A Playlist

“The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”

(originally by Gordon Lightfoot)

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighted empty That good ship and crew were a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side Comin' back from some mill in Wisconsin As big freighters go, it was bigger than most With a crew and good captain well seasoned Concludin' some terms with a couple steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland Later that night, when the ship's bell rang Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound And a wave broke over the railing And every man knew, as the captain did too Was the witch of November come stealin' The dawn came late, breakfast had to wait When the gales of November came slashin' When afternoon came, it was all freezin' rain In the face of a hurricane west wind

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin' “Fellas, it's too rough to feed you” At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in He said, “Fellas, it's been good to know you” The captain wired in, he had water comin' in The good ship and crew were in peril And later that night when his lights went out of sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say, they'd had made Whitefish Bay If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her They might've split up, or they might've capsized They may have broke deep into water And all that remains are the faces and names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the rooms of her ice-water mansion Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams The islands and bays of the sportsmen And farther below, Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her And the iron boats go, as the mariners all know When the gales of November remembered

In a musty old hall in Detroit where they prayed In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral The church bell chimed, it rang twenty-nine times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy

Willow – Armatrading

I may not be your best You know good ones Don't come by the score If you've got something missing I'll help you look You can be sure And if you want to be alone Or someone to share a laugh Whatever you want me to All you got to do is ask Thunder Don't go under the sheets Lightening Under a tree In the rain and snow I'll be your fire inside Come running to me When things get out of hand Running to me When it's more than you can stand I said I'm strong Straight Willing To be a Shelter In a storm Your willow oh willow When the sun is out A fight with your best girl Prettiest thing you ever saw You know I'll listen Try to get a message to her And if it's money you want Or trouble halved What ever you want me to All you got to do is ask I said I'm strong Straight Willing To be a Shelter in a storm Your willow oh willow When the sun is out

Masters of War – Dylan

Come you masters of war You that build the big guns You that build the death planes You that build all the bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you sit back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion While the young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you That even Jesus would never Forgive what you do Let me ask you one question Is your money that good? Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could? I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul And I hope that you die And your death will come soon I'll follow your casket By the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand over your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead

Poor Boy – Nick Drake

Never sing for my supper I never help my neighbour Never do what is proper For my fair share of labour

I'm a poor boy And I'm a rover Count your coins and Throw them over my shoulder I may grow older

(Ooh) nobody knows how cold it grows (Ooh) and nobody sees how shaky my knees (Ooh) nobody cares how steep my stairs (Ooh) and nobody smiles if I cross their stiles

Oh, poor boy So sorry for himself Oh, poor boy So worried for his health You may say every day (ooh) “Where will he stay tonight?” (Ooh)

Never know what I came for Seems that I've forgotten Never ask what I came for Or how I was begotten

I'm a poor boy And I'm a ranger Things I say May seem stranger than Sunday Changing to Monday

(Ooh) nobody knows how cold it flows (Ooh) and nobody feels the worn-down heels (Ooh) nobody's eyes make the skies (Ooh) nobody spreads their aching heads

Oh, poor boy So worried for his life Oh, poor boy So keen to take a wife He's a mess (ooh), but he'll say “yes” (Ooh) if you just dress in white

Nobody knows (ooh) how cold it grows And nobody sees how shaky my knees (Ooh) nobody cares how steep my stairs (Ooh) and nobody smiles if you cross their stiles

Oh, poor boy So sorry for himself Oh, poor boy So worried for his health You may say every day (ooh) “Where will he stay tonight?” (Ooh)

Oh, poor boy So worried for his life Oh, poor boy So keen to take a wife Oh, poor boy So sorry for himself Oh, poor boy So worried for his health Oh, poor boy So worried for his life

The Last Resort – Eagles

She came from Providence One in Rhode Island Where the old world shadows hang Heavy in the air She packed her hopes and dreams Like a refugee Just as her father came across the sea

She heard about a place People were smilin' They spoke about the red man's way And how they loved the land

And they came from everywhere To the Great Divide Seeking a place to stand Or a place to hide

Down in the crowded bars Out for a good time Can't wait to tell you all What it's like up there

And they called it paradise I don't know why Somebody laid the mountains low While the town got high

Then the chilly winds blew down Across the desert Through the canyons of the coast To the Malibu

Where the pretty people play Hungry for power To light their neon way Give them things to do

Some rich men came and raped the land Nobody caught 'em Put up a bunch of ugly boxes And Jesus people bought 'em

And they called it paradise The place to be They watched the hazy sun Sinking in the sea

You can leave it all behind Sail to Lahaina Just like the missionaries did So many years ago

They even brought a neon sign “Jesus is coming” Brought the white man's burden down Brought the white man's reign

Who will provide the grand design? What is yours and what is mine? 'Cause there is no more new frontier We have got to make it here

We satisfy our endless needs And justify our bloody deeds In the name of destiny And in the name of God

And you can see them there On Sunday morning Stand up and sing about What it's like up there

They call it paradise I don't know why You call someplace paradise Kiss it goodbye

Home Sweet Home – Gabriel

“Home Sweet Home”

Met this girl called Josephine And took her up on my machine We had a little fun And now we got a little one Had to get married Being chased out of town Found ourselves a place to live We put all our money down

Called it home sweet home, home sweet home Eleven floors up in a tower block, happy just to have a home I've gone and changed the lock on our home

Nothing really worked out right Things got broke, they stayed that way None of our friends came 'round at night Little Sam got no place to play “We've got to get out of here, Bill,” she said “I've been saying it all the while” When I came home from work that night She'd jumped out the window with our child

From our home sweet home, home sweet home Just a place to take a rest, just a place to make a nest We call it home

When the insurance money came through It seemed dirty, didn't know what to do Took out the cash, went down to the casino Down on the wheel on a double-O And I won, yes I won, like I never won before Bought myself a country house with an antique carved oak door

It was home sweet home, home sweet home Just a place to lay our head, think of all the things we said About in our home sweet home In our home sweet home

In The Winter

Janis Ian The days are okay I watch the TV in the afternoon If I get lonely The sound of other voices, other rooms Are near to me, I'm not afraid.

The operator, she tells the time It's good for a laugh There's always radio And for a dime I can Talk to God, dial-a-prayer, Are you there? Do you care? Are you there?

And in the winter Extra blankets for the cold Fix the heater getting old I am wiser now, you know And still as big a fool Concerning you

I met your friend She's very nice What can I say? It was an accident I never dreamed we'd meet Again this way, you're looking well I'm not afraid

You have a lovely home Just like a picture No, I live alone I found it easier You must remember how I never liked the party life Up all night, lovely wife You have a lovely wife

And in the winter Extra blankets for the cold Fix the heater getting old You are with her now, I know I'll live alone forever Not together now

The Return of the Giant Hogweed

Genesis Turn and run! Nothing can stop them Around every river and canal their power is growing Stamp them out! We must destroy them They infiltrate each city with their thick dark warning odour They are invincible They seem immune to all our herbicidal battering

Long ago in the Russian hills A Victorian explorer found The regal Hogweed by a marsh He captured it and brought it home

Botanical creature stirs! Seeking revenge Royal beast did not forget He came home to London And made a present of the Hogweed To the Royal Gardens at Kew

Waste no time! That they are approaching Hurry now, we must protect ourselves and find some shelter Strike by night! They are defenceless They all need the sun to photosensitize their venom Still they're invincible Still they're immune to all our herbicidal battering

Fashionable country gentlemen Had some cultivated wild gardens In which they innocently planted The Giant Hogweed throughout the land

Botanical creature stirs! Seeking revenge Royal beast did not forget Soon they escaped, spreading their seed Preparing for an onslaught Threatening the human race

Mighty Hogweed is avenged! Human bodies soon will know our anger Kill them with your Hogweed hairs! Heracleum Mantegazziani

“At My Most Beautiful” – REM

I've found a way to make you I've found a way a way to make you smile

I read bad poetry into your machine I save your messages just to hear your voice. you always listen carefully to awkward rhymes. you always say your name. like I wouldn't know it's you, at your most beautiful.

I've found a way to make you I've found a way a way to make you smile

at my most beautiful I count your eyelashes secretly. with every one, whisper I love you. I let you sleep. I know your closed eye watching me, listening. I thought I saw a smile.

I've found a way to make you I've found a way a way to make you smile

Talk Tonight

Oasis Steady, watch up

Sittin' on my own, chewin' on a bone A thousand million miles from home When somethin' hit me Somewhere right between the eyes

Sleepin' on a plane, you know you can't complain You took your last chance once again I landed, stranded Hardly even knew your name

I wanna talk tonight Until the morning light 'Bout how you saved my life You and me see how we are You and me see how we are

All your dreams are made of strawberry lemonade And you make sure I eat today You take me walkin' To where you played when you were young

I'll never say that I won't ever make you cry And this I'll say, I don't know why I know I'm leavin' But I'll be back another day

I wanna talk tonight Until the morning light 'Bout how you saved my life (you saved my life) I wanna talk tonight (I wanna talk tonight) 'Bout how you saved my life (I wanna talk tonight) 'Bout how you saved my life (I wanna talk tonight) 'Bout how you saved my life (I wanna talk tonight) 'Bout how you saved my life (I wanna talk tonight)

I wanna talk tonight I wanna talk tonight I wanna talk tonight

Rhymes and Reasons

John Denver So you speak to me of sadness And the coming of the winter Fear that is within you now That seems to never end

And the dreams that have escaped you And the hope that you've forgotten You tell me that you need me now You want to be my friend

And you wonder where we're going Where's the rhyme and where's the reason And it's you cannot accept It is here we must begin To seek the wisdom of the children And the graceful way of flowers in the wind

For the children and the flowers Are my sisters and my brothers Their laughter and their loveliness Would clear a cloudy day Like the music of the mountains And the colours of the rainbow They're a promise of the future And a blessing for today

Though the cities start to crumble And the towers fall around us The sun is slowly fading, and it's colder than the sea

It is written from the desert To the mountains they shall lead us By the hand and by the heart They will comfort you and me In their innocence and trusting They will teach us to be free

For the children and the flowers Are my sisters and my brothers Their laughter and their loveliness Would clear a cloudy day And the song that I am singing is a prayer to non-believers Who come and stand beside us, we can find a better way

“Wind-Up”

When I was young And they packed me off to school And they taught me how not to play the game I didn't mind If they groomed me for success Or if they said that I was just a fool

So, I left there in the morning With their God tucked underneath my arm Their half-assed smiles and the book of rules

And I asked this God a question And by way of firm reply He said, “I'm not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays.”

So told my old headmaster And to anyone who cares, “Before I'm through I'd like to say my prayers.”

I don't believe you: You had the whole damn thing all wrong He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays

Well, you can excommunicate me On my way to Sunday school And have all the bishops harmonize these lines

How'd you dare tell me That I'm my Father's son When that was just an accident of birth

I'd rather look around me Compose a better song 'Cause that's the honest measure of my worth

In your pomp and all your glory You're a poorer man than me As you lick the boots of death born out of fear

When I was young And they packed me off to school And they taught me how not to play the game I didn't mind If they groomed me for success Or if they said that I was just a fool

I left there in the morning With God under my arm Their half-assed smiles and the book of rules

Well, you can excommunicate me On my way to Sunday school Have all the bishops harmonize these lines

When I was young And they packed me off to school And they taught me how not to play the game I didn't mind If they groomed me for success Or if they said that I was just a fool

So, I told my old headmaster And to anyone who cares, “Before I'm through I'd like to say my prayers.”

Well, you can excommunicate me On my way to Sunday school And have all the bishops harmonize these lines

I don't believe you: You had the whole damn thing all wrong He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays

The Man Who Wrote Danny Boy

Joe Jackson

It happened one night At three in the morning The devil appeared in my studio room And he said I'm your pal And I'll make you a deal Blow away your struggle And take your soul for a toy

After rubbing my eyes I looked all around me At the half-finished drivel I'd worked on for days And I told him my dream Was to live for all time In some perfect refrain Like the man who wrote Danny Boy

And I said if you're real, then I'll ask you a question While most of us turn into ashes or dust Just you and that other guy go on forever But who writes the history And who do I trust?

He gave me a wink And he said it was funny How mortals would pour all their blood, sweat and tears Onto tape, onto paper Or into the air To be lost and forgotten Outside of his kind employ

Then I thought I could hear a great sound in the distance Of whiskey-soaked singing And laughter and cheers And they're saying, that song could bring tears to a glass eye So pass me the papers, I'll sign them in blood

And the smell of the brimstone was turned into greasepaint And the roar of the crowd like the furies of hell And I hear the applause and I hear the bells ringing And the sound of a woman's voice from the next room saying

Come to me now Come lay down beside me Whatever you're doing you're too going to see You can't hold onto shadows, no more than to years So be glad for the pleasures We're young enough to enjoy

So maybe I'm drunk Or maybe a liar Or maybe we're all living inside a dream You can say what you like When I'm gone, then you'll see I'll be down in the dark Down underground With Shakespeare and Bach And the man who wrote Danny Boy