Mozart in 1773, portrait by Martin Knoller (Wikipedia)
The Symphony opens with a splendidly theatrical falling diminished seventh – the prelude to a drama that unfolds rather like the storm scenes of operas of the time. This is tense, terse music, marked by fierce syncopations, pregnant silences, and a powerful bass line, the last employed for melodic purposes rather than as mere accompaniment.
– Herbert Glass (English-language annotator and editor for the Salzburg Festival)
Let this sink in for one moment…This legendary classical piece was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at just 17 years of age in October 1773. At that age, I was seated on my skateboard, scooting down steep grassy hills while filming from a first-person vantage point with my Dad’s work portable video camera, unbeknownst to him, of course.
I think the Symphony No. 25 is one of the most intense, dramatic pieces of classical music I have ever heard. Those urgent, abbreviated string lines create this immense sound of turbulence and dark intensity. It is used to chilling and unforgettable effect in one of the most impactful opening scenes in cinematic history.
This first movement served as the iconic opening music in Miloš Forman’s biographical film Amadeus. I remember the shock and awe of seeing this for the first time, with my parents as a child. I have Amadeus sitting at No. 1 in my all time 100 favourite movies list. The music was performed by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, for the film’s soundtrack. Most of its wondrous soundtrack has featured here.
Overall, the movie and music helped define my taste in music, films and art. I often associate it with my grandmother Dorothy who was a classical pianist and often performed Mozart’s music to us and adored the movie. She was my main inspiration to undertake my Music Library Project which I wrote about in the inauguration post.
The Symphony No. 25 in G minor was completed in Salzburg on 5 October, a mere two days after the completion of his Symphony No. 24.
No. 25 was likely influenced by Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 39, also in G minor. It is easy to hear the similarities between the two.
‘Mozart was a keen student of Haydn’s symphonies, and the latter’s G-minor (No. 39) must have served as a model for the first of the younger composer’s two symphonies in that dark key.’
– Herbert Glass
Mozart and Haydn later became close friends in Vienna during the 1780s, with Haydn serving as an important influence on the younger composer. Mozart affectionately addressed him as “Papa Haydn.”
When this Tom Waits jazz – blues number came on my music player the other day, I wondered how I hadn’t already presented it here. His alley cat vocal sound is by Tom standards as smooth as it gets and sits in neat harmony with the small orchestral swinging bar sound. Special shout-out to Mike Melvoin here who does a fantastic job on keys.
New Coat of Paint is an expression of a couple freshening themselves up to have a night on the town. The anticipation is palpable – You wear a dress, baby, I’ll wear a tie / We’ll laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky. The song sets a romantic, late-night mood about rejuvenating a relationship with a night out on the town. It has a lyrical magic that just takes you into the music and the story unfolding.
New Coat of Paint is the lead track from Tom’s second studio album, The Heart of Saturday Night (1974). The title song, which I presented here back in 2019, just soon after the commencement of my music library project, was in recognition of the ‘Beat Generation’ American author and novelist Jack Kerouac. Tom, in line with Jack, one of his biggest influences, is an urban romantic poet himself.
I think today’s featured song and the title track would be good starters for those who are not familiar with Tom Waits’ vast discography. They are also relatively conventional by his own standards, as was a lot of his music in the mid-’70s, until he branched out more and experimented with sound and his image.
I’m a relative latecomer to Tom’s music. Back in about 2017, my friend and I were cooped up in a suburban bus here in Bogotá, Colombia, in the tumultuous midday traffic congestion – a real stinker. We decided to listen to a one-hour random selection of his music because I had hardly heard his music, but his reputation preceded him.
Well, on the bus that day, his music wondrously drowned out the chaos and stress of the outside world. The more we heard, the more we liked it. His music and storytelling are masterful at getting you into a mood – a ‘mood setter’. It felt like a drug – how transformative his art was on my outlook and humour. Tom is now one of the most prominent artists on my project.
So that’s what I’d recommend to the uninitiated when it comes to Tom’s music. When you find yourself with a little to do on a bus trip somewhere or jogging on the treadmill – whatever – just put on an hour-long random selection of his music to let it really seep in and give you a taste of the wide array of his musical styles and leanings. By the end of the hour, you’ll know full well if you like it or not.
Later on in your Tom journey, you might start hearing a Tom song and just say, I’m not really in the mood for Tom right now. But when you persist, after a few minutes or so, at least from my own experience, you might find yourself being blissfully ignorant and unfazed by the traffic conundrums around you or dancing in the kitchen while washing the dishes. It’s pretty neat.
I like how someone once commented on a Tom post here – ‘Once a Tom fan – always a Tom fan.’ Also, in another comment, a New York taxi driver said he would put on Tom’s music to calm down unruly drunk passengers.
Interesting note to end on (Wikipedia) – the album cover is based on In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra. It is an illustration featuring a tired Tom Waits being observed by a blonde woman as he exits a neon-lit cocktail lounge late at night.
[Verse 1] Let’s put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town Set ’em up, we’ll be knockin’ em down You wear a dress, baby, I’ll wear a tie We’ll laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky
[Verse 2] All our scribbled love dreams are lost or thrown away Here amidst the shuffle of an overflowing day Our love needs a transfusion, let’s shoot it full of wine Fishin’ for a good time starts with throwin’ in your line
[Verse 1] So let’s put a new coat of paint on this lonesome old town Set ’em up, set ’em up, we’ll be knockin’ em down You wear a dress, baby, I’ll wear a tie We’ll laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky
I first heard this song on the soundtrack of the EA Sports football video game FIFA 14, when my son and I used to play. I’ve presented a couple of other songs from their soundtracks here, but from different versions of the game, namely Go Wild by Friedberg and Dreaming by Smallpools.
So today’s song, Worship You, ends the FIFA trilogy of songs I adored hearing. Most of the other songs on there made me want to slit my wrists, but not these goodies – they were going straight into the ‘project’. FIFA eventually ended support for their earlier versions, and my laptop doesn’t support the newer games. So it looks like – that’s that, but it was a fun ride.
Worship You is such a fantastic song. The high-paced vocals and frantic snare-drum rhythm are so unorthodox, but the whole thing is bursting with energy and vitality, like a steroid hormone in song form. It’s said the band – Vampire Weekend bonded over a shared love of punk rock and African and Eastern music, and you can definitely hear that in this song.
I find it riveting and so inspiring when they launch into the chorus with We worshipped You, Your red right hand. It’s anthemic and feels like it has jumped straight out of a parallel world. It blows me away every time, despite the obscene number of times I’ve heard it.
Worship You comes from the American indie-rock band’s third studio album, Modern Vampires of the City, released in 2013.
Religious themes have run rampant in the music presented here of late, and Worship You is no different. In fact, the whole song appears to be a direct message to God, presumably the Abrahamic God. There seems to be some conjecture about whether it denigrates God or is an affirmation. Perhaps it’s both.
Edit: 26-9-2026 – Here is an audio of their ‘Behind The Song’. But I’d encourage you to read the Jewish interpretation below as well.
Vampire Weekend’s frontman Ezra Koenig is Jewish, and this article by Hey Alma discusses how he infused Judaism, Jewish history and culture into the band’s music. Regarding the song Worship You, it says:
Once again, the narrator (again, likely Koenig) is having a conversation with God. In it, he scolds God for being so particular about the way God wants to be worshipped. At the same time, the narrator makes an ironic statement about Jerusalem, singing, “City with the safety of a never-ending blessing on it” and asks, “We worshipped You, Your red right hand / Won’t we see you once again? / In foreign soil, in foreign land / Who will guide us through the end?” Essentially, Ezra is asking when Moshiach will come and references the diasporic Jewish community.
According to a contribution to Genius Lyrics – the beat of Worship You resembles a raga. Rostam Batmanglij’s mother Najmieh elaborated in an interview with The New Yorker, comparing it instead to music she had introduced to Rostam as a child:
Najmieh said she detected a Persian influence for the first time on Vampire Weekend’s new album, and when I mentioned that to Rostam he agreed. On the song “Worship You,” he plays a synthesizer solo that was inspired by Persian folk music and when he played the song “Young Lion” for his parents, they said it reminded them of a Persian melody, too.
[Verse 1] Only in the way You want it Only on the day You want it Only with the understanding: Every single day You want it Only in the way You want it Only on the day You want it Only with the understanding: Every single day you want it You, You
[Verse 2] City with the weight upon it City in the way you want it City with the safety Of a never-ending blessing on it City with the weight upon it City in the way you want it City with the safety Of a never-ending blessing on it You, You
[Chorus] We worshipped You, Your red right hand Won’t we see you once again? In foreign soil, in foreign land Who will guide us through the end?
[Verse 3] Calling on a change, You want it Calling on the same, You want it Calling on the misery to always be explained You want it Calling on a change, You want it Calling on the same, You want it Calling on the misery to always be explained You want it You, You
[Verse 4] Energetic praise You wanted Any kind of praise You wanted Little bit of light To get us through the final days You wanted Energetic praise You wanted Any kind of praise You wanted Little bit of light To get us through the final days You wanted You, too
[Chorus] We worshipped You, Your red right hand Won’t we see You once again? In foreign soil, in foreign land Who will guide us through the end? We worshipped You, Your red right hand Won’t we see You once again? In foreign soil, in foreign land Who will guide us through the end?
A lot of the details below I have shared previously in my Reuben Morgan and Hillsong song articles, so you’ll forgive me for repeating myself. Just in case you haven’t read them before, well, here they are:
Around the time of my baptism in the southeastern coastal town of Mornington, Melbourne, I was listening to a lot of Christian worship´music. A lot of it was from the Pentecostal megachurch Hillsong Church, based in Sydney. A small entourage came down to visit our church, which included Reuben Morgan as the principal guest. He was one of the worship leaders and songwriters in Hillsong Worship.
I had seen him perform on the live worship DVD For All You’ve Done at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. I loved that concert and watched it over and over, and I still get a real kick out of revisiting many of its songs today.
So I was excited in anticipation of their arrival. I was also to operate the video setup and lyrics during their performance. As part of the “team,” we got to spend time with Reuben and company over a meal. It was a real thrill for me to talk with him in person, since I was such a big admirer of his work.
Around the same time, I picked up his solo album World Through Your Eyes, released in 2004, and today I present the title track.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I listened to this song. It captured all the elements of what drew me to Christian outreach music and continues to fascinate me. I like the humility in his voice and the tenderness with which he sings. In it, he seems to uncover with grace and decency his adoration and faith in God.
The music is effervescent and inspiring too, bringing to life with rock elements the glory of his testimony and the weight of his conviction. A lot of Christian music falls into the trap of seeming aloof, with singers on their pedestal and singing down to you, not to mention the repetitiveness and long-drawn-out “outros.”
What’s refreshing and so affecting about Reuben’s manner of worship is its relatability and contemporary sound. You feel like he is just your average Joe Christian, telling it how it is in a no-nonsense way, but there’s also something alluring and engaging about it.
World Through Your Eyes debuted at No. 3 on the Australian Christian Charts. According to Wikipedia, as of at least 2025, Reuben Morgan is no longer involved with Hillsong, but along with fellow former Hillsong vocalist Ben Fielding, he started a band called Commons Worship.
Anyway, if you are new to his music and this song, I’m delighted to present you with World Through Your Eyes. I hope you enjoy it. As always, thanks for reading.
Hear the silence shout Highest Praise God to you alone All creation waits On your every word Where time & heaven meet
Let me see forever With eyes you’ve opened Standing in your beautiful light Hold me near Hold me near to you And let me see the world through your eyes
In this perfect hour I am changed I’ll never be the same Help me follow you And keep in time with the sound Of heaven in me
Let me see forever With eyes you’ve opened Standing in your beautiful light Hold me near Hold me near to you And let me see the world through your eyes
Nick’s music has been coming out here like hot cakes of late. He is yet another artist, like David Bowie, whose music I didn’t realise would feature here as prominently as it has. The reason being that much of that music, like David’s, has been uncovered sporadically since the commencement of this Music Library Project.
In both cases, you could say I have developed a newfound musical appreciation of them. The sole difference with Nick’s music, however, is that in my early adolescence I picked up a few of his early records, like The First Born Is Dead, The Good Son and Henry’s Dream. It was probably one song above all which I treasured, called The Ship Song, which remains at the summit of my favourite ever songs.
Then there was a long hiatus where I didn’t keep up with his subsequent discography until his fairly recent 2019 masterpiece Ghosteen. His exceptionally moving Bright Horses from that record, about the aftermath of the tragic death of his son Arthur, put him well and truly back on my music radar. Well, today’s featured track is Wild God, the title track from his most recent record, released in 2024.
In his later career, Nick has largely moved away from the rebellious punk focus of his precocious early music towards more reflective, mature and spiritual output, both lyrically and musically. He’s always been one of contemporary music’s standout storytellers, but what you find now, at least I do, is more of him drawing upon mythology, religion and biblical imagery and integrating them into contemporary real-world situations. His later work seems less concerned with provocation for its own sake and more with grappling with themes like grief, mortality, love and suffering.
When I first heard Wild God, not too long ago, it had an immediate impact and I was so keen to write about it that it pained me to have to wait until it reached the alphabetical order of listing. But the day has finally arrived, so I can unleash on it. The irony is that I find myself a bit lost for words since it’s just so grand, this song, not only in its poetic and symbolic references, but musically it feels like someone preaching, with the music anthemic in its realisation.
It’s like, where do you start with this song of epic proportions, reaching a level of ecstatic passion that I’ve rarely heard? What a ride! By its end, it feels like having been blasted by a musical tornado where there is almost too much for the senses to take in. But you want to go back into the frenzied and untamed windstorm of the beast.
She would hang onto the rail as he blew ’round the room
Nick references the girl from his 2013 gem Jubilee Street, which, if there was just about any song of his I’d consider obligatory listening, apart from those aforementioned, it’s that one. It’s wild, man – like Wild God also is – and this Wild God searches for the girl. But he says, But she’d died in a bedsit in 1993, so this Antichrist figure of sorts goes elsewhere, saying: “Where are my people? Where are my people to bring your spirit down?” He means business like a wrecking ball.
When later the ‘people’ plead with him — when is their suffering going to come to an end? – he answers: Well, it depends, but it mostly never ends. But he’s an old and tired god moving through the flames of anarchy and nearing the end of his wild-natured existence — old, sick god dying and crying and singing, he says. And he’s just so real – He’s moving through your body like a prehistoric bird.
But there’s the possibility of transcendence which he sings about in the outro.
Swim to the hymn, swim to the prayer And bring your spirit down
Nick seems to be confronting his demons head-on in this, and it’s one wild ride. It’s like reading ancient scripture set in modern secular times of materialism and the obsession with progress and the machine – i.e. AI, digital technology, pseudo-reality and language.
The Wild God he talks about is him, myself and many others in existence. “…in his mind, he was a man of great virtue and courage.” You think you are this… then think again, sunshine. It’s like Dostoevsky in music form, in the sense of looking hard at yourself in the reflection of the mirror, if you have the audacity.
It’s not always pretty if you’re being honest about it. That’s why he proclaims, “Bring Your Spirit Down.” Your spirit of ‘self’ – in some ways, you have to retract it. This song is so transcendental but also transformative when you let it in. I wish Cohen had been alive to hear it. Oh, and I’ve also included Cave’s exuberant, fully fleshed out performance Live at Accor Arena Paris below the original version.
I could write on and on about it, but I’ve got a date with destiny. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading.
[Verse 1] Once upon a time, a wild god zoomed All through his memory, in which he was entombed It was rape and pillage in the retirement village But in his mind, he was a man of great virtue and courage And he flew out the window with his long, trailing hair And the smoke from the bodies went straight up in the air He was a wild god searching for what all wild gods are searching for And he flew through the dying city like a prehistoric bird He went searching for the girl down on Jubilee Street But she’d died in a bedsit in 1993 So he flew to the top of the world and looked around And said, “Where are my people? Where are my people to bring your spirit down?”
[Verse 2] A wild god searching for a faraway girl Who was basically a mirage but nevertheless loomed large She would hang onto the rail as he blew ’round the room And make love with a kind of efficient gloom And the people on the ground cried, “When does it start?” And the wild god says, “It starts with the heart, with the heart, with the heart, with the heart” And the people on the ground cried, “When does it end?” And the wild god says, “Well, it depends, but it mostly never ends ‘Cause I’m a wild god flying and a wild god swimming And I’m an old, sick god dying and crying and singing”
[Outro] Bring your spirit down Oh, we’re wild gods, baby, we’re wild gods Yeah, bring your spirit down Oh, well, he’s moving through the flames of anarchy And he’s moving through the winds of tyranny And the sweet, sweet tears of liberty Yeah, moving ’round the world He’s moving through your body like a prehistoric bird He’s moving ’round the world Oh Lord, well, if you’re feeling lonely and if you’re feeling blue And if you just don’t know what to do Bring your spirit down Oh, we’re wild gods, baby, we’re wild gods I’m a wild god, baby, I’m a wild god Oh, here we go, we’re going to the cradle of Africa We’re going to Russia, we’re going to China To the United States of America Yeah, moving ’round the world Yeah, moving like a great, big, beautiful bird We’re moving ’round the world Yeah, and he’s swimming at the end of the rotting pier He swims to the end of his rotting idea Swim to the hymn, swim to the prayer And bring your spirit down I’m a wild god, baby, I’m a wild god Here we go, yeah, here we go
Words of Love is a chirpy early rock song that leaves you with a sunny disposition. It also has a tenderness that Buddy seemed to exude in his songs almost effortlessly. His unique intonations and the way he draws out words for emphasis are on full display here, giving the song character and a human touch. I also like how Holly harmonises with himself by combining tape recordings of each part. It lends the song a more intimate and personal feel.
It might not be as widely recognised as some of his bigger hits, but Words of Love deserves just as much praise. I love the guitar playing here in its minimalism and directness, but it opens up space and gives the song a sparseness in sound. Nothing feels forced, and it’s this economical, stripped-back music that was nevertheless enormously effective. Yet somehow, despite the simplicity, Holly’s music and voice had such a distinct character that they couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else’s.
At a run time of just 1:56, it’s wondrous what Words of Love achieves in such a short space. His music was often like that, being able to do so much with so little – talk about maximum effect from minimum means, analogous to all that he achieved in his short life as one of rock ’n’ roll’s young pioneers, until his tragic early passing at just 22 years of age.
He exerted such an enormous influence on rock music despite the brevity of his career. Also, while his music often conveys so much brightness and youthful exuberance, it’s hard not to feel tinges of sadness when listening to it, realising what a remarkable loss it was that he wasn’t around to share the world stage with the big guns starting out in the early ’60s and beyond.
Most of the following was abridged from the Wikipedia article below:
Despite Words of Love not being a notable hit for Holly, it is regarded as one of his important recordings. Interestingly, a compilation album, Words of Love, was released in the UK in 1993. It reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold.
A doo-wop version by the Diamonds was released on May 20, 1957, reached No. 13 on the Billboard in July 1957, making the song Holly’s first hit, though as a composer not performer. It proceeded Holly’s own release by just one month.
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that the Beatles recorded a cover version of the song on October 18, 1964, for the UK album Beatles for Sale. I enjoyed their vocals on this one. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were fans of Holly, sang in harmony with George Harrison, holding to the vocal and instrumental sound of Holly’s original as well as they could. Before their big break, the group had performed the song live between 1958 and 1962.
[Verse 1] Hold me close and tell me how you feel Tell me love is real Mm, mm, mm, mm
[Chorus] Words of love you whisper soft and true Darling I love you Mm, mm, mm, mm
[Verse 2] Let me hear you say The words I want to hear Darling when you’re near Mm, mm, mm, mm
[Chorus] Words of love you whisper soft and true Darling I love you Mm, mm, mm, mm
Words used to not come easily to me. I heard this bottom-of-the-tier ’80s greatest-ballads, synth-produced track from the early ’80s, and it seemed to encapsulate my prepubescent loving. I hung on every word as if it had come straight out of my unformulated brain.
Then boom, like a bomb had hit… I lost my South African sweetheart Cheryl, which I wrote about in my post 20 Seconds of Insane Courage.
“Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you something great will come of it.”
Well, this frigidity I was consumed by couldn’t have been summed up better in a song than here. It’s all to blame for my losing Cheryl and, hey man, F.R. David, you have some explaining to do. And I’m now a-talkin’. You have to talk to the girl, for God’s sake – be a man!
I was channel zapping the other night and saw one of the opening scenes of ‘The Notebook‘ where Ryan Gosling goes full hammer for his girl on the Ferris Wheel. That’s the man and gets to what Muddy Waters was going all ballistic about it in the Last Waltz concert.
I don’t think I’ve downplayed a song I was to present as much as this one. But you get where I was going.
It’s nice, well, kinda, to be jolted back to the music you used to listen to and still feel some nostalgic attachment to it, even if, in part, it was your unmaking.
Words was released as a single in 1982 from F.R. David’s same-named debut album. The song was a huge European hit, even peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, where I was unlucky enough to hear it, the single peaked at number 12 and spent 41 weeks in the Top 100 across two chart runs throughout 1983 and early 1984.
The rest, they say, is history – and sadly, mine.
[Chorus] Words don’t come easy to me How can I find a way to make you see I love you? Words don’t come easy Words don’t come easy to me This is the only way for me to say I love you Words don’t come easy
[Verse 1] Well, I’m just a music man, melodies are so far my best friend But my words are coming out wrong, girl, I reveal my heart to you And hope that you believe it’s true ’cause
[Chorus] Words don’t come easy to me How can I find a way to make you see I love you? Words don’t come easy
[Verse 2] This is just a simple song that I’ve made for you on my own There’s no hidden meaning you know when I, when I say I love you, honey Please believe, I really do ’cause
[Chorus] Words don’t come easy to me How can I find a way to make you see I love you? Words don’t come easy
[Bridge] It isn’t easy, words don’t come easy
[Chorus] Words don’t come easy to me How can I find a way to make you see I love you? Words don’t come easy Don’t come easy to me This is the only way for me to say I love you Words don’t come easy Don’t come easy
Wild Child is yet another song by the Irish singer and musician Enya which I heard during Pilates or whatever at the gym, and I was delighted since it had fallen off my music radar. I had heard it years ago on her record A Day Without Rain (2000) when it came out, but somehow lost track of it (slaps head).
A lot of her music has a transcendental, solemn Celtic sound, but Wild Child is more of an uplifting, inspirational song which, when I heard it again this morning, put me into a positive headspace. Despite the repetitive nature of its clincher chorus line – “What a day, what a day to take to” – I frankly never grow tired of it. Keep it comin’ as she smartly does in the outro.
Enya does something to the soul. She writes simple, yet profoundly beautiful music. Hey, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Although Enya sometimes gets a bad rap in music circles simply because of the sheer saturation of her sound in popular culture and how instantly recognisable it is, I would not like to ponder a world without her music in it.
She has extraordinarily filled a gap in modern popular music almost singlehandedly, particularly in the Celtic variety, and in doing so has become one of the world’s best-selling music artists and Ireland’s best-selling solo artist. A Day Without Rain alone has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.
Also, Enya, I find, is not too shabby on the eye. Her image is all class too, and that’s not a bad thing considering how sorely lacking that is in modern music. In addition to maintaining a private life which has largely been kept away from the horrid British tabloids, anyone who finds reassurance in prayer, prefers to visit “churches when they’re empty” and believes in guardian angels has got my respect.
The unfortunate takeaway is that she has been stalked to the extent that, during one incident in 2005, an intruder tied up one of her housekeepers before stealing several personal items. Enya spent about two hours hiding in a panic room before activating the alarm and alerting the Gardaí.
According to Wikipedia – The album A Day Without Rain was a commercial success peaking at No. 6 in the UK and initially, No. 17 on the US Billboard.
In the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, sales of the album and its lead single, Only Time, surged after the song was widely used during radio and television coverage of the events, leading to its description as “a post-September 11 anthem”.
[Verse 1] Ever close your eyes Ever stop and listen Ever feel alive And you’ve nothing missing You don’t need a reason Let the day go on and on
[Verse 2] Let the rain fall down Everywhere around you Give into it now Let the day surround you You don’t need a reason Let the rain go on and on
[Chorus] What a day, what a day to take to What a way, what a way to make it through What a day, what a day to take to A wild child
[Verse 3] Only take the time From the helter skelter Every day you find Everything’s in kilter You don’t need a reason Let the day go on and on
[Verse 4] Every summer sun Every winter evening Every spring to come Every autumn leaving You don’t need a reason Let it all go on and on
[Chorus] What a day, what a day to take to What a way, what a way to make it through What a day, what a day to take to A wild child
[Chorus] What a day, what a day to take to What a way, what a way to make it through What a day, what a day to take to A wild child
[Outro] What a day, what a day to take to What a way, what a way to make it through What a day, what a day to take to Da-da-da, da-da-da da da-da What a way, what a way to make it through Da-da-da, da-da-da da da-da Da-da-da, da-da-da da da-da What a way, what a way to make it through What a day, what a day to take to A wild child What a day, what a day to take to A wild child
Wonderful Tonight is quite simply one of the most beautiful guitar-driven love ballads I’ve ever heard. It’s stunning how the lyrics and music, particularly that ghostly guitar riff, so perfectly capture the romance and intimacy of the evening, the anticipation of the big occasion and the profound feelings between the couple.
You feel privy to it all, to the point that the song carries the aroma of perfume and cologne in the air as you hear it. It’s insider access, total, and it’s quite the musical accomplishment.
Also, the ‘bridge’ is to die for. When he sings, you just don’t realize / how much I love you, it always makes the hairs on my arms stand up on end.
Wonderful Tonight was written in 1976 for Pattie Boyd while Clapton was waiting for her to get ready to attend Paul and Linda McCartney’s annual Buddy Holly Week event. Boyd had married George Harrison in 1966, but they divorced in 1977. She then married their mutual friend Eric Clapton in 1979, but they ended up divorcing in 1989.
All good things come to an end, which seems to be a common theme here of late. The song is mentioned in Boyd’s 2007 autobiographical book Wonderful Today.
The song peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard on 15 July 1978, spending seven weeks in the Top 40. I think I have heard this song more than any other Clapton song in my life.
I first heard it at the Academy when I was 18 years old. My section under officer, ‘Hilly’, was a huge Springsteen fan and we often shared music, and I believe this is one I got from him. So he deserves a high-five and, on the flip side, to put it mildly…
[Verse 1] It’s late in the evening, she’s wondering what clothes to wear She puts on her makeup and brushes her long blonde hair And then she asks me, “Do I look all right?” And I say, “Yes, you look wonderful tonight”
[Verse 2] We go to a party and everyone turns to see This beautiful lady that’s walking around with me And then she asks me, “Do you feel all right?” And I say, “Yes, I feel wonderful tonight”
[Bridge] I feel wonderful because I see the love light in your eyes And the wonder of it all is that you just don’t realize How much I love you
[Verse 3] It’s time to go home now and I’ve got an aching head So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed And then I tell her, as I turn out the light I say, “My darling, you were wonderful tonight Oh, my darling, you were wonderful tonight”
Dylan started the Never Ending Tour on June 7, 1988
When Did You Leave Heaven? is a very quaint and tender song from Bob. It comes from one of his most scorned records, the 1988 Down In The Groove. It was Dylan’s second consecutive album, after Knocked Out Loaded, to receive almost unanimously negative reviews. In 2007, even Rolling Stone labelled Down In The Groove as Bob Dylan’s worst album.
The word going around didn’t deter me from buying the cassette as a fourteen-year-old. It has got some good stuff on it, including today’s featured track, When Did You Leave Heaven? I have enjoyed listening to these tracks so much over the years, which tells me it was money very well spent. Also, because the album was so widely dished, many, including Dylan ‘fans’, have not given anything from it the time of day, which is a shame.
From the very outset, with the solemn and reflective keyboard sound, I like the mood and texture of this song and the mind space it puts me in. To me, it feels like something I might hear in church – a hymn-like feel. Despite its restraint, it has a mellow spiritual undertone, with its sparse drums, wandering guitar and Dylan’s fragile but affectionate voice.
When Did You Leave Heaven? is not a Dylan original; it is a cover of a classic big band-era standard written by Walter Bullock and Richard A. Whiting for the 1936 film Sing, Baby, Sing. The song was recorded by a number of artists in the 1930s, while Big Bill Broonzy later gave it a blues treatment. You can watch his stirring version here.
The following was abridged from Wikipedia below:
Clinton Heylin stated about the style and layout of the album’s tracks on Down In The Groove: “As it is, Dylan’s intent all along may have been to show the rich vein of music he listened to when growing up in Hibbing.”
The album was recorded over a period of five years, spanning the sessions for Infidels (1983) to recordings made specifically for the album in 1987. The record features multiple guest musicians including Ronnie Wood, hip-hop group Full Force, and members of the Grateful Dead.
After the album’s release, Dylan went live incorporating an endless variety of traditional cover songs during his acoustic set; a marked departure from previous shows. It would be a prelude of where he ventured in the early 1990’s on the Good as I Been to You and World Gone Wrong albums.
The tour schedule was also surprising for a man of Dylan’s age, as Dylan was spending most of his time on the road. Just as one leg of the tour would end, Dylan would schedule another leg soon after, and this would continue for many years to come. As a result, Dylan’s shows are now often referred to as the “Never Ending Tour“. Though the supporting personnel would undergo a number of changes for years to come, the basic format begun in the summer of 1988 would continue to this day.
[Verse 1] When did you leave heaven? How could they let you go? How’s every thing in heaven? I’d like to know
[Verse 2] Why did you trade heaven? For all these earthly things? Where on earth you hide your halo? Where did you lose your wings?
[Verse 3] Have they missed you? Can you get back in? If I kiss you would it be a sin? I am only human but you are so divine When did you leave heaven angel mine?
