Song Lyric Sunday

Song Lyric Sunday — Looking Glass

Fandango14 Comments

I’m substituting for Jim Adams for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday. But Jim selected this week’s theme based upon a suggestion from Amy (aka E.M. Kingston) to focus on One-Hit Wonders, where an artist or a group had a song that reached the top without any follow-up successes. Have you ever heard of the group Looking Glass? I thought not. But you might be familiar with their song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).”

“Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” was a 1972 song by American pop rock band Looking Glass from their debut album, Looking Glass. It was written by Looking Glass lead guitarist and co-vocalist Elliot Lurie. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was ranked by Billboard as the number 12 song for 1972.

“Brandy” was based on the name of Lurie’s high school sweetheart, Randy. It tells the story of a musician torn between his love for a life at sea and his love for a barmaid in a busy seaport harbor town that serves “a hundred ships a day.” Though lonely sailors flirt with her, she pines for one who has long since left her because he claimed his life, his love, and his lady, was “the sea.”

Looking Glass never came close to matching the success of “Brandy,” and by 1973, Lurie had left the group for a solo career.

Here are the lyrics to “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl).

There's a port on a western bay
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes

And there's a girl in this harbor town
And she works layin' whiskey down
They say, Brandy, fetch another round
She serves them whiskey and wine

The sailors say: "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl)
"What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl)
"Yeah, your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea"

Brandy wears a braided chain
Made of finest silver from the North of Spain
A locket that bears the name
Of the man that Brandy loved

He came on a summer's day
Bringin' gifts from far away
But he made it clear he couldn't stay
No harbor was his home

The sailors say: "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl)
"What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl)
"But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea"

Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes
When he told his sailor stories
She could feel the ocean fall and rise
She saw its ragin' glory
But he had always told the truth, Lord, he was an honest man
And Brandy does her best to understand

At night when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man who's not around
She still can hear him say

She hears him say "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl)
"What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl)
"But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea"
It is, yes it is,
He said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl)
"What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl)
"But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea"

Substitute Music Teacher

Fandango26 Comments

Don’t be confused. I’m not Jim Adams. I’m Fandango. Jim is taking a vacation to visit family in North Carolina over the next two weeks and I’m sure that Jim will have some interesting stories to tell when he returns. But in the meantime, Jim has asked me to pinch hit for him for his Song Lyric Sunday challenge. And here I am.

Last week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme was songs that are Hidden Gems, which are great songs that missed the top of the charts. The theme was suggested by Amy (aka E.M. Kingston). This week’s theme, also suggested by Amy, is One-Hit Wonders, where an artist or a group had a song that reached the top without any follow-up successes. Jim asked me to point out that it doesn’t have to be a group or an artist that only had one hit. It can also be thought of as a song that you only remember that group or artist having recorded.

Jim suggests that you try to find a song that fits the theme and then write your post about that song. Share your music with others and post a video, post the song’s lyrics, 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.

Once you’ve written you post, create a pingback, or you can just place your link in the comments section. Try to take some time to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this music challenge, and even better, read as many of them as you are able to as you will probably find many enjoyable songs and it is quite possibly that you will learn a thing or two. Let’s all listen to our favorite songs and explore some new music.

Jim encourages us to:
• Try to use the prompt words or at least conform to a general theme, as you see it. If the song you select does not meet the criteria, then please explain why you chose this song.
• Please include the name(s) of the songwriter(s), as it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due. It would also be a good idea to give credit to the singer and the band associated with your song.
• Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be, but please try not to include too many videos as that just makes it take longer to look at all of the other posts.
• Link to the YouTube video, or you can pull it into your post, so others can listen to the song.
• 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.

The upcoming Song Lyric Sunday challenges will be:

July 10, 2022 – Songs that were turned down by recording artists that went on to become big hits
July 17, 2022 – Songs that hit the top of the charts
July 24, 2022 – Feature a song by a group or an artist that surprisingly never reached #1 on the charts – This idea was taken from UK #1s blog, The UK Number Ones Blog
July 31, 2022 – Illness, Injury, Scars suggested by Angie of King Ben’s Grandma

Song Lyric Sunday — Hidden Gems

Fandango22 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim has enlisted Amy, aka E.M. Kingston. Amy suggested Hidden Gems: great songs that missed the top of the charts. I have become a big Pink Floyd fan, even more so now than when they were in their heyday back in the late sixties through the early eighties. And that’s why I chose this song, “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd.

“Comfortably Numb” was composed by English rock band Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour, and the lyrics were written by the band’s bassist Roger Waters. It was a track from Pink Floyd’s eleventh album, The Wall, and was released as a single in 1980. The song, arguably one of Pink Floyd’s most recognizable songs, never even made it on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And yet in 2004, “Comfortably Numb” was ranked number 314 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2017, Billboard ranked the song number four on its list of the greatest Pink Floyd songs. And Gilmour’s guitar solo on the song has been ranked as one of the greatest of all time on a number of online lists.

The Wall was a concept album about an embittered and alienated rock star named Pink. In “Comfortably Numb,” Pink is medicated by a doctor so he can perform for a show. Waters said part of the song was about the time he got hepatitis but didn’t know it. Pink Floyd had to do a show that night in Philadelphia, and the doctor Roger saw gave him a sedative to help the pain, thinking it was a stomach disorder. At the show, Roger’s hands were numb “like two toy balloons.” He was unable to focus, but also realized the fans didn’t care because they were so busy screaming, hence “comfortably” numb.

But Walters has also said that the lyrics were about what he felt like as a child when he was sick with a fever. He explained: “I remember having the flu or something, an infection with a temperature of 105 and being delirious. It wasn’t like the hands looked like balloons, but they looked way too big, frightening. A lot of people think those lines are about masturbation. God knows why.”

Here are the Lyrics to “Comfortably Numb.”

Hello? Hello? Hello?

Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home?
Come on now
I hear you're feeling down
Well I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again
Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am
I have become comfortably numb

Okay
Just a little pinprick
There'll be no more, ah
But you may feel a little sick
Can you stand up?
I do believe it's working, good
That'll keep you going through the show
Come on it's time to go

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship, smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb

Song Lyric Sunday — The Book of Love

Fandango9 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams once again looks to Melanie of Sparks From a Combustible Mind to give us our theme, which is songs featuring the words Amaze, Astonish, Curious, Shock, Surprise, or Wonder.

But in Jim’s prompt post last night, I was amazed, astonished, shocked, and surprised to find that Jim had omitted the word “Wonder” from the list of theme words, which he had included last week’s Song Lyric Sunday prompt when he wrote:

The upcoming prompts will be:

June 19, 2022 – Amaze, Astonish, Curious, Shock, Surprise, Wonder suggested by Melanie aka Sparky

Well, based upon that, I had glommed on to the missing word “wonder,” and already started composing my response to this week’s Song Lyric Sunday by writing about the song “The Book of Love.” Hmm. I am kind of curious about what happened to “wonder.” But not to be deterred at the last minute, I’m sticking with my original song choice, which when you hear it, I’m sure you will agree, is full of wonder.

“The Book of Love” was a rock and roll / doo-wop song, originally by recorded by The Monotones. It was written by three members of the group, Warren Davis, George Malone and Charles Patrick. “The Book of Love” was originally released in December 1957 and reissued in February 1958 on a different label. The song peaked at number 5 on the Billboard pop chart and number 3 on the R&B chart.

Lead singer Charles Patrick explained the inspiration for the song. He was in a store looking at sheet music for a different song called “Book Of Love” when he heard a Pepsodent toothpaste commercial with the line “you’ll wonder where the yellow went/when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.” He got the idea to combine the title with the melody from the jingle, turning “You’ll wonder where the yellow went” into “I wonder, wonder, wonder who, who wrote the book of love.” He worked it up into a song with Davis and Malone.

The drum that comes in on the first line of each verse (while the line is sung a cappella) was not planned. When they were recording the song, a kid outside the studio threw a ball that hit a window just as they finished singing the “mmbadoo-ooh, who” line. They liked the way it sounded, so they decided to put a drum hit in that spot.

The Monotones considered this song a goof and had no plans to record it, but it got a great reaction when they performed it. When they got word that a rival group was going to rip it off, they decided they had to record the song. After singing it for different record companies, they found a taker in Argo Records, which recorded and distributed it. The song was the only hit for The Monotones.

Here are the lyrics for “The Book of Love.”

I wonder, wonder who, who-oo-ooh, who
(Who wrote the book of love)
Tell me, tell me, tell me
Oh, who wrote the Book Of Love
I've got to know the answer
Was it someone from above
(I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, who)
(Who wrote the Book Of Love)

I love you darlin'
Baby, you know I do
But I've got to see this book of love
Find out why it's true
(I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, who)
(Who wrote the Book Of Love)
(Chapter one says to love her)
(You love her with all your heart)
(Chapter two you tell her you're)
(Never, never, never, never, never gonna part)
(In chapter three remember the meaning of romance)
(In chapter four you break up)
(But you give her just one more chance)
(Oh, I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, wWho)
(Who wrote the book of love)

Baby, baby, baby
I love you, yes I do
Well it says so in this book of love
Ours is the one that's true
(Oh, I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, who)
(Who wrote the book of love)
(Chapter one says to love her)
(You love her with all your heart)
(Chapter two you tell her you're)
(Never, never, never, never, never gonna part)
(In chapter three remember the meaning of romance)
(In chapter four you break up)
(But you give her just one more chance)
(Oh, I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, Who)
(Who wrote the book of love)

Baby, baby, baby
I love you, yes I do
Well it says so in this book of love
Ours is the one that's true
(Oh, I wonder, wonder who, mmbadoo-ooh, who)
(Who wrote the book of love)
I wonder who (yeah)
Who wrote the Book Of Love

Song Lyric Sunday — Sentimental Lady

Fandango9 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams once again looked to Melanie, at Sparks From a Combustible Mind, for the theme. Melanie suggested songs that incorporate Excitement, Pleasure, Sentiment, or Spirit. I immediately thought of the Bob Welch classic, “Sentimental Lady.”

“Sentimental Lady” was written by Bob Welch. Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1971 to 1974, and Fleetwood Mac recorded this song on their 1972 album Bare Trees. It became a hit when Welch recorded it on his first solo album, French Kiss, in 1977. Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac sang backup on Welch’s solo version.

Welch’s 1977 re-recording of “Sentimental Lady” is the most well-known version of the song and was a solo hit for Welch. It was the first single released from his album and it reached the top 10 in both the U.S. Pop and Adult Contemporary charts. Unlike the original Fleetwood Mac version, which ran for four and a half minutes and had two verses, Welch’s solo version only had one verse in order to cut it down to less than three minutes for the final radio cut.

Welch explained in an interview that the song was referencing his first wife, Nancy, at the time he wrote it. In the song, he personifies the love of his life as a “sentimental, gentle wind [that is] blowing through my life again.” Welch died in 2012 at age 65.

Here are the lyrics to “sentimental Lady.”

You are here and warm
But I could look away and you'd be gone
Cause we live in a time
When meaning falls in splinters from our lives
And that's why I've traveled far
'Cause I come so together where you are

And all of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

(All I need is you)

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

Sentimental lady

Yeah all of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

(All I need is you)

Sentimental gentle wind
Blowing through my life again
Sentimental lady, gentle one

(All I need is you)

All of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very (all I need is you)

All of the things that I said that I wanted
Come rushing by in my head when I'm with you
Fourteen joys and a will to be merry
And all of the things that we say are very

And is the 1972 Fleetwood Mac recording, for those of you you are interested.