Poetry in song

For a song that combines political passion with a fierce intolerance for romantic nationalistic legends, Dick Gregory singing Brian McNeill's "No Gods, and Precious Few Heroes." The lyrics could easily stand by themselves as poetry, but they're even better when sung with the snarling passion that Gregory sings them.

http://youtu.be/F3aniiKuxL8

So don't talk to me of Scotland the Brave
For if we don't fight soon there'll be nothing left to save
Or would you rather stand and watch them dig your grave
While you wait for the Tartan Messiah?
He'll lead us to the Promised Land with laughter in his eye
We'll all live on the oil, and the whiskey by and by
Free heavy beer! Pie suppers in the sky! -
Will we never have the sense to learn?

It's very hard to support something AND call bullshit on its myths and lies, but if you don't, your movement will be little more than the same turd in a different wrapper.

For there's no gods and there's precious few heroes
But there's plenty on the dole in the land o the leal [loyal, "land o the leal" = Scotland]
And it's time now to sweep the future clear
Of the lies of a past that we know was never real.
 
When I hear this Tom Waits song, I know what I'll be doing in 10 or 20 years.


Operator, number, please:
It's been so many years
Will she remember my old voice
While I fight the tears?
Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
This is old Tom Frost,
And I am calling long distance,
Don't worry 'bout the cost.
'Cause it's been forty years or more,
Now Martha please recall,
Meet me out for coffee,
Where we'll talk about it all.

And those were the days of roses,
Poetry and prose and Martha
All I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
We'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.

And I feel so much older now,
And you're much older too,
How's your husband?
And how's the kids?
You know that I got married too?
Lucky that you found someone
To make you feel secure,
'Cause we were all so young and foolish,
Now we are mature.

And those were the days of roses,
Poetry and prose and Martha
All I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
We'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.

And I was always so impulsive,
I guess that I still am,
And all that really mattered then
Was that I was a man.
I guess that our being together
Was never meant to be.
And Martha, Martha,
I love you can't you see?

And those were the days of roses,
Poetry and prose and Martha
All I had was you and all you had was me.
There was no tomorrows,
We'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day.

And I remember quiet evenings
Trembling close to you...
 
One more from the great Tom Waits

One of my favorites~

Invitation to the Blues

Well she's up against the register with an apron and a spatula,
Yesterday's deliveries, tickets for the bachelors
She's a moving violation from her conk down to her shoes,
Well, it's just an invitation to the blues

And you feel just like Cagney, she looks like Rita Hayworth
At the counter of the Schwab's drugstore
You wonder if she might be single, she's a loner and likes to mingle
Got to be patient, try and pick up a clue

She said "How you gonna like 'em, over medium or scrambled?",
You say "Anyway's the only way", be careful not to gamble
On a guy with a suitcase and a ticket getting out of here
It's a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes
This ain't nothing but an invitation to the blues

But you can't take your eyes off her, get another cup of java,
It's just the way she pours it for you, joking with the customers
Mercy mercy, Mr. Percy, there ain't nothing back in Jersey
But a broken-down jalopy of a man I left behind
And the dream that I was chasing, and a battle with booze
And an open invitation to the blues

But she used to have a sugar daddy and a candy-apple Caddy,
And a bank account and everything, accustomed to the finer things
He probably left her for a socialite, and he didn't 'cept at night,
And then he's drunk and never even told her that her cared
So they took the registration, and the car-keys and her shoes
And left her with an invitation to the blues

'Cause there's a Continental Trailways leaving local bus tonight, good evening
You can have my seat, I'm sticking round here for a while
Get me a room at the Squire, the filling station's hiring,
And I can eat here every night, what the hell have I got to lose?
Got a crazy sensation, go or stay? now I gotta choose,
And I'll accept your invitation to the blues
 
Fingers of Love

Can you imagine that
An itch too sensitive to scratch
The light that falls through the cracks
An insect too delicate to catch
I hear the endless murmur
Every blade of grass that shivers in the breeze
And the sound that comes to carry me
Across the land and over the sea

And I can't look up
Fingers of love move down
And I can't look back
Fingers of love move down

Colour is its own reward
Colour is its own reward
The chiming of a perfect chord
Let's go jumping overboard
Into waves of joy and clarity
Your hands come out to rescue me
And I'm playing in the shallow water
Laughing while the mad dog sleeps

And I can't look up
Fingers of love move down
And I won't be hit
Fingers of love move everywhere

There is time yet
Fall by the way
From the cradle to the grave
From a palace to the gutter
Beneath the dying waves of the sun
Lie fingers of love

Through waves of joy and clarity
A fallen angel walked on the sea
And I'm playing in the shallow water
Laughing while the mad dog sleeps

And I can't look up
Fingers of love move down
And I won't be hit
Fingers of love move everywhere

There is time yet
For you to find me
And all I want
Fingers of love move down

--Neil Finn
 
Thanks

Love the thread! AllYoursSweetness;42555370 said:
"Out of My Mind",Duran Duran

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbaRZ3i9AU8&feature=youtube_gdata_player


*Send "Out Of My Mind" Ringtone to your Cell*
"Out Of My Mind"

Light a candle
Lay flowers at the door
For those who were left behind
And the ones who've gone before
But here it comes now
Sure as silence follows rain
The taste of you upon my lips
The fingers in my brain
Ever gentle as it kills me where I lay
Who am I to resist?
Who are you to fail?

Got to get you out of my mind
But I can't escape from the feeling
As I try to leave the memory behind
Without you what's left to believe in?

And I could be so sorry
For the way it had to go
But now I feel your presence
In a way I could not know
And I wonder
Do you ever feel the same
In whispering darkness
Do you ever hear my name?

Got to get you out of my mind
But I can't escape from the feeling
As I try to leave the memory behind
Without you, what's left to believe in?

How could you dare
To become so real
When you're just a ghost in me

And I've got to get you out of my mind
But I can't escape from the feeling
As I try to leave the memory behind
Without you, what's left to believe in?

Here in the back of my mind

Deep in the back of my mind

I neglected to thank you for saying you love the thread, AllYoursSweetness, but I also have neglected to thank everyone who has made a contribution here. There's some really good, interesting stuff on this thread now, and I've really enjoyed reading and listening to nearly all of it. It's also interesting to see what people choose to submit. Thanks to everyone.
 
A nice heartfelt one.......


If it be your will - Leonard Cohen

If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will

If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.​
 
*****

A nice heartfelt one.......


If it be your will - Leonard Cohen

If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will

If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.​

Resonant.
 
You're Gonna Get It

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ugM73jsCkw

Now I'm no professor, baby
but I know a few things
You see, a rooster needs a sunrise
before he rises up and sings

A fish without no water
is a fish that cannot swim
Now if you want a man to be his best, baby
you gotta give it, give your love to him
 
World Outside Your Window

Everyone has said that I might go
'Cos my red suitcase and my ray-bans
Weren't quite so
I'd bear the heavy wind and rain that falls
I'll never come back again
'Cos you know I laugh when winter shows her hand
Well, that picture framed the saddest thing you'll see
But it bought me time and a place that love could be
And since I'm going now please rearrange
'Cos I'd like to think that things have changed
I don't believe you'll be open anymore

Tell me if, you want to see
A world outside your window
A world outside your window isn't free
And tell me if you wanna catch that feeling of redemption
That feeling of redemption doesn't do much for me

Well, everyone was hoping you would stay a while
Tell us 'bout that great land in the south
I see that man - now ain't he under offer?
I tell you child you go wash out your mouth

Tell me if, you want to see
A world outside your window
A world outside your window isn't free
And tell me if you wanna catch that feeling of redemption
That feeling of redemption doesn't do much for me

What can you say
I'm hiding in the belfry
What can you say - I want to catch time
How can you say you know anything about me
Well I knew about you - but I won't care about you

Everyone has come to see. Well somethings have to do
Flowers out for this photographic haunt, but they all pass me by
But the age is not a funny game, it don't give such a buzz
And when I winced with ignorance
I had to kiss this dust

Tanita Tikaram
 
Don't Know Much

Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt singing together

Look at this face
I know the years are showing
Look at this life
I still don't know where it's going

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know

Look at these eyes
They've never see what matters
Look at these dreams
So beaten and so battered

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know

So many questions
Still left unanswered
So much I've never broken through
And when I feel you near me
Sometimes I see so clearly
The only truth I've ever known
Is me and you

Look at this man
So blessed with inspiration
Look at this soul
Still searching for salvation

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know

I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know.

Songwriters: MANN, BARRY / WEIL, CYNTHIA / SNOW, TOM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNX1JLRSiyg
 
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