Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Lyrics’

I don’t have any pretensions about being a poet.  My lyrics are there for entertainment purposes only — not to be taken internally.   Some of them are truly stupid, some are slightly less stupid and a few of them are sort of funny.  Apart from the snide political stuff, which I enjoy writing, the rest of the lyrics wouldn’t exist at all if it weren’t for the fact that we live in a society where instrumental music is irrelevant — so if a guy expects to earn a living by providing musical entertainment for folks in the U.S.A., he’d better figure out how to do something with a human voice plopped on it.
    —     Frank Zappa
From his book: “The Real Frank Zappa Book
.
On This Day In:
2022 Jeopardy
2021 Will Republican Senators Convict A Former President?
Keep Moving, Keep Rolling
2020 Republican Acceptance Of Abuse Of Office
2019 The Courage Of Four Skills
2018 And Stable Genius, Too
2017 And So We Continue
2016 Feeling Endangered?
2015 One Day
2014 Too Bad
2013 Unfinished
2012 First Steps Along The Path
2011 A Small Part Of Future Webs

Read Full Post »

As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey.
    —     Ralph Waldo Emerson
[Which (somehow) reminds me of the Willie Nelson lyrics:
“There’s an ol’ doctor who told me
That I better start slowin’ it down.
But there’s more old drunks
Than there are old doctor’s
So I guess I better have another round.”
From his song:  “I Gotta Get Drunk”    —    kmab]
.
On This Day In:
2021 Someone Should Tell Senator Joe Manchin
One Of The Things We Need
2020 Boxing Day 2020
Fractal Branches
Advice For Sons, Too
2019 Almost Soulful Pleasure
2018 Cursive In The News
2017 Coffee Crunch
2016 Preparation
2015 Scarcely Asked
2014 They Resemble Us
2013 Both
2012 That’s Success!
2011 Losing At Dominoes
2010 1,001

Read Full Post »

If I Can Dream

Favorite Line(s):
And while I can think,
While I can talk
While I can stand,
While I can walk
While I can dream,
Please let my dream
Come true,
Right now
.
On This Day In:
2022 Looking For Treasure Troves
2021 True Originality
There Must Be Peace And Understanding
2020 #45: Lies And Hate-Speech Are Not Moral Leadership
2019 Be Brave
2018 What Else Matters?
2017 Slow Go
2016 A Tiny Ripple Of Hope
2015 Liberating Books
2014 Discover God
2013 Without Witness
2012 Nutritarian

Read Full Post »

I Lived

Favorite Line(s):
I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places
The things that I did
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived
.
On This Day In:
2021 Maybe A Tiny Bit Wiser
On The Other Side Of That Hill
2020 Resistant Expectation
Every Second
2019 Two More Reasons Trump Is Such A Poor Leader
2018 Conservatives Have 20/20 Hindsight
#Forever44
2017 Dodgers Choke Away World Series
Firing Director Comey = Obstruction
2016 Why Do Republicans Always Seem To Be Angry?
2015 All Things Being Equal
2014 Fearful Light
2013 Unexpectedly Knowledgeable
2012 Seems Obvious
2011 See The Specialist

Read Full Post »

Mid-Night Train To Georgia

Favorite Lines:
I’d rather live in his world
(live in his world)
Than live without him
in mine
(Her world is his,
his and hers alone)
[Why I agreed to move to England back in the 1990’s when my Hil got homesick.   —   kmab]
.
On This Day In:
2019 And #IncompetentTrump Is A Failure At Both
2018 To Excel At Your Craft
Day 12: Waiting
2017 Like When You Can Order Others To Fight For You
2016 Holding Fast
2015 Alms Or Balms
2014 A Day At The Beach
2013 Pillows
Steppin’
2012 Invincible Summer
2011 Being Objective
2010 First Things First…
Northwest Passages – Intro
Northwest Passages – Day One
Northwest Passages – Poetry
Northwest Passages – Evening One
Northwest Passages – Morning Two

Read Full Post »

For The Good Times

Favorite Lines:
Hear the whisper
Of the rain drops
Blowing soft
Against the window
.
On This Day In:
2019 Another Thought On #45’s Poor Education
2018 As Long As You Survive Each Experience
WordPress to Facebook Test…
Day 7: Oh, Yeah!
2017 A Good Habit
2016 The Minds Of Trumpism
2015 Expressing Nonsense
2014 A Real Fight
2013 Unravelling
2012 I Resolve
2011 Practice, Practice, Practice
2009 Phoenix Trip (July ’09)

Read Full Post »

R.I.P.:  Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020)
Some versions of a very few songs are just “special”.  They evoke in the listener, a memory of a time, a place, a smell, or (sometimes) of a lost love.  Kenny Rogers’ version of “The Gambler” was bit of all of the above for me.  I have no idea how many times I’ve heard or absently hummed along to this song (or many of his other hits).  He certainly dealt me more than one “ace”.  I hope he felt he left the table a winner…
And when he finished speakin’
He turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette
And faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler he broke even
But in his final words
I found an ace that I could keep.
.
On This Day In:
2022 One World (Our Only Place)…
2021 Move The Heart
Join Hands
2020 He Broke Even
Whoever / Whatever
2019 The Right Anger
Another P&P Review
2018 Does Fatalism Equal Mental Health?
2017 Choice
2016 Growing Worlds
2015 Change The Tide
Martyr, n.
2014 You, Too!
2013 Bitter Stand
2012 Lost For Words
2011 On Market Reactions…

Read Full Post »

There is a recently released biopic of Freddie Mercury out now, which means there are numerous social media links to the music of Queen.  Now, there is (IMHO) little doubt Queen was one of the most significant rock bands of the 1970’s – 80’s.  Everyone has heard of “Bohemian Rhapsody“, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions“, but I’ve recently been listening to one of the bands last releases:  “These Are the Days of Our Lives” – over and over again.  I hope you enjoy the video (and the lyrics below) as much I do…
These Are the Days of Our Lives
Sometimes I get to feelin’
I was back in the old days,
long ago
When we were kids,
when we were young
Things seemed so perfect,
you know?
The days were endless, we were crazy, we were young
The sun was always shinin’,
we just lived for fun
Sometimes it seems like lately,
I just don’t know
The rest of my life’s been,
just a show
Those are the days
of our lives
The bad things in life
were so few
Those days are all gone now but
one thing is true
When I look
and I find
I still love you.
You can’t turn back the clock,
you can’t turn back the tide
Ain’t that a shame?
Ooh, I’d like to go back one time
on a roller coaster ride
When life was just a game
No use in sitting and thinkin’ on what you did
When you can lay back and enjoy it through your kids
Sometimes it seems like lately,
I just don’t know
Better sit back and go,
with the flow
These are the days
of our lives
They’ve flown in the swiftness of time
These days are all gone now but
some things remain
When I look
and I find,
no change
Those were the days of our lives,
yeah
The bad things in life
were so few
Those days are all gone now but
one thing’s still true
When I look
and I find,
I still love you
I still love you
Performed by:  Queen
Written by:  Brian May, Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor
.
On This Day In:
2021 Likely To Be Subtle
My Temp’s Pretty High
Scratching A Persistent Itch
2020 A Word Of Assurance They Are Not Alone
Is #45 Still Crying?
2019 It’s Obvious
2018 Passed Too Swiftly
2017 On Our Wall (Part 1)
2016 Or The Ripples From A Good Life
2015 Titles And Reputations
2014 Unfolding
2013 Again
2012 Needs
Damned
2011 Potter & Prejudice
Blink, Blink

Read Full Post »

True Love Ways

Just you know why
Why you and I
Will bye and bye
Know true love ways
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Throughout the days
Our true love ways
Will bring us joys to share
With those who really care
Sometimes we’ll sigh
Sometimes we’ll cry
And we’ll know why
Just you and I
Know true love ways
Songwriters:  Buddy Holly and Norman Petty
Performed by:   Buddy Holly
.
On This Day In:
2015 Be Happy, Too
2014 At Least Smile
2013 Comfortably Bound
2012 Certainty
Thinking About Fathers
2011 And In Every Level Of Media

Read Full Post »

The following is a song I recently stumbled upon on YouTube.com.  It’s not one I remember, so obviously it never changed my life, but I like it so much I’ve added it to the lyrics on my “poems” page.  Enjoy the song, then read the lyrics…
The world I used to know…
Some day some old
familiar rain
Will come along
and know my name.
And then my shelter
will be gone
And I’ll have to
move along.
But ’till I do
I’ll stay awhile
And track the
hidden country
of your smile.
Some day the man
I used to be
Will come along
and call on me.
And then because I’m
just a man,
You’ll find my feet
are made of sand.
But ’till that time
I’ll tell you lies
And chart the
hidden bound’ries
of your eyes.
Some day the world
I used to know
Will come along
and bid me go.
Then I’ll be leaving
you behind
For love is just
a state of mind.
But ’till that day
I’ll be your man
And love away
your troubles
if I can.
But ’till that day
I’ll be your man
And love away
your troubles
if I can.
In the world
I used to know
Written by:   Rod McKuen
Performed by:   Jimmie Rodgers
.
On This Day In:
2022 There Is No Fate But What You Make
2021 The Silent Word
Touched My Hand
2020 Releasing Their Fears
2019 17 Days Until The Next Government Shutdown
2018 Disciplined Models
2017 We Cannot Afford Enemies
2016 Love Is Just A State Of Mind
2015 Waiting?
2014 Big C, Little B (II)
Where God Has Not
2013 Chasing His Dragon
Shaped And Molded
2012 Believe In Yourself
2011 Cultural Equivalence
Why Not?
Books About Books
The Basis For Adult Continuing Education

Read Full Post »

Today I’ve added two song lyrics to my Poems page.  I’ve also updated six more of the ones already on the page to include the YouTube videos.
The additions are:  “Lydia – The Tattooed Lady” and “People Got To Be Free“.  The performances are by Groucho Marx, and The Young Rascals, respectively.
Both of these songs are songs which just popped into my head when I woke up and stuck there for the rest of the day.  Both are from my earlier years – the first (“Lydia“) before I understood the “implications” of being a female in the circus and “tattooed”.  While humorously presented, it has a quite serious side.
The second song is from one of my all time favorite groups as an early youth:  “The Young Rascals“, later shortened to just “The Rascals“.  These guys had a string of hits, and this is one of my favorites.  I’m sure there will be more to come…
My favorite lines are:
Ask me my opinion,
My opinion will be
It’s a natural situation
For a man to be free
The six updates are:
I Am A Rock
Like A Rock
I Hope You Dance
She’s Gone
Like A Rolling Stone
I’m A Believer
If you don’t know these songs or haven’t read the lyrics lately, you owe it to yourself to check them out.  Then you can drop down to the bottom of the page to enjoy the performance.
As always, read the lyrics, enjoy the performances, then go support these artists or the artists of your choice.  Participate in supporting the Arts locally!  Keep Art alive in your community!
.
On This Day In:
2021 Being Constantly Great
Hopeful Realization
2020 Sapping Joy
Blew Out My Flip-Flop
Really Wheelie
2019 Word Up
2018 But Much Is Worth Learning
2017 Mr. President, About Global Warming
2016 Starting To Stumble
2015 Begin Combat
I Am A Runner
2014 Just Dig ‘N It, Why?
2013 Additions
The Object Of Instruction
2012 Telling Her
2011 On Torture

Read Full Post »

Thomas Robert “Tom” Laughlin (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013)
Before Steven Seagal (all three word title movies), before John Rambo (“Rambo” series), before John McClane (“Die Hard” series), before Paul Kersey (“Death Wish” series), before Kwai Chang Caine (“Kung Fu” TV series) – there was Billy Jack in “Born Losers” (1967).  Tom Laughlin brought to the big screen the start of the modern vigilante movie genre with the character of Billy Jack.  It seems strange how a little martial arts on the big screen, mixed with some social awareness and righteous indignation can affect people’s lives.
As a twelve year old kid I remember thinking, “Wow, I’ve got to learn how to do that!”  What I was looking at was Hapkido – a Korean form of Karate (open hand fighting).  Ten years later, I found a Hapkido dojo in Germany and studied it for almost a year during my off hours (I was in the Army).  That was set aside once I returned to civilian life…  Until I found Judo, while I was in college.  I took that for a semester, too.  When I moved to England in the ’90’s, a friend from work (who was a black belt in judo) said he’d love to get me on a mat and asked if I was interested in going to a dojo to learn Aikido.  My friend (Dave) and I found a local dojo and began our lessons.  We continued on with that for about two years.  It was great having someone who was a lifelong martial artist as a co-student because he could explain things in much greater detail than I could ever have gotten (except in one-on-one personal lessons).  For his side, he got someone who was bigger and heavier who he could throw around for a couple of hours twice a week.  We both moved on and I stumbled on to a Philippine “combat” style of Aikido while I was in Saudi Arabia which I tried for another year.  And then finally, once back home in America, I was back to traditional Aikido at a local dojo for several years (until I developed AFib and went on blood thinners).
Practicing martial arts, of course, lead me to read about martial arts, which in turn lead to me reading about martial philosophy and then philosophy in general.
Did I ever “become” a martial artist?  No.  Did I ever learn how to do that?  Not hardly.  I never took it seriously enough to be more than what I was – a novice and a bit of a dojo sampler.  Did I enjoy it?  Yes, very much.  Did it affect me?  Yes!  And for at least some small part of that, I have to thank Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin).
Beyond the enjoyment of playing Aikido itself, I learned timing, balance, grace, philosophy, and I gained a certain amount of inner peace.  For all of which, I will always be extremely grateful.
R.I.P.  Tom
Signed,
KMAB (A Fan)
[Please also go check out the song lyrics to “One Tin Soldier – (The Legend of Billy Jack)” on my Song Lyrics And Videos page.   —    KMAB]
.
On This Day In:
2021 Chocolate
Never Knowing
2020 In Passing
Look A Little Bit Closer
2019 Especially Mine
90 Day Health / Weight Update (Dec 2019)
2018 And Some Never Do
2017 When We Know We Are Loved
2016 Good Acts
2015 Will You Be Leaving Soon?
2014 Just Long Enough
2013 R.I.P. – Tom Laughlin
Seeking Success?
2012 All Aboard
2011 Sail On, Sailor

Read Full Post »

Today, I took Hil and my mom to my sister’s so I could watch the football game with her husband, while the ladies went out for some wine tasting.  On the way home, my mom asked me if I remembered “Old Uncle Joe”.  Joe wasn’t really our uncle.  He was just an elderly man who lived in the same apartment building we did.  Joe was a World War I veteran.  He used to sing us little songs from the early days of radio and phonographs.  My mom’s comment was that not many people can say they grew up actually knowing someone who fought in World War I (tomorrow is Veterans Day).
I said that I did remember Joe and I asked if she remembered that little song about the Irishman which he taught us.  She said she did not.  After a few minutes, some of it came back to me and I started singing it for them.  I didn’t remember all of it.  Just the part after “rigged him out so gay”…
As usual, curiosity got the better of me and I looked the song up on Google…  The first verse and chorus follow:
Jim O’Shea
Was cast away
Upon an Indian
Isle
The natives there
They loved red hair
They loved his
Irish smile
They made him
Chief Panjandrum
The Nabob
Of them all
They called him
Jij-i-bob Jhai
And rigged him out
So gay
He wrote
To Dublin Bay
To
His
Sweet-
Heart,
Just
To
Say  
Sure,
I’ve got
Rings on my fingers,
And bells on my toes
Elephants
To ride upon,
My little Irish
Rose
So come to
Your Nabob,
On next
Patrick’s Day
Be
Missus
Mumbo
Jumbo
Jij-i-bob
J.
O’Shea  
Song Title:  “I’ve Got Rings On My Fingers
Written by:  F. J. Barnes and R. P. Weston
Originally written in 1909
I didn’t know this was a “proper” song or that it was fairly popular in its day.  I also didn’t know there were other verses.  At least I don’t remember ever hearing them or singing them.  You can Google the song title and the lyrics are available on multiple sites and a couple of recordings are available on YouTube – including one version on a scratchy gramophone.
Hil commented (while we were in the car) she was surprised I remembered so much of the song since I obviously learned it quite young.  I admitted I was pretty surprised too.
.
On This Day In:
2021 My Thoughts On Global Climate Change
And Never Understand
2020 Waiting For 20 January 2021
#45: You Would Cry Too…
2019 #Corrupt45 Fails Another Great Test
2018 Where The Economy Is Headed Thanks To #IncompetentDonald
2017 Time For More Research, Too
2016 Original Thoughts
2015 If They’re Good Enough
2014 Three…
2013 Uncle Joe’s Song
Live, Then, As If…
2012 Still Trying
2011 Not Deserving

Read Full Post »

This week I was driving to work, bored with sports and political radio, I switched over to some easy listening and lo and behold heard two great songs!  One I’d heard before and the other I don’t remember hearing before.
Anyway, they were both so terrific I immediately committed to remembering their catch lines (not all that easy for someone who’s getting on in years) and wrote them down when I got to work so I could listen to them when I got home.  (We are not allowed to listen to internet music at work…)
The two songs are:  “Bruises“, performed by Train (featuring Ashley Monroe) and “Should’ve Gone To Bed“, performed by Plain White T’s.  They are both easy listing cross-overs between Pop and Modern Country sounds.  Very enjoyable with ear-candy / stick in your head hooks.  Bruises is another classic song about boy and girl meeting ten years later and asking about what’s been happening.  The interesting thing is although there is an obvious “connection” happening in the song, both are “once burned, twice shy” and nothing may happen except the “promise” to keep in touch.  My favorite verse is:

These bruises
Make for better conversation
Loses the vibe that separates
It’s good to let you in again
You’re not alone and how you’ve been
Everybody loses
We all got bruises
We all got bruises

The second song (“Should’ve Gone To Bed“) is the new one for me.  On the radio, it sounds as if it’s a song about regrets and calling some number of “Ex’es” after the relationships are over.  In the “official” video, it appears to be a song about a man who’s afraid to tell his girlfriend how he feels until he’s on the verge of losing her.  …And then they make up (to presumably live happily ever after).  It surprised me to come away with the two completely different reactions to the same song depending on if you were listening to it, listening to it and following the lyrics, or watching the official video.  I guess the line which strikes me is most of us have broken up in our relationships, tried to move on and then when there’s a problem (or were just feeling lonely), we pick up the phone and call the “Ex”.  Sometimes they answer and the cycle starts again.  Sometimes they answer but the cycle doesn’t restart.  Sometimes it ends just as badly as before;  and sometimes everyone is spared the drama because the other party just doesn’t answer the phone or return the call.  Being human, we assume it’s because they don’t want to talk to us anymore.
Someday the geezer’s among us will be telling the kids how (in our day) people didn’t have caller ID or voice mail or home answering machines, and sometimes relationships didn’t work out – not because one or both sides didn’t reach out to the other to make up – but simply because one party wasn’t there to answer the call.  The concept seems “funny” in this age of always-on connectivity…  Sometimes things just happen (or don’t happen) for no particular reason.
As always, check out the lyrics off of my Poems page, then go listen to the recordings – and in this instance, make sure you go find the “official” video for “Should’ve Gone To Bed“.  Let me know if you got the same reaction to the lyrics versus the song versus the video.  And remember to support the Arts in your local community.
.
On This Day In:
2012 Extra Gears
2011 Say What?
2010 Hello Frogs…

Read Full Post »

Way back when (in the ’70’s), I got a chance to go to Frankfurt to see Pink Floyd live in concert.  It was a terrific event and I really enjoyed both the music and the show.  I guess this was a famous tour and I remember it distinctly because it had a giant pig come out from the stage and circle over the crowd.  They also had a large circular screen which showed artistic depictions of images from their albums including “rock dinosaurs” and prisms.
One of the songs I’ve always liked by them is a hauntingly melancholy plea to a lost friend, “Wish You Were Here“.
Sometimes I feel like another lost soul livin’ in a fishbowl…
My mother-in-law fell recently and is now in the hospital with a fractured bone in her back.  My wife is upset that she can’t be there for her mum, so I’m upset for her, too.  If you pray, please offer up a prayer for her mum to get better soon.  If you don’t pray, be nice to someone and (I believe) the positive energy will still reach her.
I hope you’ll check out the lyrics on my Poems page and then go listen to the song on your favorite music provider.  Remember to go listen to as much live music as you can and support your local arts.
.
On This Day In:
2012 Hangin’ With His P’s
Help Save
2011 Six Facets Of Good Leadership

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »

%d bloggers like this: