All I can say is: thank goodness ABBA had a good grasp of the English language and didn’t have to rely on dodgy automated translations.
Somehow I don’t think predictions about future digital video technologies or all-seeing wifi would have been received quite as well by the public. Brexit predictions at Eurovision would have been bold indeed!
The last time we saw Weezer a couple weeks ago, we didn’t actually see them because they weren’t in their own video clip, instead having other people parody them. I sense a theme here because this week, once again, they’re not in their own video clip.
Instead, we’re taking a trip back in time through the magic of acting, and meeting Weezer’s lead singer’s teenage band as they perform the big hit of the day, A-Ha’s Take On Me.
As it happens, I actually prefer this rendition of the song over the original. The original is an irreplaceable classic, of course, but this one makes me want to turn the volume up and hear it a few more times in a row!
(You, of course, are free to not do that if it is not your desire…)
We’re off to Africa again this week. Unfortunately something went awry in translation so it’s not entirely clear where we’re going, but at least the catering is good, well, some of the time…
I’m sure you’re familiar with Toto’s song “Africa”. Well a few years ago a more modern group, Weezer, produced a cover version of it after a campaign on Twitter requested it for reasons which aren’t particularly clear to anyone whatsoever.
To make matters even more peculiar, the video clip which they produced to go with it features Weird Al Yankovic acting a parody of Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo in what is apparently a send-up of a much older Weezer video clip for a song which I’m not really acquainted, plus some extra Weird Al accordion weirdness.
I’m not much of a fan of Weezer’s own work, but their covers of other people’s songs tend to be quite good. This is no exception.
Something a little bit different for you this week.
Canberra pianist David W Green plays at a number of venues around Canberra from time-to-time, and in the leadup to Christmas in 2022, David made regular appearances at Westfield Woden to entertain the shoppers as they went about their busy shopping days. I was fortunate enough to be in attendance on a couple of those occasions, and by David’s invitation captured this clip of David taking a break from the Christmas tunes by playing one of his own compositions titled “River of Stones”.
I’m reliably informed that the management of Westfield Woden received quite a bit of positive feedback about David’s appearances, and it was evident on the day of this video when a crowd gathered around as well as watching over the handrail of the floor above to enjoy David’s music.
David has a wide repertoire and has played at many venues around Canberra including The Ainslie Football Club (another place where I was lucky enough to see and hear him play), The Hyatt Hotel, and The National Exhibition Centre. I’m sure that if you have an event in the Canberra region which could use a piano player, you could contact David via his website and he will probably be interested in attending. While you’re there, check out David’s many photos of his many trips to many places. David is a keen photographer in addition to a skilled pianist.
Back in the early days of this blog, I started a feature called Samuel’s Musician(s) Of The Week where I would feature a musician and one of their songs each week. Over time I went through a lot of the music I like and featured many wonderful songs, and I have decided to continue this but with a bit of a change to the format.
The category is now called “The Sunday Share” and will expand a little bit beyond music. At first I think a lot of what I will post here will continue to be music that I wish to share with you, but I will also share other videos with you which have interested me and possibly even articles or documents.
This week I am sharing with you a video by musician Malinda Kathleen Reese who has, in addition to her own music, produced many videos of various well-known songs with their lyrics translated many times by Google Translate. Automated translation tools are a bit hit and miss at the best of times, and once you take a translation and re-translate it and keep going with that process, you end up with some rather unusual and amusing results.
This one is not my favourite of her work, but it’s the first one I came across and it is very good. The amount of effort put into the production alone is impressive. Also, the song in question, The Sounds Of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel is one I am quite fond of. It was even the first item on Radio 2CC’s emergency tape at one stage which kicks in after 30 seconds of silence…clearly whoever set that up had a sense of humour.
I will share a few more of Malinda’s very good and amusing translation videos in future.
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!