48. Randy Newman - Political Science

In een topic over lyrics mag Randy Newman zeker niet ontbreken. Humor, drama, satire, fraaie sfeerbeelden, Randy draait er zijn hand niet voor om. Political Science is een mooi voorbeeld van zijn satirische kant.

De mijmeringen van een Amerikaans politicus:

'No-one likes us
I don't know why
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try
But all around
even our own friends let us down...
Let's drop the Big One
See what happens'

Als we het toch over Randy Newman gaan hebben

47. Randy Newman - Dayton, Ohio 1903

Sing a song of long ago
When things were green and movin' slow
And people'd stop to say hello
Or they'd say "hi" to you
"Would you like to come over for tea
With the missus and me?"
It's a real nice way
To spend the day
In Dayton, Ohio
On a lazy Sunday afternoon in 1903



Dat is het voor mij zeker Thee slurpen op de veranda, het is zo'n mierzoet beeld dat de luisteraar tegen deze achtergrond (the South of the United States ) verschrikking verwacht, en jawel op de volgende platen (Good Old Boys uit '73) horen we al wat achter dit liefelijk tafereeltje zou kunnen plaatsvinden:

46. Randy Newman - Rednecks

Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV show
With some smart-ass New York Jew
And the Jew laughed at Lester Maddox
And the audience laughed at Lester Maddox, too.
Well, he may be a fool, but he’s our fool
And if they think they’re better than him, they’re wrong.
So when I came to this park, I took some paper along
And here’s where I made this song.
We talk real funny down here.
We drink too much and we laugh too loud
We’re too dumb to make in no Northern town
And we’re keepin’ the niggers down.

Dat park zou best wel 'ns kunnen liggen naast dat liefelijk huisje waar ze in 1903 "onschuldig" thee nuttigden "Rednecks" is trouwens één van die nummers waarbij ik bijna altijd in een lachmodus schiet

Ja Rednecks is een traktatie: We don't know our ass from a hole in the ground

46. Tori Amos - Tear in your hand




All the world just stopped now
So you say you don't wanna stay together anymore
Let me take a deep breath babe
If you need me, me and neil'll be hangin' out with the DREAM KING
Neil says hi by the way
I don't believe you're leaving cause me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream
I think it's that girl and I think there're pieces of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen well
All the world is
All I am
The black of the blackest ocean
And that tear in your hand
All the world is DANGLIN'... danglin'... danglin' for me DARLIN'
You don't know the power that you have
With that tear in your hand
That tear in your hand
Maybe I ain't used to maybes smashing in a cold room cutting my hands up
every time I touch you
Maybe maybe it's time to wave goodbye now
Time to wave goodbye now
Caught a ride with the moon
I know I know you well well better than I used to
HAZE all clouded up my mind
In the DAZE of the why it could've never been
So you say and I say you know you're full of wish
And your baby baby baby babies
I tell you there're pieces of me you've never seen
Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen well
All the world is
All I am
The black of the blackest ocean
And that tear in your hand
All the world is DANGLIN'... danglin'... danglin' for me DARLIN'
You don't know the power that you have
With that tear in your hand
That tear in your hand
With that tear in your hand


Hier kan ik verder niks over zeggen, alleen dat ik het prachtig vindt, zoals de meeste lyrics van Tori Amos. Zij is een van de weinige zangeressen die mij echt kan raken, door de muziek, maar vooral door de schitterende teksten. Voor elke emotie of gevoel is er wel een nummer wat precies past. Soms lekker vaag maar toch op een of andere manier prima te begrijpen.

Tori Amos lyrics en J.bell = Match

44. Peggy Lee - If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing


I remember when I was a very little girl, our house caught on fire.

....

I stood there shivering in my pajamas and watched the whole world go up in flames.
And when it was all over I said to myself, "Is that all there is to a fire"


Is that all there is, is that all there is
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is


And when I was 12 years old, my father took me to a circus, the greatest show on earth.
...
I had the feeling that something was missing.
I don't know what, but when it was over,
I said to myself, "is that all there is to a circus?


Then I fell in love, head over heels in love, with the most wonderful boy in the world.

...

Then one day he went away and I thought I'd die, but I didn't,
and when I didn't I said to myself, "is that all there is to love?"

I know what you must be saying to yourselves,
if that's the way she feels about it why doesn't she just end it all?
Oh, no, not me. I'm in no hurry for that final disappointment,
for I know just as well as I'm standing here talking to you,
when that final moment comes and I'm breathing my lst breath, I'll be saying to myself ...

Een kurkdroog sentimentenreisje door een vrouwenleven. Het zijn die kleine details die het 'em doen: I Thought I'd die, but I didn't. Geen spoor van paroxisme, gewoon een hulde aan het leven. Soms aangenaam, soms minder aangenaam - maar wel altijd: "ons bestaan" - het proberen te aanvaarden in al z'n vormen

Ik dacht nog wel dat ik de enige was die dat een mooi nummer vond, zie je wel T.O. .

We zijn dus met z'n twee Werkelijk prachtnummer op alle niveaus

43. The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me
She showed me her room, isn't it good, norwegian wood?

She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere
So I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair

I sat on the rug, biding my time, drinking her wine
We talked until two and then she said, "It's time for bed"

She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh
I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath

And when I awoke I was alone, this bird had flown
So I lit a fire, isn't it good, norwegian wood?

Nog zo'n nummer dat me iedere keer weer doet lachen. De mannelijke veroveringsdrift legt het hier af tegen een "modebewust" meisje (haar interieur is type "Norwegian Wood", isn't it good? )

Je ziet het zo voor je: die kerel uit het liedje nipt aan bedenkelijke wijn, knikt bevestigend op alles wat ze zegt en denkt: "Straks word ik beloond".

En dan lacht die verdomde meid hooghartig ... en blijft onze held achter in die vervloekte badkuip ... met een huizenhoge seksuele frustratie, laat hij als sublimatie de Rode Haan kraaien over dat verdomde "Norwegian Wood"-interieur

Prachtig, alweer nijd en gramschap. Ik lijk er een patent op te hebben

Aha, meteen een kandidaat erbij voor het topic over slechte covers.

42. 10.000 Maniacs - Verdi Cries

Een meisje met haar ouders op vakantie. Een hotelletje aan zee, de buurman luister naar Verdi's Aida, het meisje speelt op het strand en pikt wat lekkernijen van een dienblad. Alledaagse herinneringen, maar wat zijn die toch dierbaar voor de volwassen vrouw die op de dagen van haar jeugd terugkijkt.

'The man in 119 drinks his tea all alone.
Mornings we all rise
to wireless Verdi cries.
I'm hearing opera through the door.
The souls of men and women,
impassioned all.
Their voices climb and fall;
battletrumpets call.
I fill the bath and climb inside,
singing.'

41. Lou Reed - Romeo Had Juliette

Caught between the twisted stars
The plotted lines the faulty map
That brought columbus to new york
Betwixt between the east and west
He calls on her wearing a leather vest
The earth squeals and shudders to a halt
A diamond crucifix in his ear
Is used to help ward off the fear
That he has left his soul in someone’s rented car
Inside his pants he hides a mop
To clean the mess that he has dropped
Into the life of lithesome juliette bell


't Heeft allemaal iets van een poptekst die rechtstreeks van de straat het liedje binnenwandelt

Het kronkelt, het glinstert van het grotestadsleven

Ook fantastisch dat Reed het heeft over "A rented car". Dat soort nuances trekt het me altijd over de lijn. Tom Waits heeft het ook over een glas stout i.p.v. beer in "Closing Time" - het zijn details, maar voor mij maakt het een huizenhoog verschil

Natalie Merchant heeft altijd gepoogd dat soort popminiatuurtje te schrijven en dat neemt me best wel in voor haar. Bedankt, meneer d2 om het nog maar 'ns te vermelden

Laat ik er een man bijhalen die terugkijkt op z'n verleden

40. The Beatles - In My Life

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain

All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all

Vooral die laatste twee zinnetjes vind ik ongehoord "warm" overkomen voor een popliedje

39. Cee-Lo - All Day Love Affair

Hey, the sun is shining looking like another wonderful day
Look through my cd collection trying to find some good music to play
While I'm getting ready to face the world
Doing what I must do, know sugar
Nothing compares to waking up this morning to you

Good morning
Baby, how you been?
Did you sleep well last night honey?
Well I'm off to work again

Listen I'll call you later
Maybe we can get something to eat
How about our favorite restaurant darling
Where we usually eat
I said whew! Umm um sure looking mighty fine
I can hardly wait for quitting time

Good afternoon baby
I sure missed you while I was gone
But you know I got to work honey, Hey let's just do something later on

Let's go for a walk nothing gets you in the mood better than a little moonlight
Um hmm, or we can rent some movies and make it a blockbuster night, Hey
Does that sound interesting baby? Sound like an idea?
I would gladly walk you home but you're already here

Good night baby
I spent the whole day with my friend
Hopefully God will wake me up baby to see you in the morning

Oh child
Oh because you everything, everything, everything to me
Oh yeah girl I need your love each and everyday Hey
Hmm, child
Hhmmmmmmmmm
Good night baby

Soul zoals het moet zijn.

38. The Beatles - For No One

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all the words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you

She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn’t feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!

You want her, you need her
And yet you don’t believe her when she said her love is dead
You think she needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!

You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone but now he’s gone
She doesn’t need him

Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be time when all the things she said will fil your head
You won’t forget her

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!

Ik krijg altijd plaatsvervangend liefdesverdriet als ik dit liedje hoor. Zo mooi!

37. Steve Earle - Condi, Condi
(voor zijn doen nogal vreemd nummer over Condoleeza Rice)

Oh Condi Condi beggin’ on my knees
Open up your heart and let me in wontcha please
Got no money but everybody knows
I love you Condi and I’ll never let you go
Sweet and dandy pretty as can be
You be the flower and I’ll be the bumble bee
Oh she loves me oops she loves me not
People say you’re cold but I think you’re hot

Oh, Condi, Condi
Oh, Condi, Condi

Oh Condi, Condi I’m talkin’ to you girl
What’s it gonna hurt come on give me a whirl
Shake your body now let me see you go
One time for me Oh Condi I love you so
Skank for me Condi show me what you got
They say you’re too uptight I say you’re not
Dance around me spinnin’ like a top
Oh Condi Condi Condi don’t ever stop

Oh Condi Condi Can’t you hear me call
I’m standin’ in the street outside your garden wall
Pocketful of money belly full of wine
Condi in my heart and romance on my mind
Listen to me Condi don’t be afraid
I come here tonight to chase your blues away
I’ll never hurt you I’ll treat you right
Oh Condaleeza won’t you come out tonight

Pretty little Condi precious as can be
Bet you never had another lover like me

Over alweer een begrafenis. Mooi persoonlijk afscheid van een junkie-vriend van Neil (die natuurlijk wel weet waar hij over zingt).

36. Neil Young - The Needle And The Damage Done

I caught you knockin'
at my cellar door
I love you, baby,
can I have some more
Ooh, ooh, the damage done.

I hit the city and
I lost my band
I watched the needle
take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done.

I sing the song
because I love the man
I know that some
of you don't understand
Milk-blood
to keep from running out.

I've seen the needle
and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's
like a settin' sun.

35. Neil Young - Ambulance Blues

Another Neilo, uit On The Beach, dat bol staat van schitterende lyrics...

"Ambulance Blues"

Back in the old folky days
The air was magic when we played.
The riverboat was rockin' in the rain
Midnight was the time for the raid.

Oh, Isabela, proud Isabela,
They tore you down and
plowed you under.
You're only real with your make-up on
How could I see you and stay too long?

All along the Navajo Trail,
Burn-outs stub their toes
on garbage pails.
Waitresses are cryin' in the rain
Will their boyfriends pass this way again?

Oh, Mother Goose,
she's on the skids
Shoe ain't happy,
neither are the kids.
She needs someone that she can scream at
And I'm such a heel for makin' her feel so bad.

I guess I'll call it
sickness gone
It's hard to say
the meaning of this song.
An ambulance can only go so fast
It's easy to get buried in the past
When you try to make a good thing last.

I saw today
in the entertainment section
There's room at the top
for private detection.
To Mom and Dad this just doesn't matter,
But it's either that or pay off the kidnapper.

So all you critics sit alone
You're no better than me
for what you've shown.
With your stomach pump and your hook and ladder dreams
We could get together for some scenes.

I never knew a man
could tell so many lies
He had a different story
for every set of eyes.
How can he remember who he's talkin' to?
'Cause I know it ain't me, and I hope it isn't you.

Well, I'm up in T.O. keepin' jive alive,
And out on the corner it's half past five.
But the subways are empty
And so are the cafes.

Except for the Farmer's Market
And I still can hear him say:
You're all just pissin'
in the wind
You don't know it but you are.

And there ain't nothin' like a friend
Who can tell you you're just pissin'
in the wind.

I never knew a man
could tell so many lies
He had a different story
for every set of eyes
How can he remember
who he's talking to?
Cause I know it ain't me,
and hope it isn't you.

34. Sarah McLachlan - Fallen

Heaven bent to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight

Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I've tried, I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...
We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past could be undone
But we carry on our backs the burden
Time always reveals
The lonely light of morning
The wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
That I have held so dear.

I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...

Heaven bent to take my hand
Nowhere left to turn
I'm lost to those I thought were friends
To everyone I know
Oh they turned their heads embarassed
Pretend that they don't see
But it's one missed step
You'll slip before you know it
And there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed

Though I've tried, I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I have messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so.

33. Dido - Life for rent

It's just a thought, only a thought

But if my life is for rent and I don't lean to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

32. Doves - Words

Eens in een heel heldere droom/visioen hoorde ik constant het openingsdeuntje van het nummer Words. 's Ochtends meteen uit nieuwsgierigheid de lyrics opgezocht, en er bleek een mooie en een voor mij in die periode toepasselijke tekst bij te zitten....

Inside is a heart of summer soul
Don't let them take it away

Cause inside something solid gold
So don't let them throw it away

Words they meant nothing so you can't hurt me
I said words they mean nothing so you can't stop me

I said your eyes, they say nothing so you can't hurt me
On summer days like these
I said words they mean nothing so you can't hurt me

Follow your own path from here
So don't listen to what they say

31. De Dijk - Wil je altijd van me houden

Wil je altijd van me houden
zoals alleen jij dat kan
Wil je altijd van me houden
al maak ik er een zooitje van
Wil je altijd van me houden
ook als ik van niks meer weet

en ik al je lieve woorden
van de rarigheid vergeet

Wil je altijd van me houden
ook al praat ik nog zo dom
Wil je altijd van me houden
al vraag jij je af waarom
Wil je altijd van me houden
ook als het eigenlijk niet meer gaat
maar jij met je ruime denken
me in mijn waan en waarde laat
Wil je altijd van me houden
ook al blijf je aan de gang
Wil je altijd van me houden
ook al duurt dat nog zo lang

Wil je altijd van me houden
ook als ik van niks meer weet
en ik al je lieve woorden
van de narigheid vergeet
Wil je altijd van me houden
ook al jaag ik je op stang
Wil je altijd van me houden
al lul ik tegen het behang
Wil je altijd van me houden
ook al duurt dat nog zo lang

Heel erg mooi...

30. Peggy Lee- Is That All There Is ?

Is that all there is, is that all there is/
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing/
Let's break out the booze and have a ball/
If that's all there is.

Voor mij is dit nog steeds de mooiste liedjestekst over het leven (en de dood)

Maar dat is geen reden om hem er twee keer in te zetten

Staat al op 44

Dan is dit nummer bij deze dan dubbel onderstreept

Maar ik was toch lekker eerst

30. The Sound - Silent Air

Thunder in the air,
Before a storm that rips,
Anger in my heart,
A finger on my lips,

You showed me that silence,
That haunts this troubled world,
You showed me that silence
Can speak louder than words

Words end in disaster
On the rocks, in pieces,
I know something lives on there,
But I can't say what it is,

You showed me that silence,
That haunts this troubled world,
You showed me that silence
Can speak louder than words

Eerbetoon van Adrian Borland (1957 - 1999) aan Ian Curtis (1956 - 1980). 2 x , 2 x

29. Jack Johnson - The News

A billion people died on the news tonight
But not so many cried at the terrible sight
Well mama said
It's just make believe
You can't believe everything you see
So baby close your eyes to the lullabies
On the news tonight

Who's the one to decide that it would be alright
To put the music behind the news tonight
Well mama said
You can't believe everything you hear
The diagetic world is so unclear
So baby close your ears
On the news tonight
On the news tonight

The unobtrusive tones on the news tonight
And mama said

Why don't the newscasters cry when they read about people who
die?
At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their
eyes
Mama said
It's just make believe
You cant believe everything you see
So baby close your eyes to the lullabies
On the news tonight

28. Art Brut - Formed a Band

formed a band
we formed a band
look at us!
we formed a band!

i don't know when it started
but stop buying your albums from the supermarket
they only sell things that have charted
and art brut.. well, we've only just started

and yes, this is my singing voice
it is not irony
and it is not rock and roll
we are just talking.. to the kids

formed a band
we formed a band
look at us!
we formed a band!

i wanna be the boy, the man
who writes the song
that makes israel and palestine
get along

i'm gonna write a song
that's the universe's 'happy birthday'
that's gonna make sure that everybody knows
that everything's gonna be ok
i am gonna take that song
and we are gonna play it
eight weeks in a row
on top of the pops

formed a band
we formed a band
look at us!
we formed a band!

dye your hair black, never look back
my past is my business

Het stukje van Top of the Pops vind ik wel vrij briljant eigenlijk

27. Pharaohe Monch's verse in Organized Konfusion's "Stray Bullet"

Let the trigger finger put the pressure to the mechanism
Which gives a response for the automatic *bang*
Clip to release projectiles in single
file forcing me to ignite then travel
through the barrel headed for the light
At the end of a tunnel with no specific target in sight
Slow the flow like H2O water
Visualize the scene of a homicide a slaughter
No remorse for the course I take when you pull it
The result's a stray bullet
Niggaz who knew hit the ground runnin and stay down
Except for the kids who played on the playground
Cause for some little girl she'll never see
more than six years of life, trif-le-ing
When she fell from the seesaw
But umm wait, my course isn't over
Fled out of the other side of her head towards
a red, Range, Rover, then I ricochet
Fast past a brother's ass, oh damn, what that nigga say
"Aww fuck it", next target's Margaret's face *bang*
and I struck it
Now it's a flood of blood in circumfrence to her face
and an abundance of brains all over the street
Shame how we had to meet *bang*
Dashin, buckin, greet by fuckin family
They follow behind me in a orderly fashion
Bashin through flesh I'm wild
Crashin through the doors of projects hallways
to deflect off of the tile
I'm coming for you little girl
Once inside I shatter your world
Swirl, no more dreams no hopes when I spray
You better pray, to the Pope or the Vatican
Before I go rat-tat-a-tat again
I'm mad again brother somebody's mother will be sad again
but, whose blue skies will turn grey
from the attack, of the Mac-11, I'm a stray, bullet

Een tekst van een Friese band genaamd: Bricquebec
Er staan nog geen cd's van deze band op MUME, ik zal binnenkort wat toevoegen.
Het is een beetje moeilijk want het is in het Fries, ik heb geprobeerd het een beetje te vertalen, maar het is net als met Engels, als ik het letterlijk ga vertalen blijft er niks van over. Maar in elk geval, in het Fries is het echt schitterend. De zangeres van Bricquebec bezorgd mij koude rillingen (positief natuurlijk!) bij het beluisteren van dit nummer.. haar prachtige zang en deze geweldige tekst maken dit 1 van mijn favoriete nummers.

het nummer heeft de titel: De Tiid, oftewel, De Tijd.



De Tiid

Ik rin it paad del
myn fuotten bin sa swier
Ik wit wol dat it kâld is, de wyn wer yn myn hier
De wyn nimt my werom nei dy

Alles wat ik sizze soe
ik liz it del by dy
Alles wat ik sizze soe do hearst net mear nei my
Noait mear nei my
Net mear nei my

Ik hou, ik sla ik skop
En ik bats der bovenop
Mar neat bringt dy, wer by my

Refr:
Wol net ferlieze, de tiid befrieze
En alles moat sa bliuwe as it wie mei dy
Wie mei dy

En se sizze dat it went mar moai net by my
Ik hear se wol praten hiel fier hjir fan my
De wurden falle by my del want ik kin der net by
Kin der net by, sa sûnder dy

Thús is sa’n moai wurd ik ha it sa faak sein
Yn myn holle hear ik dyn stappen it hiele ein
It hiele ein, werom nei my




http://www.bricquebec.nl/ Het is het eerste nummer van het album "Hjoed". Mocht er iemand interesse hebben

25. P. Seeger - Springhill Miner Disaster
(o.a. U2 heeft t live wel eens gespeeld)

In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Down in the dark of the Cumberland mines
There's blood on the coal and the miners lie
In roads that never saw sun or sky
Roads that never saw sun or sky

In the town of Springhill you don't sleep easy
Often the earth will tremble and roll
When the earth is restless, miners die
Bone and blood is the price of coal
Bone and blood is the price of coal

In the town of Springhill, Nova Scotia
Late in the year of '58
The day still comes and the sun still shines
But it's dark as the grave in the Cumberland mines
Dark as the grave in the Cumberland mines

Three days passed when the lands gave out
And Caleb rushed and got up and said:
We've no more water or light or bread
So we'll live on songs and hope instead
We'll live on songs and hope instead

Listen for the shouts of the black-faced miners
Listen through the rubble for the rescue team
Three hundred tons of coal and slack
Hope imprisoned in the three foot seam
Hope imprisoned in the three foot seam

Twelve days passed and some were rescued
Leaving the dead to lie alone
Through all their days, they dug a grave
Two miles of earth is a marking stone
Two miles of earth is a marking stone