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would a nice, uplifting number by the Carpenters do?

Such a feelin's comin' over me
There is wonder in 'most ev'ry thing I see
Not a cloud in the sky, got the sun in my eyes
And I won't be surprised if it's a dream

Everything I want the world to be
Is now comin' true especially for me
And the reason is clear, it's because you are here
You're the nearest thing to heaven that I've seen

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

Somethin' in the wind has learned my name
And it's tellin' me that things are not the same
In the leaves on the trees and the touch of the breeze
There's a pleasin' sense of happiness for me

There is only one wish on my mind
When this day is through I hope that I will find
That tomorrow will be just the same for you and me
All I need will be mine if you are here

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation
And the only explanation I can find
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around
Your love's put me at the top of the world

ah, Welcome back M.D. Love the Carpenters, of course, and that is a telling song.

The Groupie song by them.

Superstar

Long ago and oh so far away

I fell in love with you before the second show

Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear

But you're not really here

It's just the radio

Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby

You said you'd be coming back this way again maybe

Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby, I love you I really do


Loneliness is a such a sad affair

And I can hardly wait to be with you again


What to say to make you come again

Come back to me again

And play your sad guitar

Repeat chorus

My Prayer
Ink Spots

My prayer, is to linger with you
At the end of the day
In a dream that's devine
My prayer, is a rapture in blue
With a world far away
And your lips close to mine

Tonight while our hearts are aglow
Oh, tell me the words
That I'm longing to know
My prayer, and the answer you give
May they still be the same
For as long as we live
That you'll always be there
At the end of my prayer

Monologue:
My prayer, is to linger with you
At the end of each day
In a dream that's devine
My prayer, is a rapture in blue
With a world far away
And your lips close to mine

Tonight while our hearts are aglow
Oh, tell me the words
That I'm longing to know
My prayer, and the answer you give
May they still be the same
For as long as we live
That you'll always be there
At the end of my prayer

edgar, your song reminded me of this one. What amazing background I found concerning it.

St. James Infirmary

I went down to St. James Infirmary
To see my baby there,
She was lyin' on a long white table,
So sweet, so cool, so fair.

Went up to see the doctor,
"She's very low," he said;
Went back to see my baby
Good God! She's lying there dead.

I went down to old Joe's barroom,
On the corner by the square
They were serving the drinks as usual,
And the usual crowd was there.

On my left stood old Joe McKennedy,
And his eyes were bloodshot red;
He turned to the crowd around him,
These are the words he said:

Let her go, let her go, God bless her;
Wherever she may be
She may search the wide world over
And never find a better man than me

Oh, when I die, please bury me
In my ten dollar Stetson hat;
Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So my friends'll know I died standin' pat.

Get six gamblers to carry my coffin
Six chorus girls to sing me a song
Put a twenty-piece jazz band on my tail gate
To raise Hell as we go along

Now that's the end of my story
Let's have another round of booze
And if anyone should ask you just tell them
I've got the St. James Infirmary blues

Quote of the day:

"Where is everybody"?

Phoenix

Well, everyone must feel as lousy as I do.

Here is that interesting background on St. James Infirmary.

"St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American folksong of anonymous origin. One of Louis Armstrong's several recordings of the song credits it to "Joe Primrose," but this was a pseudonym for Irving Mills, a musical agent and songwriter who is unlikely to have contributed lyrically, though he may have published an original arrangement. The song seems to have also been known early on as "The Gambler's Blues," and in this form the lyrics can be traced back as far as 1899. There is also evidence that the song is descended from an older Irish/British folk song, "The Unfortunate Rake", which speaks of a "St. James Hospital". This ballad is also the ancestor of the cowboy ballad "Streets of Laredo". Another possible origin is that the song is a derivation of the older English folk song "St. James Hospital," performed by John Langstaff, Douglas Kennedy and others.

and, folks, the Streets of Laredo by Johnny Cash...

The Man Comes Around
As I walked out on the streets of Laredo.
As I walked out on Laredo one day,
I spied a poor cowboy wrapped in white linen,
Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay.

"I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy."
These words he did say as I boldly walked by.
"Come an' sit down beside me an' hear my sad story.
"I'm shot in the breast an' I know I must die."

"It was once in the saddle, I used to go dashing.
"Once in the saddle, I used to go gay.
"First to the card-house and then down to Rose's.
"But I'm shot in the breast and I'm dying today."

"Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin.
"Six dance-hall maidens to bear up my pall.
"Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin.
"Roses to deaden the clods as they fall."

"Then beat the drum slowly, play the Fife lowly.
"Play the dead march as you carry me along.
"Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me,
"I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong."

"Then go write a letter to my grey-haired mother,
"An' tell her the cowboy that she loved has gone.
"But please not one word of the man who had killed me.
"Don't mention his name and his name will pass on."

When thus he had spoken, the hot sun was setting.
The streets of Laredo grew cold as the clay.
We took the young cowboy down to the green valley,
And there stands his marker, we made, to this day.

We beat the drum slowly and played the Fife lowly,
Played the dead march as we carried him along.
Down in the green valley, laid the sod o'er him.
He was a young cowboy and he said he'd done wrong.

"St. James Infirmary Blues" is an American folksong of anonymous origin. One of Louis Armstrong's several recordings of the song credits it to "Joe Primrose," but this was a pseudonym for Irving Mills, a musical agent and songwriter who is unlikely to have contributed lyrically, though he may have published an original arrangement. The song seems to have also been known early on as "The Gambler's Blues," and in this form the lyrics can be traced back as far as 1899. There is also evidence that the song is descended from an older Irish/British folk song, "The Unfortunate Rake", which speaks of a "St. James Hospital". This ballad is also the ancestor of the cowboy ballad "Streets of Laredo". Another possible origin is that the song is a derivation of the older English folk song "St. James Hospital," performed by John Langstaff, Douglas Kennedy and others.

It is likewise hard to determine where the infirmary of the title was. Suggested candidates include former hospitals of that name in New Orleans, Louisiana, London, UK and Liverpool, UK. Despite the connection the song has with New Orleans in modern times (since Louis Armstrong made his influential 1928 recording), the European origin of the song would rule out the New Orleans hospital being the original reference in the song. The St. James Infirmary in San Francisco, California opened in 1999 and is named for Margo St. James, one of its founders. The song involves a man telling the singer/narrator, at a bar, how he went down to St James Infirmar (hospital) and tragically found his girl (baby) dead.

Like most such folksongs, there is much variation in the lyrics from one version to another. One set of lyrics goes this way:

I went down to old Joe's bar room, on the corner by the square
Well, the drinks were bein' served as usual, and this motley crowd was there

Well, on my left stood Joe McKennedy, and his eyes were bloodshot red
When he told me that sad story, these were the words he said:

I went down to the St. James infirmary, I saw my baby there
She was stretched out on a long white table, so cold, and fine, and fair.

Let her go, let her go, God bless her, wherever she may be
She can search this world over, never find another man like me

When I die Oh lord please bury me In my high top stetson hat
Put gold coins over my eyelids So the boys wil know I died standing pat

Get six crapshooting pallbearers Six chorus girls to sing me a song
Put a jazz band behind my hearse wagon To raise hell as we roll along

Get sixteen coal black horses, to pull that rubber tired hack
There's thirteen men going men going to the graveyard Only twelve men are coming back

Well, now you've heard my story, well, have another round of booze
And if anyone should ever, ever ask you, I've got the St. James infirmary blues!

Notable performers of this song include Cab Calloway, who can be heard singing it in the Betty Boop cartoon Snow White; Louis Armstrong, "Spider" John Koerner, Jack Teagarden, Billie Holiday, Stan Kenton (who infused the breaks between verses with rival Woody Herman's "Blue Flame"), Lou Rawls, Bobby Bland, Danny Elfman who would perform the song nearly every night in the early Oingo Boingo days,Turk Murphy, Janis Joplin, The Doors who performed it in the middle of Light My Fire on occasion, The Animals, The Triffids, Dr. John (both solo and with Eddie Bo), Blues Creation with Carmen Maki, Doc Watson and more recently The White Stripes, the Stray Cats, the Tarbox Ramblers, Tom Jones with Jools Holland and Van Morrison. Eric Clapton and Dr John performed a rendition of the song during a 1996 concert called "Duets". Arlo Guthrie has recently recorded a version with slightly different lyrics learned from Cisco Houston. Robert Crumb even released a version of it on a CD included in the 'R. Crumb Handbook'. Live versions appear on Joe Cocker's albums Something To Say (1972, also known as Joe Cocker), and Live in L.A. (1976), and on The Devil Makes Three's live album A Little Bit Faster and A Little Bit Worse (2007). Van Morrison often performed this in concert, in 2206 and 2007, playing saxophone. Morrison included his version on the live limited edition album, Live at Austin City Limits Festival. (2006)

The Bing Crosby musical Birth Of The Blues featured the song in 1941. In 2002, the song appeared in Osamu Tezuka's dixieland-influenced anime film Metropolis as arranged by Toshiyuki Honda. In 1981, Bob Dylan used the folk melody in his song "Blind Willie McTell" (released in 1991 on Dylan's Bootleg Series, Volumes 1-3), named for blues singer Willie McTell (who himself recorded a version of the song under the title "Dying Crapshooter's Blues"); the song includes a reference to the St. James Hotel.

Bobby Bland's version has the following lyrics:

I went down to St. James Infirmary
And I heard my baby moan.
And I felt so broken hearted.
She used to be my very own.
And I tried so hard to keep from crying.
My heart felt just like lead.
She was all that I had to live for.
Oh, I wish it was me instead.
Now she's gone, she's gone and may God bless her
Wherever she may be.
She can search this wide world over
And she'll never find a man like me.
She's gone . . . She's gone . . . She's gone.

In 2000, Alternative musician Elliott Smith referred to the St. James Infirmary in the song "Pretty Mary K," off the album Figure 8. Lyrics include the lines which seem to be influenced by Bobby Bland's version:

I found faith in the infirmary
I walk round the dock and talk to St. James.
Though I'm already done,
and ask everyone "Have you seen her?"
Pretty Mary k

Thanks for the extra info, cowboy.

Dedicated to the dys



Little Sir Echo, how do you do?
Hello!
(Hello!)
Hello!
(Hello!)
Little Sir Echo will answer you,
Hello!
(Hello!)
Hello!
(Hello!)
Oh, won't you come over and play?
(and play?)
You're a dear little fellow,
I know by your voice,
But you're always so far away
(away)

This song is also of unknown origin, but Vera Lynn has done it. All this time I thought echo was a mythological woman who faded away because of Narcissus.

wish i could play something by Echo & the Bunnymen, but i don't know anything by them, so here'a a bunnies song by Spike Jones

Recitative:

My 'rithmatic is gettin' bad.
I don't know what to do.
I bought a little bunny,
Then I bought another bunny.
Don't one and one make two?

Chorus:

Now when I'm lookin' at the funnies
I get as mad as mad as I can be
'Cause now there are so many bunnies --
Oh me, Oh my, YA WANNA BUY A BUNNY?

And when I'm eating bread and honey
Those silly little bunnies pester me
'Cause all the bunnies beg for honey --
Oh gee, Oh gosh, YA WANNA BUY A BUNNY?

When we're playing hide and seek
At my heels they sneak, sneak, sneak,
When I hide they peek, peek, peek,
I get so mad I could shriek: EEEEK!

If you want a fuzzy bunny
That's got a wigg'ly nose and cotton tail
I wish that you would buy a bunny
'Cause I got lots of bunnies for sale.

Recitative:

An' when I get up early in the morning to go out to the chicken house
to feed my little tiny baby chickens, all those crazy little bunnies
just follow around after me, just hop-hop-hop-hop-hop-hop-hoppin' like the dickens.
Here, chicky, chicky, chicky, chicky! Get away from me, bunny. Ya bother me.
Get outa here, ya crazy little bunnies!

And when I sneak my little tiny puppy dog, Rover, upstairs with me to bed,
the bed is full of them silly little bunnies, from the foot up to the head.
Get out of my bed, you bad little bunnies! Go on, now, bunnies! Get outa here!
Go on, now!

Chorus:

Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, bunnies, everywhere.
There's bunnies on the table and there's bunnies on the chair.
Bunnies on the sofa and there's bunnies on the floor,
And there's some new ones coming through the door: more?!

Please come on and buy a bunny.
I'd even like to sell you two or three.
But if you don't have any money,
I'll give you a bunny.
'Cause there's just...

Spoken:

....too darn many bunnies for me! There's bunnies all over the place.
Bunnies under my feet, bunnies on my bed. Every place that I go,
those silly little bunnies.... (fade out)

Well, folks, there's Mr. Turtle back in the company of a thousand bunnies. Love it, M.D. and Spike as well.

My goodness, look what Letty pulled out of a hat.

Echo And The Bunnymen - Bedbugs And Ballyhoo Lyrics

Buffalo and bison
bison and buffalo
Cannonball and rifle
Rifle and Cannonball
that`s the way the thunder rumbles
that`s the way the thunder rumbles
Rumbles...
Down on your knees again
Saying please again yeah yeah yeah
Kangaroo and chipmonk
Chipmonk and kangaroo
Ballyhoo and bedbugs
bedbugs and ballyhoo
that`s the way the bee bumbles
that`s the way the bee bumbles
that`s the way the bee bumbles
that`s the way the bee bumbles
Bumbles...
Down on your kness again
Saying please again no no no
No
Down on your knees again
Saying please again
Down on you knees again
Saying please again no no no
Buffalo and bison
bison and buffalo
Cannonball and rifle
Rifle and Cannonball
that`s the way the thunder rumbles
that`s the way the thunder rumbles
that`s the way the thunder rumbles
that`s the way the thunder rumbles
Rumbles Rumbles Rumbles.

Perhaps that song will bring the rest of our animals back.

Buffalo Bill
Irving Berlin


Who's got the stuff that made the Wild West wild?
Who pleases ev'ry woman, man and child?
Who does his best to give the customers a thrill?
-Who?
Colonel Buff'lo Bill

Who's got the show that gets the most applause?
Five hundred Indians and fifty squaws
Ten feature acts and there's the special feature still
-Who?
Colonel Buff'lo Bill

Did you ever see a cowboy rope a steer?
-No, we haven't
Or an Indian with feathers throw a spear?
-No, we haven't
Or a marksman shoot an earring from an ear?
-No, we haven't
Did you ever see a hold up?
-No, sir
Then gather closer
And let me give you some of the atmosphere

The hour is midnight and all is still
We see the stagecoach climbing up a hill
Going along a mountain trail carrying passengers and mail
Never suspecting danger as they roll along
The watchful driver is in his seat
His trusty rifle lying at his feet
Some of the passengers inside seem to be dozing as they ride
Never suspecting there is something really wrong

Suddenly there's a shout
-What is it all about?
What is it all about you ask? It's Indians
-Indians!
Indians
-Indians!
Very notable, cut your throat-able Indians
-Indians!

Just when they've taken ev'ryone by force
Who makes an entrance on a big white horse?
Who starts a' shootin' till there's no one left to kill
-Gen'ral Grant?
No! Colonel Buff'lo Bill!

-Certainly this is quite a thrill, better than all the vaudeville
-Let us be on the go and see the show with Buff'lo Bill

Good morning, WA2K folks.

You know, edgar, I find it interesting to trace the origins of traditional folk music. Irving Berlin is wonderful as we all know, with a gift for lyrics and melodies. Thanks for that reminder, Texas.

What a surprise, listeners, to find out about this oldie.

Home on the Range

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

How often at night when the heavens are bright
With the lights from the glittering stars
Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed
If their glory exceeds that of ours.

CHORUS

Oh, give me a land where the bright diamond sand
Flows leisurely down the stream;
There the graceful, white swan goes gliding along
Like a maid in a heavenly dream.

CHORUS

Where the air is so pure, the zephyrs so free,
The breezes so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home on the range
For all of the cities so bright.

CHORUS

Oh, I love those wild flowers in this dear land of ours,
The curlew I love to hear scream,
And I love the white rocks and the antelope flocks
That graze on the mountain tops green.

CHORUS


This song, according to John Lomax, was first printed in 1911,
and for twenty years attracted practically no attention. It is
said to have been sung on the doorstep of Franklin D. Roosevelt's
home by a group of newspaper reporters the night he was first
elected President.

The lyrics to that are beautiful.

Ain't No Sunshine
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
It's not warm when she's away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
She's gone much too long
Any time she goes away

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
Wonder if she's gone to stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home
Anytime she goes away

I know
She's gone to stay
It's breakin' me up
Anytime she goes away
Gotta leave the young thing alone
There ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
It's not warm when she's away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And she's gone much too long
Any time she goes away

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
I wonder if she's gone to stay
There ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't a home
Any time she goes away

I know
She's gone to stay
It's breaking me up
Any time she goes away
Gotta leave the young thing alone
There ain't no sunshine when she's gone

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
I wonder if she's gone to stay
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
And this house just ain't no home
Any time she goes away
Any time she goes away

Ah, Seed, honey. Welcome back. We all know your lyrics and they have affected us individually at one time or another in our lives.

Advice from Bob Dylan.

It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It'll never do somehow
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I'll be gone
You're the reason I'm trav'lin' on
Don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
An' 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 all right

So it ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
Like you never done before
It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
I can't hear you any more
I'm a-thinkin' and a-wond'rin' walking down the road
I once loved a woman, a child I'm told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's all right

So long, honey bee
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
But goodbye's too good a word, babe
So I'll 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 kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right

Good morning WA2K.

I was so surprised to see "Little Sir Echo" here, and sung by Vera Lynn, too. (My mother used to sing that one. ) Thank you, Letty.
I just can't believe that Vera is going to be 90 years old today!

Happy Birthday Vera Lynn:

Wow! Raggedy. What synchronicity, PA. I had no idea that Vera was still with us. She is lovely no matter what age she is. Thanks PA.

As usual, I don't know why those lyrics surfaced in my head. No one sang them to me that I can remember.

And, folks, here's another that I know, and don't know why I know.<smile>

Mexicali Rose stop crying

I'll come back to you some sunny day.

Every night you'll know that I'll be pining

Every hour a year while I'm away.

Dry those big brown eyes and smile dear

Banish all those tears and please don't sigh.

Kiss me once again and hold me

Mexicali Rose, goodbye.

Dry those big brown eyes and smile dear

Banish all those tears and please don't sigh.

Kiss me once again and hold me

Mexicali Rose, goodbye.

Hmmm. Perhaps my brother.

Now where is that hawk?

William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park and Escapes Unscathed
By Phil Ochs


Am C G
As I went out one evening to take the evening air
F G C F
I was blessed by a blood-red moon
Dm G Am G
In Lincoln Park the dark was turning
I spied a fair young maiden and a flame was in her eyes
And on her face lay the steel blue skies
Of Lincoln Park, the dark was turning
Turning

They spread their sheets upon the ground just like a wandering tribe
And the wise men walked in their Robespierre robes
Through Lincoln Park the dark was turning
The towers trapped and trembling, and the boats were tossed about
When the fog rolled in and the gas rolled out
From Lincoln Park the dark was turning
Turning

Like wild horses freed at last we took the streets of wine
But I searched in vain for she stayed behind
In Lincoln Park the dark was turning
I'll go back to the city where I can be alone
And tell my friend she lies in stone
In Lincoln Park the dark was turning

Wow! Ochs is as esoteric as Cohen, edgar.

This may be a little ribald, folks, but do a mental bleep at what is offensive.

Joni Mitchell

Sex Kills

I pulled up behind a Cadillac;
We were waiting for the light;
And I took a look at his license plate-
It said, ";Just Ice.";
Is justice just ice?
Governed by greed and lust?
Just the strong doing what they can
And the weak suffering what they must?
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills ...
Sex kills ...

Doctors' pills give you brand new ills
And the bills bury you like an avalanche
And lawyers haven't been this popular
Since Robespierre slaughtered half of France!
And Indian chiefs with their old beliefs know
The balance is undone-crazy ions-
You can feel it out in traffic;
Everyone hates everyone!
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills ...
Sex kills ...

All these jackoffs at the office
The rapist in the pool
Oh and the tragedies in the nurseries-
Little kids packin' guns to school
The ulcerated ozone
These tumors of the skin-
This hostile sun beating down on
This massive mess we're in!
And the gas leaks
And the oil spills
And sex sells everything
And sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Sex kills ...
Sex kills ...

In this one, Ochs' heart and mind were in the police riots of 1968, during the Democratic convention to nominate Hubert Humphrey to run for president.

Thanks for the interpretation, edgar. Hey, Texas, did this song come from that same riot?

Chicago
Graham Nash

So your brother's bound and gagged
And they chained him to a chair,
Won't you please come to Chicago
Just to sing.
In a land that's known as freedom,
How can such a thing be fair?
Won't you please come to Chicago
For the help that we can bring.

We can change the World.
Rearrange the World.
It's dying
to get better.

Politicians sit yourselves down,
There's nothing for you here.
Won't you please come to Chicago
For a ride.
Don't ask Jack to help you
Cause he'll turn the other ear.
Won't you please come to Chicago
Or else join the other side.

We can change / yes we can change the World.
Rearrange / rearrange the World.
It's dying / do you believe in justice?
It's dying / and if you believe in freedom.
It's dying / Let a man live his own life.
It's dying / Rules and regulations who needs them?
Open up the door.

Somehow people must be free,
I hope the day comes soon.
Won't you please come to Chicago,
To show you face.
From the bottom of the ocean
To the mountains of the Moon.
Won't you please come to Chicago
No one else can take your place.

We can change / yes we can change the World.
Rearrange / rearrange the World.
It's dying / If you believe in justice.
It's dying / and if you believe in freedom.
It's dying / Let a man live his own life.
It's dying / Rules and regulations, who needs them?
Open up the door.

I think, yes; the Chicago Eight trial.