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“Life instantly improves when you don’t blame other people and focus on what you can control.”
As Long As You Follow by Fleetwood Mac is our Song of the Day.
The song proved to be one of their many popular songs. This one isn’t about love lost or getting retribution, but rather about love returning and being a supportive guide in life.
“Wake up determined. Go to bed satisfied.”
- Dwayne Johnson
Liquid Lunch is our song of the day. Caro Emerald was a fantastically enjoyable act. (As of 2022, the Caro Emerald project and live act are dormant and no longer active.) Filled with upbeat music that called to swing, lyrics that were fun, Caro Emerald’s music remains a mood lifter.
Liquid Lunch is unsurprisingly, a song about drinking.
Baby, pass the aspirin—something’s gotta work
I know I did it to myself, but man oh man, it hurts
That second last Martini, the one that went down real smooth
Set me on a bender with nothing left to lose
Yeah, baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got goin’ and we had a munch
I promise on a dime it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch
Yeah, baby, it hurts a bunch
This one is toe tapper that you’ll love to sing along with. Just take it for fun.
The principal singer in Caro Emerald has moved on to a very different project “The Jordan”.
“The most important conversation is the conversation you have with yourself each day.”
Hymn of a Summer Night by Jesse Terry is the song of the day. This song is on the When We Wander album. Reflective of growing up, friendship, and returning home.
We discovered Jesse Terry at 20 Front Street (a terrific venue to see intimate shows). Discovering artists like Jesse Terry is powerful. Go to those local music spots with original singer/songwriters.
Adults can’t be punished into greatness. Neither can children.
Song of the Day
Vultures by John Mayer is our song of the day. Vultures is on the Continuum album. It has a nice mid-range tempo that makes if very easy to listen to. The vocals are similarly constrained.
The lyrics of the song are personal for John Mayer. Lyrics denoting how to strive for success and deal with the “vultures”, those hangers on and try to ride the coattails. But the song can have meaning for all of us. All of us want to experience success, we don’t want to just hold on.
Some of us, we’re hardly ever here
The rest of us, we’re born to disappear
How do I stop myself from
Being just a number
How will I hold my head
To keep from going under
“Life instantly improves when you don’t blame other people and focus on what you can control.”
Lonely People by Styx is our song of the day. Lonely People is one the seminal Paradise Theater album. Paradise Theater was a concept album that was part of my youth. I was a big fan. The entire album was good. Lonely People starts out with a short “street scene”. The song quickly turns to things being past their prime or not being what they seem.
Oh my god, well we both are empty paradise and me
Do you believe I’m still chasing rainbows
This was close to Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung leaving Styx (who are apparently still touring – Tommy Shaw has returned).
Still some good music from Styx. Enjoy this one.
“And who knows what Romance, what Adventure, what Love, is lurking around the next turn of the road, ready to leap out on us if we’ll only travel that far?”
–Inscription in George Sterling’s copy of The Road, March 26, 1914
Pink Houses by John Mellencamp is our Song of the day. The song is an upbeat song which has frequently been misinterpreted as “feel good, America is great” song. Those into “cheap patriotism” think the song supports the American dream. In reality, the song is pretty “anti-American”.
“This one has been misconstrued over the years because of the chorus—it sounds very rah-rah. But it’s really an anti-American song,” Mellencamp continued of “Pink Houses.” “The American dream had pretty much proven itself as not working anymore. It was another way for me to sneak something in.”
- https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-pink-houses-by-john-mellencamp/
The line of “Ain’t that America” is one of the reasons that fake patriots misunderstand that song.
Ain’t that America, the singer taunts. A country that runs on the efforts of the working class, and yet makes sure the “American Dream” is just out of their reach, ain’t that something to see, Mellencamp asks.
It’s a great song. Great feeling. Great meaning.
It is a funny thing about life:
If you refuse to accept anything but the best,
Very often you get it.
Haunt from the album “See Here, I Have Built You A Mansion” by Josh Ritter, is one of those catching songs that just sticks with you. Wonderful music, interesting lyrics.
Destiny is not a matter of chance,
It is a matter of choice;
It is not a thing to be waited for
It is a thing to be achieved.
Today’s Song is “Brazilian Stomp” by George Benson and Earl Klugh off the stunning Collaboration album. No vocals, just some great smooth jazz. Long one of my favorite albums for just putting on and enjoying (whether focusing while working or getting lost in great sounds), I’m sure that you’ll be seeing other songs from this album as a song of the day.
The real menace in dealing with a five-year-old is that in no time at all you begin to sound like a five-year-old.
Today’s song of the day is “Why Aye Man” by Mark Knopfler. I’m a big fan of Mark Knopfler and his songs. I love his music and the stories that his songs tell.
Why Aye Man is about the mid 1980’s in England and the recession they experienced. Specifically, the song is about the dignified working-class and the determination to survive and thrive.
Some of the lyrics include:
We had no way of staying afloat
We had to leave on the ferry boat
Economic refugee
On the run to Germany
and
There’s English, Irish, Scots, the lot
United Nation’s what we’ve got
Brickies, chippies, every trade
German-built and British-madeThere’s plenty Deutschmarks here to earn (why aye, why aye man)
And German tarts are wunderschön (why aye, why aye man)
German beer is chemical-free (why aye, why aye man)
Germany’s alreet with me (why aye, why aye man)
Sometimes I miss my river Tyne
But you’re my pretty Fräulein
Tonight we’ll drink the old town dry
Keep our spirit levels high
Great guitar playing as always. I love the theme of working hard, enjoying life (even if it’s hard), and making the best of the circumstances.
There are some stories that the song was written for a TV show, but in an interview, Mark states that he had written it separately. The song’s genesis was the line “keep your spirit level high”, which has a wonderful dual meaning.
The challenge for this week is Beautiful View!
We took my mother-in-law out on a lobster boat. This was one of the pictures that I grabbed.
The pulley hangs from a brace on the lobster boat. In the background is the Portland Headlight lighthouse.
Troy Patterson
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