padam, padam...

Edith Piaf - Padam Padam

Cet air qui m'obsède jour et nuit
Cet air n'est pas né d'aujourd'hui
Il vient d'aussi loin que je viens
Traîné par cent mille musiciens
Un jour cet air me rendra folle
Cent fois j'ai voulu dire pourquoi
Mais il m'a coupé la parole
Il parle toujours avant moi
Et sa voix couvre ma voix

Padam...padam...padam...
Il arrive en courant derrière moi
Padam...padam...padam...
Il me fait le coup du souviens-toi
Padam...padam...padam...
C'est un air qui me montre du doigt
Et je traîne après moi comme un drole d'erreur
Cet air qui sait tout par cœur

Il dit: "Rappelle-toi tes amours
Rappelle-toi puisque c'est ton tour
'y a pas d'raison pour qu'tu n'pleures pas
Avec tes souvenirs sur les bras...
" Et moi je revois ceux qui restent
Mes vingt ans font battre tambour
Je vois s'entrebattre des gestes
Toute la comédie des amours
Sur cet air qui va toujours

Padam...padam...padam...
Des "je t'aime" de quatorze-juillet
Padam...padam...padam...
Des "toujours" qu'on achète au rabais
Padam...padam...padam...
Des "veux-tu" en voilà par paquets
Et tout ca pour tomber juste au coin d'la rue
Sur l'air qui m'a reconnue
...
Écoutez le chahut qu'il me fait
...
Comme si tout mon passé défilait
...
Faut garder du chagrin pour après
J'en ai tout un solfège sur cet air qui bat...
Qui bat comme un cœur de bois...

this song is about its melody - padam, padam, padam. it causes a great uproar for her. She sees all the comedies and all the tragedies of her past loves. In one performance Piaf says, "This melody you will hear follows me everywhere I go. I hear it when I am sad and especially when I am glad. It seems to mock me for my past sins. It taunts me and it is driving me crazy."

Qui bat comme un cœur de bois... - it beats like a wooden heart...

best days - graham colton...

this is my newest music-crush. i really like his music and voice. i also have a penchant for what i call "story songs". songs that relate a story or part of a scene. his song "New Year's Resolution" is my current favorite, but i couldn't find a decent video of it.

With everything I've ever done
I'd give it all to everyone
For one more day
Another night I'm waking through
Another door I walk into
I can't break

And it's a winding road
And it's a long way home

So don't wait
For someone to tell you it's too late
Cause these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of tonight
Here comes the rest of our lives

I count the steps
The distance to
The time when it was me and you
It's so far gone

Another face,
Another friend,
Another place,
Another end,
But I'll hang on

And it's a winding road

And it's a long way home

So don't wait
For someone to tell you it's too late
Cause these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of tonight
Yeah, let's make the best of tonight
Here comes the rest of our lives
Rest of our lives

And it's a winding road
It's a long way home

So don't wait
For someone to tell you it's too late
Cause these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of it

Don't wait
Cause no one can tell you it's too late
Cause these are the best days
There's always something tomorrow
So I say let's make the best of tonight
Yeah, let's make the best of tonight
We'll make the best of tonight
Here comes the rest of our lives

i know it's been forever...

i've been busy, shall i say? i know. no excuses! well, to start this up again, below is probably the perfect song "Who wants to live forever" originally done by Queen. I'm going to do something different.

when I did tapes for some of the bars in Chicago many years ago, usually for cocktail hour, i really enjoyed mixing different versions of the same song by various artists. though i could seamlessly mix them, i don't have the expertise to do videos or on a website. so i will just post some videos of the song... if the video doesn't identify who is singing, try to guess for fun. enjoy...



















and, of course...




There's no time for us
There's no place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams yet slips away
from us

Who wants to live forever
Who wants to live forever....?

There's no chance for us
It's all decided for us
This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us

Who wants to live forever
Who wants to live forever?

Who dares to love forever?
When love must die

But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today
Who wants to live forever
Who wants to live forever?
Forever is our today

Who waits forever anyway?


the original is my favorite. but the third one with the two young children singing sent chills up my spine.

freddie would have been really proud of them...

who knows where the time goes...

this song, written by sandy denny and sung by judy collins, is my depression song.

what i mean by that is if i'm feeling funky and not knowing exactly what my state of mind is really at the moment, i'll put this on the cd player or ipod. if i start to cry or am on the verge of crying, i know i'm depressed. listening to the song helps get me out of the funk.

listen closely to the words. the two lines that have special meaning for me are I do not count the time and I do not fear the time. time is the bandit that steals our lives. there is nothing we can do about the passage of time. it is the one constant in the world. kind of strange calling it a constant. there is nothing constant about it. it is ruled by change. i recently heard a line that the only people who like change are wet babies. the rest of us resist it.

how sad.

judy collins is one of my all time favorite performers and song writers. her music is story telling. i like songs that tell stories. this song, who knows where the time goes, is used in the video above as the opening of the movie the subject was roses. it's a great movie with patricia neal at her finest. and, yes, it is a bit depressing. but it also is filled with hope.

as the adage from the hopi indians goes, when hope is gone, life is over...

i would be remiss...

if i didn't post this as the second entry of this new blog, given that the title of my main weblog is no matter what. the lyrics have special meaning and, if you were ever treated badly, bullied or felt like an outsider, this song addresses what it's like to be different and that it doesn't matter. be who you are...



the lyric

No matter what they tell US
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach US
What we believe is true

No matter what they call us
However they attack
No matter where they take us
We'll find our own way back

I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not (I know I'm not)
I know I'll love, forever (I know)
I know no matter what

If only tears were laughter
If only night was day
If only prayers were answered (hear my prayers)
Then we would hear God say

No matter what they tell US
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach US
What we believe is true

And I will keep you safe and strong
And shelter from the storm (no matter where)
No matter where it's barren (a dream)
A dream is being born

No matter who they follow
No matter where they lead
No matter how they judge us
I'll be everyone you need

No matter if the sun don't shine (the sun don't shine)
Or if the skies are blue (skies are blue)
No matter what the ending (my life)
My life began with you

I can't deny what I believe (what I believe)
I can't be what I'm not (I know I'm not)
I know this love's forever
That's all that matters now, no matter what

the video above is from a live performance honoring Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber, who wrote the song. the program was for his 50th birthday, i believe. you can find the original video on youtube.com. it's visually stunning, but i like the simplicity of the one above. not to mention the icandy. oops...

this is my all-time favorite song. why? i view it as totally existential. it makes no sense and it makes great sense. it's memorable. it's hummable. it reminds me of my first great love, all be it unrequited.

music is probably the most important thing in our lives, at least in mine. i wake each morning with a song playing in my head. i connect it to things that happen, people i meet, and events that happen. a song will bring back a memory - good or bad. i connect music to every part of my life.