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!
I am currently having a great time on a summer course in Salamanca, Spain. I am studying Spanish language, history and art. It is fascinating and I am learning a huge amount which is inspiring my writing and my own art.
You can keep up with my adventures on my travel blog (which recently reached 10,000 views!).
I'm planning posts for this blog as well: my review of The Kennedys' West, a piece on Canadian musicians and an exploration of the music that has so far defined my time in Salamanca, which includes Nanci Griffith, Céline Dion, Robin Gibb and Suzanne Vega.
So watch this space!
Thanks for reading; I hope you are having a nice summer (or whatever season it is in your part of the world!)
I have recently come back from a lovely trip to Ireland - one of the best things that's happened to me in a long time. It was so nice to see my family, to attend my uncle's beautiful wedding, and simply to have a change of scene.
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We were based in Limerick, a city I adore and which featured in my list of Top 5 River Cities for the Cuckoo Review. It is especially gorgeous at this time of year, and I enjoyed wandering around eating crêpes and photographing swans on the River Shannon.
Swan
We also spent a day in Galway, where my father was born, and I liked it a lot - I love being near the sea. We met up with a couple of old friends, which was really nice.
Salthill, Galway
Much time over the week was spent making bracelets and Despicable Me minions from loom bands! It was a brilliant holiday and, of course, I heard many songs that will now always bring me back there.
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Firstly, Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl played both on the radio while we were driving somewhere, and at the wedding.
Every single time I hear the beginning of this, I think it is I Can See Clearly Now, and then I'm surprised when it's not! Fortunately, I prefer Van!
I am a big Morrison fan - I love his song The Queen of the Slipstream - yet this, perhaps his joint best known song with Moondance, sort of passed me by when I was younger. I heard bits and pieces of it, but never sat down and listened to it properly.
I really like it now, though, and it will forever remind me of dancing at the wedding. Whenever I hear it I will wish I had someone else to hand to dance with!
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Another song from the wedding is Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rosie.
I first encountered this on Stars in Their Eyes. I liked it. Then I heard the original, which to me sounded like a completely different song! Not singing-wise - the Stars in Their Eyes guy was pretty good if I remember rightly - the melody just seemed different.
Nevertheless, I do still like it, and will now always associate it with one particular anecdote.
It was the wedding reception, at a hotel in Limerick, and I was sitting in the bar with various relatives, chatting. I decided to go outside for some air. I hadn't realised it was raining, but I didn't mind.
Then I discovered that the door was locked from the inside and I couldn't get in again. I could hear Cracklin' Rosie being played inside, which I was pleased about. I didn't mind being out at all; it was quite atmospheric. The night was blue and the rain was light and it was really nice.
I wasn't there for long before one of the hotel staff found me and let me back in. It was a fun, unique experience - and one I will remember!
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A third song that I heard a lot as it was on the music channels frequently is Chandelier by Sia.
I was doing a shift volunteering at the Book-Cycle - like a free library/bookshop - and I heard the first few bars of this and was unimpressed. Then I heard the whole thing and I was impressed. It suits her voice and it is really nice and quite different to other sings in the charts at the moment.
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I had a wonderful week in Ireland and it gave me some amazing memories - connected, as always, to music. The story of my life.
And if you are wondering what the "cake" in the title refers to, we had two amazing cakes - the wedding cake, which was delicious and stunningly decorated, and a cake which my Granma bought to celebrate the summer birthdays among my family, of which there are a lot! That was lovely as well.
The wedding cake, designed by Gill Corrigan
The summer birthdays cake!
Thanks for reading,
Liz x
Songs: Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison - 1967
Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond - 1970
Chandelier - Sia - 2014
I'm still on my Easter holidays and am enjoying having some rest and relaxation. Last weekend I went with my family to Northumberland for a few days, and I wanted to tell you about the trip, through, as always, music.
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Firstly, the way there was as much an adventure as the stay itself: the scenery was beautiful and an unexpected road diversion meant we had to go a very long-winded route that brought us even more moody views of mountains, lakes and heathland. It was very atmospheric.
We listened to two different compilations of 00s music. Here are some of the highlights:
This song always reminds me of a friend's birthday party I went to when I was young. Very nostalgic!
I remember Pop Idol being the first talent show I ever experienced, when I watched the last few shows and the final. I wanted Will to win and was so glad when he did.
I also did a post about Westlife's song Flying Without Wings.
This has inspired me to do a whole post about Dido, so watch this space!
Ah, the memories!
We also listened to the radio and this song played.
It is so typically Coldplay. If asked to identify the band you wouldn't hesitate a minute. While I'm not completely bewitched by it (see what I did there) I do find it quite pretty, and it will now always remind me of our journey to Northumberland.
I also found out through research for this blog that it was released on my 20th birthday!
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When we got there, we explored Kielder Water and the surrounding woodland - it's very scenic and peaceful. We also did some stargazing as the skies were dark and clear, and the moon was incredibly beautiful.
The first line from Annie's Song sprung to mind on more than one occasion.
"You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest."
For a while this was the only line I knew in the song, and I was almost disappointed when I heard that the song consists of similar analogies. For me, that one analogy was enough. "A night in the forest" on its own is such a powerful, evocative, lustrous image that I don't see the need for any others, although I do find the rest of the song very lovely.
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We also visited a bird of prey centre, where we saw some amazing owls and falcons. Let me share one of my favourite songs about flying. I hope to do a whole blog post about flying songs soon.
A talented singer performed this song at my school talent show; that was the first time I heard it and I immediately liked it. It remains one of my favourite songs.
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We saw lots of birds in the wild - chaffinches, a siskin, ducks and crows - as well as a red squirrel, rabbits - lots of rabbits -, deer and wallabies. Yes, wallabies.
We visited a castle, got lost in a maze and sat in a giant artwork.
The artwork
Our trip finally ended, and we drove home, going through Scotland this time. This song came on the radio. At the time, I thought I'd never heard it before, but now I think I may have done; I have a bit of déjà vu.
I really like it; it's very simple but I love simple love songs. It goes without saying that Heather Small's voice is amazing.
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Our weekend was brilliant and really refreshing, and one I'll always remember. I hope we can return to Northumberland in the future.
