Lyrics!

I've been having a spot of blogger's block recently, trying to come up with an interesting subject... To top it off, the other day I noticed I had already written about a subject before, albeit on my other (greek) blog...

So, lyrics! I am listening right now to the Beautiful South/Housemartins. They are an excellent example of snappy, English, witty and wonderful lyrics. Let's have a listen:



And the actual lyrics:
She's a perfect 10, but she wears a 12
Baby keep a little 2 for me
She could be sweet 16, bustin' out at the seams
It's still love in the first degree

When he's at my gate, with a big fat 8
You wanna see the smile on my face
And even at my door, with a poor poor 4
There ain't no man can replace

'Cause we love our love,
in different sizes
I love her body, especially the lies
Time takes it's toll, but not on the eyes
Promise me this, take me tonight

If he's extra large well I'm in charge
I can work this thing on top
If he's XXL well what the hell
Every penny don't fit the slot

The anorexic chicks, the model 6
They don't hold no weight with me
Well 8 or 9, well that's just fine
But I like to hold something I can see

'Cause we love our love,
in different sizes
I love her body, especially the lies
Time takes it's toll, but not on the eyes
Promise me this, take me tonight

I've bought a watch, to time your beauty
But I've had to fit a second hand
I've bought a calendar, and every month
Is taken up by lover man

'Cause we love our love,
in different sizes
I love her body, especially the lies
Time takes it's toll, but not on the eyes
Promise me this, take me tonight

'Cause we love our love, in different sizes
I love her body, especially the lies
Time takes it's toll, but not on the eyes
Promise me this, take me tonight

A sweet song about real love, amongst real people. Another favorite of mine is this:



I Love You From The Bottom, Of My Pencil Case
I Love You In The Songs,
I Write And Sing

Love You Because,
You Put Me In My Rightful Place
And I Love The Prs Cheques, That You Bring

Cheap, Never Cheap
I'll Sing You Songs Till You're Asleep
When You've Gone Upstairs I'll Creep
And Write It All Down

Oh Shirley, Oh Deborah, Oh Julie, Oh Jane
I Wrote So Many Songs About You
I Forget Your Name (i Forget Your Name)

Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel, Too
I Forget Your Name
Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel, Too
I Forget Your Name

I Love Your From The Bottom Of My Pencil Case
I Love The Way You Never Ask Me Why
I Love To Write About Each Wrinkle On Your Face
And I Love You Till My Fountain Pen Runs Dry

Deep So Deep,
The Number One I Hope To Reap
Depends Upon The Tears You Weep,
So Cry, Lovey Cry, Cry, Cry, Cry

Oh Cathy, Oh Alison, Oh Phillipa, Oh Sue
You Made Me So Much Money,
I Wrote This Song For You
Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel, Too
I Wrote This Song For You
Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel, Too
I Wrote This Song For You

Now I remember as a teenager, one of my best friends, was into "heavier" rock than I was at the time. And this was always a source of bickering between us. So I was always looking for ways to "put down" her favorites like Deep Purple for example. Don't get me wrong, I 've done my share of headbanging too, but this was before... The fact that I was bilingual put me in a position of understanding much better what was being sung. That of course, only when the singer didn't sound like he was singing through a mouthful of sand...
So Deep Purple! Here they are...



And the lyrics:
We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out of ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
Swiss time was running on
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky
Smoke on the water

Hmmm... You get the point...

I still get very nostalgic listening to a lot of the hard rock bands of the time, and I love the music.Bands like Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull and co. Great music, and a lot of good songs, but some of the lyrics just seem a tad immature maybe? I don't know... Maybe it is just me getting older and wiser (and crankier!)

And anyway I much prefer listening to them than the awful drivel that often passes for greek popular music... some examples in translation:

He's a cat, he's a cat, the guy in the tie (it rhymes in greek...)

did not hear. What did you say? Excuse me?
I am sorry Mister, who are you?

Do not wander that I speak to you in plural
that is how I learned to talk to strangers.
Do not speak of a love of the past to me
because you are jealous that now I love somebody else

I did not hear. What did you say? Excuse me?
I am sorry Mister, who are you?

What do you want from me
I am a stranger now,
go back to your wife
that awaits you.

I did not hear. What did you say? Excuse me?
I am sorry Mister, who are you?

Do not wander that I speak to you formally
do not pretend to be hurt.
You, who for years did not ask
whether I died or am still alive
now you come to me again, remorseful.

(my thanks to the www.stixoi.info website for saving me the trouble of the translation...)

What Mr Karvelas thinking of when he wrote this?

So that's my subject for today. next installation is probably going to b the start of a long series, where I go into the subject of the concerts i have been to.
See ya soon!!!

The violin in rock music...

The other day I was reminded of yet another great song that was a major hit in Greece.
It is by a german band called City. The song is called Am fenster (at the window) and has a wicked violin part. Actually a greek band called nomisma (coin) have recently done, what in my opinion, is a rather good cover of it, retaining the feeling even if they changed the lyrics.

Here is the original in a recent version:



The song is by an east german band called City, and refers to the lack of freedom in East germany prior to the Wall coming down. However the wording is very ambiguous so they couldn't be accused of treason or whatever and sent to the Gulag... It was a major hit in Germany both east and west at the time, but also a big hit in Greece! I remember when i was ding my army service in northern Greece (1987-88) there wasn't a single local radio station who didn't play it at least once a day...

Here is the greek cover of it:



The violin gives this song something special ,a sad sound that has "parapono"as they say here...

Another famous song with a great violin part, is this:



Of course it isn't only the violin that makes this song one of the true greats. It is also a real protest song about a big wrong that was committed and cost a man his freedom. And also it is so well written, a masterpiece...

Finally another musician who brought the violin to rock music, or more specifically jazz/rock is the following:



Jean luc Ponty, classically trained, a concert violinist, but he also used to go and play in jazz clubs and eventually had to make a choice... A very gifted artist.

And on that note my friends goodnight, çause I have to get up for work too at sometime...

luv y'all!
DJ Papapete

Today is Sunday...

When I was growing up, there was this show that aired every Sunday morning, on state TV, called "Simera ine Kyriaki" (Today is Sunday).It was a religious show, invariably with some priest or theologist, rattling on about the Greek Orthodox religion etc.
I never watched it. Unless maybe our Grandma happened to be visiting, and even then, she was more given to dragging us off to the church itself to have Communion...

Like most people of my generation, I never have had much time for the Church. I 'm not even sure what my beliefs are! But I'll generally accept the existence of a higher being (or beings...) as well as some lower ones too!

As regards practising religion, well, understandably, at a younger age, Tantra, with its hidden promise of endless sex seemed quite interesting...

Then one day I saw the "Blues Brothers" film. When it got to the scene where James Brown as crazy preacher sings a gospel song, it was a revelation! This was one church I could relate to! I had seen the light! Such a shame that something like that doesn't exist round my part of the world...
But anyway have a taste.





Now throughout my life i have made a habit of reading biographies of musicians, and other music-history related books. Right now, on this fine December Sunday morning, with the rest of the family still asleep and the breadmaker whirring away in the background, I am enjoying a coffee, and reading about the life of a man I admired, and whose biography has made me admire even more. Johnny Cash. He was a believer. He may have had his ups and downs, but he was one of music's true greats. How I would have loved to have met him...



They sang this together, and prophetically, she was the first one to go. This next song was his tribute to the love of his life, even though it was originally written with another kind of "Hurt"in mind. It just goes to show what an amazing artist he was, making every song he sang his own...



After that, what can i say?

I would just like to close by saying how amazing is it? All these people, most of whose lives were lived so far from us, whose names are so many that I dare not try to list them, but whose music and songs have been the soundtrack to so many of our lives, many of these artists where friends, or they became at some point in their lives. And these people have affected our lives in so many ways, sometimes good and maybe sometimes bad. But even after they have passed away their music lives on. In our hearts. In our minds. In the music we make as well. I thank God for them...

"what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt

I will let you down
I will make you hurt

if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way"