Tabishland

Taking a cue from a phrase in Kim's post, here's another, and I suspect it's one that Kim, with power-alto voice coupled with her experiences with shady members of the class of '78, could "put over" very well in song:

I've been through Reno,
I've been through Beverly Hills,
And I'm here.
Reefers and vino,
Rest cures, religion and pills,
But I'm here.
Been called a pinko,
Commie tool,
Got through it stinko
By my pool.
I should have gone to an acting school / That seems clear.
Still, someone said, "She's sincere," / So I'm here.

--Stephen Sondheim, "I'm Still Here"
 

For some reason this little ditty always makes me smile:

Everything'd be just fine
if I had the right pastime
I'd've been Raskolnikov
but Mother Nature ripped me off
in Philadelphia
I'm sure that I felt healthier
maybe it's right to be nervous now

Magazine, "Philadelphia"
 

I stopped listening to music with words when I turned 40.
 

Back in 1986, I fell for a great John Hiatt LP called "Bring the Family". It is a really well done mid-western rock with a tad of folksy-country and whimsy. I play it on occasion, especially in teh car. I always liked the song "Your Dad Did", but I never thought I'd start to resemble the lyrics. Here's the last verse:

Well the day was long now, supper's on
The thrill is gone
But something's taking place
Yeah the food is cold and your wife feels old
But all hands fold
As the two year old says grace
She says help the starving children to get well
But let my brother's hamster burn in hell
You love your wife and kids
Just like your dad did

Many of John Hiatt's lyrical observations will probably hit most of you as surreally familiar. He is a most worthy live show, so go see him when he hits your neighborhood.

Except if you have stopped listening to songs with lyrics, of course...
 

Liza, you make it sound like you lost the ability to hear lyrics or something with your advanced old age. OR, that the rest of us are juvenile because we still listen to songs with lyrics. What up?
 

What? Nobody liked The Darkness lyrics I previously offered-consider googling: love on the rocks (with no ice); get your hands off my woman, MF; one way ticket to hell (and back)
 

I love The Darkness Lyrics, I bought a Darkness CD I loved them so much. They should pay you for the promo.
 

Joe turned me onto to Aimee Mann about eight years ago. I've been a devoted fan ever since.

Everytime I hear this song, I laugh:

"We're old and sad and bored and we're not funny anymore. We're like Jimmy Hoffa Jokes"

- Jimmy Hoffa Jokes-Aimee Mann

also-

Chip showed me the ways of Billy Bragg about 20 years ago. I'm always tickled by his lyrics:

"While you and I sat down to tea
I remember you said to me
That no amount of poetry
Would mend this broken heart
But you can put the hoover round
If you want to make a start"

The Short Answer-Billy Bragg

(and welcome Joe, into the world of tags on the blog)
 

Oh, but I didn't mean WE were sad and old, etc..

just...

some other person all together.
 

This might be my favorite blog topic yet!

Where was i? I forgot
The point that I was making
I said if I was smart that I would
Save up for a piece of string
And a rock to wind the string around

Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around

Everybody Wants a Rock- They Might Be Giants
 

"If dreams were lightning, thunder was desire,
This old house would have burnt down a long time ago"

Angel From Montgomery- John Prine
Yeah, i know it's not funny, but I like it all the same.
 

"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, and I'll wear a tie.
We'll laugh at that old bloodshot moon in that burgundy sky"

New Coat of Paint-Tom Waits
 

I stopped listening to music with lyrics for the same reason I swore never to blog (this was before Tabishland)-too addictively emotional.
 

This looks more sincere in writing than it sounds with music, which is hilarious:

I'm sad for anybody who's walking about / Who's missed all the thrills I've been through / I'm sad for anybody who hasn't found out / Just what your caresses can do. / And that's why I'm especially sad for you.

Poor you, I'm sorry you're not me.
For you will never know what loving you can be.

Poor you, You never feel your charms,
You never feel your warmth,
You're never in your arms.

When it is you I'm kissing, I pity you constantly,
You don't know what you're missing,
For you're only kissing poor me.

Poor you, you live your whole life through,
And yet you'll never know the thrill of loving you.

--E.Y. Harburg