Today is Father’s Day here in the U.S., and Jim Adams has chosen a fitting theme for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday: Dad/Father/Barbeque. My contribution is one of my late husband’s favorite songs, “The Old Man,” written by Irish composer Phil Coulter.
The first time we heard “The Old Man” was when John McDermott sang it during an Irish Tenors PBS performance. That performance touched a deep chord within my husband, whose father had passed away when Jerry was just 13. We saw McDermott perform the song live as a solo artist and saw Celtic Thunder’s George Donaldson perform it live and on TV many times. We had several CD’s that included “The Old Man,” and I often came home from work to find Jerry playing one. And no matter how many times Jerry heard the song, it reached him as if it were the first.
You can watch a video of Phil Coulter, himself, performing the song here and George Donaldson (with Coulter conducting the orchestra) here . As far as Jerry was concerned, however, no one could surpass John McDermott’s version. Here’s his Irish Tenors performance. (Lyrics are in the video’s commentary.)
This week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Desire/Lust/Romance/Passion will, as Jim Adam says, “produce a lot of smoking hot music.” Can’t argue with that! Despite having featured Bruce Springsteen just last week, I’m going with him again because he wrote two of the smoking-est, sexiest, songs ever: “Fire” and “I’m On Fire.” Both of them hit the theme on all fours. And I’m not even going to waste anyone’s time hemming and hawing about how difficult it is to choose just one.
Although Springsteen wrote “Fire” in 1977, he didn’t record and release it until ten years later. By that time, the Pointer Sisters‘ 1979 recording hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it their first gold single. “I’m On Fire” was Springsteen’s fourth of seven Top Ten hit singles off his hugely successful “Born In The USA” album, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The accompanying music video received the 1985 MTV Music Video Award for Best Male Video. Enjoy!
I’m driving in my car
I turn on the radio
I’m pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don’t like it
But girl I know you’re a liar
‘Cause when we kiss
Ooooh, Fire
Late at night
I’m takin’ you home
I say I wanna stay
You say you wanna be alone
You say you don’t love me
Girl you can’t hide your desire
‘Cause when we kiss
Oh, Fire
Fire
You had a hold on me
Right from the start
A grip so tight
I couldn’t tear it apart
My nerves all jumpin’
Actin’ like a fool
Well your kisses they burn
But your heart stays cool
Romeo and Juliet
Samson and Delilah
Baby you can bet
Their love they didn’t deny
Your words say split
But your words they lie
‘Cause when we kiss
Mmmmmm, Fire
Fire
You may say “such an obvious choice,” and I’d have to agree. We could probably place bets on how many other people also choose this song. But, when I see the Song Lyric Sunday theme is “Cool/Groovy/Hip/Nifty/Radical/Swell,” and I immediately start singing this song ….. well, sometimes ya gotta go with ya gut.
“Groovin'” by The Young Rascals is really the perfect song for this theme, for a Sunday, and for the weekend that’s the real beginning of summer. It’s one of those songs that, as soon as I hear the first notes, I’m immediately transported back to my early teenage years, hanging out with friends at Cove Beach in Stamford, CT. The picture in my head is so vivid, I can feel the warmth of the sun, see the hazy heat waves rising from the sand, hear the laughter, and feel the start of another god-awful sunburn. (And, for those who may be familiar with the Cove, I’m thinking of East Beach with the cool kids not family-friendly Horseshoe Beach where my father taught us to swim amid the prehistoric horseshoe crabs.)
Groovin’, on a Sunday afternoon
Really couldn’t get away too soon
I can’t imagine anything that’s better
The world is ours whenever we’re together
There ain’t a place I’d like to be instead of
Groovin’, down a crowded avenue
Doin’ anything we like to do
There’s always lots of things that we can see
We can be anyone we want to be
And all those happy people we could meet just
Groovin’, on a Sunday afternoon
Really couldn’t get away too soon
Ah-ha-ha
Ah-ha-ha
Ah-ha-ha
We’ll keep on spending sunny days this way
We’re gonna talk and laugh our time away
I feel it comin’ closer day by day
Life would be ecstasy, you and me endlessly
Groovin’, on a Sunday afternoon
Really couldn’t get away too soon
When I was in high school, the Catholic parishes held dances on Friday nights. I think they alternated weeks among St. Bridget’s, St. Gabriel’s, and St. Mary’s. Freshman and sophomore years, even into junior year, the Friday night parish dance was THE place to be, partly because we didn’t yet have drivers’ licenses and had to rely on parents to get us there. In my case, the Friday night dance was just about the only place my parents allowed me to go at night, foolishly thinking a Catholic dance was the safest place for a young Catholic girl.
Anyway, this week’s Song Lyric Sunday “Dawn/Noon/Dusk/Midnight/Nocturnal/Diurnal” theme got me nostalgic for those dances, because every Friday, no matter which parish was hosting or which band was playing, we knew the night was just about over when we heard the first chords of Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour.”
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
That’s when my love come tumbling down
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
When there’ no one else around
I’m gonna take you, girl, and hold you
And do all things I told you, in the midnight hour
Yes I am, oh yes I am
One thing I just wanna say, right here
I’m gonna wait till the stars come out
And see that twinkle in your eyes
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
That’s when my love begins to shine
You’re the only girl I know
Can really love me so, in the midnight hour
Oh yeah, in the midnight hour
Yeah, all right, play it for me one time, now
I’m gonna wait ’till the midnight hour
That’s when my love come tumbling down
I’m gonna wait, way in the midnight hour
That’s when my love begin to shine, just you and I
Oh, baby, just you and I
Nobody around, baby, just you and I
Oh, right, you know what?
I’m gonna hold you in my arms, just you and I
Oh yeah, in the midnight hour
Oh, baby, in the midnight hour
Once again Jim Adams has chosen a remarkably diverse theme for Song Lyric Sunday. Hurt/pain/agony/suffer is a universal thread weaving through musical genres and sub-genres, from opera to standards to jazz to blues to country to rock. Australian singer-songwriter Dean Lewis‘s debut studio album released in March, “A Place We Knew,” embodies this week’s SLS theme with every song.
One of the cuts, “Be Alright,” became a worldwide hit on the singles’ charts in 2018, certified sextuple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Two other tracks, “7 Minutes” and “Stay Awake” were released as singles prior to the album release.
While I love every track on Lewis’ album, I’m featuring “7 Minutes” on the strength of one visceral line: “I forgot to love you.”
It’s been seven minutes now since I lost my way
It doesn’t seem that long, but my whole world has changed
It’s in all the little things, when you smile, now it stings
It’s been seven minutes since I lost the girl of my dreams
It’s been half an hour now since I dropped you home
And I’m driving past the places we both know
Past the bar that we first kissed and that movie that we missed
‘Cause we were hanging out in the parking lot
Now I sink a little deeper, think a little clearer
Looking at myself through these new-found eyes
Is it too late to turn around?
I’m already halfway out of town
Now I know how I let you down
Oh, I finally figured it out
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
Radio was playing songs for me and you
“Chasing Cars” reminds me of nights in your room
Drinking wine under your window, back when love was so damn simple
How the hell did I end up losing you?
Is it too late to turn around?
I’m already halfway out of town
Now I know how I let you down
Oh, I finally figured it out
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you
If I came back now would you still be there?
If I come around, would you even care?
If I came back now would you still be there?
If I come around, would you even care?
Is it too late to turn around?
I’m already halfway out of town
Now I know how I let you down
Oh, I finally figured it out
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you, love you
I forgot to love you, love you, love you Writer/s: Dean Lewis / Edward Holloway / Nick Atkinson
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
J.E.M. Wildfire 