Lenny Bruce Bob Dylan Lenny Bruce is dead but his ghost lived on and on Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon He was an outlaw, that’s for sure More of an outlaw than you ever were Lenny Bruce is gone but his spirit’s living on and on. Maybe he had some problems, maybe some things that he couldn’t work out But he sure was funny and he sure told the truth and he knew what he was talking about Never robbed any churches, nor cut of any babies heads He just took the folks in high places and he shined a light in their beds He’s on some other shore, he didn’t want to live anymore. Lenny Bruce is dead but he didn’t commit any crime He just had the insight to rip off the lid before its time I rode with him in a taxi once, only for a mile and a half Seemed like it took a couple of months Lenny Bruce moved on and like the ones that killed him, gone. They say he was sick ’cause he didn’t play by the rules He just showed the wise men of his day to be nothing more than fools They stamped him and they labeled him like they do with pants and shirts He fought a war on a battlefield where every victory hurts Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had. ---- It’s a song that just builds and builds. That last line must resonate with a lot of people. |
I’m first among equals - second to none I’m last of the best - you can bury the rest It must be the winter of my discontent I wish you’d taken me with you wherever you went They talk all night - they talk all day Not for a second do I believe what they say Mister Freud with his dreams and Mister Marx with his axe See the raw hide lash rip the skin off their backs Black Rider Black Rider hold it right there The size of your cock will get you nowhere What are these dark days I see in this world so badly bent How can I redeem the time - the time so idly spent I feel the Holy Spirit inside and see the light that freedom gives I believe it’s within the reach of every man who lives Key West is the place to be If you’re lookin’ for immortality Stay on the road – follow the highway sign Key West is fine and fair If you lost your mind, you’ll find it there I’ve never lived in the land of Oz Or wasted my time with an unworthy cause The day that they blew out the brains of the king Thousands were watching, no one saw a thing It happened so quickly - so quick by surprise Right there in front of everyone’s eyes Greatest magic trick ever under the sun Perfectly executed, skillfully done Ridin’ in the back seat, next to my wife Heading straight on into the afterlife I’m leaning to the left, got my head in her lap Oh Lord, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye Uncle Sam Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don’t give a damn What is the truth and where did it go Ask Oswald and Ruby - they oughta know Shut your mouth, says the wise old owl Business is business and it’s murder most foul You got me dizzy Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head Zapruder’s film, I’ve seen that before Seen it thirty three times, maybe more It’s vile and deceitful - it’s cruel and it’s mean Ugliest thing that you ever have seen They killed him once, they killed him twice Killed him like a human sacrifice The day that they killed him, someone said to me, “Son, The age of the anti-Christ has just only begun.” --------- Rough and Rowdy Ways. Bob Dylan |
With all the crap going down in both the US and the the UK (mainly London thankfully) I can't help but be reminded of this Dylan lyric. Only a Pawn in their Game A bullet from the back of a bush Took Medgar Evers' blood A finger fired the trigger to his name A handle hid out in the dark A hand set the spark Two eyes took the aim Behind a man's brain But he can't be blamed He's only a pawn in their game A South politician preaches to the poor white man "You got more than the blacks, don't complain You're better than them, you been born with white skin, " they explain And the Negro's name Is used, it is plain For the politician's gain As he rises to fame And the poor white remains On the caboose of the train But it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid And the marshals and cops get the same But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool He's taught in his school From the start by the rule That the laws are with him To protect his white skin To keep up his hate So he never thinks straight 'Bout the shape that he's in But it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game From the poverty shacks, he looks from the cracks to the tracks And the hoofbeats pound in his brain And he's taught how to walk in a pack Shoot in the back With his fist in a clinch To hang and to lynch To hide 'neath the hood To kill with no pain Like a dog on a chain He ain't got no name But it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught They lowered him down as a king But when the shadowy sun sets on the one That fired the gun He'll see by his grave On the stone that remains Carved next to his name His epitaph plain Only a pawn in their game Different names, same games. |
"Insight" Guess your dreams always end. They don't rise up just descend, But I don't care anymore, I've lost the will to want more, I'm not afraid not at all, I watch them all as they fall, But I remember when we were young. Those with habits of waste, Their sense of style and good taste, Of making sure you were right, Hey don't you know you were right? I'm not afraid anymore, I keep my eyes on the door, But I remember... Tears of sadness for you, More upheaval for you, Reflects a moment in time, A special moment in time, Yeah we wasted our time, We didn't really have time, But we remember when we were young. And all God's angels beware, And all you judges beware, Sons of chance, take good care, For all the people not there, I'm not afraid anymore, I'm not afraid anymore, I'm not afraid anymore, Oh, I'm not afraid anymore. Is this the best Joy Division lyric? Totally dark, totally bleak, yet somehow you can take the ambiguous ending in whichever way you prefer. On a good day, I can take it as a form transcendence. On a bad day I can't listen to it. |
"Champagne hair in the afternoon Now you speak with your eyes No fun or fair that he’s chosen youth But out of ash you will rise You can be loved (chorus /4 times) It’s what you take Cause nothing ever goes How you want in life When beauty fades She’ll be his ghost So put your arms into mine (chorus) Words decay so I wanted to show you Our broken mouths will fail us When we try to say You can be loved......" Orenda Fink " You Can Be Loved" |
Nature Boy (by Eden Ahbez) There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far Over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he And then one day A magic day he passed my way And while we spoke of many things Fools and kings This he said to me "The greatest thing you’ll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return" "The greatest thing you’ll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return" https://youtu.be/ZpF1J9FnD4E One of the greatest ’message songs’ that I know of. My favourite version is by the legendary Nat King Cole. As is also this following collaboration of his. Love is the Thing (by Cole/Jenkins) What does it matter if we’re rich or we’re poor Fortune and fame they never endure For love is the thing, love is the thing What good is money if your heart isn’t right Here in your arms I’m wealthy tonight When youth has its fling, love is the thing While others fight for power We can walk among the flowers Knowing that the best thing in life Is the thing that’s free Love for you and me And even though our castles crumble and fall We have the right to laugh at them all For love is still king, love is the thing And even though our castles crumble and fall We have the right to laugh at them all For love is still king, love is the thing https://youtu.be/78_bDRkzcTg |
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"And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming And the sign said, "The words of the prophets Are written on the subway walls And tenement halls" And whispered in the sounds of silence" I was recently reminded of Paul Simon’s great lyric by hearing Disturbed’s quite different version. https://youtu.be/1tSoHvQkZ-E |
mitchchavis --- Hey, that Dylan Mr. Tambourine Man verse ("Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind") is my number one lyric of all-time, too. Then there's David Bowie's verse from the album Aladdin Sane -- "Jung the foreman prayed at work, that neither hands nor limbs would burst. It's hard enough to keep formation, mid this fallout saturation." |
Emmylou Harris wrote the song "Red Dirt Girl" which is the name of the album for which she won a Grammy in 2001 for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
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I left a note on his dresser And my old wedding ring With these few goodbye words How can I sing Goodbye old sleepy head I’m packing you in like I said Take care of everything I’m leaving my wedding ring Don’t look for me I’ll get ahead Remember darling Don’t smoke in bed Don’t look for me I’ll get ahead Remember darling Don’t smoke in bed Nina Simone wrote them & Holly Cole’s version is my favorite |
Me and my best friend Lillian And her blue tick hound dog Gideon, Sittin on the front porch cooling in the shade Singin every song the radio played Waitin for the Alabama sun to go down Two red dirt girls in a red dirt town Me and Lillian Just across the line and a little southeast of Meridian. She loved her brother I remember back when He was fixin up a '49 Indian He told her 'Little sister, gonna ride the wind Up around the moon and back again" He never got farther than Vietnam I was standin there with her When the telegram come for Lillian Now he's lyin somewhere About a million miles from Meridian. She said "There's not much hope for a red dirt girl Somewhere out there is a great big world That's where I'm bound And the stars might fall on Alabama But one of these days I'm gonna swing My hammer down Away from this red dirt town I'm gonna make a joyful sound" She grew up tall and she grew up thin Buried that old dog Gideon By a crepe myrtle bush in the back of the yard, Her daddy turned mean and her mama leaned hard Got in trouble with a boy from town Figured that she might as well settle down So she dug right in Across a red dirt line Just a little south east of Meridian Yes, she tried hard to love him but it never did take Just another way for the heart to break So she learned to bend One thing they don't tell you about the blues When you got em You keep on falling cause there ain't no bottom And there ain't no end, at least not for Lillian. Nobody knows when she started her skid, She was only twenty seven and she had five kids. Coulda' been the whiskey, Coulda been the pills, Coulda been the dream she was trying to kill. But there won't be a mention in the news of the world About the life and the death of a red dirt girl Named Lillian Who never got any farther across the line than Meridian Now the stars still fall on Alabama Tonight she finally laid That hammer down Without a sound In the red dirt ground |
You gotta wake up every mornin’, tip toe in the kitchen cook me a great big T-bone steak Serve it to me in bed go down the street and hustle bring back all the money you make You gotta rub my body with sweet scented oil cool me with a ’lectric fan Run down to the church fall down on your knees say "Lord I wanna thank you for that man" And I call that true love, true and sweet That ain’t the kind of love I’m gettin’ but baby, that’s the kind of love I need Wanna come home every evenin’ to a great big meal of wine and roasted pheasant Say to me "Shel this is Suzy, this is Kay, I brought ’em both home to you for a present" Cops bust in and find my stash, you gotta tell ’em it belongs to you And when you’re sittin’ in slam tell all the other chickies when they get out they can look me up too And I call that true love, true and sweet That ain’t the kind of love I’m gettin’ but baby, that’s the kind of love I need Some guy accuses me of foolin’ with his wife and threatens to tear me apart Points a gun at me, I want you to jump in the middle and take the bullet in your own heart And as you’re lying on the floor and dyin’ I want you to look to me and say "Shel I’m sorry I messed up the rug just roll my body out of the way" And I call that true love, true and sweet That ain’t the kind of love I’m gettin’ but baby, that’s the kind of love I need Movie people call you on the telephone I want you to turn down the part’And when we’re ballin’ baby, ride my top so I never, ever strain my heart And I call that true love, true and sweet that ain’t the kind of love I’m gettin’ but baby that’s the kind of love I need. "I Call That True Love" Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show |
P.S. to my previous post: After looking further at the comments under the video I linked to it appears that the singing which accompanies the video is an "alternate take" that was recorded at some point by Cilla Black herself, although Sheridan Smith did the singing in the TV program from which the video was created. So that explains why the singing was, as I said, "a remarkable impression of Cilla Black's singing." :-) Regards, -- Al |
For those who may like sentimental ballads, as I do in many cases: You're my world, you're every breath I takeThe first recording using Sigman's English-language lyrics was done in 1964 by the late Cilla Black, who as many will realize was closely associated with the Beatles and producer George Martin. The song was later covered by Helen Reddy among many others. I recently happened across a 2014 performance by the British singer and actress Sheridan Smith, which as far as I am aware was never released as a recording but was performed in a three-part British TV series entitled "Cilla," in which she portrayed Ms. Black. I was struck by how this performance is a remarkable impression of Cilla Black's singing, but at the same time is better IMO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMHILWOo3II Regards, -- Al |
There is a very informative writeup on "MacArthur Park" on Wikipedia. The lyrics largely reflect some of Jimmy Webb's real life experiences. The song is certainly one of the most unique popular recordings of the rock era, and like CD318 I consider it, as recorded by Richard Harris, to be a standout. Regards, -- Al |
MacArthur Park (Jimmy Webb) Spring was never waiting for us, girl One of the great standouts of the late 60s. Harris’ performance of the full lyric remains the definitive one for me. The ‘yellow cotton dress’ line still cuts to the bone, and the sheer erratic confusion and sense of epic tragedy remain a reference point through thick and thin, year after year. |
I'm beginning to hear voices and there's no one around Now I'm all used up and I fee so turned-around I went to church on Sunday and she passed by And my love for her is taking such a long time to die God, I'm waist deep, waist deep in the mist It's almost like, almost like I don't exist I'm 20 miles out of town, Cold Irons bound dylan, cold irons bound |
"You are my home wherever you go Anywhere you stand is my piece of land You are my home You're six one frame my address is your name high ceilings, grand halls walls are just walls and you are my home You are my home wherever you go Anywhere you stand is my piece of land You are my home The being sea the barrier reef anywhere you breathe is where I believe I'm meant to be You are my home wherever you go Anywhere you stand is my piece of land You are my home" Amanda Shires "You Are My Home" |
Driving down to ASDA (Walmart UK) this following lyric (courtesy of Rod Stewart) came on over the radio. I was almost induced to tears, especially by the following lines, "I can tell by your eyes that you've probably been crying forever The stars in the sky don't mean nothing to you; they're a mirror" |
Many too many have stood where I stand Many more will stand here too I think what I find strange is the way you built me up Then knocked me down againThe part was fun but now it's over Why can't I just leave the stage? Maybe that's because you securely locked me up Then threw away the keyOh mama Please would you find the key Oh pretty mama Please won't you let me go free I thought I was lucky I thought that I'd got it made How could I be so blind?You said good-bye on a corner That I thought led to the straight You set me on a firmly laid and simple course Then removed the roadOh mama Please help me find my way Oh pretty mama Please lead me through the next day I thought I was lucky Oh I thought that I'd got it made How could I be so blind? Oh no “Many Too Many” - Genesis |
When we touch the world And it falls away When we feel that we're born Just to fall apart And our mother lies in state And the broken pitcher glistens And the snow is at the window Creating neither sign nor symbol And the earth covers earth And the mud lies in pools Where the sand-dunes stretch unbroken And the dry wind bends and sighs And the geese are running harmless And our desires are running wild Then we're looking at the smoke That's rising from the incense Neither coming here nor going Neither heaven here nor hell Neither borning here nor birthing Neither dying here nor death And we're wrapped inside our troubles And we're wrapped inside our pain And wracked with fires with longing And our eyes are blind with night With our fingers clutching coins And our thoughts burning with 'I' And our eyes cannot be sated With the world and its nightmares With the world and its dreams Though later they'll be filled With a small handful of dust And the gods appear on the altars And we recognize their face It's a face that we have carved there And it's full of fear and longing And promises and threats But they neither stoop to conquer Nor do they stoop to praise And the mines are void of diamonds That we carry in our rags Then all the world seems A sadness song And all the world seems A sadness song ________ Current 93 - The Sadness Song |
