Give Me Love (2014) – Christina Perri

Posted on August 25, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Whatever season I’m in, if I’m going through (bad or good), that is what you will hear me singing about – I will never put on a facade or pretend to the world that my life is perfect…Since I was a child, I’ve always tried my best to be as authentically myself as possible; it’s like I don’t know any other way to be. 

As each day goes by… and if I feel a little stagnant and need a boost – it becomes ‘Perri hour‘. Now is that time. There are balladists then there is Christina Perri. This is the tenth song to appear here from Perri. I always feel grateful to present a song from her. I was just writing to a friend that Perri’s Time of Our Lives is about the best song I’ve ever heard and has just 34k views. I think that one is one of the best executed, written and constructed songs (produced) in all of music. I’m sure that won’t be known for decades. Sometimes, that’s how things go. There is no information about today’s song. As Perri said, “It’s not that I’ve recovered, it’s that I’m recovering…”

When I first heard Give Me Love I didn’t like it much. But after more listens I like it little by little more. She is like a magician. The same thing happened with Perri’s A Thousand Years. I didn’t like it in the beginning and my daughter Katherine said she loved that song. So, I returned to it and now I’m in complete awe.

Give me love like her
‘Cause lately I’ve been waking up alone
Pain splattered teardrops on my shirt
Told you I’d let them go

And I’ll fight my corner
Maybe tonight I’ll call ya
After my blood turns into alcohol
No I just wanna hold ya

Give a little time to me, we’ll burn this out
We’ll play hide and seek, to turn this around
All I want is the taste that your lips allow

“Some of the things I’ve experienced in my life could have made me very dark, and very closed off from the rest of the world...But I’ve made the decision to look towards the light and be a better version of myself, in spite of feeling massive amounts of pain.”

Reference:
1. Christina Perri: “It’s not that I’ve recovered, it’s that I’m recovering…” -Celebex – mix

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Goodbye My Lover (2004) – James Blunt

Posted on August 24, 2023 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

There’s a neat song that Dylan did called ‘Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight‘ and I hope my readers won’t fall apart on me when they hear for perhaps the umpteenth time today’s track Goodbye My Lover by James Blunt. This is what a song sounds like when you write in Princess Leia’s bathroom. I could think of worse places to write a song. Anyway, James did exactly that writing this song (playing the piano) staying at actress Carrie Fisher’s house and it left the whole music world gobsmacked, well at least the sentimental ones. As we used to say back home: ‘Don’t Cry in your Weet-Bix‘.

[Verse 1]
Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
Cause I saw the end before we’d begun
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won
So I took what’s mine by eternal right
Took your soul out into the night
It may be over but it won’t stop there
I am here for you, if you’d only care
You touched my heart, you touched my soul
You changed my life and all my goals
And love is blind but that I knew when
My heart was blinded by yours
I’ve kissed your lips and held your hand
Shared your dreams and shared your bed
I know you well, I know your smell
I’ve been addicted to you

[Chorus]
Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me
Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You have been the one
You have been the one for me

While in Los Angeles, Blunt lodged with Carrie Fisher, whom he had met through the family of a former girlfriend. Fisher was very supportive of Blunt’s aspirations, and provided the use of a bathroom in her home that featured a piano for him to record “Goodbye My Lover”. Blunt later said, “Everyone sings in the shower and everyone in Los Angeles seems to have a piano in the bathroom.”

I can’t remember the last time I had a piano in my bathroom and that’s sad.

References:
1. Goodbye My Lover – Wikipedia

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New Pony (1978) – Bob Dylan

Posted on August 23, 2023 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

New Pony is from Bob Dylan’s 18th studio album Street – Legal. I wrote in the post Changing of the Guards – ‘if I had to choose just one album from Dylan to take with me on a Desert Island, it would be Street Legal‘. New Pony is provocative, bawdy and bluesy. When I first heard New Pony, none of that probably occurred to me. I imagine in my younger years I was wondering, ‘what the heck is this‘?
This apparent sensory misalignment is comparable with the whole record, if you haven’t truly let it sink in. To say, Street – Legal is ‘complex’ is an understatement. To get my mind and ‘ear’ tuned to it, required a lot of time, but once my senses adjusted, I found it a treasure box of contemporary music – the likes, I realise I’m doubtful to ever hear again in one package.

To gauge a sense of how deep down the rabbit hole a Dylan fan has gone; ask them what they think of Dylan’s Street-Legal. Their answer will tell you a lot!
Now onto New Pony‘s background and interpretations.

According to Wikipedia:

The song, which superficially concerns a pony called Lucifer who has broken a leg and needs to be put down, but has been interpreted as concerning Dylan’s relationship with his backing singer Helena Springs…. Dylan told Jonathan Cott in 1978 that “the Miss X in that song is Miss X, not ex-“….David Yaffee notes that the backing singers include both Dylans’s girlfriend at the time, Springs, and his future wife, Carolyn Dennis…

The song probably draws on Son House’s “Black Pony Blues”, also recorded by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and on Charley Patton’s track Pony Blues. “Black Pony Blues” includes the lyrics “he can foxtrot / He can lope and pace, lope and pace”, whilst Dylan’s song has “I got a new pony, she knows how to foxtrot, lope and pace”. House performed “Black Pony Blues” at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, and Dylan may have seen the performance.

The following aligns with my interpretation of the song and it’s a fascinating read, but somewhat polemical in this day and age:

Stephen Scobie wrote that “The image of the woman as a horse needing to be tamed and broke, while undoubtedly problematic from any contemporary feminist view, is a traditional image, from a long line of blues songs”. Scobie suggested that the pony in the song appears in three different situations: “as victim, as aesthetic display and as the object of sexual desire”. The first of these is expressed in the opening verse about breaking a leg, the second in the verse about being able to foxtrot and lope, and thirdly when described in the lyrics as “bad and nasty”, after the song’s narrator has proclaimed that they want to “climb up one time on you”.

[Verse 1]
I had a pony, her name was Lucifer (How much longer? How much longer?)
I had a pony, her name was Lucifer (How much longer?)
She broke her leg and needed shooting
I swear it hurt me more than it coulda hurted her
(How much longer? How much longer?)

[Verse 2]
Sometimes I wonder what’s going on with Miss X (How much longer?)
Sometimes I wonder what’s going on with Miss X
(How much? How much? How much longer?)
She got such a sweet disposition
I never know what the poor girl’s gonna do to me next
(How much longer? How much longer?)

[Verse 3]
I got a new pony, she knows how to fox-trot, lope and pace
(How much longer?)
Well, I got a new pony, she knows how to fox-trot, lope and pace
(How much longer?)
She got great big hind legs
Long, black shaggy hair hangin’ in her face
(How much? How much? How much longer?)

Reference:
1. New Pony – Bob Dylan
2. Street-Legal (Album) – Wikipedia

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New Orleans Is Sinking (1989) – The Tragically Hip

Posted on August 22, 2023 by observationblogger — 17 Comments

New Orleans Is Sinking is yet another great song recommended at Max’s blog – PowerPop. The guitar work and vocal are sharp – edged, bluesy and hone you in. I have included at the end of this article the original studio release and a ‘stand – out’ live version. I believe it was aired a year prior to lead singer’s Gordon Edgar Downie’s passing in 2017. According to wiki: The song is one of the band’s signature songs and still receives consistent radio airplay in Canada. I would encourage you to read Max’s article which was said: ‘does justice to the hip‘ – New Orleans Is Sinking in the link below:

I liked this one with a first listen. I love the relentless guitar riff that starts this off.  The song seems to be recalling a past experience in the city, and the lyrics describe a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for everything New Orleans has to offer…including its spirit. The song is lamenting the changing times and expressing his desire to remain connected to its rich history and traditions.

Max at PowerPop

All right

Bourbon blues on the street, loose and complete
Under skies all smoky blue green
I can’t forsake a dixie dead shake
So we danced the sidewalk clean

My memory is muddy, what’s this river that I’m in?
New Orleans is sinking, man, and I don’t want to swim

Colonel Tom, what’s wrong? What’s going on?
You can’t tie yourself up for a deal
He said, “Hey, north, you’re south, shut your big mouth
You gotta do what you feel is real”

Ain’t got no picture postcards, ain’t got no souvenirs
My baby she don’t know me when I’m thinking ’bout those years

References:
1. New Orleans Is Sinking – Wikipedia

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Never Say Goodbye (1974) – Bob Dylan

Posted on August 21, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

I was weighing up whether to add Never Say Goodbye to the Music Library Project, but two aspects of it which bent me towards the affirmative – ‘let her rip‘ were the following:

The first was when Dylan sings the following at 0:41 in the studio version at the end of the post:

You’re beautiful beyond words
You’re beautiful to me

His build up to this is immense. It is indeed, ‘beautiful beyond words‘. But it seems Dylan doesn’t know what to do after that – he’d already reached the summit in the song. Thankfully, he repeats the same build-up at 2:00 and sings:

Oh Baby, baby, baby Blue
You changed your last name too.

This is a rare case of a Dylan studio release where I think he didn’t know how to tame his own art. And that might explain why he never played Never Say Goodbye again. The pinnacle was in the mix by those two stellar examples above. And when he does close the song, it seems he was in a rush to get the hell outta there.

The second aspect was learning that Never Say Goodbye was released on the album Planet Waves on January 17, 1974, two days after my birthday.

[Verse 1]
Twilight on the frozen lake
North wind about to break
On footprints in the snow
Silence down below

[Verse 2]
You’re beautiful beyond words
You’re beautiful to me
You can make me cry
Never say goodbye

[Verse 3]
Time is all I have to give
You can have it if you choose
With me you can live
Never say goodbye

Untold Dylan wrote:

Hidden somewhere at the end on Side Two of Planet Waves, a forgotten gem from Dylan’s catalogue shines. ″Never Say Goodbye″ has been mainly ignored since its release, is mentioned here and there without further emotion or qualification, casually dismissed as a filler and only a very few times appreciated. Dylan does not look back at the song either – in 1973 he records the song, then never performs it again. Which in itself is hardly conclusive, of course. We do know that Dylan is a remarkably poor judge of his own work. But the silence of the thousands of devout bobheads is quite odd.

The song is one of the first songs for Planet Waves. When the recordings start in November 1973, Dylan has made demo recordings of three songs months before (in June): in addition to ″Never Say Goodbye″ also ″Nobody ‘Cept You″ (which would eventually only appear on The Bootleg Series in 1991) and ″Forever Young″, the instant classic that will be released on Planet Waves in two different versions.

References:
1. Dylan in chaos: Never say goodbye – Untold Dylan
2. Never Say Goodbye; never go back – Untold Dylan

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Never Marry a Railroad Man – Shocking Blue

Posted on August 20, 2023 by observationblogger — 18 Comments

I encountered Never Marry a Railroad Man at Max’s blog – PowerPop. It’s a fantastic song. I remarked to Max how comparable Scottish singer-songwriter Amy MacDonald’s 2007 hit song This Is The Life is in terms of melody and guitar interludes. I would encourage you to read his article – Never Marry a Railroad Man in the link below:

Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were known for the song Venus which reached #1 in the Billboard 100 in 1970. “Never Marry a Railroad Man” sold over a million records and became a top-ten hit in several countries around the world.

The song is not well known in America but is a great little song. The singer was Mariska Veres who sounded a bit like Grace Slick but with a maybe stronger voice. I found this group a few years ago while listening to Venus and explored their other releases. They did have more songs than Venus that were good…

Max at PowerPop

Have you been broken-hearted once or twice
If it’s yes how did you feel at his first lies
If it’s no you need this good advice

Never marry a railroad man
He loves you every now and then
His heart is at his new train
No, no, no
Don’t fall in love with a railroad man
If you do forget him if you can
You’re better off without him ah…

Have you ever been restless in your bed
And so lonely that your eyes became wet
Let me tell you then one thing mmm…

References:
1. Shocking Blue – Wikipedia

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Never Die Young (1988) – James Taylor

Posted on August 19, 2023 by observationblogger — 7 Comments

This song takes me back to the early 2000’s when I was living in Mornington, South – East of Melbourne. I lived in a gorgeous cottage cabin surrounded by paddocks where horses grazed. Hearing Never Die Young was the most in keeping with the ambience, and my cabin overflowed with these sounds during my time there. Never Die Young is the title track from James Taylor’s 12th studio album released in 1988, the title track, which peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the only charting single from the album.

We were ring-around-the-rosy children
They were circles around the sun
Never give up
Never slow down
Never grow old, never ever die young

Synchronized with the rising moon
Even with the evening star
They were true love written in stone
They were never alone
They were never that far apart

And we who couldn’t bear
To believe they might make it
We got to close our eyes
Cut up our losses into doable doses
Ration our tears and sighs

Cash Box said of the title track that the “lyrics are, as always, a dazzling string of pearls that mesmerize your heart while the musical feel covers you like a warm breeze.” I couldn’t agree more with this description. I haven’t heard Never Die Young on the airwaves or in any commercial setting, and for that reason I feel it resonates with me more. It’s like a best – kept secret and feels timeless. I never tire of listening to it. I am by no means a connoisseur of James Taylor’s music, but this is my favourite song I’ve heard. Obviously, Fire and Rain gives it stiff competition.

References:
1. Never Die Young – Wikipedia

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Neighborhood Bully (1983) – Bob Dylan

Posted on August 18, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

I was remarking of Dylan’s nasty curve ball with the track – Lenny Bruce on the Christian record – Shot of Love; it’s just like what he did with today’s track Neighborhood Bully on the 1983 Infidels secular record. As I wrote back then, today’s track is my preferred of the two.

Neighborhood Bully can be interpreted from the point of view of someone using sarcasm to defend Israel’s right to exist; the title bemoans Israel’s and the Jewish people’s historic treatment in the popular press. Neighborhood Bully to this day is regarded one of Dylan’s most polemic tracks amongst fans. But I remain unapologetic of my enjoyment of this song.

So, during an elongated period the converted Dylan did 3 devout Christian records and then the next minute he is captured by the Press as a Minnesotan that went to Israel. Anyhow’s, we now have the Infidels record.

Dylan said in an interview for Newsweek in 1997:
“Here’s the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don’t find it anywhere else … I don’t adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that. I’ve learned more from the songs than I’ve learned from any of this kind of entity.“

[Verse 1]
Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man
His enemies say he’s on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He’s the neighborhood bully

[Verse 2]
The neighborhood bully just lives to survive
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He’s the neighborhood bully

[Verse 3]
The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land
He’s wandered the earth an exiled man
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn
He’s always on trial for just being born
He’s the neighborhood bully

Dylan is often jocular and non – acute in his own interpretations when pressed by the ‘Press’. I do think he was harnessing some ancestral connection with his Jewish hereditary, but he would never admit that. It’s only in the words you can derive his ‘meaning’; the same way Leonard Cohen did in one of his last great songs – You Want it Darker. After a long time in Buddhism, Cohen also went back to his Jewish roots and that’s made abundantly clear in his final album where his voice is recorded on ‘his death bed’.

“Hineni, hineni, I’m ready my Lord,” 

The critical reaction of Infidels was the strongest for Dylan in years, almost universally hailed for its songwriting and performances. Dylan initially wanted to produce the album himself, but feeling that technology had passed him by, he approached a number of contemporary artists before Dylan hired Mark Knopfler.

References:
1. Infidels (Bob Dylan album) – Wikipedia

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Nation (Of the Heartless Kind) (2003) – David Bridie

Posted on August 17, 2023 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

Nation (Of the Heartless Kind) is an Australian protest song by David Bridie released on his 2003 Hotel Radio album. This is the fourth song to appear from Bridie’s obscenely underrated Hotel Radio record. No information seemingly exists about this song and it’s almost certain you haven’t heard of this 2003 record unless you have read my previous song articles. There isn’t even a wiki page about Hotel Radio, but most of the songs from this record will feature in this music library project.

We dare not move
We sit close by, we’re drinking the spoils, ignoring the cries
The one in every three dead
Haunting back on our shores
Is this all we’ve got the energy for?
Where has our heart gone?
Selective memory, isolationists
Falling back on ourselves pretend that we’re strong
We’re not that strong…
I believe that we had the chance to show
The strength in our heart, true test of our metal
And when the first hurdle came with the yards to be done
We fell, we crashed, we cried and fell down
Is this our whole nation of the heartless kind
This is a sorrowful song
This is a sorrowful song
Remember back when the Great Wars ended
They took us to those places, very special places
And we told them all, we’d never forget
We’d stand arm in arm
Judge us by the way we act now
Is my whole nation of the heartless kind
This is a sorrowful song
This is a sorrowful song

According to Bridie’s own web site – the album (Hotel Radio) radiates a sensual summer’s warmth with an expansive sense of mystery that delved even further into the artform of sonic texture.
Nation (Of the Heartless Kind) – the fifth song on the record is a brazen deviation from the breezy atmospheric sound proceeding it. It appears Nation is Bridie’s attempt of expressing: ‘I’m fed up with our government’s policies’. The following lines seem to relate to the boat refugee crisis which occurred in Australia not so long ago:

The one in every three dead
Haunting back on our shores

Reference:
1. David Bridie – Wikipedia

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Naima (1959) – John Coltrane

Posted on August 16, 2023 by observationblogger — 8 Comments

Naima is composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album Giant Steps, and it became one of his first well-known works. Naima featured in a scene in the 2013 Polish movie Ida, in which the title character is intrigued by the jazz and its player. Ida featured here in Friday’s Finest. I wrote:

I am not a big fan of jazz but the choice of Coltrane’s jazz music for parts of this film really let you feel what jazz is all about; it was beautiful.

I don’t know why, but when listening to Naima (and I don’t intend to disparage the name of Coltrane’s former wife), this music reminds me of so many scenes in movies of seedy districts and bar-cruising US style circa 70’s and early 80’s. So, Naima was way ahead of its time at least according to my senses.
Taxi Driver is one such movie which throws me back to this song. I wish I had listened to more Jazz, but you go where your music-heart takes you. This track remains to me a quintessential ‘soundtrack‘ theme. On the whole; that’s jazz to me. It’s like baseball in the sports realm. It’s nice to have on, but better in the background as an atmospheric filler unless you see it live. I saw the Australian Jazz trumpeter James Morrison play in a basement lounge in Circular Quay, Sydney. Now, that was something.

John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was one of the players at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis.

References:
1. Naima – Wikipedia

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