Thursday, November 22, 2007

Nimrod's Son

Live version of Nimrod's Son by the Pixies in 1986.


[ Lyrics: Nimrod's Son by The Pixies ]

One night upon my motorcycle through the desert spead
And smashed my body so that all my friends thought I was dead
My sister held me close and whispered to my bleeding head
"You are the son of a mother fucker"

One two three four

I shook all night and held her hand
Chocolate people well I'll be damned
Land of plenty, land of fun
To find out I'm Nimrod's son

Oh bury me
Far away please
Bury me

Ha-haaa
The joke has come upon me

In my motorcycle mirror I think about the life I've led
And how my soul's been aking all the holes where I have bled
My image spoke to me, yes to me and often said
"You are the son of incestuous union"

One two three

Now my head is clear
My luke hands washed
My daughter's pure
My son is tall
Land of plenty, land of fun
To find out I'm Nimrod's son

Oh bury me
Far away please
Bury me

Ha-ha Ha-ha
The joke has come upon me

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Sunday, November 18, 2007

Two Cat Stevens Songs

Cat Stevens in concert performs first Miles From Nowhere, then the pensive "Father and Son" both from the Tea For The Tillerman LP released in 1970.



[ Lyrics: Cat Stevens, Miles From Nowhere ]

Miles from nowhere
I guess I'll take my time
Oh yeah, to reach there

Look up at the mountain
I have to climb
Oh yeah, to reach there.

Lord my body has been a good friend
But I won't need it when I reach the end

Miles from nowhere
Guess I'll take my time
Oh yeah, to reach there

I creep through the valleys
And I grope through the woods
'cause I know when I find it my honey
It's gonna make me feel good

I love everything
So don't it make you feel sad
'cause I'll drink to you, my baby
I'll think to that, I'll think to that.

Miles from nowhere
Not a soul in sight
Oh yeah, but it's alright

I have my freedom
I can make my own rules
Oh yeah, the ones that I choose

Lord my body has been a good friend
But I won't need it when I reach the end

Miles from nowhere
Guess I'll take my time
Oh yeah, to reach there.

... | ...

[ Lyrics: Cat Stevens, Father and Son ]

FATHER:
It's not time to make a change,
Just relax, take it easy.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to know.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy,
To be calm when you've found something going on.
But take your time, think a lot,
Why, think of everything you've got.
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not.

SON:
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again.
It's always been the same, same old story.
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

FATHER:
It's not time to make a change,
Just sit down, take it slowly.
You're still young, that's your fault,
There's so much you have to go through.
Find a girl, settle down,
If you want you can marry.
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy.

SON:
All the times that I cried, keeping all the things I knew inside,
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it.
If they were right, I'd agree, but it's them you know not me.
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away.
I know I have to go.

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Disappoint

Assemblage 23 is from Seattle. Sole member of this industrial dance band is Tom Shear. Disappoint is off the 2001 release of "Failure".

Word has it that Disappoint was inspired by the death of Shear's own father. The lyrics have always haunted me as a commune with my own recently deceased mother, having only discovered the CD a year after her death in 2003.



Do you believe in the nobility of suicide?
No

Just one more time
For the sake of sanity
Tell me why
Explain the gravity
That drove you to this
That brought you to this place
That pushed you down
Into the soil's embrace

Give me the chance
I was denied
To sit and talk with you
For one last time

Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Did I stand on the shore
And watch you as you drowned?
Can you forgive me?
I never knew
The pain you carried
Deep inside of you.

I can't forget
Having to see
The words that knocked the wind
Right out of me
It's not enough
I've come undone
Trying to find sense
Where there is none

Just give me peace
You owe me that
To help ward off the fears
I must combat

Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Did I stand on the shore
And watch you as you drowned?
Can you forgive me?
I never knew
The pain you carried
Deep inside of you.

And so I ask
For one more chance
To understand
This senseless circumstance
Help me to see
This through your eyes
The reasons I've been trying
To surmise

Though you are gone
I am still your son
And Though your pain is over
Mine has just begun

Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Did I stand on the shore
And watch you as you drowned?
Can you forgive me?
I never knew
The pain you carried
Deep inside of you.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma

The mild controversy with this song was that Melanie's handlers and producers didn't like the fingerpointing in the refrain and original title, so after a long scuffle, it was released as What Have They Done To My Song, Ma?. Many will remember that Ray Charles later put his own inimitable stamp on the song in recording it.

Look what they've done to my song, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well it's the only thing I could do half right
And it's turning out all wrong, Ma
Look what they've done to my song

Look what they've done to my brain, Ma
Look what they've done to my brain
Well they picked it like a chicken bone
And I think I'm half insane, Ma
Look what they've done to my song

I wish I could find a good book to live in
Wish I could find a good book
Well, if I could find a real good book
I'd never have to come out and look at
What they've done to my song

La la la...
Look what they've done to my song

But maybe it'll all be all right, Ma
Maybe it'll all be OK
Well, if the people are buying tears
I'll be rich some day, Ma
Look what they've done to my song

Ils ont changé ma chanson, Ma
Ils ont changé ma chanson
C'est la seule chose que je peux faire
Et çe n'est pas bon, Ma
Ils ont changé ma chanson

Look what they've done to my song, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well they tied it up in a plastic bag
And turned it upside down
Look what they've done to my song

Ils ont changé ma chanson, Ma...

Look what they've done to my song, Ma
Look what they've done to my song
Well it's the only thing I could do all right
And they turned it upside down
Look what they've done to my song

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