While I’m in the US I intend on focussing this weekly feature on not just American artists, but music which in some way is particularly American. Also, so as to not hurt my brain too much, I’ll be running it on Sunday in the US rather than Sunday in Australia.
This week I’m going with a song by Merle Haggard for a reason. When I was driving from Petaluma to Las Vegas the other day, I drove through Bakersfield and right past a road called “Merle Haggard Drive” which pretty much settled my decision as to which artist to run this week.
Then came the question of which song to choose. Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Merle has a lot of great songs but in keeping with the theme of the road named after him, Bakersfield is in Kern County which contains the Kern River so the obvious choice is the song “Kern River”.
Oh I’ll never swim Kern River again.
It was there that I met her,
It was there that I lost my best friend.
Now I live in the mountains,
I drifted up here with the wind.
I may drown in still water,
But I’ll never swim Kern River again.
I grew up in an oil town,
But my gusher never came in.
And the river was a boundary,
Where my darlin’ and I used to swim.
One night in the moonlight,
The swiftness swept her life away.
Now I live on Lake Shasta,
And Lake Shasta is where I will stay.
There’s the South San Joaquin,
Where the seeds of the dust bowl are found.
There’s a place called Mount Whitney,
From where the mighty Kern River comes down.
Well, it’s not deep nor wide,
But it’s a mean piece of water, my friend.
I may cross on the highway,
But I’ll never swim Kern River again.
Oh I’ll never swim Kern River again.
It was there that I met her,
It was there that I lost my best friend.
Now I live in the mountains,
I drifted up here with the wind.
And I may drown in still water,
But I’ll never swim Kern River again.
Roberta Flack had, without doubt, one of the most beautiful voices heard in the 1970s. Her song “Killing Me Softly” stands the test of time as one of the most beautiful, moving, and soothing songs of all time.
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly… with his song
I heard he sang a good song
I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him
To listen for a while
And there he was this young boy
A stranger to my eyes
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly… with his song
I felt all flushed with fever
Embarassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters
And read each one out loud
I prayed that he would finish
But he just kept right on
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly… with his song
He sang as if he knew me
In all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me
As if I wasn’t there
And he just kept on singing
Singing clear and strong
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly… with his song
[Musical interlude with non-word vocals]
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me
He was strumming my pain
Yeah, he was singing my life
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song
This week’s feature song is one which, until a few weeks ago, I had not heard in years. John Kerr has a country music show on Gold Coast community radio station 94.1FM these days and each week he seems to play at least one old song which I have almost forgotten…this one was a joy to hear again.
That big eight-wheeler rollin’ down the track
Means your true-lovin’ daddy ain’t comin’ back
‘Cause I’m movin’ on, I’m rollin’ on
You were flyin’ too high, for my little old sky
So I’m movin’ on
That big loud whistle as it blew and blew
Said hello to the southland, we’re comin’ to you
When we’re movin’ on, we’re rollin’ on
You had the laugh on me, so I’ve set you free
And I’m movin’ on
Mister fireman won’t you please listen to me
‘Cause I got a pretty mama in Tennessee
Keep movin’ me on, keep rollin’ on
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll
And keep movin’ me on
Mister Engineer, take that throttle in hand
This rattler’s the fastest in the southern land
To keep movin’ me on, keep rollin’ on
You gonna ease my mind, put me there on time
And keep rollin’ on
I’ve warned you baby, from time to time
But you just wouldn’t listen or pay me no mind
Now I’m movin’ on, I’m rollin’ on
You’ve broken your vow, and it’s all over now
So I’m movin’ on
You’ve switched your engine now I ain’t got time
For a triflin’ woman on my main line
Cause I’m movin on, you done your daddy wrong
I’ve warned you twice, now you can settle the price
‘Cause I’m movin on
But someday baby when you’ve had your play
You’re gonna want your daddy but your daddy will say
Keep movin’ on, you stayed away too long
I’m through with you, too bad you’re blue
Keep movin’ on
This week’s award goes to country music artist Austin Cunningham for this fun little song which came to my attention thanks to Fox News’ semi-retired senior political analyst Brit Hume.
The feature song this week is “The Girls On Fox News”. (Disappointingly, the video clip is not available on iTunes…probably some copyright issues, sadly).
Well I used to be a Democrat, liberal no doubt
I didn’t think conservatives knew what life’s about
Then I started leaving the Fox News Channel on
If that’s the face of the right, I’ll tell the left “so long”
Oh, I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
Every one is beautiful, any one you choose
Whoever does the hiring knows how to light my fuse
I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
There’s Gretchen, Megyn, and Martha, Harris and Pattie Ann
Janice, Jen and Julie, Maria, Anna and Alisyn
Dana, Ainsley, Andrea, Uma, Shannon, Molly and Heather
(Hey is there even a Heather?)
(Yeah)
(There’s two?)
(Yeah)
(There’s two Mollys too?)
(Yeah)
(Perfect)
Well they make the bad news on TV look a whole lot better
Now please don’t call me shallow, a pervert, or insane
Because who the heck does not love beauty with brains?
I bet you that Bill Clinton, when Hillary walks in, quickly switches back from Fox to MSBNN
Bet Bill wants a girl like the girls on Fox News
Every one is beautiful, any one you choose
Whoever does the hiring knows how to light my fuse
I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
Now to Doocy, Kilmeade, and Bolling, Bret, Shep, and Sean
And all them other hairy-legged Geraldos you put on
I ask you all one question, who would you rather watch…
Cavuto or Courtney Friehl interviewing Koch?
‘Cause honey sure beats vinegar to wash down the news we need
No one else comes close, well except for maybe Robin Meade
They got your blondes and brunettes, even red heads too
Which proves that they’re the only ones with fair and balanced news
Oh, I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
I’d settle for an hour there in Billy Hemmer’s shoes
Can’t help if other network girls’ egos get bruised
I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
More cowbell
And I like Michelle Malkin, she never makes my reds stay blue
And if my wife would let me, hey I’d marry Michelle too
Save some love for Greta, she’s the smartest Y’all
Bet when she’s off the record, she’s the wildest of ’em all
Now I’m a Fox News junkie, I watch it all I can
My liberal days are over, hope Bob Beckel understands
And I believe in everything O’Reilly has to say
Especially when he has Kimberly Gilfoyle on that day
Oh, I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
Every one is beautiful, any one you choose
Whoever does the hiring knows how to light my fuse
I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
Hey, I want a girl like the girls on Fox News
(No honey, I love you, I mean if I wasn’t married to you I’d love them)
(I mean, they’re awesome, but you’re the most awesomest, really, I swear honey)
This is not the first time ABBA have won this award, and it would probably have been quite remiss of me to overlook them for this long if it was, however it has been over six years since they last won it so I think it is a reasonable point in time to give them another award. That said (I shudder to think how many times I have used the phrase “that said” on this blog, I was not planning to give them the award this week as I did have someone else in mind, but I came across an ABBA song with which I was not familiar the other day and it caused me to change my plans.
To provide the context of the story, I have a very small hobby radio station at home which primarily runs talk programming relayed from other sources. In many ways it could be described as a glorified webstream player with some stream-delaying features so that overlapping programming can be played at different times. It generally runs a mixture of conservative Australian and American talk programs, although a few other things are in the lineup as well with the addition of a bit of music now and then. The music, apart from being part of the standard programming, serves as filler content in case something goes wrong such as a webstream dropping out. In the early hours of Friday morning a delayed program was airing which, due to a problem with the recording, underran by a few minutes. Two songs were used to fill-out the hour until the top-of-hour news with one of them only airing for about fifteen seconds. I didn’t recognise this song (some of the music came from my own collection while other bits came from my parents’ CD collection) but it did grab my attention.
The snippet of the song which I heard seemed to be a song with a foreign accent and heavily synthesised instrumental backing. I had no idea what it was and so when I had time, I had a look back over the logs and felt incredibly silly for not recognising what should be the highly recognisable voice of Agnetha Fältskog.
The song, which by now I would think some of you know exactly what it is, was ABBA’s final song to be recorded but, peculiarly, not their final song to be released. The song, which of course is the feature song for this week, is “The Day Before You Came”. How I have managed to not hear this song before you is beyond me, although I suppose it does lend some theoretical credibility to my bizarre theory that, if life as we know it is a television program or some other form of simulation, then songs which have allegedly been around for years and yet have only just recently come to my attention, might actually be new releases out in the world where this life is being monitored.
On that note, considering that it is 4:35am and I am tired, rambling, and for some reason posting a Musicians Of The Week award in the morning rather than the evening, I will cease my long-winded preamble and leave you with a fantastic and intriguing song.
I Must have left my house at eight, because I always do
My train, I’m certain, left the station just when it was due
I must have read the morning paper going into town
And having gotten through the editorial, no doubt I must have frowned
I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine
With letters to be read, and heaps of papers waiting to be signed
I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so
The usual place, the usual bunch
And still on top of this I’m pretty sure it must have rained
The day before you came
I must have lit my seventh cigarette at half past two
And at the time I never even noticed I was blue
I must have kept on dragging through the business of the day
Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away
At five I must have left, there’s no exception to the rule
A matter of routine, I’ve done it ever since I finished school
The train back home again
Undoubtedly I must have read the evening paper then
Oh yes, I’m sure my life was well within it’s usual frame
The day before you came
(Haunting operatic interlude)
I Must have opened my front door at eight o’clock or so
And stopped along the way to buy some chinese food to go
I’m sure I had my dinner watching something on TV
There’s not, I think, a single episode of Dallas that I didn’t see
I must have gone to bed around a quarter after ten
I need a lot of sleep, and so I like to be in bed by then
I must have read a while, The latest one by Marilyn French or something in that style
It’s funny, but I had no sense of living without aim
The day before you came
And turning out the light
I must have yawned and cuddled up for yet another night
And rattling on the roof I must have heard the sound of rain
The day before you came
The weekend before Christmas seems like as good a time as any to bring my Musician Of The Week award out of hiatus, and what better way to do so than with a Christmas song?
This week’s award goes to Chris de Burgh, and the feature song is “A Spaceman Came Travelling”.
A spaceman came travelling on his ship from afar,
‘Twas light years of time since his mission did start,
And over a village he halted his craft,
And it hung in the sky like a star,
Just like a star.
He followed a light and came down to a shed,
Where a mother and child were lying there on a bed,
A bright light of silver shone round his head,
And he had the face of an angel,
And they were afraid.
Then the stranger spoke, he said “Do not fear,
I come from a planet a long way from here,
And I bring a message for mankind to hear.”
And suddenly the sweetest music filled the air.
And it went La La La La, La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La, La La La,
Peace and goodwill to all men,
And love for the child.
La La La La, La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La, La La La,
La La La.
This lovely music went trembling through the ground,
And many were wakened on hearing that sound,
And travellers on the road, the village they found,
By the light of that ship in the sky, which shone all ’round.
And just before dawn at the paling of the sky,
The stranger returned and said “Now I must fly,
When two thousand years of your time has gone by,
This song will begin once again, to a baby’s cry.”
And it went La La La La, La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La, La La La,
This song will begin once again,
To a baby’s cry.
And it goes La La La La, La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La,
La La La La, La La La, La La La,
Peace and goodwill to all men,
And Love for the child.
Oh the whole world is waiting, waiting to hear the song again,
(La La La La, La La La, La La La,)
There are thousands standing on the edge of the world,
(La La La La, La La La,)
And a star is moving somewhere, the time is nearly here,
(La La La La, La La La, La La La,)
This song will begin once again, to a baby’s cry.
Duran Duran get the award this week, by special request and suggestion of Megan Milligan. The feature song is my favourite song of theirs “Hungry Like The Wolf”. According to the archives of this blog, Duran Duran have received this award once before, and on that occasion the feature song was one which does not really rank among my favourite songs any more (Reach Up For The Sunrise), but that could just be due to having been subjected to it fairly regularly of late, thanks to my employment.
So, here is a song which is still in my list of favourite songs, Hungry Like The Wolf.
Dark in the city, night is a wire
Steam in the subway, Earth is a fire
Do-do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do, do do
Woman, you want me, give me a sign
And catch my breathing even closer behind
Do-do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do, do do
In touch with the ground
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you
Smell like I sound, I’m lost in a crowd
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Straddle the line, in discord and rhyme
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you.
Mouth is alive, with juices like wine
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Stalked in the forest, too close to hide
I’ll be upon you by the moonlight side
Do-do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do, do do
High on blood drumming on your skin, it’s so tight
You feel my heat, I’m just a moment behind
Do-do do do, do do do, do do do, do do do, do do
In touch with the ground
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you
Scent and a sound, I’m lost and I’m found
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Strut on a line, it’s discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine, I’m after you
Mouth is alive, all running inside
And I’m hungry like the wolf
(Hungry like the wolf)
(Hungry like the wolf)
(Hungry like the wolf)
Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you
I smell like I sound, I’m lost and I’m found
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Strut on a line, it’s discord and rhyme
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you
Mouth is alive, with juices like wine
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you
Scent and a sound, I’m lost and I’m found
And I’m hungry like the wolf
Strut on a line, it’s discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine, I’m after you
As a stark contrast to last week, this week’s award goes to Gordon Lightfoot, a man with a lovely voice who is capable of delivering some absolutely splendid gentle songs, and also capable of my favourite competency of a great musician…the ability to perform a faithful version of the song live.
My favourite of his songs is his 1971 hit “If You Could Read My Mind”, so here it is.
If you could read my mind, love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie,
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong,
With chains upon my feet.
You know that ghost is me.
And I will never be set free
As long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see.
If I could read your mind, love,
What a tale your thoughts could tell.
Just like a paperback novel,
The kind the drugstores sell.
When you reached the part where the heartaches come,
The hero would be me.
But heroes often fail,
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take!
I’d walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script.
Enter number two:
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me.
But for now, love, let’s be real;
I never thought I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it.
I don’t know where we went wrong,
But the feeling’s gone
And I just can’t get it back.
If you could read my mind, love,
What a tale my thoughts could tell.
Just like an old time movie,
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well.
In a castle dark or a fortress strong.
With chains upon my feet.
But stories always end,
And if you read between the lines,
You’d know that I’m just tryin’ to understand
The feelin’s that you lack.
I never knew I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it.
I don’t know where we went wrong,
But the feelin’s gone
And I just can’t get it back!
This is one that I’ve been planning on running for a while. I tend to have trouble picking my favourite Sneaky Sound System song, usually struggling to pick from 16, Because Of You People Think I’m Crazy, Kansas City, and the song I am featuring this week (there also happens to be a few songs from this group which I like, but not as much as the ones I just mentioned, and then some which I simply can not stand…it’s funny how that all works).
The song which I am featuring this week is one which I have played loudly in the car more times than I care to count. Almost no trip to Deniliquin has been complete without it and it has nicely filled the void between areas without 3G mobile reception out that way a few times. It was also given a good run on my way back to Deniliquin from Shepparton one night in March, 2009 after I had seen a movie at a cinema in Shepparton.
Anyway, the reason I decided on this song and not one of the aforementioned songs is that, a few weeks ago, as I was driving in to work, I was listening to The Sean Hannity Show (or maybe it was Mark Levin, to be honest I’m not entirely sure now) and heard him take a call from a caller in Portland, Oregon, who was listening through KUFO-AM. I hadn’t realised before this that there was a station with the callsign KUFO…it’s such a great callsign, and I thought there was a lot of potential in it. I figured that with a callsign like that, it had to be an affiliate of Coast To Coast AM, which specialises in discussions about UFOs, aliens and other unusual phenomena…alas, I checked, and it isn’t, which is a real shame as there is a whole heap of imaging which could be built around that callsign for that show.
In my attempt to check if KUFO is an affiliate of Coast To Coast AM, I went to type KUFO in to the search box on the Coast To Coast website and accidentally left off the K, which naturally resulted in the search being for UFO. This produced a lot of results, but in amongst the results were a few mentions of bumper music used during particular episodes of the show. As would be expected, the song which I’m featuring this week, Sneaky Sound System’s “UFO” has been used as bumper music a few times on Coast To Coast AM, most recently on an episode entitled “UFO Year In Review” on December 27, 2009. In this show, the song was used as bumper music leading in to the hard break (a break which airs at a set time, and which the program must accommodate, unlike other breaks which “float” and can be taken whenever they seem to fit the show, within certain time constraints) at the bottom of the first hour.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/UFOONC2CAM.MP3] Download MP3
(h/t Premiere Radio Networks. The more recently archived shows have higher quality audio available to subscribers. This episode’s subscriber replay audio comes from their older, lower-quality streams)
It’s a pity that it was used leading in to a break and not out of a break, because songs get a longer run on Coast To Coast coming out of a break. Still, it’s great that such an aptly titled song gets a run on this show.
Enough of the back story; on with the song. Here is the video clip for the radio edit of the song (I can’t decide whether I prefer the radio edit or the full version, but the video is only on the radio edit so I’ll run with that). My favourite part of the video is the alien creatures which appear in the second half…they always give me a good chuckle.
I just don’t wanna be lonely (lonely, lonely, lonely)
Cause the lights were shining ever so bright (bright, bright, bright)
In my hand there’s a pulse of my beating heart
I’m biting my tongue there’s a plastic man on the telephone
Can you see the bright light, shining, I don’t know
Can you see the bright light, shining, shining….
I saw a UFO but nobody believes me (believes me, believes me, believes me)
I was 16 miles from home with nobody in sight (sight, sight, sight)
I saw a UFO but nobody believes me (believes me, believes me, believes me)
(oh oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh)
(tonight) And what’s it gonna take to get me back home tonight
(oh oh oh, oh oh oh)
Can you see the bright light, shining, I don’t know (don’t know, don’t know)
And is it a reflection of anyone, the big glow (glow, glow, glow)
And tell me this is all good, and you say, I don’t know (know, know)
I’m very, very far from home (home, home, home)
I saw a UFO but nobody believes me (believes me, believes me, believes me)
I was 16 miles from home with nobody in sight (sight, sight, sight)
I saw a UFO but nobody believes me (believes me, believes me, believes me)
(oh oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh)
(tonight) And what’s it gonna take to get me back home tonight
(oh oh oh, oh oh oh)
(tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight) (hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello)
(hello, hello, hello, hello, hello)
(hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello)
(hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello)
I saw a UFO but nobody believes me
I was 16 miles from home with nobody in sight (sight, sight, sight)
I saw a UFO but nobody believes me (believes me, believes me, believes me)
And what’s it gonna take to get me back home tonight
(tonight, tonight, tonight) (oh, oh, oh)
And what’s it gonna take to
And what’s it gonna take to
And what’s it gonna
And what’s it gonna
And what’s it gonna take to
And what’s it gonna take to (tonight, tonight)
And what’s it gonna take to (oh oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh oh)
(tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight) And what’s it gonna take to get me back home tonight
(tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight)
In light of the fact that Jasmine Rae was named Australian Country Music Artist Of The Year the other day, I have decided to give her the Musician Of The Week award this week.
The feature song is her cheeky little number “I Faked It”.
You walked out and told the whole town we were over
And now you’re scratchin’ like a dog at my door ’cause you want back in
Your eyes are all red from apologising,
But you ain’t the only one here that’s been lyin’
I’ve got a few little secrets of my own
Every time I smiled and said I loved your momma, I faked it
When I told you baby “no need to lose weight”, yeah I was fakin’ that too
And this one is really gonna blow your mind
Every time you thought that you were king of the night – surprise
That’s right
I faked it
I think this might be the first time I’ve seen you speechless
Lookin’ all confused wonderin’ if what I said was the truth
Well a woman’s mind is a complicated thing
Can’t always believe everything you say – surprise
Mm hmm, I faked it
Every time you thought I ate your overcooked steak, I faked it
The dog ate it
I was yellin’ “rock star” when you were playin’ your guitar
Yeah, well I was faking that too
Every time you thought that you were doin’ things right
I was just too tired to even put up a fight – surprise
That’s right
I faked it
(Oh yeah, oh yeah)
(Oooh)
Every time I smiled and said I loved your momma, I faked it
When I told you “baby no need to lose weight”, yeah I was fakin’ that too
And this one is really gonna blow your mind
Every time you thought that you were king of the night – surprise
That’s right
I might, have lied
Mm hmm, bye bye
I faked it
Last night I was watching a Dutch movie on SBS One entitled ‘The Black Book’ which was set during the months leading up to, and immediately after, the end of World War Two. The film revolved around the Dutch Resistance against the Germans and, in particular, a Jewish woman who was working with the Dutch Resistance and had to infiltrate the local Nazi headquarters. It was a very good film and dealt with some very important topics, including the often-overlooked effects that the end of the war had while free societies worked out how to be free again. I highly recommend finding a copy of the film to watch if you can.
Anyway, how this relates to the Musician Of The Week award is that, during one of the scenes in the local Nazi headquarters, the Germans were singing a wartime song about how they were going to free Europe by shooting everyone (or at least that seemed to be the general gist of it…the focus of the scene was not this song, but rather the Jewish woman feeling sick when she saw one of the Germans who killed much of her family) and it reminded me of a song which I heard from our side of the war on a documentary on 7two last week called “The World At War” called The Thing-Ummy Bob (because it was a war song, not because of any similarity in sentiment between the songs). I had added this song to my list of prospective award recipients, and seeing this movie last night made me decide to use the song this week.
The song was sung by a few people, but the version which I heard was probably the most popular one sung by Gracie Fields. The song celebrates the work of those who stayed in their home country during the war, and did things which supported the war effort. We owe a lot to these people, and we could learn a thing or two from them today.
So, here it is, Gracie Fields singing The Thing-Ummy Bob.
I can’t pretend to be a great celebrity
But still, I’m quite important in me way,
The job I have to do may not sound much to you
But all the same, I’m very proud to say…..
I’m the girl that makes the thing that drills the hole
that holds the ring that drives the rod that turns the knob
that works the thing-ummy bob
I’m the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil
that oils the ring that takes the shank that moves the crank
that works the thing-ummy bob.
It’s a ticklish sort of job making a thing for a thing-ummy bob
Especially when you don’t know what it’s for
But it’s the girl that makes the thing that drills the hole
that holds the ring that makes the thing-ummy bob
that makes the engines roar
And it’s the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil
that oils the ring that makes the thing-ummy bob
that’s going to win the war
I’m not what you would call a heroine, at all
I don’t suppose you’d even know me name
But though I’ll never boast, of my important post
I’ll strike a blow for freedom just the same
(Music)
That works the thing-ummy bob
(Music)
That works the thing-ummy bob
It’s a ticklish sort of job making a thing for a thing-ummy bob
Especially when you don’t know what it’s for
But it’s the girl that makes the thing that drills the hole
that holds the ring that makes the thing-ummy bob
that makes the engines roar.
And it’s the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil
that oils the ring that makes the thing-ummy bob
that’s going to win the war.
Two of my favourite musicians singing one of my favourite songs. It’s a shortened version of the song, but still thoroughly enjoyable.
Now, blue ain’t the word for the way that I feel,
That old storm keeps brewin’ in this heart of mine.
This ain’t no crazy dream, I know that it’s real.
You’re someone else’s love now, you’re not mine!
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new,
But my yearning heart keeps sayin’ you’re not mine!
My troubled mind knows soon to another you’ll be wed,
Honey that’s why I’m lonesome all the time.
Crazy arms that reach to hold somebody new,
But my yearning heart keeps sayin’ you’re not mine! (not mine, not mine)
My troubled mind knows soon to another you’ll be wed,
Honey that’s why I’m lonesome all the time.
I’m sure that I have given the award to Judith Durham before, but I saw her singing last night at Carols In The Domain and was moved by her performance, so this week’s award goes to the lovely Ms. Judith Durham and we have two songs from her from last night’s performance: “Hark The Herald Angels Sing” and a slightly modified version of “Morningtown Ride”.
(With thanks to YouTube user BrainyAlien1 who uploaded this video. I was going to upload it myself, but BrainyAlien1 has already uploaded one with higher video quality than what I would have uploaded.)
With thanks to 2UE’s John Kerr and Stuart Bocking for playing this song this morning, this week’s award goes to Alan Jackson for his stirring tribute to the victims of 9/11. This week’s feature song is Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?
Thanks also to Youtube user MEGARA2009 for this video montage of the song and images from 9/11.
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you in the yard with your wife and children
Or working on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin’ against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry?
Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white and blue
And the heroes who died just doin’ what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell
you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?
Were you teaching a class full of innocent children
Or driving down some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty ’cause you’re a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you loved her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?
Did you open your eyes, hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Or speak to some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Or go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off that violent old movie you’re watchin’
And turn on “I Love Lucy” reruns?
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some strangers
Did you stand in line and give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love?
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell
you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell
you the difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love.
And the greatest is love.
And the greatest is love.
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?
