Beneath My Skin

‘Constant Craving’ is a song written by k.d. lang and Ben Mink, and it was performed by k.d. lang on her 1992 album Ingénue.  This song charted #15 in the UK and #38 in the US and it earned lang nominations for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female (which she went on to win) at the 1993 Grammy Awards.  ‘Constant Craving’ is about saṃsāra which means “wandering” or “world”, with the connotation of cyclic, circuitous change.  It is also the concept of rebirth and “cyclicality of all life, matter, existence”.  At first this was not clear for lang, she didn’t get it and then she said, “It’s a summation of human desire.  It’s like yes, OK, we all are heartbroken.  We’re all nervous.  We’re all vulnerable.  We’re all hopeful, but at the end of the day, constant craving has always been.”  k.d. lang and Ben Mink share writing credits with The Rolling Stones on their 1997 single ‘Anybody Seen My Baby?’ due to the striking similarities between the refrain of that song and ‘Constant Craving’.  Keith Richards explained in his autobiography that the similarities were brought to his attention by his daughter just prior to the single’s release.  To avoid a lawsuit, The Rolling Stones gave lang and Mink writing credits, a move that made lang feel “honored and flattered.”

She was born Kathryn Dawn Lang on November 2, 1961, in Alberta, Canada, and grew up in the small town of Consort, Alberta.  She decided to use lower case letters in her name to pay tribute to E.E. Cummings who liked breaking the rules.  While in college, lang appeared in a production about Patsy Cline, and when she began to pursue her own music career, formed a group called the Reclines in Patsy’s honor with musician and songwriting partner Ben Mink.  She had her first country hit in 1988 with ‘Crying’, a duet that she sang with Roy Orbison and this song gave her a Grammy Award win for best country vocal collaboration.  She was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2013.

Even through the darkest phase
Be it thick or thin
Always someone marches brave
Here beneath my skin

Constant craving
Has always been

Maybe a great magnet pulls
All souls towards truth
Or maybe it is life itself
That feeds wisdom
To its youth

Constant craving
Has always been

Craving
Ah ha
Constant craving
Has always been
Has always been

Constant craving
Has always been
Constant craving
Has always been

Craving
Ah ha
Constant craving
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been
Has always been

Written for Song Lyric Sunday where the prompt is Canadian music.

O Canada

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was started in 1978 and it has celebrated over 50 Canadian individuals and groups who have attained commercial success while having an artistic impact on the music scene at home and/or around the world.  Andy Kim, Barenaked Ladies, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morissette, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, k.d. lang, Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Rush, Leonard Cohen, The Band, The Guess Who, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka, Hank Snow, Guy Lombardo and many others have been inducted, so there is a lot of music here.  Did you know that Nickelback and Justin Bieber are both from Canada?  In 1999, Celine Dion was inducted into Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame.  Yes, there is such a thing as Canadian Music and the Great White North has spawned all types of music.  Canadians have good Health Care, the people are nice and well-adjusted, but it is cold up there even in the Summer.

Last week we had Dissimilar Things, and everyone was asked to look for a song that features lyrics that include a contrast.  This week we have another prompt that is very different, that being using a song that features a Canadian artist or group and I think this will be fun for everyone.  Take some time to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this music challenge, as you will probably find many enjoyable songs and it is quite possibly that you will learn a thing or two.  Share your music with others and post a video, try do some research and let everyone know something about the song that you post.  Tell everyone why you like the song, whether it was a hit, or what you think the song is about.  Show the lyrics, let’s all listen to our favorite songs and explore some new music.  Try to find a song that fits the prompt, then write your post and create a pingback, or you can just place your link in the comments section.

Here are the “rules”:
• Post the lyrics to the song of your choice, whether it contains the prompt words or not.  If it does not meet the criteria, then please explain why you chose this song.
• Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due.
• Make sure you also credit the singer/band and if you desire you can provide a link to where you found the lyrics.
• Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song.
• Ping back to this post or place your link in the comments section below.
• Read at least one other person’s blog, so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process.
• Feel free to suggest future prompts.
• Have fun and enjoy the music.

I am writing about the song ‘Constant Craving’ by k.d. lang.  Next week I will be writing about the Grateful Dead song ‘Alice D. Millionaire’.  The upcoming prompts will be:
September 27, 2020 – Brother/Sibling/Sister
October 4, 2020 – User Choice where you can go your own way, or do your own thing
October 11, 2020 – Hold/Pause/Stop/Wait
October 18, 2020 – No/Yes

Snatch

Woah Jim, you can’t say that, as people might think that you are talking about a nickname for the human female genital body part.
Got it, as I never want to hurt anyone, make them upset, or get them angry, I just want to write a poem, but I am not sure how to start.
Where is the latch?
I need a patch.
Cookies by the batch.
What a catch.
Wearing shades to match.
It should hatch.
What the hell is a thatch?

Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Saturday Mix Rhyme Time hosted by weejars aka Sarah where she has come up with 6 rhyming words that she would like us to use, batch, catch, hatch, match, patch, and thatch.

Temptation Inspiration Overstimulation Normalization

I was tempted to Google “find words that end with the letters tion”, but that would not be a Stream of Consciousness writing piece, and it would also take all the fun out of this, so I will wing it and see how it comes out.  You say that you want a revolution and you want to change the Constitution, well the Beatles tried that and failed in their attempt.  I am feeling a lot of aggravation over what I heard Mitch McConnell say this morning about rushing a new appointee to the Supreme Court.  I am not going to have a conniption over this, but this would clearly be a disruption of justice.  I guess I could write a Billy Joel type poem where I state a bunch of words that end with the letters “tion”, like addition, substitution, tuition and so on and then state that I didn’t start the fire, but that won’t give me any satisfaction.

Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday where the prompt is to find words that end with the letters “tion”.

What I Got Baby

The Grateful Dead song ‘Chinatown Shuffle’ has lyrics and music written by Ron McKernan and it was performed many times on the Europe 72 tour.  For a while, Pigpen was the leader of the Grateful Dead, and those who were privileged enough to see him play will never forget what an incredible musician and performer he was, because he was able to capture the attention of his audiences through his ability to entertain, singing from deep down in his soul, touching the hearts of all those who knew him.  In 1971, McKernan first fell ill after a concert at Gaelic Park in the Bronx, and he took a three-month hiatus from the band.  He joined the group again for their European tour, reportedly against the doctor’s orders, and the long, bumpy bus rides punished his liver.  When he returned, his condition was diagnosed as anemia (shortage of healthy red blood cells resulting in adequate oxygen being delivered to the rest of his body).  The Europe tour was Pigpen’s last hurrah, and ‘Chinatown Shuffle’ was his swan song.

Ron was born in 1945, his father Phil worked as a disk jockey under the name of Cool Breeze where he was the only white Disc Jockey to spin the blues at an all-black radio station in the Bay area.  Phil had a daily blues program on radio station KRE in Berkeley from 1951 to 1956 which exposed Ron to R&B at an early age.  Growing up alongside many African American friends, Ron felt very connected to African American music and culture.  He refused to take music lessons, and he taught himself how to play the blues piano and developed a biker image and a nasty habit for heavy drinking, having his first drink at age twelve.

Pigpen was first known as “Rims” like the rim on a wheel, because had a motorcycle chain permanently bolted to his wrist.  Ron enjoyed crossing over to the wrong side of the tracks where he learned the blues, drank Thunderbird wine.  Ron was given his nickname Pigpen from his girlfriend Vee who he met in 1966, because of his dirty appearance resembling the Peanuts comic strip character.  This black lady named Veronica was the main love of his life, and some people said that her name was Veronica Grant, while others said she was Veronica Barnard.  Vee moved in with him at 710 Ashbury, and later moved to Novato with him in 1966 onto a ranch at Olompali, which was then the former Boy Scout camp in Lagunitas.  They were said to have had one of those on-again, off-again relationships, but it was mainly on and this was the only long-term relationship that Pigpen ever had.

In the fall of 1968, the Dead played some concerts without Weir and Pigpen and there were rumors that they were both fired, McKernan for not showing up to practice and fights about Bobby’s guitar playing.  Further investigation shows that Veronica had a stroke in October ‘68, and Pigpen went to be at her side devoting himself to her, as she couldn’t walk or talk for quite a while.  She got back on her feet after her surgery, and the band gathered around in support, with Jerry and Bobby coming into her hospital room with guitars and a duo performance.  Pigpen helped her pull through, and then later she stuck by him when he was having health problems.  Pigpen and Veronica stayed together for years until November ‘72, when they fought and split.  Many people feel that Pigpen sent Vee away, knowing how sick he was and not wanting her around when he died.

Towards the end of 1962 Pigpen got a part-time job at Swain’s Music Store in Palo Alto and in 1963 he was in was a short-lived group called The Second Story Men.  Swain’s Music Store was run by a guy named Troy Weidenheimer who had ideas about forming his own rock ‘n’ roll band.  Troy knew Pigpen, Pigpen knew Garcia, Garcia knew Kreutzmann, so they formed a band called the Zodiacs that played frat parties and other dances.  Troy played lead guitar, Pigpen was on harp, most of the time Bill Kreutzmann played drums, and Garcia would sometimes join in on bass guitar.

Take it, you can have it
What I got baby I can’t hold
If you find the secret
Tell me how to build a mold

And I can’t handle your problems
So don’t try to handle mine
Get yourself a shotgun a pocket full of shells
And we can while away the time

Look up at the wall, do it right
If you make a mistake, you’re gonna pay for it twice
But if you need it, got to have it
Get yourself a shotgun and bring it back home
Look up at the wall, you know you gotta crawl
Before you start crawling get ready to fall
And if you fall in my direction
Don’t expect no help at all

Get it right, do it nice
But if you make a mistake you’re gonna pay for it twice
But if you need it, gotta have it
Get yourself a shotgun and bring it back home
Look up the walls
You know you gotta crawl
But if you start calling you’re ready to fall
And if you fall in my direction
Don’t expect no help at all
Don’t expect no help at all
Don’t expect no help at all
And if you fall in my direction
Don’t expect no help at all

Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie MM Music challenge She’s My Baby.

Long-Nosed Liar Emoji

1. What exactly is Yorkshire pudding?

I think this is blood pudding, yuk.

2. What is treacle, and why do people make tarts out of it?

A treacle is a sheep’s testacle, and I have no idea why anyone would want to eat them.

3. What is the key ingredient of haggis?

Gizzards.

4. How is toffee made?

From tofu.

5. How did pound cake get its name?

From the weight you gain after eating it.

6. Why is candy corn so named?

People got tired of eating chicken feed.

7. What is marzipan?

Peter Pan’s cousin from Mars.

8. Why is a baker’s dozen so named?

That is because the Dirty Dozen was already taken.

9. What is meant by the idiom, “Too many cooks spoil the pot”?

The person that cleans it should be the person who rolls it.

10. What is meant by the idiom, “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”?

I never heard that saying, but British people are always getting things wrong.

Written for Frank’s Fibbing Friday.

She’s My Baby

The Traveling Wilburys wanted to remain incognito, so they began operating using the pseudonyms of Charlie T., Nelson, Otis, Lefty, and Lucky Wilbury. They even went through the trouble to create a nonsense backstory, which is detailed in the liner notes of their Volume 1 album that says, “The Original Wilburys were a stationary people who, realizing that their civilization could not stand still forever, began to go for short walks–not the ‘traveling’ as we now know it, but certainly as far as the corner and back. They must have taken to motion, in much the same way as penguins were at that time taking to ledges, for the next we hear of them they were going out for the day (often taking lunch or a picnic). Later, we don’t as yet know how much later, some intrepid Wilburys began to go away for the weekend, leaving late Friday and coming back Sunday. It was they who evolved simple rhythmic forms to describe their adventures.

A remarkable sophisticated musical culture developed, considering there were no managers or agents, and the further the Wilburys traveled the more adventurous their music became, and the more it was revered by the elders of the tribe who believed it had the power to stave off madness, turn brunettes into blondes and increase the size of their ears. As the Wilburys began to go further in their search for musical inspiration they found themselves the object of interest among many less developed species – nightclub owners, tour operators and recording executives. To the Wilburys, who had only just learnt to cope with wives, roadies and drummers, it was a blow from which many of them never recovered.  A tiny handful survived – the last of the traveling Wilburys – and the songs gathered here represent the popular laments, the epic heroic tales, which characterize the apotheosis of the elusive Wilbury sound. The message of the music travels, as indeed they traveled and as I myself must now travel for further treatment. Good listening, good night and let thy Wilbury be done.”

Mindlovemisery's Menagerie

This Traveling Wilburys song was written by all four members of the band George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty and each of them sings a portion of the track.  This was the opening song on the 1990 album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 which followed Roy Orbison’s death which was their second album and it won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.  The Traveling Wilburys were George Harrison’s creation which he put together out of a desire to play with his mates and Harrison, Lynne, Petty, Dylan, and Orbison didn’t want to use their own names, so they made up pseudonyms.  George and Jeff had been calling the studio equipment (limiters, equalizers) “wilburys”, so they first named their five some, The Trembling Wilburys, but Jeff suggested “Traveling” would work better.  Everybody sang, everybody wrote, everybody produced and they all had a lot of fun.

The Traveling Wilburys changed their names for Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 and Harrison became…

View original post 822 more words

Thoughts on Words

Helen Keller knew then that ‘w-a-t-e-r’ meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over her hand but being able to say this word on March 3rd, 1887 awakened her soul, gave it light, hope, joy, setting her free!  We cannot see thoughts or ideas, but they have a way of becoming words, and when Descartes was contemplating his own existence, he said “I think therefore, I am.”  The human brain controls the vocal folds of the larynx, or voice box and the lip, tongue, and throat muscles, which are needed to produce sounds.  Brain cells located in the dorsal laryngeal motor cortex area encode the command signals that are sent to our mouths, and our muscles move in response to these signals so we can produce the correct words relating to our thoughts.

I imagine that words can spur thoughts, especially when you are trying to say something that is stuck on the tip of your tongue.  Saying phrases like , “hold on, wait a minute, or I almost got it” can improve your concentration and help you break the disconnect between what you are trying to say and what you are thinking.  Since I am not a brain surgeon, I have no idea how this interaction works.

Written for Reena’s Exploration Challenge prompt 153 – where she asks three questions.  1. How do my thoughts get processed into words?  2. Or do my words spur thoughts? 3. How do they interact?

Dive and Song

Swans are suddubsome, because they can tip their heads and the front part of their bodies into the water, upending themselves.  Their long flexible necks help them to reach down to grab shoots when stretching for food like leaves, seeds, roots, and pond weeds while swimming in shallow water.  Their bodies are so buoyant that their feet must flap continuously to keep them submerged.  There is a dive called the swan dive, but swans cannot dive like ducks do, instead they plunge their head and long neck below the water’s surface.  There is a myth that swans only sing when they are dying, which is called the swan song.

A swans’ love for its partner is so deep that they mate for life.  Once courtship is complete, the male which are called cobs and female called pens are bonded for life, with few exceptions, remaining together under most circumstances.  If one of the pair dies, the remaining mate will often find a new mate and sometimes, if a pair is unsuccessful in breeding for several years, they may find new mates.  For the most part, swan pairs are very loyal to each other.  Mute swans form the classic image of devotion, with their curved necks entwined in a perfect love heart.  It’s part of a courtship ritual, in which pairs face each other and, with a ruffle of feathers and lifted wings, bow gracefully.

Written for Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Tale Weaver – #293 hosted by Michael – where we are Making Sense of Nonsense today with the word “suddubsome”.

I’m Crazy About You

‘Butterfly’ was written by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann and published in 1957, and it is about a guy that chooses to end a relationship with someone that he has strong feelings for.  Lowe and Mann also wrote the song ‘(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear’ which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1957.  The song is sometimes credited to Anthony September as a songwriter which was a pseudonym used by Anthony Mammarella, the producer of American Bandstand.  The original recording of the song was by Charlie Gracie and it reached #1 on the Billboard chart, #10 on the R&B chart and #12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1957.  A cover version by Andy Williams also reached #1 on the Billboard chart, it went to #1 in the UK, and it also reached #14 on the US R&B chart.  ‘Butterfly’ was rated #11 for the year of 1957 by Billboard.

Andy Williams is probably best known for the song ‘Moon River’ which was the theme song from the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard.  ‘Moon River’ was composed by Johnny Mercer  (lyrics) and Henry Mancini (music), and it won an Oscar.  Williams sang ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ for the 1962 movie of the same name.  Williams had another big hit with ‘Love Story: Where Do I Begin?’ also a movie theme song from the 1970 movie Love Story, which starred Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal.  Williams sang yet another movie theme song ‘Speak Softly, Love’, for 1972’s The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.

Andy Williams had a laid-back delivery and his voice charmed audiences for decades, and he formed a quartet with his three brothers.  The Williams Brothers Quartet appeared on Bing Crosby’s 1944 hit ‘Swinging On a Star’ and they appeared with comedienne Kay Thompson during the late ‘40s.  Andy Williams began his solo career in 1952, making several appearances on Steve Allen’s Tonight Show before signing a contract with Archie Bleyer’s Cadence Records in 1955.  He hit the Top Ten in 1956 with his third single for Columbia Records, ‘Canadian Sunset’.  One year later, his soft-toned cover of the Charlie Gracie rockabilly nugget ‘Butterfly’ and this song was his biggest hit.

You tell me you love me, you say you’ll be true
Then you fly around with somebody new
But I’m crazy about you, you butterfly

You treat me mean, you’re makin’ me cry
I’ve made up my mind to tell you goodbye
But I’m no good without you, you butterfly

I knew from the first time I kissed you
That you were the troublin’ kind
‘Cause the honey drips from your sweet lips
One taste and I’m outta my mind

I love you so much I know what I’ll do
I’m clippin’ your wings, your flyin’ is through
‘Cause I’m crazy about you, you butterfly

Ooh, I’m crazy about you, you butterfly
Ooh, I can’t live without you, you butterfly

I knew from the first time I kissed you
That you were the troublin’ kind
‘Cause the honey that drips from your sweet lips
One taste and I’m outta my mind

Ooh, I love you so much I know what I’ll do
I’m clippin’ your wings, your flyin’ is through
‘Cause I’m crazy about you, you butterfly

You butterfly
You butterfly

Written for Paula’s Thursday Inspiration 74 where this week’s theme is butterfly from the 1966 song ‘Elusive Butterfly by Bob Lind.