Life begins at 50

 Hello, world!

 This is a very special blog post... it is the fiftieth post on this blog!

 In the very first post I did, way back in March 2011, I mentioned some of my favourite songs lyrics-wise. I decided that between this post and the next one I will listen again to these songs and and see how I feel about them now, almost a year and a half after I made that list.

 I will also see if, through keeping this blog, I have discovered any other songs that deserve to join that list. I'm sure there are many! But I am looking for the very best for my lyrics hall of fame.

 The first song I mentioned in that list was Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon.

 I remember when I first heard this song, it was while in the car flicking through 80s songs on the mp3 player I had at the time. It included a few 80s albums on which I wasn't sure what half the songs were because it hadn't recognised the album and just called the songs, Track 1, Track 2 etcetera. I was listening through them to see what they all were when I discovered this song, which I don't think I had heard before.

 I thought it must be Candle in the Wind by Elton John. I wasn't familiar with said song at the time, and I decided this must be it as I thought I heard the line, "You're a candle in the wind". I'd also heard Candle in the Wind being hyped about and as this song was amazing, I thought this must be the song.

 I turned out to be wrong on several counts. The line was, "You're a candle in the window." The song was Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon. Candle in the Wind isn't an 80s song so probably wouldn't have been on that album anyway. And I've since heard Candle in the Wind and don't think much of it, which is a shame because I sort of want to like it.

 Anyway, the bottom line is that I discovered a song that I really loved, and that I still love. Since I wrote that blog post in March last year, Can't Fight This Feeling has been featured in a TV advert in the UK for - I think - yoghurt which has a cow running along a beach dreaming of being a horse. The ad is certainly memorable, and I think that may have brought the song to a new audience as I heard one of my friends my age singing it around that time.

 In July 2011, this song took on a huge new significance and poignancy to me, as I used it in the film I made of my college trip to France, and now listening to the song evokes so many amazing memories of that wonderful trip. Here is my film, in case you are interested - Can't Fight This Feeling begins about seven minutes and fifty seconds into the film.

 I chose this song for the aquarium segment of the film because I could see direct links between the lyrics - les paroles in French - and some of the things that happened in the aquarium, for example the reference to the ship. I also loved the general tune and sentiment of the song, and wanted to use it as part of my record of our trip.

 Now when I'm listening to the song and I get to the part where there's talking in the film, I subconsciously expect to hear that talking, and I always feel surprised when the music goes on and the talking doesn't occur! I love this song more than ever and it certainly retains its place as one of my favourite songs ♥

 "It's time to bring this ship in to the shore, and throw away the oars, forever..."

"My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you..."

♥

 The next song on my list was The Whole of the Moon, by the Waterboys.

 Well... There isn't much to say about this song, I feel. Yet there is a whole ocean of things to say... It is amazing. It is beautiful. It is perfect. It is a very, very special song to me. I love it. 

 I first heard it in the car - I'm pretty sure I can remember exactly which stretch of road we were driving along, and where we were going. It's the same for Can't Fight This Feeling! Not the stretch of road, but the fact that I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard both songs. Songs can be so powerful when it comes to bringing back memories attached to them.

 I love the lyrics to this song - I really hope that Mike Scott, who wrote and sung the song had a particular person in mind when he wrote those lyrics. There seems to be a lot of debate over who the song was written for, but all I care about is that he wrote it from his heart and with complete love and sincerity. That is when a superficial love song becomes a beautiful, evergreen love song.

 This is one of the songs I would most like to be able to sing in concert if ever I got a band together. I always envision a full orchestral arrangement with trumpets and violins and maybe even a choir to do the backing singing in the last verse.

 However, such powerful lyrics as these could hold their own in sung a cappella or just spoken... you could do so much with this song, so many different arrangements, and as long as you mean the lyrics and sing them with all the love and emotion you feel for that person is in your life who saw the whole of the moon, it will be something amazing.

 "I spoke about wings, you just flew.

I wondered and I guessed and I tried - you just knew.

I sighed, but you swooned,

I saw the crescent, you saw the whole of the moon."

♥

 The third song that was on my list of top songs lyrics-wise is Romeo and Juliet by Dire Straits. As well as learning to spell their name properly - I was shocked to see, "Dire Straights" on that first post, which was swiftly corrected - I have been listening a lot to music by Dire Straits, with two particular songs being among my favourites: the aforementioned Romeo and Juliet, and Brothers in Arms. 

 I am planning to do a longer blog post involving Brothers in Arms soon, so for now I will just say that it is a song I have loved for a long time, and which think I can add to my lyrics hall of fame. As for Romeo and Juliet, I shared my thoughts on it as part of a blog post about love songs that I did last year, and I still love it.

♥

 The next two songs on my list are both by Fleetwood Mac: Songbird and Sara. I adore Songbird and have sung its praises in my blog post about the amazing Christine McVie (whom I love and who is one of my greatest influences musically). 

 Sara is a song that has been in my head a lot recently - maybe partly because I was planning to do this blog, but I think it may also be partly to do with the fact that in one of the novels I am trying to write (my dream is to have a book published one day, and I am working on several potential novels) there is a character called Sarah. 

 Her naming had nothing to do with the song; it's just a name I like. But writing about her often reminds me of the song.

 

"Wait a minute baby, stay with me a while, 

You said you'd give me light, but you never told me 'bout the fire."

 I always liked this song, but never as much as some other Fleetwood Mac songs such as Gypsy, Little Lies and Say You Love Me. However, I've recently come to like it a lot more. Stevie Nicks has the knack for making a song not just a song, but an experience... something you get completely sucked in to, and when it finishes you feel as if you've come out of a cinema into daylight; like you have been absorbed in a story; in a far away place. In another universe.

 The initial piano chords from Christine McVie have always reminded me of the church bells ringing out in my town, and whenever I hear them, this song comes straight to my head.

 "Sara, you're the poet in my heart,

You never change, and don't you ever start."

 I saw a documentary about Fleetwood Mac in which Stevie Nicks claimed that this song was written because she was having an affair with Mick Fleetwood, and then Mick Fleetwood ended up in a relationship with Stevie's friend Sara. The exact meaning of the lyrics of this song has always puzzled me, but I can feel a lot of love behind the words. I have come to really like this song - it still isn't my favourite Fleetwood Mac song by a long way but I do really like it.

 I will sign off for now and in my next blog entry I will finish my list of top songs lyrics-wise; commenting on the work of Nanci Griffith, and of Ricky Ross and Deacon Blue, and I will add some more songs to the list, songs that I have discovered or rediscovered since I started my blog which I think merit a place on that list.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon - 1984/85

The Whole of the Moon - The Waterboys - 1985

Sara - Fleetwood Mac - 1978/79

Four songs and a dragon

 Hello my dear readers!

 Today is a Sunday, and I have some things to report. Firstly, I have a writing dragon! Called Griff!

 This may not make a lot of sense to some, so I will explain. In Chris d'Lacey's amazing book The Fire Within, the protagonist, David, becomes a lodger in a house which is full of clay dragons which come to life in the eyes of those who really believe that dragons are real.

 As a present for getting good A-Level results and getting a place in Manchester University, my parents got me a Pennykettle Dragon - one of the real clay dragons that the ones in the book were inspired by.

 My Griff is a writing dragon, which means he has a notepad and pencil and should inspire me when I'm writing! In The Fire Within, Gadzooks, David's writing dragon, inspires him by writing words on his notepad which give David ideas for his stories.

 I am hoping that Griff can inspire me as well. I love writing and dragons, so a writing dragon is perfect for me!

 I named him Griff because I feel it suits him, and because it is Welsh-sounding and starts with G. All dragon names in Chris d'Lacey's books begin with G for some reason, and a lot of them are either Welsh-, German- or Anglo-Saxon-sounding. I think it is because England and Wales have a lot of stories about dragons in their histories, and I'm sure that Germany, with its mountains and forests, has dragon legends as well.

 I would recommend The Fire Within to anybody. It is a wonderful book. It is the first in a series of seven, of which I have read four - and I must say that the first two books are by far the best. However, I feel that the second novel, Icefire, is a lot darker than The Fire Within, so I would bear that in mind if you decide to read it.

 I am very happy with Griff and will never be able to thank my parents enough for finding the lady who makes the Pennykettle Dragons, and for having one made for me... I will be forever grateful. And thank you too to Val Chivers, the "Dragon Lady" who made Griff. She is amazing.

 Second piece of news is that I have found out where I will be staying during my first year of university, which is exciting. I got one of the places I wanted, which is great ♥

 Now for some music - I really wanted to share "Isn't it Midnight?" by Fleetwood Mac, which I discovered just after writing my blog post about Christine McVie a while ago.

 It is so pretty, yet also slightly dark and very mysterious-sounding. Here it is:

 The melody sounds quite familiar to me; I have heard similar in other songs. I don't know who came up with it first but I must say that the familiarity for me adds to the general haunted feeling of the song... It is beautiful and goes perfectly with the magical, mystical-looking album cover that is its YouTube thumbnail above. 

 The painting on the cover, in case you were interested, is Hommage à Henri Rousseau, by Brett-Livingstone Strong. The original painting was hanging in Lindsey Buckingham's house when the album was being recorded. I wish it were hanging in my house! It's beautiful.

 From the album Tango in the Night came several Fleetwood Mac songs I adore: Seven Wonders, Little Lies and Everywhere. I intend to start doing album reviews on this blog, and Tango in the Night may be one of the first albums I turn my attention to!

 Another song I have discovered recently and that I really like is "Days Are Numbers (the Traveller)" by the Alan Parsons Project. 

 Amazingly enough, I discovered this through somebody on YouTube claiming that one of my favourite French songs, Juste Après by Jean-Jacques Goldman, was a rip-off from it. I gave it a listen to see what I thought, and I can honestly say that apart from a vague similarity in the first few chords, there is no resemblance that I can hear. 

 I love Juste Après, and I am really warming to Days Are Numbers as well! It is really gorgeous, especially the harmonies in the chorus. If I ever have a band I want us to record this song, and I want us to do the very best job at it that we possibly can, to try and do justice to this amazing song. It is simply sublime.

 So thank you, YouTube person, for helping me discover this song! Even if it was through making a claim that I don't really agree with. But we all hear what we want to in any piece of music.

 I was shopping recently and heard "Maria" by Blondie on the radio - and I was very happy because I love this song. I think it sounds a bit like a speeded-up version of Someone Like You by Adele - obviously, Maria was out first. But I think I may be the only person who can hear the likeness! And I believe songs can sound very similar without any ripping-off being done.

 I first heard Maria at a friend's birthday party not that long ago, and I couldn't believe I had been missing out on it for so long, when I listen to as much Blondie as I do. On the other hand, it's sort of reassuring to think that there may be loads more great old music out there that I've never heard and have yet to discover.

 I will always associate this song with the film, "The Mirror Crack'd" - the 1980 one with Elizabeth Taylor in it. I find that film rather terrifying, and I also think the answer to the mystery is obvious from very early on - though that might be because the first time I saw the film I saw only the second half... I don't know. 

 I thought it was really easy to put two and two together, and I think that was the fault of the way it was filmed, not the plot. I intend to read the book - I have a copy of it in French, Le Miroir se Brisa. I have read parts of it; I may read it properly soon.

 Anyway, getting back on topic, I associate this song with that film because just after I first discovered the song, I watched the film on telly and listened to the song in the ad breaks, and now there seems to be a link between the two in my subconscious that I fear will never go away. I do like the film, I just find it scary and don't want to be reminded of it when I listen to a song I really love.

 Luckily, Maria also reminds me of the lovely party at which I first heard it, which is a really nice memory to cherish. I love the rhythm and melody of the song, and I love the lyrics, except for the line, "Don't you want to break her." I think - I sincerely hope - it doesn't mean physically breaking her, perhaps it is more in the sense of breaking her spirit; breaking her in because she is like a wild horse. Whichever is true I'm not keen on it. 

 Otherwise, the song is great and I love Debbie Harry's voice. It is, in my opinion, one of the finest songs of the 1990s (it was released in 1999).

 I have been following The X Factor this year; however my real love when it comes to winter television is Strictly Come Dancing, and I can't wait for this year's series to begin. For readers overseas, Strictly Come Dancing is the original UK version of Dancing With the Stars. 

 I really love seeing all the dances but I also love discovering new music which I always seem to do through this show. I love Strictly! It always makes me yearn to be a ballroom and Latin dancer, but I've always had trouble finding local classes. 

 However, all that may change when I move to Manchester in September - I'm sure in a city that size there must be some ballroom and Latin classes available! Maybe even as part as the Uni enrichment. That would really be wonderful.

 I've also been watching Celebrity Big Brother, and I must say that some of the things I have seen this series are truly pathetic. Certain individuals really need to grow up! But Julian Clary is amazing as always. I hope he wins.

 One last song I wanted to share with you is "You Win Again" by the Bee Gees.

 I had heard it before but recently I found out through hearing it on the radio what it was and who sings it. It sounds different to other Bee Gee songs I know, and I really like it. It is, in my opinion, their best song, which is high praise because I really love How Deep is Your Love as well. 

 I can't believe that Barry is the only Bee Gee left now. Rest in peace, Maurice and Robin. Your talent shines on and your music will be appreciated for many years to come.

 The Bee Gees were such a slick, smooth outfit - they always looked good, and their music moved with the times, from disco to pop, whilst remaining timeless. A few days ago I was at a 60s and 70s-themed zumba class, which featured a seven-minute-long Bee Gees medley. It was brilliant and reminded me why I love their music so much.

 You Win Again tends to remind me of my amazing trip to Paris in February 2012; I think this is because it was just after we got back that I discovered this song. I love the beat and the lyrics - mainly. Again, there is stuff about attacking the (I assume) woman the song is aimed at that is obviously a metaphor but that I kind of don't like. 

 Still, You Win Again is, on the whole, a great song. Well done, Bee Gees! You really are amazing. 

 Amazing does seem to be my favourite word, and in the past I've abstained from using it all of the time, trying to alternate with words like wonderful and brilliant, but to be honest I feel that I should be true to myself and if I feel that amazing is the best word for something, I shall call it amazing! So there! Okay, I probably sound a bit childish. But it is very liberating thinking, this is my blog and I can do what I like on it, within reason.

 So, I hope you have enjoyed my long, long blog post, and the songs I have shared with you.

 Thanks for reading!

 ¡Hasta luego!

 Hrrrrr! (That is what the dragons say in The Fire Within.)

 Liz x

Songs: Isn't it Midnight? - Fleetwood Mac - 1988

Days Are Numbers - The Alan Parsons Project - 1985

Maria - Blondie - 1999

You Win Again - Bee Gees - 1987

Amazing news and the Kennedys ♥

 Hello, my wonderful readers! Bonjour! ¡Hola!

 I am very happy and excited because I got my A-Level results yesterday and I got the results I needed to go to my first-choice university! I am going to the University of Manchester! Whoooooo!

 Needless to say, I am very chuffed. But slightly scared... starting university is probably one of the biggest, most challenging things I will ever do, leaving home and learning to live by myself and become independent.

 However, I feel well up for that challenge, and will throw myself into university life. As they say, you only get out of things what you put in, and I intend to do everything I can to make my four years at university as amazing as they possibly can be ♥

 I will be studying French and Spanish, but I intend to try studying some other languages in my free time, and I will look for clubs and societies to join - hopefully there will be French and Spanish societies, as well as the chance to keep playing badminton, and maybe even do some more zumba!

 Talking of zumba, I went to a Steps-themed zumba yesterday, and it was brilliant! I enjoyed it so much - more than I had expected to. I had thought that Steps only had a few big hits, but at zumba there were lots of songs that I quite liked, and I may listen to more music by Steps from now on (and maybe do the dances)!

 I've had so many lovely messages from my family and friends congratulating me on my results and getting into Manchester Uni, and I'm so grateful and happy to have so much love and support. Knowing they will always be there for me makes me feel more confident about making the huge jump of going to Uni.

 There's a song that I had heard briefly and liked, but that recently my brother brought back to my attention and I realised I really like it. (And now it's stuck in my head.) It's Express Yourself by Labrinth. Give it a listen if you haven't already. Here is a video my brother made with the song which I prefer to the official video.

 Also, in honour of me starting Uni I have to share one of the most hopeful, beautiful songs I know: Life Is Large by the Kennedys; Pete and Maura.

 This amazingly talented pair were the opening act for Nanci Griffith when I saw her live in concert in Salford Quays for my eighteenth birthday treat earlier this year. I had heard of the Kennedys before then but I hadn't really known their music so it was great to discover them! ♥

  Photos courtesy of my mum.

 I was lucky enough to meet Pete and Maura Kennedy after the show and they were so lovely. 

 I bought their latest CD, which they very kindly signed for me, and it has a live version of Life Is Large, which is one of the most wonderful songs you will ever hear. It is simply gorgeous. The guitar playing, the vocals, the lyrics...

"We've only got one chance to walk this line;

If you should get lost or stuck in time.

Just believe this road does not end here.

How do you want to be remembered; a raging fire or a dying ember?"

 Amazing. I love the version in the video earlier in this blog post which I presume is the album version, but my favourite has to be the live one... It is just incredible. So atmospheric and intimate and emotional and direct. One of the few songs I can listen to in any mood and still enjoy completely.

 I will also share a stunning performance by the Kennedys of When I Go by Dave Carter.

  I feel like I don't even have the right to comment on something so beautiful and perfect but I must say it is the song I wish I had written. I can't say for sure but I feel there is something very Native American in the melody and lyrics and, as I have some of this in my ancestry, this song feels very close to me personally and means a lot to me. 

 It is hard to pick out one lyric to highlight because every line is beautiful, but among the ones which I found most poignant are:

"I'll send this message down the wire and hope that someone wise is listening when I go."

"...in showers of crimson rubies when I go."

"And should you glimpse my wandering form upon the borderline, between death and resurrection and the council of the pines.

Do not worry for my comfort, do not sorrow for my soul,

Or your diamond tears will rise up in the dawn sky beside me when I go."

 Truly beautiful. If I could ever write a song anywhere near as powerful and moving I would be very happy. I am not too familiar with the work of Dave Carter, but if this song is anything to go by he must have been a very, very gifted songwriter. 

 I really think the world would be a sadder, more desperate place without this song. It almost embraces death, makes it feel like something not to be afraid of. It is also a celebration of this beautiful world we live in which we often - too often - take for granted. 

 When I Go is humbling and magical and unlike any other song I have ever heard. I am so grateful to the Kennedys for bringing to my attention a song I may never have heard otherwise. 

 I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the Kennedys. I will be off to university in September, and I have no doubt that it will be an amazing experience. It will be a journey of sorts, and you, my blog readers, will be able to take it with me as I blog at every step of the way with news and updates and - of course - plenty of brilliant music to listen to along the way.

 This is the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and I'm hoping it's going to be a good one ♥

 Hasta luego,

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: Ireland, the Olympics, Snowdonia and Nanci Griffith and Mountains and memories: Nanci Griffith and Tina Turner

Songs: Express Yourself - Labrinth - 2012

Life Is Large - the Kennedys - 1996

When I Go - the Kennedys - 2003

The best of British!

 Hello people!

 Today is Tuesday - in my part of the world anyway.

 The Olympic Closing Ceremony was on Sunday night, as you may well already know, and I found it very enjoyable. For me, it was definitely as good as the Opening Ceremony, if not slightly better because it was more music-based and, as you may have guessed from this blog, I love music!

 The emphasis was on British music and I was very glad to see Queen, John Lennon (I'm not a massive Beatles fan, but I have to admit that they are icons of British music) and George Michael (Freedom '90 is stuck in my head now! And his second song seems to have attracted controversy, but I liked it).

 I also enjoyed the performances by Emeli Sandé (how much coverage did she get these Olympics?! But she deserves the attention because she is amazing! ♥ ), Elbow and Madness.

 I even liked the music by Blur and Muse, neither of whom I'm usually a fan of, because I just felt that they fitted into the ballot of music so well. Overall, it was a great show.

 I was pleased that Annie Lennox featured in the show, but I wish she had sung Why, which I love. However, I understand that it's a bit too sad to have at a Ceremony which was billed as having a "party" vibe. Still, I have always loved this song.

"I may be mad, I may be blind, I may be viciously unkind, but I can still read what you're thinking.

And I fear I've said too many times that you'd be better off; besides, why can't you see this boat is sinking?"

 It is a very sad, beautiful song that I was lucky enough to know from quite a young age as it was on one of the compilation tapes we used to play in our car. These tapes were also how I discovered the great band Niagara, who were supposedly often compared to Eurythmics, Annie Lennox's band. 

 However, I really can't see much similarity except that both groups consisted of a man and a woman, and that the woman in both groups has a distinctive, strong voice and that they both produced quite adventurous music videos. But otherwise I don't think the groups are alike at all - they each have their own unique style of music and of performing. And I like them both!

 Here is one of my favourite songs from Niagara, "La vie est peut-être belle," and you can decide for yourself if they and Eurythmics are a bit alike.

 I will probably do a blog entry all about the brilliant Niagara, but for now I will get back to British bands (Niagara being French) for this "Best of British" blog entry. The Closing Ceremony was a celebration of British music, and I want to celebrate British music too, in my blog.

 In my opinion, you can't talk about British music without mentioning David Bowie. He has given so much to the music world over his long and wonderful career. Life on Mars was always my favourite of his songs, although I came to really like Let's Dance as well, as my family seems to possess a lot a of 80s compilation CDs that involve Let's Dance and we usually end up listening to it in the car!

 I'd never seen this video, and I must say there is rather a lot of David Bowie in it, and not a lot else! It may seem a tad self-indulgent, but I don't mind because he's gorgeous as ever! But I do think that with such interesting lyrics he could have created a more elaborate video; however, maybe the point is to leave the lyrics open to the listener's interpretation. Hmm.

"Let's sway, under the moonlight, the serious moonlight..."

 This makes me want to go and visit Australia ♥ It really does seem like a magical place. And I would love to experience the Aboriginal culture - at high school we did a lot of Aboriginal art and I really enjoyed it. I love discovering new ways of life and new ways of seeing the world. I've never been to Australia, but I'd love to go some day. There are many places I'd love to go and people I'd like to meet... One day I will travel the world! One day.

 I am also quite fond of Modern Love by David Bowie, but now it has got stuck firmly in my head and won't go away! Still, it's a good song so I don't really mind.

 Next, we have to have Rod Stewart - I was quite surprised and disappointed that he wasn't a performer at the Olympic Closing Ceremony. I would have loved for him to have sung Baby Jane - that would have got the crowd on their feet!

 

 This is one of those songs I have loved for a long, long time and I never seem to get tired of. It is just so good! And I feel this is perhaps the best of his songs for showcasing his unique and fantastic voice. I love Rod!

 Also, a bit of Dire Straits would have been great at the Closing Ceremony - my favourite songs by them have to be Brothers in Arms and Romeo and Juliet. Maybe not completely suitable for the Closing Ceremony, but amazing songs nonetheless. 

 I did my last blog post on Christine McVie, another wonderful British musician... She seems to have stepped out of the public eye a bit in recent years but I wish she could have been at at the Closing Ceremony... she is truly amazing and inspirational.

 We have so much talent here in Britain! I am becoming quite proud to be British; seeing all the amazing musicians this country has produced (and some of the great Olympians as well, although I would rather be a musician than an athlete any day). 

 I have mentioned this next song on my blog already, but I have to say I think it would have been great for the Closing Ceremony: Shake it Out by Florence + the Machine.

 This song would just fill that stadium so easily, and sweep everybody up in its power and emotion. It is one of those songs that means something to everyone. And perhaps she and Dizzee Rascal could have performed their version of You've Got the Love - two great British artists merging their talents, and a sure-fire crowd pleaser. 

 Finally, of course, I would have loved to have seen The Cure - I love The Cure, as any of my regular blog readers will know. Friday I'm in Love would have been amazing, if only the Ceremony had been on a Friday! In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, Love Cats and Close to Me would all have been good. Oh, I wish there had been a bit of Cure in that Ceremony!

 But still, I can't complain, because it was brilliant and I really enjoyed it. It was a lovely night and one I will remember for a long time. The London 2012 Olympics have been sensational and I have enjoyed every minute. 

 I'm sad that they're over, but who knows what the next big excitement will be... Hopefully something amazing.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: My top songs lyrics-wise, Strictly good music, Alison Moyet, "Shake It Out" and the final week of college, Pictures of You, Sign of the Times and The Songbird from Bouth. 

Songs: Why - Annie Lennox - 1992

La vie est peut-être belle - Niagara - 1991

Life on Mars? - David Bowie - 1971/3

Let's Dance - David Bowie - 1983
Modern Love - David Bowie - 1983

Baby Jane - Rod Stewart - 1983

Shake it Out - Florence + the Machine - 2011

The Songbird from Bouth ♥

 Helloooo!

 I am potentially very chuffed because I may have found out something that, to me anyway, is amazing. I just need to check to be absolutely sure that I am right.

 On one of our Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions, we stopped in a Lake District village that I'm pretty sure was called Bouth. And if it is the right Bouth, it is where Christine McVie was born!

 I must have read this sometime in the past, before we went, because I love Christine McVie and have  researched her and her music many times. However, I had forgotten where she was from, and when we were in Bouth I never realised the incredible significance of the place - or, rather, the significance it should hold for me, personally, as a Christine fan.

 Even without this significance, it is still a lovely village. And the Lake District is always wonderful. But to discover that, without knowing, I visited the birthplace of one of my idols, is pretty amazing news, at least for me☺♥

 I think I mentioned Christine McVie in my very first post on this blog in which I listed some of my favourite songs, and her Songbird was among them. For a while Songbird seemed to be a staple on reality TV singing shows, and it probably still is, though I wouldn't know because I watch a lot less of that sort of thing than I used to. Life's too short! But anyway, for years I hadn't heard the original, though I knew it was by Fleetwood Mac. When I listened to it for the first time, I fell in love.

 From those first lines, 

"For you, there'll be no more crying.

For you, the sun will be shining."

 You just know that what is going to follow is something beautiful and extraordinary. This really is one of the most sincere, from-the-heart things I have ever heard - more than most songs, more even than poetry. It's like a love letter, sung with all her heart and soul. None of the other versions of this, lovely as some of them may be, can possibly capture the spirit and feeling behind the original. 

 I hadn't been absolutely sure that it was her song, so many people have sung it, so I looked it up and when it said on Wikipedia, "written by Christine McVie," my heart gave a little twinge of happiness and love. Of course it's her song. How could I have doubted that for one minute? Only Christine McVie could write a song like this one.

 I would love to be able to sing this in concert one day. If I ever become a good enough singer, and have enough confidence, to do her justice! 

 Although nobody can sing this as well as she who wrote it, I do believe this is one of those songs that anybody could sing well if they mean it with their heart and they pick out one person to whom they can sing every lyric and mean it with all their soul. It is one of the best love songs I know. And I can give no higher praise than that. 

 Christine McVie is a genius, and, almost more importantly, she writes straight from her heart. And that, when writing anything that is meant to touch the soul, is what really matters.

 And her voice! Nobody else I have ever heard has a voice quite like hers. It is so, so beautiful and rich and full of love or pain or emotion or whatever she is feeling as she sings. She is blessed, yet I imagine she has also worked hard to train that voice, and I love it so much when a natural talent is nurtured properly to make the world a better and happier and more loving place, which for me, at least, it becomes when I listen to her singing.

 Here is Over My Head, another of her songs which would probably never sound as good sung by anybody but her. It is just a Christine McVie song. It works with her voice so beautifully to create something truly magical.

 There is another nice live version I wanted to put on here but Blogger won't let me! Ah well, this version is gorgeous, taken, it would seem, from the same concert (The Dance, 1997) as the Songbird one. I wish I had been at that concert! But I was only three at the time and I didn't really get to know the music of Fleetwood Mac until I was seven or eight, when my dad bought my mum the Very Best of Fleetwood Mac compilation CD (both my parents are Fleetwood Mac fans). 

 We used to listen to that CD all the time. My brother became a Lindsey Buckingham fan. I liked Gypsy by Stevie Nicks, and I came to really like a lot of Christine McVie's songs. However, it was when I was a lot older that I began to really appreciate the beauty and emotion of her lyrics, and to realise what a gifted songwriter she is. But Over My Head was always a favourite of mine and my brother's.

 A Christine McVie song that I always liked but have recently come to love is You Make Loving Fun.

 I just wish I could sit down at a piano and play and sing this! I could never be as good as her, but it would bring me such pleasure just to play those gorgeous chords and sing those bitter-sweet lyrics. I will try and find the sheet music to this and learn it! It could be my tribute to this amazing woman. Her maiden name was Perfect, and she really is perfect in every way as a musician. 

"I never did believe in miracles, but I've a feeling it's time to try. 

I never did believe in the ways of magic, but I'm beginning to wonder why."

 I used to think it was "I've a feeling it's time to fly." Either lyric is beautiful.

 I must also share Everywhere with you - as I said to my mum just now, "You can't have a Christine McVie post without Everywhere!" It is so... her. So Christine McVie. I know that sounds silly, but I feel this song just sums up perfectly what Christine McVie is all about. It is a beautiful love song, with simple yet amazingly powerful lyrics, and she sings with such strength and pride yet such vulnerability, in a voice as stunning as ever.

 Here it is live in The Dance (with a bit of Dreams at the beginning):

 And here is the video - there is another one which is similar to this but with Christine - and, I think, the other members of Fleetwood Mac as well - appearing in silhouette at intervals. Regretfully, I can't find that version on YouTube. So here is the video sans band (it's still a great video):

 I remember feeling smug because I thought I was the only one who knew this was based on The Highwayman. Maybe I was, but I doubt that somehow! Anyhow, somebody has written about the poem on YouTube and it's the top comment as I write, so now everybody who looks at the video on YouTube knows. 

 Ah well. It's still a brilliant idea for a music video, and it really brought the poem - which I'd studied at school several times - to life for me. I just wish I could see the band's lovely faces in the video!

 The song is gorgeous, and the beginning so distinctive, as is the case with many Fleetwood Mac songs - you hear it and you know at once that it's going to be Everywhere.Then that powerful drum beat kicks in, and Christine's amazing vocals, and you sit back and are taken on a journey into a fantastic, wonderful, magical song, and into her heart and soul. It is an amazing song; a masterpiece. Along with Songbird and so many other beautiful songs Christine McVie has written during her long and hugely successful and fruitful career.

 I feel so privileged to have had the chance to listen to her amazing music for ten years or so and I hope to continue to enjoy her genius and talent and beauty for many years to come. Bouth is a lovely village, and from it came one of the best musicians of our time. I'm glad I got to visit it.

 I will leave you with probably her biggest hit, "Don't stop," one of the most upbeat, hopeful, reassuring songs I know, which is just perfect for putting you in a better mood.

 Fleetwood Mac are just amazing! And Christine McVie is a legend and should be very proud of all the beautiful, powerful, inspirational, moving songs that she has put into this world.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: My top songs lyrics-wise, Gorgeous song!, Alison Moyet, D of E and the Cranberries, D of E, birthdays and Lio and Jacky and The best of British!

Songs: Songbird - Fleetwood Mac - written by Christine McVie - 1977 (this live version 1997)

Over My Head - Fleetwood Mac - written by Christine McVie - 1975/76 (this live version 1997)

You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac - written by Christine McVie - 1977

Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac - written by Christine McVie - 1987/88  (live version here from 1997)

Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac - written by Christine McVie - 1977 (this live version 1997)

Ireland, the Olympics, Snowdonia and Nanci Griffith

 Fáilte! Hello dear blog readers! I love you all!

 I apologise for not having blogged in quite a while, but I have been on holiday in Ireland and since then have been busy with a few things, such as a new project at Cornerhouse cinema/art gallery, about which I am very excited! More about that later.

 Firstly I will tell you about my trip to Ireland. It was lovely. I love Ireland; I have a lot of family who live there and have visited many times. It is a truly beautiful country and I really feel at home there. 

 We stayed in County Wexford, in the south-east of Ireland, where we spent time in the pretty little town of Wexford itself, at the beach, walking in the hills, and at Hook Head with its lighthouse - the oldest intact operational lighthouse in Ireland - and its spectacular coast with crashing blue waves, seals bobbing up and down and hundreds of tiny fossils all over the rocks.

 We then drove across Ireland to County Limerick, to the city of Limerick which is one of the largest cities in Ireland. We met up with family there and had a really nice time. Limerick is a lovely city - and it has the River Shannon running through it! I love cities with a river or a coastline. I just love being near water. 

 I also want to proudly point out that in one day we crossed the two longest rivers in Ireland - the Shannon and the Barrow. I think that's quite a cool achievement, especially when we didn't set out to do it; it just happened that they were both on our route from Wexford to Limerick.

 We watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony when we were in Ireland, and I was quite impressed. More than I had expected to be! I didn't have any prejudices, I just thought it would be impossible to match Beijing. But it was actually really good. I especially liked the beginning section with the choirs and then the industrial revolution and Kenneth Branagh. 

 I also liked the part with James Bond and the Queen, the Abide With Me section - Emeli Sandé is amazing - and the lighting of the cauldron. I think the petal idea was really good.

 I wasn't keen on Paul McCartney's appearance - I like his music but am a bit tired of him being treated like some kind of national treasure and featuring at every event like this. And the same for David Beckham! I think he's very overrated as a footballer. However, I understand he played a big part in bringing the Games to London, so I respect him for that. 

 I loved the fact that they had Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, in the ceremony. The Web really does shape the way we live in the western world in this day and age. I hadn't known he was British. Now he is a national treasure!

 On the way back from Ireland I spent some time with a good friend of mine in Wales, which was lovely. We also got to explore some of the Welsh countryside and Snowdonia. I had never been there before and it was very beautiful and striking; I would love to go back there some day. It was brilliant to see Mount Snowdon, even if most of it was shrouded in mist!

 Since getting back I have been working on a new project at Cornerhouse; I am one of a team of young curators who are curating our very own exhibition of artists' work. I did something similar in January when I was on the curation team for the exhibition Lost is Found, and I really enjoyed that, so it's lovely to have the chance to do it again.

 I have been listening to a great deal of music from the amazing Nanci Griffith. I will do a full post on her very soon, but for now here is a selection of some of her very best songs.

 I Knew Love, which is a simply stunning love song - and very sad too. I learnt the lyrics to this when I was little and used to sing it all the time.

 More than a Whisper; this is a live version which I only recently discovered and which I love. I have listened to the album version all of my life on the Last of the True Believers album (pictured below as the thumbnail for the next two songs which are also both from that album). All the images of the winter and the snow and needing to be woken up always made me think of a badger curled up asleep for the winter.

 Goin' Gone; this was one of my favourite Nanci songs, and probably my favourite from this album, when I was younger. I then went though a stage of not liking it very much, and then I started liking it again! Ah well, there's no accounting for tastes! The lighthouse imagery is a bit top-heavy, but the sentiment is very real and beautiful.

 Fly by Night is a Nanci song I didn't used to really appreciate because it is the second-last song on its album, and I used to listen to Nanci albums going to sleep, and so I'd usually be half asleep by the time this was on, and although I liked it, it never really stood out for me as a favourite. 

 I then rediscovered it years later on YouTube and realised I really love it; it is a really strong, gutsy song about someone who is not taking any nonsense any more, and I love that. The musicality is gorgeous too, as in all Nanci songs. The woman is nothing short of a genius.

 She is so fantastic; she has a beautiful, unique voice, and is a simply stunning songwriter. She is one of the best musicians I have ever known. 

 In other news, I have found out that In Your Eyes by Niamh Kavanagh was the reigning Eurovision winner when I was born, and I am very chuffed about that because I love that song.

 I'll sign off for now.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

 If you enjoyed this post I recommend: My top songs lyrics-wise, Mountains and memories: Nanci Griffith and Tina Turner, The Songbird from Bouth and Amazing news and the Kennedys ♥.

Songs: I Knew Love - Nanci Griffith - 1988

More Than A Whisper - Nanci Griffith - album version released 1986, this live version released 1988

Goin' Gone - Nanci Griffith - 1986

Fly by Night - Nanci Griffith - 1986