Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Songs

I realized that the song I posted was approaching a 10 year anniversary of being recorded as a cheap demo at university. Most of what I wrote through high school and university was drivel or "angry young man" poetry, but a few songs still have some merit. This will most likely be the last original post. Back story: I had a woman friend who lived just across the street from me in an apartment, and our windows faced each other. We were close, and we used to wave to each other if we happened to catch ourselves (she was gay, there was nothing happening there). At the same time, I was fresh out of a crummy relationship. Also, I was playing the local folk circuit, and there was one very pretty woman who showed up at every concert I played, but always left before I had a chance to speak with her at length. The only conversation we ever had was "I really like your songs" and me: "Thanks." This song is a fictional conglomeration of reflections on all that stuff (holy preamble). It starts off very conventionally, but I think it builds. I didn't edit, be kind, I was young. :

WINDOWS

When my heart was first broken many years ago
I knelt down by my bed and nearly cried.
When you first left me many years ago
someone I loved dearly nearly died.

Chorus:
Now that I'm older it isn't much easier
I seem to have cried a lot these last few days

Bridge:
But I see my alter ego through my bedroom window
silently recording her voice on the telephone
and I wonder if I call those numbers in the magazines,
could I reach her message somehow.

When all the leaves had fallen she followed him like winter
mad dog lapping at his heels.
When I still respected you I thought that I could go anywhere
as long as you were near me.

Chorus:
Now that I'm older, things haven't changed much,
I still entertain the thought that I love you.

Bridge:
But I see my alter ego undressing in her window,
pale beauty, but so sad and alone.
I see her in her bitterness, when a man she thought might love her
is gone before morning breaks the night.

2nd Bridge:
One day I thought I saw her looking back at me.
She smiled and waved but I was so shy.
Though it pains me so, I can never know her that way,
and she would never know me anyhow.

When the snowflakes finally came, she was still alone
and I was still a fool for long-gone love.

Chorus:
Now that I'm older, I wonder what will come of me,
if no one calls me darling anymore.

Ext. Bridge:
But I see my alter ego in all her tender passion,
comforting herself as the dreary night wears on,
and I see her every morning with her numerous cups of coffee
searching all the papers for a love that might be real,
and every night she hears this song, this tapestry of broken dreams,
she hums along and wishes it were real.

Cav, My word, child. That's a great song. I like the way you developed two bridges. That's innovative. Sure would like to hear the melody. I do remember this little ditty that I wrote when I was ten years old. Hey, not bad for a kid:

When my dreams come true,
I'll be the luckiest gal in the happiest way
And I'll have you in my arms to stay for keeps.
When my dreams come true.

When my dreams come true,
I'll be walkin' around with my head in the clouds,
And feet on the ground but I won't see the crowds for you.
When my dream come true.

(bridge)
So far it's only a dream,
Just idle thinkin' of you.
And though it's only a dream.
Some day you may dream, too.

When my dreams come true.
We will walk down the aisle, with a promise for two
And the preacher will smile as as I say,
"Yes, I do love you."
When my dreams come true.

Well, it's not exactly a "somebody done somebody wrong song" but............. Let's just pretend that couple broke up a week or so later.

Letty, I think that's GREAT for a 10 year old!

Thanks, Cav. Now if I can only remember that other country type song. In the mean time. :

Still love this very long song by Don McLean


Verse 1
A long long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died

{Refrain}

So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die


Verse 2
Did you write the Book of Love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock n' roll
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm & blues
I was a lonely, teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin'

{Refrain}

Verse 3
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the Jester sang for the King and Queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
In a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the King was looking down
The Jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin'

{Refrain}


Verse 4
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the Sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died
We started singing


{Refrain}

Verse 5
Oh, and there we were, all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack, be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devils only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing


{Refrain}

Verse 6
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singin'


{Refrain}

Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die

They were singin'
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die.

And Raggedy, I can give you a link that will explain all the people and events to whom Don refers in these lyrics.

Letty: Thank you for the offer of the link. I already have that one. I saw Don McLean perform in a little smoky joint in my hometown where there were only 5 tables of people. Just Don and his guitar. He took requests. Of course, he had already performed American Pie and Vincent, so I requested Empty Chairs (which I posted here earlier), and And I Love Her So. He was superb. I saw him on TV a day or so again and felt so sad because that sweet voice had changed so.

Here's the first Don McLean song I ever heard on the radio. (Maybe it should be in the Everybody Done Everybody Wrong category)

Magdalene Lane (Words and Music by Don McLean)

The angels are lost in the city of stars
Wise men are down on their knees
And the Fruitman of Freeway will sell you his cars
When he's sure that you can't find the keys
And the ladies on Magdalene Lane
All worship the sun and the sand
And the migrants who come can't complain
For this is their promised land.

MGM studios can't make the nut
They're auctioning Dorothy's shoes
Gable is gone, the good witch is a slut
And I've got the parking lot blues
The wizard brought benzedrine smiles
And he never let Dorothy doze
Ha -- she died as she walked down the aisle
And all that remains is her clothes.

Over the rainbow a Kansas tornado
Can twist up a little girl's head
Aunt Em's on relief and the tin man's a thief
And even the wizard can't wake the dead.

The prohet has come to the kingdom of lights
But there's no one to listen or learn
And the saviour performs for the prophet's delight
While dissenters are banished or burned
And the heretics beg to be heard
But the saviour's on tour for the week
Salvation is found in his word
If only he'd learn how to speak?

And Lincoln is laughing with Amos an Andy
Concerning the Great Civil War
And Paul Revere sleeps with the worst-looking creeps
While revolution's knocking at his door.

Magdalene Lane is the red-light domain
Where everyone's soul is for sale
A piece of your heart will do for a start
And you can send us the rest in the mail
For we have our own families to feed
And we can't let them starve just for you
But we'd rather not watch while you bleed
So come back in an hour when you're through.

It's just another city full of sorrow
Makes no difference why I came
And I only know I'm leaving here tomorrow
And only the motel man knows my name.

Letty Are you trying to remember a country song that you wrote or another one?

Raggedy, I'm trying to remember a country song that I wrote while driving to Virginia one summer. I just can't remember all the lyrics.Can you believe that I can recall the ones that I wrote at 10 years of age and can't remember more recent ones?

Somehwere I read that McClean did a sell out tour in London in May of 1993.

one big aside:

Am I the only one here not getting updates?

I can't help you about updates, Letty - I don't use them. Maybe you should post that on the Forum Help forum?

ok, Mac. Thanks. I like updates, cause I forget! ...but you've probably guessed that by now.

I know what you mean, Letty. But you might consider writing another one. Because just as soon as you write a new one, the old one will come to you.

I don't get updates and I still don't know how to post a link.

Re: posting a link -

You can just post the website, without a label.

To use the label instead of the website address: Go to the Post Reply page, click on the URL box. In the first pop-up, paste the website address, then hit Enter. The second pop-up comes up automatically - in it, type the label you want to use. (i.e. Click here for link to Ode to Billy Joe.) Then type whatever else you want! It's really easy, I promise...much easier than pictures!

Thank you Mac. Sounds easy enough. Here goes:

Webpage Title Carly Simon

You did it!

FYI, you can replace the words "Webpage Title" with your own title... or not...

hmmm. Well I'll practice on the practice page. Sorry Letty, and Thanks Mac.

No Mac. The Web page doesn't come up. But, I've got the drift of it now and will try another time.

Raggedy, all I do is go to the address bar and left click at the end. It should turn blue. Then I right click and choose copy. Example:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/posting.php?mode=reply&t=9345

Thanks Mac and Letty. Both ways work. When I clicked on the Carly Simon web page I posted before, it didn't come up. But it does now. Letty, if we do it Mac's way, we can put our own title of the web page there.

Well, I wrote one when very young - Liketohearithereitgoes:

Over all the heartache of a love that's wrong
Over all the shame she's done for you
I know there lingers one last regretful song
Saying My God what have I done to you
But there opens no street
For to go and retreat
As you stand out there below her door
And the grass it is wet
And the room is to let
So you ring her bell as you have done before

For in her arms you hold outside your heart
All the words she aches to hear
But in your armor there appears a part
Down the seam like the crack of fear
All your sadness is here
You control it's clear
All the tears the sighs
The laughs the cries
If you should go away
Or even choose to stay
There remains in the cellar a vault of lies

Then in the moaning of a distant train
Think you hear a song of death
But in the sounding of a higher plane
You still the urge to stave your breath
And you know that she too
Will die if you do
You search for the way that will close the scene
But even if you know
How to reap you will sow
As the Book says and not miss a grain

The name of the sad song, I 've been trying to remember is "Honey".
:wink:

New Haven: Sad..sad...:


See the tree how big it's grown
But friend it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
I laughed at her and she got mad
The first day that she planted it, it was just a twig
Then the first snow came
And she ran out to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die
Came running in all excited slipped and almost hurt herself
And I laughed 'til I cried
She was always young at heart
Kind of dumb and kind of smart
And I loved her so
And I surprised her with a puppy
Kept me up all Christmas Eve two years ago
And it would sure embarrass her when I came in from working late
Cos' I would know
That she'd been sitting there a crying
Over some sad and silly late late show
And Honey I miss you
And I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you
If only I could
She wrecked the car and she was sad
And so afraid that I'd be mad
But what the heck
Though I pretended hard to be
Yes you could say she saw through me
And hugged my neck
I came home unexpectedly
And caught her crying needlessly
In the middle of the day
And It was in the early spring
When flowers bloom and robins sing
She went away
And Honey I miss you
And I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you
If only I could
One day when I was not at home
While she was there and all alone
Angels came
Now all I have are memories of Honey
And I wake at nights and call her name
Now my life's an empty stage
Where Honey lived and Honey played
And love grew up
And a small cloud passes over head
And cries down on the flowerbed
That Honey loved
And see the tree how big it's grown
But friend it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
I laughed at her and she got mad
The first day that she planted it it was just a twig

Repeat and repeat in my ears....

Edgar, how tender, your lyrics...goodnight

Letty:

That song is very tender and oh so sad. I could cry my eyes out!