Thursday, October 15, 2009

Roses are red, violets are just gonna wilt and then die and get smelly after awhile anyway


Let me call you Sweetheart, I'm in love with you.
Let me hear you whisper that you love me too.
Keep the love-light glowing in your eyes so true.
Let me call you "Sweetheart," I'm in love with you.
Let Me Call You Sweetheart A hit for The Peerless Quartet in 1910, covered tons of times - including by Bette Midler in 1979 for "The Rose"
I would sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of having you near, in spite
Of a warning voice that comes in the night
It repeats, how it yells in my ear
I've Got You Under My Skin Cole Porter1936. A hit for Frank Sinatra, The Four Seasons, Louis Prima & Keely Smith, Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker, Lee Wiley, Steve Barton, Michael Bolton, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Gloria Gaynor, Diana Krall, Dinah Washington,Maysa, Michael Bublé, Katharine McPhee, James Darren, Cesare Siepi, Al Bowlly, Neneh Cherry, Bill Evans, Jim Hall, Seether.......... and used in 2009 for the action film Gamer.
I can make you mine
Taste your lips of wine
Anytime, night or day
All I Have to Do Is Dream: #1 for the Everly Brothers in 1958; # 14 for Richard Chamberlain in 1963; #27 by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell in 1969; #66 by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band' in 1975; #51 by Andy Gibb and Victoria Principal in 1981; Middling UK hit for Ant & Dec (PJ & Duncan) in 1996; Encore for every Gutter Twins (Mark Lanegan & Greg Dulli) concert in 2009.
Every time you go away - I always say this time it's goodbye dear
Loving you the way I do - I take you back
Without you I'd die dear - knowing I love you, so
Anyone Who Had a Heart: Top 10 for Dionne Warwick (US) in 1963 and Cilla Black (UK) in 1964; Shelby Lynne's 2007 cover was a top iTunes download in December, 2007; #77 in 2008 for Atomic Kitten.
Only you
Can make this world seem right
Only you
Can make darkness bright
Only You (And You Alone): #1 for The Platters in 1955; #1 for Ringo Starr in 1974; Sung by a penguin in "Happy Feet" in 2006 and by chipmunks in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie in 2007.

You'd think that people would have had enought of silly love songs.
But I look around me and I see it isn't so.
.
I was listening to an album last night that turned out to be not much more than routine love songs and thought to myself, not for the first time either, that we really don't need any more love songs. Haven't for awhile, really. It's not like there's anything new to say on the topic. We could use some credit crunch songs. Bring on the renewable energy extraction technique ballads. I might even shell out for an iTunes download of a rousing anthem about mapping the human DNA genome. But love? Here ye all you songwriters out there - you can stop now. Whatever you got to say was already said a century ago. Nothing else rhymes with baby baby.

I'm thinking we at RR should make a list of 10 love songs (or 20 or 50 if people think it is appropriate), give it the RR stamp of approval and send it to the UN Musical Security Council for a resolution. Come on, who's with me?

love Tinny
xoxoxoxo

10 comments:

tincanman said...

btw, the examples cited aren't meant to be the best love songs ever. I had thought of putting together a thoughtful, well-researched post, but realized a half-assed effort on a dubious topic better reflects the true me. Plus I didn't know how to do the former.

goneforeign said...

Well I think I'll have to start with my Ella songbooks collection, most of them are in there.

tincanman said...

by the way GF, since you listened to my Elliott Smith I read your Nick Hornsby. I hadn't realized he wrote About A Boy, a film I liked. I just finished Slam (I liked it) and have checked Juliet, Naked out of the library.

nilpferd said...

I hope you threw a towel around her, Tinny.

goneforeign said...

Tinny: I just finished 'Naked', interesting tale that anyone here would relate to, there's a couple of others I'd strongly recommend, The Polysylabic Spree and 31 Songs, [titled Songbook over here], both of these are collections of essays, the first about books and second, music. You must have read High Fidelity?
Wiki has an interesting page about him.

goneforeign said...

ps:
Tinny: I was at the radio station on Saturday night chatting with my mate as he did his jazz show, his daughter was there with her laptop dubbing CD's, I glanced at her pile and there were several Elliot Smiths!

tincanman said...

No, I haven't read High Fidelety yet.
I, um, well here's the thing ... every time I've heard praise for Nick Hornby, I've thought it was the guy from Nick Hornby and The Range and the critics were really saying 'he writes not bad for a boring singer' so I didn't bother with him. I think the Range Hornby was Bruce. Not THE Bruce, of course, just another 'next Bruce' who wasn't. But I digress; I have reading to do.

tincanman said...

You probably hadn't paid attention to Elliott Smith before 'cause you thought he was the Elliott BACKSPACE Emmitt Smith who was a running back for the Dallas Cowboys. Coulda happened to anyone. Chin up.

goneforeign said...

Who's running back to Dallas, is it something to do with that TV show?
Whatever else you're doing, stop! Run to the library and get HF before somebody else gets it and then lock yourself in the bedroom with the 'Don't Disturb' sign on the doorknob. Enjoy.

DarceysDad said...

On the book angle, thanks to goneforeign for the Michael Connolly tantaliser. It has gone on the Christmas list.

On the love song front, I kind of agree that the subject appears to have been done to death. The trouble is, just when you're at your most jaded about it, along comes another love song that just blows you away.

And on reflection, I think it's lust songs I'm bored with, though the Freud/Jung psychoanalysts may have a field day with that statement!

;o)