Archive | Sunday Song Lyric

If I hear one more song with Auto-Tune I think I’ll foreswear the FM dial for good.  Don’t these guys know it makes them sound like Cher?  I am not alone in my disdain for the over-use of pitch-correction technology.  Jay-Z even wrote an award-winning song about it, “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).”  The lead single […]

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so I thought I’d blog “Memorial Day” by James McMurtry off of his critically acclaimed album Childish Things.  It doesn’t focus so much on the reason for the holiday as the dysfunctional dynamics of holiday family get-togethers.  Here’s the chorus: It’s Memorial Day in America Everybody’s on the road Let’s remember […]

Heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio died last week at the age of 67.  Dio was a monster of rock, having fronted Rainbow, post-Ozzy Black Sabbath, and Dio, among others.  Wikipedia also credits him with popularizing the “devil’s horns” hand gesture.  He never reached the top of the charts, but his work (and voice) should […]

Paul Weller has a new album out.  NME likes it.  I’ll need to give it a listen at some point (perhaps when I’m done grading exams).  He’s put out some good stuff solo and with The Style Council, but my heart stays with his early work with The Jam, one of my favorite bands.  He […]

There are lots of songs about Mom — readers contributed a bunch here.  For today’s lyric, I thought about “There’s Always a Mother Waiting at Home.” Here’s the chorus: If sickness overtakes you Or old companions shake you As through this world you wander all alone When friends you haven’t any In your pocket not a […]

Leonard Cohen has to be among the greatest living lyricists.  His music and lyrics have inspired countless musicians and songwriters (and more than one VC post).  He also seems a particularly appropriate source of Sunday Song Lyrics as so many of songs, like this week’s selection — “Tower of Song” — are about music. “Tower […]

Michael Weintraub and Tyler Cohen wonder what are the best songs about technology.  Weintrabu focuses on songs “whose lyrics deal explicitly with technological innovations and their cultural effects,” and suggests Paul Simon’s “Boy in the Bubble.”  It’s a good choice.  Paul Simon is a great songwriter, and “Boy in Bubble” was a popular song.  Here’s […]

Punk pioneer Malcolm McLaren died this week. McLaren managed both the New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols. While neither band lasted too long in its initial incarnation, both were quite influential.  Under McLaren’s leadership, the Sex Pistols courted controversy and cemented their place in history.  Their 1977 single, “God Save the Queen,” was almost […]

Is the Easter Bunny a white rabbit?  I’ve always assumed so. The Easter Bunny may be a white rabbit but he or she still does not have much to do with Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit,” the classic song she immortalized with Jefferson Airplane in 1967.  The rabbit of which Slick sang was the nervously late […]

What’s the best political song of all time?  The folks at the New Statesmen believe it’s “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie.  Here are the later lyrics, which are probably less well known than the opening. As I went walking I saw a sign there And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.” […]

Alex Chilton died this week at 59.  His music did not have much commercial success beyond a few songs recorded with the Box Tops as a teen, (most notably “The Letter”).  But his influence was substantial.  When I was in college, most of the “cool” bands listed Alex Chilton and Big Star as important influences.  […]

Do songwriters understand behavioral economics better than law professors?  They might.  Liam Delaney and Alex Tabarrok have been suggesting songs for “the behavioral economics songs hall of fame.”  Delaney nominates “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” by the Flaming Lips.  Tabarrok suggests Chris Smither‘s “Hey, Hey, Hey” for these lyrics: Pretty soon you’re gonna ask me, […]

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards airs tonight.  Five songs were nominated for Best Original Song, but none of the artists will perform on the program — perhaps because this year’s nominees are a bit underwhelming.  Which song will win?  Although Randy Newman penned two of the five songs, my guess is “The Weary Kind” by […]

Carly Simon is releasing a new version of her 1972 hit, “You’re So Vain,” renewing speculation over who the song is about.  For years, many assumed the song was about Warren Beatty — indeed, that’s what Beatty himself said.   Other speculation is summarized on the song’s Wiki page. The new version of the song adds […]

There have been quite a few songs on “torture” — but most are about the loves lost or relationships gone wrong, something quite different from the subject of the infamous OLC memos.  Consider the “Torture” lyrics by The Psychedelic Furs (song), The Replacements (s0ng), Berlin (song), and (who can forget) the Jacksons (video).  Leave it […]