So Far Away (1985) – Dire Straits

Posted on October 12, 2024 by observationblogger — 21 Comments

So Far Away is the opening track on British rock band Dire Straits‘ 5th studio album Brothers in Arms. It is one of the world’s best-selling albums, having sold more than 30 million copies. So Far Away became the band’s fourth top 20 hit, peaking at number 19 in the US and 20 in the UK. Knopfler did a duet version with American country-folk singer Emmylou Harris for his 2006 album, Real Live Roadrunning.

So Far Away is a restrained and mellow number which has only improved to my ears over the years. I love the bass in it. The song taps into themes of loneliness and longing, centering on the feeling of being physically and emotionally distant from a loved one. This sense of isolation is heightened by Knopfler’s distinctive guitar work, which, like many Dire Straits songs, is both soulful and intricate. The song avoids ovet sentimentality but still conveys the aching sadness of separation, making it a powerful ballad.

[Verse 1]
Here I am again in this mean old town
And you’re so far away from me
And where are you when the sun go down?
You’re so far away from me

[Chorus]
You’re so far away from me
You’re so far, I just can’t see
You’re so far away from me
You’re so far away from me, alright

[Verse 2]
I’m tired of being in love and being all alone
When you’re so far away from me
I’m tired of making out on the telephone
‘Cause you’re so far away from me

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
And I get so tired when I have to explain
When you’re so far away from me
See, you’ve been in the sun, and I’ve been in the rain
And you’re so far away from me

Money For Nothing was a megahit from that album and may have done more harm than good retrospectively as it was criticized of reeking of mega bucks and sell out stadium concerts. Knophler himself concluded “the old rockschool restraints and the undeniably attractive smell of the winning formula seem to block out any such experimental work and what you end up with is something very like the same old story.” He said this just after exploring different creative directions with his work on Bob Dylan’s Infidels.

References:
1. So Far Away (Dire Straits song) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits, So Far Away
Posted in Music

Slow (2014) – Leonard Cohen

Posted on October 11, 2024 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

Slow is from Leonard Cohen’s penultimate and 13th studio album Popular Problems (2014). It is the fourth song to be presented here from the record after his previous entry – Samson in New Orleans. Slow is one of those tracks where the Canadian poet and songwriter uses his deep signature voice and wit to meet a languid blues groove. Released just a day after Cohen’s 80th birthday, this song feels like a testament to his unapologetic slowness—both in life and in art. With its laid-back rhythm and playful lyrics, Cohen subtly reflects on time, ageing, and perhaps a bit more, with his characteristic traits enveloped in humor.

At its core, the song seems to be a tongue-in-cheek meditation on taking things slowly. “You want to get there soon / I want to get there last,” he sings, hinting at the philosophical idea that the journey, not the destination, is what matters. With respect to this, how can one be remiss of his ‘chance’ meeting with Bob Dylan.
Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen’s son) tells the following story of an amusing moment between Cohen and perhaps his closest creative peer, Bob Dylan:

“A lot of people have made the comparison between Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen over the years and there’s some hilarious stories.”
“Like the two of them are sitting in a cafe in Paris and Dylan says to him, ‘How long did it take you to write Hallelujah?”
“And my father completely lied to Dylan and said, ‘Oh you know couple of years.’ “
“I think it was [actually] seven years”, says Adam.
“And then my father returned the favour and said, you know, ‘How long did it take you to write Just Like a Woman?’ and Dylan said ‘Fifteen minutes’.
“And that’s very much about process I think. Dylan had this quality where he would ‘from the hip’, you know spit and polish, spit and vinegar and then this old man of mine was much more like chiseling marble.
– BBC Scotland

Cohen’s approach to Slow reveals his fascination with time. The artist has often explored existential themes throughout his career, and in this track, he juxtaposes urgency and patience. He seems to poke fun at the modern world’s obsession with speed and efficiency, while also embracing the wisdom of age.

I’m slowing down the tune
I’ve never liked it fast
You wanna get there soon
I wanna get there last
It’s not because I’m old
It’s not the life I led
I always liked it slow
That’s what my mamma said

I’m lacing up my shoes
But I don’t want to run
I’ll get there when I do
Don’t need no starting gun
It’s not because I’m old
And it’s not what dying does
I’ve always liked it slow
Slow is in my blood

I’ve always liked it slow
I never liked it fast
With you it’s “got to go”
With me it’s got to last
It’s not because I’m old
It’s not because I’m dead
I’ve always liked it slow
That’s what my mama said

All your moves are swift
All your turns are tight
Let me catch my breath
I thought we had all night
I like to take my time
I like to linger as it flies
A weekend on your lips
A lifetime in your eyes

(Chorus x2)

Popular Problems received uniformly positive reviews from critics. The album peaked at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 20,000 copies in its first week. Personally, I wouldn’t bracket Slow as a top-tier Leonard song, like I would the masterpiece You Got Me Singing off the same record, which I dedicated to my daughter Katherine after her baptism as I did Hallelujah when my son Jesus celebrated his third birthday, but even-so a mid-tier Cohen output (like I would categorise a mid-tier Woody Allen film) is better than 90% of the stuff out there.

References:
1. Popular Problems – Wikipedia

Tagged with: leonard cohen, Popular Problems, slow
Posted in Music

Better Off Dead (1985) – Savage Steve Holland (Friday’s Finest)

Posted on October 11, 2024 by observationblogger — Leave a comment

Better off Dead is the first of three 1980’s teenage romantic comedies starring John Cusack that I watched a lot in my youth. The second as Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything which I mentioned in my article on Steely Dan’s Rikki Don’t Lose that Number and finally Rob Reiner’s The Sure Thing. Today’s movie is the darker and more absurdist of the three, but it contains so many endlessly quotable scenes and outrageous gags some which made me howl, yelp and shriek as a young teenager. I watched this movie a bucket load, an almost unhealthy amount; and even though four decades have passed since it came out, I still vouch for it. I was just watching scenes from it on You Tube again and found myself laughing silly which goes to show you how much growing up I’ve still got to do.

IMDB Storyline:
After his girlfriend Beth Truss ditches him for boorish ski jock Roy Stalin, sad-sack high-school student Lane Meyer decides that suicide is the only answer, but his inept attempts bring him nothing but agony and embarrassment.

Better off Dead is spectacularly manic but it really works. Amidst the zany comedy (inc. the maths formula jokes in a spellbound class and the monster child Scooter Stevens who wields newspapers as weapons and to whom two dollars means the world) and plentiful sight gags (the cereal boxes with all the giveaways cut out / clueless stay-at-home mom who makes slime-ridden meals that seem somehow sentient and slide off the plate by themselves) Holland throws in some amusing cel animation, a stop-motion fantasy sequence, and a cameo from Barney Rubble. Curtis Armstrong ostensibly reprising his role from Revenge of the Nerds gets the lion’s share of one-liners and he delivers them with so much aplomb. Yet despite all the mania, the film’s comedy has a level of discipline and restraint that ensures all the jokes land and humorous plot points established early on are satisfyingly resolved.

Better off Dead may not be for everyone and perhaps best enjoyed by those who lived through the 80s and understand its cultural peccadilloes. What I would like to know is if you have watched your fair share of 80s comedies like me; do you think this movie stands the test of time and could be enjoyed by teenagers these days?

The following are extracts from IMDB Trivia:

According to director Savage Steve Holland, the film is mostly autobiographical. Holland was suicidal when his high school girlfriend left him for captain of the ski team. A paperboy named Johnny Gasparini would harass him for two dollars. According to Holland, the ex-girlfriend contacted him to apologize when the film came out.
Savage Steve Holland said in an interview that John Cusack hated this movie, and walked out of the film after twenty minutes during a special screening. Holland said “The next morning he basically walked up to me and was like, ‘You know, you tricked me. Better Off Dead was the worst thing I have ever seen. I will never trust you as a director ever again, so don’t speak to me‘.
Henry Winkler (The Fonz from Happy Days) was instrumental in getting the film made. In the early 1980s, Savage Steve Holland’s short film, My 11-Year-Old Birthday Party, played at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Winkler saw the film and took a liking to Holland. At Winkler’s suggestion, Holland checked out John Cusack in The Sure Thing (1985), which Winkler executive produced. Holland thought that Cusack was perfect for the lead role.

References:
1. Better off Dead – IMDB
2. Better off Dead – Wikipedia

Tagged with: better off dead, John Cusack, Savage Steve Holland, say anything, the sure thing
Posted in Movies and TV

‘A Complete Unknown’ (Bob Dylan ft. Timothée Chalamet) – The Latest Trailer

Posted on October 10, 2024 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

Below is the new trailer. I wrote in the article of Bob Dylan’s Saving Grace on August 15 the following:

In case you haven’t seen it already, I would like to present the new trailer for the Dylan biopic due out this Christmas called A Complete Unknown. It stars the magnificent Timothée Chalamet from the Dune movies and Edward Norton. Speaking of the latter, it was fascinating to watch Norton give his perspective on the young Bob Dylan from his interview with Joe Rogan in October, 2019. Now another preview instalment:

Tagged with: a complete unknown, Bob Dylan, movie, Timothée Chalamet
Posted in Music

Sloop John B (1966) – the Beach Boys

Posted on October 10, 2024 by observationblogger — 17 Comments

Brian was at the piano. I asked him if I could sit down and show him something. I laid out the chord pattern for ‘Sloop John B.’ I said, ‘Remember this song?’ I played it. He said, ‘I’m not a big fan of the Kingston Trio.’ He wasn’t into folk music. But I didn’t give up on the idea. So what I did was to sit down and play it for him in the Beach Boys idiom. I figured if I gave it to him in the right light, he might end up believing in it. So I modified the chord changes so it would be a little more interesting. The original song is basically a three-chord song, and I knew that wouldn’t fly.
– Al Jardine from the Beach Boys

Sloop John B is the seventh track on the Beach Boys‘ Pet Sounds album and the sixth Beach Boys song to appear here so far after their previous entry – Good Vibrations. Sloop John B has that classic Beach Boys sound, and I was surprised to learn that Brian Wilson didn’t write it. Released around the time of the “folk boom,” (or perhaps just thereafter) it makes sense why it was such a big hit. With its water and sailing theme, it fits perfectly with the Beach Boys usual style. Back then, Sloop John B also became a popular campfire sing-along. It was arranged and produced by Brian Wilson. And, as always, the harmonies are simply amazing.

The following contain extracts from the Wikipedia article below:

The verses end on the amusing “This is the worst trip I’ve ever been on” which Brian had changed from the original: “this is the worst trip since I’ve been born“. The change has been suggested by some to be a subtle nod to the 1960s psychedelia subculture.

Sloop John B was originally a traditional West Indies folk song from Nassau called “The John B. Sails,” where its almost given the dignity of a national anthem. A transcription was published in 1916 by Richard Le Gallienne, and Carl Sandburg included a version in his The American Songbag in 1927. It was released as the single single from the album reaching No 3 in the US and No 2 in the UK. It was innovative for containing an elaborate a cappella vocal section not found in other pop music of the era, and it remains one of the group’s biggest hits.

We come on the sloop John B
My grandfather and me
Around Nassau town we did roam
Drinkin’ all night
Got into a fight
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

So hoist up the John B’s sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home
I wanna go home, yeah, yeah
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

The first mate, he got drunk
And broke in the captain’s trunk
The constable had to come and take him away
Sheriff John Stone
Why don’t you leave me alone? Yeah, yeah
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

So hoist up the John B’s sail (Hoist up the John B’s sail)
See how the mainsail sets (See how the mainsail sets)
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home, I wanna go home
Let me go home (Hoist up the John B’s sail)
Hoist up the John B (Hoist up the John B)
I feel so broke up
I wanna go home, let me go home

The poor cook, he caught the fits
And threw away all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn
Let me go home
Why don’t they let me go home?
This is the worst trip I’ve ever been on

References:
1. Sloop John B – Wikipedia

Tagged with: pet sounds, sloop john b, the Beach Boys
Posted in Music

Sisters of Mercy (1967) – Leonard Cohen

Posted on October 9, 2024 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

Sisters of Mercy is a gentle, poetic ballad from Cohen’s 1967 debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen. It’s the second song to feature here from the record after his previous entry – Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye. Cohen has described the song as being about two women he met in Edmonton, Canada, who took him in when he needed shelter, providing him with solace.

Sisters of Mercy is an ode to the great bastions and redeemers in society who through ‘good deed’ and grace provide comfort to others in their hour of need. There are also philosophical aspects of atonement in the idea of surrendering the ‘ego’ to the will of the Holy and the devine. Cohen infers that until one relinquishes this heavy burden they will remain ‘pinned’, lonely and weighed down by sin.

When you’re not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you’ve sinned

The sisters come to those who have become brittle and torn. Like in Greek mythology the sisters represent Perspephone – the feminine in nature through Spring and Vegetation – rebirth.

They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem

The closing lines: “We weren’t lovers like that / And besides it would still be all right” underscores the non-romantic nature of the relationship between Cohen and the women in the song. It indicates a clear boundary between physical love and the emotional or spiritual connection they shared. It also carries a sense of acceptance and gratitude.

[Verse 1]
Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone
They were waitin’ for me when I thought that I just can’t go on
And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song
Oh I hope you run into them, you who’ve been travelling so long

[Verse 2]
Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control
It begins with your family, but soon it comes round to your soul
Well I’ve been where you’re hanging, I think I can see how you’re pinned:
When you’re not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you’ve sinned

[Verse 3]
Well they lay down beside me, I made my confession to them
They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem
If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem

[Verse 4]
When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon
Don’t turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon
And you won’t make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night
We weren’t lovers like that and besides it would still be all right
We weren’t lovers like that and besides it would still be all right

More successful in Europe than in North America, Songs of Leonard Cohen foreshadowed the kind of chart success Cohen would go on to achieve. It peaked at number 13 in the UK, spending nearly a year and a half on it. In the US, it reached number 83. Critics have been far kinder to the album since its release, with many considering it a highlight in the Cohen canon. I have presented below the original studio release and a live version with Spanish subtitles.

References:
1. Songs of Leonard Cohen – Leonard Cohen

Tagged with: leonard cohen, sisters of mercy, songs of leonard cohen
Posted in Music

Sing Me Back Home (2014) – Don Williams

Posted on October 8, 2024 by observationblogger — 12 Comments

I don’t know who put me onto Don William’s version of Merle Haggard’s classic of Sing Me Back Home a few years ago, but I sure would like to thank them. My friend Max at PowerPop wrote in July this year about the original version which includes a story about Haggard’s time in gaol where he wrote this sad song. It was among several notable Haggard songs that touched on a common theme of his 1960s and early 1970s recordings—prison. Rolling Stone ranked Sing Me Back Home No. 32 on its list of the 40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time.

We have a few degrees of separation here, because Max a decade or so after the original version was released interacted with today’s featured artist the late great Don Williams who lived a few miles from where Max grew up near Nashville. ‘He (Don Williams) was always nice to me and the people in town knew him, but he never acted like he was anything special‘. Max further recalled how Don Williams would mow the high school baseball field and the city park when he got bored. He also donated heavily to charities and the local Churches.

I have written a lot about Don Williams and how his music was played incessantly in our household growing up west of Sydney, Australia. My father was a huge fan of him, and over the years I have become a keen follower as well. Don Williams has my favourite voice in Country music. It’s just so smooth and calming, never overpowering yet deeply resonant like he is singing directly to the listener. It’s that effortless quality that earned him the nickname “The Gentle Giant” as well as his modest demeanour.

The warden led a prisoner down the hallway to his doom
I stood up to say good-bye like all the rest
And I heard him tell the warden just before he reached my cell
‘Let my guitar playing friend do my request.’ (Let him…)

Sing me back home with a song I used to hear
Make my old memories come alive
Take me away and turn back the years
Sing Me Back Home before I die

I recall last Sunday morning a choir from ‘cross the street
Came to sing a few old gospel songs
And I heard him tell the singers ‘There’s a song my mama sang
Can I hear once before we move along?’

Sing me back home, the song my mama sang
Make my old memories come alive
Take me away and turn back the years
Sing Me Back Home before I die

Sing Me Back Home before I die

Don William’s Sing Me Back Home was released on his 2014 record ‘Reflections’, which was his last record where he paid tribute to various artists including: (other than Merle Haggard) Townes Van Zandt and Jesse Winchester. 2 years later in March 2016, Williams announced he was retiring from touring and cancelled all his scheduled shows. He said in a statement: “It’s time to hang my hat up and enjoy some quiet time at home. I’m so thankful for my fans, my friends and my family for their everlasting love and support,“. Williams married Joy Janene Bucher in April 1960. They had two children. On September 8, 2017, Williams died in Alabama, of emphysema.

References:
1. Sing Me Back Home (song) – Wikipedia
2. Don Williams – Wikipedia

Tagged with: don williams, Merle Haggard, sing me back home
Posted in Music

30/9 – 6/10/24 – Music, Impulse & Shipwreck

Posted on October 7, 2024 by observationblogger — 12 Comments

Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.

The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse
Video presentation at Rick Beato

Richard John Beato is an American YouTube personality, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and educator. Since the early 1980s, he has worked variously as a musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and record producer; he has lectured on music at universities.

In this episode, Rick Beato discuss the crisis in music in two acts: Act I – Music is too Easy to Make Act II – Music is too Easy to Consume …and their cumulative negative effect.

Impulse
Short Poem at House of Heart

I’ve been following the blog House of Heart for years, where the author crafts hypnotic, beautifully worded short poems, often capturing the enchanting allure of nature. We also share a mutual love for the music of Leonard Cohen. Recently, one of her poems titled Impulse truly captivated me, and when I asked if I could share it here, she graciously agreed.

Impulse

The sky is weeping,

a roll and clash of thunder.

Beneath the trees

the tall grass is tear drenched.

Silence,

a stifling blanket of

isolation and a madness

that is not my enemy but

exposes everything for

what it is.

Restless,

I ache to escape

the solitude

before melancholy claims

this ruinous summer.

Let me stretch

like some beguiling feline,

carnivorous,

succumbing to the

impulse to pounce.

Photography (above inset) by Dennis Wayne
“The heart of another is a dark forest no matter how close it has been to one’s own”

The Fierce Battle over the ‘Holy Grail’ of Shipwrecks
News article at BBC News

(Image inset) A section of Spanish galleon San José, which sank off the Caribbean coast of Colombia in 1708.
This article concerns my adopted home country Colombia and the Caribbean Coast where my family and I have taken vacations, so naturally I was fascinated to read what it entailed:

It has been hailed as the most valuable shipwreck in the world.

A Spanish galleon, the San José, was sunk by the British off the coast of Colombia more than 300 years ago. It had a cargo of gold, silver and emeralds worth billions of dollars.

But years after it was discovered, a debate still rages over who owns that treasure and what should be done with the wreck.

The Colombian and Spanish states have staked a claim to it, as have a US salvage company and indigenous groups in South America. There have been court battles in Colombia and the US, and the case is now before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague.

The Colombian government says it wants to raise the remains of the vessel and put it in a museum. Treasure hunters point to the commercial value of the cargo, which could be as much as $18bn (£13.bn).

But archaeologists say the wreck – and thousands like it scattered across the world – should be left where it is. Maritime historians remind us that the San José is a graveyard and should be respected as such: around 600 people drowned when the ship went down...(Read the entire article here).

Tagged with: BBC news, Colombia, House of Heart, music, poem, Rick Beato, shipwreck
Posted in Music, News, Reading

Big Girls Don’t Cry (Personal) 2007 – Fergie

Posted on October 6, 2024 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

The principal reason I included Big Girls Don’t Cry in my music project is because of its irresistible chorus—much like how I’m drawn to the infectious hook in Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”
Until researching this song I was ignorant of who Fergie was and her impact on the music industry in the 2000’s. So here goes…(big inhale)… ‘She was a member of the hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas from 2002 to 2018. She has sold over 35 million albums and 60 million singles worldwide, and is the recipient of eight Grammy Awards. Billboard ranked her among the top artists of the 2000s, and in 2010, the same publication named her Woman of the Year‘.

Today’s featured track deviates from the hip hop and urban music of Fergie’s previous singles and opts for a more simplistic pop ballad sound that incorporates acoustic elements. It talks about moving on from the pain of a breakup.
Lyrically, Big Girls Don’t Cry definitely sounds like it was written by someone who’s earned their ‘Big Girl’ badge! with lines such as:
And I’m gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket, and
I’ll be your best friend and you’ll be my Valentine
Yes, you can hold my hand if you want to
And the line ‘I need some shelter of my own protection, baby‘ amongst others I found a bit discombobulating. Fergie had quit crystal methamphetamine before this song was released. In a 2006 interview with Time Magazine she talked about quitting her addiction. “It was the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with,” she said.

In a later interview in 2007, Fergie admitted that she went on a sex and drugs spree when she turned eighteen, saying: “I have had lesbian experiences in the past. I won’t say how many men I’ve had sex with—but I am a very sexual person.”

[Verse 1]
The smell of your skin lingers on me now
You’re probably on your flight back to your hometown
I need some shelter of my own protection, baby
Be with myself and center
Clarity, peace, serenity

[Chorus]
I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It’s personal, myself and I
We got some straightening out to do
And I’m gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I’ve got to get a move on with my life
It’s time to be a big girl now
And big girls don’t cry
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry

[Verse 2]
The path that I’m walking, I must go alone
I must take the baby steps ’til I’m full grown, full grown
Fairytales don’t always have a happy ending, do they?
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Like the little schoolmate in the school yard
We’ll play jacks and UNO cards
I’ll be your best friend and you’ll be my Valentine
Yes, you can hold my hand if you want to
‘Cause I wanna hold yours too
We’ll be playmates and lovers
And share our secret worlds
But it’s time for me to go home
It’s getting late and dark outside
I need to be with myself and center
Clarity, peace, serenity, yeah

[Chorus]

Big Girls Don’t Cry was released as the fourth single from Fergie’s debut studio album, The Dutchess (2006). According to Wikipedia, the critical reception of Big Girls Don’t Cry was positive, with many praising the maturity (Umm WHAT!) and simplicity displayed on the single as well as the message. The song attained the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 and was her third single from the same album to do so. It also reached number one in eleven international territories, including Australia, where it spent nine weeks at the top position, became the highest-selling song of 2007, and was certified quintuple platinum.
I’ve shared a simple lyric video below because the visuals in the official release didn’t quite suit my taste.

References:
1. Big Girls Don’t Cry (Fergie song) – Wikipedia
2. Fergie (Singer) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: Big Girls Don't Cry, Fergie, the dutchess
Posted in Music

A Love like Springsteen (2024) – Kasey Chambers

Posted on October 5, 2024 by observationblogger — 21 Comments

Recently on the 5th anniversary of my ‘Music Library Project,’ I estimated my project would take 10 years to complete, assuming no new songs were added. I planned to include only song titles to the respective menu without writing full articles on them, to avoid turning the project into an eternal labour of love. However, after much thought, I decided to keep writing about both newly discovered songs and older ones that have since caught my attention. One such ‘new’ song, “A Love Like Springsteen” was released yesterday at 9 am by one of my favourite female contemporary music artists – fellow Australian Kasey Chambers. I felt an immediate urge to write about it here.

Many songs have been written by music artists as odes to other artists who have impacted them, including ‘Song to Woody‘ – Bob Dylan, ‘Song for Bob Dylan‘ – David Bowie, ‘Sir Duke” (Duke Ellington) – Stevie Wonder, ‘Alex Chilton‘ – The Replacements and ‘Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)‘ – Elton John. Now it’s Kasey Chamber’s turn. Check out the lyrics below and count all the references to Bruce Springsteen songs. I counted ten. I agree with AU Review’s opinion of the song:

“A Love Like Springsteen”, is the kind of song I should cynically despise—and yet, I find it utterly charming. The premise is simple: yearning for a love using Bruce Springsteen’s iconic song titles as touchstones. The chorus goes, “So give me a love like Springsteen, and we’ll / Live out our Glory Days,” a line that could easily veer into cliché, but instead feels heartfelt and sincere in Chambers’ hands.
– Track by Track – AU Review (Kasey Chambers Backbone)

I want a love like Springsteen
To fill up my heart’s desire
I wanna live out a daydream where I
Don’t mind if I’m on Fire
You’ve been dancing in darkness
I’ve been fading away
So give me a love like Springsteen and we’ll
Live out our Glory Days

It’s not enough, it’s not enough to slow down
Lost a love out in my hometown
But I am tough, more than most around
And I ride this train down bound

It’s not enough, it’s not enough to compеte
Lining up for a race in the street
In the dust there’s a devil asleep
But this hungry heart needs to eat

I think ‘A Love Like Springsteen’ is a clever, yet charming ode to the legendary Bruce Springsteen. It’s cool how Kasey weaves iconic Springsteen song titles into the narrative creating a heartfelt and playful homage to The Boss. While this could easily lean into cliché territory, Chambers manages to keep it authentic, combining her reverence for Springsteen with her own style. I certainly hope that Springsteen, himself gets to hear it, if he hasn’t already, in the immediate future.
The other aspect to this song which impressed me so, was how smooth and natural her voice sounded. On her early albums, you could say that sometimes she tried to overdo the whole vulnerability and ache in her voice to move listeners, but not here. This is Kasey’s voice sounding as authentic yet gentle and seamless as I have heard.
Based on the two reviews of her latest album Backbone below, it seems to exemplify the evolution of her 25-year career, blending personal storytelling with a diverse range of musical styles. I can’t wait to listen to what the rest of the album showcases.

Good and bad, this album is who I am. I worked with my favourite musicians, and I sang about every beautiful, joyous, embarrassing and tough thing I’ve gone through. Everything that’s gone into making me this person.”
– Kasey Chambers in her announcement of the Backbone record

References:
1. Track by Track Review: Kasey Chambers – Backbone (2024 LP) – The AU Review
2. Kasey Chambers: Backbone – Album Review – Louder Than War
3. Backbone (Kasey Chambers album) – Wikipedia

Tagged with: A Love Like Springsteen, backbone, Bruce Springsteen, kasey chambers
Posted in Music

Thank you for your response. ✨