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This was a wonderful time in our lives. Pretty much from engagement to honeymoon, that album came into play. You may know some of the hits from the album like Fields of Gold and If I Ever Lose My Faith in You but those are minor compared to some of our favorites. So since I'm in a reminiscing mood because our anniversary is coming up soon, I'm going to do a music review like it's the mid-90's.
If I Ever Lose My Faith in You- You've probably heard this one. It got to #14 on the charts here and it's a good song but not necessarily our favorite.
Favorite lyric- "Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world, You could say I lost my faith in the people on T.V., You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians, They all seemed like game show hosts to me"
Love is Stronger Than Justice- This one threw me a little when I first heard it because of it's strong country music overtones. I'm not much of a country music fan but I really liked the arrangement and the story is entertaining as are most of the stories he tells through his music on this release.
Favorite lyric- "The town mayor was happy, but his face was glum, The maidens numbered only one. There weren't seven brides for seven brothers, I knew I had to get rid of the others."
Fields of Gold- Probably the most popular track on this album and definitely one that can instantly relax me. I still love it to this day.
Favorite lyric- "Will you stay with me, will you be my love, Among the fields of barley? We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky, As we lie in fields of gold."
Heavy Cloud, No Rain- This track begins a three song run of really funny stories the first of which where a farmer prays for rain for his weak crop, a man hopes his date with death will be postponed by rain and Sting hopes to get some in the event of rain.
Favorite lyric- "I asked my baby if there'd be some way, She said she save her love for a rainy day. So I look in the sky, but I look in vain, Heavy cloud, but no rain."
She's Too Good For Me- This one is a crack up as he lists all of the things his lover hates about him from his jokes, his wardrobe to hygiene. It still makes me laugh when I hear it.
Favorite lyric- "Would she prefer it if I washed myself more often than I do? Would she prefer it if I took her to an opera or two? I could distort myself to be the perfect man, She might prefer me as I am."
Seven Days- One of my favorite songs. It played in the restaurant we went to the night the Mr proposed and no, the theme of giving an ultimatum for marriage or she's going off with another dude didn't come into play in my getting a ring. ;-) It's so sweet sounding but the story is hilarious.
Favorite lyric- "The fact he's over six feet ten might instil fear in other men, But not in me...the mighty flea.
Ask if I am mouse or man...The mirror squeaked, away I ran...he'll murder me in time for his tea."
Saint Augustine in Hell- This one is kind of funky and I suppose my least favorite track on the album but still a good song. A little organ heavy for my taste but we love the break in the middle of the song talking with who we can only assume is Satan and we still quote "okay, break's oooovah!"
Favorite lyric- She walked into the room on the arm of my best friend, I knew whatever happened our friendship would end. Chemical reaction, desire at first sight, Mystical attraction, turned out all my lights."
It's Probably Me- I absolutely love this song even though the subject matter is deep. So melodic and chills me out big time.
Favorite lyric- "When your belly's empty and the hunger's so real and you're too proud to beg and too dumb to steal. You search the city for your only friend, no one would you see. You ask yourself, 'Who could it be?' A solitary voice to speak out and set me free. I hate to say it, I hate to say it...but it's probably me."
Shape of My Heart- Another song that chills me out even though it's not necessarily a chipper one. The story is so uniquely told, I can vividly see it all as he sings about the man.
Favorite lyric- "I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier, I know that the clubs are weapons of war. I know that diamonds mean money for this art but that's not the shape of my heart."
Something the Boy Said- Another fave. It was playing on the airline radio station on our way home from our honeymoon and we both were listening to the same station. Everyone on the plane was asleep because we were taking the red eye back and when he keeps repeating "food for a crow!" toward the end, we both were mouthing it to each other like we were in concert. Oddly one of my most vivid honeymoon memories. The lyrics are a little morbid.
Favorite lyric- "Am I dead or am I living? I'm too afraid to care, I'm too afraid to know. I'm too afraid to look behind me, At the feast of the crow."
Epilogue (Nothing 'Bout Me)- I like this one because it's got a great, laid back beat to it and I love how he basically says you can break into my house and go through all of my crap but you'll still know nothing about me.
Favorite lyric- "Lay my head on the surgeon's table, take my fingerprints if you are able. Pick my brains, pick my pockets...Steal my eyeballs and come back for the sockets. Run every kind of test from A to Z and you'll still know nothin' 'bout me!"
What album takes you back to a wonderful time in your life? What's your favorite lyric from one of the songs?
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I like Sting well enough - but for me the album that does that is Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet". My absolute favorite to this day song is "Never Say Goodbye".
ReplyDeleteThe music I like is so cheesy-it's embarrassing. I am OLD, and love music from the 60's, when I was growing up. That's not so bad, the embarrassing part is how much I LOVE show tunes and their singers. Music does have power to transport you back to a wonderful place in time. My husband loves the Doobie Brothers, and I'm planning (SOMEDAY--FAR, FAR in the future) to have "Long Train Running" played at his service. Do you think the minister will go for that? I have already requested the Helen Reddy tune, "You and Me Against the World" be played at mine.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I love this album also and I actually like St. Augustine in Hell. My favorite lyric and one I (mis)quote often is: My flesh was all too willing, my spirit, God, was weak.
ReplyDeleteIt is how I feel about french fry avoidance.
Oh man. For me, it's U2's "Achtung Baby". It sounds nothing like any of their other albums. I'm only a so-so U2 fan, but that album just grabs me.
ReplyDeleteI used to play it over and over again while doing homework in my bedroom. I was in high school, probably 15 or 16 years old, and it was a time in my life that was full of so many changes, first loves, more serious homework and college prep, and really, truly becoming a young adult.
To this day, whenever I hear it, I'm transported back to my bedroom, with my CD player, electric typewriter, telephone (no email yet!), stacks of notebooks and textbooks, and daydreams about crushes. I listened to it while doing homework in college too, because I simply could not remove it from the rotation.
I don't think there's a particular lyric, so much as the overall sound and feel of the album. It's sort of ethereal, almost like you're hearing it from another era, through some kind of distant speaker. Given that it makes me nostalgic now, that only makes sense. It's like I'm hearing it played from my
CD player in 1992, not my iPhone.
I love that album! It reminds me of a time in our lives when our kids were babies, we were poor and stressed out, and it was the most calming thing in the world for me to listen to. The soundtrack of my teen years has always been Rod Steward Maggie Mae, which dates me, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteMy current favorite song is Pink - Just give me a reason, and when the guy sings "Your head is running wild again" because its too true in my case, and learning to stomp down that little voice that has absolutely no reason for being.
ReplyDelete