Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) - Peace Train

I've been smiling lately dreaming about the world as one and I believe it could be
Something good's bound to come ...

Peace to the world ...

Joe Cocker - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Some songs never grow old; some voices get better the longer you listen ... It's hard to believe that "Don't let me be misunderstood" was originally released in 1964 (!!!) by the unforgettable, incomparable Nina Simone. So many groups and artists have covered the song and made it theirs in one way or another. It's hard to put a finger to the why ~ perhaps it is because I had the privilege of seeing/hearing him perform it live ~ Joe Cocker's version remains my favorite ...

Ólafur Arnalds - So Close (feat. Arnór Dan)

At first it was the rhythm that drew me in ~ as so often is the case. Then it was the haunting quality of Arnór Dan's voice, the searching, the reaching for something just out of grasp. So close, it seems, and jet so far. Ólafur Arnalds' music frequently has a drifting dreamlike quality to it that makes it perfect for a dreary time ...

Runrig - Abhainn an t-sluaigh

The week has passed its prime and the weekend peeks over the horizon with its promise of time to get away from the crowded streets ...

"Abhainn an t-sluaigh" (The Crowded River) by Runrig is about the need to get out of the big city. When I close my eyes, listening to this song I can feel the river ebbing and flowing out of the city into the marches and heading for the sea. I hope you enjoy ...

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Fault Line

A voice, a guitar, and a harmonica - sometimes that's all it takes. It certainly is when it comes to 'Fault Line' by 'Black Rebel Motorcycle Club' or 'BRMC'...

Fault Line

I've been waiting on the fault line
Living evil take me on
I'll be standing with my dying bed
If you care to come along

Cat Stevens - O Caritas

My mind keeps going back in time only to find songs that feel as if written for today ~ the message still resonating - at least with me. Nothing much seems to have changed since my mother translated the Latin portion of Cat Stevens' O Caritas for me. The cover of the album Catch Bull At Four provides an English translation which - while not literal - still very much brings the message home:

I don't want to lose the harmony of the universe

I see all things... burning, I hear men... shouting.

Now is the light of the world and the stars going out

John Butler Trio - Spring to Come

Just when I feel that I might be ready to welcome spring with a smile as bright as the sunshine outside and a lot more warmth than the sun is able to radiate through the yet chilly north wind ... news headlines scream of more blood being shed in the streets ~

Somewhere out there on the horizon

Maybe there's a glimmer of hope ...

My thoughts go out to all affected by violence and bloodshed, and to my friend in Australia who first introduced me to the music of John Butler and the John Butler Trio ... hugs to the moon goddess, may they find you well ...

Spring To Come
John Butler, John Butler Trio

Lost my love, lost my light
I can't find them anymore

Ballad of Yarmouth Castle - Gordon Lightfoot

There's something about the majesty and relentless power that is the ocean inspiring awe and fear alike and keeping me fascinated in spite of tragedies like the loss of the Yarmouth Castle. Here's to her and to all other ships and souls who came to rest below the waves ~

Ballad Of Yarmouth Castle
Gordon Lightfoot

Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon
And the anchors have been weighed
From Miami to Nassau
She's bound across the waves

Josh Tarp and The Still - Glory

Sometimes it's a trailer on TV but it's not the pictures that grab the attention, or even the comment running along. Much rather, it's the song that plays in the background ... It took me quite some time to figure this one out: Glory by Josh Tarp and The Still ~ time well worth spending as I've discovered a new-to-me band with a sound that's right up my alley ~

Bandpage provides the following brief bio:

Josh Tarp and The Still creates music that pushes the boundaries of genre stereotypes, creating a balanced pallet of folk, soul, and classic rock rounded together by constructively effortless songwriting. Since beginning this project in 2010, theirs songs have impacted a diverse and growing audience of true music lovers and easy listeners.

Glory

I dreamed I saw the devil
Dressed in his Sunday suit

Bruce Springsteen The Ghost of Tom Joad live in Studio

Every year I take a road trip to clear my mind and reset my equilibrium ~ for me, there's nothing better, nothing more relaxing than driving some off-the-beaten-path road and listening to music. One such trip included driving through the night on some forgotten street, and in the early hours of the new day -long before the sun would make its appearance- 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' by Bruce Spingsteen started playing on the radio ...

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kidding nobody about where it goes ...

It wasn't a highway, and the street wasn't alive that night, but -as strange as that may sound- the song dispelled some of the lonely feeling that I hadn't been able to shake ~

The Ghost of Tom Joad
Bruce Springsteen

Men walking 'long the railroad tracks
Going someplace, there's no going back
Highway patrol choppers coming up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge

The Cranberries - Zombie

It's an eerie feeling: having a nightmare about squadrons of low-flying aircraft, shots being fired, people running and screaming ~

In your head in your head
They are fighting ...

~ then coming awake only to realize that it wasn't a dream ...

The song 'Zombie' by The Cranberries calls forth long burried memories - alas it has been on my mind for a while and won't let go ...

 

Zombie
The Cranberries

Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And if violence causes the silence
Who are we mistaking

Rag'n'Bone Man - Human

When I wake up to a song that I don't know, my mind tends to latch on to words that are repeated. In the case of 'human' by 'Rag'n'Bone Man' ~ obviously ~ it were the words

I'm only human after all
Don't put your blame on me

Growing up my parents taught us that it's never about putting the blame somewhere (and they would attest to the fact that my siblings and I were world champions at placing the blame in spite of their unrelenting urging to the contrary). According to my parents, it was all about recognizing the problem and trying to find a solution so that the problem was avoided in the future, or at least remidiated. Before that background, of course, I had to hunt down the song, and the artist, and the lyrics ... and I'm so glad I did ~

Human
Rag'n'Bone Man

I'm only human
I'm only, I'm only
I'm only human, human

Maybe I'm foolish
Maybe I'm blind
Thinking I can see through this
And see what's behind

Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New Day - Jethro Tull (HD)

YAY \ö/ ~ the weekend's here. And it's brought snowflakes along 😊 It just feels right to go 'Skating Away' with Jethro Tull. Admittedly, the song is not quite that exuberant when you look at the lyrics. 

And as you cross the circle line, the ice-wall creaks behind
You're a rabbit on the run. ...

Perhaps it's because of the deeper contemplation that I keep playing it in my mind ~

Skating Away (On The Thin Ice Of The New Day)
Jethro Tull

Meanwhile back in the year One, when you belonged to no-one
You didn't stand a chance son, if your pants were undone.