Song Lyric Sunday: The Good, the Not Sure, The Brilliant. Duet.

Our brilliant host Jim Adams is attending a funeral this weekend so we are all here on our honour to keep the dream alive . This week for Song Lyric Sunday Jim has asked us to use the prompt Duet.

A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers sing in unison and have equal importance to the piece.  Most people think of a duet as one part being a melody and a secondary part that harmonizes with that melody.  As long as there has been singing, there has probably been some kind of duet music.

My first choice was without doubt Barcelona with the beautiful Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe.

The song reflects Mercury’s love of opera with his high notes and Caballé’s operatic vocals, backed by a full orchestra. Originally released in 1987, it was one of the biggest hits of Mercury’s solo career, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart. After Mercury’s death in 1991, it was featured at the 1992 Summer Olympics, after which the track climbed even higher, peaking at number two in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

In 2004, BBC Radio 2 listed Barcelona at number 41 in its Sold On Song Top 100. More information here.

My second video is Delores O’Riordan and Luciano Pavarotti . In September 1995, O’Riordan joined the famed opera singer in Modena, Italy to cover the beloved hymn.  The performance at Parco Novi Sad was part of a ten-concert series between 1992 and 2003 known as ‘Pavarotti & Friends’ which raised money for humanitarian causes. O’Riordan and Pavarotti’s 1995 concert was in aid of the children of Bosnia affected by the war.

As lovely as this duet and as much as I love Delores, from her Cranberries days I feel she was overwhelmed by the big voice of Luciano Pavarotti.

And Finally I am bending the rules slightly because this is my favourite, favourite duet? This is Elton John singing with Queen and the voice of our lovely Freddie singing Bohemian Rhapsody. But then at 3.20 minutes in to the video Axel Rose bounds in like a whirling dervish. He absolutely, in my mind, knocks the ball out of the park! Then at the end Axel and Elton bring the house down with their harmony of the last verse…I adore it! A little bit of gossip, apparently Axel refused to rehearse and his mad entrance was as much a suprise to Elton and Queen! I bet Freddie was smiling down loving it!

Have a Great Sunday

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 24th, 2020

Hi there! I’m here with your 24th prompt for Just Jot it January 2020. Today’s prompt comes to us compliments of Wendy. Thank you so much, Wendy! Please be sure to visit her blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there!

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 24th, 2020, is “change.” Use the word “change” any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well David Bowie, there was a guy who would regularly change his stage persona. At least ten times during his long and varied career he regularly reinvented himself.

• Ziggy Stardust.
• Aladdin Sane. …
• The Thin White Duke. …
• The Goblin King. …
• The Blind Prophet.
• The Mime Bowie
• The Young American
• The Man who sold the world
• Let’s Dance Era
• Back in the Game

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Images from Pat Pope/REX Shutterstock, Ilpo Musto/REX Shutterstock,Ron Galella via Getty ImagesRoger Bamber/REX Shutterstock , Ray Stevenson/REX Shutterstock, Google and Wikipedia.

Change for changes sake

He was himself never fake

He brought us such joy

Jusjojan

Song Lyric Sunday. Tom, Dick or Harry. 19/1/2020.

Hi it’s Sunday and time again for Jim Adams to bring us a prompt for Song Lyric Sunday. This week we have something much more different.  Look for songs that are written or sung by someone named Tom/Dick/Harry or a song that includes one of these names in the lyrics.  

Well I think this is a hard one Jim but I never shrink from a challenge so I am hoping with Harry Chaplin the singer -songwriter and his song The Cats in the Cradle. Also I am going with the song Harry Braff by the Bee Gees.

Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, humanitarian, and producer best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs, who achieved worldwide success in the 1970s and became one of the most popular artists and highest paid performers. Chapin is also one of the best charting musical artists in the United States. Chapin, a Grammy Award winning artist and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, has sold over 16 million records worldwide and has been described as one of the most beloved performers in music history. More information found here at Wiki.

I have chosen The Cats in the Cradle . This is a salutary and poignant song about how easy it is for father’s and sons to grow apart. The song tells how delighted the young father is so have his new born son. He works hard to provide for his son but he fails to find anytime to spend with his son. As time goes by he lets his son down more and more. Then when he gets older maybe retires he asks his son if they can meet up. It could be that the son is too busy being like his father ( learned bad habits from example) or he resents his father’s apparent lack of interest and doesn’t want to bother with him. Either way it a very sad and true song.

Apparently the song is a mix of Chapin’s work and his wife Sandy . You can read more about it here.

My second song is by the Bee Gees from their Album Horizontal released in 1968 it has, to my mind some of their best songs. So here it is .

Bee Gees Lyrics

“Harry Braff”

Checkered flag, checkered flag, checkered flag for Harry Braff.
Checkered flag, checkered flag, checkered flag for Harry Braff.
Goodbye Harry Braff, it’s so good to see him win the race.
And the crowd, feeling proud just know they are there.
And getting a good view of Harry Braff, Harry Braff

Realise Harry Braff and the Mayor of Gordon cheers him on.
Every mile, see him smile with the dust in his eyes.
Ev’ryone’s crying for Harry Braff. Harry Braff.

Goodbye! Harry Braff. Goodbye! Harry Braff
Goodbye! Harry Braff. Goodbye!

Checkered flag, checkered flag, checkered flag for Harry Braff.
Checkered flag, checkered flag, checkered flag for Harry Braff.
Goodbye Harry Braff, it’s so good to see him win the race.
And the crowd, feeling proud just to know they are there.
And getting a good view of Harry Braff. Harry Braff.

Goodbye! Harry Braff. Goodbye! Harry Braff.
Goodbye! Harry Braff. Goodbye!

Harry Braff. Harry Braff. I’m a coming’.

Lyrics from A to Z Lyrics.

I am pretty sure that Harry Bragg is an imaginary racing driver, so far I cannot find any reference to him on Google.

Song Lyric Sunday:Bottom/End/Middle/Side/Top

It’s Sunday again and time for Song Lyric Sunday. Our gracious host Jim Adams has said our prompt for January 12, 2020 – is: Bottom/End/Middle/Side/Top.

Now Jim introduces us to this prompt by talking about “Football Terms” Obviously I realised he was discussing American Football because to my English ear he was describing Rugby… I will go no further on this but I will say : “Two nations divided by one language!”

In 1973 when Stuck In The Middle With You, was released I had been married two years, expecting our first child and living miles from my London home. In the middle of nowhere in Devon. On top of a high hill, I had to walk down to the bottom of the hill to get to the shops . That was a mile and a half. My travels didn’t stop there it was another Mike and a half further down the hill to the town and the sea. If I needed the doctors that was off to the side up another hill. Where ever I went it was a long walk down and a long walk back up to the top to reach the end of any journey. I was truly stuck in the middle.

Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty.^[1] Their best-known hit is “Stuck in the Middle with You“. The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed briefly in 2008.

Egan and Rafferty met as teenagers in Paisley, and became the core of Stealers Wheel. They were initially joined by Roger Brown, Rab Noakes and Ian Campbell in 1972. By the time the band was signed to A&M Records later that year, Brown, Noakes and Campbell had been replaced by Paul Pilnick, Tony Williams and Rod Coombes.

The original line-up recorded Stealers Wheel (October 1972), produced by American songwriters and producers Leiber & Stoller, andwas a critical and commercial success, reaching No. 50 in the US Billboard 200 album chart, with their hit single “Stuck in the Middle with You” coming from the album. On 7 November 1972 the band appeared on BBC 2‘s The Old Grey Whistle Test, performing “I Get By” and “Late Again”. Read more here.

The band performed the song on the BBC’s Top of the Pops in May 1973, and the song charted at No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart. It also became an international hit, reaching No. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

Happy Sunday everyone.

Song Lyric Sunday. ShaLaLaLaLe.

This our Song Lyric Sunday prompt is the La, ( the musical note or word that denotes that la la la sound). I have chosen ShaLaLaLaLe by The Small Faces.

Thank you again Jim Adams our gallant host.

The Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band’s keyboardist in 1966. The band was one of the most acclaimed and influential mod groups of the 1960s,^[2][3] recording hit songs such as “Itchycoo Park“, “Lazy Sunday“, “All or Nothing“, and “Tin Soldier“, as well as their concept albumOgdens’ Nut Gone Flake. They later evolved into one of the UK’s most successful psychedelic bands until 1969. More information here

“Sha-La-La-La-Lee” was the third song by English R&B-influenced group Small Faces, released on 28 January 1966, reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart.^[1] It was also the first single by the group to feature Ian McLagan on keyboards.

The Small faces were one of the group’s I saw regularly when I used to visit Top of the Pops at Limegrove Studios London, as a teenager.

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you enjoy this 💜

Weekly Song Challenge, Round 38!

Lauravent69

The Rules and pingback here

1. Copy rules and add to your own post, pinging back to this post.
2. Post music videos for your answers to the musical questions.
3. Tag two people to participate!

The Songs

Post five songs that are about new beginnings, or endings or looking forward. 

1.Happy New Year by ABBA.

2. The Greatest day . By Take That.

3. Torch, by Alanis Morissette.

4. Jar of hearts. Christina Perri.

5. Best day of my life, by American Authors.

Your turn now , have a go 💜

New Decade, Acrostic Poem.

Now we stand on the abyss
Everyone of us accountable
Why have we closed our eyes.
Drowning and burning we fly
Earth we spoil deaf to her cry
“Careful you are killing me
Are you are all too blind to see”
Dare we ignore the warning
Earth is screaming.

Song Lyric Sunday. Crazy.

Today December 29, 2019, Our host on Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams has given us the prompt – Crazy.

I have chosen the song Crazy” written by English singer, Seal, and British songwriter, Guy Sigsworth. The song was produced by Trevor Horn for Seal’s debut album Seal (1991). Released as his official debut single, “Crazy” became one of Seal’s biggest hits. It reached the top five in the United Kingdom, while becoming his first top ten single in the United States. It has since been covered by several artists, including Alanis Morissette, whose version was released as a single from her album The Collection (2005). More info here.

I have included the Seal version with the lyrics .

I love the Seal version very much but by far my favourite version of this song is by Alanis Morissette.

A little snippet of information Guy Sigsworth and my favourite singer songwriter composer worked together in a group called Frou, Frou.

I can’t do a post about Crazy without including I’m going slightly mad . By Queen . From the same year 1991 from the Queen Inuendo Album. Such a sad song about Freddie’s mental decline as his struggle with aids progressed.

And below the lyrics

Mary and Jo. Part27.

This is part twenty seven of my reworking of the Nativity. From an idea I first wrote in December 2011.

Where are those three wise men, I hear you say where are magi.com are they not coming to pray? They have been busy checking their star charts to see what they say.

image from Pixabay

They must arrive in January, on the fifth day. Now as it happens that is a good thing you see, for they have hiding from Herod. They need to keep their movements hidden from him, to save the baby.

Image from Pixabay

Now don’t you forget them because you will see they will arrive safe on the day pre decreed! They will bring their presents fit for a new king. The the new order of life can begin.

Image from Pixabay.

Mary and Jo Part 25

Today is the twenty fifth day of Advent, Christmas Day. I would like to re-run my take on the Nativity story. I first wrote this in 2011, in the style of prosetry

Irena got there first a huge smile on her face, she was so happy to be doing her real job, even if it was in a strange place. She could not believe the sight that met her eyes, there was a cat and a dog and the lady from up the way and doves covered the skies.
Well she thought we can’t move her now she will have to give birth here in the gazebo! It felt so good to be wearing her blues again, Jo was flapping quietly rubbing Mares’ back pretending he was in control…. but that was all in vain!

Annya arrived she almost hurdling the bushes, how are things going she asked Irena, who smiled replied you have made it in time for the pushes. So between the four of them a little babe was born. It was strange it took all night but some how it did not not seem long
Mares seemed so calm , in fact she was serene, Annya was amazed and told Irena for a “first time mum” she was the calmest she’d ever seen. There seemed to be so many people there,angels people later said, with golden flowing hair and bright rings around their heads.
The pets from up the road and the lady too, and some shepherds arrived with their sheep they all wanted to be there too. It all seemed so surreal Oh! was it a dream.Here in the gazebo with doves and sheep and things!! The star above the hotel began to burn so bright it turned the scented garden and gazebo into a haven of light.

And so the babe is born. This the first day of the new dawn. This child has come to lead the way to take us to a better day.
The shepherds brought their sheep as gifts to the young king and his parents in love to keep. Josh has bought his friendship band he placed it in the baby’s hand. The children offered up the paper chains they had made with Mares and she in turn has kissed them all and blew away their cares.
On their way towards the hotel Delph in a limousine our three wise men are approaching fast they want to warn Jo again and fast.
But for now all is light and all is love as the star shines down from heaven above, born for us this day our saviour to wash our sins away.