SONGS
Week of 30 September 2008
Wuthering Heights is a famous English novel by Emily Bronte about separated lovers, Cathy and Heathcliff, her lover. British singer, Kate Bush wrote her song, "Wuthering Heights" (1978, UK#1) from the point of view of Cathy, returning to reunite with Heathcliff following her death. Bush was only 19 when she recorded this song, which she wrote herself. It's a weird vocal and a strange, moody melody. But only a gifted person could do so much with the word "cold." To hear the song, go to Wuthering Heights ("Cathy's Song"). Or go here for another video of the song.Week of 30 September 2008
Out on the winding, windy moors
We'd roll and fall in green.
You had a temper like my jealousy:
Too hot, too greedy.
How could you leave me,
When I needed to possess you?
I hated you. I loved you, too.
Bad dreams in the night.
They told me I was going to lose the fight,
Leave behind my wuthering, wuthering
Wuthering heights.
Heathcliff, its me--I'm Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Ooh, it gets dark! it gets lonely,
On the other side from you.
I pine a lot. I find the lot
Falls through without you.
I'm coming back, love.
Cruel Heathcliff, my one dream,
My only master.
Too long I roam in the night.
I'm coming back to his side, to put it right.
I'm coming home to wuthering, wuthering,
Wuthering heights,
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Ooh! let me have it.
Let me grab your soul away.
Ooh! let me have it.
Let me grab your soul away.
You know its me--Cathy!
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
Let me in-a-your window.
Heathcliff, its me--Cathy.
Come home. I'm so cold!
I DREAM OF JEANIE
Stephen Foster was the first successful American composer. He wrote the music as well as most of the lyrics to his songs, which, more than 150 years after his death, are still heard around the world. His most famous songs include "Camptown Races," "Beautiful Dreamer, " "O Susanna," "My Old Kentucky Home," and "Old Folks at Home." "I Dream of Jeanie" had a strange history. It was forgotten among Foster's songs until a music publishing strike in the 1940s forced radio stations to find songs out of copyright. They dug up this Foster song. It quickly became one of his most popular songs; a movie was named after it, then later a popular TV show (punning on the words "Jeanie/Genie").
I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,Stephen Foster was the first successful American composer. He wrote the music as well as most of the lyrics to his songs, which, more than 150 years after his death, are still heard around the world. His most famous songs include "Camptown Races," "Beautiful Dreamer, " "O Susanna," "My Old Kentucky Home," and "Old Folks at Home." "I Dream of Jeanie" had a strange history. It was forgotten among Foster's songs until a music publishing strike in the 1940s forced radio stations to find songs out of copyright. They dug up this Foster song. It quickly became one of his most popular songs; a movie was named after it, then later a popular TV show (punning on the words "Jeanie/Genie").
Borne, like a vapor, on the summer air;
I see her tripping where the bright streams play,
Happy as the daisies that dance on her way.
Many were the wild notes her merry voice would pour,
Many were the blithe birds that warbled them o'er:
Oh! I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,
Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.
I long for Jeanie with the daydawn smile,
Radiant in gladness, warm with winning guile;
I hear her melodies, like joys gone by,
Sighing round my heart o'er the fond hopes that die:
Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,
Wailing for the lost one that comes not again:
Oh! I long for Jeanie, and my heart bows low,
Never more to find her where the bright waters flow.
SYLVIA
Oley Speaks composed only two famous songs. His most famous is "The Road to Mandalay" (recorded by Frank Sinatra, among others). This song is a setting of a popular poem. The famous Italian-American pop tenor, Mario Lanza, recorded it on one of his albums, giving it a deeply felt interpretation typical of his style.
Sylvia's hair is like the night,Oley Speaks composed only two famous songs. His most famous is "The Road to Mandalay" (recorded by Frank Sinatra, among others). This song is a setting of a popular poem. The famous Italian-American pop tenor, Mario Lanza, recorded it on one of his albums, giving it a deeply felt interpretation typical of his style.
Touched with glancing starry beams;
Such a face as drifts thro' dreams,
This is Sylvia to the sight.
And the touch of Sylvia's hand
Is as light as milkweed down,
When the meads are golden brown,
And the autumn fills the land.
Sylvia: - just the echoing
Of her voice brings back to me,
From the depths of memory,
All the loveliness of spring;
Sylvia! Sylvia!
Such a face as drifts thro' dreams,
This is Sylvia to the sight.
CATHY'S CLOWN
The two Everly Brothers almost invented Rock harmony in the late 1950s, blending soaring Bluegrass vocals with a Rock beat. The Beatles at first named themselves The Foreverly Brothers in honor of the duo. In fact there's a home recording of John Lennon singing this song, giving the lyric a pained rather than comic reading.
Don't want your love anymore, don't want your kisses, that's for sure. I die each time I hear this sound: "Here he comes: that's Cathy's clown!"
BALLAD OF A THIN MAN
You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand. You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?" You try so hard but you don't understand just what you will say when you get home. Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
A hit for the soul group, Tavares. "A penny for your thoughts" is a common idiom meaning, "What are you thinking about?" To hear the song at home, go here.
{A penny for your thoughts}
I've got to know where I stand
I just for to know where I am with you
So here's penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me
Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me
Walkin' holdin' hands, you say you're mine all mine
Then soon another face steals your eyes away
It's just a guessing game and I can't help feelin' used
Love shouldn't be so darn confused
So here's penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me
Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me.
TWILIGHT ZONE
When I hear this melodyThe two Everly Brothers almost invented Rock harmony in the late 1950s, blending soaring Bluegrass vocals with a Rock beat. The Beatles at first named themselves The Foreverly Brothers in honor of the duo. In fact there's a home recording of John Lennon singing this song, giving the lyric a pained rather than comic reading.
Don't want your love anymore, don't want your kisses, that's for sure. I die each time I hear this sound: "Here he comes: that's Cathy's clown!"
BALLAD OF A THIN MAN
Bob Dylan remains the most charismatic figure of the 1960s Rock era. He's the only Rock singer to have won the Pulitzer literature prize. Yet for some his lyrics are just word salads, randomly strung together in rhyme. "The Ballad of a Thin Man" is one of Dylan's famous "put-down" songs, apparently mocking a "know-it-all" magazine critic. As usual with a Dylan song, it's the vocal and sound that make the record. In the beginning of the song, the "know-it-all" journalist walks into a room to report a scene, probably of young people having a party. He sees somebody naked and tries to find out the facts ("Who is that man?") for his magazine article. Still the journalist can't make sense of anything, though he tries to find a point of view (when he gets home). Dylan mocks the man's ignorance by laughing on the line, "You try so hard." In fact, "what's happening" is beyond the man's understanding, though it will be published in a magazine as if it were the "truth."
You walk into the room with your pencil in your hand. You see somebody naked and you say, "Who is that man?" You try so hard but you don't understand just what you will say when you get home. Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
A hit for the soul group, Tavares. "A penny for your thoughts" is a common idiom meaning, "What are you thinking about?" To hear the song at home, go here.
{A penny for your thoughts}
I've got to know where I stand
I just for to know where I am with you
So here's penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me
Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me
Walkin' holdin' hands, you say you're mine all mine
Then soon another face steals your eyes away
It's just a guessing game and I can't help feelin' used
Love shouldn't be so darn confused
So here's penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me
Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for a kiss
A dime if you tell me that you love me.
TWILIGHT ZONE
The Twilight Zone, hosted by Rod Serling, who also wrote most of the teleplays, lasted only 5 seasons on television, but the show, including the theme music and Rod Serling's introductory narration, has since become an iconic part of American pop culture, as this Disco record, by the Manhattan Transfer, shows. The series had several musical themes and introductory monologues, two of which are heard here. The film composer, Bernard Herrmann (Vertigo, Psycho) wrote the theme music for the first year; but it's Marius Constant's eerie percussive melody using electric guitar and bongo drums that has become one of the most recognizable themes in television music.
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimenstion of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimenstion of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."
TWILIGHT ZONE/MANHATTAN TRANSFER
To hear the song in its entirety, go here.
{Speaker imitates Rod Serling} "With a key you unlock the door to imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sight, a dimension of sound, a dimension of mind. You're moving through a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. Guiding you through this wondrous journey is the hypnotic sound of the Twilight Zone.To hear the song in its entirety, go here.
This strange illusion takes over me
Through a tunnel of the mind
Perhaps a present or a future time oh, oh
Out of nowhere comes this sound
This melody that keeps spinning 'round & 'round
Pyramidal locomotion
>From this mystic unknown zone
Hearin' the twilight
Hearin' the twilight tone
Unpretentious girl from Memphis
Saw the future through her third eye
People came with skepticism
Picking, testing her precision, no, wo, oh, oh
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