Lyrics Snippet #25

Today I came across a singer called Tom Paxton:

I got a letter from L.B.J
It said, "This is your lucky day"
It's time to put your khaki trousers on
Though it may seem very queer
We've got no jobs to give you here
So we are sending you to Vietnam

Lyndon Johnson told the nation
Have no fear of escalation
I am trying everyone to please
Though it isn't really war
We're sending fifty thousand more
To help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese

~ "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation" - Tom Paxton ~

Lyrics Snippet #23

This one is a classic. To be honest, until recently I had never paid much attention to the lyrics but just thought the beat was really catchy. You have probably heard the phrase that history always repeats itself and this song is another prime example of this. Just think about the constant state of fear we are supposed to live in, the slave scanners we need to go through at the airport and the ever changing terror threat levels. I forgot, who are we at war with at the moment? Was it Eurasia or Eastasia. Anyway...looks like I am getting carried away. Here is Buffalo Springfield:

Paranoia strikes deep

Into your life it will creep

It starts when you're always afraid

Step out of line, the men come and take you away

~ "For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield ~

Lyrics Snippet #22

Today's snippet is not especially inspiring or exceptional in my opinion...I chose it simply because I just realized that "Killing an Arab" by "The Cure" is a song about the novel "Stranger" by Albert Camus. And since there has not been a Lyrics Snippet in a long time I decided that this was sufficient.

I'm alive

I'm dead

I'm a stranger

Killing an Arab

~ "Killing an Arab" - The Cure ~

Lyrics Snippet #21

A few weeks ago I went to karaoke night at the Irish Pub in Ludwigshafen (it's on every Thursday) and as always I was impressed by the quality of the singers. This is not your usual karaoke event where it's mostly drunk people bawling into the mic. Here you will see a lot of very talented singers. A couple girls sang the song "My Medicine" by "The Pretty Reckless". It was not a great performance but the song got stuck in my mind. I hadn't heard it before and, I must admit, until that evening I had not even heard of the band. I am very out of touch with today's music. Anyways, I thought the song was somewhat funny and it does have "ear worm" potential.

Somebody mixed my medicine

I don't know what I'm on

~ "My Medicine" - The Pretty Reckless ~

Lyrics Snippet #20

Und wieder was auf deutsch heute....und auch wieder von Rüdiger Bierhorst, den ich vorgestern mit den Monsters of Liedermaching mal wieder live erleben durfte. (Link zum Video bei Youtube)

Für die, die Freiheit gerne hätten
ist sie immer süß wie Honig.
Aber mich legt doch in Ketten,
ich rühr' mich sowieso nicht.


Ich bin nicht frei.
Ich bin nicht frei.
Ich bin nicht frei.
Ich bin nicht frei.


...
...
...


Ich habe Freiheiten, was nun?
Ich habe Freiheiten in Massen.
Ich hab die Freiheit alles zu tun
und nehm' sie mir um alles zu lassen.

~ "Ich bin nicht frei" - Rüdiger Bierhorst ~

Lyrics Snippet #19

Heute nur was für die Deutschversteher unter uns. Hab ich gerade im Auto gehört und fand es passend zur Jahreszeit:

Ist schon wirklich erstaunlich, wie schlau manche Menschen sind 

Ich hab davor so 'ne Achtung, dass ich nicht mal Worte dafür find'

Ja, man staunt ja immer wieder, was heutzutag alles passiert 

Aber wichtiger als alles ist, dass endlich Frühling wird

~ "Frühling" - Rüdiger Bierhorst ~

Lyrics Snippet #18

Today in my car I had my music collection on random and a song by 'Ton, Steine, Scherben' came up - a somewhat radical left wing band from the 70s and early 80s that I used to listen to every now and then when I was back in school. So, I just wanted to share part of that song with you....and I am sorry that you will have to cope with my crappy English translation if you don't understand German.

Ich hab geträumt der Winter wär vorbei

Du warst hier und wir warn frei

Und die Morgensonne schien

Es gab keine Angst und nichts zu verliern

Es war Friede bei den Menschen und unter den Tieren

Das war das Paradies

I dreamed the winter was over

You were here and we were free

And the morning sun shone

There was no fear and nothing to lose

There was peace among the people and the animals

This was paradise

~ "Der Traum ist aus" - Ton, Steine, Scherben ~

Lyrics Snippet #17

Okay, let's face it. This blog is as good as dead. But I'm not giving up just now. I'm going to make an effort to keep this rotting thing alive. Maybe some day I will even post the last chapter of my around-the-world trip :)
For now you have to settle for a couple of song lines that describe my situation at my job right now pretty accurately...

This isn't me I'm not mechanical

I'm just a boy...

~ "Mechanical Animals" - Marilyn Manson ~

Lyrics Snippets #16

When I'm feeling blue

All I have to do

Is take a look at you

Then I'm not so blue

~ "Groovy Kind of Love" - Phil Collins ~

Lyrics Snippets #15

Here come just a few pieces of an Arctic Monkeys song I was listening to today on my way to work. The song supposedly deals with the lead singer's ex girlfriend:

Well now then Mardy Bum 

Oh I'm in trouble again, aren't I 

I thought as much 

Cause you turned over there 

Pulling that silent disappointment face 

The one that I can't bear

...

And yeah I'm sorry I was late 

but I missed the train 

And then the traffic was a state 

And I can't be arsed to carry on in this debate 

That reoccurs, oh when you say I don't care 

but of course I do, yet I clearly do,yeah!


~ "Mardy Bum" - Arctic Monkeys ~

Lyrics Snippet #14

Since I was hitchhiking the last few days the song 'Me and Bobby McGee' came to my mind. I think it's a great song - not because of the lines I quote here but because the rest of the song.

While doing some 'research' on this song I found out that it was written by Kris Kristofferson. I alway thought it was by Janis Joplin...

Can you come up with other songs that relate to hitchhiking?

Busted flat in Baton Rouge

Waitin' for the train

Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans

Bobby thumbed a diesel down

Just before it rained

Rode us all the way to New Orleans

~ "Me and Bobby McGee" - Kim Kristofferson ~

Lyrics Snippet #13

This song came to my mind fairly often during my time in southern Patagonia:

I see trees of green, red roses too,
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

~ "What a Wonderful World" - Louis Armstrong ~

Lyrics Snippet #12

Today I listened to Marilyn Manson for the first time in ages. In his song "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" Manson expresses a rather negative weltanschauung.
I don't think his lyrics are very deep though...when it comes to Manson it is all about the show. But he does put on a hell of a show - the concert in Cologne in 1998 was one of the most entertaining I have ever attended.
Some of his songs really have a certain beat/groove/feel/oomph/energy/whatever to it that makes me want to jump up and down...and...well...into other people ;-)

Everybody's someone else's nigger
I know you are so am I
I wasn't born with enough middle fingers
I don't need to choose a side

~ "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" - Marilyn Manson ~

Lyrics Snippet #11

Today I present you a little piece by Phil Ochs - a songwriter I actually stumbled across when reading Stephen King's "Hert in Atlantis" where his song "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (video) was mentioned several times.

If you are into 60s and 70s folk/protest music you should check out some of his songs:

• Bullets Of Mexico
• Links on the Chain
• Talking Cuban Crisis
• One More Parade
• The Men Behind the Guns

Those I like best from the few I know (hardly more than a dozen) so there probably are lots of others worth listening to.

For I marched to the battles of the German trench
In a war that was bound to end all wars
Oh I must have killed a million men
And now they want me back again
But I ain't marchin' anymore

~ "I Ain't Marching Anymore" - Phil Ochs ~

Lyrics Snippet #10

Here's another song that deals with the Northern Ireland conflict: "Zombie" by The Cranberries (watch the video on youtube here). I remember listening to this song again and again when I was around the age of 15. It always sent a shiver down my spine - and still does.

It's the same old theme since nineteen-sixteen.
In your head, in your head they're still fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are dying...

~ "Zombie" - The Cranberries ~

Lyrics Snippet #9

After the overwhelming response to my last "Lyrics Snippet" post I just feel obliged to keep writing to keep all of you satisfied and entertained. No, but really, this may sound a little harsh. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't care...but still....f*ck it. If this whole thing doesn't change anything for anybody else it still has affected the way I listen to songs. Exactly six days ago I was in Mannheim listening to some band at the Mannheim city festival. When they played "Sunday Bloody Sunday" I thought this would be a good song to write about here. Wikipedia tells me that this song is about the "Bloody Sunday" - January 30th 1972. On this day a demonstration for civil rights took place in the town of Derry. Thirteen people were shot by British military...
Check the rest out for youselves...

And the battles just begun
Theres many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

~ Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2 ~

Lyrics Snippet #8

Today I turn to a rather trivial topic. Tonight Manchester will play Barcelona in the Champions League Final. Reason enough for me to create a little post about the reference to athletes in songs. Right now I can think of three and I invite everybody who reads this to contribute to the list. I know there are hundreds - if not thousands - more.
Valid are only songs that are not especially dedicated to an athlete or sports in general (like "Three Lions"...beautiful song by the way).

Steppin' into the jam and I'm slammin' like Shaquille
Mad boy grips the microphone
Wit' a fistful of steel

~ "Fistful of Steel" - Rage Against The Machine ~

________________


See I've Got Heart Like John Starks
Hitting Mad Sparks
Pass Me The Mic
And I'll Be Rocking The Whole Park

~ "Get it Together" - Beastie Boys ~

________________


Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away

~ "Mrs. Robinson" - Simon and Garfunkel ~

Lyrics Snippet #7

Just a short one today:

If ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face

~ "Settle for Nothing" - Rage Against the Machine ~

PS: For a better understanding of RATM lyrics I recommend the "Lyrical References" section in the RATM FAQ

Lyrics Snippet #6

One of the best-known songs of the great depression is probably "Brother, can you spare a dime", which was written in 1931 by E.Y. Harburg (music by Jay Gorney). This song has been recorded by dozens of artists and also appeared in a Simpsons episode :-)

Interestingly, 8 years later Harburg wrote one of the most hopeful songs of the era - "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow".

BTW: Don't think I just know all this stuff...looked it all up on wikipedia.

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

"Brother, can you spare a dime" - Music by Jay Gorney, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg

Lyrics Snippet #5

So, now to a different topic. Considering the current economic crisis I find it appropriate to share a couple of lyrics snippets from songs about the great depression.

The first one is from Springsteens "Ghost of Tom Joad" which is basically a song about John Steinbeck's book "Grapes of Wrath". Reading the book surely helps to understand the song...maybe it is even necessary. But really, if you haven't read it yet, go ahead and do it. In my opinion it's an eye-opening masterpiece.

There's also a version of this song by Rage Against the Machine which is...uhm...slightly more "dynamic". Remember, RATM songs are best served at high volume :-)

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

~ "The Ghost of Tom Joad" - Bruce Springsteen ~