In My Life. (The 45's Years)

Citrus talked yesterday about song and lyrics which effect him. (He was extremely good and linked to his songs...I'm not as good!)

He said:

There are certain songs that stop everything. Time. Trouble. Tomorrow. There are songs that make me remember why I came here, to this world, to stay for awhile.

I like that. I'm a lyrics girl. I cannot get into actual poetry as much as I would like, but good song lyrics? Love them.

My first relationship with music was the 45's (and tapes) my mother and grandmother owned. There were lots of them, and not all of them grabbed my attention, but some got stuck in my head. I was forbidden from playing the record player, but I did anyhow.

And so I like a lot of songs that were before my time, and that I should be way ashamed to acknowledge knowing. There was one really sappy song I loved...sappier than Bobby Goldsboro singing Honey.. It was called A Daisy A Day:

I'll give you a daisy a day
Dear I'll give you a daisy a day
I'll love you until the rivers run still
And the four winds we know blow away.

They would walk down the street in the evenin'
And for years I would see them go by
And their love that was more than the clothes that they wore
Could be seen in the gleam of their eye
As a kid they would take me for candy
And I'd love to go taggin' along
We'd hold hands as we'd walk to the corner
And the old man would sing her his song.

I'll give you a daisy a day
Dear I'll give you a daisy a day
I'll love you until the rivers run still
And the four winds we know blow away.

Now he walks down the street in the evenin'
And he stops by the old candy store
And I somehow believe he's believin'
He's holdin' her hand like before
For he feels all her love walkin' with him
And he smiles at things she might say
Then the old man walks up to the hilltop
And gives her a daisy a day.
(c) Copyright 1972 by Every Little Tune, Inc.

Sappy, huh? Yeah, well. I was a kid.

My grandmother used to love For The Good Times, by Al Green.

Don't look so sad, I know it's over.
But life goes on, and this old world will keep on turning.
Let's just be glad we had some time to spend together.
There's no need to watch the bridges that we're burning.

Lay your head upon my pillow.
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine.
Hear the whisper of the raindrops,
Blowin' soft against the window,
And make believe you love me one more time,For the good times.

I'll get along; you'll find another,
And I'll be here if you should find you ever need me.
Don't say a word about tommorrow or forever,
There'll be time enough for sadness when you leave me.
Lyrics by Kris Kris Kristofferson

Weird memory of my mother getting ready for work and dancing to a Beach Boys song. I looked at my mother, who was probably 25 tops, and thought it was cool that she knew an old dance like. Of course the dance...and the song were both no older than 6-7 years, if that.

My mother had a Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons tape which cracked me up. Walk Like a Man sung in a high Falsetto? Okay. She also had America, Bread, Chicago, the Beatles...

I'm not sure which one of them owned the Glen Campbell 45s but I loved Wichita Lineman. (As does Citrus, come to find out.)

And I need you more than want you,
And I want you for all time.
Lyrics by Jimmy Webb.

Then there was The Green, Green Grass of Home.(My mother and grandmother both had it bad for Tom Jones.)

The old home town looks the same
as I step down from the train,
and there to meet me is my Mama and Papa.
Down the road I look and there runs Mary
hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me,
arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
The old house is still standing
tho' the paint is cracked and dry,
and there's that old oak tree I used to play on.

Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary,
hair of gold and lips like cherries.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly.
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home.

[spoken:]

Then I awake and look around me, at four grey wall surround me
and I realize that I was only dreaming.
For there's a guard and there's a sad old padre -
arm in arm we'll walk at daybreak.
Again I touch the green, green grass of home.
Yes, they'll all come to see me in the shade of that old oak tree
as they lay me neath the green, green grass of home.

It's funny how many of those songs were about the longing for home:

I'm coming home, I've done my time.
And I need to know what is and isn't mine.

or:

Almost heaven, West Virginia.
Blue Ridge Mountains
Shenandoah River -
Life is old there
Older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growin’ like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads
Words and music by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver

Or:

I built me a castle
With dragons and kings
And I’d ride off with them
As I stood by my window
And looked out on those
Brooklyn roads

Thought of going back
But all I’d see are strangers’ faces
And all the scars that love erases
But as my mind walks thru those places
I’m wonderin’
What’s come of them

Does some other young boy
Come home to my room
Does he dream what I did
As he stands by my window
And looks out on those
Brooklyn roads

I got older and moved on, but I never lost affection for those songs. They were part of my childhood, and as responsible for my love of words as the books I read.

There are places I remember all my life,
Though some have changed,
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.

All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living.
In my life I've loved them all.

But of all these friends and lovers,
There is no one compares with you,
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I'll love you more.

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I'll love you more.
In my life I'll love you more
Lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

I would love other people to either post here...or in their own blog, lyrics or songs that they love. What songs give you goosebumps? What lyrics get stuck in your head? What songs are you embarrassed to like, but do anyhow?