Hello! As you may have guessed from the name of this blog, my name is Liz and I am fascinated by song lyrics. I hope you enjoy my waxing lyrical about lyrics and about music generally. I also review albums and gigs and have interviewed several wonderful musicians. Enjoy!
You may remember that I have been to two Nanci Griffith tribute concerts in Southport - one in 2013 and one in 2014. Both times, Edwina Hayes was present and I had the privilege of hearing her beautiful and unique voice. Both times, I also met her - last time, I literally ran into her - and she was lovely.
So, it is a great pleasure to be able to listen to and review her album Pour Me a Drink. Released in 2008, it is Edwina's second solo album.
I must begin by commenting on its beautiful artwork: it is incredibly pretty and I feel that the blossoms decorating both the cover and some of the inside pages of the sleeve represent the album really well: the songs are soft, delicate and fragile like blossoms, yet also very strong, as is a cherry tree.
The album opens with Run, a rather dark, sad song which I personally would not have chosen as an opener but which is very good nonetheless. The next track is one of my favourites, Leave a Light on for You, which is simple but very sweet and for me is reminiscent of a Nanci Griffith song.
Season of Love is more bluegrass and I like it, especially the chorus.Very American-sounding. Call Me flows in the same vein as Leave a Light on for You and is similarly sweet and delicate. One of several songs on the album written by Edwina alone rather than in collaboration, it is a good example of her song writing - a simple but beautiful song about a never-ending love.
The title track, which I saw Edwina perform live in Southport, is slow and haunting and very sad. It's followed by her take on the traditional Froggie Went a Courting, which is smooth and pleasant to listen to and has a happy ending!
Edwina's cover of Randy Newman's Feels Like Home is the first song I heard her sing, due to its use in the film version of My Sister's Keeper. It also became very important to me when I moved from one University hall of residence to another and felt much more at home in the second one. I kept playing this song in my head and I now associate it with that time.
It is a marvel in that it manages to be smooth and very easy on the ear while being extremely raw and emotional. It is probably still my absolute favourite of her songs, although I have discovered several new favourites on this album.
The album ends with Irish Waltz, a lovely piece that sounds genuinely like it could have been written centuries ago in Ireland unlike certain other modern pieces designed to sound so that don't. Edwina's voice is always lovely but here it is divine, and Jack McKeague's guitar work and especially his dobro work are stunning. It is a wonderful end to the album.
I enjoyed this album. While most of the songs are quite similar in that they are simple, delicate love songs with an acoustic guitar, each one does create its own unique ambience. Edwina's guitar work is very nice and her voice is gorgeous.
As a writer, one measure of what I think is a good song is one that I would use in a film of one of my books. I would certainly consider this for both Leave a Light on for You and Edwina's version of Feels Like Home (although the latter has already been done).
Overall, a lovely album and one which I am sure I will listen to a great deal.
There has been a fairly big development in my life, in that I have moved to a new University hall of residence.
There were various reasons behind the move which I won't go into. What I will say is that I settled into my new hall really quickly - even on the first day I felt that I was home. This song kept playing in my head:
That was last Wednesday - eight days ago. It feels like so much longer. I feel as though I've been living here for a long, long time. I already know a large number of the hall's residents, and I have made some wonderful friends. It's safe to say that I'm very happy here.
Long live my new home, and may many happy times be ahead of me here.
As you may know I spent three weeks in Beijing over Christmas and the New Year as part of a project called Study China, which is managed by my university. I have a blog about all my adventures there, which I hope you will enjoy.
However, I also wanted to write a post on this music blog about songs I encountered in China - songs from China and also from other parts of the world - which I now cannot listen to without amazing memories flooding back of those three weeks in Beijing.
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Firstly, I had a long journey to get there - three flights, which took me nearly a whole day. I travelled from Manchester to Amsterdam, which was a relatively short flight, then Amsterdam to Moscow. I then had a huge, eight-hour flight from Moscow to Beijing.
I have trouble sleeping on planes - or on any kind of transport for that matter. I kept falling asleep then waking up and not knowing where I was and that wasn't very pleasant. One time I fell asleep and in waking up managed to spill my drink on myself.
The bottom line is that it wasn't the most comfortable journey I've ever undertaken, but it was certainly an interesting experience, and it has made me feel more prepared for if I ever want to go to Australia or Canada or somewhere else that involves a really long flight.
I tried to pass time by listening to some music, and there is one song that I listened to almost by proxy, as it came on my mp3 player after a song I liked and I couldn't be bothered to move past it, and I realised I liked this song more than I remembered. It is Desert Moon by Dennis DeYoung.
My main criticism of this song in the past has been that it is cheesy - however, there are some occasions when cheesy music can actually make you feel better, and on this tiring flight, this song brought me some comfort.
My mp3 player was being odd and kept restarting it in the middle, so I became very well-accustomed to the first few bars of this song! (By the way, am I the only one who thinks the beginning of this song sounds very like that of "You're in Love" by Wilson Phillips?)
It is inevitable that I will never be able to hear this song without remembering my voyage to China; sometimes you can preserve memories in a song better than just about anywhere else.
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When I finally got to China, I got a taxi to our apartments within Beijing Normal University, found my room, slept a lot, and gradually got used to my immediate surroundings - a few shops and a student canteen which has the best yoghurt drinks I've ever had.
I arrived on Saturday, and on Monday we had our Opening Ceremony. This song was playing, which I really liked - Liekkas by Sofia Jannok.
If you are wondering, as I was at first, what language this is, it appears to be Sami. I liked this song when I first heard it and it has grown on me even more as I have listened to it since getting home - maybe because of all the memories it brings back. Thank you to Sally for letting me know the name of this song ♥
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We settled into the routine of Mandarin language lessons in the morning, economics lectures some afternoons and activities such as calligraphy and tai chi in others. One afternoon when we were free we decided to go to the Silk Market, a big shopping centre/mall.
A song that played on their sound system was Sitting Down Here by Lene Marlin.
Another song I'd liked but not been passionate about, but hearing something familiar in such an unfamiliar place was somewhat reassuring, and I like this song a lot more now. I have also learnt through writing this that Lene Marlin is Norwegian; I had thought she was American.
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At the end of our first full week in Beijing, a group of us went to a karaoke bar, and we had a great night. Hai, one of the BNU student volunteers, looked after us well, so Hai, if you're reading this, xiexie ♥ (to the non-Mandarin speakers, that means thank you).
There were memorable renditions of many songs, but one song was especially interesting for me as I had never heard it before and really liked it, and that was 1973 by James Blunt.
I don't know who chose this for karaoke (everyone kind of sung along to everything rather than someone picking a song then singing it by themself), but whoever you are I am very grateful as you introduced me to a song that I now really love and which enters my head at odd times and reminds me of Beijing and that night at karaoke ♥
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Another song that featured at karaoke is L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. by Noah and the Whale.
I had known and liked this song before Study China, but now I love it, and it has so many memories attached to it of good times in Beijing. It got properly stuck in my head for the rest of the trip and I kept absent-mindedly singing it... It's a brilliant song.
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We then had Christmas, which was wonderful, if a bit surreal. We went to a restaurant and then played pool, and it was a lovely night.
Boxing night I went with some friends to a bar on campus called Laker's. The lads danced to Gangnam Style - about which I will talk more later on! - and another song that played was a Korean version of Maria by Blondie.
I was not keen on the Korean version - the key was changed which I felt affected the whole feel and dynamic of the song. However, it reminded me of how much I love the original, which I will share here.
I talk more about this song in my blog post, "Four songs and a dragon" - feel free to check it out.
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I was ill for a few days, and listened to a lot of songs on my mp3 player while I lay in bed wishing I was well and could join in the cool excursions the others had planned to the Temple of Heaven and Tianjin.
New Year's Eve came, and found us in Laker's, which was by now a favourite haunt of many of the group.
I spent some time there and then headed back to our apartments, where some of the others were watching a film - Miss Congeniality - so I joined them and enjoyed a really lovely night.
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In the next few days we climbed the Great Wall, went to a Korean restaurant, visited Olympic Park and the Bird's Nest and saw a Kung Fu show.
We finished our presentations for economics class, had one last meal out together, sat our mock HSK exam - I got 195 out of 200! - and then, suddenly, it was the Closing Ceremony. Time had flown so fast.
Again, Liekkas was playing, which made for a nice full circle from the Opening Ceremony and the start of our adventure. We could reflect on all we'd achieved. Then each of the three Mandarin classes performed a song we had been practising. Here is each of our performances with the original song:
Beijing Huanying Ni
This is my group!
Dan Yuan Ren Chang Jiu
There are various versions of this song, but the one above is by Chinese singer Faye Wong. The name she was born with, however, is Wang Fei, which is also the name of one of our brilliant Mandarin teachers!
Dui Mian De Nu Hai Kan Guo Lai
After the formal ceremony, there was a lot of taking photos together, and then we set off for - where else? - Laker's!
We had a lovely last night, with lots of music and dancing, and two songs stuck out for me.
One was Lonely by Akon, which was played in the bar and which suited how I felt at the time - not that I was lonely; I was surrounded by friends. But it was the last night and I felt really sad that it was ending. I felt like my mixed feelings were reflected in the bittersweet song.
The other song was, of course, Gangnam Style. Here is the original:
Here is our, far superior, version.
I have about four different Gangnam Styles recorded from our time in Beijing, and I think I will make a mash-up of them; should be fun!
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The journey home was a lot more comfortable than the journey out, I am pleased to say. I watched American Beauty on the aeroplane's entertainment system, except the end was cut off because the plane landed before I could finish. So I will have to finish that film sometime.
Then I was home, sweet home and I slept for a long time. I have so many wonderful memories of my three weeks in Beijing, and would encourage anyone who is thinking of applying for Study China to go for it as it really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience ♥
Thanks for reading!
Liz x
Songs: Desert Moon - Dennis DeYoung - 1984
Liekkas - Sofia Jannok - ????
Sitting Down Here - Lene Marlin - 1999
1973 - James Blunt - 2007
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. - Noah and the Whale - 2011
Maria - Blondie - 1998/9
Beijing Huanying Ni - various artists - 2008
Dan Yuan Ren Chang Jiu - Faye Wong - ????
Dui Mian De Nu Hai Kan Guo Lai - Richie Ren - ????
I will have to try to avoid getting carried away and doing this whole entry in French! I love the French language so much... It is so incredibly beautiful. And today I am blogging about France, and their Eurovision exploits.
I was all ready to write about France Gall on here; she is a French singer whose song, "Ella Elle L'a" is one of my favourite French songs. I had known she won Eurovision; however on researching it I discovered she actually won the contest representing Luxembourg, and not France.
However, this is my blog and if I say France Gall can be in it, France Gall can be in it! Here is Ella Elle L'a - not what she won Eurovision with, but such an incredible song. And she is a French Eurovision winner... she just didn't win it for France. Hmm. Don't know whether she should be in this blog entry, but here she is.
Now, onto people who represented France itself. First up, Les Fatals Picards. If you are wondering what a picard is, it is someone from the Picardy region in the north of France.
They represented France in Eurovision 2007 in Helsinki - the year of Krisse, as I shall forever know it. Their song was called, "L'amour à la française," although I only found that out the other day, having always known it as, "that French song with that guy who looks like Richard O'Brien running round the stage with a stuffed cat on his shoulder."
Here it is:
I hadn't remembered it being in a mix of English and French; I had remembered it being completely in French. At first the "Franglais" was a bit off-putting, but then I came to quite like it. It's certainly something different, and the fact that they can jump straight from one language to the other in the same sentence is quite impressive and I don't know if I'd be able to do it without a lot of practice.
It's a really catchy song, and you just have to smile when he's doing his, "Je cours, je cours..." ("I run, I run...") thing around the stage. There's something very likeable about this lot, and I may have a listen to some more of their music.
The next year in 2008 France was represented by Jarvis Cocker, sorry, Sébastien Tellier, with "Divine," which in France caused controversy for being largely in English. I would have preferred it to have been in French because I love the language. But it still sounds amazing as it is.
There are so many things that are great about this performance: his backing singers all disguised as him; his arrival in a golf buggy; his performance, his voice, the song, the eclipse. I love it all. It came joint eighteenth in the competition, and I think it should have been a lot higher - top five at least. It's a classic Eurovision song.
The final French Eurovision song I wanted to share with you is their 2010 entry, "Allez Ola Olé!" by Jessy Matador.
I love this: bouncy, happy, and you can totally dance to it. I love the energy of all the performers, and the way they are clearly really enjoying singing the song. There were many brilliant songs in Oslo 2010, but this was one of the very best. This came twelfth in the competition and I think it should have finished a bit higher.
I also wish the female singer was credited alongside Jessy Matador as I think she adds a lot to the song.
I feel that France have a good track record at Eurovison, and I'm sure they're going to enjoy a lot more success dans l'avenir (in the future).
Thanks for reading.
Liz x
Songs: Ella Elle L'a - France Gall - 1987
L'amour à la française - Les Fatals Picards - 2007
Spain has certainly had a colourful Eurovision history, from their stage invasion in 2010, to the unforgettable "Baila el Chiki-chiki" in 2008, to their 2011 entry "Que me quiten lo bailao," by Lucía Pérez which I love and which has to be one of the happiest, bounciest Eurovision songs ever ♥
I personally think that in the last few years they have been one of the more consistent nations when it comes to entering if not amazing then certainly very good songs - songs that have potential, either to win or to become Eurovision legend - as in the case of Baile el Chiki-chike.
When I think of Spain in Eurovision, one of the first songs that come to mind - after Lucía Pérez - is "I Love You Mi Vida," by D'NASH.
When I first saw this and my Spanish wasn't as good as it is now, I genuinely thought they were saying they loved their life. In actually fact, "mi vida" is a term of endearment and means, "my dear" or "my darling." I kind of like it more now that I know it is a love song than I did when I thought it was just one of those typical shouty Eurovision party anthems (although it still isn't that far from being the latter!)
I was surprised to see this was from 2007 - in my memory it was an earlier competition. But hey, I must be wrong. It is up there with Krisse Salminen as one of the things that made the 2007 competition great (although I still think Krisse MADE that Eurovision!).
The next year, however, we were subjected to... Baile el Chike-chike. It was, let's say, an unusual song. But it kind of had its place in the competition, I felt. Sometimes you need something a bit different. (WARNING - strobe lighting in the video below)
I do think the dancing arrangement is somewhat sexist, with the man ordering the women to do his dance moves, and then him seeming to inspect their performance, and the general lack of clothes on the women. That's one side of this song that I do not approve of.
Otherwise... I think there's room for a few novelty songs each year; in fact I'd be disappointed if there weren't any.
In 2010 - one of my favourite Eurovision years - there was the famous stage invasion during the performance of "Algo pequeñito" - "Something tiny."
The first video is the performance uninterrupted; the second includes the stage invasion.
The song was performed by Daniel Diges, with support from an array of toys/circus characters, I'm not sure which. Whatever they are, I personally find the song and performance a bit weird and almost scary... no me gusta mucho.
I have to admit, disrespectful as it was to the performers, I did enjoy the stage invasion - especially as it looks at first as though he's supposed to be there! I didn't realise he was an intruder until security chased him off!
Last year, in Düsseldorf, Spain's Eurovision offering was Lucía Pérez with what is quite possibly my favourite Eurovision song ever and certainly one of the happiest and most upbeat songs I have ever heard. This is "Que me quiten lo bailao." I will warn you that this version of the video - the only decent version Blogger will let me embed - has some rather psychedelic stuff going on with the graphics from about 0.08 to 0.14.
I love her voice, her joyful, bubbly persona in the video and the song itself, as well as the chance to get a glimpse of the Carnival celebrations in Sitges, Catalonia. It looks like an amazing fiesta!
Whenever I hear this song, I just want to dance. It's brilliant ♥
¡Gracias por una canción maravillosa!
Thanks for reading.
Liz x
Songs: I Love You Mi Vida - D'NASH - 2007
Baila el Chike-chike - Rodolfo Chikilicuatre - 2008
I thought I would share with you one of my favourite Eurovision songs and, in my opinion, one of the prettiest - The Fire in Your Eyes by Boaz Mauda, which was the Israeli entry in the 2008 competition in Belgrade in Serbia.
Although I don't understand most of the lyrics, I have still always found it beautiful.
I don't speak Hebrew, so I have to trust the Internet when it come to translations. I've checked a couple of lyrics sites and the general consensus for the chorus seems to be,
"Not a starlight,
You are now.
With me, with me, as if real,
Like back then."
Which I think is very beautiful. I was puzzled by the graphics on this video saying the song was second on the running order when I remember it being later, then I found out that it was second in its semi-final, so that must be where the video is from. In the final this song was seventh in the running order.
Anyway, overall I really like this song and am glad it did quite well - it came ninth out of twenty-five songs.
So well done to Boaz Mauda and well done to Israel for this lovely song.
