the sun peeked over the roof of our neighbour’s house, I heard a piece I didn’t recall listening to before: a larghetto, the third movement from Sonata No. 4 for Flute and Basso continuo in G Major by the Swedish Baroque composer Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758). (Vocabulary.com defines larghetto as “a composition or passage played in a slow tempo slightly faster than largo but slower than adagio.”)
Roman was a prominent figure in the Swedish Baroque period, occupying leadership positions in the royal chapel and amassing a large catalogue of work throughout his career. He became known as the “father of Swedish music” and the “Swedish Handel.” He retired from his royal duties in 1745 due to hearing loss.
The Apple Music playlist version of today’s selection piece is played by the duo Flauguissimo, formed in 2008 by flautist Yu-Wei Hu and guitarist Johan Lofving. It comes from the album Roman: To the Northern Star (2023) by the duo, joined by Magdalena Loth-Hill, Emily Atkinson and Henrik Persson.
The piece is a perfect example of the rhythmic and melodic qualities of Baroque music. I listened to other movements from the Sonata and didn’t enjoy them as much as this one; its slower tempo appeals to me, which is pretty consistent with my classical music preferences.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
The whole album is posted to YouTube as a playlist on the Flaugissimo topic channel, and here is the Larghetto:
With warm wishes,
Steve
As I sat down to start writing a post today, the name that came to mind was Gene Autry (1907–1998). I have no idea why I thought of him, but I figured, why not go with it?
I suppose the idea of getting back in the saddle might come from the fact it’s now outdoor cycling season after a very long winter. I know many cyclists who ride outdoors all year, even in our cold, icy, snowy Winnipeg winters and props to them, but that is not something I can ever picture myself doing.
Known as “the Singing Cowboy,” the actor, singer, composer, rodeo performer and baseball owner acted in 93 films, hosted a television series, and was one of the leading figures in country and western music. After working in radio, Autry was signed to his first record deal in 1929. In 1939 he released a single he co-wrote with country and western singer-songwriter and actor Ray Whitley (1901-1979), a revised version of Whitley’s song, “Back in the Saddle Again.” The song eventually became more associated with Autry and was one of his best-known songs.
“I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the Longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly Jimson weed
Back in the saddle again
Ridin’ the range once more
Totin’ my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin’ to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again
I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the Longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly Jimson weed
Back in the saddle again
Ridin’ the range once more
Totin’ my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin’ to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again”
“Back in the Saddle Again,” by Ray Whitely and Gene Autry.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song is a celebrated ode to the cowboy life in American culture. Nowadays, it is also likely to be viewed through a lens of colonialism and the devastating impacts that movement had on the First Peoples of what is now North America, who are now reclaiming their rich spiritual traditions, culture and identity. Either way, it’s part of the multicultural landscape of the continent we now share, though equity in wealth and opportunity is still far off.
While known for his country and western repertoire, Autry also recorded a great many Christmas songs. In addition to its release as a single, “Back in the Saddle Again” is the title track of a 1966 Autry record, and it has appeared on several compilation albums. In Apple Music, more than 50 releases of the song are attributed to Autry! Likewise, numerous official posts on the official Gene Autry channel exist on YouTube. The song also appears on the soundtrack of the movie Sleepless in Seattle (1993).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Here is an official version of the song:
With best wishes,
Steve
On the way home yesterday afternoon after a delightful day caring for our youngest grandson, today’s selection played on Apple CarPlay in the car.
I always smile when I hear the song as it came up on random play in early September 2022 when I was working late into the night on that election campaign I mention in yesterday’s post. It was a challenging night, as they often were, pulling together information for an announcement the following day, and things were not coming together easily. After a lot of work and collaboration back and forth with three of us working remotely and simultaneously in Google Documents, my colleagues were happy with the direction I was going with the press release. They claimed I “saved the day.” It was about that time that the song played, and I laughed out loud at the playful notion of having saved the world with my work.
“I Saved the World Today” is an exquisite piece of music with a sense of hope that builds through the song. And the video is remarkable, too; I don’t recall seeing it before. The video starts in darkness, with light coming up to show Eurythmics members Annie Lennox (b. 1954) and Dave Stewart (b. 1952) and their backing band in a sepia-toned presentation. After the first chorus, the lighting on the band and backup singers (doing that distinctive 1980s club dance move) spreads to reveal an orchestra, and we notice men in military uniforms playing the instruments. At one point, senior officers in dress uniforms stand up and walk off the stage to a table where Lennox and Stewart are seated while signing a peace treaty to end “the bad thing.”
“Monday finds you like a bomb
That’s been left ticking there too long
You’re bleeding
Some days there’s nothing left to learn
From the point of no return
You’re leaving
Hey Hey I saved the world today
Everybody’s happy now
The bad thing’s gone away
And everybody’s happy now
The good thing’s here to stay
Please let it stay
There’s a million mouths to feed
And I’ve got everything I need
I’m breathing
And there’s a hurting thing inside
But I’ve got everything to hide
I’m grieving
Hey Hey I saved the world today
Everybody’s happy now
The bad thing’s gone away
And everybody’s happy now
The good thing’s here to stay
Please let it stay
Let it stay
Let it stay
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo the good thing
Hey Hey I saved the world today
Everybody’s happy now
The bad thing’s gone away
And everybody’s happy now
The good thing’s here to stay
Please let it stay
Hey Hey I saved the world today (Everybody’s happy now)
Everybody’s happy now
The bad thing’s gone away (Everybody’s happy now)
And everybody’s happy now
The good thing’s here to stay
Please let it, oh let it”
“I Saved the World Today,” by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.
Lyrics retrieved from notes section of the YouTube video post.
During the signing, there’s an unexpected occurrence, adding some drama. I wonder if it means they didn’t actually save the day, though I prefer to think of it as a kind of homage to the losses many would have suffered. Ending a war never negates the suffering caused by it.
As the video progresses, that hopeful mood becomes more evident as Lennox and the backup vocalists dance and sing joyfully. At the end of the video, she stares into the camera as if to ask the listener, “What are YOU going to do to save the world today?” It’s an important question that I think underscores the beauty of the song and video.
“I Saved the World Today” comes from the band’s eighth studio album, Peace (1999).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the official music video from the Eurythmics YouTube channel:
Did you notice Lennox and Stewart were wearing matching sunglasses with “Annie” on one side and “Dave” on the other? Pretty cool.
In peace,
Steve
On a Saturday in October of last year, preparing for our weekly pizza and movie night after a massive bike ride, and when I was close to finishing a particularly trying five-month volunteer election campaign role, I heard the alternative/soft rock song “Idlewild” play on Apple Music.
This piece of music has stuck with me since the autumn, and it’s the kind of song that makes me excited to be blogging about music. It’s not exactly what I’d call moody or haunting, but it has a slight combination of those qualities that makes it quite mesmerizing and very compelling. The video for “Idlewild,” a stunning piece of cinematography, takes this feeling a little further with its film noir quality and the mystique of the characters.
“Idlewild” is by the Scottish rock band Travis, which formed in Glasgow in 1990 and is still active. The band took its name from the Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017) character in the Wim Wenders (b. 1945) film Paris, Texas (1984).
The song and video are filled with magic and brilliance. The male figure, played by the band’s lead singer Fran Healy, has a bit of a gumshoe affect to him, like a Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) character, and I observe a wry kind of smile. The woman, played by featured English singer-songwriter Josephine Oniyama (b. 1963), who comes up behind the man on a walk through darkened city streets during a snowfall, adds mystery to the story, as do the faceless characters that follow them. Who is she? She appears to care for him. Are they lovers? Are they breaking up? Later I wonder, has she come to save him?
“Once upon a row of houses
Tight skirts and baggy trousers
Grey men in cheap disguises
High hopes and higher rises
Here lived a girl who was on a mission
Here lived a boy who was under suspicion
Tried hard to stay beside her
Until the devil put his seed inside her
How?
You know how
Sleep too long and the sand runs out
So close to midnight
Time to fly
Do or die
Stung in the headlights
Here we lie
High and dry
The world will never see you ’till you open your eyes
Say goodnight
Kill the light
The world will never hear you tonight
Idlewild
For two years he tried to reach her
Worshiped the ground beneath her
She, she was always running
He, he saw the end was coming
But now the story takes a turn
She wakes up and her sheets are burning
Head down against the fire
Now, now, now the table turns
She won’t learn
Sleep too long and your bed starts burning
So close to midnight
Idlewild, you don’t know
You never need to
Here we lie
High and dry
The world will never see you ’till you open your eyes
Say goodnight
Kill the light
The world will never hear you tonight
Idlewild
Idlewild
I thought that we were good together
I thought that we could weather the weather
Whether or not that wise is the word for us
That high hopes are only there because, because
Because I thought the only thing between us
Was something shallow, not a river so deep, we see it’s
Dredge up the wreckage our parents left us
Lay it on the banks to rot and fester
Now a skeleton hanging like a death star
And grim and green in dark Manchester
I don’t want to hear it now
Here we lie
High and dry
The world will never see you ’till you open your eyes
Say goodnight, kill the light
The world will never hear you tonight
Idlewild
Idlewild
Kill the light
Idlewild
Kill the light”
“Idlewild,” by Fran Healy and Josephine Oniyama.
Lyrics retrieved from SongMeanings.com.
The vocals add to the richness of images, textures, sounds, and drama; in a kind of reversal of stereotypical gender roles, Healy’s singing is on the soft side for a man, juxtaposed with Oniyama’s slightly husky voice. The rhythm of Healy’s spoken-sung verses is captivating, contrasted by Oniyama’s deep, soulfully sung chorus. Their writing and delivery of the lines are masterful, particularly Healy’s use of poetic rhythm and repetition in the verses: “I thought that we were good together / I thought that we could weather the weather / Whether or not that wise is the word for us / That high hopes are only there because, because / Because I thought the only thing between us / Was something shallow, not a river so deep, we see it’s / Dredge up the wreckage our parents left us…” Ohhh.. isn’t that just brilliant?!
The last verse tells of a deeper divide between them than the man may have believed; in the end, even as they embrace passionately, it is unclear whether they will be together or if she is rescuing him with the balloon that will float him to freedom and contentment. A cliffhanger, if you will.
In addition to appearing on this song and releasing three of her own albums and several singles, Oniyama has backed up numerous musicians, including Michael Kiwanuka (b. 1987; please click the link to check out some songs I’ve posted by him after you’re finished here).
“Idlewild” is the second-last track on Travis’s eighth studio album, Everything at Once (2016).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official music video from the Travis YouTube channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
Today’s a rainy, windy day here in Winnipeg, Canada (hey, it’s better than another spring snowstorm!), so it’s a perfect day to curl up with some comfort music.
I’ve often shared songs that I heard during my childhood. And when I think of that time, an artist that comes to mind so often is the American folk singer, musician, author and actor Burl Ives (1909-1995).
Ives’ career spanned from 1929 to 1993, and his list of recordings, books and films is immense. Among my favourite songs of his are “Little White Duck,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and today’s selection, “Mockin’ Bird Hill.” Many years after his death, some of his Christmas recordings still appear on the Billboard magazine holiday charts.
Ives appeared to be a big man, and I always felt in awe of his gentle presence, though I only knew him through his voice on the record player or occasional sightings on TV specials. Interestingly, many songs he sang were under three minutes, and a few were shorter than that; many were traditional folk songs.
“Mockin’ Bird Hill” was based on a Swedish waltz, “Livet i Finnskogarna” (Life in the Finn Woods), which Swedish accordionist Calle Jularbo (1893-1966) recorded in 1915. Jularbo then co-wrote “Mockin’ Bird Hill” with lyrics by American songwriter and performer George Vaughn Horton (1911-1988).
“When the sun in the morning peeps over the hill
And kisses the roses ’round my window sill
Then my heart fills with gladness when I hear the trill
Of the birds in the treetops on Mockingbird Hill
Tra la la, tweedle dee dee dee
It gives me a thrill
To wake up in the morning
To the mockingbird’s trill
Tra la la tweedle dee dee dee
There’s peace and good will
You’re welcome as the flowers
On Mockingbird Hill
Got a three-cornered plow and an acre to till
And a mule that I bought for a ten-dollar bill
There’s a tumble-down shack and a rusty old mill
But it’s my Home Sweet Home up on Mockingbird Hill
Tra la la, tweedle dee dee dee
It gives me a thrill
To wake up in the morning
To the mockingbird’s trill
Tra la la tweedle dee dee dee
There’s peace and good will
You’re welcome as the flowers
On Mockingbird Hill
When it’s late in the evening I climb up the hill
And survey all my kingdom while everything’s still
Only me and the sky and an old whippoorwill
Singin’ songs in the twilight on Mockingbird Hill
Tra la la, tweedle dee dee dee
It gives me a thrill
To wake up in the morning
To the mockingbird’s trill
Tra la la tweedle dee dee dee
There’s peace and good will
You’re welcome as the flowers
On Mockingbird Hill”
“Mockin’ Bird Hill,” by Calle Jularbo and George Vaughn Horton.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song appears on Ives’ 1961 album, The Versatile Burl Ives! Another famous version of the song was the 1951 single by American singer and actress Patti Page (1927-2013).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the audio from the Burl Ives YouTube topic channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
Content warning:
This post discusses issues of men’s violence against women.
Yesterday afternoon, as occasionally happens, I received a hands-free phone call from one of our sons while he was driving to his home from work.
He was excited to tell how he had just heard the “best song ever,” as he referred to “Woman in Chains,” by the English pop/new wave band Tears for Fears. I said that he would have heard this song many years ago as, in our home, I played the record a lot as I was (and am) a big fan of Tears for Fears. We discussed the brilliant, rich production style of their albums. And, being the older guy I am, I couldn’t help but comment on how amazing it was to see that today, the band’s founding members, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith (both b. 1961 in England), look remarkably similar to the way they did when they exploded onto the new wave music scene more than forty years ago, evading most of the often grizzled look that comes from decades of rock music and all its trimmings.
One of the things that drew me to Tears for Fears was the magnificently clean sound of their production and, of course, the unique sound they brought to a musical world that had been upended by punk rock and was finding its way in the post-punk milieu. Tears for Fears brought it all: powerful ballads, anthems, and oratories, seeking justice and peace in a fragile world.
In a (unjustifiably) mediocre review of the then-new album The Seeds of Love (1989), a Los Angeles Times newspaper writer described the opening track as a “feminist anthem,” which I feel is a fitting description of the song. The album, however, is a banger that stands the test of time, as do all their early works, in my opinion. (I can’t comment on their releases past Elemental, a 1993 post-breakup Tears for Fears release by Orzabal, as I didn’t follow the band’s discography after that one.)
The “Woman in Chains” video opens with cutaway shots of the band, a man training as a boxing fighter, and a woman dancing in a men’s club. It becomes clear the woman and man are a couple and that he brings a fierce case of male toxicity to the relationship. While his craft is violence, he has allowed it to permeate his whole life in subtle or dramatic ways: at the breakfast table, he breaks that cardinal rule of a “civilized” home by drinking from the carton instead of pouring himself a glass, and rather than being grateful for being served a lovely plate of food, he is mean, brutally handling her. Even his attempts to initiate lovemaking are sullied by violence. She, by stark contrast, is a vision of peace and pure, bright beauty as she faithfully hangs the laundry and makes him food, tending to their home with love in every move.
It seems the woman feels free only when dancing, albeit dressed “in chains” in a men’s club, a temple of sorts for leering at beautiful women. However, in the company of the other performers, likely also living in fear of abuse, she has community and, yes, an imperfect form of peace (as symbolized by a peace sign pendant that sways visibly on one of her friends’ necks).
The only time the man appears remotely contemplative is sitting, taping his knuckles, though he notices one hand shaking. Is it an illness or simply the inner rage he goes into again and again, instead of going within and working out his demons? Even when the woman initiates intimate comforting, he eventually runs from that, using wire fencing as his punching bag. He’s a mess.
She returns to the club and her sisters, feeling that it is a place she can be herself, safe with her sisters, even though the site does not honour the goddess but rather objectifies and exploits her. In the end, the man retreats to the solitude of a rooftop to tend to his birds; on the surface, perhaps a peaceful pursuit and the only time we observe him showing a sustained gentleness… but the birds, too, are imprisoned, too. No one in his life is free, including him.
“You better love lovin’ and you better behave
You better love lovin’ and you better behave
Woman in chains
Woman in chains
Calls her man the great white hope
Says she’s fine, she’ll always cope
Woman in chains
Woman in chains
Well I feel lying and waiting is a poor man’s deal
(A poor man’s deal)
And I feel hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel
(Your eyes of steel)
Well, it’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains, whoa
Woman in chains
Woman in chains
Trades her soul as skin and bones
(You better love lovin’ and you better behave)
Sells the only thing she owns
(You better love lovin’ and you better behave)
Woman in chains
(The sun and the moon)
Woman in chains
Men of stone
Men of stone
Well I feel deep in your heart there are wounds time can’t heal
(That time can’t heal)
And I feel somebody somewhere is trying to breathe
Well you know what I mean
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains
It’s under my skin but out of my hands
I’ll tear it apart but I won’t understand
I will not accept the greatness of man
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains
(Gone crazy, keeps woman in chains)
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
(The sun and the moon)
So free her
(The wind and the rain)
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
So free her
(The sun and the moon)
So free her
(The wind and the rain)
So free her”
“Woman in Chains,” by Roland Orzabal.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
As I describe above and in my post on “Sowing the Seeds of Love” (both it and today’s selection come from the 1989 album The Seeds of Love), Tears for Fears is a superb band that writes, plays, records and produces their music impeccably. Their sound is something I could listen to a lot.
“Woman in Chains” was the song that significantly boosted the career of American singer and pianist Oleta Adams (b. 1953), who had a prominent vocal part in it. And I didn’t know until reading up on the piece today that English drummer, musician, singer, songwriter and former Genesis member Phil Collins (b. 1951), forever famous for his 1991 drum riff on his debut solo rock single “In the Air Tonight,” played drums on the studio recording of “Woman in Chains.” (Collins also played extra drums on the English musician, author and producer Brian Eno’s 1974 experimental/glam rocker “Mother Whale Eyeless.” These musicians sure get around and help each other out sometimes!)
It would be wonderful to think that a brilliantly made song could have a powerful impact on men’s violence against women. And as several friends and I believe, music does have the power to bring about change. However, this persistent issue will take much more heart and soul work until we get to a place in the world “where women can feel free to walk at night,” as a dear Colorado friend has worked, wished and prayed for, for more than three decades. All men need to take this on. We need to do so much better.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the official music video from the Tears for Fears YouTube/VEVO channel:
With love,
Steve
A note to readers: If you or a woman you know is experiencing violence, there are resources to help.
In Canada:
Women’s Shelters Canada: https://endvaw.ca/external-resources/
In the USA:
National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/search-our-resources/
In Europe:
Women Against Violence Europe: https://wave-network.org/find-help/
Elsewhere in the World:
Contact your local women’s shelter or police agency for assistance if you or someone you know is in danger.
* * *
If you’re a man who is prone to violence, please contact counsellors, therapists or health authorities to be referred to a professional practitioner who can help you. You can also search online for men’s groups where you may find non-professional coaching on healthy masculinity, though this isn’t a substitute for professional help.
As this blog’s frequent visitors know, much of the music I share is from my collection, while many pieces come from Apple Music random play or YouTube suggestions. I am pretty faithful about liking/disliking songs on the streaming platforms to receive a “more tailored set of random selections” from them. Happily, the algorithms also stray into unfamiliar territory occasionally, bringing me songs like today’s selection, which I first heard a week ago.
So, “Sun in the Night” was an unexpected and pleasant surprise, and I knew as soon as I heard it, it was one to share with you. It’s a lovely slow-dance-tempo tune that I feel is about how true companionship is a grounding presence in one’s life. Much like the sun at night, we may not always see or be mindful of the constancy of that companion, whether the relationship is intimate or platonic. Still, we know that person will be there like they were yesterday, today, tomorrow, and every day that will follow, keeping us company and helping us when life becomes difficult, and we will be the same for them. It’s that steadiness, like Earth’s constant rotation, that reassures us of what life wants to offer us.
“How many times in your life have you ever had the feeling
That the way you live is crazy and there must be something else
When you look at the sky does it ever cross your mind
There could be something you’ve forgotten that won’t ever go away
Like the sun in the night
Like the sun in the night
You’ll always be with me baby.. be in my soul
You’ll always be with me, wherever I go
Gets too much after a while trying to always hide your feelings
When the world is going crazy and you keep it to yourself
How much it hurts, though you try, try to get on with your life
And tell yourself that worse things happen and just hope it goes away
Like the sun in the night
Like the sun in the night
You’ll always be with me baby.. be in my soul
You’ll always be with me, wherever I go
Like the sun in the night
Like the sun in the night
You’ll always be with me baby.. be in my soul
You’ll always be with me, wherever I go”
“Sun in the Night,” by Tim Laws and Paul Tucker.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com
Named after lighthouses in Whitley Bay and Tynemouth in England, Lighthouse Family was the pop/soul duo of keyboardist Paul Tucker and singer Tunde Baiyewu, formed in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1993. They went their separate ways in 2003, reunited in 2010-2011, then again from 2019-2022 and disbanded permanently just before they were to have played a gig at the Mouth of the Tyne Festival in England as Baiyewu decided to pursue a solo career.
“Sun in the Night” is a gorgeous song with its soft melody, an ethereal flute intro, layered synthesizer, Baiyewu’s gentle lead vocal, a subtle but stirring string arrangement, and the backup singers’ lilting vocal harmonies. I’ve been listening to more of their songs while writing to you and have enjoyed their sound. Thanks, Apple Music. (Now, please, pay artists more for their musical creations. If you need to charge more, so be it!)
Today’s selection comes from the duo’s second studio album, Postcards from Heaven (1997).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the audio from the Lighthouse Family YouTube channel:
Warmly,
Steve
Today for Classical Sunday, I’m featuring a grand, choral work by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). I usually favour slower, more calming pieces and today I decided it was time to change things up.
Bach composed the motet Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf (The Spirit gives aid to our weakness) in 1729 for the funeral of Johann Heinrich Ernesti (1652-1729), a philosopher, theologian and poet from Saxony, Germany. (Motet is a composition style based on a sacred text which includes two or more independent melodies and is often played without accompaniment.)
The text for the motet came from the Christian Bible, specifically Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Romans 8:26-27), and a stanza from a hymn by German hymn writer, theologian and priest Martin Luther (1483-1546), and is composed for two choirs. The piece was meant to represent the text, as opposed to being music for mourning; thus, it has a lively rather than a melancholy quality. It is a complicated piece with many sounds going on at the time, and it’s not hard to imagine it being performed in a vast, airy worship space or performance venue, with the decay of the choir’s massive sound floating into the rafters at the end of each verse.
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf is quite a glorious piece of music that is new to me; I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did.
The piece comes from the album, John Eliot Gardiner: His Erato Recordings (1982).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official audio of the English Baroque Soloists Orchestra and Monteverdi Choir under the direction of English conductor John Eliot Gardiner.
With my best wishes,
Steve
Hello and happy Earth Day, friends!
My apologies to subscribers for not publishing a post yesterday. I just didn’t have anything to say. Ever have days like that?
Today’s selection came up on random play when I fired up Apple Music, settling in and warming up after spending two hours at a community clean-up with about 75 others. Last year’s event attracted about ten of us, so this was tremendous growth, and it was heartening to see so many people coming out to beautify our neighbourhood after a long winter and all the trash that its winds brought us. We even won some draw prizes for filling out so many squares on our trash bingo card! And the sandwiches were so good! It was a little colder outside this year, with some garbage still frozen into mud and puddles, though together, my sweety and I gathered three garbage bags full.
Partway through writing today’s post, I took a break and rode my bike on the indoor trainer as I felt energetic, unlike yesterday. I’m glad I did, too, as I rode in a virtual group ride that was the best experience I had in an organized event in the four years I’ve been a member of the Zwift.com training platform. The ride was organized by ZSUN, a well-established Zwift group that promotes friendship, teamwork, diversity, respect and courtesy, all of which were evident in today’s group. The ride leader was excellent at keeping the group working together and, at the back, some stronger riders helped less strong ones catch up to the main group, giving instructions on how to latch onto a passing rider’s wheel. Plus, there was plenty of good-hearted banter in the chat box. It was a fun way to spend an hour, covering just under 35 virtual kilometres (21.75 miles). Zwift is pretty amazing technology that creates community with people, quite literally, from around the world. Our dear friend from Colorado often calls tools like this “sacred technology.”
“Isn’t it amazing
Isn’t it amazing
We follow a winding path
Through towns of tears in laughter
Moved by the one spirit
And the spirit’s moving faster
Closer as the great eagle soars
And we follow… steady
Steady as she goes
And every cry is a song
And every song is a prayer
And our prayer must be heard
Fill the air
And every cry is a song
And every song is a prayer
And our prayer must be heard
Fill the air
Got to find the right note
How to make the right tone
How to keep it true to ourselves
Where we are coming from
What matters most is us
What matters most is now
What matters is this
How it comes and where and how… passion
Every cry is a song
Every song is a prayer
And our prayers must be heard
To fill the air
Help us make peace
Amazing grace
Morning has broken
Imagine
Trumpets
Knocking on heaven’s door
In the garden
Forever young
No woman no cry
Ag criost an siol
Open up, open up the doors to your heart
You might need somebody, you might need somebody
Thank you for letting me be myself again”
“Isn’t It Amazing,” by Fiachna O’Braonain, Jerry Fehily, Liam O’Maonlai, Leo Barnes and Peter O’Toole.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song was a perfect way to warm up with the positive feelings of working together in community (real and virtual) for fellowship and the greater good, setting the pace for a really good day. “Isn’t It Amazing” feels like a prayer, a meditation, an intention, a cry, a wish to be heard, a collective… whatever way of expressing to a power greater than ourselves in celebration of this hardy yet fragile world we live in. And incorporating phrases from famous contemporary pop songs into the final verse seems like a gesture for global unification.
Formed in 1985 in Dublin, Ireland, by street performers Fiachna O’Braonain (b. 1965) and Liam O’Maonlai (b. 1964), Hothouse Flowers plays alternative, folk, and Celtic rock with gospel and soul music influences. In 1986, Irish rock band U2’s frontperson Bono (aka Paul David Hewson, b. 1960) saw the band performing on television; his offer of support led to their first single being released on U2’s label, Mother Records. Hothouse Flowers disbanded in 1994, reunited in 1998, and is still active.
“Isn’t It Amazing” comes from the band’s third studio album, Songs from the Rain (1993), an album which features some co-writing with former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart (b. 1952).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here in the blogging community. Please enjoy the official audio from the London Records YouTube channel:
With earthy wishes,
Steve
Content warning:
This post mentions mental health issues.
Whenever I hear a song by the Vancouver, Canada-based indie supergroup, The New Pornographers, I marvel at just what a super group they are. And every time we have another spring snowstorm here in Winnipeg, Canada, where I live, I think of the title, “Whiteout Conditions,” a power pop song by them.
Last night a winter storm warning was in effect for our region, forecasting a significant snowfall. Yeah. In mid-April. However, I awoke this morning to see little more than a dusting; much of it has melted as I sit here writing to you while our grandson has his nap. So we were fortunate this time, as the storm mostly passed by us.
“Whiteout Conditions” has an uptempo, catchy beat and melody, with bandleader A.C. Newman (b. 1968) and Neko Case (b. 1970) singing the chorus in melody while Newman fast-talks his way through the word-heavy verses on the studio recording. In addition to these two, Kathryn Calder is another main vocalist. It’s somewhat unusual to see three primary singers in a band; it’s another appealing feature of this musical collective.
The song starts up with a synthesizer line and rolling drums that lead into the main melody carried on an undercurrent of arpeggiated synthesizer programming.
“I’m flying and feeling the ceiling
I’m barely dealing and the faces, the faintest of praises
Are too revealing, such a waste of a beautiful day
Someone should say, it’s such a waste of the only impossible, logical way in
A fly-in in la was open
I wasn’t hoping for a win, I was hoping for freedom
You couldn’t beat ’em so you crumbled, you doubled your dosage
You wanna go, said the inhibitor blocking the passage
That thing is massive
And the sky will come for you once
Just sit tight until it’s done
The sky will come for you once
Just sit tight until it’s done
Got so hooked on a feeling
I started dealing in a stage of grief so demanding
I got a stand-in every radio buzzing, it wasn’t the dream of the moment
Wasn’t the current that carried me, keeping me going
Only want to get to work
But every morning I’m too sick to drive
Suffering whiteout conditions
Forget the mission, just get out alive
Only want to glean the purpose
Only to scratch the surface, raise the plow
Suffering whiteout conditions
Forget your mission, just get out somehow
Everyone suddenly busy
Suddenly dizzy you’re so easy, it’s pushing you over
You’re taking tours of a treacherous strip of the badlands
You have your demands maybe you riot for nothing, it’s just a bad hand
Only want to get to work
But every morning I’m too sick to drive
Suffering whiteout conditions
Forget the mission, just get out alive
Only want to glean the purpose
Only to scratch the surface, raise the plow
Suffering whiteout conditions
Forget your mission, just get out somehow
Flying and flat on the ceiling
I see myself and the revival, it suddenly hits me
It’s going viral such a waste of a beautiful day
Someone should say
It’s such a waste of the only impossible, logical way in
Got so hooked on a feeling
I started dealing but the days spent kicking the cages
Are too revealing so committed to your misfortune
But still a cheater such a waste of a beautiful day
Wish you could be here”
“Whiteout Conditions,” by A.C. Newman.
Lyrics retrieved from notes in the YouTube post of the studio track.
The song’s uptempo beat belies its meaning: When asked in a 2017 article in Rolling Stone magazine if the song is about depression, Newman says, “I don’t know. Depression and anxiety are weird things. Some part of you wonders if it’s just the human condition. When I wrote the song, I was going through a rough thing because my sister was dying of cancer last year. I wrote it a month and a half before she died. So it was situational depression, where you have a tough time dealing. I was trying to get out of a space where I was thinking, ‘I should be sad, but I shouldn’t be quite this sad. I shouldn’t let things get to me where it’s making me incapable of seeing the world for what it is, which is not a horrible, tragic place.’ That’s what the song is about.”
To me, the urgency created by the quick tempo effectively portrays the tension between emotional challenges and one’s viewpoint of the daily grind of the outside world when the impending loss of a loved one overtakes the heart and mind.
There are numerous videos of live performances of the song for radio stations and programs, including KEXP Seattle and National Public Radio in the USA, 102.1 The Edge Toronto, Indie88 Toronto, CBC Music, and CBC’s q and the Current on 89.3 in Canada, among others. Demonstrating their versatility, the band members trade lead vocal roles in some performances, with a combination of Calder, former member Simi Stone (b. 1979) and, occasionally, drummer Joe Seiders (b. 1980) joining Newman on the chorus. I read that this is because, despite singing on the studio recording, Case’s solo career has prevented her from being a touring band member.
So, after the little one’s nap and lunch, soon we’re off to The Leaf indoor conservatory at Assiniboine Park to sate our curiosity and savour the beauty in the tropical butterfly garden. And it’s snowing. Again. But it’s far from whiteout conditions…
“Whiteout Conditions” is the title track from the band’s seventh studio album, released in 2017.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official audio from The New Pornographers YouTube channel:
And, here’s a live performance for the CBC Music feature First Play Live, featuring singers Newman and Calder backed up by Seiders:
With warm wishes,
Steve
A note to readers: If you’re struggling with mental health, there is help. Please refer to the notes at the bottom of this post for a list of resources in North America.
Don’t you just love it when the universe sends moments of serendipity? Today, one of those surprise sets of coincidental alignment came up when I resumed playing an episode of BBC 6 Music’s weekly program Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour (April 2, 2023, “Pure Enjoyment”).
When listening to the episode previously, I had left off just before Garvey spins “This Flight Tonight,” a 1971 song by Canadian folk singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (b. 1943; please stick around after today’s selection and check out this post of another song by her). Adding to the mystique, Garvey said the song was the start of burrowing down a rabbit hole of connections among the pieces he’d play in succession.
As soon as “This Flight Tonight” started today, I immediately remembered seeing the band Nazareth play it in concert, sometime around 1977-1979. They were a hard rock band formed in 1968 in Dunfermline, Scotland, whose 1973 cover of the song brought them much success. I also recalled how the American band Heart’s Nancy Wilson (b. 1954) stated her band borrowed from Nazareth’s guitar riff from “This Flight Tonight” for Heart’s raging 1977 hit “Barracuda” (as I mention in my post on that song).
As my trip along memory lane continued, I envisioned the beginning of that Nazareth show some 40-plus years ago in what’s now the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. My friends and I were seated near the front of the audience. I recall the dramatic start to the show as they opened with “Telegram,” a four-part song cycle from their seventh studio album, Close Enough for Rock ‘n’ Roll (1976), about the music industry as well as the trials of touring: “Part 1: On Your Way,” “Part 2: So You Wanna Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” (a cover of the 1967 song by American band The Byrds), “Part 3: Sound Check,” and “Part 4: Here We Are Again.” The concert stage backdrop had a marquee with the band name/logo, and the tall, dark red letters lit up in sequence, timed with the opening guitar/piano riff and then the song’s beat after the intro.
Interestingly, I had assumed “This Flight Tonight” was an original of theirs until quite some time later when I learned Joni Mitchell was the composer. Now, if you’ve been following along here for a long time, you’ll know I love a good cover song. And Nazareth does a remarkable job converting this folk song into a hard rock piece.
“‘Look out the left,’ the captain said
‘The lights down there, that’s where we’ll land’
Saw a falling star burning
High above the Las Vegas sand
It wasn’t the one that you gave to me
That night down south between the trailers
Not the early one that you wish upon
Not the northern one that guides in the sailors
You’ve got that touch so gentle and sweet
But you’ve got that look so cryptical
Can’t talk to you babe, you know I get so weak
Sometimes I think that love is just mythical
Up there’s a heaven, down there’s a town
Blackness everywhere any little lights shine
Blackness, blackness draggin’ me down
Come on light a candle in this heart of mine
Starbright, starbright, you’ve got the lovin’ that I like
Turn this crazy bird around
Should not have got on this flight tonight
I’m drinkin’ sweet champagne, got the headphones up high
Can’t numb you, can’t drum you out of my mind
They’re singin’, ‘Goodbye baby
Baby bye-bye
Ooh! Love is blind’
Up go the flaps, down go the wheels
Hope you got your heat turned on, baby
Hope they’ve finally fixed your automobile
Hope it’s better when we meet again, babe
Starbright, starbright, you’ve got the lovin’ that I like
Turn this crazy bird around
Should not have got on this flight tonight
Should not have got on this flight tonight”
This Flight Tonight,” by Joni Mitchell.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The Nazareth cover has a rugged, driving beat with a galloping bass/electric guitar line, sustained and distorted electric guitars floating to and fro in the background starting in the third verse, and the raspy sound of lead vocalist Dan McCafferty (1946-2022). It’s a brilliant version; impossible to sit still while listening, I say. It was a massive hit in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom, and the British online newspaper The Independent reported in 2002, Joni Mitchell had been so impressed with the Nazareth version that, at a gig of hers in London, England, she told the audience, “I’d like to open with a Nazareth song!”
I remember the Nazareth rendition being played frequently in the 1970s at parties, school dances, and on the radio. The band was hugely popular in my circle of friends, and this song is a definite marker of that time.
“This Flight Tonight” comes from Nazareth’s fourth studio album, Loud ‘n’ Proud (1973, the second album they released that year). Mitchell’s original appeared on her fourth studio album, Blue (1971).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the audio from the Nazareth YouTube channel:
And, just for fun, here’s Joni Mitchell‘s original:
With rockin’ vibes to you,
Steve
The American band R.E.M. has been a steady favourite of mine since a friend introduced me to their music in the early 1980s. Their sound was unique, bold and adventurous, always set upon a solid alternative rock foundation; their music also journeyed into other post-punk sub-genres, including folk rock, college rock, jangle pop and baroque pop.
Formed in 1980, the band put out an impressive body of work from 1981 until they disbanded amiably in 2011: “fifteen studio albums, four live albums, fourteen compilation albums, one remix album, one soundtrack album, twelve video albums, seven extended plays, sixty-three singles, and seventy-seven music videos,” a Wikipedia article devoted to the band’s discography says.
In addition to their rich, well-developed sound palette, which often includes instruments like mandolin and accordion, lead singer Michael Stipe has a distinctly robust and expressive voice that I like a lot.
“Monty Got a Raw Deal” strikes me as a mysterious song, so I set out to learn its meaning. The sites I consulted were almost unanimous in their statements and comments from readers claiming the song is about the American actor Montgomery Clift (1920-1966). His film career is unfamiliar to me, so I’ll go with the expert/consensus view.
“Monty this seems strange to me.
The movies had that movie thing,
But nonsense has a welcome ring
And heroes don’t come easily.
Now, nonsense isn’t new to me.
I know my head, I know my feet,
But mischief knocked me in the knees.
Said, Just let go. Just let go.
I saw the ocean meet the man.
I saw you buried in the sand.
A friend was there to hold your hand,
Said, Walk on by.
So, I went walking through the street.
I saw you strung up in a tree.
A woman knelt there said to me,
Said, Hold your tongue, man. Hold your tongue.
You don’t owe me anything.
You don’t want this sympathy. (waste your breath)
Don’t you waste your breath. (waste your breath)
For the silver screen.
That nonsense doesn’t mean a thing,
They tried to bust you in a sting,
But virtue isn’t everything
So, don’t waste time.
Now, here’s a rhyme that you can steal.
Put this on your reel to reel.
Mischief threw a rotten deal.
Monty’s laying low.
He is laying low.
Just let go, just let go.
You don’t owe me anything.
You don’t want this sympathy. (waste your breath)
Don’t you waste your breath. (waste your breath)
Monty this seems strange to me.”
“Monty Got a Raw Deal,” by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Bill Berry.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The drums come in with an urgency that punctuates the beginning of the verses, perhaps symbolizing the angst the young actor would have felt after a 1956 car crash that left him badly injured, including facial damage that plastic surgery of the day couldn’t completely restore; this must have been devastating for a person known (and employed at least in part) for his dashing looks.
“Monty Got a Raw Deal” is the first track on the B-side (or, as released, the “ride” side, with side A being the “drive” side) of R.E.M.’s eighth studio album, Automatic for the People (1992). I previously posted a longer piece about “Drive,” which is the opening song from (you guessed it) the “drive” side of the album.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official audio from the remhq YouTube channel:
With warm regards,
Steve
Content warning:
This post mentions mental health issues.
Today I’ve been feeling scattered as if there was something I had to do but couldn’t remember what. Do you ever have days like that?
And despite having a long list of songs I want to post at some time, there wasn’t one burning in me to share today. So it was serendipitous to receive a text from one of our lads suggesting I give a listen to “Never Gonna Be Alone,” a song co-written by English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier (b. 1994) with American singer-songwriter Lizzie McAlpine (b. 1999) that they perform with singer-songwriter and musician John Mayer (b. 1977).
It wasn’t exactly the song I would have expected, having just spoken with him about heavy metal last night during a family birthday dinner. It’s a love song with a light, almost dreamy, calming melody. A 2022 Rolling Stone article I found describes the song’s origin and the writers’ intention: “Collier… and McAlpine cowrote (sic) the track during lockdown last year. (Collier says,) ‘I wanted to explore the deep, vivid emotional world of isolation, loss and memory, blurring the lines between reality and imagination, by piecing together a tapestry of soft orchestral sounds,’ he said. ‘It speaks to my experience of the world as a hugely beautiful and fragile place, and has helped me process some of the grief I think we’re all feeling for our pasts and futures, in a myriad of different ways.'”
I’m unfamiliar with McAlpine and Collier, but I have enjoyed Mayer’s music many times, though I don’t own any of his stuff.
“There’s a patch of sunlight in my room
On the carpet where I held you for a moment in June
There was something so sweet about it
Never been so unguarded
And it made me fall for you
There’s a tree that looks up at the moon
In the garden, where I held you for a moment in the gloom
There was something so sweet about it, I’m holding onto this moment
‘Cause it made me fall for you
Made me fall for you
Take me back to the window, take me back to the door
You’ll be right where I left you, sitting on the floor
Now I’m never gonna be alone
Take me back to the window, take me back to the door
You’ll be right where I left you, sitting on the floor
Now I’m never gonna be alone
And I know, I know
So much I wanna say to you
Even though I know
Nothing’s gonna change
But I’ll always find my way back here to you
Take me back to the window, take me back to the door
You’ll be right where I left you, sitting on the floor
Now I’m never gonna be alone
Take me back to the window, take me back to the door
You’ll be right where I left you, sitting on the floor
Now I’m never gonna be alone
There’s a patch of sunlight in my room
On the carpet where I held you for a moment”
“Never Gonna Be Alone,” by Jacob Collier and Lizzie McAlpine.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song is a lovely way to reconcile the three years of turbulence and upheaval of living through a global pandemic. It sensitively speaks to the losses, isolation and loneliness people have suffered and which continue to have effects. For one, I know I am less socially confident and more introverted than before, and I don’t know whether those states will fully return to what they were before. Those three years included several periods where essential public health protection measures kept us from being with loved ones for important occasions and passages; these are losses that are, in most cases, irretrievable, though they were necessary to protect health-care systems already under threat by government mismanagement.
And, pandemic-related angst has led to more dysregulated behaviour and conflict among people and more anger expressed online and, sometimes, in person. If there’s a bright side, it’s that people have become more open about their struggles, and this is slowly helping to normalize and encourage open discourse on mental and emotional health.
The song cuts through all these issues with simple, appealing imagery of beauty and intimacy: who can deny the magical feeling of lying in a sunbeam with a lover or dear friend? “Never Gonna Be Alone” is pretty song, and I hope you enjoy it too.
Collier released the song as a single in October 2022.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the official lyric video from the Jacob Collier YouTube channel:
And, here’s a live performance where Collier and Mayer make an appearance at a show being given by McAlpine in October 2022:
With warm wishes,
Steve
A note to readers: If you’re struggling with mental health, there is help out there. Please refer to the notes at the bottom of this post for a list of resources in North America.
Welcome to Classical Sunday at Song of the Day for Today!
This morning, I discovered a few pieces by the Ukrainian contemporary classical composer Valentyn Vasylyovych Silvestrov (b. 1937). He is likely the first living classical composer I’ve featured here at Song of the Day for Today.
A few pieces I listened to come from his song series Quiet Songs (or Silent Songs), written between 1974 and 1977 for piano and solo voice, written to accompany sung poetry classics. If I can find the translated lyrics, I would like to feature something from that, but so far, I haven’t found any.
While searching, I also found a piece called The Messenger, which Silvestrov composed for piano, synthesizer and string orchestra in 1996–1997. One version of it, for solo piano, is played by Helene Grimaud (b. 1969), a French-born pianist, wildlife conservationist, activist and writer who lives in New York, New York, USA.
The Messenger is a calming, melodic piece, and this quality comes through even more with the comparative simplicity of the solo piano version, which runs at just under ten minutes. I appreciated witnessing Grimaud’s concentration and listening to her interpretation of this exquisite piece; it’s as if she becomes the music when she plays.
The piece is the closing track on Grimaud’s album The Messenger (2020) on which she complements works by Silvestrov with those of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is a video of Grimaud’s performance from the Deutsche Grammophon YouTube channel:
What did you think of the piece? Please let me know. And if you would like to suggest a piece of classical music for me to feature, I’d love to hear from you in the comments or on my Contact page.
With warm wishes,
Steve
I have been spending a lot of time in the folk/country spaces lately and decided to change it up today.
While I enjoy a lot of hard rock music, I’m not really a fan of heavy metal or thrasher rock, but I like to listen to unfamiliar stuff occasionally to broaden my horizons.
I surfed around a little, listening to some Guns N’ Roses, then somehow landed on the American heavy metal band Metallica and heard a few thrashers by them, including “Enter Sandman” and “Wherever I May Roam.” I settled on “Nothing Else Matters,” a downtempo power ballad (or love ballad) complete with orchestration and, of course, the obligatory ripping guitar solo. And I suppose it’s not all the way across the heavy metal/thrasher continuum, so maybe that’s why it appealed to me.
The song is the subject of an entire Wikipedia article that includes an archived link to a Village Voice interview in which lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett discuss the track. Hetfield says, “It’s absolutely crazy, that was the song that I thought was least Metallica, least likely to ever (be) played by us, the last song anyone would really want to hear. It was a song for myself in my room on tour when I was bumming out about being away from home. It’s quite amazing, it’s a true testament to honesty and exposing yourself, putting your real self out there, and taking the risk, taking a gamble that someone’s either going to step on your heart with spikes on or they’re going to put their heart right next to it, and you never know until you try. That solidified, I think, that we were doing the right thing, writing from the heart about what we felt, and you can’t go wrong that way. It has become an unbelievable song live, and from the New York Hells Angels putting it in their movie to sports people to people getting married to it, all kinds of stuff, people relate to it. I’m grateful that the guys forced me to take it out of my tape player and make it Metallica.”
Hetfield plays the lead and rhythm guitar parts on the song’s studio version; it’s one of the few Metallica recordings on which Hammett is absent. Of this, Hemmett says in the same interview, “We kept putting it in the set and taking it out until we were certain we were actually able to play it. I had to relearn that whole intro part to play by myself onstage, which was a little bit intimidating for me at that point, we never had a song that started that way. After a while, once we got it down, it was no problem. Once we put our sights onto whipping a song into shape and getting it together and ready to play, we’re pretty good about putting it together and making it happen.”
“So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don’t just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don’t just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters
Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know
So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No nothing else matters”
“Nothing Else Matters,” James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Metallica released the song in 1992 as the third single from their 1991 self-titled, fifth studio album which is also referred to as The Black Album. A few versions of the song have been made, including an “elevator version” which replaces all electric guitars with acoustic, and is accompanied by the orchestration from the studio track and Hetfield’s vocal.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official music video from the Metallica YouTube channel:
How about you? Are you a heavy metal listener? Point me to one of your favourite tunes, won’t you? I’d love to hear from you in the comments on my Contact page.
Metallically yours,
Steve
The birthday celebrations continued last night with a yoga and wine evening, which took place on Zoom. It’s a series of events that a local wine merchant partnered with a yoga instructor to offer, offered remotely since the pandemic started. It might seem like an unlikely combination, but it was fun.
It’s been about eight years since I practised yoga, and it felt good to do this bodywork after exerting myself on my road bike the day before. The wine portion was fun, too. The same person led both components, and, like the small world it is, we used to be colleagues. She took us through the experience of three different wines: a South Australian chardonnay, a French rosé, and a Portuguese alentejano. All were superb, and we learned about food pairings with each one. It was an enjoyable date night, and convenient to be at home and not concerned about drinking and driving. I’d highly recommend this event if you live in the Winnipeg area.
After that, we watched a couple of episodes of Ted Lasso, and during the end credits of season 3, episode 3 (“Big Week”), today’s selection played.
The American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan (b. 1941) wrote “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” in 1962. He recorded it in 1963 for his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and released it as a single on the b-side of “Blowin’ in the Wind.” That same year, the American folk revival trio Peter, Paul and Mary (which formed in 1961 with tenor Peter Yarrow, b. 1938; baritone Noel Paul Stookey, b. 1937; and contralto Mary Allin Travers, 1936-2009) recorded it and two other Dylan compositions for their third album, In the Wind. Interestingly, the Peter, Paul and Mary version omits a couple of verses, so some online lyrics sites don’t reflect what’s on their recording.
In the liner notes to Dylan’s original release, the American historian and music critic Nat Hentoff (1925-2017) described “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” as “a statement that maybe you can say to make yourself feel better … as if you were talking to yourself.”
The song is well-placed in the Ted Lasso episode as the Nathan Shelley character continues to be in conflict with just about everyone, including himself.
“It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter anyhow
Ad’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m travelin’ on
Don’t think twice, it’s all right
It ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe
The light I never knowed
It ain’t no use in turnin’ on your light, babe
I’m on the dark side of the road
Still, I wish there was somethin’ you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin’ anyway
So don’t think twice, it’s alright
I’m walking down a long and lonesome road, babe
Where I’m bound, I can’t tell
But goodbye is too good a word, girl
So I just say fare thee well
I ain’t sayin’ you treated me unkind
You could have done better, but I don’t mind
You just sorta wasted my precious time
But don’t think twice, it’s alright
It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, girl
Like you never did before
It ain’t no use in callin’ out my name, girl
I can’t hear you anymore
I’m a-thinkin’ and a-wonderin’ all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I’m told
I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul
Don’t think twice, it’s alright”
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” by Bob Dylan.
Lyrics retrieved from Musixmatch.
The music of Peter, Paul and Mary was another anchor in my childhood. I remember many of their songs, including “Puff the Magic Dragon,” which is about the loss of childhood innocence. I always found the piece reassuring in a kind of slightly melancholy way; I wonder if it played around when I, as a boy of about nine, learned that we all eventually die. (This traumatic lesson was delivered during the Christmas holidays of all times!) Peter, Paul and Mary were on the scene later in what’s referred to as the folk revival movement, and their career also spanned the civil rights and peace movements. Their sound was primarily soft (often categorized under the easy listening genre) but they had a powerful influence on 1960s culture. I always enjoyed their music, and it was a treat to hear this song in such an unexpected place.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the audio from the Peter, Paul and Mary YouTube topic channel:
With warm memories,
Steve
Today has been another busy day, this time caring for one of our grandkids. I was already feeling fatigued after all the energy expended yesterday getting my bike set up and out to Birds Hill Park, then riding in a reasonably fierce wind (something I don’t encounter on the trainer all winter!), but it is always a lovely day when there’s special toddler time.
This morning during the little one’s naptime, I visited a site I last visited quite a while ago: Song Exploder, where artists break down their songs and discuss the writing, recording and production processes. Scrolling through the episode list, I landed on the English singer and songwriter Seal (aka Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel, b. 1963) telling about his massive hit, “Kiss from a Rose.” I previously featured his collaboration with Jeff Beck (1944-2023), brilliantly covering “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan (b. 1941), so Seal’s music was fairly fresh in my mind.
Another exploration of today’s song comes from music producer and teacher Rick Beato in episode 105 of his What Makes This Song Great? series on YouTube. It’s a detailed musical analysis above my level of understanding, though I enjoy that there is so much to discover about how musicians create their art. During the episode, Beato discusses the medieval sound of the orchestration in the song. He also speaks with Seal about the song and asks about the meaning of the line, “Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey.” As quoted elsewhere, Seal responds to Beato that he thinks it’s more important what the listener thinks the song’s meaning is rather than him explaining it. Not the first time I’ve heard that kind of response, for sure, and I suppose it creates freedom for listeners to attach their own meanings to songs that matter a lot to them.
For me, there are contrasts among a kiss, a rose and greyness, perhaps meant to symbolize the depth of love. It’s an alluring song by a sensual performer.
“Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
And you became the light on the dark side of me
Love remained a drug that’s the high and not the pill
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can’t be seen?
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
There is so much a man can tell you
So much he can say
You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me, you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny
Won’t you tell me, is that healthy, baby?
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can’t be seen?
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
I, I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
I’ve (And if I should fall, will it all go away?) been kissed by a rose on the grey
I, I’ve been kissed by a rose on the grey
There is so much a man can tell you
So much he can say
You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain
To me you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny, yeah
Won’t you tell me, is that healthy, baby?
But did you know that when it snows
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can’t be seen?
Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
Yes, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey
Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey”
“Kiss from a Rose,” by Seal.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Along with the many stories about “Kiss from a Rose” is the fact that Seal wrote it around 1986-1987, years before ever recording it. He didn’t put the song forward when recording his 1991 debut, self-titled album, as he didn’t think it was any good. He finally recorded it when making his second record, also titled Seal (1994, often referred to as Seal II to differentiate it from the first eponymous release).
“Kiss from a Rose” was highly successful commercially and critically, though not immediately. It was released as a single in 1994, then appeared that year on the soundtrack for the film The NeverEnding Story III. It reappeared as the love theme from Batman Forever (1995), and that exposure brought it renewed and broader acclaim.
The wind and string instruments, dreamy but solid melody, and layered, echoing vocals combine to create a magnificent song. I’ve heard the song countless times over the years but hadn’t listened to it as intently as today after being introduced to the various elements that “make this song great.”
The Beato and Song Exploder pieces are over 20 minutes each, but if you like this song, I recommend you listen to them to learn more about its creation.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is a video of Seal performing the song in an intimate session hosted by Sirius XM, the satellite and online radio provider.
I also recommend listening to the studio track to hear the many sounds that are talked about in the two explorations of Seal‘s song:
Warmly,
Steve
Today has been a really great day!
I had a solo bike ride outside the city (first one of the year!), then a date at a country music show with my sweety, plus we had time with our meditation group this morning and conversations with our lovelies throughout the day.
Birthdays are a time to celebrate and also to stop and take stock of one’s life. As I awoke this morning, I did a few routines. I then settled to listen to songs on random play by such artists as American singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith (1953-2021) and Fleetwood Mac (specifically today’s selection, sung by English singer-songwriter and band member Christine McVie, 1943-2022), then “I Will Follow You into the Dark” by the American indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, a solo acoustic ballad about death and afterlife. Listening to those two recently-passed female singers in particular reminded me so strongly of how precious and fragile life is and that we are coming ever closer to the end of this life as we age.
That feeling is especially poignant on the tenth anniversary of the death of one of my son’s friends, a young man who passed suddenly due to a heart condition while out on a run. (Please see my post on Dave Matthews’ “Gravedigger” for more here about Alex and the heart-rending tribute his bandmates sang at his funeral.)
“For you, there’ll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And I feel that when I’m with you
It’s alright, I know it’s right
To you, I’ll give the world
To you, I’ll never be cold
‘Cause I feel that when I’m with you
It’s alright, I know it’s right
And the songbirds are singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
And I wish you all the love in the world
But most of all, I wish it from myself
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
Like never before
Like never before”
“Songbird,” by Christine McVie.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I found an online article from American Songwriter magazine about McVie’s inspiration for the song, which came to her in the night: “The ambiguity of ‘Songbird’ captures the selflessness of love—for someone or one’s self. McVie insisted that the song was never about anyone, or anything, in particular. ‘It doesn’t really relate to anybody in particular; it relates to everybody,’ said McVie in a 2017 interview on the meaning of the song.’ A lot of people play it at their weddings or at bar mitzvahs or at their dog’s funeral. It’s universal. It’s about you and nobody else. It’s about you and everybody else. That’s how I like to write songs.'”
Today’s selection is the fifth song I’ve posted by Fleetwood Mac and the fourth I’ve featured from their iconic album Rumours (1977). “Songbird” strays from the often conflict-ridden—but remarkable nonetheless—song themes throughout much of that album… it’s a truly gorgeous song.
So, it was a great day today. The sun was shining, and there was fun and love and life. What more could one ask for?
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the Fleetwood Mac YouTube channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
Today’s been a busy and full day with a long breakfast visit with two of my brothers, some phone calls to sort out mobile phone issues, an impromptu visit from one of our boys, and a meeting to attend, plus I’m making plans and getting my gear ready to go outdoor cycling tomorrow at Birds Hill Park, less than an hour from my home in Winnipeg, Canada. It’ll be my first outdoor ride of the year! Some cycling friends have already been out there, reporting excellent riding conditions while the city’s roads and paths are still ice, snow or sand-covered.
When I sat down mid-afternoon to start writing the daily post, I opened Apple Music, and today’s selection was the first song I heard on random play. I’ve previously posted another piece by American singer-songwriter and pianist Norah Jones (b. 1979). Please see my post on her song “Good Morning” for more history of my relationship with her music and to listen to another outstanding song.
As I mention in that post, Jones’s 2012 album Little Broken Hearts is edgier than her earlier music. Several of the songs on the album deal with troublesome issues like breakups and betrayal, treating the former gently, almost comfortingly (at least, not steeped in anger) in “Travelin’ On.” The online music database SongFacts reports this about the track: “Three years before they started working on Little Broken Hearts, Norah Jones and producer Brian ‘Danger Mouse’ Burton met for a five-day songwriting session to get to know each other. The microphones were all packed away when they suddenly came up with the idea for ‘Travelin’ On,’ a stringed ballad about moving on from a breakup. Danger Mouse recorded it on his iPhone and when the album sessions rolled around, he played it for Jones, who had forgotten all about it. ‘It was kind of fun to go back to an idea that I just barely remembered, and it ended up being one of our favorite songs on the album,’ she said in a Spotify commentary.” Pretty cool stuff. I like this song.
“You could never be a face in the crowd
So you’re travelin’ on, travelin’ on out
Well you know I’d never say it out loud
But I’ll be travelin’ on, travelin’ with you
Hey I’m too weak it’s too much to fight off
The past so strong
But now I don’t think too much of the time
I’ll just try to keep up
Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
If you notice that I’m falling behind
I’m taking my time taking it all in
So call me when you get where you’re going
I’ll keep travelin’ on, travelin’ to you
Hey don’t be too hard on yourself
I’ll be okay
Cause we won’t leave this place any worse
Than when we came
Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
Ooh ooh…
I can’t believe what’s happening now
Ooh ooh…
I love the way it’s happening now”
“Travelin’ On,” by Nora Jones and Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse).
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Some may recognize (or remember reading here) Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton as filling the same roles he did on Little Broken Hearts as co-writer and producer, as he did with Michael Kiwanuka’s albums Love & Hate (2016) and Kiwanuka (2019).
I was thinking of Jones’s music just a few days ago, so it was a bit of serendipity to have it served up unexpectedly today.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from Nora Jones’s YouTube channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
Well, it seems like the wait is almost over! Today, the sun is trying really hard to shine through scattered clouds, the temperatures are finally climbing (Wednesday’s forecast for Winnipeg, Canada is for a high of 16°C/61°F), so outdoor cycling season seems within reach.
To celebrate this morning, I watched the replay of this past weekend’s Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Women’s World Tour race, the 145.4-kilometre (90-mile) Paris-Roubaix Femmes. It’s nicknamed the “hell of the north” as the many sectors of cobblestone paths make for a gruelling one-day race, and this year was no exception as tire punctures and crashes were common occurrences on those rough sections.
Despite being one of the oldest men’s road races, a women’s Paris-Roubaix event has only existed since 2020, demonstrating just how long it has taken for women to gain respect and inclusion in traditionally male-centric professions and pursuits. Organizers had to cancel that inaugural race because of Covid-19. In 2021 and 2022, riders from the Trek-Segafredo pro team took the number one place on the podium; that was especially exciting to me as a first-time watcher last year and as a Trek road bike rider. This year was suspenseful for different reasons that I won’t share in case any of my readers are cycling enthusiasts who have yet to watch the race. (I barely made it to this morning without seeing the winner’s name as some articles popped up on various feeds!)
On to today’s song, though…
“Wait for the Sun” is a track by the English alternative rock band Supergrass that pops into my random play reasonably often, and I like it a lot. The band’s sound reminds me of other music I can’t quite put my finger on, though lead singer Gaz Coombes’ (b. 1976) voice reminds me a little of Axl Rose (b. 1962) from the American hard-rock band Guns N’ Roses. The song has a definite power-ballad vibe from the acoustic guitar, and solid vocal melodies add much to it. An electric guitar comes in for a solo later on.
“White budding sun,
It’s gonna come again,
Wait for the one,
She’s bringing you her love,
But I may not know everyone,
Along the way,
And I may not see everyone,
Along the way,
Head for the hills,
They’re never far away,
Look for the one,
She’s coming for your love,
But I may not know everyone,
Along the way,
And I may not see everyone,
Along the way,
(Take it away, wolfman!)
But I may not know everyone,
Along the way,
And I may not see everyone,
Along the way,
And I may not know everyone,
Along the way,
And I may not see everyone,
Along the way.”
“Wait for the Sun,” by Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey and Mick Quinn.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I’m unsure of the song’s meaning, but it seems to imply optimism. At any rate, it’s an excellent tune.
“Wait for the Sun” appears on a bonus CD with the band’s second studio album, In It for the Money (1997), and is part of a remastered and expanded 20th-anniversary edition of their 1995 album (their first), I Should Coco. It also appears on a greatest hits compilation, Supergrass Is 10 – The Best of 94-04 (2004). The song was never released as a single.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the audio for the song from the Supergrass YouTube channel:
With sunny wishes,
Steve
Today’s post is in answer to a request by my sweety.
Earlier this week we were watching the final episode of BBC TV’s Peaky Blinders when a familiar sacred work played, the Lacrimosa movement from the Requiem In D Minor, K. 626 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). When the music finished, she said, “That’s got to be your song of the day for a Sunday.”
Like his Mass in C Minor, Mozart’s Requiem is a brilliant, evocative work; both are well-known and often played. The Requiem was commissioned in early 1791 by the Austrian aristocrat Count Franz von Walsegg after the death of his wife that year. Walsegg intended for it to be used in a requiem mass that would mark the first anniversary of her passing. The work was unfinished when Mozart died in December and was completed by Austrian conductor and composer Franz Xaver Sussmayr (1766-1803).
An article in Wikipedia says that Mozart’s handwriting ends eight bars into the Lacrimosa. It also speculates on Sussmayr’s completion of the entire mass: “Walsegg probably intended to pass the Requiem off as his own composition, as he is known to have done with other works. This plan was frustrated by a public benefit performance for Mozart’s widow Constanze. She was responsible for a number of stories surrounding the composition of the work, including the claims that Mozart received the commission from a mysterious messenger who did not reveal the commissioner’s identity, and that Mozart came to believe that he was writing the requiem for his own funeral.
“In addition to the Sussmayr version, a number of alternative completions have been developed by composers and musicologists in the 20th and 21st centuries.”
The Lacrimosa is the final of six movements in the Sequentia (or sequence, meaning a sacred chant or hymn) section, the third of eight sections of the Requiem. Directors use this particular movement to great effect in the scene depicting Mozart’s death and burial in Milos Forman’s film Amadeus (1984) and in the finale of Peaky Blinders. The beauty of the music is equalled by its depth and solemnity and the drama it adds to a setting.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is a performance of the Lacrimosa by the Berlin Philharmoniker under the direction of Italian conductor Claudio Abbado (1933-2014) on the Deutsche Grammophon YouTube channel. The Requiem performance features soloists sopranos Rachel Harnisch and Karita Mattila, contralto Sara Mingardo, tenor Michael Schade, and bass-baritone Bryn Terfel.
Is there music, from classical or other genres, that you’d like me to feature? Drop me a line in the comments or the Contact page!
With appreciation,
Steve
It may be evident from the title that today’s selection is a country song.
The Hamilton, Ontario, Canada-based folk-rock duo Melissa McClelland (b. 1979) and Luke Doucet (b. 1973) are an absolute powerhouse who cross several genres with their music and make their mark in each style.
One of our sons took us to a concert of theirs for a birthday of mine quite a few years ago; it was an amazing gift introducing me to this band’s music, and a fabulous and memorable performance at Winnipeg, Canada’s Burton Cummings Theatre (originally the Walker Theatre, a vaudeville era venue that later became the Odeon Theatre as a cinema), a mid-sized venue which was perfect for their kind of show. Onstage, the twosome makes a lot of sounds, sometimes using a loop pedal (a device that records and plays back a loop of the recorded sound) to augment the instruments they play while singing solid melodies. And with their eighth studio album, I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying (2023), they solidly confirm that old-style country music is one of their many conquests.
“I’ve been looking for you stranger
I’ve been looking for you friend
I’ve been wandering the streets
In my dreams again
I’ve been breathing in the same air
I’ll been breathing out, and still
If the loneliness don’t kill me
Then the good times surely will
I’ve been keeping good company
Tanqueray, El Jimador
Singing all the saddest love songs
That ever came before
I could drink myself to Sunday
It’s my only cheapest thrill
If the loneliness don’t kill me
Then the good times surely will
I wanna stumblе from the 3 speed
Shout obscenities down Bloor
I wanna stay thе morning after
Wake up on your hardwood floor
If forever seems too far away
I guess it’s all we’ll know
Just counting down the days
Until the winds of change they blow”
“If the Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” by Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
If this is your first time hearing music by Whitehorse, I invite you to check out more of their music. In addition to being a recording and touring musical act, they are a married couple and parents, and they frequently held online shows during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If the Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” is the opening track from I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official video from the Whitehorse YouTube channel:
With best wishes,
Steve
This morning I heard a song, “Seeing Stars,” for the first time. It’s a lovely acoustic piece by American folk singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson (b. 1978), who lists her inspirations as mountains, woods and ponds, and poets like Mary Oliver (1935-2019), Robert Frost (1874-1963) and William Butler Yeats (1865-1939).
Hearing the title phrase reminded me of a night when my sweety and I drove out of the city to nearby Birds Hill Provincial Park, as I discuss in my post on Brian Eno’s “Clear Desert Night.” (I long for those summer days and nights as we sit here surrounded by a large dump of heavy, wet snow from Tuesday and Wednesday… but the forecast keeps improving, so maybe spring is indeed coming.)
“Bugs out on the water, make it look like rain
Leaves on every tree, once again turning
Summer′s past but it’s never far
If you look real close you might see scars
But me, yeah me I′m only seeing stars
Evening light, on a gravel path
I could be scared but I’ve had enough of that
Oh, big old moon, rising up
Even in this light you might see scars
But me, yeah me I’m only seeing stars
When they take everything
And you′ve got nothing left
A deer in the headlights in your hospital bed
Just dreaming of a simple life
A gentle man, a solid night
Me and the dog, down at the reservoir
If you look real close you might see scars
But me, yeah me I′m only seeing stars
Oh…
Seems all your songs are about leaving
Seems both your hands are about now
Geese up in the sky, home through the dark
If you look real close you might see scars
But me, yeah me I’m only seeing stars”
“Seeing Stars,” by Meg Hutchinson.
Lyrics retrieved from Musixmatch.com.
I think Hutchinson’s poetry and music are about the place in life she has worked hard to get to, where she isn’t defined by the losses and hardships endured but rather by the awe she experiences, having lived through many highs and lows along the way. And what a lot of work it can be to get to that place… a mostly uphill climb with many slippery sections where one can lose ground temporarily.
“Seeing Stars” comes from Hutchinson’s second studio album, Come Up Full (2008).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the official video from the Feed Them with Music YouTube channel. (It’s a project intended to build “a community of artists and fans that understand the arts are the most powerful tool for positive change in our culture today.” Hutchinson speaks beautifully and invitingly about this work after she plays her song in the video.)
With my best to you,
Steve
After publishing yesterday’s post, I put on Apple Music while preparing leftovers for dinner (Saturday’s pizza, which we always have with semi-homemade cole slaw).
A song that came on almost immediately was “Here with Me,” the electropop/trip-hop 1999 debut single by the mononymous English singer-songwriter Dido (b. 1971; aka Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong).
The song, which describes a powerful and deep longing, was the subject of two official videos; one produced for American audiences, and the other—filmed in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada—for international release, the latter of which I’m featuring today.
The video opens with Dido lounging in a bedroom, appearing to contemplate a love she yearns to be with as she sings of her devotion to him. She sets out walking the downtown streets and buys a coffee. She walks as if in a dream state, dropping her coffee and eventually her coat, arriving at another apartment and lying on a bed where a man is asleep. In the end, she is back in the room she began in, clutching a photo of him as if waiting for him to return.
“I didn’t hear you leave
I wonder how am I still here
And I don’t wanna move a thing
It might change my memory
Oh, I am what I am
I’ll do what I want
But I can’t hide
And I won’t go
I won’t sleep
And I can’t breathe
Until you’re resting here with me
And I won’t leave
And I can’t hide
I cannot be
Until you’re resting here with me
Don’t wanna call my friends
For they might wake me from this dream
And I can’t leave this bed
Risk forgetting all that’s been
Oh, I am what I am
I’ll do what I want
But I can’t hide
And I won’t go
I won’t sleep
And I can’t breathe
Until you’re resting here with me
And I won’t leave
And I can’t hide
I cannot be
Until you’re resting here
And I won’t go
I won’t sleep
And I can’t breathe
Until you’re resting here with me
And I won’t leave
And I can’t hide
I cannot be
Until you’re resting here with me
Oh, I am what I am
I’ll do what I want
But I can’t hide
And I won’t go
I won’t sleep
And I can’t breathe
Until you’re resting here with me
And I won’t leave
And I can’t hide
I cannot be
Until you’re resting here
And I won’t go
I won’t sleep
And I can’t breathe
Until you’re resting here with me
And I won’t leave
And I can’t hide
I cannot be
Until you’re resting here with me”
“Here with Me,” by Paul Statham, Dido Armstrong and Pascal Gabriel.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song’s moody, atmospheric feel lends to the sense of dreaminess. A slightly industrial bass and percussion beat, softened by acoustic guitar and floating strings, adds an urgency that represents her yearning for the man: she can’t eat, sleep or breathe, and she doesn’t want to call her friends… all common feelings when in that excited, early stage of an intimate relationship, a blissful state one wants to be in forever when in that moment. Not surprisingly, the online music database SongFacts quotes Dido as referring to “Here with Me” as a “post-shag song” she co-wrote for her partner at the time.
Dido’s music often portrays strong emotions and feelings that become pervasive states of being, as happens with the notion of gratitude in “Thank You,” a song I previously posted from the same album, Dido’s first studio release, No Angel (1999 in North America, 2001 in the United Kingdom). It’s a CD we often heard at the home of a couple of dear friends my sweety and I spent a lot of time with starting around 1998.
“Here with Me” is a solid piece that stands up well over the 24 years since Dido released it to great commercial and critical acclaim (her first two albums are among the highest-selling in the UK). Today’s selection was also used as the theme music for the science fiction TV series Roswell which ran from 1999-2002.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official international video from the Dido YouTube channel:
And, as Sweety loves to watch a live version, here’s Dido and her band performing the song at the 2002 BRIT Awards.
With warm wishes,
Steve
I don’t listen to a lot of electronic music and haven’t shared much of it here, but last night as I was reading before bed, I received a Messenger message from one of my nephews along with a piece I wanted to share with you.
This nephew has lived away from Winnipeg, Canada (where I live) for most of his life, and we’ve only been together three times in the past 23 years. He sent me a link to a YouTube video by a French electronic music artist called French 79. I then shared with him one I’d posted in the past by M83, another French (initially, but now based in Los Angeles, California, USA) electronic music project’s piece, “Raconte-moi Une Histoire” (“Tell Me a Story”).
I watched “Life Is Like” on my iPhone, so I only captured the full impact of the imagery after studying it again today on my desktop computer. After this, I looked at all the artist/musician’s social streams but found nothing about him, bio-wise.
“Life is like
An angel in the sky
A big merry go round
A river running wild”
“Life Is Like,” by French 79.
Lyrics retrieved from the notes section of the YouTube video post.
The video is cleverly done. It starts with an evening city skyline shot, the camera pulling back steadily. The camera continues this movement, moving through windows in and out of apartments, from building to building. We observe people doing various activities, playing, reading, lounging, and playing musical instruments in these identically-small bedrooms. Then at 1:41, we come in through the window to the what looks like the music studio of French 79, then out a window on the other side. The pullback continues through more buildings and apartments, returning to the musician’s studio and then more apartments, the distance between these decreasing then disappearing so that the film becomes a moving infinity-type image, sort of like what you see when you’re in the middle of a room with a mirror on each end; the musician becomes part of that infinity. Eventually, the space between apartments disappears, and the artist looks out the window and observes himself through his studio window. The film ends with a young person holding a video camera, and as the camera pulls back, we end up in the same young boy’s bedroom we started in (and if I’m not mistaken, a photo of French 79 is on the wall to the right of the window).
I think the song and video make a statement about life: it is constantly moving, and we can either look back to past generations and see where we’ve been or turn around and look to an uncertain future; one that carries our ancestors and experiences along with us. And from that open, forward-oriented viewpoint, we might be rewarded with things of beauty and joy, like angels, merry-go-rounds, and rivers running wild.
I enjoyed the video and the music, and appreciated receiving it as I might never have experienced it otherwise.
French 79 released the single “Life Is Like” last month, with a YouTube video as part of the launch.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official video from the French 79 YouTube channel:
With gratitude,
Steve
Content warning:
This post contains a cuss word.
Today’s selection is an example of several threads in life coming together serendipitously.
Last week when our musician friend was visiting, our musician son spent an afternoon with him at a used record sale. One of our lad’s prized finds was an album by the American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (1941-1994; often credited simply as Nilsson). I have a vivid memory of Nilsson from my teenage years: at a house party, the host was playing his album Son of Schmilsson (1972) and kept repeating the song “You’re Breaking My Heart” as we goofy, immature teenage boys were fixated on the chorus, “You’re breakin’ my heart / You’re tearin’ it apart / So fuck you.” (I just found out today when looking up the song that former Beatle George Harrison [1943-2001] and Peter Frampton [b. 1950] played guitar on the recording. Huh.) And, by coincidence, this was the album my son bought last week…
Then, this morning, before a ride on the indoor bike trainer, I continued catching up on episodes of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music. On the March 19, 2023 instalment (“Laura Veirs Is Artist of the Week”), one track that I particularly enjoyed during an interlude of three or so instrumental pieces was the theme from director John Schlesinger’s (1926-2003) film Midnight Cowboy (1969) which starred Dustin Hoffman (b. 1937) and Jon Voight (b. 1938). The movie is still famous for the “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!” exclamation by Hoffman’s character, “Ratso” Rizzo when a cab drives dangerously close to him and Voight’s character crossing the street. As I searched for a YouTube version of the theme music, I came across “Everybody’s Talkin.'” The film featured Nilsson’s version of the 1966 song by folk-rocker Fred Neil (1936-2001), and it was a massive hit, becoming one of Nilsson’s better-known releases.
“Everybody’s talking at me
I don’t hear a word they’re saying
Only the echoes of my mind
People stopping, staring
I can’t see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyes
I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Through the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
Banking off of the northeast winds
Sailing on a summer breeze
And skipping over the ocean like a stone
Wah, wah wah-wah wah
Wah-wah wah-wah, wah wah-wah
Wahhh
I’m going where the sun keeps shining
Through the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
Banking off of the northeast winds
Sailing on a summer breeze
And skipping over the ocean like a stone
Everybody’s talking at me
Can’t hear a word they’re saying
Only the echoes of my mind
I won’t let you leave my love behind
No, I won’t let you leave
Wah, wah
I won’t let you leave my love behind”
“Everybody’s Talkin’,” by Fred Neil.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I remember the song so well from its radio play during my childhood, in the year that the Americans first landed on the Moon. The year, the music, and the Apollo mission brought a positive vibe and a hopeful sense about the world and possibilities (something we need now, more than ever with the climate emergency, Russia’s war in Ukraine, racism and exclusion, poverty, disasters, and so much injustice everywhere). In particular, I have always been drawn to the lovely flow of the verse, “Banking off of the northeast winds / Sailing on a summer breeze / And skipping over the ocean like a stone.” The sensation from that lyric reminds me of what it feels like to be cycling on my road bike with a tailwind along a quiet, sunny highway shoulder in the summertime.
Speaking of the bike… I’m really looking forward to outdoor cycling after logging over 2,700 virtual kilometres (1,680 miles) and more than 22,100 virtual metres (72,500 ft) of climbing on the trainer since winter conditions started November 1. (The climbing part is a bit extraneous as I live in a pan-flat area, but the resistance from it is an excellent workout if done moderately.) The forecast snowstorm here in Winnipeg probably won’t aid my intention, but no worry, it’ll happen…
“Everybody’s Talkin'” comes from Nilsson’s third studio album, Aerial Ballet (1968).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official audio from the Harry Nilsson YouTube channel:
With hope,
Steve
Content warning:
This post includes discussion on bullying.
Last summer, when volunteering on an election team (as I mention in an earlier post), I did a lot of writing for campaign announcements and often listened to music in the background. I heard several new-to-me songs I took note of for later, and today’s selection is one of them.
“7 Seconds” is a song co-written by Senegalese composer, singer-songwriter, musician, actor and politician Youssou N’Dour (b. 1959) and Swedish singer-songwriter, DJ, rapper and broadcaster Neneh Cherry (b. 1964), along with English singer-songwriter and producer Cameron McVey (b. 1957) and English producer and songwriter Jonathan Sharp (aka Johnny Dollar, 1964-2009). N’Dour released it in 1994 as a single featuring Cherry.
Of the collaboration, Cherry’s website archive states, “For Neneh it was very important to work with an African artist, particularly on a song about racism and people’s ways of looking at color. ‘7 Seconds’ is about the first positive 7 seconds in the life of a child just born not knowing about the problems and violence in our world. The song is sung in three different languages: Youssou sings Wolof, the Senegalese language, and French, Neneh sings English. (Cherry says) ‘They told us to translate it to English so that everybody can understand what it is about. But not everybody speaks English and why does it always have to be the dominant language. People should just learn to listen and see whether they like it and feel what it is about…!'”
“Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane
Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
Beugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yaw
mo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale
Roughneck and rudeness,
We should be using
On the ones who practice wicked charms
For the sword and the stone
Bad to the bone
Battle is not over
Even when it’s won
And when a child is born
Into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin is living in
It’s not a second
Seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting
It’s not a second
Seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting
I’ll be waiting
I’ll be waiting
J’assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J’aimerais qu’on oublie leur couleur pour qu’ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de races qui font qu’ils desesperent
Je veux les deux mains ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu’ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer
Seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting
It’s not a second
Seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting
I’ll be waiting
I’ll be waiting
And when a child is born
Into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin it’s living in
And there’s a million voices
And there’s a million voices
To tell you what you should be thinking
So you better sober up for just a second
We’re seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting
It’s not a second
We’re seven seconds away
For just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting
It’s not a second
Seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I’ll be waiting”
“7 Seconds,” by Youssou N’Dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey and Jonathan Sharp. Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
In the Gavin Report, a former San Francisco-based radio trade publication, editor Dave Sholin said this about the song: “Music to stir the senses combined with lyrics that make a powerful case for our common humanity. ‘7 Seconds’ is especially powerful in light of recent events in South Africa and it’s made that much more riveting by the melding of these two voices. It’s worth spending some time with this amazing track.'” (Sholin was referring to the transition from South African president F.W. de Klerk’s National Party apartheid government to the African National Congress under longtime political prisoner and later president Nelson Mandela.)
It’s often noted that childhood is a time of curiosity, and unconditional love and acceptance. I see and feel that so strongly every time Sweety and I care for our grandchildren, who savour time with us and we with them. Why does society cause people to not only lose those kind and humane qualities but also look down upon them as weak? I remember this starting in junior high school; any display of sensitivity was a rallying cry for bullies to terrorize and make life miserable. Later as a parent, I remember wanting so hard to protect my kids from this, and despite spending many meetings and phone calls with school principals and staff, little was ever done to stop the merciless treatment. And last summer, during my volunteer stint, the abusive treatment some political candidates endured was truly appalling. As I mentioned once before, I would never do that work again.
Maybe someday, we will learn to work together as a world and ensure each baby’s first seven positive seconds will be a prelude to what that child’s whole life will bring to them, regardless of their colour, gender, sexuality, ability, economic status or any other attributes that are so often used to exclude people from a joyful, secure and fulfilling existence.
In addition to its release as a single in 1994, “7 Seconds” appeared the same year on N’Dour’s seventh studio album, The Guide (Wommat), and in 1996, on Cherry’s third studio album, Man.
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 official music video from the Youssou N’Dour YouTube channel:
With kind wishes,
Steve
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know I love discovering new sounds. Often, I hear music for the first time that may have come out last month, last year, or forty years ago. And with my Classical Sunday segment, I frequently find pieces from four hundred years ago that I’ve never known before. It’s all quite awe-inspiring and a little daunting, knowing there is more music than I could ever listen to in my lifetime.
On Friday morning, I received a weekly music digest email from the online service of the British daily newspaper The Guardian. I always skim the topics and usually find something of interest to myself or to share with someone I know. In that email, under the Classical heading, there was a review of a live performance of Theodora, a three-act dramatic oratorio, with music composed in 1749 by the German-British Baroque composer Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759) and libretto by the English printer, librettist and classical scholar Thomas Morell (1703–1784).
Though I like many of Handel’s compositions, today is my first post featuring his music. And the mythical sound of the title Theodora attracted me, so I set out to learn about it…
The notes in a YouTube video excerpt of the aria from a performance of the work say, “First performed in 1750, Theodora tells the story of Christian martyrs in ancient Antioch under Roman occupation. Theodora was Handel’s penultimate major work, and he considered it among his best. Soprano Lisette Oropesa takes the role of the noble Theodora, while mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato portrays her friend Irene, a leading light of Antioch’s community of Christians; Didymus, a Roman soldier who loves Theodora, is sung by countertenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian, and his friend Septimius by tenor Michael Spyres, while baritone John Chest holds sway as the authoritarian Roman governor Valens.”
An article in Wikipedia and another source I’ve lost track of told me that while the oratorio was one of Handel’s favoured pieces among his creations, its 1750 debut performance was unsuccessful. Fast forward to today, it is a very popular work. As an oratorio, it is typically performed with an orchestra, though it has also been staged like an opera.
I don’t know the oratorio’s story or the setting for the aria I selected for today. In a quick search for videos of Theodora, I was entranced by the aria title “As with Rosy Steps the Morn.” The name sounds like the setting for a pastoral scene, yet, if I understand the order of the oratorio, it’s hard to know the context as Theodora’s difficulties begin early in Act I: she and her friend Irene are Christians, arrested for disobeying a decree by the Roman governor of ancient Antioch (a city in what is now Turkiye) that all citizens must offer sacrifice to Venus, goddess of love, and Flora, goddess of spring, in honour of the birthday of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (242-311 AD). Theodora expects to be put to death but instead is required to be a prostitute in the temple of Venus; she’d rather die. Irene tells Didymus of this, and he seeks to either rescue Theodora or die with her. So yeah, not exactly a peaceful meadow image here, but there is powerful love, and the poetry by Morell is magnificent:
[Irene]
“As with rosy steps the morn
Advancing, drives the shades of night;
So from virtuous toils well-borne,
Raise thou our hopes of endless light.
Triumphant Saviour! Lord of Day!
Thou art the Life, the Light, the Way.”
“As with Rosy Steps the Morn,” poem by Thomas Morell, set to music by G.F. Handel.
Text retrieved from the Vocal Music Instrumentation Index.
I suppose the text may be offering that, even in our darkest times, we can be comforted by beauty in its simplest forms: a flower, a sunrise, a caring note or touch, a feeling of love. Despite her dear friend’s predicament, Irene has hopes of endless light.
The aria is an incredibly gorgeous work, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have since finding it on Friday.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the aria from a 2022 Warner Classics/Erato recording of Russian conductor, pianist, cornetist and harpsichordist Maxim Emelyanychev (b. 1988) conducting the Il Pomo d’Oro ensemble while playing the harpsichord, and American mezzo-soprano soloist Joyce DiDonato (b. 1969), from DiDonato’s YouTube channel.
And here is a video excerpt from Warner/Erato of a performance by Emelyanychev, Il Pomo d’Oro ensemble and Joyce DiDonato, along with fellow soloists Oropesa, Bénos-Djian, Spyres and Chest.
With warm wishes,
Steve
Today has been one of those days when (almost) everything has come up quite excellent. I say almost, as I forgot to pull an April Fool’s prank on my sweety! (Years ago, the boys and I would load up her backpack with kitchen utensils for her walk to work; another time, when she had a bad ankle injury, I swapped her crutches for a child’s pair; and more recently, I froze a cup of coffee with milk to serve her in the morning… she’s a good sport.)
After a relaxing morning, I returned my freshly tuned-up bike to the indoor trainer and connected to the Zwift.com training platform. I thought I’d do about 50 kilometres (31 miles), but that became 60, so why not a few more? Finishing at 70 km, I took a break and fuelled up, and still feeling strong, I decided to go for another 30 or so and brought my day’s total to 101 km (63 miles). That’s the longest I’ve ever gone in one day.
After such a long exercise session, I really feel the endorphins coursing through my body. I’ll probably fade earlier than usual tonight, but I feel great as I write this post. The sensation reminds me of how I felt on weekends in my early to mid-20s when I’d go out with friends (the post-high school group I’ve referred to here before as “friends 2.0,” described in more detail in a post from early 2020). We’d have a fantastic time in cabarets dancing and hanging out, or listening to bands in pubs.
One song we heard in the dance bars starting early in the fall of 1985 was “Something About You” by the English new wave/synthpop/jazz-funk band Level 42. I don’t hear the song played anywhere much nowadays, but it’s an old favourite, and with its uptempo beat, it came to my mind this afternoon.
“Ooh…
Ooh…
How – how can it be that a love
Carved out of caring fashioned by fate
Could suffer so hard
From the games played much too often
But making mistakes is a part
Of life’s imperfections born of the years
Is it so wrong to be human after all
Drawn into the stream
Of undefined illusion
Those diamond dreams
They can’t disguise the truth
That there is something about you
Baby so right
I wouldn’t be without you baby tonight
If ever our love was concealed
No one can say that we didn’t feel
A million things
And a perfect dream of life
Gone, fragile but free
We remain tender together
If not so in love
It’s not so wrong
We’re only human after all
These changing years
They add to your confusion
Oh and you need to hear the time
That told the truth
That there is something about you
Baby so right
Don’t want to be without you
Baby tonight
Because there’s something about you
Baby so right
I couldn’t live without you
Baby tonight
Ooh…
Ooh…
And there’s something about you
I couldn’t live without you
Tonight”
“Something About You,” by Mike Lindup, Phil Gould, Mark King, Rowland Gould and Wally Badarou.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
In “Something About You,” lead vocalist and bassist Mark King is singing to his lover, acknowledging that there are problems with their relationship but also that he can’t imagine life without her. In the video on a train ride, he’s clearly a bit distracted, pensive and worried. The film ends differently than the song lyrics, which I hadn’t noticed before, though I last saw the video itself many years ago. In my positive vibe this evening, I’m sticking with the optimistic ending.
Speaking of pensive, I was a little apprehensive about going so long on the bike today as, of course, there was Saturday pizza-and-movie-night pizza to make, plus some of the kids and one of the grandchildren are coming for family dinner tomorrow, and Sweety wisely suggested I make my spaghetti sauce today so the flavours could marry up overnight. All of that work is done now, and I still have energy. Life is good.
“Something About You” is the opening track on Level 42’s sixth studio album, their international breakout record, World Machine (1985).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Strangely, the band doesn’t have the official music video posted on their YouTube channel. I found a non-high definition copy from a non-official site (though I’m using it as it properly credits the music and artists), and the sound from the studio track is pretty good, well, for YouTube, anyway:
And, here’s a video of a live performance on the British TV program The Tube, in 1985, from the Level 42 YouTube channel:
If you want the best sound of course, try your streaming service, or the official audio from the studio track on YouTube:
With upbeat weekend vibes,
Steve
Content warning:
Today’s post deals with topics relating to mental health.
In yesterday’s post, I told you about taking our grandson to The Leaf, a new conservatory Sweety and I have been going to a lot, sometimes just the two of us, and other times with either of our two local grandsons.
On Thursdays, we usually borrow the car seat from our daughter-in-law’s car, but yesterday, as our son was at home about to leave to pick up a friend, we swapped rides since we were leaving at about the same time. As I sat in his car, getting familiarized, music started playing, and I realized it was coming from his phone as he was trying to connect to the system in my car parked just in front of us, but his cellphone insisted on connecting with his vehicle. Kinda funny. He soon sorted it out, but in the meantime, I had a sampling of his music, which I always appreciate as, while we like many of the same things, he introduces me to stuff I’d never hear otherwise. The song playing was “Kind and Generous” (fantastic song, by the way) by American alternative rock singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant (b. 1963) from her second solo album, Ophelia (1998). I recognized the song and the voice as that of the former member of the band 10,000 Maniacs and later thought, wow, cool! We like some more of the same music!
I love Merchant’s distinctive voice and how she infuses such a gentle spirit, persistent purpose, and dogged determination in her songs. I searched for the song today but mistakenly searched by the album title rather than the song title, as these are displayed differently in our two vehicles’ media players. So, I rather serendipitously came across the music video for “Ophelia” from the album of the same name. Okay, I thought, that’s how I was confused…
“Ophelia” is a powerful and brooding piece about a character depicted in the video in various manifestations across different time periods and circumstances.
“Ophelia was a bride of god
A novice Carmelite
In sister cells the cloister bells
Tolled on her wedding night
Ophelia was a rebel girl
A blue stocking suffragette
Who remedied society
Between her cigarettes
Ophelia was a sweetheart
To the nation over night
Curvaceous thighs
Vivacious eyes
Love was at first sight…
Ophelia was a demigoddess
In pre-war Babylon
So statuesque a silhouette
In black satin evening gowns
Ophelia was the mistress to a
Vegas gambling man
Signora Ophelia Maraschina
Mafia courtesan
Ophelia was a circus queen
The female cannonball
Projected through five flaming hoops
To wild and shocked applause…
Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest
A god damned hurricane
Your common sense
Your best defense
Lay wasted and in vain
Ophelia’d know your every woe
And pain you’d ever had
She’d sympathize
And dry your eyes
And help you to forget…
Ophelia’s mind went wandering
You’d wonder where she’d gone
Through secret doors
Down corridors
She’d wander them alone
All alone…”
“Ophelia,” by Natalie Merchant.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The character Ophelia is best known through English playwright William Shakespeare’s (1564-1616) tragedy Hamlet. In the drama, Ophelia’s father forbids her to see Hamlet. Ever obedient, she follows his dictate, tragically leading to her madness and death. The commonality with Merchant’s song is that the character there, too, is imprisoned in severe mental illness. It’s jarringly real in that many endure similar ailments in life. This reality has worsened terribly in recent years with the effects of Covid-19 isolation compounded by the brutally heartless bean-counting-and-cutting priorities of conservative governments in my province and many places in Canada and worldwide. And, even less severe forms of emotional illness can feel like internment to the sufferer as, in the good times, one always wonders when the heavy burden will return and how to cope when it does.
I also think the song sends subtle messages about society’s subjugation of women in several ways: through lesser roles in religious orders, in equal rights, in objectification and sexual exploitation, and in the longstanding lack of attention to health issues that only affect females. It’s a pretty dark piece, though Merchant’s craft makes it compelling.
All in all, I feel like Merchant, a very talented and humane soul, is saying to the world as a whole, something like, “People, it’s tough out there. Let’s love and take care of each other.”
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the music video for “Ophelia” from the Natalie Merchant YouTube channel:
With love,
Steve
A note to readers: Repeating a message from an earlier post, we all know the Covid-19 pandemic severely affected people’s health and worsened a lot of challenges people already had. Depression and other mental health issues can feel overwhelming. There are resources. Please reach out if you need help.
Anywhere in Canada:
For mental health/crisis support:
Call: 1-833-456-4566 (24/7)
Text:
Adults can text: 741741
Youth can text: 686868
Text Talk Suicide Canada: 45645 (4 PM – 12 AM EST)
Quebec residents can also:
Call: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)
Text: 1-855-957-5353
In the United States:
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text: 988
For elsewhere in the world, please refer to online resources in your region if you need someone to contact. ❤️
Today has been super busy, starting with a little over an hour ride the indoor bike trainer at a fast pace, followed by a big lunch, then caring for one of our grandsons just for the afternoon. As has been our habit the last few weeks, my sweety and I took the little one to The Leaf, the new indoor conservatory in Canada’s Diversity Gardens at Assiniboine Park. It’s such a beautiful space, and today, with the sun shining bright, the tropical biome was hot and humid. It was lovely.
Then it was back to our son’s and, eventually, back home so I could take my road bike and gravel wheelset to the bike shop for pre-season servicing; this is a little optimistic since we aren’t in outdoor biking weather yet (I am not a winter cyclist though I know many who are). But when I made the appointment a month ago, I guessed we’d be farther along, weather-wise. Oh well… the authorities say a slow melt is good because it will spread out the timing of a large spring melt coming up the Red River from the USA and hopefully minimize flooding in Manitoba, though most of that will likely be south of where I live in Winnipeg, and our city is protected by a massive floodway.
And now, finally, sitting down to write my daily post, I quickly cruised through YouTube as I didn’t gain any ideas from the music playing today… well, other than one song, but that one will take a while to write about as it brought up some vivid memories of working at McDonald’s as a teenager.
While on YouTube, I discovered a video of Beck (aka Beck David Hansen, b. 1970) covering “Old Man,” a 1972 song by Canadian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Neil Young (b. 1945). I like the version Beck does; it’s faithful to Young’s original, yet he puts his stamp on the song, too.
“One, two
One, two, three
Old man, look at my life
I’m a lot like you were
Old man, look at my life
I’m a lot like you were
Old man, look at my life
Twenty-four and there’s so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two
Love lost, such a cost
Give me things that don’t get lost
Like a coin that won’t get tossed
Rolling home to you
Old man, take a look at my life. I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true
Lullabies, look in your eyes
Run around the same old town
Doesn’t mean that much to me
To mean that much to you
I’ve been first and last
Look at how the time goes past
But I’m all alone at last
Rolling home to you
Old man, take a look at my life. I’m a lot like you
I need someone to love me the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true
Old man, look at my life
I’m a lot like you were
Old man look at my life
I’m a lot like you were”
“Old Man,” by Neil Young.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song looks at old age from a young man’s perspective, acknowledging that the elder he’s addressing was once like him. That’s a fascinating concept to me; when I was, say, 24 like the young man in the song, I thought people in their 60s were very old, certainly incapable of going out and riding a bike for 75, 80 or more kilometres in a day, but I’m not sure I thought much about their youth. I view age much differently now, as people even older than me still cycle at an endurance level. And at the same time, we were once young too, doing all the things twenty-somethings do. I’m content with where I am, and I wouldn’t want to be that age again though I do like reminiscing about my younger years. I guess the perspectives on aging were really what appealed to me about the song this evening.
“Old Man” originally appeared as the first track on side two of Neil Young’s fourth studio record, Harvest (1972), and was written for the caretaker of the Northern California ranch Young owned. I previously posted Young’s “Harvest Moon,” the title track from his 1992 album, which he released as a “countrified” follow-up to the 20-year-old Harvest.
Beck released his version of the song as a single in September 2022.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the video of Beck from his YouTube channel:
With aged, youthful wishes,
Steve
Lately, I’ve been in the mood to listen to my favourite radio program, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music. I’m subscribed to the show on the BBC Sounds app, and up to four or five back episodes are usually available when I haven’t listened for a while. Over the two previous days, I’ve posted a couple of songs from the show’s February 26, 2023 instalment (“Pancakes with Same Fender!”): “In My Room” and “That’s the Way.”
Today I made my way as far as Garvey’s March 12 episode (“No Correspondence About Food – Please”), and one track early on in the program really caught my attention, “Cory Wong,” by the Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA-based funk group, Vulfpeck. The song is named after a frequent collaborator and touring band member who plays lead guitar in the piece (in the video below, there are three electric guitarists; one is in shorts, and Wong is the non-bearded of the two others, the one making all the facial contortions).
It’s a fun instrumental track with a great, joyful vibe. The video for the song has notes superimposed, but since there are no lyrics, it’s telling stage moves and other commentaries about the music and who’s playing what. It’s quite a clever and enjoyable presentation. The video cuts between the band playing in a living room and a music venue.
After the video for “Cory Wong” ended, YouTube autoplayed for me a film of a full live show by the band at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium, in September 2017. If you enjoy today’s selection as I did, you may want to join me in heading over to watch the full show, too. I can wait for you if you don’t want to go there alone.
Formed in 2011 by a group of students from the University of Michigan’s school of music, Vulfpeck has released six studio albums, a live album and four EPs. I’m grateful to have been introduced to their music today, and I hope you’ll enjoy it, too.
“Cory Wong” is the closing track on the band’s second studio album, The Beautiful Game (2016), available for purchase or streaming. As Garvey would say, buy their albums so they can afford to make more! (In 2020, he gave evidence at a government inquiry on the effect of streaming, saying the low payments to artists are making the industry unsustainable for up-and-coming musicians, and that the services should be charging and paying more. I agree with him 100%.)
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the video of “Cory Wong” from the Vulf YouTube channel:
And here’s the full, live show (1:41:30):
Funkily,
Steve
Life is getting back to our regular routine this evening as our houseguest left early this afternoon for his home in Ontario, Canada. The busy and fun week went by quickly!
My selection for today keeps the tempo on the slow side, and is another song I heard yesterday when playing the February 26, 2023, archived episode of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music through the BBC Sounds app.
“That’s the Way” is an acoustic ballad, an outstanding piece by Led Zeppelin. I think the song is about life bringing change and challenges to us and that we must savour life and the present moment (e.g., kissing tiny flowers), accepting that death is a part of the life cycle. I believe it also touches on threats to the environment (dying fish) and perhaps prejudice (as the singer’s mother tells him he can’t play with his friend anymore; maybe the friend, who lives in another part of town, is of another race, economic class or sexual orientation…). Either way, the friendship is lost, and at the song’s end, the singer is moving toward acceptance of what his life is now.
“I don’t know how I’m going to tell you
I can’t play with you no more
I don’t know how I’m gonna do what mama told me
My friend, the boy next door
I can’t believe what people saying
You’re gonna let your hair hang down
I’m satisfied to sit here working all day long
You’re in the darker side of town
And when I’m out I see you walking
Why don’t your eyes see me
Could it be you’ve found another game to play
What did mama say to me?
That’s the way
Oh, that’s the way it ought to be
Yeah, yeah, mama say
That’s the way it ought to stay
And yesterday I saw you standing by the river
And weren’t those tears that filled your eyes
And all the fish that lay in dirty water dying
Had they got you hypnotized?
And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers
But all that lives is born to die
And so I say to you that nothing really matters
And all you do is stand and cry
I don’t know what to say about it
When all you ears have turned away
But now’s the time to look and look again at what you see
Is that the way it ought to stay?
That’s the way
That’s the way it ought to be
Oh, don’t you know now, mama said
That’s the way it’s going to stay, yeah”
“That’s the Way,” by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I remember hearing Led Zeppelin’s records regularly in my childhood home. As I mentioned in my post on Led Zep’s “Whole Lotta Love,” one of my brothers played them often, especially when his friends visited his basement suite.
This song reminds me of the changes my teenage years brought, growing up, feeling awkward, and often believing I didn’t fit in. Most kids think that way in some way or another, and it’s often hard to get to a place where they are comfortable talking about such things for fear of being ostracized by their peers. I don’t envy today’s young people as, while many of the problems are the same as when I grew up, the world is far more complicated than it was then. I’d like to have told my teenage self, “Hey, you’ll get through this tough stuff, and life will be good. That’s the way!”
“That’s the Way” comes from the album Led Zeppelin III (1970).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the official video from the Led Zeppelin YouTube channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
Today has been a fun day. It started with a slightly later wake-up, which was good as my sweety and I were really busy all weekend, attending five shows as part of Winnipeg’s Crankie Festival. We haven’t been out so much in a long time.
If you’ve been following along here, you’ll also know we’ve been hosting one of the Crankie Fest performers, our friend Corin Raymond, since last Tuesday. With the festival now over, today he focused on connections and errands. While he went for brunch with a local music venue owner, I took the opportunity to do an hour-long Zwift.com workout on the indoor bike trainer.
By the time Corin was back, I was cleaned up and fed, Sweety had made bread (hot out of the oven with butter… mmm, mmm, good!), and then we drove him around for a couple of errands, the longest of which was a trip to Toad Hall Toys, a fantastic toy store in Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District (a National Historic Site with its warehouses, bank edifices and terracotta-clad buildings… quite an amazing precinct with about 150 buildings of historical significance; my six-years-retired City Hall job was in this area, too… it was a very cool place to walk around when I took the time to get away for that). A bank was also conveniently placed nearby for some necessary business today.
Then when our temporary and beloved housemate left to have dinner with a friend earlier this evening, I sat down to write today’s blog post. My starting soundtrack was what I was listening to much earlier this morning when I was the only one up: Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on BBC 6 Music (February 26, 2023, “Pancakes with Same Fender!”), where I heard “In My Room” by California, USA band the Beach Boys (a band whose music I’ve featured once before, with their pioneering recording of “Good Vibrations“); I also was drawn to a few more songs on that program that I’ve put on my list for future posts. Then, while our friend showed us various prized finds during his week here including at a record sale, he handed me a CD by a former band of his, The Undesirables, called Summer’s Gone (2003). What a delight to hear the voice we’ve come to love, in its 20-year-ago iteration.
So, yeah, after savouring the CD, I returned to Garvey’s program and, with the dulcet tones of Garvey’s narration in my head, “In My Room” came on. I was flooded with memories of hearing that song throughout the decades it and I have jointly been inhabitants of the earth.
About the song, a website that captures album artists’ liner notes served this up on the internet today on a search: “‘In My Room’ found us taking our craft a little more seriously. Brian and I came back to the house one night after playing ‘over-the-line’ (a baseball game). I played bass and Brian was on organ. The song was written in an hour … Brian’s melody all the way. The sensitivity … the concept meant a lot to him. When we finished, it was late, after our midnight curfew. In fact, Murry [the Wilson brothers’ father] came in a couple of times and wanted me to leave. Anyway, we got Audree [the Wilson brothers’ mother], who was putting her hair up before bed, and we played it for her. She said, ‘That’s the most beautiful song you’ve ever written.’ Murry said, ‘Not bad, Usher, not bad,’ which was the nicest thing he ever said to me.”
“There’s a world where I can go and tell my secrets to
In my room, in my room
In this world I lock out all my worries and my fears
In my room, in my room
Do my dreaming and my scheming
Lie awake and pray
Do my crying and my sighing
Laugh at yesterday
Now it’s dark and I’m alone
But I won’t be afraid
In my room, in my room
In my room, in my room
In my room, in my room”
“In My Room,” by Gary Usher and Brian Wilson.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I enjoyed today’s serendipitous, generous and gentle reminders of music and its attachments to my life now, and back then—which helped develop, inform and enrich the infinitely wonderful life I live today.
“In My Room” comes from Surfer Girl, the Beach Boys’ 1963 album.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from the Beach Boys’ YouTube channel:
With my best summery wishes, while winter still hangs on here…
Steve
Today for Classical Sunday, I’m featuring music by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). I’ve previously posted about numerous works by this prolific artist, and each post links to an earlier one.
Bach completed the Mass in B Minor, BWV 80 a year before his death. The work was a massive collection of four sections and 27 movements, some of the material coming from other pieces composed more than 25 years earlier. Wikipedia also tells me it’s believed that Bach never heard the mass played in its entirety; the first documented, complete performance didn’t happen until 1859. The entire work would take about two hours to play… but don’t worry; we’re just listening to one movement today, about five minutes worth!
While surfing YouTube for suggestions this morning, I saw the video for the third movement from the second section, the Credo, of the Mass in B Minor. The piece is a duet that is sung to the Latin text, “Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula, Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt, qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis,” which translates to “And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by who all things were made: who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.”
I’m not very knowledgeable about sacred music or its relationship to religious doctrine; however, I would say the nine movements of the Mass’s second section represent the Christian creed (or system of beliefs). While not practising that faith in the organized sense, I feel the soaring voices in the duet blend beautifully and, along with the exquisite and varied instrumentation, weave together a splendid piece that is pleasurable to hear and, honestly, quite awe-inspiring.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
I hope you enjoy the video, which features two members of the British vocal octet VOCES8, first alto Katie Jeffries-Harris and artistic director/second alto/countertenor Barnaby Smith, accompanied by the Illyria Consort, a project of Croatian-born violinist Bojan Cicic:
With my best to you,
Steve
This morning, “The Sea” by the English electronic trio Morcheeba came on random play as I ate breakfast, read and passively listened to music.
I’ve previously posted two songs by Morcheeba, both from the same album: “Otherwise” and “Charango” (which is the title track of the 2002 collection). In “Otherwise,” I briefly mention today’s selection… so I figured it’s about time I shared it!
“The Sea” is a relaxed piece with a string ensemble underneath and accentuating the bluesy guitar in a kaleidoscope of musical colours that combine to keep the mood easy but interesting and engaging alongside a chill, slightly downtempo beat. The song tells of leaving one’s soul at the seaside—a vacation playland—and escaping from the pressures, worries and drudgery of daily life, the senses filled with the sights, sounds and aromas while walking along the shoreline.
“Flocking to the sea
Crowds of people wait for me
Sea gulls scavenge
Steal ice cream
Worries vanish
Within my dream
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
Fishing boats sail past the shore
No singing may-day any more
The sun is shining
The water’s clear
Just you and I walk along the pier
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
A cool breeze flows but mind the wasp
Some get stung it’s worth the cost
I’d love to stay
The city calls me home
More hassles fuss and lies on the phone
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control here
Living free
I left my soul there,
Down by the sea
I lost control with you,
And living, living,
And I, living, by the sea”
“The Sea,” by Ross Godfrey, Paul David Godfrey and Skye Edwards.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
“The Sea” is the opening track from the group’s second studio release, Big Calm (1998). Of the album, Apple Music says, “In the hands of Tricky, Portishead, and Massive Attack, trip-hop earned a reputation for being dark, even claustrophobic. On their second album, though, Morcheeba preserved the style’s sedate tempos and sultry atmospheres while opening up a world of warmth and colour. Hip-hop beats and turntable scratches are fleshed out with acoustic guitars, country blues, a splash of reggae, and even sitar, while singer Skye Edwards holds the spotlight with her hushed, soulful delivery. As the cover art underscores, it’s best heard in a horizontal position.”
That description sounds about right for today. Yesterday was hectic, and I felt depleted despite having an enjoyable time at the Crankie Festival. I awoke a little later today and am planning on taking it easy. Listening to Big Calm is a good start.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the Morcheeba YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
This week has been busy, and I’m feeling drained after a strenuous workout today on the indoor bike trainer. I plan to relax before we head out to the first night of the Crankie Festival, which I have been telling you about this week. A few musicians we know will be performing throughout the event, and my sweety and I are really looking forward to it.
In music news elsewhere, my friend Jackson Maloney from Colorado, USA, released a single today. It’s the first of two he’ll be putting out before his new, self-titled album drops on April 14. The album will be his second full record and follows his 2021 EP Dharma Farm. I previously posted the title track of his first album, Things to Live For (2019).
Last year, Maloney posted a video of an acoustic version of today’s selection; the version he released today was recorded with a full band. The song has a light-hearted vibe matching the optimism Maloney sings of, with some good old country twang to raise the spirits.
“The earth awakens
The clouds are shakin’
The birds and bees are makin’ love
The robin’s breast is full from winter’s rest
And though the snow is not all the way behind
I see signs of springtime
Through pretty dresses
She impresses
And she caresses the achin’ eye
He lies low where them warm winds blow
And he feels a heaviness liftin’ from his mind
With the signs of springtime
A little give and a little take
Before we know it we’ll hit summer’s wake
Right now’s a good time to let things all go
Just watch the green grass grow
Tears and laughter
They come after
Every chapter in a story told
Just like the rain that’s coming back again
There’s always friends waiting ‘cross the line
When there’s signs of springtime
A little give and a little take
Before we know it we’ll hit summer’s wake
Right now’s a good time to let things all go
Just watch the green grass grow
The days they lengthen
The sun is strengthens
I’m still thankin’ my lucky stars
Palm in palm let’s listen to a psalm
‘Cause I hear notes from a song I’m trying to find
I think it’s a sign of springtime
‘Cause I hear notes from a song I’m trying to find
I think it’s a sign of springtime”
“Signs of Springtime,” by Jackson Maloney.
Lyrics retrieved from the YouTube post of the 2022 acoustic version.
Today, Boulder County, Colorado is significantly warmer than it is here at home in Winnipeg, Canada. Aside from the sun, the only sign of springtime I see here right now is that ice and snow are melting, but the ground still has a lot of snow cover. I heard earlier today that the weather here will be hovering around and below freezing for a couple of weeks, so it won’t be road biking season for a little while. I guess I’ll just have to listen for those signs of springtime…
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and I hope you enjoy the audio from the Jackson Maloney YouTube channel:
With warming wishes,
Steve
I have previously posted another song by the Canadian indie rock supergroup, The New Pornographers, “Champions of Red Wine.” Lately, I’ve heard quite a few great songs by this group, and I enjoy their sound with the variety of singers and instruments they use in their music. Today’s selection is one I’ve listened to often, first hearing it on Apple Music.
The lead singer on “These Are the Fables” is American singer-songwriter Neko Case (b. 1970), with her distinctive contralto voice. I believe she is singing about imagination and its power to transform the mundane of the everyday into the stuff of storytellers and adventurers. Storytelling is a huge part of music, whether the song itself is the story or if the singer introduces a musical piece with a tale as great storytellers like Nanci Griffith and Corin Raymond do (and if you’ve been following along here, you’ll know Raymond is in Winnipeg, Canada this weekend to weave stories with his Bookmarks dramaturge piece, and to play some music, at the Crankie Festival).
“In coral and gray
In submarine chambers
One day
It swam for the light
The jewels that lit
The cities that float there
Cities in circles drawn perfect, complete
Holding the secrets on my street
My street, my street
So come in and play
The song of the siren
It’s commonplace
You hear the voice rise
In one wave
And crash on your doorstep
Making the circle here perfect, complete
These are the fables on my street
Ten thousand dancing girls
Kicking cans ‘cross the sky
No reason why
Why ask to pay yourself
For the call of the wild
You found this child
So raise him
And wind your back
Come back to the river
The currents speed by
And hope the men fear
The hammer comes down
So hard on the evening
Cracking the dawn of your
Days are repeat
These are fables on my street
My street, my street
Heaven shook Hell
And down from its pockets
The ring in your bell
It fell through your hands
Hang at your feet
The doors that won’t open
Marking the journey of our friends complete
These are the fables of my street
My street
My street, my street
Lay down in glory, you’re not alone
My street, my street
Lay down in glory, you’re not alone”
“These Are the Fables,” by A.C. Newman.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The New Pornographers was set up in Vancouver in 1997 as a project on the side of the regular musical pursuits of the members, but it has built a significant following and continuity, releasing eight albums so far. With a rotation of lead singers and several songwriters, I find the band’s unique and varied sound enjoyable.
“These Are the Fables” comes from the band’s third studio album, Twin Cinema (2005).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the audio from The New Pornographers’ YouTube channel:
With my best to you,
Steve
Okay… one more from the Corin Raymond mix CD: a captivating ballad from the Warped 45s, a roots rock/country band formed in 2007 in Toronto, Canada.
This is one of those bands whose online presence is scant. Other than the fact they formed in 2007 and won a fans’ choice award at the NXNE music festival in Toronto in 2009, there’s not much about them other than an out-of-date Sonicbids account and virtually all dead links on their Facebook page. None of the usual lyrics services carry the words to this song, but I did find them on an annotations website, aggregated from the closed captioning in the official music video on YouTube. I have to wonder if they are still an active band, given the “radio silence.” An administrator occasionally posts on the Facebook page, but not with content about the band.
So with that lack of information, the song carries some mystique around it. It seems to be an ode of sorts to music and the writer’s wish to be remembered by his friends’ songs, with the tunes loaded in a jukebox or playing on the invisible radio waves.
“Let my headstone be my favorite jukebox
Loaded with the songs of my friends
Tuck the sheets of rain tight under my collar
By the headwaters of a hubcap stream
Rest my head beneath the rusted needles
Rustic hymnals and warped 45s
Blessed be the barrelhouse piano
Beating in the dying light of the radio sky
Let my bones be the porous marrow
Of the hayloft sparrow, and the chevron geese
Set me free to the tricks of the trade winds
On the note that the song ends sounding reveille
Rest my head beneath the rusted needles,
The rustic hymnals and warped 45s
Blessed be the barrelhouse piano
Beating in the dying light of the radio sky
When the mist around the moon is a howling perfume
Push B24 and sway barefoot on my grave
Rest my head beneath the rusted needles,
The rustic hymnals and warped 45s
Blessed be the barrelhouse piano
Beating in the dying light of the radio sky
Damn the radio sky.
Damn the radio sky
Damn the radio sky.
Oh damn
Let my headstone be my favorite jukebox
Loaded with the songs of my friends
“Radio Sky,” by the Warped 45s.
Lyrics retrieved from AllReadable.com.
The song has a definite country vibe through the acoustic guitar, banjo, and vocals. I hadn’t remembered it from listening to the CD in the past, but I was glad to dust off the digital file and hear it today.
“Radio Sky” comes from the band’s debut album, 10 Day Poem for Saskatchewan (2009).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official video from the Warped 45s’ YouTube channel:
With warm wishes,
Steve
I mentioned yesterday that, while writing the post Corin Raymond’s “Morning Glories,” I was listening to the 25-song mix he offered as a perk during his crowdfunding campaign for the album Dirty Mansions.
One song from the mix CD that truly captured my heart and soul was “Jersey Girl” by American singer, songwriter, actor and composer Tom Waits (b. 1949). I’ve never closely followed Waits’ career, but I enjoy his gravelly voice and the authentic, working-class vibe of his music. There’s beauty in the simplicity of the piece; no fancy production effects, just a sparse band and arrangement faithfully complementing his balladeering. I remember a former in-law of mine was a huge Tom Waits fan, and I seem to recall she even had a framed poster of him in her apartment living room many years ago.
In “Jersey Girl,” Waits is so profoundly enamoured with a love that he can’t sleep at night when he’s not with her. The intensity of his feeling has led him to reevaluate his life and what matters to him. He no longer wants to go out with the guys on his side of the river and be part of their tawdry pursuits; he wants to be with his lover, walking down the street with her, taking rides with her at the carnival, or just holding each other.
“got no time for the corner
boys, down in the street
makin’ all that noise, don’t
want no whores on eighth
avenue, cause tonight i’m
gonna be with you.
cause tonight i’m gonna
take that ride, across the
river to the jersey side, take
my baby to the carnival,
and i’ll take you on all the
rides.
down the shore every-
thing’s alright, you with
your baby on a saturday
night, don’t you know that
all my dreams come true,
when i’m walkin’ down the
street with you, sing sha la
la la la la sha la la la.
you know she thrills me
with all her charms, when
i’m wrapped up in my
baby’s arms, my little an-
gel gives me everything, i
know someday that she’ll
wear my ring.
so don’t bother me cause
i got no time, i’m on my
way to see that girl of mine,
nothin’ else matters in this
whole wide world, when
you’re in love with a jersey
girl, sing sha la la la la la la.
and i call your name, i
can’t sleep at night, sha la
la la la la la.”
“Jersey Girl,” by Tom Waits.
Official lyrics retrieved from the YouTube post, with corrections as sung.
There’s such purity in this love story. It’s awe-inspiring with the feelings it evokes in the listener—truly a gorgeous piece of music.
“Jersey Girl” comes from Waits’ seventh studio album, Heartattack and Vine (1980). The song has been covered by artists including Bruce Springsteen (b. 1949) on Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live 1975-1985 (1986) and by Corinne Bailey Rae (b. 1979) on the collection Come On up to the House: Women Sing Tom Waits (2019).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Here’s the audio from the Tom Waits YouTube channel:
And here’s the Bailey Rae version:
Okay, here’s Springsteen’s, too:
What did you think of the song? Whose version do you prefer?
With warm wishes,
Steve
The fifth annual Crankie Festival takes place this week from Friday to Sunday in Winnipeg, Canada, where I live. The music and art festival website describes the crankie as “a moving panorama, an old storytelling art form that was popular in the 18th century.” My sweety and I have attended most of these festivals, and this year, one of the performers, Hamilton, Ontario-based country-folk singer-songwriter Corin Raymond, will be billeting at our home during the festival. He’ll be presenting his spoken-word work/dramaturge piece Bookmarks as part of the festival on Saturday night; it’s a work we’ve seen before, but it’ll a joy to hear again as he tells the stories of his love for books and how his father nurtured that love from early on in life. He’ll also play and sing with other performers during the festival. If you’re in Winnipeg, I highly recommend attending!
I’m always looking for places to find new-to-me music and to broaden the source of songs for this blog and to experience types of music different from what I usually listen to. A post on one of the blogs I follow recently featured “music for blogging,” and the videos came from several genres, including country. Scrolling through them reminded me how much I enjoy that genre, mainly the country classics and outlaw country.
Raymond’s music spans folk, alternative country, country-folk and outlaw country, among other genres/subgenres, and I’ve posted two of his songs before: “The Law and the Lonesome” (co-written with North Carolina, USA’s Jonathan Byrd) and “Hard on Things.” One of our sons’ previous musical projects was an outlaw country band, Kieran West & His Buffalo Band; they played a lot of originals and covered songs by John Prine, Corin Raymond, Hank Williams III and a few others The band did a magnificent job of Raymond’s widely-covered “Three Thousand Miles” that would bring tears to my eyes whenever I heard him sing it. (While you’re here, check out this video of Raymond playing that song, accompanied by Byrd). Kieran and his band opened for Raymond in 2015, and that’s where I first met Corin. My sweety and I have seen him play many times since then and have been friends with him ever since. We also hosted a house concert he gave at our place in 2018, the first of two we’ve done at our place.
One of our favourite Corin Raymond songs is “Morning Glories.” Raymond calls it “a love letter to The Kensington Market, the Toronto neighbourhood where I began it in 2010.” It’s a delightful recollection through the characters who lived on the street, their stories coming alive to tell a magical story that centres on the flowers his late, former house-mate planted there.
“Luther
he’s a pension cheque gambler
he’s a park bench instructor
he’s a bread crumb handler
and a pigeon conductor
he’s an old ashtray miner
a half a lung hacker
a life’s-been-unkinder
and a penny roll stacker
Chuck
he’s a liquor store strummer
he’s a half a block howler
he’s the sound of my summer
he’s a “Dead Flowers” growler
he’s a sidewalk street singer
a Baldwin Spadina
old resonator slinger
and a drunken John Priner
Dolores
she’s a stray cat collector
she’s a landlord’s dilemma
she’s a mangy menagerie
marigold mama
she’s a plastic flower bike basket
Eaton’s Glider rider
a long Lola loiter
and a Pall Mall provider
I can smell the lilac from my room
the hollyhock sidewalks of June
where roses are blooming red as wine
but there are morning glories that only bloom
late in the chilly afternoon
and they might be the sweetest on the vine
they might be the sweetest on the vine
let’s float in the air
over Kensington Market
we could take your car there
but there’s no place to park it
up here with the pigeons
whom gravity pardons
we can see all the green bins
and sidewalks and gardens
we can look and there’s Chuck
singing ‘…Muhlenberg County’
and he’s already tucked away
two Old Milwaukees
and just two streets over
from Spadina and Baldwin
there’s Luther sittin’ under
the bronze of Al Waxman
and there goes Dolores
on her way down to Lola
to lounge in a chorus
of lit-up low rollers
she gives Chuck a smoke
and he gives her a song
Luther’s still broke but
he shuffles along
and she hands him one too
’cause she can afford it
and the twilight falls blue
on their cherry tip auras
and it’s plain to see now
that the darkness is growing
that you’re not down and out
when you’re down and out going
I can smell the lilac from my room
the hollyhock sidewalks of June
where roses are blooming red as wine
but there are morning glories that only bloom
late in the chilly afternoon
and they might be the sweetest on the vine
they might be the sweetest on the vine
they might be the sweetest on the vine”
“Morning Glories,” by Corin Raymond.
Official lyrics retrieved from the notes section of the YouTube post.
We are really looking forward to visiting with Corin and seeing/hearing his artistry this weekend. He’ll be out and about most of the time he’s in the city, but no doubt there will be some good bits of hangout time and, heck, maybe some musical suggestions for this blog! On that note, I have a special CD he made of 25 songs as an add-on when he was crowdfunding his Dirty Mansions album… I think he said he made it from an original list of over 100 tracks. I have to admit not having listened to it in a long time, but there are some songs I’d likely never have heard of otherwise, and I’ve enjoyed listening to it while writing and formatting this post.
“Morning Glories” comes from the album Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams (2016). It and other of Raymond’s records can be bought as CDs, LPs or digital downloads from his website and are also available on streaming services.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
So, why not take a guided stroll in Kensington Market with Corin and enjoy the video of a 2016 live performance of the song on his YouTube channel:
As a bonus, here’s the studio version.
What genres of music do you enjoy? Have you ever seen a “crankie”? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
With warmest wishes,
Steve
My apologies to subscribers and followers for not publishing a post yesterday. I was not feeling very energetic and didn’t have it in me to research or write anything. Later in the evening I thought of a couple of songs, either of which might have made for a quick post, but as I thought of them more I knew I wanted to say more about them, so they’ll be for the future.
Today it’s Classical Sunday on Song of the Day for Today. I tend to post a lot of violin and piano pieces, so today, I surfed the always-reliable Deutsche Grammophon YouTube channel and found a lovely piece of music arranged for classical guitar.
The piece, Second livre de pieces de clavecin, Sixieme ordre: V. Les barricades mysterieuses (Arr. for guitar by Antoine Fougeray) is part of the Second Livre, or second book of pieces for the harpsichord completed in 1717 by the French Baroque organist, harpsichordist and composer Francois Couperin (1668-1733). Couperin was born to a musically-talented family and became known as Couperin le Grand (“Couperin the Great”) to differentiate him from his kin. He put the title “ordre” (order) to a set of musical works written in the same key and compiled four such collections, or books, between 1713 and 1730. I searched for information on Antoine Fougeray, who arranged one of the pieces for the guitar, but found nothing.
Similarly, very little information was available on the French classical guitarist Raphael Feuillatre (b. 1996). His playing of the soft, lyrical and expressive music is quite beautiful, and I am happy to have discovered the video of him playing.
Feuillatre released Second livre de pieces de clavecin, Sixieme ordre: V. Les barricades mysterieuses (Arr. for guitar by Antoine Fougeray) as a single in 2022.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
I hope you enjoy the video from the official Deutsche Grammophon channel:
What did you think of the music? Are there any other pieces or composers you’d like to see me feature here? Let me know in the comments! Or just drop a “hello” while you’re here.
With warmest wishes,
Steve
Today’s selection is a blissful track by English singer-songwriter, composer and musician Ben Howard (b. 1987). It’s a perfect sound for the late afternoon, as Sweety and I had a late-ish lunch that lasted several hours with friends we hadn’t seen since 2017. And I’m feeling sleepy from the big meal and long conversation, so the peaceful sound of “Promise” was quite welcome.
The song begins with the sound of rain. When I first played the track, I was captivated by the sound as it didn’t entirely seem like rain; it was almost like a cross between fire and rain. But looking into Howard on Wikipedia.org and AZlyrics.com, I found a reference to a 2012 interview Howard did with the southern California, USA radio station LAist.com, where he told how the sound was recorded at 2:00 am in a barn, with large raindrops hitting the roof.
The sound experience reminds me of warm evenings in our summer porch, hearing, smelling, feeling, seeing, touching, and even tasting the rain. It’s such a relaxing set of feelings. And it seems far off today, as it is a cold and very windy day here; not the mild spring weather we often have by this time of the year.
The song is about love; maybe the writer is seeking a promise that the lover will wait until he can return from someplace he has to go.
“And meet me there, bundles of flowers
We’ll wade through the hours of cold
Winter she’ll howl at the walls
Tearing down doors of time
Shelter as we go…
And promise me this
You’ll wait for me only
Scared of the lonely arms
Surface, far below these birds
And maybe, just maybe I’ll come home
Who am I, darling to you?
Who am I?
To tell you stories of mine
Who am I?
Who am I, darling for you?
Who am I?
To be your burden in time, lonely
Who am I, to you?
Who am I, darling for you?
Who am I?
To be your burden
Who am I, darling to you?
Who am I?
I come alone here
I come alone here
“Promise,” by Ben Howard.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song has a gorgeous sound with intricate acoustic guitar playing/plucking/slaps, cello accompaniment, soft vocal melodies, and some subtle electronic keyboard at the end. It’s almost like the voices and instruments take over for the gloriousness of nature.
“Promise” is the closing track from Howard’s debut studio album, Every Kingdom (2011).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from the Ben Howard YouTube channel, and enjoy the rain:
With warm wishes,
Steve
Today is my 700th post on Song of the Day for Today! Thanks for joining me here. Let’s celebrate with some music, shall we?
The English singer, songwriter, musician and actor Sting (aka Gordon Summer, b. 1951) is an artist I’ve admired since first hearing him as the lead singer and bassist of the post-punk, new wave band The Police, a gig that ran from 1977 until the band’s breakup in 1986.
Sting released his first solo record, The Dream of the Blue Turtles, in 1985, and today’s selection was its third single and closing track. While I’m familiar with his albums from the 1990s, I don’t know this album, but I remember “Fortress Around Your Heart” very well. The song came on random play this morning while my sweety and I were getting ready to leave for a grandchild-caring day. It reminded me of a conversation with friends last night, so it seemed fitting for today.
“Fortress Around Your Heart” has the same sharp, smart standard of writing, singing, playing, and bright production I recognize in Sting’s music. Two excellent albums from the ’90s come across to me as concept albums (please see my posts on songs from them): the first is the balladeering style of Ten Summoner’s Tales (1993), the title a play on Sting’s last name combined with The Canterbury Tales, the famous book by English author, poet and civil servant Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340-1400); the second is Mercury Falling (1996), an album in which he explores topics like loss, depression and acceptance. In a 1996 interview with Guitar World magazine, Sting said of Mercury Falling, “The new songs are full of seasonal ideas: that you might die in winter yet be born again in spring. That you can be broken and then mended. Even the title, ‘Mercury Falling,’ which was the first phrase that came to me when I started writing, keeps reverberating in new ways. I was very ‘mercurial’ in jumping around from genre to genre and mixing things on this album. And Mercury was the thief of the gods, so I stole from everywhere.”
On that record, he also explores complicated relationships, saying to Interview magazine, also in 1996: “I have to reflect my moods, my memories, my hopes, my anxieties, my nostalgia and love for whatever’s happening. That’s my brief to myself when I make an album – it’s a heartfelt expression of me. This is a hopeful record, and I’m proud of it. I’ve had enough loss and sadness in my life not to be autobiographical, even now. I know what it’s like to be heartbroken. Also, I think the universe is reflected in relationships and that you can tell a love story that expresses the whole of existence. And I find difficult relationships more interesting to write about. In general though, my work is less confessional than it used to be.”
Back to today’s selection, I believe it follows a similar theme around difficult or complex relationships; not only one’s relationship with another but also with the self.
[Verse 1]
“Under the ruins of a walled city
Crumbling towers and beams of yellow light
No flags of truce, no cries of pity
The siege guns had been pounding all through the night
It took a day to build the city
We walked through its streets in the afternoon
As I returned across the fields I’d known
I recognized the walls that I’d once made
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I’d laid
[Chorus]
And if I built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire
[Verse 2]
Then I went off to fight some battle
That I’d invented inside my head
Away so long for years and years
You probably thought or even wished that I was dead
While the armies are all sleeping
Beneath the tattered flag we’d made
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I’d laid
[Chorus]
And if I built this fortress around your heart
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire
Then let me build a bridge
For I cannot fill the chasm
And let me set the battlements on fire
[Verse 3]
This prison has now become your home
A sentence you seem prepared to pay
It took a day to build the city
We walked through its streets in the afternoon
As I returned across the lands I’d known
I recognized the fields where I’d once played
I had to stop in my tracks for fear
Of walking on the mines I’d laid
“Fortress Around Your Heart,” by Gordon Sumner.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
In my view, Sting is trying to make sense of an intimate relationship and struggling with the walls that can go up and isolate one another; the walls and city symbolize the components of the relationship. He speaks of this struggle toward the end of the first verse, with words he repeats in the subsequent verses: “It took a day to build the city / We walked through its streets in the afternoon / As I returned across the fields I’d known / I recognized the walls that I’d once made / I had to stop in my tracks for fear / Of walking on the mines I’d laid.” Here he also implies self-awareness about his role in all this; perhaps self-destructive words and actions (the land mines), things that undermine his own growth and healthy association, keeping him detached from an authentic relationship with himself and others. Hands up, everyone who’s been there!
In the video, a shady character seeks out and hires Sting to play a song for money, and there’s a film noir kind of quality to the scene. Sting is defiant toward the man’s toughness and dictates which song he’ll sing. And, of course, there’s a mysterious woman in the mix, but little is shown of or known about her. In the end, Sting takes the money and, in a final act of noncompliance, has a creative use for it, as you’ll see. It’s quite a clever premise for the video, and a statement on human interactions.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
I hope you’ll enjoy the official music video from Sting’s YouTube channel (I’m not sure of the significance of “Option Two” in the title, as I didn’t see another official one on his channel):
With warm wishes,
Steve
In searching for something in a style I haven’t focused much on in this blog, I went through The 100 Best Songs of 2022 playlist from Apple Music. I found a song by a band I’ve never intentionally listened to, the Ontario, Canada, post-hardcore, hard rock band Alexisonfire.
Alexisonfire (pronounced Alexis on fire) is a band our musician lad likes a lot; I remember always seeing their CDs around our family home years ago and, more recently, spotted the band’s latest record at his place, though I didn’t immediately recognize the cover as an Alexisonfire record.
After noticing that album cover again today on the Apple playlist, I remembered when, in 2005, one of the band’s members, Dallas Green (b. 1980), started a solo project he called City and Colour, a riff on his name. I recall my son asking me to take him to a show at Winnipeg’s Garrick Centre around that time, when he was in his early teens. I’m sure it was Green’s first tour as that act, and the show was a solo performance. We stood at the edge of the low stage, probably ten feet away from Green, watching intently as he played. He added a backing band as the project developed and became very successful for him in the following years. We saw that group perform in February 2012 at the Burton Cummings Theatre (which I still want to call the Walker, its original name). It was a superb show that came not long after the release of Little Hell (2011).
Back to Alexisonfire, today’s selection seemed to me to be about deep, fiery and perhaps complicated love, and about yearning for intimacy. It’s slightly calmer than a couple of thrashers on the album, like the screaming rock opener “Committed to the Con” and the fast-tempo “Unconditional Love,” though “World Stops Turning” cranks it up after a quiet intro and has a long, hard rock outro.
But having a look at the notes in Apple Music though, I saw the song explanation from Alexisonfire singer George Pettit (b. 1982) which put my interpretation on its ear: “This is a love song Dallas wrote about his band, Alexisonfire. We had the most beautiful moment where he brought us up to his cottage and we sat at his dining room table and for three hours, we just talked, and discussed the history of the band. He let us in on things that had been going on in his life, and it was just a very introspective moment for all of us. And at the end of it, he presented us with a demo he’d been working on of this song, and we just knew that this is going to be the new set-closer. We’ve always ended our set with [2004’s] ‘Happiness by the Kilowatt,’ and we turn it into this 12-minute version. And this song felt like the new version of that—we’re gonna have this big sprawling epic, and I could envision it just blowing everyone’s hair back. It’s a perfect album-ender—we went full Floyd on this one.”
Clearly, with that history, it’s not hard to find Green’s influence all over the song, plus he sings on it, so it felt like a good choice and a reminder of some good times shared at solo project shows he has given.
“Don’t just sit there and wait around
Can’t you see that I’m ready now
I never meant to let you down, oh
I want your love so violently
To feel this pleasure that burns in me
Darling if you please
Set me free
‘Cause if the world, the world stops turning
Our love will keep on burning
I need to feel your breath again
The way it danced across my skin
And shook my body deep within, oh
After all this time
You’re there suspended in my mind
And I’m starving for your love
So set me free tonight
‘Cause if the world, the world stops turning
Our love will keep on burning
And if the world, the world stops turning
Our love will keep on burning
And if the world, the world stops turning
Our love will keep on burning”
“World Stops Turning,” by Jordan Hastings, Wade Macneil, Dallas Green, George Pettit and Christopher Steele.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Music is such a wonderful thing to share. It has the power to bring unity, celebration and joy, a bridge between generations who enjoy it together. “Fun,” as one of my Colorado friends sums up such gifts.
“World Stops Turning” is, of course, the closing track on the album Otherness (2022).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the AOFofficial YouTube channel:
With my best to you,
Steve
I suppose there should be no surprise that today’s selection came to mind today, with Russia’s War in Ukraine raging on, and World War I vividly recalled in movies like All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), the third film based on the 1928 book by German-born author Erich Paul Remark (1898-1970), and the 2022 version winning at the Academy Awards in the USA this past weekend.
“The White Cliffs of Dover” was a famous World War II song that symbolized Britain’s yearning for peace in a war that had affected the whole country through an air war, the widespread bombing of industrial centres, and shortages of essential goods due to enemy blockades and the need to supply the war machine. In the Battle of Britain (1940), the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm defended the country from air attacks by Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe that were meant to hobble the nation into surrender, as most of Europe had already fallen. The bombing of Britain continued into 1941. Through many sacrifices, Britain pushed back Nazi invasion and occupation, though the country braced for a long war that lasted until 1945.
Two Americans, composer Walter Kent (1911-1994) and lyricist Nat Burton (1901-1945), wrote the song in 1941. It became famous after the 1942 recording by English singer Vera Lynn (1917-2020, whose career as an entertainer continued until she died at age 103!) and remained one of the most popular songs of the war.
“There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow, just you wait and see
There’ll be love and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow, when the world is free
The shepherd will tend his sheep.
The valley will bloom again
And Jimmy will go to sleep
In his own little room again
There’ll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover,
Tomorrow, just you wait and see”
“(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover,” by Walter Kent and Nat Burton.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
I tell more about my family’s connection to the war and this song in a post on another Vera Lynn wartime tune, “We’ll Meet Again,” and I hope you’ll check that out while you’re here on the site. In that post I briefly mention a day trip that Sweety, her oldest son and I took, walking for 27 kilometres (17 miles) along the chalk cliffs from Dover to Deal, a six-hour journey that included a pub lunch of fish and chips in the village of St. Margaret’s-at-Cliffe. (What I don’t mention in that post is that I was a little apprehensive about doing the whole journey on foot, but I was so glad we did it. It was a marvellous day.)
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the Vera Lynn YouTube channel:
Peace,
Steve
Yesterday I was having another look at the video for Psychic Temple’s “When I Know,” as my sweety had commented about the drummer in the video. I hadn’t noticed him much in my earlier views of it, but a few shots of him show him really grooving to the music.
Immediately after that video finished, YouTube autoplay served up the audio track for “Sign of the Times” by English singer-songwriter Harry Styles (b. 1994). I don’t recall hearing the song before, but then again, I’m unfamiliar with most of his work, whether solo or as part of the English-Irish “boy band” One Direction.
Styles began his music career in 2010 on the British music competition TV series The X Factor, as a solo contestant. After he was eliminated, he joined One Direction, which entered and finished third in the competition that same year. Styles remained with the group until it went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016, and its members went on to solo projects.
I heard a few other Styles songs autoplay after listening to “Sign of the Times” again today, and found it to be quite different from the other ones I was hearing; the others were light, danceable pop, contrasted with “Sign of the Times.” The song, a mournful ballad, starts with solo piano and a transcendent sound of wind (which returns a couple of times through the song) introduces Styles’s vocal. Then in the first chorus, the song transitions into the big sound of an arena rock number, complete with classic rock guitar licks and solos and “caveman drum fills” (as the American music educator and producer Rick Beato [b. 1962] refers to the rock drumming effect). The song continues to build to an immense energy as it progresses into the bridge and the wind sound again returns, just into the outro.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Styles said about the song, “Most of the stuff that hurts me about what’s going on at the moment is not politics, it’s fundamentals… Equal rights. For everyone, all races, sexes, everything.” He continues, “‘Sign of the Times’ came from ‘This isn’t the first time we’ve been in a hard time, and it’s not going to be the last time. The song is written from a point of view as if a mother was giving birth to a child and there’s a complication. The mother is told, ‘The child is fine, but you’re not going to make it.’ The mother has five minutes to tell the child, ‘Go forth and conquer.'”
[Verse 1]
“Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times
Welcome to the final show
I hope you’re wearing your best clothes
You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky
You look pretty good down here
But you ain’t really good
[Pre-Chorus]
We never learn, we’ve been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets, the bullets?
We never learn, we’ve been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets, the bullets?
[Chorus]
Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here
Just stop your crying, it’ll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here
[Verse 2]
Just stop your crying, have the time of your life
Breaking through the atmosphere
Things look pretty good from here
Remember everything will be alright
We can meet again somewhere
Somewhere far away from here
[Pre-Chorus]
We never learn, we’ve been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets, the bullets?
We never learn, we’ve been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets, the bullets?
[Chorus]
Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here
Stop your crying, baby, it’ll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here
[Pre-Chorus]
We never learn, we’ve been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets, the bullets?
We never learn, we’ve been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets, the bullets?
[Bridge]
We don’t talk enough
We should open up
Before it’s all too much
Will we ever learn?
We’ve been here before
It’s just what we know
[Outro]
Stop your crying, baby, it’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away
We got to get away, we got to get away
We got to get away, we got to get away
We got to, we got to, away
We got to, we got to, away
We got to, we got to, away
“Sign of the Times,” by Alex Salibian, Harry Styles, Jeff Bhasker, Mitch Rowland, Ryan Nasci and Tyler Johnson.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
The song is captivating and poignant, and now, knowing the meaning, quite heartbreaking hearing the dying mother’s first and last words to her baby: “Just stop your crying, have the time of your life / Breaking through the atmosphere / Things look pretty good from here / Remember everything will be alright / We can meet again somewhere / Somewhere far away from here.” And the ethereal vocal harmonies in the pre-chorus, bridge and outro add so much to the depth, mood and meaning of the piece. It’s a pretty incredible song.
The official music video, which has 1.1 billion views, is a powerful representation of the song’s narrative, and is also seen as a strong statement about Styles truly going solo in his career. A Billboard magazine feature on the video tells how cables suspended Styles from a crane and then a helicopter, flying as high as 1,550 feet above the Isle of Skye, Scotland. A YouTube video shows some of this behind-the-scenes work.
“Sign of the Times” was the lead single from Harry Styles’s self-titled debut solo album, released in 2017. Variety magazine described the 1970s soft-rock-influenced album as a “classic cocktail of psychedelia, Britpop, and balladry.”
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official music video from the Harry Styles YouTube/VEVO channel:
With warmest wishes,
Steve
Edit, March 14: today, my sweety showed me a recording of last night’s episode of the TV music competition program The Voice where one of the contestants in the blind auditions sang this song, the same day as I posted it. What a coincidence!
Not only is today Classical Sunday; it’s also that dreaded day when we move the clocks an hour ahead for the spring-forward edition of the absurd, twice-annual time change (which, though only a move of an hour, seems to mess up my internal clock and wake-up time for weeks). We also babysat the older of our two local grandsons until late last night… so it was about 3:00 am (on “new” time) when I fell asleep. In other words, today is a fairly lazy day, though there’s a fair bit of snow to shovel after a late-winter storm that came through yesterday. (It’s also “pizza and movie night” day, since Sweety and I didn’t do that yesterday.)
With such a day as a backdrop, I’m featuring the much-beloved and extraordinary Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5, by the Russian pianist, conductor and composer Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943, also written as Sergei Rachmaninoff). When I first started listening to classical music during the 1970s and ’80s, Rachmaninov was one of my favourite composers, and I still love listening to his work. His music is so rich, filled with intricate sounds and many moods. It’s no wonder he is considered one of the finest composers of the Romantic era. Today’s piece is a beautiful example of his artistry.
The Prelude in G Minor is one in ten preludes that make up Opus 23, a set completed in 1903; Rachmaninov played Nos. 1, 3 and 5 at a premiere in Moscow, Russia, that same year.
Rachmaninov completed writing this particular prelude in 1901, the same year he finished his magnificent and highly successful Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18. Before composing the concerto and preludes, he suffered through four years of depression after a psychological breakdown that followed the abysmal premiere of his first symphony.
The Prelude is lyrical and flowing yet so complex in parts that it sounds rather symphonic, and it’s hard to believe all the sounds come from just one person and one piano. In the music, I sense feelings of perseverance, strength, hope and self-assuredness, and perhaps Rachmaninov’s emergence from long years of misery and torment.
Russian-born German pianist Olga Scheps (b. 1986), who I’ve featured twice on this blog, plays a stunning rendition of the prelude. Hers is one of the few YouTube posts I could find with a video of a live performance of this piece. Her artful, focused and meticulous handiwork on the piano is remarkable.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the video from the Olga Scheps YouTube channel of the piano virtuoso performing in 2012 at the Berlin Philharmonie:
With warmest wishes,
Steve
This morning I heard another new-to-me song by a group I’d not heard of before.
Interestingly, after featuring a piece a couple of days ago and being drawn to the banjo line in it, “When I Know,” by the California, USA-based musical project Psychic Temple, has a catchy string-driven melody with mandolin, double bass, and acoustic guitar-driven melody hooked my attention. I was sure I also heard a banjo near the end, but none is listed in the credits in the YouTube video or shown playing in the film itself… maybe I just have banjo on the brain!
I started looking for information on the group, but, alas, there is no Wikipedia page on them (I find this free, open-source encyclopedia to be the best resource for finding comprehensive, reliable information on musicians and their projects).
One brief piece I found on AllMusic by music and film critic and journalist Mark Deming says this about the project, created in 2010 by Chris Shlarb, a producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist: “Schlarb is an eclectic artist whose work often leans to free jazz and experimental music, but his work under the Psychic Temple banner ranks with his most accessible. Psychic Temple’s recordings combine elements of pop, Americana, and smooth jazz with Schlarb’s more adventurous influences.” Deming goes on to say about the album on which today’s selection appears, “In 2016, Schlarb returned with the third and most ambitious Psychic Temple album, Psychic Temple III. Recorded at Schlarb’s own studio in California and at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, III was steeped in country and soul influences as well as pop and jazz. The set included performances by Spooner Oldham, David Hood, Avi Buffalo, and Dave Easley.” (Of these artists, the only one familiar to me is Avi Buffalo, whose self-titled 2010 album I first heard in Winnipeg’s Parlour Coffee, where I prefaced my workdays with superbly-made coffees for many years.)
“When the sun goes behind the trees
When I know all the names of the birds that sing
When I learn to forget the past
I’ve carried all this time
Can I make every good thing last
Or will I lose my mind?
When the moon goes behind the clouds,
When I know why the dogs bark at every sound
When I learn to forget the past
I’ve carried all this time
Can I make every good thing last
Or will I lose my mind?
Call me out
Don’t let me go
Teach me truth
I’ll never know”
“When I Know,” by Tabor Allen and Chris Schlarb.
Lyrics retrieved from the notes section of the YouTube video.
In the country-folk influenced alternative pop song, I believe the lyricists are speaking to a friend or a lover, seeking help on a journey from past troubles and, at the same time, asking to be held accountable for the work of moving forward. The song has a light, pleasing sound, enhanced with vocal melodies. Meanwhile, the official music video, on the other hand, is unusual in its execution, with lighting treatments moving around the set resulting in moments of darkness, silhouette, soft, and sometimes normal lighting; these elements maybe symbolize the journey.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official music video from the Asthmatic Kitty record label’s YouTube channel. The record label is a Michigan, USA-based collective led by Sufjan Stevens, whose music also appears on the label, and who is the creator of the banjo song I mentioned above. (And don’t be alarmed when the video below freezes at about 3:18… it does that for everyone and resumes on its own after a couple of seconds!)
With warmest wishes,
Steve
Often when I hear a song, it reminds me of other music.
Like I wrote yesterday, some tracks from the Pink Floyd album Division Bell reminded me of music from their earlier albums Animals, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. Other times, a song will remind me of a completely different artist. Does that happen to you? Let me know in the comments!
When I first heard today’s selection by American indie rock/alternative/Americana singer, songwriter and guitarist Israel Nash (aka Israel Nash Gripka, b. 1981), it brought to mind the long-running American/English/Canadian folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, though scanning their catalogue, I don’t think it really matches their sound. Another thought was the American rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival, but again, I’m not sure if that’s a match either. Finally, I recognized it is probably the 1969 song “Down by the River” by Canadian-American singer, songwriter and musician Neil Young (b. 1945) played with his band Crazy Horse that I’m reminded of by elements in Nash’s “Rain Plans.”
“Rain Plans” is a moderately long song at seven minutes and nineteen seconds, but its lyrics are brief; two short verses begin with the same line, and a chorus plays twice, and there is an extended outro. The song’s premise seems simple: life is filled with uncertainty (thus, rain plans), and this is in contrast with the constancy of his lover.
“I got rain plans
Written in these storms
When I throw it
Tell me where to go
Hold on there’s a woman in my bed
And I want her to stay there
Hold on there’s a woman in my head
And I want her to stay there
I got rain plans
Tell us where we’ve been
I got new hands
To pawn us west again
Hold on there’s a woman in my bed
And I want her to stay there
Hold on there’s a woman in my head
And I want her to stay there”
“Rain Plans,” by Israel Nash.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
And to go back to Pink Floyd for another moment, the last half-minute or so of the outro on today’s selection reminds me of the endings on songs from their epic 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon (for example, “Us and Them,” Any Colour You Like”). This is part of what musicians are talking about when referring to influences: other songwriters or groups whose music has inspired them and led them to use certain styles, chords or other sounds in their own music.
At any rate, “Rain Plans” is a pretty solid number with a lot of skillful guitar playing, especially in the outro. The song comes from Nash’s fourth album, Israel Nash’s Rain Plans (released in 2013 in the UK; 2014 in North America).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the Loose Music record label’s YouTube channel:
With warmest wishes,
Steve
Today, getting on the road to spend the day caring for our youngest grandson, the sprawling arena rock sounds of English progressive rock superstars Pink Floyd came to life on the car stereo with their environmental anthem, “Take It Back.”
The song, from their album Division Bell (1994), is one I didn’t know before hearing it on Apple Music a year or more ago. I am much more familiar with their earlier work. The record, their fourteenth studio album (and second last studio effort), was their second after co-founder, bassist and singer Roger Waters (b. 1943) departed the band. Its opening track, “Cluster One,” has guitar and synthesizer treatments reminiscent of Wish You Were Here (1975; please see my post on the title track for some history of my experience with the band’s music). The second track, “What Do You Want from Me” reminds me a little of the albums Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979). Division Bell spawned the band’s final concert tour.
“Take It Back” is a tribute to the earth portrayed as a feminine form, Mother Earth. It tells the story of her magnificent and glorious nature and how she has been exploited and harmed, her future as a life-bearing container threatened by humankind’s activities.
The song is an emphatic criticism of humanity’s lack of action on the many studies and reports cautioning us about the need to move to more environmentally-sustainable practices and away from reliance on fossil fuels. Lead singer/guitarist David Gilmour (b. 1946) warns that “she might take it back,” pointing to the predicted long-term effects of climate change that will eventually make our planet unliveable.
“Her love rains down on me as easy as the breeze
I listen to her breathing it sounds like the waves on the sea
I was thinking all about her, burning with rage and desire
We were spinning into darkness the earth was on fire
She could take it back, she might take it back some day
So I spy on her, I lie to her, I make promises I cannot keep
Then I hear her laughter rising, rising from the deep
And I make her prove her love for me, I take all that I can take
And I push her to the limit to see if she will break
She might take it back, she could take it back some day
Now I have seen the warnings, screaming from all sides
It’s easy to ignore them and God knows I’ve tried
All of this temptation, it turned my faith to lies
Until I couldn’t see the danger or hear the rising tide
She can take it back, she will take it back some day
She can take it back, she will take it back some day
She can take it back, she will take it back some day”
“Take It Back,” by David Gilmour, Polly Samson, Nick Laird-Clowes and Bob Ezrin. Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Writing credits for the song are shared with English novelist, lyricist and journalist Polly Samson (Gilmour’s wife), and the prolific Canadian record producer and keyboardist Bob Ezrin (b. 1949), who played keyboards and percussion and produced the song. As the track ends, the decaying synthesizer/guitar sounds transition into a subtle intro line on the next song, “Coming Back to Life.”
The official music video begins with computer-generated imagery, then uses aerial footage to portray the magnificence of nature: green fields, forests, water, lava flows, clouds, and vulnerable ice shelves. A single, majestic tree in a field is a recurring image, at one point on fire, when a figure in a hazmat suit uses an axe to awaken the destructive forces of the earth.
The video ends with a child looking in a mirror. It’s a powerful image and makes me think of the world we’re leaving for our children (and the grandchild who’s in the next room sleeping, innocently secure and trusting in this beautiful world he observes each new day).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official music video from the Pink Floyd YouTube channel:
And here’s a live performance of the 1994 Division Bell tour concert in Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, England. (The venue was built from 1935 to 1937 and demolished from 2014-2016; the site is being repurposed with urban villages set to be completed in the early 2030s.
With my best to you,
Steve
Sometimes a simple song comes along, and you like it, and there’s not too much more to make of it.
That’s what I’m thinking about “Emmawood,” from the self-titled debut album by Buildings Breathing, released in 2006, the same year the indie band formed in California, USA. It’s a song I’ve heard several times on random play.
The song is short, as are the lyrics, and I couldn’t find much information about the band other than they produce their music in “lo-fi” (low fidelity, meaning imperfections aren’t avoided and are sometimes by choice).
“Emmawood” is a gentle song about love and the hope that it will continue. There’s a minimal band, and the vocals of Melanie Glover are soft and pleasing, giving a sense of lightness to the piece.
“Something so meaningless burning its way in my fingers
After the light that is setting is soon to set in
Kiss off the glass on the ocean in weight with the ether
Parting is something that we cannot come to withstand
Please don’t go
My warmth will radiate the heat when you are cold
You should know
My heart will remain only for you to hold
I’m already yours”
“Emmawood,” by Buildings Breeding.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
There’s something in the sound of the song that reminds me of spring. That’s a welcome feeling at this point in the year, as cold weather and snow aren’t my favourite, and it feels like winter has been long since cold weather came early last fall. I’m looking forward to getting on my road bike soon (like I was two years ago today) and doing long-distance rides in our glorious spring, summer and autumn.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy audio from the Buildings Breeding YouTube topic channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Suggestions of new music to listen to are something I always welcome, as I tend to stick with posting stuff I know or discover. One of our sons occasionally sends me songs to introduce me to something I might not find on my own. For instance, I don’t listen to rap; similar to jazz, I don’t know enough about it, or where to start. A few months back, he sent me the song “Introvert” by rapper Lil Simz, and I enjoyed going beyond my usual comfort zone and discovering something new in it (and I liked it!).
This morning, Kieran sent a link to a track by the American indie folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens, “For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti.” The strange song name drew me in, so I started listening to the concept album it appears on, Michigan (stylized as Sufjan Stevens Presents… Greetings from Michigan, The Great Lake State), released in 2003. The collection has been described as a homage to that American state in the Great Lakes region.
I’ve tried out some of Stevens’ music in the past, as I’d seen friends talking about it on social media, but I have never gotten very far with it by myself. Today was different, though; I started at the beginning of the album and, while writing this post, listened to 15 of the 21 tracks on the deluxe version and didn’t find anything skip-worthy.
As I’ve mentioned before on this website, I like to figure out the meanings of songs. If I can’t, I’ll consult the internet to get others’ opinions on song meanings. On the SongMeanings website, many commenters feel the song is about Christianity in general; more specifically, some think it is about Jesus. Another one notes that the names in the song title are places in Michigan. And one other recounts an introductory speech Stevens gave about the song during a concert: he is reported to have said Michigan is home to both Paradise and Hell, and when in the community of Paradise, he noticed there were no men around, so he made up a story in his head that they had all died in a war; thus, the town was occupied by widows.
“I have called you, children
I have called you, son
What is there to answer
If I’m the only one
Morning comes in Paradise
Morning comes in light
Still I must obey
Still I must invite
If there’s anything to say
If there’s anything to do
I there’s any other way
I’ll do anything for you
I was dressed in embarrassment
I was dressed in white
If you had a part of me
Will you take your time
Even if I come back
Even if I die
Is there some idea
To replace my life
Like a father to impress
Like a mother’s mourning dress
If we ever make a mess
I’ll do anything for you
I have called you, preacher
I have called you, son
If you have a father
Or if you haven’t one
I’ll do anything for you
I’ll do anything for you
I’ll do anything for you
I’ll do anything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you
I did everything for you”
“For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti,” by Sufjan Stevens.
Lyrics retrieved from songmeanings.com.
The song features banjo as the lead instrument; it’s hard to tell if there’s one or two, with the neat echo effect on the recording. And there’s a gentleness in Stevens’ voice that is well-matched to the music on the album. Aside from backing vocals and a couple of horn parts, Stevens plays all the instruments on the album. It’s a record I’ll be listening to again.
And by the way, before I sign off for today: if there’s a favourite song you’d like me to know about and feature on a blog post, please send me a link in the public comments or a private message on my Contact page. I’d love to know some of what you’re listening to.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy audio from the Sufjan Stevens YouTube channel:
With my best to you,
Steve
Yesterday for Classical Sunday, I featured a piece from a film soundtrack. And today, we’re staying with soundtracks; this time from the BBC TV series Peaky Blinders, which starred Irish actor Cillian Murphy (b. 1976) as the series’ lead role for the six seasons it ran between 2013 and 2022.
Sweety and I recently started watching the show; a few folks have recommended it. It centres on a gang called the Peaky Blinders, who manage all manner of illegal activities in Birmingham, England, soon after the First World War. It’s a well-written, acted and produced program with a terrific soundtrack.
A song that caught my attention last night, played near the suspenseful ending of the second season finale, was “Do I Wanna Know?” by the English rock band Arctic Monkeys. As I went to listen to the song again this afternoon, I recognized the distinctive voice of the lead singer (Alex Turner, b. 1986). I remembered I had posted one of the band’s songs in the past, “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino,” from the 2018 album of the same name.
Then, serendipitously, as I went to look back at that previous post, there was Cillian Murphy again! In addition to his acting career, he is a musician and well-known for his extensive musical knowledge and massive record collection. He had talked about and played “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” during a November 2020 episode of a special series on BBC 6 Music, Cillian Murphy’s Limited Edition. He also has been an occasional guest host on my favourite radio program, the long-running Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on 6 Music. Murphy took on that guest host role for an extended period in spring-summer 2019 while Garvey was recording an album with his band, Elbow.
One of the things I really like about Peaky Blinders is how the show uses mainly contemporary rock music as its theme and incidental music. It’s a tactic many use in TV and film, but not all can pull it off as well. I wonder if Murphy’s vast knowledge of music has anything to do with the success of it in this series.
“Have you got colour in your cheeks?
Do you ever get that fear that you can’t shift
The type that sticks around like summat in your teeth?
Are there some aces up your sleeve?
Have you no idea that you’re in deep?
I dreamt about you nearly every night this week
How many secrets can you keep?
‘Cause there’s this tune I found that makes me think of you somehow and I play it on repeat
Until I fall asleep
Spilling drinks on my settee
(Do I wanna know?)
If this feeling flows both ways?
(Sad to see you go)
Was sort of hoping that you’d stay
(Baby, we both know)
That the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can’t say tomorrow day
Crawling back to you
Ever thought of calling when you’ve had a few?
‘Cause I always do
Maybe I’m too busy being yours to fall for somebody new
Now I’ve thought it through
Crawling back to you
So have you got the guts?
Been wondering if your heart’s still open and if so I wanna know what time it shuts
Simmer down and pucker up
I’m sorry to interrupt. It’s just I’m constantly on the cusp of trying to kiss you
I don’t know if you feel the same as I do
But we could be together if you wanted to
(Do I wanna know?)
If this feeling flows both ways?
(Sad to see you go)
Was sort of hoping that you’d stay
(Baby, we both know)
That the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can’t say tomorrow day
Crawling back to you (crawling back to you)
Ever thought of calling when you’ve had a few? (you’ve had a few)
‘Cause I always do (’cause I always do)
Maybe I’m too (maybe I’m too busy) busy being yours to fall for somebody new
Now I’ve thought it through
Crawling back to you
(Do I wanna know?)
If this feeling flows both ways?
(Sad to see you go)
Was sort of hoping that you’d stay
(Baby, we both know)
That the nights were mainly made for saying things that you can’t say tomorrow day
(Do I wanna know?)
Too busy being yours to fall
(Sad to see you go)
Ever thought of calling darling?
(Do I wanna know?)
Do you want me crawling back to you?”
“Do I Wanna Know?” by Alex Turner, Matt Helders, Jamie Cook and Nick O’Malley.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
“Do I Wanna Know?” is carried by a driving rhythm guitar riff, and combines indie rock, psychedelic rock, stoner rock and blues rock. It is an excellent musical choice for the aftermath of a particularly harrowing scene in the Peaky Blinders episode, where Murphy’s character has to make his way back to the city after an extremely tense confrontation.
The song comes from Arctic Monkeys’ fifth studio album, AM (2013).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the official video from the Arctic Monkeys YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Last night was pizza and movie night for my sweety and me; it’s our Saturday thing. We worked together in the kitchen and even had a slow and wonderful “kitchen dance” to yesterday’s song. We tried a new recipe for the crust; it was thinner and a bit chewier… we both liked it.
After indecisively surfing various sites for a movie, we consulted our list of other people’s recommendations. We chose the Netflix production Pieces of a Woman (2020), directed by Hungarian filmmaker Kornel Mundruczo (b. 1975). We hadn’t checked out trailers or the plot, so we were slightly surprised by the storyline. While very sad, it was quite well done (though we both thought the first part went on too long).
Once we were past the first bit, the film and characters drew me in. I only took a little notice of the music until a slow orchestral work played during a scene with the female lead running in a light snowfall. The piece plays again at the end of the film. The Shazam app identified the music as the second movement or largo from Ruin and Memory, a piano concerto written by the Canadian composer and conductor Howard Shore (b. 1946).
A musician from age eight, Shore’s specialty is film soundtracks. He has collaborated with Canadian director David Cronenberg (b. 1943), scoring most of his films. Shore also teamed up with Scottish singer, songwriter and activist Annie Lennox (b. 1954) on a song for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). He was also the original music director for the long-running TV series Saturday Night Live.
Today’s selection, the middle movement from the piano concerto, is contemplative and melancholy, with occasional tempo, drama and mood changes, becoming more hopeful toward the end. It is a perfect fit for the running scene and the film overall.
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 Ruin and Memory – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, II: Largo from the Howard Shore YouTube topic channel. Ludwig Wicki (b. 1960) conducts the Scoring Berlin orchestra, with Holger Groschopp (b. 1964) on the piano.
With my best wishes,
Steve
I first heard “Peacock Dance” by the New York, New York, USA singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer Matt Kanelos sometime around the middle of last year. The song captured my heart and soul; I have loved listening to it since then, and today it’s time to share it with you.
“Peacock Dance” is one of the most beautiful and expressive songs I’ve heard about intimate love and sexual connection. It’s rich in imagery and soulful symbolism in an almost primordial way, as if wanting to leave the human form to live and dance as animals (“We’ll live where foxes run”), and yet it has an underlying gentleness. I picture a couple, perhaps on vacation in some ancient place, singing songs, dancing, and privately savouring each other’s company; meanwhile, the noisiness of the world continues outside the universe that is the two of them in that blissful time.
The poetry of the song is brief and minimal, and it couples with intricate musicianship to create a piece that invites the listener in as it slowly builds a powerful tension toward the end. Then it finishes as it began, with Kanelos’ delicate, sensual piano playing. It is beautifully written, played, sung and produced.
“We’ll stop in Babylon
You’ll pull your stockings on
I’ll wash your shoulders clean
Your eyes move with the spin
Of girls and boys women and men
I’ll do a peacock dance
You won’t be understood
I won’t be all that good
We’ll sing your favorite song
We’ll live where foxes run
We’ll wait for the morning sun
You’ll walk on virgin snow
My head holds in the noise
Of girls and men women and boys
You make a peacock sound
My tears don’t mean a thing
Your tears, beautiful thing
We’ll stop in Babylon”
“Peacock Dance,” by Matt Kanelos.
Lyrics retrieved from the song’s Bandcamp page.
There is very little information online about Kanelos, though I found scattered bits of information about him on various sites. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, started playing music at age seven, and took classical and jazz piano training before moving to New York, where he lives and plays music. He has worked in jazz, alternative folk/rock and experimental music genres for over 20 years.
“Peacock Dance” is the opening track from the album Silent Show (2009 on Apple Music, 2010 on Bandcamp) by Matt Kanelos & The Smooth Maria, a band he formed in 2008. It’s fabulous, with several styles of music on it. I bought the album some months ago from the Bandcamp album page (buying on Bandcamp Fridays is best, as that’s when all proceeds other than card processing fees go to artists). The earliest recording I could find by Kanelos’ was a 2005 EP, followed by three solo albums (the latest in 2021) and a collaboration.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from the Bandcamp song page:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Many people will recognize today’s selection as the title of a 1966 song by the English rock band the Beatles.
Today though, I’m featuring the famous 1978 cover by Earth, Wind & Fire. The music of this American group, which was formed in 1969 and is still active, touches on many music genres, including rhythm & blues, funk, soul, jazz, pop, and disco. They’re not a band I’ve ever followed, though I enjoy their music; I’m just unfamiliar with their catalogue.
Earth, Wind & Fires’s version of the song appeared in the jukebox musical comedy film Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band (1978), which stars English-American singer, songwriter and guitarist Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees, and many other musical acts. The movie itself was not a success but EW&F’s version of the song was the most successful track on the four-side album, reaching number one on the Billboard R&B chart.
“Got to Get You into My Life” is an affirming celebration of new love, and EW&F’s rendition is full of joy and playfulness. It’s a real toe-tapping mood-lifter.
“I was alone, I took a ride, I didn’t know what I would find there.
Another road, where maybe I could see another kind of mind there.
Ooh, then I suddenly see you.
Oooh, did I tell you I need you ev’ry single day of my life?
Got to get you into my life
Got to get you into my life
You didn’t run, you didn’t lie, you knew I wanted just to hold you
And had you gone you knew in time we’d meet again for I had told you.
Ooh, you were meant to be near me.
Ooh, and I want you to hear me say we’ll be together ev’ry day.
Got to get you into my life
Got to get you into my life
What can I do, what can I be, when I’m with you I want to stay there.
If I’m true I’ll never leave and if I do I know the way there.
Ooh, then I suddenly see you.
Ooh, did I tell you I need you ev’ry single day of my life?
Got to get you into my life
Got to get you into my life
Got to get you into my life
Got to get you into my life”
“Got to Get You into My Life,” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Today, the weather in Winnipeg, Canada is sunny, clear and mild. It’s the kind of day when you really get the idea that after a long winter, spring is on the way (which, of course, means outdoor cycling and other activities are not far off!). As I enjoyed the sunshine while returning home after walking downtown with my lad, I thought about how he had recently posted that EWF is “the best band of all time.” I decided it was time to listen to some of their music, and this was the track that jumped out at me.
In addition to appearing on the movie soundtrack, “Got to Get You into My Life” has appeared on several EW&F compilation albums.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Earth, Wind & Fire VEVO/YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
My selection for today is the eighth song I’ve written about by the American country-folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith (1953-2021; please also see “So Long Ago” which I posted in September 2021, soon after her death, for a link that will take you to a series of earlier, interlinked posts on her music).
I always enjoy hearing songs of Griffith’s that I hadn’t heard before. With something like 18 studio albums, two live collections, and eight compilations, it’s no wonder I keep encountering new-to-me pieces. In today’s, she covers a composition by American country and folk singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker (1942-2020), “Morning Song for Sally.”
“As the morning light stretched in across my bed
I thought of you
Remembering your laughing eyes and all we said
I love you too
As all my thoughts of you pass ‘fore my face a thousand times
The way they race my heart I cannot say it all in lines
How the short time together lasts so long
Makes me strong
As two weeks came and went then you and I were gone
Living on
For it seems our love was destined to be caught in other nets
But the love we held so brief I’d chance again without regret
Yes, standing by the road has been my song before
Much too long
But now somehow I’m forced to see me there once more
And that’s the song
For my waking thoughts of you are but extensions of the dream
Without you here beside me
I’ll never know all that they mean”
“Morning Song for Sally,” by Jerry Jeff Walker.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Like “So Long Ago,” “Morning Song for Sally” is a poignant ballad about love that’s unrequited or doesn’t last, though there’s a strength in the words that indicate the singer will abide nonetheless and risk love again.
When I first heard the song on a random play several months ago, the soft musical intro and her gentle Texas drawl came through and told me who it was immediately. The second thought I had, as I always do when hearing something by Griffith, was the sad remembrance that she won’t be making any more new music.
“Morning Song for Sally” comes from Other Voices, Other Rooms (1993), her tenth studio album, the album through which my sweety introduced me to Griffith’s music, some years after the record’s release.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from the Nanci Griffith YouTube topic channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
I don’t usually post two songs by the same band in close succession. But then again, it’s well over a month since I wrote about the British new wave/synth-pop band Eurythmics’ blockbuster “Would I Lie to You?” (after you finish you’re here, check out that post; the song and video are amazing!).
While I worked on that post, YouTube autoplay served up another Eurythmics piece, the slower and contemplative “When the Day Goes Down.” I wasn’t a huge follower of the duo when they rose to popularity, and I don’t have any of their records, just digital singles. And it was not until the mid-1990s that I became enthralled with the music of Annie Lennox (b. 1954) in her solo career.
Anyway, today’s selection is a song I don’t recall hearing before January this year. It has stuck with me each time I’ve listened to it since then, and it is a perfect anthem of perseverance and reassurance. Songs like that are so essential; music has such power, and the right piece at the right time can bring a real lift to one’s spirit. I’ve found it to be a profoundly inspiring song.
“Well don’t you cry now
Don’t go drowning in your tears
Haven’t you learnt anything
After all these years?
All God’s little children
Are beautiful and pure
And you’re as good
As all of them
Of this you can be sure
And we are just the same
Underneath the shadows
Of the sun
And we are just the same
No more no less than anyone
All the people
Of this lonely world
Have got some pain inside
Don’t go thinking
You’re the only one
Who ever broke right down
And cried
That’s when the rain comes down
That’s when the rain comes falling down
And this is for the broken dreamers
This is for vacant souls
This is for the hopeless losers
This is for the helpless fools
And the burnt out
And the useless
And the lonely and the weak
And the lost and the degraded
And the too dumb to speak
And the day goes down
That’s when the day
Goes down”
“When the Day Goes Down,” by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Despite bits of dated language, the song is beautifully written, played, sung and produced. Every element is well thought-out and made; subtle instrumentation and treatments, and ethereal backing vocals support Lennox’s incredible, incredible voice. (And some of the slide effects on the electric bass remind me of similar sounds in Vangelis’s soundtrack to the 1982 film Blade Runner.) Coming near the end of Lennox and Dave Stewart’s (b. 1952) run as a duo before they took solo paths, I hear such a maturation in their sound in today’s piece. It’s soulful, deep, beautiful — in a way that reaches deep into one’s soul and reassures, “Everything will be alright. You are not alone.”
The imagery of the day going down with sunset promises that the sun will return the next day like it always does. And the rain, that divine cleansing washing from nature; at the end of the song, underneath the decaying sounds of the synthesizer, the snare drum roll transitions into a sound effect like a light rainfall. And the song begins with a similar sound, which visits again several times when rain is mentioned. Bliss.
“When the Day Goes Down” is the closing track on Eurythmics’ second-last album, We Too Are One (1989).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from the Eurythmics YouTube channel:
With my best to you,
Steve
Today after meditation and other morning routines, I scrolled through social media for a few minutes and serendipitously landed on a video of “Barracuda,” the blazing 1977 hit by Heart, a rock band formed in 1967 (as The Army) in Seattle, Washington, USA.
The song actually gets a mention in my post from nearly three years ago on “Dreamboat Annie,” the title track from the band’s 1975 debut album, when Heart primarily had a folk-rock sound. (And I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to post today’s selection… the song is an absolute banger, as Elbow’s lead singer Guy Garvey often says about great songs during his weekly BBC 6 Music program, Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour.)
Heart’s second album, Magazine (1977, re-released in 1978), was mired in legal battles and delays due to the contention with Mushroom Records and Heart’s manager Mike Fisher’s attempt to get out of their contract with the firm. The company went ahead with the record, releasing material the band hadn’t approves. A Seattle court ruled that the company had to recall the album but that Heart had to complete an album to fulfil its contract. (Mushroom went out of business in the 1980s, which seems about right, considering their tasteless branding strategy and tactics.)
I don’t think I was aware of the story behind “Barracuda” until a local DJ, Howard Mandshein (of 92.1 CITI-FM fame), referred to it on one of his late-night programs a little after the single was released. Ann Wilson (b. 1950), lead singer and sister to rhythm guitarist and singer Nancy Wilson (b. 1954), wrote the song in her hotel room while on tour; this was after learning that their label, Canadian record company Mushroom Records, had concocted and spread a story that the two were in an incestuous love affair as a misogynistic and salacious attempt to sell records on the sex appeal of the sisters. Ann’s fury is evident in the lyrics, and the band as a whole demonstrates their anger with the hard, driving beat of the song. After getting to know their more folk-driven debut album, the song introduced me to Heart as a hard rock band.
And what an introduction. Ann’s searing vocals are supported by intense guitar-playing and drumming, and an indomitable fist to the sky by Nancy.
“So this ain’t the end, I saw you again today
I had to turn my heart away
Smile like the sun, kisses for everyone
And tales, it never fails
You lying so low in the weeds
I bet you gonna ambush me
You’d have me down, down, down, down on my knees
Now wouldn’t you, Barracuda? Oh
Back over time, we were all trying for free
You met the porpoise and me, uh-huh
No right, no wrong, selling a song, a name
Whisper game
And if the real thing don’t do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn to the wick
Ooh, Barracuda, oh, yeah
‘Sell me, sell you,’ the porpoise said
Dive down deep now to save my head
You, I think that you got the blues, too
All that night and all the next
Swam without looking back
Made for the western pools, silly, silly fools
The real thing don’t do the trick, no?
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn, burn, burn, burn, burn it to the wick
Oh, Barra-Barracuda, yeah”
“Barracuda,” by Ann Wilson, Roger Fisher, Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
Just after Mushroom released the first version of Magazine, Heart, who by then had signed with Portrait Records, issued their third studio album, Little Queen (1977). “Barracuda” was the lead single on Little Queen, which became their second million-selling record. The song has also appeared on numerous compilation and live albums released by Heart.
More recently, the song attracted attention in 2008 when former Vietnam prisoner-of-war, US senator and presidential candidate John McCain (1936-2018) used it as a tribute of sorts to his running mate, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (b. 1964, who claimed to have the high-school basketball moniker “Sarah Barracuda”), at the Republican Party’s national convention that year. Some band members were pleased at the royalties generated by this, but the sisters remained firm; Nancy told the digital magazine Entertainment Weekly, “Sarah Palin’s views and values in no way represent us as American women.” Despite the statement and a cease-and-desist letter from the Wilson sisters, the McCain campaign continued to use the song.
Something I learned today when reading about “Barracuda” is that the guitar riff was inspired by the Scottish band Nazareth’s 1973 hard rock cover of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell‘s (b. 1943) folk song from 1971, “This Flight Tonight.” Nancy Wilson later revealed that Heart borrowed the riff from that song, having toured as the opening act for Nazareth years earlier. As she said in an interview with Loudwire.com, “You borrow from what you love and make it your own. It’s one of those sounds too, it’s one of those guitar tones that I’m still trying to figure out what we did. It’s hard to re-create.”
Though formed in the USA, Heart was long considered a Canadian band, In the 1970s, Ann Wilson moved to Vancouver to follow her love, Mike Fisher, who, at the time was the band manager, and is the brother of past Heart guitarist Roger. (Mike had left the US to avoid the draft into the Vietnam War.)
I feel fortunate to have seen arena shows by Nazareth (around 1977-1979; I couldn’t find a Winnipeg date in online listings of past shows) and Heart, though I didn’t see the latter until 2014 during their Rockin’ Heaven Canada tour. Heart partnered with Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham (1948-1980), playing Heart tunes and, later in the evening, covering Led Zep songs. My sweety and I and a couple of dear friends enjoyed that show.
Heart is a band I’ve enjoyed since first listening to their music in the mid-1970s. Sometime, I will post something from their fourth album, Dog and Butterfly (1978), another favourite, a solid mix of hard rock with a B-side that includes a lot of softer, acoustic folk-rock. It’s a collection that I think represents the evolution and maturing of the band. Interestingly, I didn’t follow their new releases after that record. Heart disbanded in 1998 but has come together for several tours and recordings.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the 1977 video of “Barracuda,” a live performance dubbed with the studio track, from the thebandheart YouTube channel (viewed 94 million times since it was posted in 2015):
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today’s selection is the only song I know by the indie folk/alternative rock band Villagers, formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 2008. I think I first heard “Home” on either KEXP Seattle or Apple Music.
The song has an interesting structure wherein the single-line chorus, sung in group harmony, has no detachment from the verses, which is noticeably different from the way most songs are formed.
The song’s meaning is a little hard to grasp; there seem to be references to discord, both within families and out in society, perhaps referencing the “The Troubles,” that long period of often violent conflict between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom member, Northern Ireland, when the strife would often divide families.
“The night’s synthetic half-light
Rolls over your steering wheel
I’m closing my eyes just for a while
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
The house
The first thing I see
Filled up with a family
Surrounded by city and by sea
Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
Will you wake me when we’re almost halfway
I don’t wanna take this trip alone
A saint is chasing a snake
For everybody’s sake
And so they go burning cars
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
The mother prepares the weapon
Before handing it to son
Who watches his daddy runs
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
Will you wake me when we’re almost halfway
I don’t wanna take this trip alone
Cause I’d never reach my home
The flames wander through the city
And set fire to the sea
Then out of the blaze appears a face
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
A girl with a look in her eyes
As if to say, “I despise
Such poisonous family ties”
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
But a poison as sweet as nectar
Could never forget or neglect her
It carries her home and closes her eyes
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
So she goes back under
Swallows the water
Fixes her face like a good little daughter
And follows her family
Who follow a saint and a snake
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
Will you wake me when we’re almost halfway
I don’t wanna take this trip alone
Cause I’d never reach my home
No I’d never reach my home
No I’d never reach my home
Home
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
(Wake me when we’re almost halfway)
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
(Wake me when we’re almost halfway)
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
(Wake me when we’re almost halfway)
(Can you call me when we’re almost halfway)
(Wake me when we’re almost halfway)”
“Home,” by Conor J. O’Brien.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
When I first heard the song, I misheard the lyrics as, “Can you call me when you’re almost halfway…”, which made me remember being home alone some weekend nights when my parents and siblings were all out, and me wondering when someone would come home to keep me company. (I think the singer is looking for company, too.)
The song comes from Villagers’ debut album Becoming a Jackal (2010).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the VillagersTV YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today for Classical Sunday, I popped onto YouTube and checked my feed’s “orchestral” tab. While today’s selection of a piano and cello duo isn’t exactly orchestral, I still appreciated the discovery.
As I listened to the Meditation from Act II of the opera Thais by French Romantic era composer Jules Massenet (1842-1912), I realized I knew the piece, just not by name. The Meditation is a famous piece of music, often played independently of the opera.
The opera premiered in Paris, France, in 1894. Set in Roman-ruled Egypt, it tells the story of a monk who tries to convert Thais, a courtesan in Alexandria and pure-hearted worshipper of the goddess Venus, into Christianity. The monk later realizes his fixation with Thais is because of lust. (So much for faithful service for the good of others!)
The Meditation is a symphonic intermezzo, basically meaning it is a piece of music that stands alone between other movements (or acts, in the case of an opera). Massenet composed it for violin and orchestral (so, I guess YouTube was right, sort of), and it has been transcribed for various instruments. Today’s version was based on an arrangement for violin and piano by the Belgian violinist, teacher and composer Martin Marsick (1847-1924) that the Soviet-born Israeli cellist Mischa Maisky (b. 1948) adapted for cello and piano. (He also plays the cello in the video I’m featuring today.)
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the music video from the Yellow Lounge series by the German record label Deutsche Grammophon, featuring cellist Maisky and German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott (b. 1988) playing in a beautiful, dreamy space within the TeamLab Borderless collective’s MORI Building Digital Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan, in 2018:
What did you think of the piece? Did you recognize the music? Drop me a note in the comments, or just stop in and say, “hi!”
With my best wishes,
Steve
The first time I heard the music of American singer-songwriter and actor Sara Bareilles (b. 1979) was when I listened to “Winter Song,” co-written by her and fellow American singer, songwriter and actor Ingrid Michaelson (also b. 1979). It was a cover by the Canadian alternative folk/country trio, The Good Lovelies, performed during a musical segment in the annual Christmas show by Canadian humourist and storyteller Stuart McLean (1948-2017). While we had only taken in a couple of these shows, the event had fast become a tradition for our family, though this yearly treat ended abruptly with McLean’s tragic illness and death.
“Winter Song,” often regarded as a Christmas tune (though there is no mention of things yuletide in it), is beautiful and I still remember the mesmerizing, three-part harmonies of The Good Lovelies. At the urging of many fans, the trio later recorded their version of the song. (Please see my post about it while you’re here; you won’t be sorry you did.)
I’ve kept my eyes and ears open for Bareilles since, and a few weeks ago, I saw a YouTube video of her singing her composition “Once Upon Another Time.” This particular version was part of a 2018 concert with American singer-songwriter, musician and composer Ben Folds (b. 1966; does anyone remember the Ben Folds Five from the 1990s?), American singer, violinist and contemporary classical composer Caroline Shaw (b. 1982), and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, USA. The performance is one of a series called DECLASSIFIED: Ben Folds Presents, in Folds’ role as artistic advisor for the center.
In a 2012 interview, Bareilles told American Songwriter magazine about the naming of the album Once Upon Another Time, released that same year (and, coincidentally, produced by Folds): “…the title track is really about loss of your childhood and letting go of your past, and that’s a part of my life right now, a journey I feel like I’m on. It felt befitting to name the album that.”
“Once upon another time
Somebody’s hands who felt like mine
Turned the key and took a drive
Was free
I recall the sun sank low
Buckley on the radio
Cigarette was burning slow
So breathe
Just yellow lines and tire marks
Sun-kissed skin and handlebars
And where I stood was where I was
To be
No enemies to call my own
No porch light on to pull me home
And where I was is beautiful
Because I was free
Once upon another time
Before I knew which life was mine
Before I left the child behind
Be
I saw myself in summer nights
And stars lit up like candle lights
I made my wish but mostly I
Believed
And yellow lines and tire marks
Sun-kissed skin and handlebars
And where I stood was where I was
To be
Once upon another time
Deciding nothing good in dying
So I would just keep on driving
Because I was free”
“Once Upon Another Time,” by Sara Bareilles.
Lyrics retrieved from Lyrics.com.
The song and its meaning bring to mind a dear friend and the joy he takes in sharing the sweet memories of his childhood. While we do have to let go of our youth, it is important to retain or reclaim that sense of wonder young people have about the world instead of the cynicism that often permeates adulthood. These ideas made me feel this would be a good piece to share with you today. I hope you’ll let me know what you think of it, in the comments section of this post.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the music video from The Kennedy Center YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
I must admit I don’t know the music of American indie pop/dream pop singer-songwriter Billie Eilish (b. 2001). So I thought if I was to share something of hers, I should start at the beginning, after I spent some time reading up on her early career.
Today’s selection was the second commercial single released by Eilish (“Six Feet Under” was the first, in 2016), but “Ocean Eyes” is generally regarded as her debut single as she and her brother, musician, producer and actor Finneas O’Connell uploaded it to the music streaming platform SoundCloud in November 2015, when she was 13. Her brother originally wrote the song for his band but felt it was better suited to her voice. They placed it on SoundCloud so Eilish’s dance teacher could access it (as it was written in response to the teacher’s request for a song to accompany choreography), and it became viral almost overnight. An injury ended Eilish’s dance aspirations, and she turned to music. And, as they say, the rest is history. Today three separate SoundCloud single uploads have a total of almost 65 million plays, and on Spotify, it has reached over one billion streams.
The song explores falling in love and the sometimes explosive power of this emotion, the mystique, and the dangers this state can bring to a person.
“I’ve been watching you for some time
Can’t stop staring at those ocean eyes
Burning cities and napalm skies
Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes
Your ocean eyes
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I’m scared
I’ve never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes
I’ve been walking through a world gone blind
Can’t stop thinking of your diamond mind
Careful creature made friends with time
He left her lonely with a diamond mind
And those ocean eyes
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I’m scared
I’ve never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes
No fair
You really know how to make me cry
When you give me those ocean eyes
I’m scared
I’ve never fallen from quite this high
Falling into your ocean eyes
Those ocean eyes”
“Ocean Eyes,” by Finneas O’Connell.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
In addition to the original SoundCloud upload, the song was released as a commercial single in 2016. It also appeared on Eilish’s debut EP, dont smile at me (2017), as well as the soundtrack to the Stella Meghie film, Everything, Everything (also 2017).
Are you a follower of Billie Eilish? If so, please jump into the comments section and recommend some tracks I should listen to so I can learn about her later music.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official music video from Billie Eilish’s YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today, on the way the spend the day caring for our youngest grandson, a random mix from my phone served up “Hamburg Song” by the English alternative rock band Keane. It’s been over a year since I posted something by them, and I enjoyed the contemplative flow of this keyboard and vocal piece as I was driving on a very cold morning (-26C, -15F).
“Hamburg Song” comes from Keane’s second studio album, Under the Iron Sea (2006), a collection they describe as “darker” than Hopes and Fears (2004). Iron Sea was Keane’s last album before the electric guitar took a more prominent role in their recordings and live performances.
As I’ve learned from musicians talking about album creation, they deliberately and methodically set out the order of songs. On Iron Sea, “Hamburg Song” creates a slow and reflective break between the downtempo “A Bad Dream” and the uptempo breakup song “Put It Behind You” (while you’re here, check out my post on that song). This interlude encourages the listener to slow down and pay attention to a piece about tensions that existed in the friendship between keyboard/synthesizer player, bassist and backup singer Tim Rice-Oxley and lead singer, pianist and guitarist Tom Chaplin.
Rice-Oxley told Q magazine in October 2007, “With ‘Hamburg Song’ I started writing almost about myself. The first verse I’d written about my wife, about what she must feel about me sometimes. And then we got into the studio and it all poured out and turned into a song that was really about friendship. I did think, ‘This is going to be quite awkward.’ But if it’s painful to write or to play, then that’s kind of a job well done.”
“Hamburg Song” was the first song Keane played as an organ/voice-only piece (after a lengthy intro, the lead instrument shifts to electric piano, and light cymbal taps add additional colour and texture in the last quarter of the song).
“I don’t wanna be adored
Don’t wanna be first in line
Or make myself heard
I’d like to bring a little light
To shine a light on your life
To make you feel loved
No, don’t wanna be the only one you know
I wanna be the place you call home
I lay myself down
To make it so, but you don’t want to know
I give much more
Than I’d ever ask for
Will you see me in the end
Or is it just a waste of time
Trying to be your friend
Just shine, shine, shine
Shine a little light
Shine a light on my life
Warm me up again
Fool, I wonder if you know yourself at all
You know that it could be so simple
I lay myself down
To make it so, but you don’t want to know
You take much more
Than I’d ever ask for
Say a word or two to brighten my day
Do you think that you could see your way
To lay yourself down
And make it so, but you don’t want to know
You take much more
Than I’d ever ask for”
“Hamburg Song,” by Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley and Richard Hughes.
Lyrics retrieved from Lyrics.com.
One online source quotes a podcast where the song title is discussed: Rice-Oxley was writing the song on a tour bus in the USA, and the band demoed it in a studio while on tour in Hamburg, labelling the tape box “Hamburg Song,” and never got around to changing the title, feeling it fit the mood of the piece.
The song is a lovely tribute to a friendship; a heartfelt request from one to the other, seeking to bridge the divide between them. I’m sure we all find ourselves in that place sometimes.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. If you enjoyed this post, I hope you’ll click on “like” and leave a comment; it would be great to hear from you!
Please enjoy the audio from the Keane YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
I am confident that today’s selection will appeal to a dear friend and regular commenter who loves lyric videos. And I imagine he will like the song, too. The instrumentation is varied and creative, with dreamy sounds and interesting claps and other percussive elements that help make a warm and beautiful place that enwraps the distinctive vocals.
“Slow and Steady” is a song by the Icelandic indie folk/rock group Of Monsters and Men, formed in Reykjavik in 2010. I have heard several of their songs on Apple Music, and today’s is my favourite so far.
Through rich and beautiful imagery in the lyrics, I believe the band is talking about inner growth, facing and overcoming our shadows and other negative aspects, and moving ahead “slow and steady” to be better humans to ourselves, other life, and the planet. And it’s about knowing that on the journey, sometimes we need to move, at least figuratively, beyond those who would hold us back or bring us down. (Maybe those we move past are former versions of ourselves; I think that’s a great image.)
“The lights go out, I am all alone
All the trees outside are buried in the snow
I spend my night dancing with my own shadow
And it holds me, and it never lets me go
I move slow and steady
But I feel like a waterfall
Yeah, I move slow and steady
Past the ones that I used to know
My dear old friend, take me for a spin
Two wolves in the dark, running in the wind
I’m letting go, but I’ve never felt better
Passing by all the monsters in my head
And I move slow and steady
But I feel like a waterfall
Yeah, I move slow and steady
Past the ones that I used to know
And I’m never ready
‘Cause I know, I know, I know
That time won’t let me
Show what I want to show
And I move slow and steady
But I feel like a waterfall
Yeah, I move slow and steady
Past the ones that I used to know
And I’m never ready
‘Cause I know, I know, I know
That time won’t let me
Show what I want to show”
“Slow and Steady,” by Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir, Ragnar Thorhallsson, Arnar Rosenkranz Hilmarsson, Arni Gudjonsson, Kristjan Pall Kristjansson and Brynjar Leifsson. Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
In the animated lyric video, the viewer is looking down upon a goose that’s floating high above the earth. The goose flies over and through clouds (uncertainty), a barren tundra landscape that sometimes has images superimposed on the snow (perhaps the hardness of life, and imprints of difficult memories that won’t disappear), and other geese (more of those former selves?).
The lyrics tell of help from friends and the feeling that there’s never enough time to “show what I want to show” (of one’s current, more developed self, I presume). “Slow and steady” and “like a waterfall” are two phrases that perfectly describe the contrasts in life: one moment, it’s manageable, and the next, it’s roaring out of control, and all the while, we keep on with the work of staying aloft. It’s a beautiful song.
“Slow and Steady” comes from the band’s debut studio album, My Head Is an Animal (2011).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the official lyric video from the Of Monsters and Men YouTube/VEVO channel:
And for my sweety, who loves to watch a live performance, here’s the band playing live for the Off Guard Gigs series at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk, England, in July 2012:
With my best wishes to you,
Steve
The Swedish indie-pop/psychedelic rock band The Amazing is one Apple Music introduced to me. I didn’t know any of their songs other than today’s selection, “Picture You,” before playing some of their music as I sat down to write today’s post.
So far, a feature of their music is psychedelia-infused guitar effects and synthesizers. The vocals add to this floaty, dreamlike sound.
On the studio recording, the guitars, keyboards and singing come across in pleasing, gentle melodies punctuated by the bass and drums. The singing is understated, and soft enunciation makes the lyrics a little hard to capture, so I’m glad I could find them online, as the internet is otherwise sparse on written words about the band, its members and their roles, or their music.
The instrumentation is the lead in this nine-minute, twenty-seven-second piece (studio version); most of the singing finishes by three and a half minutes in. A minute later, the band settles into a instrumental outro that builds toward the end with some pretty remarkable playing (at one point some of the guitar strumming in the studio version sounds like a cross between a harp and a harpsichord, and the drumming is incredible for such a minimalist kit).
In an American Songwriter magazine/website article from eight years ago, album reviewer Hal Horowitz writes, “Listening to the Swedish band The Amazing is akin to taking a trip back into the mid-80s. That was an era when groups such as the Church, the Mighty Lemon Drops, the Cocteau Twins and others popularized a style that floated on a bed of intertwining guitars, breathy vocals and wistful soundscapes.”
He continues, “Frontman Christoffer Gunrup’s gauzy vocals effortlessly reflect the music, even if his voice and words are secondary to the overall sonic experience. They become just another ingredient in the overall vibe, but with titles such as ‘Circles,’ ‘The Headless Boy’ and ‘Captured Light’ it seems there are interesting concepts to explore.
“Don’t expect help with that though. The package is the epitome of stark with no printed song lyrics, pictures of the members, or even a listing of who they are, let alone what they play. That just adds to the mystery of the group whose layered swirl of often overdubbed acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, pensive harmonies and surprisingly jazzy percussion wrap around each other like the strands of a tapestry.”
Horowitz is bang-on with his assessments of the band’s style, and my experience echoes his remarks on the lack of written information about the band. I’m not sure I’d listen to the whole album again, but I do like this song and its catchy, dreamy vibe. The 80s influence surely has something to do with that…
“In the cold and green tomorrow
Throws you into this
Your archive
If your shapes could sometimes turn to
Make you feel at ease
Make you mine
If your shapes could sometimes turn to
Make you feel at ease
Make you smile
And the way you always tell her
Shouldn’t work inside
I know
Did you always like to dream of
Things that could have been
I know I do
Do you find it hard to say words
That could have been of me
I know I do
Oooh oooh oooh
Hey
Do you like to dream of a current
I know I do
Hey
Do you like to dream of a current
I know I do”
“Picture You,” by The Amazing.
Lyrics retrieved from Songlyrics.com.
Today’s track comes from the band’s fourth studio album, Picture You (2015).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the live video recorded for the NPR’s (National Public Radio) World Cafe radio program’s live session series, Sense of Place, in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2015.
And here’s the official video featuring the studio version from the Partisan Records YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
It’s snowy and cold today in Winnipeg, Canada, where I live. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun. Just maybe not outside today, as it’s pretty windy on top of all that. So it was a good morning to do 55 kilometres (34 miles) on the indoor bike trainer with some pals on Zwift.
Our city hasn’t had a snowfall record like last year (so far), but I still needed to rake snow off the summer porch roof this weekend, as it was getting quite deep. It was heavy work but made lighter with my sweety helping shovel away the stuff that fell onto the sidewalks.
Working together is always better as it makes the job go faster, and I managed not to pull any ice chunks off the roof onto Sweety. I won’t say we were dancing like the people in today’s video, but we felt accomplished getting such a big job done together.
In 2010, Black American neo-soul singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer Pharrell Williams (b. 1973) worked on the soundtrack for the animated film Despicable Me. In 2013 he wrote three songs for the sequel, Despicable Me 2, including today’s selection, “Happy.” In addition to writing it, he produced and performed the song, the sole single from the movie soundtrack album. (Williams sings lead and some of the backup vocals and plays all the instrumental parts — drums, bass and keyboards — on the studio recording.)
“It might seem crazy what I’m ’bout to say
Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
With the air, like I don’t care, baby, by the way
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
Here come bad news, talking this and that (Yeah!)
Well, give me all you got, don’t hold it back (Yeah!)
Well, I should probably warn ya, I’ll be just fine (Yeah!)
No offense to you, don’t waste your time, here’s why
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
Bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down
My level’s too high to bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down, I said
Bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down
My level’s too high to bring me down
Can’t nothing bring me down, I said”
“Happy,” by Pharrell Williams.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
The uptempo soul/neo-soul song has been highly successful for Williams, charting at number one in Canada, the USA, the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand upon release. The song spawned an official music video (see below), plus the world’s first “24-hour video,” a series of 24, one-hour videos.
It’s a great song for a cold day, a hot one, a Monday, or any day when the energy level is low (or high!). William’s exuberant vocals and the cheery cameos by many people, including some celebrities, will surely have you smiling and your toes tapping.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official video from the Pharrell Williams YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today at Song of the Day for Today, it’s Classical Sunday, a weekly feature that’s been a tradition here since July 2020 after a suggestion from one of my brothers. Last week we skipped this segment as we were in the middle of exploring the full album Dark Little Ones (2023) by my son, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West.
A classical performer of note that I haven’t previously posted about is the Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould (1932-1982). Despite his short life, Gould was one of the most highly-regarded pianists of the 20th century. A child prodigy, his adult life was very private and he was known to be eccentric, which I suppose added to the mystique of the man and musician — though his musical brilliance is his lasting legacy and a source of pride for Canadians.
While Gould’s recording repertoire was expansive, he favoured the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), along with that of some 20th-century composers. He tended to avoid music of the Romantic era.
Bach wrote the Aria variata (alla maniera italiana) in A Minor, BWV 989, around 1709. It is composed of a theme (the aria) and ten variations of that theme. The “alla maniera italiana” part of the title refers to its styling after works by the Italian composers Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643) and Bernardo Pasquini (1637-1710).
The recording featured today comes from Sony Classical’s The Glenn Gould Collection, Glenn Gould – Bach Vol. 5, released posthumously in 2012.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the audio from the Glenn Gould YouTube channel:
It is interesting to note the differences in playing times for various musicians’ interpretations of a piece. In the above YouTube audio, Gould plays today’s selection in nine minutes and thirty-nine seconds. Another rendition of this work, played by Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson in the video below, clocks in at 15:24.
Yet another version, played on the harpsichord, lasts over 18 minutes! I haven’t listened to this instrument for some time, and quite enjoyed this video version though I acknowledge the period instruments (or original instruments) sound isn’t for everyone… I was quite taken with period instrument recordings back when collecting records in the 1980s.
With my best wishes and kudos if you made it this far, listening to all the audio and videos I embedded here today! (And if you did, which did you prefer? Let me know your thoughts in the comments… or just say “hi!”)
Steve
Today’s selection comes from the Seattle, Washington, USA-based indie-folk band, The Head and the Heart.
I’m surprised I haven’t shared this one before; it’s a beautiful song. I don’t recall where I first heard “Another Story,” but I bought the track from the iTunes Store in November 2022, and it often plays on my Apple Music stream.
My take on the song is that life gets complex, and people often feel isolated. And as much as we want to move forward, sometimes there’s a warming fireplace type of comfort to be had in nostalgia and the reliability of memories, especially when a crucial part of our past has been lost.
“These are just flames
Burnin’ in your fireplace
I hear your voice and it seems
As if it was all a dream I wish it was all a dream
I see a world
A world turnin’ in on itself
Are we just like
Hungry wolves howling in the night?
I don’t want no music tonight
Can we go on like it once was?
Every time I hear another story
Of the poor boy lost his head
Everybody feels a little crazy
But go on livin’ with it
Yeah, they go on livin’ with it
These are just flames
Burnin’ in your fireplace
I hear your voice and it seems
As if it was all a dream
I wish it was all a dream
Can we go on like it once was?
Can we go on like it once was?
Every time I hear another story
Of the poor boy lost his head
Everybody feels a little crazy
But we go on livin’ with it
Yeah, they go on livin’ with it
Whoo, whoo, yeah
Whoo, whoo
Tell you one thing
We ain’t gonna change much
The sun still rises
Even with the pain
Tell you one thing
We ain’t gonna change love
The sun still rises
Even through the rain
Can we go on like it once was?
Can we go on like it once was?
Everybody feels a little crazy
(Can we go on like it once was?)
Everybody feels a little crazy
(Can we go on like it once was?)
Can we go on like it once was?”
“Another Story,” by Chris Zasche, Josiah Johnson, Kenny Hensley,
Robert Williams, Charity Rose Thielen and Jonathan Russell.
Lyrics retrieved from Apple Music.
Today was the first time I saw the official video. It tells a sweet and poignant story of two close friends for whom being together is their oxygen. They savour their time together with loving care, riding their bikes, walking in the forest, and taking photos, all things that offer a reprieve from the harshness elsewhere in their lives.
“Another Story” comes from the band’s second studio album, Let’s Be Still (2013).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Please enjoy the official video from the Sub Pop Records YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Ever since posting about the song “Philosophia” by Ireland’s The Guggenheim Grotto, I’ve listened several of their songs playing randomly on Apple Music and have had some suggested for me on YouTube. In 2012, the Connecticut, USA newspaper Hartford Courant referred to their style as “folk-influenced indie-pop.”
A piece of theirs that I hear often and like a lot is “Told You So.” It is a playful love song with a pleasant melody and beat. It starts with acoustic guitar and voice, then drums, vocal melodies, and then the rest of the backing musicians join in to create a light, toe-tapping piece.
While the writer is obviously enamoured with his lover, it seems he is also trying to analyze every experience instead of being free to be in the moment fully. Not always a helpful combination…
“When the world is wide, wicked and wild
And watching my every move
I gather thoughts of you and that’s what lovers do
You’ve said before when every act is a war
And every shade, just another shade of blue
You’d have me walk with you and that’s what lovers do
Told you so, I’m in love with you….
Told you so and I bet you love me too…
When you go walking away with the wind and the waves and
Flirting with your feet
You take a part of me and that’s what lovers feel
And when you come upon a time and place sublime and it
Shows you something real
You wish me there to see and that’s what lovers feel
At a party I’ve thrown the morning has grown and
Someone’s going your way
You tell them you’d rather stay and that’s what lovers say
So to the garden we go, quiet and slow and we
Watch the world awake
You know I love you for loves sake, isn’t that what lovers say?”
“Told You So,” by by The Guggenheim Grotto.
Lyrics retrieved from Genius.com.
When The Guggenheim Grotto came onto the American music scene in the early 2000s, there were comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel. I’m not sure I hear that, but with both being folk duos, I suppose I can see it.
“Told You So” comes from the album …Waltzing Alone (2006), the same collection as “Philosophia.”
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from The Guggenheim Grotto YouTube topic channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Here at Song of the Day for Today, it’s back to regularly-scheduled programming, as they say, though today’s selection has a few similarities to the music we’ve read about and heard during the past nine days. I hope you had good time if you joined me to explore the full album, Dark Little Ones, by Kieran West. He and I enjoyed blogging together to share his new album with you, and I learned a few new things about the nine songs on it. Thank you to everyone who has read and commented and is streaming and buying the album to support my talented son.
Today, we’re looking at a song I only heard for the first time recently, though it dates back to the 1990s. Mary Chapin Carpenter (b. 1958) is an American country and folk singer-songwriter who began writing songs and playing folk venues in the Washington, DC area in the mid-1970s and recording albums in the late 1980s.
In “Come On Come On,” she recalls many memories, some of them pleasant, some perhaps haunting and difficult to reconcile. She also seems to be recounting her first loss and how that shaped her life; and one thought I had on the chorus was that she might even be speaking to someone as they lay dying, encouraging the person to let go.
“Some people remember the first time
Some can’t forget the last
Some just select what they want to from the past
It’s a song that you danced to in high school
It’s a moon you tried to bring down
On a four-in-the-morning drive through the streets of town
Come on come on, it’s getting late now
Come on come on, take my hand
Come on come on, you just have to whisper
Come on come on, I will understand
It’s a photograph taken in Paris, at the end of the honeymoon
In 1948, late in the month of June
Your parents smile for the camera in sienna shades of light
Now you’re older than they were then that summer night
“Come on come on, it’s getting late now
Come on come on, take my hand
Come on come on, you just have to whisper
Come on come on, I will understand
It’s a need you never get used to, so fierce and so confused
It’s a loss you never get over the first time you lose
And tonight I am thinking of someone, seventeen years ago
We rode in his daddy’s car down the river road
Come on come on, it’s getting late now
Come on come on, take my hand
Come on come on, you just have to whisper
Come on come on, I will understand
Come on come on, it’s getting late now
Come on come on, take my hand
Come on come on, you just have to whisper
Come on come on, I will understand
Come on come on”
“Come On Come On,” by Mary Ann Kennedy, Pat Bunch and Pam Rose.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song is the closing track on the 1992 album of the same name. This collection has been Carpenter’s most successful so far, generating seven singles (though today’s selection wasn’t one of them!) that hit the Billboard Top 100, and it reached quadruple platinum certification in the USA (meaning four million units were shipped from the factory).
“Come On Come On” is a delicate and poignant piece about memories, love and loss; things we all experience and that build up the people we develop into in our lives. The song was a pleasant discovery during a recent session of listening to random plays on Apple Music.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from Mary Chapin Carpenter’s personal YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Welcome to the final installment of our look at Dark Little Ones, the new album by Canadian singer-songwriter Kieran West.
I’m going to tell you what the song means for me, and some of the backstory from my perspective. My son Kieran will have the last word on today’s post.
All the songs on this record have deep meaning and evoke many emotions. For me, the closing track of the album is the one I connect with most, personally. There is so much energy, spirit and passion in it.
“Grenadier” tells the story of Kieran’s grandad, my dad, who served with the British Army in the King’s Own Grenadier Guards from 1939 to 1946. My parents lived away by the time Kieran was born, so his visits with them were seldom. Kieran was only eight when Dad died, though his young age didn’t stop him from speaking at his grandad’s memorial service. (While speaking, which he did beautifully, he became upset, and later when he was ready to come back into the room, the funeral home staff wouldn’t let him. I wish I’d known about that at the time… funerals can be such complicated events to navigate.)
The story opens in Monte Cassino, Italy in 1944, the site of a fierce battle in the Second World War. Dad was 25, the age when most men are enjoying starting out in their lives, not continually faced with dying a violent, horrifying death.
The story then moves on to Dad’s friend, nicknamed “Shaky.” The two were an unlikely pairing as Dad was an infantryman while Shaky was an officer, a man from a very privileged background. Of their regiment of 600, only two or three returned from the war. The two men’s bond remained until death, though they only saw each other once or twice after my parents emigrated to Canada.
Musically, the song is dynamic rock, which one might question as the delivery of a tribute. But, hang on: a dramatic opening snare/bass drum note that sounds like an army drum instantly and brilliantly sets off a march tempo that I believe depicts soldiers marching through a city with bravery and bravado after liberating it from enemy occupation. The heavy bass drum beat sustains this mood throughout the song. All the while, we’re reminded the Grenadiers are in a place none wants to be; in a brutal war, away from family and friends, not knowing if they’ll ever see their loved ones again. The camaraderie is what keeps them going, despite the numbers of their mates continually dwindling from the loss of life in battle.
To me, the lead guitar plays a character in the song: that boisterous, full-of-life member of the battalion who inspired everyone to do better, and who was also the “brat” who had a lot of fun playing pranks and swaggering about; but he was also serious, precise, focused and dependable when the job and his mates required it, and he lamented deeply over each of the many losses they suffered as a regiment that was, literally, almost completely wiped out.
“Monte Cassino
Italy, 1944
I’m just 25
I’m fighting in the Second World War
Fighting for the king
I put my life on the line for you and me
I just want to say
This is not where I want to be
Shaky Williams
He was young and brave when going in
Side by side
Things were sure different then
When we were made of hundreds
And now it’s down to just is three
And I just want to say
This is not where I want to be
And it’s hard to be a man
In the world we’re living in
And it’s hard to understand
When world wars begin
And I’m here to do my duty
I’m here to serve the call
And I’m fighting for my country
I’m gonna do it all
I hope you’re proud
I hope you’re looking down on me
With all your love
It gives me something to believe
Hope you feel whole
I hope you feel free
I just want to say
I hope you’re where you want to be”
Personnel:
Kieran West: lead vocal and rhythm guitar
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Micah Erenberg (The Secret Beach): lead guitar, backing vocal.
In the last verse, as the final cymbal from the chorus decays in an ethereal way (this happens a few times on the album in key places), a single, subtle guitar accompanies Kieran as he shifts from the past to now, singing to his grandad’s spirit in a very touching way, “I hope you’re proud / I hope you’re looking down on me / With all your love / It gives me something to believe / Hope you feel whole / I hope you feel free / I just want to say / I hope you’re where you want to be” and the band goes into a two-minute jam outro. Many emotions surface in this farewell section: grief, loss, gratitude, and pride. Kieran and the band members live in a peaceful country, partly because of sacrifices by those who came before them. They know they are fortunate not to be in any of a number of countries battered by war, and, in this song, they pay homage to Dad, Shaky, and all the faceless millions who served or witnessed, survived or perished.
Each time I listen to the song, I keep wanting the end jam/outro to last longer; it’s a bit like the memory of seeing my dad on his deathbed and knowing he could not survive, but wishing his song wouldn’t end yet.
And in the same way as the first track, “Staying Home,” is a great show starter, “Grenadier” would make a terrific closer, as I can picture the band extending the jam the way groups often do at the end of a show, holding the melody and taking a break to introduce the band, thank the audience, all that kind of farewell stuff, then returning to a blazing, heartfelt finish.
I first heard this song played by a full band in a demo recording that Kieran gave me to distribute to our family a few years ago on the day my dad would have turned 100.
“Grenadier” is a powerful tribute from a loving grandson who had both his grandfathers taken from him by death when he was very young. It’s a song my dad would proudly savour hearing Kieran and the band playing. And I can picture Dad, as Kieran writes, looking down on him with all his love.
What a bold, honouring and unforgettable way to end an absolutely superb album; it is a life-affirming statement. I will be enjoying this album for a long time, and I can’t wait to hear what comes next from this gifted musician.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining us on this nine-day journey.
Now, here’s Kieran to close out his album and this series of posts:
“Grenadier. The big finisher. This song is about my paternal grandfather, Ernest Edward Rodney West. I have many memories of spending time on the phone with my grandparents who lived in Calgary. I had a strong connection with both of them, but unfortunately my grandfather passed away in 2001. I didn’t understand the concept of death then, and I remember conceiving these elaborate plans about how he was just in hiding and would somehow reappear one day. Then came the day of his funeral. It was an open casket. I still wasn’t able to fully grasp what was going on, but in a way I knew this would be the final time I saw his face. My dad, the orator that he is, was already speaking, and I asked to speak as well. I only managed to squeak out a few words before I broke down crying and had to leave the room.
“I went back to enter and say my last goodbye, but I was told that I wouldn’t be allowed back in.
“I was distraught by this, but I was comforted by my cousin Katherine. Katherine is my age and had just recently moved back to Winnipeg from Cleveland. She is one of my best friends in the world, and I believe our connection really began then. Katherine has been there for me throughout all of the ups and downs of my life. It’s truly amazing to have a family member who you feel so connected with, and that you feel you can fully rely on, no matter what.
“So with this we reach the end of the album. And a story which contains an ending. But for me, it also contains a beginning. A reminder that life is a series of cycles. Just like the ones I wrote about on this album. We will continue to live our lives, through self doubt, love, grief, hockey, hardship, adolescence, and perhaps even war. but we will always come to the end, which will also be some kind of a beginning. Those who have happened to listen to the album on repeat will know that the last note of Grenadier is resolved by the first note of Staying Home, so in a way the album depicts that quite nicely. The cycle of life is full of twists and turns, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to share my experience of it with you.”
Kieran
PS: I hope that now we’ve finished the album, you’ll buy it for your digital collection or stream it often to support this incredible artist and young man.
With best wishes,
Steve
For the past seven days, we’ve been checking out Dark Little Ones (2023), the new album by my son, Kieran West. Today we’re on to the second-last track, “Kid.”
Kieran says this about the song: “This is a song that I wrote about a student of mine a few years back. Reflecting upon it, the song speaks to me as well. In a way I think I was trying to write something to heal my inner child. I know this is a song that many people have connected with over the years and I have always appreciated that kind of feedback. I think of this recording as a gentle reminder that there is hope for those of us who feel that we have been cursed.
“Adolescence can seem like a weird trap for some of us. I know it did for me. But it’s true when they say that life outside of high school is so much bigger. It can just be very hard to see that when you’re in it.”
I can relate to what Kieran is saying here, both from my perspective as a parent and as one who was parented. As adults, we often raise children in the ways modelled for us, which aren’t always healthy. At the same time, there is an acknowledgment by some experts that most parents do the best they can given their own circumstances and wounds. That may sound like a cop-out to some, and maybe it is. But I think back to the past when whole generations carried the burdens and effects of two world wars, a deadly worldwide pandemic and economic depression, all occurring in the space of forty years… surely those traumas must have been passed down in some ways. Watching Kieran as a father to his son is a marvellous thing, with the strong self-awareness he has developed, learning from his own challenges to care for himself, and give that care to his family, friends and students, who all adore him. I am optimistic about the future when I see this breaking of the cycle.
“It’s painful
Walking in your shoes
Everyone who loves you
Makes you feel used
You want to hurt them
But you just hurt yourself
You don’t need to be ashamed
If you need some help
It’s not your fault
You’re just a kid
And you don’t need to live the life
That your parents did
And it’s not fair
You’ll have to wait
But if you can be strong now
One day you’ll escape
They push you
And you just run away
Sometimes you just can’t control
The angry words you say
They’re yelling
And you’re just yelling back
They don’t understand you now
The way you feel and act
All those years you can’t get back
Walking down the rusty track
All the other kids seem so confused
One day you will grow up tall
One day you will see it all
One day you won’t have something to prove”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: acoustic guitar, piano, vocal
I also resonate with what Kieran says about adolescence and high school. Growing up can be confusing, and the place we spend much of our time — school — can make it so much worse when it is not a safe, supportive environment. I don’t remember being bullied quite to the extent he was in school, but aside from a couple of teachers who I believe saw me as a person of value (the way Kieran views his students), I couldn’t wait to get out of that place.
In my opinion, the combination of the themes is what has made this song so appealing to his audiences and gained the positive feedback Kieran refers to.
“Kid” is another song I have heard many times, performed with solo guitar and voice. The addition of the piano adds much to the poignancy of the piece.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel (and click the thumb’s-up in YouTube to show it some love!):
A local video producer, Drop Pictures, filmed Kieran playing a few of his songs in 2019. One of those videos is a live performance of “Kid.” I’m sharing it so you can see the artist at work and note how Kieran has developed his singing voice over the four years between the video and the studio recording.
Tomorrow will be the big finish in our look at Dark Little Ones, and you won’t want to miss it — see you back here tomorrow!
With my best wishes,
Steve
We’re on to the seventh track in our review of Dark Little Ones, the new album by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. We started a week ago with “Staying Home.”
Today’s song, “Start All Over Again,” picks up the tempo with a drum-driven melody anchored by a distorted electric guitar. It’s a story of resilience, perseverance, and maybe a certain amount of resignation: that feeling of making progress toward a goal, in this case, wellness, only to feel discouraged and have to “start all over again.” To me, there’s a determination in the beat, the instrumentation and the vocal. These represent the underlying drive needed to keep trying to make progress, though it’s hard sometimes to keep up the effort when other feelings and factors get in the way.
Here are the lyrics, then we’ll hear from Kieran about the song’s meaning.
“Oh I’m all bark and no bite
And I don’t get anything right
I’ve been waiting here for something to come and blow away this dark cloud
And I can’t shake the feeling that nothing’s going to help me now
And no I can’t sleep
And no I can’t dream
No I’ve got nothing left to believe in
So I’ll start over again
Oh all of my heroes are dead
Sometimes I wish I was sleeping in the same bed
And nothing’s gonna come
Nothing’s gonna come and ease my pain
No matter what I do, no matter what I do I feel the same
Maybe it’s the one who thought he was a man because he liked to hit kids
Maybe I’m still suffering for the things my great-grandfather did
Maybe it’s something I’m born with
And it won’t go away
There’s nothing left to do
And nothing left to say”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: rhythm guitar, organ, vocal
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Here’s what Kieran says about “Start All Over Again”: “If you know me well, you know I suffer from frequent nightmares. Many of them are too horrible to describe even when people want to hear about them. This leads to a lot of nights where I wake up and feel scared to fall back asleep.
“My nightmares are one of many things in my life that often hold me back from feeling okay. This song is sort of an exploration of those things. The things in my life that knock me down and make it necessary to continually be starting all over again on my journey to wellness.”
Keeping at things can be challenging, but when the rewards come, they help build the stamina needed to start again. You got this!
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel:
Two more tracks to go on Dark Little Ones. See you back here tomorrow!
With my best wishes,
Steve
Content warning:
Today’s post and song deal with issues of mental health.
Welcome here. Followers of this blog know that on Sundays, I post a piece of classical music. That feature is pre-empted this week as we’re partway through a deep dive into my son Kieran’s new album.
Today I’m featuring the sixth track in our review of Dark Little Ones. We started on Tuesday with “Staying Home.”
I’ll begin this post by saying that Kieran is one of the most courageous people I have known. “My Older Brother” is powerfully vulnerable and emotional, drawing deeply on the humanity and maturity in his singing voice. It ends with an ethereal cymbal sound which, to me, symbolizes the hope of emerging from a dream (or nightmare) and finding the challenges of the day are still there.
Here is some of what Kieran says about the song: “This is a song that could only be written by a person who is plagued by the kind of depression that leads to what I call ‘George Bailey’ syndrome.
“Now is the part where we usually say that if you are struggling… that you must reach out to one of the resources such as Klinic, or to your doctor, or a family member. While this is true and pertinent, I just want to acknowledge what an impossible feat that seems to be, especially when you feel you are nothing but a burden on those around you. There is so much shame around these feelings, even now that it has become less of a social taboo.”
“My Older Brother”
“I can’t look in the mirror anymore
For fear I’ll see my face
In my eyes there was a soul
Now an empty space
I’m closing all the curtains now
The lights too hard to take
I sing myself a lullaby
About a burning lake
Would you have done better
My older brother
Would you waste your life
With demons and lies
Would you know how to recover
My older brother
Would you be tall and thin-good looking
And really know how to sing
Would you graduate from school on time
And wear a heavy ring
Would you be nice to everyone you meet
Would stand tall atop your feet
See the good in me
And be the best person you and I could be
Or would you be the same
Wake up every morning insane
Would you be angry and afraid
And need a drink to face the day”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: rhythm guitar, vocal
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Kieran concludes his thoughts with these affirming words: “Know that there is love out there for you and that you do not need to be in a good place in order to deserve it. We are worthy of love and care simply because we are human. In our hyper-individualist society, we tend to forget that our purpose on this earth is to love one another.”
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel:
We’ll be back here tomorrow with the next track from Dark Little Ones. In the meantime, the album is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music and for purchase in the iTunes Store.
A note to readers: We all know the Covid-19 pandemic severely affected people’s health and worsened a lot of challenges people already had. Depression and other mental health issues can feel overwhelming. There are resources to help. Please reach out if you need help.
Anywhere in Canada:
For mental health/crisis support:
Call: 1-833-456-4566 (24/7)
Text:
Adults can text: 741741
Youth can text: 686868
Text Talk Suicide Canada: 45645 (4 PM – 12 AM EST)
Quebec residents can also:
Call: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)
Text: 1-855-957-5353
In the United States:
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, call or text: 988
For elsewhere in the world, please refer to online resources in your region.
And remember, you matter. We all do.
Steve
Welcome to day five of this series on Song of the Day for Today where we’re looking at Kieran West’s new album, Dark Little Ones. If you’re just joining us now, you can also head back to the first “Staying Home” post and catch up. We’ll sit and wait for you right here at the community rink. Maybe there will be hot chocolate.
Yeah, today it’s time to take to the ice with “First Skate / Last Skate,” where the tempo goes up as Kieran tells us about growing up ice skating and playing hockey as a kid and an adult during his favourite season in our city of Winnipeg, Canada.
Kieran’s lyrics are always so descriptive; they vividly convey “the feeling of untying my skates after a log skate.” Oh yeah… what a relief… it’s been about ten years since I had skates on, but the lyric brought that feeling back as if it were today. I remember how much Kieran used to love playing hockey as a kid, both informal pick-up and organized recreation league. I saw him play a late-night adult men’s game once, a few years ago. He’s a fantastic skater, a skill I never learned as a kid but picked up when I was 35.
So what does Kieran have to say about “First Skate / Last Skate”?
“I guess you could say this is the happy song on the album. Every album deserves one.
“I am quite proud of this song in the way it tells the story of a young boy who lives to play hockey. The imagery is strong, and when I sing it, I can easily put myself in the place I wrote about. When I wrote this song, I was living at 21 Mayfair Place (in Winnipeg), and we had a hockey rink right outside the front door. It was a place I went to frequently throughout the winter. Playing hockey on an outdoor rink is one of the threads that connect my childhood to my adulthood. I will always love my time spent on the ice.”
And, on to the song…
“I can smell the ice
from the second that I walk outside
guy with the hose
yeah that’s my hero
everything is dying
but I’m coming alive
I’m out in the cold
and here I am at home
and I missed the feeling
of untying my laces after a long skate
and I missed the feeling
of the cold air ripping at my face
first skate
The ice is melting
and I feel lost
and I want to know
where did my favourite season go
things coming back to life
but I’m dying inside
and I miss the cold
and now I’m all alone
And I’ll miss the feeling
of untying my laces after a long skate
and I’ll miss the feeling
of the cold air ripping at my face
last skate
And I missed the feeling
of untying my laces after a long skate
and I missed the feeling
of the cold air ripping at my face
first skate
last skate”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, vocal.
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
The song beautifully captures that sense of excitement, anticipation and longing to do those activities that give us the greatest joy and satisfaction, often the things we did in youth and can return to as adults to reclaim the wonder and curiosity of childhood.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel (and click the thumb’s-up to show it some love!):
We’ll be back here tomorrow with the sixth track from Dark Little Ones. In the meantime, the album is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music and for purchase in the iTunes Store.
With my best wishes,
Steve
Content warning:
This post and song contain references to the Canadian Residential Schools system
and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited.
This week we’re delving into Dark Little Ones, the new album released on February 4 by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. Each day, we’re looking at one of the nine songs in the collection, and I’m including Kieran’s notes about his songs. For more about my son’s music, please visit the first post in this series, “Staying Home.”
Today’s song, “The Day We Made You Cut Your Hair (For I.L.),” is a powerful ballad that conveys the oppression of and atrocities against Indigenous Peoples in what is now North America and, specifically, during the period of what was called the Indian Residential Schools system in Canada. From the 1870s to the 1990s, these institutions stole 150,000 Indigenous children from their families in a deliberate attempt to erase their traditional culture and languages. Thousands of children died from abuse and neglect, and the survivors and their families suffer devastating multi-generational trauma because of this genocidal act carried out by the Government of Canada and the Catholic Church, which administered the schools on behalf of the government. (Please see my post on Robbie Robertson’s “Golden Feather” for further details about this system.) The United States government conducted a similar program.
Kieran says this about his motivation to write the song: “This is a song I wrote for a very important person in my life. It was inspired by an experience he had when he was young of being teased for his long hair. It reminded me so much of the kind of thing that happened to his ancestors when they were forced into residential schools.
“I know many people my age did not learn about residential schools when they were young. When I was in grade 5, we had a survivor come to our school and taught us about the horrors that occurred there. It shaped a big part of how I view the world. I remember specifically learning about how the males of some nations would only cut their hair when someone in their family died, and that when the priests were cutting their hair at the schools, many of the children were confused and thought their family members had died. That stuck with me.
“The words in this song are very intentionally chosen. The use of words like ‘we’ are my attempt at taking accountability. Many settler Canadians argue that because they are not personally responsible for the residential school system, they do not have anything to be sorry for. This is false. Settler Canadians, especially white Canadians, have a vast responsibility in reconciliation. We benefit from living in a country like Canada, and the benefits we enjoy come at the direct expense of Indigenous Peoples. The wealth of this nation comes from the exploited resources that Indigenous Peoples once engaged in a symbiotic relationship with.
“As of 2021, the Canadian government had completed 8 of the 94 calls to action by the truth and reconciliation commission. This is unacceptable. It is also unacceptable that many of us have seemingly moved on from the issue. Just because we are somehow over the initial shock of the bodies found in Kamloops does not mean that this search is not continuing. It is. The number has reached nearly 2500.
“Nothing will bring those children back home. We need to work together to build a system in which every child does matter. This is not our reality, but it must be.”
Here is “The Day We Made You Cut Your Hair”:
“The day we made you cut your hair
Was the day our country failed, I swear
What were we doing with our scissors and our crosses
Blood sweat tears and dignity is what it cost us
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
Helpless little children living scared
What were we doing with those lashings and those lessons
Putting you down became our only profession
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
Four hundred years and we’re not getting anywhere
What are we doing with our empty worded speeches
When mothers of daughters are spending their nights sleepless
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair
The day we made you cut your hair”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: acoustic guitar, vocal.
In May 2021, the remains of 215 children were located in unmarked graves on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation at the site of a former residential school in what’s now Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Though witnesses at the hearings held by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada spoke of deaths and unmarked graves, the Kamloops “discovery” marked the first time the government and society truly began to acknowledge the brutality of the residential schools. Many people were outraged and sought ways to make sense of the despicable crimes. As a result, some have taken the time to learn about this dark period in our history. The free online course Indigenous Canada, offered by the University of Alberta on the Coursera.org learning platform, is an excellent resource that I highly recommend as a step in our personal journeys of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
A line later on in the song says, “… mothers of daughters are spending their nights sleepless,” which is a reference to the horrific, ongoing issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited (MMIWG2S+); a further epidemic of trauma for Indigenous Peoples. Currently, investigation continues into an alleged serial killer believed to be responsible for the disappearances and murders of four Indigenous women within a span of two months in and around Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2022.
There is so much reconciliation, justice and healing needed, and I appreciate and honour voices like Kieran’s, keeping these issues at the forefront, and encouraging awareness and action.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here is the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel:
We’ll be back tomorrow with the fifth track from Dark Little Ones.
With my best wishes,
Steve
This week on Song of the Day for Today, we’re looking at Dark Little Ones, the new album released last weekend by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. I’m posting a song from the album daily, along with my thoughts on it. I’m also sharing my son Kieran’s explanations of the song meanings and a little bit about the recording process.
For more about Kieran’s music, please go back to the first post in this series, “Staying Home.”
Today we are on to the third track, “Lorraine.” It’s a lovely retrospective of family connection, centred around a family matriarch, Kieran’s late maternal great-grandmother, who the song is named after. It’s another older composition that’s been beautifully refined over the years. The song opens with a slow electric guitar melody that welcomes in Kieran’s contemplative vocal.
As with all his music, Kieran paints vivid pictures of precious memories of intergenerational family connection in “Lorraine.” I interpret one line as an image of him cuddled up with his great-gramma, warmed by the wood stove, as he feels her “fingers running through my hair.”
Here is what Kieran says about “Lorraine”: “This is a song about one of the most incredible people who ever lived. My great-grandmother was born in 1906. She grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan surrounded by music and many, many siblings.
“Lorraine wanted to keep the kids connected to the lake, so she bought a four-acre piece of land, and the family began building a cabin. That cabin is featured on the cover of Dark Little Ones.
“Lorraine continued to spend her summers at the cabin well into her 80s. she was known for taking solo trips around the lake in her old row boat.
“On her deathbed, Lorraine was brought back to the cabin. Her last words were, ‘put another log on the fire, the kids are coming.’ those words became the chorus of this song.”
With that, here’s “Lorraine”:
“Times were hard
most of the time
but you made the best of them
yeah you made the sun shine
playing music with the kids
got us through the worst years
and you know I’ll miss you
riding around on that bombardier
And she said
put another log on the fire
the kids are coming
it must be getting late now
I can hear that loon humming
and I can smell the cold night air
I still feel your fingers
running through my hair, so
put another log on the fire
the kids are coming
They built you right
they built you tough
and the will to fight on
yeah it’s in your blood
life was never easy
right from day one
but you had your music
and you had your love
And you learned to be strong
in the fields of Saskatchewan
and you felt like you belonged
in those dance halls playing those fiddle songs
everyone dancing and singing along”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar,
lead guitar, baritone guitar, Rhodes piano, lead vocal
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Micah Erenberg: backing vocal
The multi-instrumentalist Kieran plays several instruments on this recording, and friend and longtime collaborator Micah Erenberg (The Secret Beach) adds a subtle background vocal to the track.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel:
Please like and subscribe on YouTube, and stream or buy through Spotify or Apple to support the artist.
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today’s post is the second in a special series of nine on Song of the Day for Today. Each post will feature a song from Kieran West’s latest album, Dark Little Ones (2023).
For some of my son Kieran’s musical history, please visit the first post in the series, “Staying Home.”
Today’s track is “Daisy Bay,” an emotive look at loss that Kieran wrote about eight years ago. It’s been wonderful to watch the song develop as an artwork, having heard it many times over the years, played by different musicians at Kieran’s shows. Listening to it in the recorded version is very moving, and the beautiful melodies in vocals by Winnipeg’s Sweet Alibi are a superb addition to a brilliant and poignant piece.
Kieran is a masterful storyteller; sometimes, he tells the story from the perspective of another. Whatever the viewpoint, his stories have a depth and maturity that I’ve noticed in him for a long time.
“Daisy Bay” starts with Kieran’s voice, then a strumming acoustic guitar, and there’s an undercurrent of urgency to it, something like the feeling of anticipatory loss. The drums enter for emphasis (in addition to the solid beat, Dan Burtnick’s work on the kit adds some captivating treatments to the songs), then the backing band and singers come in as Kieran searches for the way through a life-changing loss he suffered when he was just months old.
“Life around here
no it ain’t been the same
and all we can do now
is just pass on your name
feels like a bad dream
lasted 22 years
but when I wake up
you won’t be drying my tears
Scattering the ashes
and I’m picking up all the pieces
trying to find something
that I can believe in
and you know I miss you
and I still long to kiss you
you know that it’s true
I don’t know what to do
and you were so young
We were just kids
falling in love
and when I was with you
I couldn’t get enough
now that you’re gone
heart of the dove
well who’s going to use
these left handed clubs
Sickness came quickly
and it changed everything
and all that I have now
is my will to sing
dead of the winter
now I’m all alone
and all that I need now
is just to be home”
Words and music © 2023 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: lead vocal, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, rhythm guitar and lead guitar
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Sweet Alibi (Jess Rae Ayre, Amber Nielsen, and Michelle Anderson): additional vocals
Here’s what Kieran says about “Daisy Bay”: “I was born in October of 1992. My (maternal) grandfather at the time was battling cancer. Two months later, the cancer took him from us. That is a lot of grief to be surrounded by at such a young age, and I am a firm believer in the effect these early experiences have on us. By all accounts, the grandfather I lost was a wonderful man. I have often spent late nights wondering if my life would have been different if I had his counsel to guide me through a turbulent youth.
“Ultimately, this is a song about love. Love that is stronger than death.
“When we began talking about making this record, I knew this song needed something special. That came via the incredible talents of Sweet Alibi. I have looked up to this band and these people for as long as I have known them, and it was one of the great honours of my life that they agreed to sing on this song. As an added touch of full circle-ness, my mother was Jess and Michelle’s junior high band teacher. The night I first heard their voices mixed into the track, I laid on my bed and wept next to (my partner).”
What I take from this song and Kieran’s backstory is that all we have is the present, the place we are in now, and the people we are with at this moment. The song also reminds me of the book, The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief, in which author Francis Weller reminds us that “everything we love, we will lose.” It’s a powerful and necessary reminder to savour love, life, and each moment.
And yes, Kieran’s grandfather was a wonderful man — with a big, caring heart and a natural sense of humour; he was easy to be with.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel:
If you like the song, please give a thumb’s-up to the YouTube video, and please stream or buy to support the artist. (Though one longtime follower of this blog said he’s going to wait until I finish posting all the songs to stream the whole album! How cool.)
With my best wishes,
Steve
Starting today, I’m teaming up with my son Kieran in a special series on Song of the Day for Today. For nine days, I’ll feature a song from his latest album, Dark Little Ones (2023). I hope you’ll love the songs as much as I do, and that you will enjoy the words we share about each one.
Kieran began playing the piano at age four, violin at eight, then writing songs and forming bands at 15 and has performed in numerous genres, including folk-rock, outlaw country, alternative rock, and heavy metal. When he was 18, his band won a province-wide contest held by CBC Radio One. Music has always been in his life and has always been something we shared as a family, like whenever we were driving anywhere.
On to today’s selection… I’m sure we’ve all heard songs where touring musicians lament long periods away from their homes, loved ones and routines. For me, a great example of this is the Jason Collett/Hayden collaboration “Lonely Is as Lonely Does.” Turning this practice on its head is Kieran’s opening track on Dark Little Ones, “Staying Home.” It begins as a quietly reflective piece, reminiscing about some simple pleasures he was missing about touring when he wrote the song.
I’d describe “Staying Home” as a slow-burn show-starter that eventually erupts into a rousing arena rock number. On this track, producer and recording engineer (and bassist in the band) Matt Filopoulos creates a dreamy soundscape underneath the guitars that reminds me of the production stylings of English musician, author and visual artist Brian Eno.
Here’s what Kieran says about “Staying Home”: “When I wrote this song, I knew it would be the first song on an album. I heard it in my head with the delayed guitars to start off and the band kicking in halfway through. I wrote it sitting on the edge of my bed while I was living at my aunt and uncle’s…” He adds, “This song is about missing tour, but more broadly it is about the self doubt I have always carried about my artistry. I have always felt second best. Unworthy. This is something I still struggle with. I am learning slowly over time to not compare myself to others. I am an individual. I love music, and that is what gives me worth. Not whether or not I’m better than someone else.”
“I watch through my window
as the bands are leaving town
and I hear the stories
when they all come back around
I’m feeling restless
I’m feeling restless staying home
I miss the east coast
I miss the west
is this a virtue
is this a test
and I miss the cold air
from the front window to the back seat
and I miss the new friends
and the old ones and every in between
I’m feeling restless
I’m feeling restless staying home”
Words and music © 2022 by Kieran West.
Personnel:
Kieran West: lead vocal and rhythm guitar
Matt Filopoulos: bass guitar
Dan Bertnick: drums
Micah Erenberg (The Secret Beach): lead guitar
Amber Nielsen (from Sweet Alibi): backing vocal
Many of Kieran’s songs tackle issues that have affected his life and sense of self-worth, including the extreme bullying he experienced throughout his school years. He’s a courageous and beautiful soul who has risen above considerable challenges to become the fantastic son, partner, dad, friend, musician, educator, and all-around great person he is (and always was, really). I previously shared one of his songs, “Pick Me Up,” from his 2014 debut EP, Riverwood Avenue (which includes the searing “Fuck the NRA” that he wrote after our dear friends’ daughter was murdered in a 2012 school shooting in the USA; the EP is available to stream — or, better yet, buy — on Bandcamp).
“Staying Home” was also a pre-release single in December 2022.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Kieran West YouTube topic channel (and click the thumb’s-up to show it some love!):
We’ll be back here tomorrow with the next track from Dark Little Ones. In the meantime, the album is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music and for purchase in the iTunes Store.
With my best wishes,
Steve
Last night after my sweety and I watched an excellent, recorded episode of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS Masterpiece, the television returned to Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over, a documentary on the American singer, TV host and actor (b. 1940; please visit a previous post on one of her songs).
Partway through the program, we heard a 1963 hit of Warwick’s, “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” as archive footage of longtime collaborators, American pianist, composer and record producer Burt Bacharach (b. 1928) and lyricist Hal David (1921-2012) tell how they developed the song, complicated by its changing time signatures (though Warwick managed to record the vocal in one studio take).
Listening to the song took me straight to memories of my childhood home (which I described in my 2020 post on “A Taste of Honey“). Music was a constant in our home, leading to a lifelong love of it, and each of my parents and siblings added something to the home repertoire.
So many songs are about love, and many are about the loss of it. It’s a central element of our humanity. In “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” lyricist David speaks of a failing relationship, trying to make sense of why deep love was not reciprocated.
“Anyone who ever loved
Could look at me
And know that I love you
Anyone who ever dreamed
Could look at me
And know I dream of you
Knowing I love you so
Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in his arms and love me, too
You couldn’t really have a heart
And hurt me like you hurt me
And be so untrue
What am I to do?
Every time you go away
I always say
“This time it’s goodbye, dear”
Loving you the way I do
I take you back
Without you I’d die, dear
Knowing I love you so
Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in his arms and love me, too
You couldn’t really have a heart
And hurt me like you hurt me
And be so untrue
What am I to do?
Knowing I love you so
Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in his arms and love me, too
You couldn’t really have a heart
And hurt me like you hurt me
And be so untrue
Anyone who had a heart would love me, too
Anyone who had a heart
Would surely take me in his arms and always love me
Why won’t you?
Anyone who had a heart would love me, too, yeah
Anyone who had a heart
Would surely take me in his arms and always love me
Why won’t you, yeah
Anyone who had a heart would love me, too
Anyone who had a heart
Would surely take me in his arms and always love me”
“Anyone Who Had a Heart,” by Hal David and Burt Bacharach.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
Warwick was the first to record the song, releasing it as a single in 1963 and on the 1964 album of the same name. The single hit the top ten in North America, much of Europe, and Australia. Meanwhile, an early 1964 cover by English singer Cilla Black (1943-2015) took the top place in her country’s charts. Over the years the song has also been covered by Petula Clark, Atomic Kitten, Linda Ronstadt, Dusty Springfield, Olivia Newton-John, Luther Vandross, Shirley Bassey and many, many others.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy the audio from the Dionne Warwick YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today for Classical Sunday, I’ve selected a piece by Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer and conductor Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). He was very successful as a composer, and his compositions bridged the 19th-century Austro-German classical style and 20th-century modernism. Unfortunately, his music endured periods of not being played publicly, including a ban across much of Europe in the Nazi era. After 1945, his music gained new audiences and remains highly popular among classical enthusiasts.
Mahler composed Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Major during the summer months of 1901 and 1902, at his cottage. The fourth movement (Adagietto, or “very slow”) is played frequently on its own.
The Adagietto is a flowing, gentle piece evocative of many feelings. While there are some solemn passages, wonder, hope and gratitude develop through most of it. Today I’m feeling the latter… grateful after enjoying a rock music album our son released yesterday (Dark Little Ones, by Kieran West. It is super impressive; I’m very proud, and I’ll be posting about it soon!).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
The video for today comes from a July 2014 performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena (b. 1965). They performed the entire symphony (about 70 minutes long) at the BBC Proms, an annual, eight-week summer festival at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK, formally known as the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC. Please enjoy.
With my best wishes,
Steve
This morning after early morning routines and chores, I called up an episode of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour on the BBC Sounds app (January 22, 2023: “Elbow’s Lead Singer Broadcasts from Cloaky Studios,” recorded in Garvey’s newly-built home studio).
Early on in the playlist was a recommendation from the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Simon Armitage, a weekly guest segment presenter on the show. His suggestion was a song that, around his home, is called “Guy, Put the Kettle On,” but elsewhere in the world is English neo-soul/rhythm & blues singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae’s (b. 1979) best-known song, “Put Your Records On.”
I last listened to Garvey’s program a few weeks ago. So today, it was great to hear some of his selections again, introduced with his inimitable banter and sometimes interspersed with the occasional archive interview clips, as he did with a 2006 clip of former Roxy Music keyboardist and singer Brian Eno before spinning the band’s magnificent 1972 track, “If There Is Something.” (I’ll have to post that one sometime… it’s a banger, as Garvey calls excellent songs.)
“Put Your Records On” is, as one of my followers put it so well in his comment a few weeks ago on James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good),” “…one of those songs that it is impossible to listen to and not feel good, it just makes you want to sing and dance, wherever you may be.”
“Three little birds sat on my window
And they told me I don’t need to worry
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete
Maybe sometimes we’ve got it wrong, but it’s alright
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same
Oh, don’t you hesitate
Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams
Just go ahead, let your hair down
You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow
Blue as the sky, sunburnt and lonely
Sipping tea in a bar by the roadside
(Just relax, just relax)
Don’t you let those other boys fool you
Got to love that afro hairdo
Maybe sometimes we feel afraid, but it’s alright
The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change
Don’t you think it’s strange?
Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams
Just go ahead, let your hair down
You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow
‘Twas more than I could take, pity for pity’s sake
Some nights kept me awake, I thought that I was stronger
When you gonna realise, that you don’t even have to try any longer?
Do what you want to
Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams
Just go ahead, let your hair down
Girl, put your records on, tell me your favourite song
You go ahead, let your hair down
Sapphire and faded jeans, I hope you get your dreams
Just go ahead, let your hair down
Oh, you’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow”
“Put Your Records On,” by John Beck, Steven Chrisanthou and Corinne Bailey Rae.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
The song has such a happy vibe and one of nostalgia, too, so much so that I thought it was a much older song. It’s the kind of tune that attracts (and builds) positive memories. (It might just be on the kitchen dance card tonight while making Saturday pizza!)
“Put Your Records On” is the second single from Bailey Rae’s 2006 self-titled debut studio album. The artist, song and record earned several nominations and industry awards, and Bailey Rae became the fourth British musical act to have her first album hit the charts at number one. In a 2016 video interview introducing a live session on her YouTube channel, Bailey Rae recalls days before his death, Prince (1958-2016) took to Twitter to urge his followers to “Stop everything and listen to this song…” referring to “Stop Right Now” from Bailey Rae’s then-just-released second album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers.
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 video from the Corinne Bailey Rae YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
It’s been nearly three years since I posted a song by the American alternative rock singer, songwriter and musician LP (b. 1981 as Laura Pergolizzi), “Other People.” That song is one of a trio of favourites for one of my siblings (along with “Heaven” and “Everything Now”), and after us talking about it last weekend, I finally watched the official music video again today. It’s a terrific song, and the video production is equally impressive.
Similar to “Other People,” in “Lost on You,” LP is lamenting a failing relationship. In a 2021 feature by Songfacts, LP said, “I felt like my lover was drifting away – slowly leaving the building – and there was nothing that I could do.” She continues, “It’s a breakup song, but it happened almost a year before we broke up, and it was kind of like, ‘Hey, do you see what’s happening? Is it lost on you that this is going to die?’ And then it did.” And, as I was discussing the other day about song meanings, LP has this to say about misconceptions people had about the song: “People would make it that it was romantic, like, I’m lost on you…Like it’s about being lost being in love with you, and that’s not really what ‘Lost On You’ is about. That’s the beauty of songs.”
“When you get older, plainer, saner
Will you remember all the danger
We came from?
Burning like embers, falling, tender
Longing for the days of no surrender
Years ago
And will you know
So smoke ’em if you got ’em
’Cause it’s going down
All I ever wanted was you
I’ll never get to heaven
’Cause I don’t know how
Let’s raise a glass or two
To all the things I’ve lost on you
Oh-oh
Tell me are they lost on you?
Oh-oh
Just that you could cut me loose
Oh-oh
After everything I’ve lost on you
Is that lost on you?
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Is that lost on you?
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Baby, is that lost on you?
Is that lost on you?
Wish that I could see the machinations
Understand the toil of expectations
In your mind
Hold me like you never lost your patience
Tell me that you love me more than hate me
All the time
And you’re still mine
So smoke ’em if you got ’em
’Cause it’s going down
All I ever wanted was you
Let’s take a drink of heaven
This can turn around
Let’s raise a glass or two
To all the things I’ve lost on you
Oh-oh
Tell me are they lost on you?
Oh-oh
Just that you could cut me loose
Oh-oh
After everything I’ve lost on you
Is that lost on you?
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Is that lost on you?
Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Baby, is that lost on you?
Is that lost on you?
Let’s raise a glass or two
To all the things I’ve lost on you
Oh-oh
Tell me are they lost on you?
Oh-oh
Just that you could cut me loose
Oh-oh
After everything I’ve lost on you
Is that lost on you?
Is that lost on you?”
“Lost on You,” by Laura Pergolizzi, Nate Campany, Del Rio.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
On “Lost on You,” LP’s signature whistling is reminiscent of Sergio Leone’s (1929-1989) Spaghetti Western style of filmmaking and the accompanying music scores by Ennio Morricone (1928-2020). The song has a strong outlaw country vibe, and LP’s voice is remarkable as she takes it through her vocal range. I was glad of the recent reminder about this extraordinary artist, as I have enjoyed listening to her music again while writing this post.
“Lost on You” is one of LP’s best-known songs. It appeared as the second single from her third EP, Death Valley (2015), and is the title track of her fourth studio album (2016, the album “Other People” appears on).
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official music video on the LP YouTube channel:
I was divided about which video to feature; I like the production of the studio recording, but there’s also a live session version that is beautifully raw, with some terrific vocal runs and instrumentation (and it has 1.1 billion views!).
Did you watch both videos? Did you like one more than the other? Please tell me about it in the comments.
With my best wishes,
Steve
Do you ever feel like life needs a “reset” button when things are out of control? Or maybe things are so off-kilter that total reprogramming is what’s needed…
That’s what Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Hannah Georgas (b. 1983) is saying in “Robotic.”
“Someone fill me in on what I missed
Come on give me hope, tell me anything
’Cause I’ve been on another side, on another trail
I don’t mean no harm
Don’t mean much these days
I can come back another time
I can come back any day
But I’ve been in another world
And I’m trying to escape
I want to be reprogrammed
I want to be robotic
No more blood in these veins
I want to press reset
Go on brush it off
’Cause no one sees it anyway
Come on you’re much too soft
If you want to win you’ve gotta play
I think it’s easier for you to say
I want to be reprogrammed
I want to be robotic
No more blood in these veins
I want to press reset
I want to press reset
I want to press reset
I…”
“Robotic,” by Ryan Guldemond, Hannah Georgas.
Lyrics retrieved from Lyrics.com.
Georgas recorded “Robotic” on her second studio album, Hannah Georgas (2012), which won best pop album of the year in 2013 at the Western Canada Music Awards. She has also received Polaris, Juno and The Verge (Sirius XM) award nominations.
The song has been recorded numerous times as a stripped-down version, and that’s what I’m featuring today: a video of Georgas singing with acoustic guitar accompaniment. It was filmed in 2013 at 69 Vintage, a clothing store in Toronto, Canada by Wood & Wires, a music and film production company.
Georgas is one of the Canadian artists I’d regularly hear on CBC Radio 3 (the national broadcaster’s internet radio presence for new alternative music) when I was a regular listener years ago. R3 (as it is sometimes called) gave her their Bucky Award for best new artist in 2009, the year she released her debut EP, The Beat Stuff. I like Georgas’ voice and the instrumentation of her backing band and have been enjoying acoustic versions of several of her songs. Her indie pop is not overly complex but is pleasing to the ear.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the video from Wood & Wires:
And, here’s the full-band, album version from the Hannah Georgas YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Serendipitously, after yesterday’s “walk on the ocean,” today we’re back on solid ground.
Browsing through some YouTube suggestions, I found an achingly beautiful video of English indie rock/soul singer-songwriter and musician Michael Kiwanuka (b. 1987) performing an acoustic version of his song “Solid Ground.”
There is melancholy in the singer’s plea for help and reassurance, and the simplicity of the grand piano and solo voice performance adds to the mood’s sparseness. The first few words of the first verse remind me so much of another song, but I cannot recall it. Anyway, it’s an extraordinary piece.
“How does it feel when it’s quiet and calm?
And will I be denied?
How will it feel when it’s time to move on?
Mother says kneel and pray
When it gets hard, I will roll those sleeves
Life can be so unkind
I will be found on the edge of the world
Where there’ll be no one around
Oh, solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
How does it feel to be on your own?
No one to understand
I know I’m here and I don’t belong
I’m on my knees today
When it gets dark, I will know no fear
Life can be so unkind
Hanging around on the edge of the world
Finally no one around, ooh
Would you help me?
I don’t understand
Is it over?
Am I losing solid ground?
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground
Solid ground”
“Solid Ground,” by Michael Kiwanuka, Dean Josiah Cover, Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse).
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
“Solid Ground” comes from Kiwanuka’s third studio album, Kiwanuka (2019). Writer Ann Powers of Slate magazine describes the album as a “song cycle alchemizing violence through compassion.” Kiwanuka wrote all songs on the record along with fellow songwriters and producers Dean Josiah Cover, aka Inflo (from England) and Brian Burton (from the USA), who also goes by the name Danger Mouse. For more of Burton’s work, please visit my post on Norah Jones’s “Good Morning.” And for more Kiwanuka songs co-written with Cover and Burton, please check out my posts on the incredible songs “Cold Little Heart” and “Love & Hate.”
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.
Here’s the official video for the song on the Michael Kiwanuka YouTube/VEVO channel, from a live performance for The Late Late Show With James Corden:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today on the way home from a three-hour breakfast meetup with two of my brothers, one of the first songs to start playing randomly on Apple CarPlay was “Walk on the Ocean” by the American alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket.
It’s a song I’ve heard many times before but always in the background, and I never knew whose song it was. I am not a follower of Toad, as they call themselves, but seeing the title today, I remembered the first time I heard of the band: they were introduced as musical guests on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. I don’t know precisely when this was, but it must have been when the group was breaking through, in the late 1980s. I do recall, though, that particular night was, for my naive young self, an introduction to weird band names.
As I listened to the song today, my mind immediately went to the notion of walking on water, something my sweety and I did a couple of days ago… well, sort of: in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where I live, the winters are very cold, and the river surfaces freeze to a depth of up to two feet, allowing people to walk, cross-country ski, or skate on specially-groomed paths (and workers even drive utility vehicles on the river surface to service the tracks). On that frigid afternoon, we suited up and walked to a nearby boat dock where there is a temporary stairway to access the river ice and paths. We walked under a clear, sunny blue sky up the Assiniboine River, stopped under a bridge, then turned back for home.
Still in the car listening to the song today, my mind went farther back, to January 1, 2010, when we were staying with friends who used to live on the shore of Lake Winnipeg. For those unfamiliar with it, it’s a 24,514-square-kilometre (9,465-sq.-mi.) freshwater lake, 416 km long (258 mi.) from tip to tip, the third-largest freshwater lake entirely within Canada’s borders, and 11th largest in the world. So it’s big: standing on the shoreline feels like looking out over an ocean. After a morning of sitting in the warm cocoon of the wood-stoved-heated straw bale cottage talking New Year’s Day talk (i.e., reminiscing about life in the past year, all the good and bad things we all lived through, and hopes and dreams for the coming year; you know, that kind of thing…), we set out walking over the frozen lake surface to meet up with a group of families who were holding a gathering a kilometre or so away.
The people there celebrated with barbecues, hot chocolate, a skating rink, a curling rink, ice fishing and other activities out on the lake ice.
We’d seen some of the same folks the night before, around a New Year’s Eve bonfire on the shore, with children waving sparklers.
Listening to the song in this (mildly) contemplative state today (I was, after all, driving), I was drawn in by the melody and lyrics. I feel like the songwriters are trying to express a sense of youthful curiosity about life, making (and breaking) connections, feeling wonder about the living world around us and, ultimately, our powerlessness over the passage of time.
“We spotted the ocean at the head of the trail
Where are we going, so far away
And somebody told me that this is the place
Where everything’s better, everything’s safe
Walk on the ocean
Step on the stones
Flesh becomes water
Wood becomes bone
And half an hour later we packed up our things
We said we’d send letters and all those little things
And they knew we were lying but they smiled just the same
It seemed they’d already forgotten we’d came
Walk on the ocean
Step on the stones
Flesh becomes water
Wood becomes bone
Walk on the ocean
Step on the stones
Flesh becomes water
Wood becomes bone
Now we’re back at the homestead
Where the air makes you choke
And people don’t know you
And trust is a joke
We don’t even have pictures
Just memories to hold
That grow sweeter each season
As we slowly grow old
Walk on the ocean
Step on the stones
Flesh becomes water
Wood becomes bone
Walk on the ocean
Step on the stones
Flesh becomes water
Wood becomes bone
Walk on the ocean
Step on the stones
Flesh becomes water
Wood becomes bone”
“Walk on the Ocean,” by Glen Phillips, Todd Nichols.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
For as much as people try to find the meanings in songs, it’s interesting when artists share what they were thinking when writing them. In a 2014 interview for the online music database Songfacts, singer and co-writer Glen Phillips says about “Walk on the Ocean,” “It’s always an embarrassing song to talk about from a lyrical standpoint, because maybe a couple of weeks before I wrote the lyric, I had gone on a trip with my wife up to Orcas Island [part of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state] and hung out at Doe Bay hot springs with a bunch of hippies – it was great. But it was a five-minute lyric. It was supposed to be a scratch lyric. Todd (Nichols) had written the music. We were doing a demo and I didn’t want to just go, ‘Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.’ So I wrote down literally the first thing that came across my mind. The lyric and the chorus, I have no idea what it means, unfortunately. Then I tried rewriting it and nothing ever really worked. I tried to make the chorus mean something, and eventually said, ‘Well, it sounds like I know what I’m talking about.’ So we just left it as is. It was the least-conscious, least-crafted lyric.”
Many songwriters I’ve talked with about lyrics either don’t share their lyrics’ intended meanings or prefer to let others find personal meaning in them. I think many enjoy the serendipity that can come from the latter approach; at least, that’s what I’ve experienced when sharing my interpretations of song meanings with artists.
“Walk on the Ocean” comes from Fear (1991), the band’s third studio album.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official video from the Toad the Wet Sprocket YouTube channel:
What does the song make you think of? Please share your thoughts in the comments! And thank you for visiting.
With my best wishes,
Steve
The American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke (1931-1964) is considered one of the most influential soul music artists of all time, and this distinction earned him the title “King of Soul.” Several musicians I follow are admirers of the music Cooke made in his career, from 1951 until his death by homicide in 1964 at age 33.
Cooke’s influence also extended to the careers of other great musicians, including Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and others.
Among the hit songs Cooke wrote or co-wrote are “Wonderful World,” “You Send Me,” “Chain Gang,” “Twistin’ the Night Away,” “Cupid,” and others, including today’s selection, which, while it wasn’t his biggest hit, is considered to be one of his most significant songs. Events in Cooke’s life inspired “A Change Is Gonna Come,” including when a whites-only motel in Shreveport, Louisiana refused service to him, his band and others with him. (It wasn’t until 55 years later—in 2019—that the then-mayor of Shreveport apologized to the Cooke family and awarded Sam the key to the city.)
Cooke had hesitated to write a song about segregation as he did not want to turn off his non-black listeners. But he was compelled to write about the struggles he and his fellow Black citizens were experiencing and, fittingly, the song became an anthem for the civil rights movement in the United States.
“I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh, and just like the river I’ve been running ever since
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ 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, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will
I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don’t hang around
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will
Then I go to my brother
And I say, “Brother, help me please”
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees
There’ve 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, a long time coming
But I know a change gon’ come, oh yes, it will”
“A Change Is Gonna Come,” by Sam Cooke. Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.
If Cooke were still alive, I’m sure he (and those leading the civil rights movement) would be deeply troubled by attempts to erase Black-American history and by the erosion of their hard-fought-for rights in some states.
“A Change Is Gonna Come” appears on Cooke’s 11th and final studio album, Ain’t That Good News (1964) and was also released as a single later that year.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official lyric video from the Sam Cooke YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Today on Classical Sunday, I’m featuring a piece for solo violin written as part of a collection, the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin BWV 1001-1006, completed in 1720 by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). I’ve previously posted about another work in this series, the Partita for Violin Solo No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002.
The soloist I found playing today’s selection is Jennifer Koh (b. 1976), an American solo violinist born to Korean parents. She is well known for her Bach repertoire, though she is also a frequent performer of contemporary classical music.
Today is somewhat relaxed, as I’m taking the day off the indoor bike trainer, having exceeded my weekly goal by racking up 150 kilometres (93 miles) and, riding particularly hilly virtual routes, 1,670 metres (5,480 feet) of climbing as of yesterday. In addition to researching some music, I had a birthday call and catch-up with a brother, which was good as it had been a while since we’d talked. It’s frigid here in Winnipeg (-24C or -11F), so a walk on the frozen river path is an option later, though that’s a bit daunting…
When deciding on a piece to post today, I chose the second movement, the fuga (or fugue), from the Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001. From what I’ve read and understand, a fugue is a form composed of independent melodic lines or voices where the first voice is introduced playing the main melody, and successive ones join in staggered stages, often in a subject-answer-subject-answer organization. It’s maybe like a telephone conversation between two people, where one makes a statement, the other responds, and back and forth it goes (though, of course, we’re not repeating the same phrases again and again, or at least I hope not… that wouldn’t be very meaningful!). The fuga is complex and, like my general preference in classical music, I find a slower tempo here makes it more accessible and enjoyable than some of the rest of the sonata, as some parts were too cacophonous.
Koh’s recording of the sonata comes from her two-disc album Bach & Beyond, Part 2 (2015). I really like the way she executes the complexity of the fuga in a way that is pleasing to hear.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the audio from the Jennifer Koh YouTube topic channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
This week I’ve taken an abbreviated tour of the decades, and today, we’re up to the current one.
The first song I listened to today from the 2020s on Apple Music random play was “Lucky Few,” by indie/folk-rock singer, songwriter and musician Tim Baker of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.
Hearing the opening bars of the track instantly took me back to its performance at a show Baker gave this past November at Winnipeg, Canada’s Park Theatre, a gig I attended with one of our lads (a fellow Baker fan). He and I have been followers since hearing the 2006 single “Lions for Scottie,” which I discovered after serendipitously picking up one of those iTunes single-of-the-week cards Starbucks gave out in their stores until about ten years ago. The song was by Baker’s former band Hey Rosetta!, whom we saw together a half-dozen times before they went on hiatus in 2017.
As soon as I learned of the recent show (through a poster I literally walked on as it had blown onto a sidewalk near Sweety’s and my home), I texted my lad and we bought tickets. And Baker did not disappoint; it was an unforgettable evening of music enjoyed in a smaller venue, so the setting was more intimate than an arena-style show; it felt like listening to an old friend playing some music for us.
To me, “Lucky Few” is a poignant invitation to lean in, get closer, and share the present moment together.
“It’s too bright for too late at night
my eyes are tired, all I would like
is to close them with you
and see the things that you do
I miss you, I miss everyone
If I haven’t met you yet, well then I miss you most of all,
I want your heat & your sweat & your hand in my back at the festival
Picture a room full of people all feeling the same way,
it’s hard to explain
crying or laughing, you try understand it and you can’t
Are we meant just to try, try, try to overlap?
I miss you, all of you, I miss my life before
we are the lucky few, I know it’s true, but God my eyes are sore
I want to close them with you and see the same things that you do
Rain on the bay, terror in the streets
yeah but nothing in the way of the sunlight through the trees
and your hand on my hand across enemy lands and sea”
“Lucky Few,” by Tim Baker.
Official lyrics retrieved from the YouTube video notes.
Baker released his first solo album, Forever Overhead, in 2019, following it up with the EP Survivors the next year. In 2021, he performed his original composition “Songbirds” at the investiture ceremony for Mary Simon, Governor General for Canada.
“Lucky Few” is the opening track from the album The Festival (2022). Baker’s website says the album is, “…a sonic embrace, a call in for love, and a cry out for connection. Baker wants us to bring our pain and suffering, and align it all with melody. The Festival is a kaleidoscopic view in these complicated times.”
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official video from Tim Baker’s YouTube channel.
If you like the song, please give the video a thumb’s up, and subscribe if you want to hear more from Baker. And, as Guy Garvey, Elbow’s lead singer and the host of BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour would say, buy the record so Tim can afford to make more!
With my best wishes,
Steve
Content warning: lyrics contain a cussword.
Today on my circuitous look back at a few decades, we’re on to the 2010s and today’s random selection is by a group formed in the first year of that decade.
Royal Canoe is an alternative pop band whose members come from my city, Winnipeg, Canada, and the neighbouring city of Steinbach. Some of its members were previously in the local band The Waking Eyes.
I’ve never seen a Royal Canoe show and only know a little about them, though I know a few of their songs. I recall that in 2018, they advertised a concert in conjunction with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (they teamed up to perform Beck’s Song Reader project, a book of songs Beck Hansen wrote in 2012). it sounded like a very creative and compelling show, but I had a commitment booked for the same time, so I had to give it a pass.
And in 2016, I saw an article reporting that their touring trailer, with CAD 90,000 in instruments and gear, was stolen in Laval, Quebec. To supplement insurance, fans and other supporters took to an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to help them keep on the road, and they only had to cancel one gig.
Okay, on to today’s song choice. I like to find the meanings of songs, but some are a mystery…
“Up in my room, working it out
Trying not to make a sound
Chasing another arrow of light
It’s always the same somehow
Flat on my back, afraid to admit
That I’m getting older now
It’s calling you out, calling you out
Calling you out at night
Shaking in the cold oh so gallantly
The advantage of withholding your honesty
Most of my friends got the f*ck out
In the exodus of the year
It’s just me and you in dim winter light
Straining ourselves to hear
Those three stupid words, I haven’t said
While calling you out at night
Shaking in the cold oh so gallantly
The advantage of withholding your honesty
Shaking in the cold oh so gallantly
The advantage of withholding your honesty”
“Exodus of the Year,” by David “Bucky” Driedger, Matt Peters, Matt Schellenberg.
Lyrics retrieved from Lyrics.com.
“Exodus of the Year” may be about looking at one’s life in the context of what friends have done with their lives and, sometimes, the need to separate from them to feel free to pursue personal directions that peer pressure would smother. I can certainly relate to having felt that at times in my life. And following those passions—or as the late American writer, philosopher and professor Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) named it, “following your bliss”—can make one feel alone and left out in the cold, at least until plans start coming together and creative seeds begin to sprout.
This song has a catchy melody, and the instrumentation and production make it an enjoyable four minutes of music. The official video for the song, created by Winnipeg-born experimental filmmaker Matthew Rankin, uses visual effects to give the represented sites a barren, vintage look that is, honestly, a bit jarring, as a lifelong resident. though those places depicted definitely do exist. (There are also many beautiful spaces here and a vibrant arts, entertainment and sports scene, so if you never have, you should come to visit!)
“Exodus of the Year” comes from Today We’re Believers (2013), Royal Canoe’s second full-length album.
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here. Please enjoy the official video from the Royal Canoe YouTube channel:
With my best wishes,
Steve
Song of the Day for Today