[litholad]

Saw the Kevin Kline movie about Cole Porter last night, and have been enjoying his great lyrics since. Some are not "PC", but still a delight.

Let's Fall In Love

Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

In Spain, the best upper sets do it
Lithuanians in Letz do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

The Dutch in Old Amsterdam do it
Not to mention the Fins
Folks in Siam do it - think of Siamese twins

Some Argentines, without means, do it
People say in Boston even beans do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Romantic sponges, they say, do it
Oysters down in oyster bay do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it
Even lazy jellyfish, do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

Electric eels I might add do it
Though it shocks 'em I know
Why ask if shad do it - waiter bring me shad roe

In shallow shoals English soles do it
Goldfish in the privacy of bowls do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

In old Japan, all the Japs do it
Up in Lapland, little Laps do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

The chimpanzees in the zoos do it
Some courageous kangaroos do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

I'm sure giraffes on the sly do it
Even eagles as they fly do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

The world admits bears in pits do it
Even Pekengese at the Ritz do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love

The Royal set sans regret did it
And they considered it fun
Josephine in France did it
With or without Napoleon

[texuk]

Ah they don't write them like that anymore. Here are some of my favorite lyrics:

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith
And I was round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank
Held a generals rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made
I shouted out,
Who killed the Kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself
Im a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But whats confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But whats puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
Oh yeah, get on down
Oh yeah
Oh yeah!
Tell me baby, what's my name
Tell me honey, can ya guess my name
Tell me baby, what's my name
I tell you one time, you're to blame
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Whats me name
Tell me, baby, what's my name
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Ooo, who, who
Oh, yeah

[Caer Ibormeith]

I was watching a special on Leonard Bersnstein this past weekend and was reminded of how much I love the music from West Side Story. Here's my favorite song from the show. Lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim.

Maria:
Tonight, tonight, it all began to night
I saw you and the world went away
tonight, tonight,
there's only you tonight,
what you are what you do, what you say.---------------

Tony:
Today,
all day I had the feeling a miracle would happen
I know now I was right
for here you are and what was just a world is a star tonight!-----------

Tony and Maria:
Tonight, tonight,
the world is full of light,
with suns and moons all over the place.
Tonight, tonight, the world is wild and bright,
going mad shooting sparks into space.
Today,
the world was just an address,
a place for me to live in,
no better than all right,
but here you are,
and what was just a world is a star
Tonight....--------------

Tony and Maria:

...Goodnight, goodnight
sleep well and when you dream,
dream of me
tonight

[litholad]

Great lyrics. Tex, I'll be "ooo"ing the rest of the day.

I heard this song sitting in a bar in San Francisco after returning from Vietnam. It was like he wrote it about me. I've been a John Prine fan ever since. Most of you are too young to remember, but in WWII and Korea and VIetnam, mothers put a blue star in the window if they had a son serving in the war. It became a gold star if they were killed.

Take The Star Out Of The Window
John Prine

Robert was a sailor
For the best years of his life
His captain was his mother
And the ocean was his wife
Only fresh out of the cradle
Life's one and only spring
He was sworn to do his duty
Got blood on his high school ring

Chorus:
And it's hello, California
Hello mom and dad
Ship ahoy
Your baby boy
Is home from Vietnam
Don't ask me any questions
About the medals on my chest
Take the star out of the window
Let my conscience take a rest

Now he sailed across the ocean
To the old far eastern war
And it was foreign to his body
It was foreign to his shore
So he traded in the present
For the betters times he'd seen
Made an oriental waitress
His own homecoming queen

Chorus

[JuanaLaLoca]

I've seen the beans doing it. I didn't know about the clam rapists on the Cape, though - that's a shame.

Some of my favorite lyrics are from the album Axe Victim by Be Bop Deluxe. I can't decide, so I will give you two of them:

Jets at Dawn

Woke this morning the war was over
The radio was singing love songs
Saw the smiles upon the soldiers,
Coming home across the fields
The calendar said first of August
Romance and promises of summer days,
I strolled unclothed into the garden
To feel the warm sun on my face
The saving of the human race...

Jets at dawn trail across the sky
Silver birds writing words for airmans wives
Who down below hang the washing out to dry
Frilly briefs and flying helmets in a line

Jets at dawn, writing in the sky
Silver planes (vapour trails),
Drawing coca-cola signs
To advertise above the cities and the towns
Flying high across the sea beyond the clouds.

Said goodbye to the others
The old musicians of the past
Said hello to the young things
Oh, your songs are here to sing at last
Drank the wine of the new vine
Growing wild inside my heart
I saw the future age had risen,
Time to make a brand new start
Time to see beyond the dark...

Jets at dawn, trails across the sky
Silver birds, writing words for airmens wives...

Darkness (L'Immoraliste)

Darkness, you are my priestess
Darkness, you are my pride
My knight in shining armour,
Disarmer of every tide
That swept the beaches clean of starfish
A death-wish to my kind
Helpless, heedless, selfish, needless to say
It's no surprise
You're with me most every night
You're with me most every night
Darkness, you are my true love
Darkness, you are my bride
My consummated passion,
No fashionable disguise
A sleeping kiss and my demon twin lays dreaming
By my side
Screaming, grinning,
Beating pinioned wings against the skies
I sail with you, most every night
I know the truth,
The secrets of a soul, I know, I know,
But no-one listens,
No, no-one hears
I've seen the light,
The poet's bright and distant mirror,
They are searching there
I have seen them there,
For I have travelled there
And they are searching there
For a home.

Sheer poetry!!!

[ukus]

Probably because I loved hearing my mum sing them and knowing how much they must have meant to the soldiers away from home in WWII .. well some of those songs get to me ...

I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through.

In that small cafe;
The park across the way;
The children's carousel;
The chestnut trees;
The wishin' well.

I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day;
In every thing that's light and gay.
I'll always think of you that way.

I'll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.

I'll be seeing you
In every lovely summer's day;
In every thing that's light and gay.
I'll always think of you that way.

I'll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[SilverMiniCooperS]

Ah...Vera Lynn.....

[el pistolero]

Not the complete song; just a couple of nice lines:

Life's a bag of Revels
I'm looking for the orange one

The Charlatans

[texuk]

what song is that Pistolero? Funny I never liked the orange ones in Revels - I always dug out the coconut ones or the Minstrels.

[el pistolero]

what song is that Pistolero? Funny I never liked the orange ones in Revels - I always dug out the coconut ones or the Minstrels.

It's from Polar Bear, which also includes this great line:

Have you seen my polar bear?
It's that white thing over there.

[texuk]

Much underrated are the Charley Twins. But at the time there was the Stone Roses who were in a league of their own and the Mondays who were a sort of soap opera - what will Shaun say next???

[Caer Ibormeith]

The Mayor of Simpleton - XTC

Never been near a university,
Never took a paper or a learned degree,
And some of your friends think thats stupid of me,
But its nothing that I care about.

Well I dont know how to tell the weight of the sun,
And of mathematics well I want none,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you.
When their logic grows cold and all thinking gets done,
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor of simpleton.

I cant have been there when brains were handed round
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton),
Or get past the cover of your books profound,
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton),
And some of your friends thinks its really unsound,
That you're even seen talking to me.

Well I dont know how to write a big hit song,
And all crossword puzzles well I just shun,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you.

Im not proud of the fact that I never learned much,
Just feel I should say,
What you get is all real,
I can't put on an act,
It takes brains to do that anyway. (and anyway...)

And I can't unravel riddles, problems and puns,
How the home computer has me on the run,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you (I love you).

If depth of feeling is a currency,
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton),
Then I'm the man who grew the money tree,
(no chain of office and no hope of getting one).
Some of your friends are too brainy to see,
That they're paupers and thats how they'll stay.

Well I dont know how many pounds make up a ton,
Of all the nobel prizes that I've never won,
And I may be the mayor of simpleton,
But I know one thing,
And thats I love you.

When all logic grows cold and all thinking gets done,
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor of simpleton.
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor of simpleton.
Youll be warm in the arms of the mayor.
(please be upstanding for the mayor of simpleton.)

[el pistolero]

what will Shaun say next???

Tex, you're twisting my melons, man
You talk so hip
You're twisting my melons, man
Call the cops.

[mr dragon]

Don't say that Pistol! Texie will get all melancholy....

[mr dragon]

I have loads of favourite lyrics, all with very different contexts and inspiration. But here's one of my favourites:

Song to the Siren by This Mortal Coil:

On the floating, shapeless oceans
I did all my best to smile
til your singing eyes and fingers
drew me loving into your eyes.

And you sang "Sail to me, sail to me;
Let me enfold you."

Here I am, here I am waiting to hold you.
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?

Now my foolish boat is leaning, broken love lost on your rocks.
For you sang, "Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow."
Oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow.
I'm as puzzled as a newborn child.
I'm as riddled as the tide.
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or shall I lie with death my bride?

Hear me sing: "Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you."
"Here I am. Here I am, waiting to hold you."

[texuk]

Don't say that Pistol! Texie will get all melancholy....

sniff sniff Ahhhh the good ole days

[cherrybabe]

Lord here comes the flood
we'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
if again the seas are silent, in any still alive
it'll be those who gave their Island to survive.
Drink up dreamers your running dry.

Peter Gabriel

Now there speaks the power of lyric, it moves me every time i hear it.

[texuk]

what song is that cherry? Peter Gabriel is such a great lyricist. Salisbury Hill and In Your Eyes are two of my all time fave songs.

[cherrybabe]

what song is that cherry? Peter Gabriel is such a great lyricist. Salisbury Hill and In Your Eyes are two of my all time fave songs.

Here comes the flood, its on the same 1977 album as Solsbury hill.

I have it on shaking the tree (the greatest hits) its such a poignant song.

[texuk]

Ten Storey Love Song - The Stone Roses

When your heart is black and broken
And you need a helping hand
When you're so much in love
You dont know just how much you can stand
When your questions go unanswered
And the silence is killing you
Take my hand baby, I'm your man
I got love enough for two

Ten storey love song
I built this thing for you
Who can take you any higher
Than twin peak mountain blue?
Oh well, I built this thing for you
And I love you true

Theres no sure fire set solution
No short cut through the trees
No breach in the wall
That they put there
To keep me from you

As you're lying awake in the darkness
This everlasting night
Someday soon
Dont know where or when
You're gonna wake up and see the light

Ten storey love song
I built this thing for you
Who can take you any higher
Than twin peak mountain blue?
Oh well, I built this thing for you
And I love you true

[litholad]

Mona Lisa - Nat King Cole

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have named you
You're so like the lady with the mystic smile
Is it only 'cause you're lonely they have blamed you
For that Mona Lisa strangeness in your smile?

Do you smile to tempt a lover, Mona Lisa?
Or is this your way to hide a broken heart?
Many dreams have been brought to your doorstep
They just lie there and they die there
Are you warm, are you real, Mona Lisa?
Or just a cold and lonely lovely work of art?

[HaveNoBoundary]

Day after day, love turns grey
Like the skin of a dying man
Night after night, we pretend it's all right
But I have grown older and
You have grown colder and
Nothing is very much fun any more.

And I can feel one of my turns coming on.
I feel cold as razor blade
Tight as a tourniquet
Dry as a funeral drum


*************************
If you should go skating
On the thin ice of modern life
Dragging behind you the silent reproach
Of a million tear stained eyes
Don't be surprised, when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice

************************

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then the one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older
And shorter of breath and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away, across the field, tolling on the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
And hear the softly spoken magic spell

[JuanaLaLoca]

We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year...

[HaveNoBoundary]

running over the same old ground.
What have we found? The same old fears, ...

[JuanaLaLoca]

Wish you were here.