Categories for Songs

I remember two singles my eldest sister had: the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour double EP and the Beach Boys Good Vibrations single.

Later, when i was lots older, i got most of the Beatles albums on CD. And the Beach Boy album Pet Sounds. I loved it. Timeless classic. But it was never my favorite album. I loved the music, yes, but other bands were closer to me. I learned their music when i was much younger.

Past weekend i made more space available on soundcloud. All the reading aloud stories are moved to ellenpronk.com, making available 37 minutes for more music.

I have grown to love this song, God Only Knows. It is deceptively simple. The first words I may not always love you give me a feeling of loss, a sense of powerlessness in the control of one’s feelings. The next three lines counteract the first line though. As long as the object of the singers feelings is alive, as long as there are stars above her / him, he / she never needs to doubt it. The singer will make the listener so sure about it. Ending with a hopeless question. A short text, filled with uncertainty and hopeless longing to live right.

The second chorus brings it in even deeper. Life would go on, of course. But the world would show nothing to the singer. In doubt about what good livin’ would do to him. Ending with the same question.

Beautiful.

Also a bit frightening. But still, beautiful.

God Only Knows – Beach Boys

I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I’ll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I’d be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin’ do me
God only knows what I’d be without you

God only knows what I’d be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on, believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would livin’ do me
God only knows what I’d be without you

You’re so vain, written and performed by Carly Simon.

This song got stuck in my memories a few weeks ago. I’m gonna sing this song! I said so while i was sitting in the car with Daniël on our way back from the beach. I have been rehearsing this song for around two weeks. I still don’t know it by heart, but i’m getting better.

I’ve known this song for a long time, probably around the 70s. I never thought much about it, simply accepted it. I did always like the chorus. You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you. Clever. Very clever.

So here i am singing this one. I hope you enjoy it.

You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically tipped below one eye
Your scarf, it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror as
You watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain,
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

Well, you had me several years ago
When I was still quite naive
When you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, you’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, you’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga
And your horse, naturally, won
Then you flew your learjet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well, you’re where you should be all the time
And when you’re not, you’re with some underworld spy
Or the wife of a close friend,
Wife of a close friend, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, you’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?

My eldest sister was my icon when i was younger. She is beautiful, slender, she loves music, she had boyfriends, she went out loads. She is eight and a half years older than me. Almost all the music i knew in the 70s i got to know through her. Well, apart from the singles i bought. Those were Top 40 singles, which i saw most of the time in TopPop, on television each week.

So yes, Steely Dan, Little Feat, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown, J.J. Cale, Ry Cooder and of course… The Eagles.

I loved the Eagles until my taste in music changed and i got full into new wave. Post punk it is called nowadays. I remember doing a lecture about the Eagles with a friend in most likely the third class in high school. Later on though they got lower and lower on my appreciation ladder. At last they vanished all together. A year ago when the song Hotel California got to number one in the Top 2000, a yearly event in the Netherlands, i was quite angry. Not the Eagles! No no no no.

A few weeks ago i made a slight turn. Not that the Eagles will ever be on my favorite band list, but a little bit of appreciation would be in place. I did spend several years listening to their music. I still have three albums: the very first untitled one, On The Border and Hotel California. The other ones i had, Desperado and One of These Nights, i sold when i was around sixteen years old. Among many others, a decision i learned to regret a couple of years after it.

So yes, not the best band, not the best song. But still a song whose lyrics i know by heart. So here it goes!

Hotel California – The Eagles
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

There she stood in the doorway, I heard the mission bell
Then I was thinking to myself this could be Heaven or this could be Hell
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor I thought I heard them say

“Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year
(Any time of year)
You can find it here”

Her mind is Tiffany twisted, she got the Mercedes Benz
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the captain, “Please bring me my wine”
He said, “We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969”
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night just to hear them say

“Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They’re living it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise
(What a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis”

Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice
And she said, “We are all just prisoners here of our own device”
And in the master’s chambers they gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives but they just can’t kill the beast

Last thing I remember I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
“Relax,” said the night man, “We are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like but you can never leave”

Live ’77

In 2002 the first album of the Dutch artist Spinvis was released. I got hooked. The melancholic and intricate music enchanted me.

I’ve missed out on his later albums. I did buy the second one, but it didn’t hook me as the first one. Still, he has a soft spot in my heart. This song, Bagagedrager, is on my MIXtape Spotify playlist. I do love the lyrics of this song. A bagagedrager is the back bit of a bicycle, on which you bind your bag. The part about biking through the white and cold, with the wind blowing through your gloves. Your fingers are cold as stone. And there is always something that paralyses you. Pot or booze. I don’t know what you make of it.

An excellent title.

Beautiful.

Spinvis – Bagagedrager
Je droomt wel vaker van een feest
maar hier ben je nog nooit geweest
iedereen kijkt naar voetbal
en een vent zeurt aan je kop
wat wil die man in hemelsnaam
hoe kom je hier
hoe kom je hier vandaan
en als je wegkomt
waarheen wou je dan wel gaan
hij praat maar door maar jij dwaalt af
dus je weet niet wie de wedstrijd wint
als je luistert naar de wolken
als je luistert naar de wind
je agenda en je zonnebril
wat doen die hier nou
maar je ligt weer in je eigen bed
in je eigen lot
en opeens staat alles stil

een motor draait
de baby huilt
een vogel schreeuwt
de dag begint
en de snelweg suist

tis altijd wat en altijd spijt
van al het geld en alle tijd
op de onverharde wegen
die je naar hier hebben geleid
de ochtenden zijn wit en koud
en hoe je ook je stuur vasthoudt
de wind komt door je handschoenen heen
je vingers zijn versteend
zo is er altijd iets wat je verlamd
en is het niet de wiet
dan is het wel de drank of zo
het spookt maar in je hoofd
het was lang geleden een eeuwigheid
je fietste op de afsluitdijk
ik weet niet wat je er nu van vindt
als je luistert naar de wolken
als je luistert naar de wind
als je luistert naar de wolken
als je luistert naar de wind
als je luistert naar de wolken
als je luistert naar de wind

Lowlands 2012

Theatershow

My way of singing one of the Talking Heads best songs. Enjoy!

Hopefully 🙂

Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime
And you may find yourself
Living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again in the silent water
Under the rocks, and stones there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may say yourself, “My God! What have I done?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again in to the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Look where my hand was
Time isn’t holding up
Time isn’t after us
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was
Same as it ever was

Letting the days go by (same as it ever was)
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was)
Once in a lifetime
Letting the days go by
Letting the days go by

After yesterday’s post about the number 4 the Pet Shop Boys on my Top 4 List Of Best Groups Of All Time All Over The World, i will sing their song Left To My Own Devices. One of their best songs, lyrically.

A few words from Neil Tennant about the meaning of this track:

“This person goes through life always doing what he wanted to do. I liked the idea of writing a really up pop song about being left alone. This song is a day in the life of someone, so it starts off with getting out of bed and being on the phone and drinking tea and all the rest of it, and it ends up with coming home. By this time I was making the words very exaggerated and camp, though writing a book and going on stage were both things I had wanted to do when I was young.”

This song has been on my wishlist to sing for over a year. I did feel a bit hesitant. I still feel like that right now. But i do love this song. Even though most of the text is spoken, i do hope it comes out right. A bit.

🙂

Pet Shop Boys – Left To My Own Devices
I get out of bed at half past ten
Phone up a friend, who’s a party animal
Turn on the news and drink some tea
Maybe if you’re with me we’ll do some shopping

One day I’ll read, or learn to drive a car
If you pass the test, you can beat the rest
But I don’t like to compete, or talk street, street, street
I can pick up the best from the party animal

I could leave you, say goodbye
Or I could love you, if I try
And I could
And left to my own devices, I probably would
Left to my own devices, I probably would

Pick up a brochure about the sun
Learn to ignore what the photographer saw
I was always told that you should join a club
Stick with the gang, if you want to belong

I was a lonely boy, no strength, no joy
In a world of my own at the back of the garden
I didn’t want to compete, or play out on the street
For in a secret life I was a round head general

I could leave you, say goodbye
Or I could love you, if I try
And I could
And left to my own devices, I probably would
Left to my own devices, I probably would
Oh, I would

I was faced with a choice at a difficult age
Would I write a book? Or should I take to the stage?
But in the back of my head I heard distant feet
Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat

It’s not a crime when you look the way you do
The way I like to picture you
When I get home, it’s late at night
I pour a drink and watch the fight

Turn off the TV, look at a book
Pick up the phone, fix some food
Maybe I’ll sit up all night and day
Waiting for the minute I hear you say

I could leave you, say goodbye
Or I could love you, if I try
And I could
And left to my own devices, I probably would
Come on, baby, say goodbye
I could love you, if I try
And I could
And left to my own devices, I probably would
Left to my own devices, I probably would

Out of bed, at half past ten
The party animal phones a friend
Picks up news about the sun
And the working day has just begun

Sticks with the gang – at the back of the street
Pass the test – and don’t compete

Drive the car, if you’re with me
Che Guevara’s drinking tea
He reads about a new device
And takes to the stage in a secret life

(Aaaaaaaah… …ce)

Left to my own devices, I probably would
If I was left to my own devices, I possibly would

(Aaaaaaaah… …ce)

If I was left to my own devices, I probably would
Left to my own devices, I probably would

I could leave you, say goodbye
Or I could love you, if I try
And I could
And left to my own devices, I probably would
Left to my own devices, I probably would
Come on, baby
Left to my own devices, I probably would

No Scrubs from TLC has grown on me over the years. This song was on my list of songs to sing. I did try Buffalo Stance from Neneh Cherry before this, today. But the rapping in that song is difficult for me, i confess. So then i tried this song. It has hard bits in it too, but i think i manage it a bit. A bit! Especially the bit “If you don’t have a car and you’re walking” are hard for me. And some bits are sung very fast. But still, i think i manage it on the whole.

Enjoy!

No Scrubs – TLC
A scrub is a guy that think he’s fine and is
Also known as a buster (buster, buster)
Always talkin’ about what he wants
And just sits on his broke ass
So

No, I don’t want your number (no)
I don’t want to give you mine and (no)
I don’t want to meet you nowhere (no)
Don’t want none of your time and

No, I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me
I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me

But a scrub is checkin’ me but his game is kinda weak
And I know that he cannot approach me
‘Cause I’m lookin’ like class and he’s lookin’ like trash
Can’t get wit’ no deadbeat ass
So (yeah, yeah)

No, I don’t want your number (no)
I don’t want to give you mine and (no)
I don’t want to meet you nowhere (no)
I don’t want none of your time

No, I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me
I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me

If you don’t have a car and you’re walking
Oh yea son I’m talking to you
If you live at home wit’ your momma
Oh yes son I’m talking to you (baby)
If you have a shorty but you don’t show love
Oh yes son I’m talking to you
Wanna get with me with no money
Oh no I don’t want no (oh)

(No) no scrub
(Scrub)(no love)
(No) no scrub
(Scrub) no no
(No) no scrub
(Scrub) no no no no (no)
(Scrub) no no

No, I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me
I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me

No, I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me
I don’t want no scrub
A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me
Hanging out the passenger side
Of his best friend’s ride
Trying to holler at me