Clouds, Love, and Life

Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell wrote ‘Both Sides Now’ where she discusses the upside and the downside of clouds, the give and take of love, and finally the win and lose situations in life.  This was released on her 1969 second album Clouds and it was not a hit for her.  Folk musician Judy Collins recorded peaked at #8 on Billboard’s Hot Top 100 chart and it went to #14 in the UK.  Judy Collins’ track helped to bring Mitchell’s young name closer to the mainstream.  Judy didn’t make any money from this recording, as all the commercial gains went to the songwriter, but she was happy to have a hit song.  Al Kooper met Joni Mitchell in a bar, and he put Mitchell in touch with Judy Collins one night while she was asleep in her New York apartment.  Judy was passed out drunk in the middle of the night when Joni started singing this song to her over the phone.

Joni Mitchell was on a plane reading “Henderson the Rain King”, a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow which examines the midlife crisis of Eugene Henderson, an unhappy millionaire.  She came to this part in the book where Henderson is also up in a plane, on his way to Africa and he looks down and sees these clouds.  Joni put down the book, looked out the window and saw clouds too, and she immediately started writing her first song.  A change in perspective allows for a more well-rounded viewpoint in almost any situation and this will possibly give you a completely different way of seeing things.  Seeing clouds outside the window of an airplane can be beautiful, but these same clouds are blocking the sun and they could be raining on others.  Nothing could be more lovely that looking at “ice cream castles in the air”, but when these clouds rain on your parade, they are not so awesome.

Love only works if both partners can find a balance between give and take, and if this is broken, difficulties will arise and partners will feel that they are not getting what they want from their relationship.  When you are in love, it is like a fairy tale and you feel like everything is full of “Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels”, but Joni was hurt in her past relationships and she knew that she had to conceal some of her feelings so she didn’t keep giving herself away.  Saying, “I love you” is a big step in any relationship, as these words are life changing.  People are going to change as they grow up and we all have to learn how to deal with this.  Sometimes, “something’s lost but something’s gained in living every day,” and even though we struggle to make sense out of life, every day that we survive is a win situation, as it is better than the alternative.  In this philosophical song the singer’s senses are distorted, and she admits that she really doesn’t know clouds, love or life.

Roberta Joan Anderson started piano lessons at age seven, and she heard melodies in her head that she wanted to get out.  At the age of 9, Joni contracted polio and this is also when she started smoking cigarettes.  She was praised for her drawing skills and she attended an art college after high school, but only stayed for one year.  In 1964, at the age of 21 she started performing in Toronto at local folk clubs and coffeehouses.  Joni was a single mother, whose father an old boyfriend had left as soon as he heard of the pregnancy.  Left with a young baby, which she was unable to provide for, she gave her daughter up for adoption, however she was able to keep this part of her life private for the majority of her career.  In June 1965, Joni married musician Chuck Mitchell, but that dissolved in a year and a half, which started a dark period for Joni.  In the mid-1960s she left for New York City where she recorded her eponymous debut album (also known as Songs to a Seagull) in 1967.  The troubles that Joni encountered provided the primary source of her inspiration.

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels the dizzy dancing way you feel
When every fairy tale comes real, I’ve looked at love that way
But now it’s just another show, you leave ‘em laughin’ when you go
And if you care don’t let them know, don’t give yourself away

I’ve looked at love from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud, to say, “I love you” right out loud
Schemes and dreams and circus crowds, I’ve looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads,
They say I’ve changed
But something’s lost but something’s gained in living every day

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #14 Monthly Challenge, May week 5.

Sunshine After Rain

The song ‘Why Worry’ was written by Mark Knopfler lead vocalist, and guitarist of Dire Straits and it was first released by Dire Straits in 1985 on their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms.  Mark said he wrote this with The Everly Brothers in mind and it was a commercial success, reaching the TOP 40 in several countries.  Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler, and The Everly Brothers performed ‘Why Worry’ live in New York, in 1987.  The Everly Brothers recorded the song for their thirtieth album titled Born Yesterday out of the 31 albums that they recorded.  About twenty years later, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris released a collaborative album called All the Roadrunning, which led to them performing together, and when they went out on tour, the song became part of their regular set list.

The lyrics in this song explore the theme of cheering up someone who is sad.  It is a love song between two people who have known worry, and they are able to comfort each other.  They realize the fleeting nature of life and that bad experiences happen to everyone.  He promises to comfort her and help her feel better, even if the world seems hard.  He reminds her that there will always be happiness after sadness and sunshine after rain, so there is no need to worry.  It’s almost a lullaby, as he turns the cold, cruel world into a place of tranquility.

Jennifer Warnes included it on her 2018 album Another Time, Another Place.  In 1987, at the Bottom Line a club in New York City Chet Atkins gave a concert that was titled Music From The Heart with Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, the Everly Brothers, Michael McDonald, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson which was filmed and recorded over two nights.  The concert marked the first time that Chet Atkins had performed live in New York City in over 20 years and an album and video of this performance was released titled Chet Atkins & Friends which featured this song and also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance.

Baby, I see this world has made you sad
Some people can be bad
The things they do, the things they say

But baby, I’ll wipe away those bitter tears
I’ll chase away those restless fears
That turn your blue skies into gray

Why worry
There should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now
Why worry now

Baby, when I get down I turn to you
And you make sense of what I do
And though it isn’t hard to say

But baby, just when this world seems mean and cold
Our love comes shining red and gold
And all the rest is by the way

Why worry
There should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now
Why worry now

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #13 Monthly Challenge, May week 4.

When The Music Plays

The Moody Blues released the Justin Hayward song ‘Your Wildest Dreams’ as a single in 1986 which became the band’s second biggest US hit, reaching #9 on the American charts.  It was later released on their 1986 twelfth studio album The Other Side of Life.  Hayward takes a lookback toward his first love, taking a personal journey wondering about the first girl he ever fell in love with.  This is not lust, but someone who he really fell in love with, and he broke her heart, she was the one who got away and when it was over, he wondered what happened.  What happened to this person, are they still around someplace?  Hayward delves into his past to rediscover his long-lost love, which may be a common experience for a lot of people.

The Moody Blues consisted of Justin Hayward on vocals, and guitar with John Lodge on vocals, and bass, along with Ray Thomas on tambourine, backing vocals, and flute, plus Graeme Edge on drums, percussion and including Patrick Moraz on keyboards, and synthesizers at this time.  Casually reminiscing about a past relationship or a lover that you once had is a normal experience, and you do not need to judge yourself for having these thoughts.  Engaging in a few fleeting memories about your former flame can be healthy, because if you were once in love with them, then you can never be fully over them.  Everyone of your former relationships was a part of your life at one time, so you will have memories with them, whether those memories are negative or positive.  Fantasizing about an ex does not necessarily mean that you want to go back to that person, so this is probably harmless and nothing to worry about.  When you miss your past relationship, you will think about your ex and all the good times you had with them, but if you ex has moved on, you should do the same.

Once upon a time
Once when you were mine
I remember skies
Reflected in your eyes

I wonder where you are
I wonder if you think about me
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

Once the world was new
Our bodies felt the morning dew
That greets the brand-new day
We couldn’t tear ourselves away

I wonder if you care
I wonder if you still remember
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

And when the music plays
And when the words are touched with sorrow
When the music plays
I hear the sound I had to follow
Once upon a time

Once beneath the stars
The universe was ours
Love was all we knew
And all I knew was you

I wonder if you know
I wonder if you think about it
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

And when the music plays
And when the words are touched with sorrow
When the music plays
And when the music plays
I hear the sound I had to follow
Once upon a time

Once upon a time
Once when you were mine
I remember skies
Mirrored in your eyes

I wonder where you are
I wonder if you think about me
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

In your wildest dreams
In your wildest dreams
In your wildest dreams

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #12 Monthly Challenge, May week 3.

They Always Win

Melanie Safka wrote and recorded ‘The Nickel Song’ on her seventh album The Good Book which was released in 1971.  All of these albums were recorded on Buddah Records except for RPM which was a Movie Soundtrack, and they were all studio albums except for Leftover Wine, where most of it was recorded live at Carnegie Hall in New York City.  The single made it to #35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Melanie set a record for the first female performer to land three simultaneous Top 40 hits with ‘Brand New Key’, ‘Ring the Living Bell’ and ‘Nickel Song’.  Melanie was awarded Billboard’s #1 Top Female Vocalist for 1972.  She also became a UNISEF Ambassador that same year.  This was Melanie’s last album with Buddah Records and she left them when they insisted that she produce albums on demand.  In 1971, she formed her own label, Neighborhood Records, with Peter Schekeryk who was also her producer and husband.

This song seems to be about the music industry taking advantage of her music, which happened a lot back then and still does today.  Every artist has to take a risk signing with a music label, especially before Indie music came along, or otherwise they would go unnoticed.  They have to gamble on their record becoming a hit and making something good happen for their career.  I think that Melanie felt like she was doing all the work and the record company was getting a lot more of the profits than she was receiving.  They were putting in a nickel and expecting her to give them a dollar song.  The record labels always seem to win, because without them the artists would never be heard.  Melanie recorded this song again on her 1979 live album Ballroom Streets.

Well, you know that I’m not a gambler
But I’m being gambled on
They put in a nickel and I sing a little song
Da, da, da, da, da
They put in a nickel and I sing a little song

Well, I don’t mind that they’re lucky
But it seems that they always win
And gamblin’ is illegal in the state of mind I’m in
And if I had a nickel for each time that I’ve been put on
I would be the nickel man and I’d sing a nickel song

They’re only putting in a nickel and they want a dollar song
Oh, Lord, they’re only putting in a little and they want a dollar song

Well, you know, I don’t know so many things
But I know what’s been goin’ on
We’re only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that’s wrong
And if we had a nickel for each time that we’ve been put on
We’d all be the nickel man and we’d sing a nickel song

You know, they’re only putting in a nickel
And they want a dollar song
Oh, Lord, they’re only putting in a nickel
And they want a dollar song

Well, you know that I’m not a gambler
But I’m being gambled on
They put in a nickel and I sing a little song
Da, da, da, da, da

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #10 Monthly Challenge, May week 2.

Do My Shopping

There are a lot of choices for artists or bands I like which begin with the letter M that I could use for the month of May.  I could go with a song by Madonna, Mahalia Jackson, Manfred Mann, Maria Muldaur, Mariah Carey, Marianne Faithfull, Mark Knopfler, Maroon 5, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marty Robbins, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Meat Loaf, Melanie Safka, Men at Work, Merle Haggard, Mick Jagger, Minnie Riperton, Mississippi John Hurt, Mitch Ryder, Mott the Hoople, Mountain, Muddy Waters, The Mamas & The Papas, The Monkees, The Moody Blues, and many others.  I wrote about a Monkees song in March and for May I will probably write about the Melanie song ‘Beautiful People’, The Moody Blues song ‘Your Wildest Dreams’, Mark Knopfler’s song ‘Why Worry’ and for today the Maria Muldaur’s song ‘I’m A Woman’ that was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

This song was first recorded in 1962 by Christine Kittrell who was a premiere female vocalist on the Nashville night club circuit.  This song was a minor hit for Peggy Lee, reaching #54 on the U.S. pop charts in 1963.  There were two covers by Maria Muldaur; first with Jim Kweskin’s Jug Band in the mid-1960s, which also included her husband, Geoff Muldaur and then she recorded this again as a solo performer in 1974.  The latter reached #12 on U.S. pop charts, and this was Muldaur’s only hit other than her signature song ‘Midnight at the Oasis’.  She started out as Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D’Amato born in New York City in 1943 and she ran away from home at 17 and ended up around the corner from her house where she became a nanny to an eccentric married couple that had a massive blues and jazz record collection.  Whenever she was in the home alone or after the kids had been put to sleep, she delved into everything from Leadbelly to Jimmie Rogers.  During the folk revival of the early ’60s, she began exploring and singing early Blues, Bluegrass and Appalachian “Old Timey” Music, beginning her recording career in 1963 with the Even Dozen Jug Band, an acoustic music ensemble that also included future stars John Sebastian and David Grisman.  Shortly after, she joined the very popular Jim Kweskin Jug Band, touring and recording with them in the ’60s.  Maria befriended an unknown folk singer named Bob Dylan, and gravitated to the growing McDougal Street music scene.

‘I’m A Woman’ was released on her 1974 album Waitress in a Donut Shop.  Maria became part of the Jerry Garcia band from late 1977 through 1978 singing backup harmonies with Donna Godchaux.  Muldaur, who lives in the Bay Area, first met Garcia around 1974, through the band’s bassist, the late John Kahn who was a member of her band.  Maria Muldaur made her first guest appearance with Jerry Garcia in July of 1974.  I caught a Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders show at the Bottom Line, New York, NY that featured Maria Muldaur singing.

I can wash out forty four pairs of socks
And have ‘em on the line
I can starch and iron two dozen shirts
‘Fore you can count from one to nine
I can slip up a great big dip up of lard
From a drippings can
Throw it in the skillet, do my shopping
Be back before it melts in the pan
‘Cause I’m a woman
W O M A N
I’ll say it again
I can rub and scrub
‘Til this house shinin’ like a dime
Feed the baby, grease the car
Powder my face at the same time
Get all dressed up
Go out swing ‘til 4 a.m. and then
Lay down at 5, jump up at 6
And start all over again
‘Cause I’m a woman
W O M A N
I’ll say it again
If you come to me sickly
You know I’m gonna make you well
If you come to me all hexed up
You know I’m gonna break the spell
If you come to me hungry
You know I’m gonna fill you full of grits
If it’s lovin you’re likin’
I’ll kiss you and give you the shiverin’ fits
‘Cause I’m a woman
W O M A N
I’ll say it again
I got a twenty dollar gold piece
Says there ain’t nothing I can’t do
I can make a dress out of a feed bag
And I can make a man out of you
‘Cause I’m a woman
W O M A N
I’ll say it again
‘Cause I’m a woman
W O M A N
And that’s all

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #10 Monthly Challenge, May week 1.

Like Lovers Do

Annie Lennox cowrote the song ‘Here Comes the Rain Again’ about the depression of being in an unrequited love situation.  In this song, a big flood of emotions comes over her every time she sees this special person and she wants to express it, by walking, talking, and kissing this person like lovers do.  She also wonders if the object of her affection feels the same way that she does.  The rain is a metaphor for loneliness and uncertainty in a relationship and this was supposedly written on an overcast day in the Mayflower Hotel in New York after an argument that Annie Lennox and David Stewart were in.  It was released on the Eurythmics 1983 third studio album Touch, and the single reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it went to #8 on the UK Singles Chart.  Stewart had his Casio keyboard out when Lennox looked out the window to see the gray skies and she said, “Here comes the rain again.”  Depression about the weather can lead to a downward spiral and that mood was captured in this song.

Rain in this song has the power to invoke memories, which are possibly related to past love failures or feelings of depression.  Vocalist Annie Lennox and instrumentalist Dave Stewart lived together for four years before ending their romantic relationship and forming Eurythmics.  They found each other when she was 21, and he was 24 and Annie was working as a waitress in Stewart’s hometown of Sunderland.  In 1980, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox arrived in America for the first time with their pop-rock band The Tourists and they always seemed to get along because of the mutual respect that they had for each other.  The Eurythmics were named after a mime performed by Émile Jacques-Dalcrose who was a Swiss composer, musician, and music educator that developed Dalcrose eurhythmics, an approach to learning and experiencing music through movement, which involved varied dance movements linked to specific musical rhythms.

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
Want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you?

So, baby, talk to me
Like lovers do
Walk with me
Like lovers do
Talk to me
Like lovers do

Here comes the rain again
Raining in my head like a tragedy
Tearing me apart like a new emotion (ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
I want to breathe in the open wind
I want to kiss like lovers do
Want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you?

So, baby, talk to me
Like lovers do
Walk with me
Like lovers do
Talk to me
Like lovers do

So, baby, talk to me
Like lovers do

Ooh
Ooh, yeah
Here it comes again
Ooh-ooh
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Here it comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
(Here it comes again, here it comes again, oh-ah)
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
Want dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you?

Ooh, here it comes again
Here comes the rain again (I said)
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion (ooh, ooh, yeah)
I want to walk in the open wind (ooh, ooh)
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you?

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #9 Monthly Challenge, April week 4.

I Was Pretty Green

‘When I Was Young’ was written by Eric Burdon and included on various Animals albums as well as being a single release.  The single charted at #45 in the UK and it made it to #15 in the US.  The original band, the Animals, broke up in 1966 and this band was entirely new except for lead singer Eric Burdon and drummer Barry Jenkins, who joined the original lineup when John Steel left in February 1966.  This new band featured guitarist Vic Briggs, bassist Danny McCulloch, and electric violinist John Weider, Burdon began to move from the gritty blues sound of the original mid-1960s group into psychedelic music.  This song was written by the five members of the band and was the first release to feature this lineup.  The first gig that this new lineup played was at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Many of the original lineup hits that the Animals had were written in the Brill Building, and their producer Mickie Most wanted then to do covers, so it would make this British Invasion band sound more American.  In 1965, the Animals parted ways with their producer due to the overtly commercial material that he was putting their way.  The Animals started out with Burdon, organist Alan Price, lead guitarist Hilton Valentine, bass guitarist Bryan “Chas” Chandler, and drummer John Steel.  The Animals underwent numerous personnel changes in the mid-1960s, and suffered from poor business management, leading the original incarnation to split up in 1966.  In 1965, Alan Price was the first one to leave the Animals and he formed the Alan Price Set.  John Steel was the next to leave and he was replaced by Barry Jenkins.  Chas Chandler and Hilton Valentine dropped out next with Valentine going back to manage his former group The Wildcats and Chandler met up with Jimi Hendrix.  This new version of the Animals recorded 3 studio albums before Eric Burdon broke-up the group and formed the funk-oriented War.

‘When I Was Young’ is somewhat of an autobiographical song, as it talks about Burdon’s father Matt, who may have been a soldier, as Eric was born in 1941, but I read that he was some type of electrician that repaired things.  It also mentions some of young Eric’s adventures, smoking his first cigarette at 10, and meeting his first love at 13.  Burdon sings that rooms were much colder when he was young, but contrary to this, older people are more likely to have slightly colder body temperatures than younger ones, because they are unable to regulate their body temperatures.  Pain is not thought to be more painful when you are young, as studies related to the impact of age on pain sensitivity have ranged from increased sensitivity to decreased sensitivity to no change.  I think on the whole that life is more fun when you are young, so I can see laughter being louder.

The rooms were so much colder then
My father was a soldier then
And times were very hard
When I was young

I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
And I had quite a ball
When I was young

When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young

I met my first love at thirteen
She was brown and I was pretty green
And I learned quite a lot when I was young
When I was young
When I was young

Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young

My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow man
And I was so much older then
When I was young
When I was young
When I was young

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #8 Monthly Challenge, April week 3.

Written With Burnt Matches

One of the first hits for The Allman Brothers Band was ‘Whipping Post’, which was written by Gregg Allman and a five-minute studio version of this song appeared on their 1969 debut album The Allman Brothers Band.  This song appeared again on their 1971 double live album At Fillmore East, being a 23-minute rendition and taking up the entire final side.  ‘Whipping Post’ earned spots on both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list and Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.  Gregg Allman was 21 years old when the song was first recorded and he wrote it in March 1969, when The Allman Brothers Band was first formed.  ‘Whipping Post’ has gone down in music history as one of the greatest jams of all time because of its shrieking lead guitars, its lyrics that touch on existential sorrow, and its impossibly tight rhythm section which provide a perfect storm of raw emotions.

Gregg had failed to make a name for himself as a musician during a late-1960s stint in Los Angeles, and was on the verge of quitting music altogether when his brother Duane Allman called and said his new band needed a vocalist.  Gregg Allman was in the midst of the most prolific writing period of his career.  He arrived in Jacksonville with nearly two dozen songs, but the band only liked two of his songs ‘It’s Not My Cross to Bear’ and ‘Dreams’.  Gregg wrote ‘Whipping Post’ when he was in Jacksonville in 1968 right after he returned from Los Angeles.  Inspired by the new environment, he quickly wrote two more staples of the Allman Brothers Band’s repertoire, ‘Whipping Post’ and ‘BlackHearted Woman’.  It was late at night when the music and lyrics for this song jarred Gregg awake, while everyone in the home of artist Ellen Hopkins was asleep.  During the hippie movement of 1969, several of the Allman Brothers occupied spare rooms in the Gray House on Riverside Avenue with Ellen Hopkins and her family.  The main rule was to remain silent through the night, so the baby wouldn’t be woken up.

Supposedly Gregg wrote this song on an ironing board using burnt matches because it was the middle of the night and he couldn’t find a pen.  A car’s headlight illuminated the kitchen for just enough time for Gregg Allman to spot a red-and-blue box of matches.  It was imperative that he get this down, not just the lyrics but also the odd 11/4-time signature that broke up the 11 beats into bite sized chunks of 3, 3, 3, and 2.  Gregg struck a match, blew it out, and using the burnt end, he finished this song.

The song’s title and lyrics reflect a particularly memorable image of the antebellum South, though it is an experience southern whites had probably only borne witness to.  The blues rock song’s lyrics center on a metaphorical whipping post, an evil woman and futile existential sorrow.  A man feels like he has been betrayed by his woman to the point where he feels like he’s helpless, as if he were tied to the whipping post, awaiting more punishment.  I guess this could be called a love song but it is not romantic, as its theme is about conflict and abuse.

This song acquired a quasi-legendary role in early 1970s rock concerts, when audience members at other artists’ concerts would semi-jokingly yell out “Whipping Post!” as a request between numbers, echoing the fan that was captured on At Fillmore East album.  In 1982, Frank Zappa was playing Helsinki, Finland, and in the middle of this very quiet, nice concert hall from the back of the room a voice rings out, ‘Whipping Post’.  He thought, all right, here it is, so he played the song and consequently, his band would end up playing ‘Whipping Post’ as an encore at all of their live shows from then on.

I’ve been run down and I’ve been lied to.
And I don’t know why, I let that mean woman make me a fool.
She took all my money, wrecks my new car.
Now she’s with one of my good time buddies,
They’re drinkin’ in some cross-town bar.

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.
Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’

My friends tell me, that I’ve been such a fool.
But I had to stand by and take it baby, all for lovin’ you.
Drown myself in sorrow as I look at what you’ve done.
But nothing seemed to change, the bad times stayed the same,
And I can’t run.

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.
Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’.

Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel,
Like I’ve been tied to the whippin’ post.
Tied to the whippin’ post, tied to the whippin’ post.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m dyin’

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag #7 Monthly Challenge, April week 2.

Meltdown in the Sky

I know a few groups whose name starts with the letter “A” like Aaliyah, Aaron Neville, ABBA, AC/DC, Adam and the Ants, Aerosmith, Air Supply, Al Green, Al Hirt, Al Jarreau, Al Jolson, Al Martino, Al Stewart, Alabama, Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, Alice In Chains, Alison Krauss, Allman Brothers Band, America, Amy Winehouse, Andrews Sisters, Andy Williams, Animals, Anita Ward, Anne Murray, Annie Lennox, Archie Bell & the Drells, Arctic Monkeys, Aretha Franklin, Argent, Ariana Grande, Arlo Guthrie, Arthur Brown, Ashanti, and Auburn, but I am not sure if Glyn considers April to have 4 or 5 weeks in it for his new challenge.  I bolded 4 groups that I will probably be choosing songs from, but there are plenty of choices for groups or artists that start with the letter “A”.  Let’s kick this party off with ‘Livin’ On The Edge’ by Aerosmith.

Aerosmith released this song on their 1993 eleventh studio album Get A Grip.  It went to #19 in the UK and it reached #18 in the US.  ‘Livin’ on the Edge’ was written by lead singer Steven Tyler, lead guitarist Joe Perry, and American record producer, musician and songwriter Mark Hudson was brought in to help out on this album.  The song received much critical acclaim and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for the year 1993.  The video for the song did well wining a string of awards, earning the band a Viewer’s Choice award at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards and was voted “Best Video” by Metal Edge readers in the magazine’s 1993 Readers’ Choice Awards.  The lyrics are pessimistic, with a melancholy undertone that describe the world as a crazy place where people become stagnated in their routines, because they fear or refuse to change.  This song was said to be inspired by the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which took place after the white police officers accused of beating the black motorist Rodney King were acquitted.  Steven Tyler was chosen to perform at the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, and he did this song along with ‘Dream on’.  Oddly these two songs were both used by Trump in campaign rallies which Aerosmith had to send him a cease-and-desist letter, on the grounds that it implied their endorsement, which he did not have.  Weird Al Yankovic did a parody of this song called ‘Livin’ in the Fridge’, which is about food left in the refrigerator too long.

There’s something wrong with the world today
I don’t know what it is
Something’s wrong with our eyes
We’re seeing things in a different way
And God knows it ain’t his
It sure ain’t no surprise, yeah

Living on the edge
Living on the edge
Living on the edge
Living on the edge

There’s something wrong with the world today
The light bulb’s getting dim
There’s meltdown in the sky
If you can judge a wise man
By the color of his skin
Then mister you’re a better man than I, oh

Living on the edge
(You can’t help yourself from falling)
Living on the edge
(You can’t help yourself at all)
Living on the edge
(You can’t stop yourself from falling)
Living on the edge
(Everybody, everybody)

Tell me what you think about your situation
Complication, aggravation
Is getting to you, yeah
If Chicken Little tells you that the sky is falling
Even if it wasn’t, would you still come crawling
Back again?
I bet you would my friend
Again, and again, and again, and again, and again

Yeah, tell me what you think about your situation
Complication, aggravation
Is getting to you
If Chicken Little tells you that the sky is falling
Even if it wasn’t, would you still come crawling
Back again?
I bet you would my friend
Again, and again, and again, and again

Something right with the world today
And everybody knows it’s wrong
But we can tell ‘em no or we could let it go
But I would rather be a hanging on

Living on the edge
(You can’t help yourself from falling)
Living on the edge
(You can’t help yourself at all)
Living on the edge
(You can’t stop yourself from falling)
Living on the edge
(Everybody, everybody)

Living on the edge
Living on the edge
Living on the edge
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…

Get talkin’ to me
Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself from falling
Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself at all
Living on the edge
You can’t stop yourself from falling
Living on the edge

Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself
You can’t help yourself
Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself at all

Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself
You can’t help yourself
Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself
You can’t help yourself
Living on the edge
You can’t help yourself at all

Living on the edge
Yeah, yeah, yeah…

Written for Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag Monthly Challenge, April week 1.

Front Page News

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote ‘(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’ for the Monkees, who recorded it on their 1966 second album, More of the Monkees.  Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded this song a few months before the Monkees on their fifth album, Midnight Ride, but they did not get the exposure that the TV band got.  This was sung by drummer Mickey Dolenz and first released as the B-side of their second single, ‘I’m a Believer’, which went to #1, but this flip side reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was their first song to chart.  Besides Mickey Dolenz being on this song, the other musicians were Tommy Boyce (backing vocal), Wayne Erwin and Gerry McGee (rhythm guitar), Louis Shelton (lead guitar), Bobby Hart (Vox Continental organ), Larry Taylor (bass), Billy Lewis (drums) and Henry Lewy (percussion).  In their early years, The Monkees songs were usually recorded by top session musicians.

The song is about a girl who started out at the bottom, not even having shoes to wear, but by taking advantage of this guy, she has climbed the social ladder.  The guy is now tired of her walking all over him, so he tells her that he’s not going to take it anymore.  She views herself as being a big deal, because now she has fancy clothes, and she has learned a few tricks.  The guy realizes that she’s just using him to become more popular and he is not going to help her achieve her goal for the time being.

One, two, one, two, three, four

I met you, girl, you didn’t have no shoes
Now you’re walking ‘round like you’re front page news
You’ve been awful, careful ‘bout the friends you choose
But, you won’t have my name in your book of who’s who

Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone

You’re making your mark in society
Using all the tricks that you used on me
All them high fashion magazines
The clothes you’re wearin’, girl, are causing public scenes

Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone

One, two, one, two, three, four

Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone

Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Not your steppin’ stone
Oh, not your steppin’ stone, no, not me

Oh, babe, I’m not your steppin’ stone
No babe, I’m not your steppin’ stone
Babe, not your steppin’ stone, not me
Not your steppin’ stone
No babe, I’m not your

Written for Glyn’s Monthly Music Challenge, March week 5.