Song Lyric Sunday — The Young Rascals — “Groovin'”

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.)

Enjoy!

“Groovin‘”

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

Ah-ha-ha
Ah-ha-ha
Ah-ha-ha

Writer/s: Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati

Song Lyric Sunday — Wilson Pickett “In The Midnight Hour”

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.”

“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

Writer/s: WILSON PICKETT, STEVE CROPPER

Song Lyric Sunday – Dean Lewis – “7 Minutes”

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.”

“7 Minutes”

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

Song Lyric Sunday — “Easter” by Marillion

Seasons/Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall is today’s theme for Song Lyric Sunday hosted by Jim Adams. I was already debating between two seasonal songs when I discovered “Easter” by Marillion, a neo-progressive rock band formed in Britain in 1979. “Easter” lyricist Steve Hogarth joined as lead singer in late 1988 when their original lead singer left after their fourth studio album.

According to Hogarth, “Easter” was “essentially written” prior to his joining Marillion. The band’s website credits lyrics to Hogarth and music to all five members (Hogarth, Ian Francesco Mosley, Mark Colbert Kelly, Peter John Trewavas, and Steven Thomas Rothery). W.B. Yeats’ poem “Easter 1916” inspired the lyrics, which Hogarth has characterized as an apolitical message of hope for the Irish people. First released on Marillion’s 1989 album “Season’s End,” “Easter” was released as a single in 1990 and peaked at 34 on the UK Chart.

As has become my usual custom, I’m featuring two videos. The first video is the original version of “Easter” the second, is a fantastic live version from 2011.

Easter

A ghost of a mist was on the field
The grey and the green together
The noise of a distant farm machine
Out of the first light came

A tattered necklace of hedge and trees
On the southern side of the hill
Betrays where the border runs between
Where Mary Dunoon’s boy fell

Easter here again, a time for the blind to see
Easter, surely now can all of your hearts be free

Out of the port of Liverpool
Bound for the North of Ireland
The wash of the spray and horsetail waves
The roll of the sea below

And Easter here again, a time for the blind to see
Easter, surely now can all of your hearts be free

What will you do?
Make a stone of your heart?
Will you set things right?
When you tear them apart?
Will you sleep at night?
With the plough and the stars alight?

What will you do?
With the wire and the gun?
That’ll set things right
When it’s said and done?
Will you sleep at night?
Is there so much love to hide?

Forgive, Forget
Sing “Never again.”

Song Lyric Sunday – “Fields of Ice”

“Fields of Ice” by The Ard Ri Band is, in my opinion, a perfect fit for this week’s theme of Freeze/Cold/Ice (thanks, Jim Adams), having all three words in the lyrics. Speaking of lyrics, this week I won’t be able to give you a link because they come from the writer, Ard Ri’s Philip James Wallace (courtesy of mutual friend, Kimberly Coyle Piper.)

Hailing from Derry, Northern Ireland, the band formed in 2007 as a three person acoustic/folk group, featuring Jonny Nutt (guitar and vocals), Philip Wallace (guitar and vocals), and Kevin Quigley (mandolin). All three were accomplished, well-known musicians, playing with other bands in the burgeoning Northern Ireland music scene when they joined forces. Playing primarily at bars and festivals, their sound evolved over the years with personnel changes and with Nutt and Wallace adding other instruments to their repertoires: bass and harmonica/percussion/drums/12-string/bass, respectively.

Since 2012 when they released “Fields of Ice” on their eponymous debut album, the line-up has remained relatively stable, with originals Nutt and Wallace, Ruairi O’Doherty on bass, Conor McAuley on drums, Marty Doherty on vocals and guitar, and with Conor O’Kane replacing Quigley on mandolin/mandola/banjo. Nowadays, this super-group occasionally welcomes guest appearances by other legendary local musicians–such as, Paddy Nash, Junior Johnson, and Keith Harkin.

The audio-only first clip is the studio version of “Fields of Ice” sung by songwriter Philip Wallace. The video was filmed at their album-release party featuring vocalist Marty Doherty.

Fields of Ice

I see baby lambs in the meadows over there
Pretty ladies smiling breeze blowing through their hair
Everybody’s lazing and doing their thing
The warm sunshine is extremely calming
The world is an ever-changing place
Of beautiful creatures all full of grace
But if we don’t help Mother Nature now
Summer will be like winter in Moscow

Em’ fields of ice
They’re not so nice
In the morning
I hear you calling
At the break of dawn
There’s something wrong
…..I’m freezing!

It was the coldest winter that I ever did see
I think nearly dropped to minus 30 degree
Had to crawl on my knees to the top my street
The whole damn thing was like a giant ice rink
Ice bergs floating down my local river
The more I think about it, I quiver and I shiver
Gonna need to buy a big woolly warm coat
Made from mammoth fur and the toughest mountain goat

Em’ fields of ice
They’re not so nice
In the morning
I hear you calling
At the break of dawn
There’s something wrong
…..I’m freezing!

Hailstones falling in the middle of July
I sometimes I wonder and I ask myself why
The four seasons are all rolling into one
And the smoke is black from the barrel of the gun
Winter is summer and springtime too
Not sure about autumn I don’t have a clue
What’s coming next will be a big surprise
Hold on tight my friends we’re all going for a ride
Em’ fields of ice
They’re not so nice
In the morning
I hear you calling
At the break of dawn
There’s something wrong
…..I’m freezing!
Hey ho where did the sun go?
Please come back with your sunny warm glow