I'm Gina Smith

I heard this Pete Townshend acoustic ukelele piece ...

on KFOG's acoustic Sunday yesterday. The words and song (Blue, Red and Grey) bear mentioning. Gorgeous. Nice to hear Pete at the top of his game, vocally. Lyrics below.

Some people seem so obsessed with the morning
Get up early just to watch the sun rise
Some people like it more when there's fire in the sky
Worship the sun when it's high
Some people go for those sultry evenings
Sipping cocktails in the blue, red and grey
But I like every minute of the day

I like every second, so long as you are on my mind
Every moment has its special charm
It's all right when you're around, rain or shine
I know a crowd who only live after midnight
Their faces always seem so pale
And then there's friends of mine who must have sunlight
They say a suntan never fails
I know a man who works the night shift
He's lucky to get a job and some pay
And I like every minute of the day

I dig every second
I can laugh in the snow and rain
I get a buzz from being cold and wet
The pleasure seems to balance out the pain

And so you see that I'm completely crazy
I even shun the south of France
The people on the hill, they say I'm lazy
But when they sleep, I sing and dance
Some people have to have the sultry evenings
Cocktails in the blue, red and grey
But I like every minute of the day

I like every minute of the day

My favorite lyrics of the year. Poetry. Bright Eyes.

The song is by Bright Eyes, with Emmylou Harris singing backup. The song is gorgeous, the lyrics are intense. Hard to imagine a young guy like this (22?) capable of such depth. Makes me think of a young Dylan or Morrison.

Lyrics below.

if you walk away i'll walk away
first tell me which road you will take
i don't want to risk our paths crossing some day
so you walk that way, i'll walk this way

and the future hangs over our heads
and it moves with each current event
until it falls all around like a cold, steady rain
just stay in when it's looking this way

and the moons laying low in the sky
forcing everything metal to shine
and the sidewalk holds diamonds
like the jewelry store case
you walk that way, i'll walk this way

and laura's asleep in my bed
as i'm leaving she wakes up and says
i dreamed you were carried away
on the crest of a wave
baby don't go away, come here

and there's kids playing guns in the street
and one's pointing his tree branch at me
so i put my hands up
i say enough is enough
if you walk i'll walk you
and he shot me dead

i found a liquid cure for my landlocked blues
it will pass away like a slow parade
it's leaving but i don't know how soon

and the world's got me dizzy again
you'd think after 22 years i'd be used to the spin
and it only feels worse when i stay in one place
so i'm always pacing around or walking away

i keep drinking the ink from my pen
and i'm balancing history books up on my head
but it all boils down to one beautiful phrase
if you love something give it away

a good woman will pick you apart
a box full of suggestions for your possible heart
but you may be offended and you may be afraid
don't walk away, don't walk away

we made love on the living room floor
with the noise in the background from the televised war
and in the deafening pleasure
i thought i heard someone say
if we walk away they'll walk away

but greed is a bottomless pit
and our freedom's a joke we're just taking a piss
and the whole world must watch the sad comic display
if you're still free start running away
cause we're coming for you

i've grown tired of holding this pose
i feel more like a stranger each time i come home
so i'm making a deal with the devils of fame
saying let me walk away, please

you'll be free, child, once you have died
from the shackles of language and measurable time
and then we can trade places, play musical grace
till then walk away, walk away, walk away, walk away

so i'm out that door
putting on my shoes
i just want to make
a clean escape
i'm leaving but i don't know where to.

David Stoddard sent me the lyrics to Running Man.

Thanks to ego surfing and my desire to know the exact lyrics to a song I really liked on KFOG, we have it here! Thank you, David. Quite a songwriter.

RUNNING MAN (by David Stoddard)

My father's decided to run him a marathon
I just run in the figurative sense
I run a few errands, I've run out of gas
I frequently run out of patience

I used to run a fair five minute mile,
now a mile seems further away
now if you ask for a couple of situps,
I'm just about done for the day.

I'm aging, I'm aging, I'm aging
I can feel my decline by the day
he's got his own private fountain of youth
he's aging the other way

Now when I go with him through hill and field
in the woods near our neighboring town
I feel like a kid again, holding his hand, saying
"daddy, will you please slow down?"

he's not content with a walk in the mall
with a fishing cap perched on his head
he keeps on running once he hits the wall
If I were him, I would be dead

I'd go out with him, but every time
I just talk of my own aches and pains
he must get sick of my moaning and whining
but if it bugs him, he doesn't complain

by a freak twist of fate, for the first time in my life
I recently saw my dad nude
and it's just as I thought and as I expected
the old man's a pretty buff dude

My hair's falling out, my joints are all sore
my memories won't do as they're told
I reminisce about my good old days
it sure is a bitch to get old

I listen only to Gershwin and Porter
his rock and roll is my chagrin
he is my father, for cryin' out loud
why am I older than him?

Walking in a straight line

I am starting to really like that new Silverchair song, Straight Lines. Poetic. Lyrics below.

BTW, I found the lyrics at this site.

Breathing from a hole in my lung
I had no one
But faces in front of me
Racing through the void in my head
To find traces of a good luck academy

Sparks ignite and trade them for thought
About no one
And nothing in particular
Washed the sickened socket and drove
Resent nothing
There’s good will inside of me

Wake me up lower the fever
Walking in a straight line
Set me on fire in the evening
Everything will be fine
Waking up strong in the morning
Walking in a straight line
Lately I’m a desperate believer
But walking in a straight line

Something I will never forget
I felt desperate
And stuck to the marrow
Invisible to everyone else
I’m a sex change
And a damsel with no heroine

Wake me up lower the fever
Walking in a straight line
Set me on fire in the evening
Everything will be fine
Waking up strong in the morning
Walking in a straight line
Lately I’m a desperate believer
But walking in a straight line

I don’t need no time to say
There’s no changing yesterday
If we keep talking and
I keep walking in straight lines

Wake me up lower the fever
Walking in a straight line
Set me on fire in the evening
Everything will be fine
Waking up strong in the morning
Walking in a straight line
Lately I’m a desperate believer
But walking in a straight line

This is the day my life will surely change (The The)

Matt Johnson of The The penned these lyrics, found on the Infected album, I believe.

Today being the first day of spring -- Spring Equinox -- seems a good time to remind you of Matt's idea of a bittersweet resolution. Man, I miss The The.

Well... you didn't wake up this morning
Because you didn't go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes
Turn red
The calendar, on your wall, is ticking the days off
The calendar on your wall is ticking
the days off
You've been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you've changed
All the money in the world
Couldn't bring back those days.
You pull back the curtains, and the sun burns into your eyes,
You watch a plane flying across a clear blue sky.
THIS IS THE DAY -- Your life will surely change.
THIS IS THE DAY -- Your life will surely change.
You could've done anything -- if you'd wanted
And all your friends and family think that you're lucky.
But the side of you they'll never see
Is when you're left alone with the memories
That hold your life together like
Glue

My friend's father died. A poem for WDA, by John Donne.

I am so sorry, WDA, for the death of your father. This is John Donne's poem. Do you remember how we read it in AP English?

Death Be Not Proud (John Donne)

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

You've got to do this if you do weird eclectic things on your iPod.

Ignore this posting if you don't like eclectlic music, but I recommend you download every version of Begin the Beguin (by Cole Porter) you can find on iTunes from every possible artist. In every style, every decade. Download, then play them in order. It will blow your mind.

Let me know what you think. I think it's amazing. Maybe you have another suggestion.

You may know Begin the Beguin it was voted in the Top 5 songs and lyrics of the entire 20th century. Popular for more than 40 years. Amazing more people don't remake it now.

Begin the Beguine (Cole Porter)

When they begin the beguine
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green

I'm with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
Even the palms seem to be swaying
When they begin the beguine

To live it again is past all endeavor
Except when that tune clutches my heart
And there we are swearing to love forever
And promising never, never to part

What moments divine, what rapture serene
Till clouds come along to disperse the joys we had tasted,
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
I know but too well what they mean.

So don't let them begin the beguine,
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine

Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you
Till you whisper to me once more, Darling, I love you
And we suddenly know what heaven we're in
When they begin the beguine
When they begin the beguine

Spinning and spinning.

When I was at ABC News in NY, we were right across the street from an amazing health club. I used to do the Reebock Spinning class twice a day sometime.

Well, it's been awhile -- but one knee surgery, move to SF and child later -- I decided to go back and do it at the SF Bay Club.

It was great. And she played the perfect song for spinning. Lyrics to Jane's Addiction Been Caught Stealing below.

"Been Caught Stealing"

I've been caught stealing;
once when I was 5...
I enjoy stealing.
It's just as simple as that.
Well, it's just a simple fact.
When I want something,
I don't want to pay for it.

I walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey all right! If I get by, it's mine.
Mine all mine!

My girl, she's one too.
She'll go and get her a shirt.
Stick it under her skirt.
She grabbed a razor for me.
And she did it just like that.
When she wants something,
She don't want to pay for it.

She walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey all right! If I get by, it's mine.
Mine all mine!

We sat around the pile.
We sat and laughed.
We sat and laughed and
Waved it into the air!
And we did it just like that.
When we want something,
We don't want to pay for it.

We walk right through the door.
Walk right through the door.
Hey, all right! If I get by, it's mine,
Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine...

Same as it ever was.

Just heard this on the ipod and thought I'd share it with you. Some of the Talking Heads lyrics are amazing. I still prefer Matt Johnson and The The, and the Violent Femmes, but this is a very close third.

And this holiday was, yes, the same as it ever was. Lyrics courtesy of this site. And I love sentences that begin with and. Writer's license.

Once in a Lifetime (The Talking Heads)

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
Wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

Water dissolving...and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

And we had to sing this one. And it was HARD!

[Danny and Sandy]
We go together like
rama lama lama
ke ding a de dinga a dong
remembered for ever like
shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom

[Sandy, Danny, Rizzo & Kenickie]
Chang chang chang-it-ty chang
shoo-bop
That's the way it should be
Wha oooh yeah!

[All]
We're one of a kind
Like dip di-dip di-dip
Doo-bop a doo-bee doo
Our names are signed
Boog-e-dy boog-e-dy boog-e-dy
boog-e-dy
Shoo-by doo-wop she-bop
Chang chang chang-it-ty chang
shoo-bop

We'll always be like one
Wa-wa-wa-waaa!

When we go out at night
And stars are shinin' bright
Up in the skies above
Or at the high school dance
Where you can find romance
Maybe it might be lo-oh oh oh-oh oh-ove

[Can be broken up into groups]
Ra-ma la-ma la-ma ka ding a da ding de dong
Shoo-bop sha wad-da wad-da yipp-it-y boom de boom
Chang chang chang-it-ty chang shoo-bop
Dip da-dip da-dip doo-wop da doo-bee doo
Boog-e-dy boog-e-dy boog-e-dy boog-ed-y
Shoo-by doo-wop she-bop
Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na yip-pit-y boom de boom
Ra-ma la-ma la-ma ka ding-a de ding de dong
Shoo-bop sha wad-da wad-da yipp-it-y boom de boom
Chang chang chang-it-ty chang shoo-bop
Dip da-dip da-dip doo-wop da doo-bee doo
Boog-e-dy boog-e-dy boog-e-dy boog-e-dy
shoo-by doo-wop she-bop
Sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na yip-pit-ty boom de boom

[Guys]
A wop ba-ba lu-mop

[Girls]
A wop bam boom

We're for each other like
A wop ba-ba lu-mop and wop bam boom
Just like my brother is
Sha na na na na na yip-pit-y dip de boom
Chang chang chang-it-ty chang shoo-bop
We'll always be together
Wha oooh yeah!
We'll always, be together
We'll always be together
We'll always be together [End here or fade out]
A wop ba-ba lu-mop a wop bam boom!