Hey edgar. I braved the crowds to watch these guys in concert recently. Glad you liked it.
You've inspired me to post one this evening.
Good! I like this thread.
A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission) - Paul Simon
I been Norman Mailered, Maxwell Taylored. I been John O'Hara'd, McNamara'd.
I been Rolling Stoned and Beatled till I'm blind.
I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded Communist, cause I'm left-handed
That's the hand I use, well, never mind.
I been Phil Spectored, resurrected. I been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered.
Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay, and I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce
and all of my wealth won't buy me health so I smoke a pint of tea a day.
I knew a man, his brain so small, he couldn't think of nothing at all,
not the same as you and me- he doesn't dig poetry.
He's so unhip that when you say Dylan,
he thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas, whoever he was.
The man ain't got no culture. But it's all right, ma, everybody must get stoned.
I been Mick Jaggered, silver daggered. Andy Warhol, won't you please come home?
I been mothered, fathered, aunt and uncled, been Roy Haleed and Art Garfunkeled
and I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone.
Folk rock.
I've lost my harmonica, Albert.
The Fox - recorded by Burl Ives, Harry Belafonte and others
The fox went out to the chase one night
Prayed to the moon to give him light
He had many a mile to go that night
Before he reached the town-o, town-o town-o,
Many a mile to go that night before he reached the town
Many a mile to go that night before he reached the town
He ran 'til he came to a great big pen
Where the ducks and the geese were kept there in
Said a couple of you gonna grease my chin
Before I leave this town o, town o, town o
Couple of you gonna grease my chin before I leave this town
Couple of you gonna grease my chin before I leave this town
He grabbed the grey goose by the neck
Throwed a duck across his back
He didn't amind with the quack, quack quack
And the legs all dang-ling down-o, down-o, down-o
Didn't amind with the quack, quack quack
And the legs all dang-ling down-o, down-o, down-o
Didn't amind with the quack, quack quack
And the legs all dang-ling down-o, down-o, down-o
Old mother Flipper Flapper jumped out of bed
Out of the window she cocked her head
Cryin' John, John the grey goose is gone
And the fox is on the town-o, town-o, town-o
John, John the grey goose is gone
And the fox is on the town-o
John, John the grey goose is gone
And the fox is on the town-o
Well, the fox he came to his own den
There were the little ones, eight, nine, ten
Saying Daddy you better go back again
'Cause it must be a mighty fine town-o, town-o, town-o
Saying Daddy you better go back again
'Cause it must be a mighty fine town
Saying Daddy you better go back again
'Cause it must be a mighty fine town
Well, the fox and his wife without any strife
Cut up the goose with a carving knife
They never had such a supper in their life
And the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o
Never had such a supper in their life
And the little ones chewed on the bones
Never had such a supper in their life
And the little ones chewed on the bones
Sixteen Tons- Tennessee Ernie Ford
Some people say a man is made outta mud
A poor man's made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said "Well, a-bless my soul"
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
I was born one mornin', it was drizzlin' rain
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake* by an ol' mama lion
Cain't no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
If you see me comin', better step aside
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don't a-get you, then the left one will
You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
Song of The South- Alabama
Chorus
Song, song of the south.
Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth.
Gone, gone with the wind.
There ain't nobody looking back again.
Cotton on the roadside, cotton in the ditch.
We all picked the cotton but we never got rich.
Daddy was a veteran, a southern democrat.
They oughta get a rich man to vote like that.
Sing it...
Chorus
Well somebody told us wall street fell
But we were so poor that we couldn't tell.
Cotton was short and the weeds were tall
But mr. roosevelt's a gonna save us all.
Well momma got sick and daddy got down.
The county got the farm and they moved to town.
Pappa got a job with the tva
He bought a washing machine and then a chevrolet.
Sing it...
Chorus
Play it...
Sing it...
Chorus
Song, song of the south...
Gone, gone with the wind...
Song, song of the south.
Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth.
Song, song of the south.
Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth.
Sing it...
Chorus 2x
We Didn't Start the Fire- Billy Joel
('49) harry truman, doris day, red china, johnnie ray
South pacific, walter winchell, joe dimaggio
('50) joe mccarthy, richard nixon, studebaker, television
North korea, south korea, marilyn monroe
('51) rosenbergs, h-bomb, sugar ray, panmunjom
Brando, the king and I and the catcher in the rye
('52) eisenhower, vaccine, england's got a new queen
Marciano, liberace, santayana goodbye
Chorus
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
('53) joseph stalin, malenkov, nasser and prokofiev
Rockefeller, campanella, communist bloc
('54) roy cohn, juan peron, toscanini, dacron
Dien bien phu falls, rock around the clock
('55) einstein, james dean, brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy crockett, peter pan, elvis presley, disneyland
('56) bardot, budapest, alabama, krushchev
Princess grace, peyton place, trouble in the suez
Chorus
('57) little rock, pasternak, mickey mantle, kerouac
Sputnik, chou en-lai, bridge on the river kwai
('58) lebanon, charles de gaulle, california baseball
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide
('59) buddy holly, ben hur, space monkey, mafia
Hula hoops, castro, edsel is a no-go
('60) u-2, syngman rhee, payola and kennedy
Chubby checker, psycho, belgians in the congo
Chorus
('61) hemingway, eichmann, stranger in a strange land
Dylan, berlin, bay of pigs invasion
('62) lawrence of arabia, british beatlemania
Ole miss, john glenn, liston beats patterson
('63) pope paul, malcolm x, british politician sex
Jfk, blown away, what else do I have to say
Chorus
('64 - '89) birth control, ho chi minh, richard nixon back again
Moonshot, woodstock, watergate, punk rock
Begin, reagan, palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in iran, russians in afghanistan
Wheel of fortune, sally ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, aids, crack, bernie goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, china's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore
Chorus
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...
Powderfinger - Neil Young
Look out, mama, there’s a white boat comin’ up the river
With a big red beacon, and a flag, and a man on the rail
I think you’d better call john,
’cause it don’t look like they’re here to deliver the mail
And it’s less than a mile away
I hope they didn’t come to stay
It’s got numbers on the side and a gun
And it’s makin’ big waves.
Daddy’s gone, my brother’s out hunting in the mountains
Big john’s been drinking since the river took emmy-lou
So the powers that be left me here to do the thinkin’
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin’ what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.
Daddy’s rifle in my hand felt reassurin’
He told me, red means run, son, numbers add up to nothin’
But when the first shot hit the docks I saw it comin’
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Think of me as one you’d never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I’ll miss her.
Trees - Rush
There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas.
The trouble with the maples,
(And they're quite convinced the're right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light.
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made.
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade.
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
"These oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light."
Now there's no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.
THE BALLAD OF NED KELLY
Eighteen hundred and eighty five
Is a year I remember so well
When they drove Old Brad into an early grave
And sent my mother to jail
Now I don't know what's right or wrong
But they hung Christ on nails
But with six kids at home and two still on her breast
They wouldn't even give her bail
Chorus (after each verse):
Oh Ned, you're better off dead
You get no peace of mind
A track's a trail
And they're hot on your tail
Before they're gonna hang you high
I did write a letter
And I sealed it with my hand
Tried to tell about Stringy Bark Creek
And tried to make them understand
Oh, that I didn't wanna kill Kennedy
Or cause his blood to run
Well he alone could have saved his life
By throwing down his gun
Well I'd rather die like Donahue
That bush-ranger so brave
Than be taken by the government
And forced to walk in chains
Well I'd rather fight with all my might
While I have eyes to see
Well I'd rather die ten thousand times
Than hang from a gallow's tree.
The Last Resort - The Eagles
She came from Providence,
the one in Rhode Island
Where the old world shadows hang
heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams
like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way,
and how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere
to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand
or a place to hide
Down in the crowded bars,
out for a good time,
Can't wait to tell you all,
what it's like up there
And they called it paradise
I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
while the town got high
Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
through the canyons of the coast, to
the Malibu
Where the pretty people play,
hungry for power
to light their neon way
and give them things to do
Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus,
people bought 'em
And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea
You can leave it all behind
and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming"
Brought the white man's burden down
Brought the white man's reign
Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
'Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here
We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name of God
And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it's like up there
They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye
Henley is a big environmentalist.
I didn't know that Pan, I actually thought the song the endless restlessness of the human spirit, it's unquenchable urge to consume, and it's failure to realise that its search for something better is actually a flight from understanding that the flaws lie within in heart and mind and not in the external world.
Wow, how's that for a D&M on a saturday arvo?
Never liked the Eagles much but I love that lyrical idea and they uses the same pattern for each verse but the idea keeps getting bigger - there's probably a word for it....
Sarah McLachlan
Angel
Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always one reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins
Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
Your in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lie
That you make up for all that you lack
It dont make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe in this sweet madness oh
This glorious sadness that brings me to my knees
In the arms of an angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
I'll bet Sarah was on the road touring when she wrote that song
Hinge, here's another Henley tune with a similar theme.
Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin' by
But "happily ever after" fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by men
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And wash away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say goodbye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Hi Pan - when was it written? I'm wondering who the old man was they elected king? ReRon?
Songs that tell stories
Iris
Written by: John Rzeznik
Performed by: Goo Goo Dolls
And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that i'll ever be
And I dont want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just dont want to miss you tonight
And I dont want the world to see me
'Cause I dont think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you cant fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know you're alive
And I dont want the world to see me
'Cause I dont think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I dont want the world to see me
'Cause I dont think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I dont want the world to see me
'Cause I dont think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
