"...& is he honest who resists his genius or conscience only for the sake of present ease or gratification"- William Blake
"I never cared for school or any golden rules Papa used to always say I was a useless fool So I left my home to show them they was wrong And headed out on the road singing my song Then one sunny day. the man, he looked my way And everything that I dreamed of, it was real Money, girls and cars; and big long cigars And I caught the first plane home so papa would see
When I went home to show em they was wrong All that I found was two tombstones Somebody tell me please was I right or wrong Oh, such a sad song First I got lost, then I got found But the ones that I love are in the ground Papa I only wish you could see me now Take a listen papa Whoo, I learnt how to play my guitar Gonna be a superstar
First I got lost, then I got found The ones I love are in the ground Wont you tell me please was I right or wrong
If theres any way you can hear what I say Papa, I never meant to do you wrong All the money, girls and cars. and all the words and all the cigars Papa, I just want you to know they couldnt take your place
When I went home to show em they was wrong All that I found was two tombstones Somebody tell me please was I right or wrong Oh, such a sad song First I got lost, then I got found But the ones that I love are in the ground Somebody tell me please was I right or wrong"- Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Every great phenomenon is followed by degeneration. Particularly in the realm of art..all great talents...seem to devestate the nature around them"- Nietzsche
"These things that have comforted me, I drive away This place that is my home I cannot stay"- Bruce Springsteen
"In the ruins of great buildings the idea of the plan speaks more impressively than in lesser buildings, however well preserved they are"- Walter Benjamin
"Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand, And rivers that ran through ev'ry day. I must have been mad, I never knew what I had, Until I threw it all away"- Bob Dylan
"Bravely bearing on, thy will is destined an eternal war to wage with tyranny and falsehood, and uproot the germs of misery from the human heart"- Shelley
"'I am,' I said To no one there An no one heard at all Not even the chair 'I am,' I cried 'I am,' said I And I am lost, and I can't even say why'"- Neil Diamond
"What wonder that they should be frantic, when people who are in their senses canonize their frenzy"- Cervantes
"Sweet Little Sixteen She's just got to have About half a million Framed autographs Her wallet's filled with pictures She gets 'em one by one She gets so excited Watch her look at her run
Oh mommy mommy Please may I go It's such a sight to see Somebody steal the show Oh daddy daddy I beg of you Whisper to mommy It's all right with you"- Chuck Berry
"They do not make the good any more good by making it eternal; a white thing that lasts a long while is no whiter than what lasts but a day"- Aristotle
"I want to live fast love hard die young and leave a beautiful memory"- Faron Young
"Nothin a junkey likes better than sittin with a new shot and knows tommorow's plenty more"- Jack Kerouac
"Now once I was downhearted, disapointment was my closest friend. But then you came and it soon departed and you know he never showed it's face again. That's why you're love keeps lifting me higher and higher. Keep lifting me higer and higher"- Jackie Wilson
Leonard Cohen at his best is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. This song, Hallelujah, Tower of Song, Chelsea Hotel, and a couple others, are some of the best songs ever written. "And should rumour of a shabby ending reach you, it was half my fault and half the atmosphere"
"She dwells with beauty- beauty that must die; And joy, whose hand is ever at his lips bidding adieu"- Keats
"And I remember what she said to me how she swore that it never would end I remember how she held me oh so tight wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then"- Bob Seger
One of Al's best songs. He had one of the greatest producers of all time in Willie Mitchell and this song is a good example of that. Soft and close is sometimes hard to do and there's no song that's ever been done half as soft or closer.
"His unremitting intellect is the hornmad Iago ceaselessly willing that the moor in him shall suffer"- James Joyce
"I keep looking for a place to fit Where I can speak my mind Ive been trying hard to find the people That I wont leave behind
They say I got brains But they aint doing me no good I wish they could
Each time things start to happen again I think I got something good goin for myself But what goes wrong
Sometimes I feel very sad Sometimes I feel very sad (cant find nothin I can put my heart and soul into) Sometimes I feel very sad (cant find nothin I can put my heart and soul into)
I guess I just wasnt made for these times"- Brian Wilson
Just like a gun your memory is pressing on the back of my tongue. Just like a loaded weapon.
Under your possession. You little pills are blessings. Under your possession. You little pills are blessings.
Don’t try to run from the things that they do. You can hide from everyone, but turn around they’ve caught you.
Under your possession. You little pills are blessings. Under your possession. You little pills are blessings.
I could never stand to turn my back on you, relationships are built on trust. Picking off the berries that have asked for you to lighten up your crush.
Drops in the sun. There’s nothing that will last you. When life is all done just leave me a last few.
Under your possession. You little pills are blessings. Under your possession. You little pills are blessings.
What wraught the house that dreamed of you. And stood in the night like a frame that had lost a jewel. But one soul was kept to hold on to and walk forever in its halls and empty rooms. Always I will be the house you haunt. Always I will be the house you haunt.
Recalled to life through faded rooms. The wasted and gone are shown by the light and move. Who loved them best and let them go to rest in peace have found a home. Forget, but the walls will know.
Always I will be the house you haunt. Always I will be the house you haunt.
Beneath the stars we made a tomb. Awake in the night and see scrawled across the room. "This world of ours is not for you" They hold who's left alive who raise their home on the souls they lose.
Always I will be the house you haunt. Always I will be the house you haunt
This is a Stones song from the sixties. I like their original recording because it's so sloppy it's like they don't even care. The song is so fucking stupid that it's charming to me.
"I believe my steps are growing wearier each day Still I've got a journey on my mind Lures of this old world have ceased to make me want to stay and my one regret is leaving you behind.
If it proves to be his will that I am first to go And somehow I've a feeling it will be When it comes your time to travel likewise don't feel lost For I will be the first one that you'll see.
And I'll be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan I'll be waiting drawing pictures in the sand And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout And come running through the shallow waters reaching for your hand.
Through this life we've labored hard to earn our meager fare It's brought us trembling hands and failing eyes I'll just rest here on this shore and turn my eyes away and then you'll come then we'll see paradise.
And I'll be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan I'll be waiting drawing pictures in the sand And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout And come running through he shallow waters reaching for your hand.
And I'll be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan I'll be waiting drawing pictures in the sand And when I see you coming I will rise up with the shout And come running through he shallow waters reaching for your hand"- Johnny Cash and june Carter
This song has been interpreted as Paul attacking John and Yoko, and Paul has admited that at least some of the lines were written about them. John would respond with "How Do You Sleep At Night".
Too Many People Going Underground Too Many Reaching For A Piece Of Cake Too Many People Pulled And Pushed Around Too Many Waiting For That Lucky Break That Was Your First Mistake You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two Now What Can Be Done For You You Broke It In Two
Too Many People Sharing Party Lines Too Many People Never Sleeping Late Too Many People Paying Parking Fines Too Many Hungry People Losing Weight
That Was Your First Mistake You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two Now What Can Be Done For You You Broke It In Two
Too Many People Preaching Practices Don't Let Them Tell You What You Wanna Be Too Many People Holding Back, This Is Crazy And Maybe It's Not Like Me
That Was Your Last Mistake I Find My Love Awake And Waiting To Be Now What Can Be Done For You She's Waiting For Me
The stars are in the sky. The words are in my heart. I could let them out but I don’t know if I could get them back. And life is short and hard. Shots in every bar. You take the tips the you pay the debts to push them off but they don’t come off.
Hey Kate, I’m out on my own here, I’m standing alone here. Hey Kate, don’t stand on your own babe, don’t stand all alone baby.
When the wishing stops and the hands arive, it’s a long drop and I can’t fly and I can’t fly. There’s less and less I want. The list is getting small. I can’t make it stop it’s been to long it’s gone to far.
Hey Kate, I’m out on my own here, I’m standing alone here. Hey Kate, don’t stand on your own babe, don’t stand all alone baby.
And if we can’t go back. And this is how it ends. Here in this bar, I’m gonna try hard to remember for always the touch of your skin.
Hey Kate, I’m out on my own here, I’m standing alone here. Hey Kate, don’t stand on your own baby, don’t stand all alone baby.
"And may these characters remain when all is ruin once again"- Yeats
"If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall Or the mountain should crumble to the sea I won't cry, I won't cry, no, I won't shed a tear Just as long as you stand, stand by me"- Ben E. King
I was in a basement when I came up with this song. I was talking to this kid who was in a band and I asked him if he was planning on going back to school. He said that he wanted to make it in the music buisness and that "there is no plan B". This was a couple years ago, maybe he's given up by now or maybe he's still trying. Either way it was clear that he meant it at the time. A statement of devotion to the love you can't help but choose. The question is how much you're willing to sacrifice to what it is you are. Somethings you can change and somethings you can't - Alcholholics Anonymous.
Like a fever while it's thick on the vine. Once it's picked the juice is pouring like wine. The soul's one record plays, "No Cause Like Mine". The walls and shutters shake. The boy is tied.
What could I do but cut down the cherry tree. There is no plan B.
Listen close and you can make out the whine of the signal from the stars to the spine. Born and a toll to pay. One name to sign. Grip hard and make it plain. Or scratch and sigh.
What could I do but cut down the cherry tree. There is no plan B.
Let him bring forth what is inside, what he brings forth will save his life. If he does not, what he won't bring, will rot and destroy everything.
Burning bridges babe to give me some light. All around the ones who failed in the fight. The friends you've thrown away. The bonds untied. The chant "Stars start only with selfish guys"
What could I do but cut down the cherry tree. There is no plan B.
There Ain't No Good Chain Gang- Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash
It's an awesome song from a 1978 Johnny Cash album. It went to number two on the charts.
"There ain't no good in an evil-hearted woman And I ain't cut out to be no Jesse James And you don't go writing hot cheques down in Mississippi And there ain't no good chain gang"
Aside from being one of the most consistent bands ever, Creedence Clearwater (and therefore John Fogerty) wrote some of the best lyrics of the 60's. This is a track off their 1969 album Green River. Although the large majority of their records don't really have a "contemporary", visions of the sixties, psychedelic, far out feel to them, Creedence's records WERE actually more locked into what was going on in the world at the time than almost any of their contemporaries. Vietnam is everywhere in their songs. It's the jungle in "Run Through the Jungle", it's obviously front and center in "Fortunate Son", and it's the war that the singer sees himself going to in this song.
Met myself a comin' county welfare line. I was feelin' strung out, Hung out on the line. Saw myself a goin', down to war in June. All I want, All I want is to write myself a tune.
Wrote A Song For Ev'ryone, Wrote a song for truth. Wrote A Song For Ev'ryone When I couldn't even talk to you.
Got myself arrested, Wound me up in jail. Richmond 'bout to blow up, Communication failed. If you see the answer, now's the time to say. All I want, All I want is to get you down to pray.
Wrote A Song For Ev'ryone, Wrote a song for truth. Wrote A Song For Ev'ryone When I couldn't even talk to you.
Saw the people standin' thousand years in chains. Somebody said it's diff'rent now, look, it's just the same. Pharoahs spin the message, round and round the truth. They could have saved a million people, How can I tell you?
Wrote A Song For Ev'ryone, Wrote a song for truth. Wrote A Song For Ev'ryone When I couldn't even talk to you.
This is a home demo of a song I wrote called Right Here. It says "You don't have to go" to someone who's been gone for a long time. But if you find a way to say goodbye for your entire lifetime long then in a way that person's never really gone. And so here you are honey.
They always used music to great effect in the show, and they never used it better than in the last scene of the last episode. It's the last supper, "focus on the good times”, Don't Stop Believing. There was an awesome article that this guy named Bob Harris wrote about this episode, you can read it here.
Sinatra is as great as everyone says he is. That being said though, I never liked his version of this song, it always sounds stiff to me. It's a great song though, someone is contemplating suicide and the music is upbeat. If they're going to tap dance on your grave anyway you might as well tap dance all the way up to the hole.
First off it's U2's best song, second, and I'm not really sure why, this is really moving to me. Springsteen brought a girl on stage in his Dancing in the Dark video (Courtney Cox), but it wasn't like this. That looked stupid; this looks beautiful.
A great, great song by Emmylou Harris about her overdosed and dead mentor Gram Parsons. It's from off her 1975 debut album Pieces of the Sky and it's written by her and songwriter Bill Danoff. (Danoff also wrote the songs Take Me Home Country Roads and Afternoon Delight). Emmylou has yet to write, or co-write, a song anywhere near as good as this one is. I don't know who was responsible for the lyrics in the verses but they're the most beautiful and sad evocation of survivor's guilt that I've ever heard.
I don't want to hear a love song I got on this airplane just to fly And I know there's life below But all that it can show me Is the prairie and the sky
And I don't want to hear a sad story Full of heartbreak and desire The last time I felt like this It was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn I watched it burn, I watched it burn.
Well you really got me this time And the hardest part is knowing I'll survive. I have come to listen for the sound Of the trucks as they move down Out on ninety five And pretend that it's the ocean coming down to wash me clean, to wash me clean Baby do you know what I mean
I know we've met some other time. Welcome back. Welcome back, it's been a long while. We are running on such short time. In the snow the clocks still go, the tower bells chime.
Life is hard. Life is hard. There's so much that's hard. Make love easy.
In my dreams there's a place to hide. There's no tears cried, you're at my side, we skip the bad lines. But I wake up to a world of sighs. Just what to do to get to you I just can't decide.
Life is hard. Life is hard. There's so much that's hard. Make love easy.
Coming round again to show the things that you have dropped into my bowl. If you don't believe this never ends I've got something to show you, I've got something to show you, I've got something to show you.
Good things often get left behind to beg and die with hungry eyes in a ditch a mile wide. Don't be guilty of such a crime. The verdict sent reads innocent when two hearts entwine.
Life is hard. Life is hard. There's so much that's hard. Make love easy.
"Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; The best of life is but intoxication"- Lord Byron
"If you feel like you wanna fly, just get a little high. And if you can't get your black feet on the ground, just buy another round"- The Coasters (Song by Ashford & Simpson and Joey Armstead)
"Where does your loyalty lie?" is a question that human beings constantly have to answer. Clearly in the song the "correct" response seems to be "to the human race" (and in a broad sense I think it is), but lets get more specific. I was thinking about the Iraq war when I wrote the song, and about how nationalism leads to a disregard for the human life that doesn't live in the same place we do. And it does, and a major part of the song is clearly about that. But putting aside the Iraq war for a minute, what if you narrowed down the phrase "the land where you reside" to "the city that you live in"? Or how about to "the house that you live in"? Or how about even further to "the people in that house"?. So if it's, "to the human race or the people in your home" where does that leave you? If your child committed what you believed to be an awful crime would you turn them in? It's a disturbing question, it's certainly not a question that's original to me, and it's a question that the human race will have to ask themselves for as long as we're still around.
Where does your loyalty lie. To the human race or the land where you reside. And there’s a time when silence is the same as to hide. And there’s a time when a traitor’s way is not taking a side.
And from the heart through the fog and the sky. Through the crowd, pushing back against the tide.
Where does your loyalty lie. To the human race or the land where you reside. And there’s a time when silence is the same as to hide. And there’s a time when a traitor’s way is not taking a side.
Lifted up from the ground to your eyes. Look here past the haze, through their lies.
Where does your loyalty lie. To the human race or the land where you reside. And there’s a time when silence is the same as to hide. And there’s a time when a traitor’s way is not taking a side.
This was a "bonus" track on Weezer's last album. It should have been an actual track. Their last album was the first one since their debut that had tracks not just written by Rivers Cuomo. They're one of the best bands of the last 15 years, Rivers should write all the songs though.
And to the sound of mourning I opened my eyes. There was a crowd performing my last rites.
And they're whispering things to make sure I see the ones that got away will bury me.
There's only two excuses that could make it allright. Either you lost your cellphone or your in hell tonight.
And if you're going down you'll be following me. The ones that got away will bury me.
Baby life is hard as the dirt flies up. You only get one chance before the shovels turn up to pack down all the hope they were offering up. And leave you there holding onto dirt and to dust.
I've got a hard ceiling for my sky. It's solid wood and blocks out all the light.
And I'll never look beyond it to see. The ones that got away will bury me.
One of the best rap songs ever. It uses the music from Isaac Hayes's great cover of the Burt Bacharach song Walk On By, made famous by Dionne Warwick in 1964. The lyrics are awesome but some of them are hard to understand so here they are written out. (From the website azlyrics.com)
[Ghostface Killah] Technique is ill son, watch how I spill one Peace to Biggie Tupac Big L and Big Pun Havoc on the streets of Staten, snitches House niggaz children watch as they produce the same pattern Somebody raped our women, murdered our babies Hit us with the cracks and guns in the early 80's FOR THOSE THAT MURDERED ME SHALL STAND BEFORE GOD TO FALL AT THE HANDS OF FATE, THEN OUT COMES THE ROD Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back.. [*record run backwards*]
What the fuck is goin on? I can't go to sleep Feds jumpin out they jeeps, I can't go to sleep Babies with flies on the cheeks, it's hard to go to sleep Ish bowled two sixes twice, I couldn't go to sleep Aiyyo we deep in the stairs, we carry can guns (?) got, hit up with the big shit, bam-bam Stop at the cheeba spot, then pass the leak spot So past y'all niggaz again, you took a cheap shot Not knowin FUCKIN WITH ME, you get your meat chopped YOU THOUGHT WE FELL ON OUR FACE? YOU NEED TO BE STOPPED CALL ON THE CHARIOTS, CALL ON AN AMBULANCE YOU BETTER SMILE MY NIGGA, YOU ON CANDID CAM Gangsta broad, these be the laws, walk with big balls Nigga motherfuckin eunuch, I even take which was yours I'm the nigga that made you man When your rap wasn't doin well, I'm the nigga that gave you a hand!
[Isaac Hayes] Don't kill your brother, learn to love each other Don't get mad.. cause it ain't that bad Just be who you are.. you've come so far It's in your hands, just be a man Get the jelly out your spine! Cobwebs, out of your mind
[RZA] I can't go to sleep, I can't shut my eyes They shot the father of his moms, killed him seven times They shot Malcolm in the chest front of his little seeds Jesse watched, as they shot King on the balcony They spat at Marcus, Garvey cause he tried to spark us with the knowledge of ourselves, and our forefathers Ohh Jacqueline you heard the rifle shots cracklin Her husband head in her hair, you tried to put it back in AMERICA'S WATCHIN, BLOOD STAINED INK BLOTCHES MEDGAR TOOK ONE TO THE SKULL FOR INTERGRATING COLLEGE WHAT'S THE SCIENCE? SOMEBODY? THIS IS TRICK KNOWLEDGE THEY TRY TO KEEP US ENSLAVED AND STILL SCRAPE FOR DOLLARS Walkin through Park Hill, drunk as a +FUCK+ Lookin around like, these +DEVILS+, I'm ready to break this world down They got me trapped up in a metal gate, just stressed out with hate And just, give me no time to relax, and use my mind to meditate What should I do? Grab a blunt or a brew? Grab a two-two and run out there AND PUT THIS FUCKIN VIOLENCE IN YOU? I can't go to sleep, I can't shut 'em son.. I..
[Isaac Hayes - overlapping RZA at the end] Don't like the game, nigga use your head You should be callin the shots instead The power is in your hands.. Stop all this cryin, and be a man
"The truly great are, in my view, always bound to feel a great sense of sadness during their time upon Earth"- Dostoyevsky
"I'm a leaf on a windy day Pretty soon I'll be blown away How long will the wind blow? How long will the wind blow? Ohhhh
Until I die Until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die These things I'll be until I die"- Brian Wilson
This song was originaly sung by the country singer George Jones. At his best he's an awesome singer, but he doesn't write his own songs and has been given, or chosen, a lot of shitty songs to sing. This is one of his best though and his version is one of the greatest country records ever made.
Since 1972's Exile on Main Street all the best Rolling Stones songs have been sung by Keith. This is one of them, from off their 1994 Voodoo Lounge album. And that's the Sopranos making great use of it in one of their episodes.
Woody Guthrie had “This Machine Kills Fascists” written on his guitar, that’s where I got that line from. And "That's All Right Mama" was one of the first things Elvis Presley recorded at Sun Records, it's sometimes referred to as the first rock song. There is no real agreement on what the first rock song was though. A lot of people say it was "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats which was released in 1951, and other people say it was "Rock Around The Clock" released by Bill Haley and the Comets in 1954. For the purpose of this song though let's just assume it was "That's All Right Mama".
Well hey this is the big one. This is the one that they will remember us by. For all of the people not paying attention, the fire has leapt to the sky. This is our war. This is our time. Lift up your head. The heart has bled. Baby open your eyes.
Have you looked outside? Its time. Have you looked outside baby. Have you looked outside? Its time. Have you looked outside baby.
There’s a corporate heart beating. A corrupted cancer that has spread far and wide. And the revolution will sort things together. The first shots been fired all right. Contract the score. Loosen the ties. Tremble ye trends, the brass will bend, the baby opens it’s eyes.
Have you looked outside? Its time. Have you looked outside baby. Have you looked outside? Its time. Have you looked outside baby.
And now the choir is empty, the church is exploding, the volume is blasting inside. And believe in the danger, this machine kills fascists, from “That’s All Right Mama” till now All things will end, and then begin, new if you stand up my friend I say right now is the time.
Have you looked outside? Its time. Have you looked outside baby. Have you looked outside? Its time. Have you looked outside baby.
From the movie Rio Bravo, it's one of my favorite songs ever. Ricky Nelson and Dean Martin sing it while John Wayne drinks coffee and Walter Brennan plays harmonica. The Sopranos used it to great effect at the end of one of their episodes as Tony sits by his horse as he dies.
This is Stevie Wonder's protest song about Richard Nixon. That's the Jackson 5 singing backup. It's off his awesome 1974 album Fulfillingness' First Finale and it went to number one on the billboard charts that same year.
"Misfortune is liable to make me a damn bad man"- Fitzgerald
"Now every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world And ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl. Love and hate tattooed across the knuckles of his hands Hands that slap his kids around 'cause they don't understand"- The Clash
"If hymns were rock music sung to worship whatever you happened to believe in then it would sound like Zak Smith...These are the thoughts of a man in his mid-twenties. Rather than confounding us with wisdom beyond his years he is being true to himself and singing about what he actually knows and with that comes a certain frankness. Combine that with a soulful but raw voice and guitars that are alive with riffs and energy"-Glasswerk.com album review.
This is singer/songwriter Zak Smith's blog. He writes about music and posts his songs and videos here. Go to Zaksmithlive.com for more information.
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