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The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Just Once In My Life
Released: 1965

Unchained Melody Lyrics

Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me

Lonely rivers flow
To the sea, to the sea
To the open arms of the sea
Lonely rivers sigh
"Wait for me, wait for me"
I'll be coming home, wait for me

Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered, for your touch
A long, lonely time
Time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?
I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me

Writer/s: H. ZARET, A. NORTH
Publisher: Unchained Melody PUB LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Unchained Melody Song Chart

This first appeared in the 1955 movie Unchained, starring the former football player Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. The movie takes place in a prison, and the song was written for the movie to reflect the mood of the prisoners as they wait for time to pass.

Alex North wrote the music, Hy Zaret wrote the lyrics, and a black singer named Todd Duncan sang the version in the movie. Duncan went on to become a popular vocal instructor.

When the movie came out, an orchestral version by Les Baxter was released along with a version by Al Hibbler. Baxter's version hit #1 in the US; Hibbler's went to #3.

Bobby Hatfield, who had a higher voice than Bill Medley, sang lead on this track. It was his idea to record it, since Medley and Hatfield were each allowed to choose a song to sing as a solo vocalist on their albums. As Medley tells us, Hatfield knew the song well, and was a big fan of the Roy Hamilton and Al Hibbler versions of the song. In 2003, Hatfield died of a heart attack at age 63.

The Righteous Brothers version was a huge hit, but it was recorded with far more modest expectations. Phil Spector considered it album filler and released it as a B-side. The single had "Unchained Melody," with no producer credit on the label, as the flip to Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Hung on You," but many DJs preferred "Unchained Melody" and played that one instead. This infuriated Spector, who subsequently left no doubt as to which side of a Philles single was the A-side.

The famous climax of this song where Bobby Hatfield sings the high "I need your love" line wasn't how the song was written. In our interview with Bill Medley , he explained that Hatfield did two takes of the song, then left. He would often reconsider his performance and come back later to change it, and that's what he did on this track, returning to ask Medley if he could make an edit. This was no easy task, since with a maximum of four tracks to work with, you had to record over part of the original take, but Medley accommodated and Hatfield delivered that soaring vocal line. Said Medley: "I punched that in and he left. He said, 'No, I can do it better.' And I said, 'No, you can't.' [Laughs] And I think it's a big part of that song."

This was released on Philles Records, Phil Spector's label. Spector, known for his "Wall Of Sound" technique, did not produce this - Bill Medley did. In a 2007 statement to the Forgotten Hits newsletter, Medley said: "You have to remember that I was producing our stuff before Phil Spector... I mean I produced 'Little Latin Lupe Lu,' 'My Babe' and all that stuff. Then when we went with Phil, Phil asked me if I would produce the albums because it was too time consuming for him to produce the entire albums. So he was going to do the singles and I would do the album. And so that's how that happened and that's how I produced 'Unchained Melody,' which Phil Spector apparently now takes credit for. He can have the credit. And I'm not a producer. I know how to produce. But it's obviously not a Spector production. 'Unchained Melody' was never intended to be the single... it was produced to be on the album. It was put on the B side of a Phil Spector single 'Hung On You' and the minute it was released 'Unchained Melody' just went through the roof."

This returned to both the US and UK charts in 1990 after it was included in the motion picture Ghost (it was used in a scene featuring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and pottery). Two versions charted in the US that year: a reissue of the 1965 original Righteous Brothers single was available only as a 45 RPM single, peaking at #13, and a 1990 re-recording of the song was available only as a cassette single, peaking at #19. For eight weeks, both versions were in the Hot 100 simultaneously.

When the re-release became a hit, the label that now owned the distribution rights underestimated it's popularity and the few copies that record stores had sold out quickly, with back orders that went into several weeks. Meanwhile the Righteous Brothers, who weren't making a dime off of the original any more, decided to re-record the song and release it on Curb, Bill Medley's current label. Since the charts are based on radio airplay (only the original version) and record sales (only the Curb release), both versions landed in the Top 20 at the same time. If these two figures had been added together, a song two decades old would have been the #1 song of the year. In the UK, that was exactly the case, as the song made #1 and was the biggest-selling single of 1990.

The song's renewed popularity in the UK resulted in the re-release of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" in late 1990. That re-release reached #3 overseas.

Although the Righteous Brothers' version is the most-remembered today, it was by no means the first or most-successful "Unchained Melody." Four versions of the song made the Top 40 in 1955, three of them simultaneously in the Top 20: Les Baxter (#1 - from the movie Unchained), Al Hibbler (#3 - first vocal version), Roy Hamilton (#6), June Valli (#29). All four of these recordings were in the US Top 40 on May 14, 1955. Harry Belafonte also recorded a version that year.

When the movie Ghost brought this song back to the charts, it marked the second time a Patrick Swayze film boosted the fortunes of Bill Medley. In 1987, Medley's duet with Jennifer Warnes, "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," became a #1 US hit when the film it was written for, Dirty Dancing (also starring Swayze), took off at the box office.

Medley told us: "I had talked to him a few times over the years - I used to joke with him. I said, 'Why aren't you calling us to do every one of your movies?'"

In 1995, Robson And Jerome released this as a single with "The White Cliffs Of Dover." The single went to #1 in the UK and was the best-selling single there that year. Both songs were used in a TV show called Soldier Soldier.

The Righteous Brothers released just two more singles on Phil Spector's Philles Records, and they were both covers of older songs: "Ebb Tide" and "The White Cliffs Of Dover." Spector didn't want to put his efforts into recording original songs if the public just wanted to hear standards from the duo.

After these releases, MGM Records bought The Righteous Brothers' contract, which paid off for the label when their first single for the label, "(You're My) Soul And Inspiration" - an original song - went to #1.

The only record to be a #1 hit with four different versions, Jimmy Young, The Righteous Brothers, Ronson & Jerome, and Gareth Gates all topped the UK chart with this song. This is also the first song to be a million seller in the UK in more than one version (Robson & Jerome also had a million seller with this in 1995).

In 2002 Pop Idol runner up Gareth Gates scored a #1 single with this in the UK. At the age of 17 he became the youngest solo male British artist to have a UK #1. Gates' version was voted Record of the Year by ITV viewers in 2002. It sold 300,000 copies on its first day and 1.3 million overall. Gates performed this in the final of Pop Idol, in which he finished runner up to Will Young.

This was one of several songs that Simon Cowell said he never wants to hear again at an X Factor audition. "Whoever said that was my favorite song was joking," he said.

This was Gareth Gates' mother's favorite song and Gates himself knew this from The Righteous Brothers version in the film Ghost. It was the first song that Gareth learned to play on guitar. According to 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, he knew it would be a great song to perform on Pop Idol: "It's a song you can sing very badly, lots of people mess up the 'I need your love' bit, but I knew I could do it okay." The CD single included Gareth's versions of "Anything Is Possible" and "Evergreen," which would have been the A-sides if he'd won the contest.

The 1990 re-release of this song went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, giving The Righteous Brothers their only chart-topper on that tally.

The Supremes recorded a cover of this song for their album I Hear a Symphony. (thanks, Jerro - New Alexandria, PA)

Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike

Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Temple of the Dog
Released: 1990

Hunger Strike Lyrics

I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouth of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already over-filled
But it's on the table.

The fire's cooking.
And they're farming babies
While the slaves are all working.
Blood is on the table.
The mouths are choking

And I'm going hungry
I'm going hungry [Repeat: x3]

Writer/s: CORNELL, CHRIS
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Hunger Strike Song Chart

Temple of the Dog began when Chris Cornell of Soundgarden wrote two songs in honor of his good friend Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in March 1990. Wood was kept on life support for three days after he overdosed, during which time Cornell and his band mates came to see him. Wood was in a promising Seattle band called Mother Love Bone with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who were forming their new band that would become Pearl Jam. Cornell teamed up with them and guitarist Mike McCready with the intention of recording some of Wood's solo songs along with Cornell's two tribute tracks. Responding to concerns that they were somehow exploiting Wood's work, the guys decided to release an album of all original material in tribute to Wood, and called the band Temple of the Dog after a Mother Love Bone lyric from their song "Man of Golden Words."

"Hunger Strike" was the last song recorded for the album; Chris Cornell wrote it because they had only nine tracks and he has a compulsive distaste for odd numbers. Describing the song in the Pearl Jam Twenty collection, he said, "I was wanting to express the gratitude for my life but also disdain for people where that's not enough, where they want more. There's no way to really have a whole lot more than you need usually without taking from somebody else that can't really afford to give it to you. It's sort of about taking advantage of a person or people who really don't have anything."

The same verse is repeated twice in this song, as Cornell felt he had said everything he could on the subject with those words. Once these verse lyrics are out of the way, it's all chorus and bridge, which works thanks to the second vocalist on the song: Eddie Vedder. Temple of the Dog recorded the song on the very day Vedder flew in from San Diego to audition for what would become Pearl Jam: October 8, 1990. It was the first time he met any of the guys, and for most of the sessions, he kept to himself. Chris Cornell planned to sing both the high and low parts of the "Going Hungry" chorus by himself with the help of overdubs, but he was struggling with the low register. In a defining moment, Vedder stepped up to the microphone and sang the low parts of the chorus, which made the song click for Cornell. With two distinct voices, Cornell could now sing the verse lyrics at the beginning of the song, and Vedder could follow with the same lyrics, giving it a different sound. With both voices on the chorus, the song really came together and became the highlight of the album. It was a huge moment for Eddie, as he interjected himself into Christ Cornell's song without coming off as arrogant, and gained the respect of his new bandmates in the process. It was Vedder's first recorded vocal for a major record, and it proved to those in the room that he understood their sound and was willing to contribute any way he could, even if it wasn't for his band.

The video for the song was shot in Discovery Park in Seattle. The western view at sunset with band members' backs to the camera facing Bainbridge Island, home of Andrew Wood, was a symbolic goodbye to their friend. (thanks, Eric - Bainbridge Island, WA)

Matt Cameron, who was with Soundgarden at the time, was the drummer for Temple of the Dog. He ended up joining Peal Jam a few years later.

Cornell has joined Pearl Jam on several occasions onstage to perform this song.

Scorpions - Wind Of Change

Scorpions - Wind Of Change Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Crazy World
Released: 1990

Wind Of Change Lyrics

I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the Wind Of Change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams (share their dreams)
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night (the glory night)
Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change (the wind of change)

The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams (share their dreams)
With you and me (with you and me)
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change (in the wind of change)

Writer/s: KLAUS MEINE
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Wind Of Change

The band wrote this during a visit to Moscow in 1989. The previous year, they became the first hard-rock band to play in Russia, and they returned to play the Moscow Music Peace Festival. At this show, they were inspired by the sight of thousands of Russians cheering them on even though they were a German band. In our interview with Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker, he called this song, "a kind of message soundtrack to the world's most peaceful revolution on earth."

Lead singer Klaus Meine told NME: "Everyone was there: the Red Army, journalists, musicians from Germany, from America, from Russia-the whole world on one boat. It was like a vision; everyone was talking the same language. It was a very positive vibe. That night was the basic inspiration for Wind Of Change."

In 1990, this became the unofficial anthem for the German Reunification, an event that politically lasted from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the official reunification on October 3, 1990. (thanks, Martin - Rostock, Germany)

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Released: 1990

Nothing Compares 2 U Lyrics

It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since you took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your love away
Since you been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
'Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

It's been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they'd only remind me of you
I went to the doctor guess what he told me
Guess what he told me
He said girl you better try to have fun no matter what you do
But he's a fool
'Cause nothing compares, nothing compares to you

All the flowers that you planted mama
In the back yard
All died when you went away
I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard
But I'm willing to give it another try
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

Writer/s: NELSON, PRINCE ROGERS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Nothing Compares 2 U Song Chart

Prince wrote this song. He did a live version with Rosie Gaines on his album Hits.

Prince originally wrote this for The Family, a band that was signed to his Paisley Park record label. The song was inspired by a member who had just broken up with his girlfriend. The Family was made up of former members of The Time, and they released only one album.

This was a #1 hit in 17 countries. In the US, it was the #1 song of 1990, topping the charts for 4 weeks.

O'Connor released her first album three years earlier. It got a lot of play on college radio, earning her a small, but devoted fan base. This song thrust her into the spotlight, and the attention had some deleterious effects on the singer. O'Connor claimed she hated the fame the song brought her, and struggled with the commercialization of her music. "Nothing Compares 2 U" earned her a Grammy for Best Alternative Performance, but she refused to appear on the awards show in protest.

The director shot a lot of footage around Paris for the video, but ended up using just a simple tight shot of O'Connor singing. It was the first time most people saw what she looked like and were surprised that she was bald. She shaved her head when she first started recording because she wanted to make a statement and not be known for her beauty.

When Sinéad cried In the video, it was a real tear. In the Rolling Stone Top 500 songs issue, she said, "I didn't intend for that moment to happen, but when it did, I thought, 'I should let this happen.'"

She told The Daily Telegraph in 2014 that the tear was triggered because she associated the song's lyrics of love and loss with her mother, who was killed in a car accident in 1985.

Chris Hill, the co-director of O'Connor's label Ensign, recalled to Mojo magazine January 2009 the first time he heard this song: "Fachtna O'Kelly, Sinéad's manager, brought in a cassette and when I heard it I actually started crying. I just sat there with tears in my eyes."
Then O'Kelly rang up Sinead OConnor and went, 'Chris is crying.' 'Was it that bad?' Sinéad asked.

This was O'Connor's last big hit. She turned off a lot of people with her political statements, which included refusing to let the National Anthem be played before a concert in New Jersey and tearing up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live.

In 1998, MTV named this #34 on their list of the greatest videos ever made.

Although this was a mainstream hit, O'Connor was considered an "Alternative" artist at the time. The album won the 1990 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance. She boycotted the awards show to protest materialism in the music industry.

The "2 U" in the title is a Prince thing. He has songs called "I would die 4 U" and "If I Love U 2 Nite."

This was produced by Beresford Romeo (Jazzie B.) and Nellee Hooper, two members of the group Soul II Soul.

It was Sinéad O'Connor's manager, Fachtna O'Kelly, who came up with the idea for the Irish singer to cover the Prince song.

The video for Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" also contained some very tight shots of the singer's face, and also a tear, which Cyrus claimed was shed for her recently departed dog. Speaking with Rolling Stone, Cyrus said, "It's like the Sinead O'Connor video, but, like, the most modern version."

This quote, which didn't even make the magazine (it was posted on the web), set in motion a feud between the singers, with O'Connor publishing what she called an "open letter" on her website, warning Cyrus about the dangers of her career path. Cyrus responded with a Tweet that simply said "Before Amanda Bynes.... There was....", a reference to O'Connor's past mental health issues.

The confrontation illuminated some of the strange parallels between the singers:

- Both shaved their heads. Sinéad did it so she couldn't be marketed for her looks; Miley so she could establish her style and blend in.

- Cyrus was a favorite on Saturday Night Live, and hosted the show the week after the feud. O'Connor was banned from the show after her first appearance.

- Their tearful songs were their first #1 hits, but both were written by others. O'Connor's song was written by Prince, Cyrus' by a team of five professional writer/producers.

Aretha Franklin covered this for her 2014 album, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics. Her version was produced by Andre 3000, who gives it a classic jazz feel. Aretha's longtime collaborator, Clive Davis, has known the Outkast rapper since he was 17, and that friendship led to his involvement. "He said his dream is to produce a cut or two for the great Aretha Franklin," said Davis.

Sinéad O'Connor announced in March 2015 that she will not be performing this song anymore. The Irish songstress explained: "The first principle of the manner in which I'm trained as a singer (Bel Canto) is we never sing a song we don't emotionally identify with. After twenty-five years of singing it, nine months or so ago I finally ran out of anything I could use in order to bring some emotion to it."

"I don't want audiences to be disappointed coming along to a show and then not hearing it, so am letting you know here that you won't. If I were to sing it just to please people, I wouldn't be doing my job right, because my job is to be emotionally available. I'd be lying. You'd be getting a lie."

The Clash - The Guns Of Brixton

The Clash - The Guns Of Brixton Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

The Guns Of Brixton Lyrics

When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun

When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting on death row

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, The Guns Of Brixton

The money feels good
And your life you like it well
But surely your time will come
As in heaven, as in hell

You see, he feels like Ivan
Born under the Brixton sun
His game is called survivin'
At the end of the harder they come

You know it means no mercy
They caught him with a gun
No need for the Black Maria
Goodbye to the Brixton sun

You can crush us
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh-the guns of Brixton

When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun

You can crush us
You can bruise us
Yes, even shoot us
But oh-the guns of Brixton

Shot down on the pavement
Waiting in death row
His game is called survivin'
As in heaven as in hell

You can crush us
You can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton

Writer/s: SIMONON, PAUL
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Guns Of Brixton

This song was written by bass player Paul Simonon, but only because he was envious of the royalties main songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were getting. He decided to get in on the songwriting himself, and this became one of the Clash's best known songs and a staple of their live set until their demise in the mid-'80s. Simonon takes lead vocal duties on the song, which is about gangsters in his home town Brixton, which is in South London.

Interestingly, he was reticent about singing lead vocals initially, but Strummer noted that "they're your lyrics, you sing them" and the rest of the band agreed. Simonon notes: "The vocal mike was right up against the glass panel of the control room and sitting two feet behind the glass was some American CBS bloke. That's probably why the vocals came out the way they did."

Brixton was the site of race riots in 1981 and again in 1985. This song captures the alienation many citizens of Brixton felt leading up to the riots.

The central plot has Ivan, the anti-hero character from the popular film The Harder They Come (the soundtrack of which contained many of The Clash's favorite Reggae songs, including the title track) in urban South London ("You see, he feels like Ivan, born under the Brixton sun, his game is called survivin', at the end of the harder they come") and on the wrong side of the law ("When the law break in, how you gonna go? Shot down on the pavement, or waiting on death row").

In 1990 the bassline to "The Guns of Brixton" was sampled in the Beats International (AKA Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim) hit single "Dub Be Good To Me," and became a UK hit single, meaning Simonon received a credit of the royalties for his bassline. Interviewed by Scott Rowley on October 1999 for Bassist magazine, Simonon said that he "was surprised that it became number one, that was quite shocking. And the fact that it was my performance that they had lifted. The smart thing would've been to copy it and change it slightly, but they just lifted it straight off. So, really, I have done Top of the Pops! I met up with Norman [Cook] and we came to an arrangement which was much needed at the time. But I thought it was a really good idea and it was quite reassuring for that to happen to my first song."

This song was not released as a single when the London Calling album first came out, however in 1990 with the re-release of London Calling on CD, a remixed version entitled "Return to Brixton," which included the original "Guns of Brixton" mix on the B-side, was released and reached #57 on the UK charts in July 1990. Interestingly, a typo on the sleeve notes of the CD release meant Paul Simonon's name was misspelled as Paul Simon; although a very successful recording artist in his own right, the actual Paul Simon (half of Simon and Garfunkel) had nothing to do with the writing of "The Guns of Brixton"!

The song was always a popular live fixture, and Simonon's moment of glory onstage as he took lead vocals. He would swap instruments with Joe Strummer, who would play bass whilst Simonon played some rhythm guitar and sang (or usually bellowed) his vocals with great gusto. An example of this is the live version of the song which appears on the From Here To Eternity live compilation CD, taken from one of their many New York shows in June 1981. The song was first played live by the band at a September 1979 show in Chicago and at almost every show after that.

Five Man Electrical Band - Signs

Five Man Electrical Band - Signs Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Good-byes And Butterflies
Released: 1970

Signs Lyrics

Signs
The 5 Man Electrical Band
lyrics as recorded by The Five Man Electrical Band in 1971 and included on
the 1990 compilation album "Made In Canada - Volume Three 1965-1974"
(BMG KCD1-7158)

And the sign said "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

And the sign said anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house, "Hey! What gives you
the
right?"
"To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in"
"If God was here he'd tell you to your face, Man, you're some kinda sinner"

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Now, hey you, mister, can't you read?
You've got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can't even watch, no you can't eat
You ain't supposed to be here
The sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside
Ugh!

------ lead guitar ------

And the sign said, "Everybody welcome. Come in, kneel down and pray"
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, I didn't have a
penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."
Wooo!

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Sign
Sign, sign

Writer/s: EMMERSON, LES
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Signs Song Chart

Written by Five Man Electrical Band lead singer Les Emmerson, this song is a prescient look at class divisions and property rights. Emmerson wrote the song after taking a road trip on Route 66 in California, where he noticed a plethora of billboards that obscured the beautiful scenery. This posed a question: Who is allowed to put up signs that interfere with nature? This led to another query: Who gets to make the rules that appear on so many signs?

The song gave voice to those without power or property rights, which in many cases were young people.

Five Man Electrical Band are a Canadian group, Formed in the '60s as The Staccatos. "Signs" was included on their second album in 1970, but not considered single-worthy by their record label, as it didn't fit a standard pop format.

In 1970, it was issued as the B-side to the single "Hello Melinda Goodbye," which made #55 on the Canadian chart. Disk jockeys preferred the flip side, however, and started playing "Signs," which was then released as an A-side in 1971. It made #4 in Canada but took off in America, reaching #3 in August. The follow-up, "Absolutely Right," also did well in America, reaching #26.

This song starts with a line that became one of the most memorable in rock: "And the sign said, 'Long-haired freaky people need not apply.'"

By starting with the word "And," we feel that we are picking up a story, and it's clear that the singer has put a lot of thought into this. The first verse is a classic tale of how looks can be deceiving, as the difference between an "upstanding man" and a hippie can be something as superficial as hair.

The next verse finds the singer looking at a "no trespassing" sign and questioning its authority. This resonates with anyone who has seen beautiful beaches, vistas, and other points of nature marked as private property, often with nobody there to enjoy it.

We then enter a private club with a strict dress code, and we hear the line most willful wanderers have been confronted with: "You ain't supposed to be here."

Finally, we end up in church, which brings God into our story. If ever there is something that is open to all, it it God, but even in church, a donation is called for. At this point, our hero turns the tables and makes his own sign, thanking God for the wonder of life.

Tesla revived this song in 1990 when they recorded a live, acoustic version for their album Five Man Acoustical Jam, which was recorded at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia on July 2, 1990.

The band was on tour with Mötley Crüe, opening for the rockers on the Dr. Feelgood tour. July 2 was an off-day, so Tesla booked the acoustic show and had each band member pick a cover song to perform. Lead singer Jeff Keith picked "Signs," a song he grew up listening to in Oklahoma. His bandmates, however, didn't know the song, so Jeff had to round up a copy so they could learn it.

The song was the highlight of the performance, and the set was so well-received that it was released as an album, which they titled Five Man Acoustical Jam as an allusion to the original artist. Released as a single ahead of the album, the song made #2 on the Mainstream Rock chart, but didn't crack the Hot 100. When the album started selling and MTV began the video, the song was re-released, making #8 on the Hot 100 in April 1991.

Tesla's version was one of the first acoustic hit songs of the '90s and helped launch the "Unplugged" trend. MTV ramped up their series of Unplugged concerts shortly after Tesla's cover became a hit.

The line, "If God was here he'd tell you to your face, Man, you're some kinda sinner" has a double-meaning, as "Man" could be just a throwaway expression, but could also be about man as a species.

In Tesla's unedited version they replace the phrase "Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind" with "F--kin' up the scenery, breakin' my mind."

Queensrÿche - Silent Lucidity

Queensrÿche - Silent Lucidity Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Empire
Released: 1990

Silent Lucidity Lyrics

Hush now don't cry
Wipe away the teardrop from your eye
You're lying safe in bed
It was all a bad dream
Spinning in your head
Your mind tricked you to feel the pain
Of someone close to you leaving the game of life
So here it is, another chance
Wide awake you face the day
Your dream is over
Or has it just begun?

There's a place I like to hide
A doorway that I run to in the night
Relax child, you were there
But only didn't realize it and you were scared
It's a place where you will learn
To face your fears, retrace the years
And ride the whims of your mind
Commanding in another world
Suddenly, you hear and see
This magic new dimension

I will be watching over you
I am gonna help you see it through
I will protect you in the night
I am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity

Visualize your dream
Record it in the present tense
Put it into a permanent form
If you persist in your efforts
You can achieve dream control
Dream control
How's that then, better?
Dream control
Dream control (hug me)
Dream control
Hug me

If you open your mind for me
You won't rely on open eyes to see
The walls you built within
Come tumbling down, and a new world will begin
Living twice at once you learn
You're safe from pain in the dream domain
A soul set free to fly
A round trip journey in your head
Master of illusion, can you realize
Your dream's alive, you can be the guide but

I will be watching over you
I am gonna help you see it through
I will protect you in the night
I am smiling next to you

Writer/s: CHRISTOPHER DEGARMO
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Silent Lucidity

Written by Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo (who left the band in 1998), this is a song that deals with a person having a lucid dream. A lucid dream happens when you are aware that you are dreaming, and can control parts of it. DeGarmo got the idea from a book called Creative Dreaming , which explains how to tap into your subconscious mind and make like Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception. DeGarmo told Metal Edge in 1990: "Dreams tend to recur. Very often you have the same images, and it's being used in therapy, to confront the image in your dream. In a lifetime the average person spends about 4 ½ years in a vivid hallucination of the subconscious. You're doing things like flying, walking through walls - it's so intense. People can experience incredible physical sensations during dreaming."

In our interview with Queensrÿche's lead singer Geoff Tate, he said: "I love that song. I think it's a beautiful, beautiful piece. And although I didn't write it, I had a lot to do with shaping the destiny of that track through my melodic contributions and the way I sang it, and also in the mixing of the song and that kind of thing.

It had a strange beginning. It started out as simply just acoustic guitar and voice. And it wasn't until we were almost finished with the record, just in the last week of working on the record, that we added all the other instrumentation to it.

In fact, our producer (Peter Collins) didn't really want to put it on the record because he didn't think it was that well-developed as an idea. He was actually putting his foot down at one point saying, "No, I think you should come up with another song. You only have so many songs for the record, I don't think you should put that on the record." I think it's a good idea that he said that because it inspired Chris DeGarmo and I to really buckle down and finish the song and actually make it into what it is."

A piece of classical music is incorporated into this song: Brahm's "Lullaby" can be heard starting at 5:26, played by a cello.

Queensrÿche has had a long and illustrious career, but this is their only song to crack the Hot 100 in America. They fared better on the UK charts, where they placed six songs in the Top-40.

Lindisfarne - Fog on the Tyne

Lindisfarne - Fog on the Tyne Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fog on the Tyne
Released: 1971

Fog on the Tyne Lyrics

Fog on the Tyne

This bittersweet celebration of life on the dole in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne was written by Alan Hull, the lead singer of Tyneside folk rockers Lindisfarne. He originally performed it during his solo folk club shows.

When Lindisfarne learned they would be working on their second album with Bob Dylan producer Bob Johnston, they were delighted. However this rousing number was originally not intended for the record. During recording, that band played a date at the Royal Festival Hall, at which they performed "Fog." "It went down a storm at the Festival Hall," drummer Ray Laidlaw recalled to Uncut magazine, "and when we came back, Bob said, 'How come you haven't played me that?' We said, 'We don't think much of it...' It wouldn't have been on the album if it hadn't been for him."

The song not only became the title track of Lindisfarne's breakthrough album in England, it also became the band's signature tune.

A heavily reworked version of the song with vocals by Geordie footballer Paul Gascoigne was recorded in 1990 under the title "Fog on the Tyne (Revisited)." Released in the wake of Gazza's renown after the 1990 World Cup, it peaked at #2 in the UK singles charts.

The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle

The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Shake Your Money Maker
Released: 1990

Hard To Handle Lyrics

Baby here I am
I'm the man on the scene
I can give you what you want
But you gotta' come home with me

I have got some good old lovin'
And I got some more in store
When I get through throwin' it on
You
You gotta' come back for more

[Chorus]
Boys and things that come by the
Dozen
That ain't nothin' but drugstore
Lovin'
Pretty little thing let me light your
Candle
'Cause mama I'm so Hard To Handle now
Yes I am

Action speaks louder than words
And I'm a man of great experience
I know you've got another man
But I can love you better than him

Take my hand don't be afraid
I'm gonna prove every word I say
I'm advertising love for free
So you can place your ad with me

Boys come along a dime by the dozen
That ain't nothing but ten cent
Lovin'
Pretty little thing let me light your
Candle
'Cause mama I'm so hard to handle now
Yes I am

Baby here I am
I'm the man on the scene
I can give you what you want
But you gotta' come home with me

[Chorus]

Writer/s: REDDING, OTIS / ISBELL, ALVERTIS / JONES, ALLEN ALVOID JR.
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Hard To Handle Song Chart

This song was originally recorded by Otis Redding, who wrote it with Allen Jones and Al Bell. It was the only cover song on The Black Crowes debut album, which sold over five million copies.

Running a compact 3:08, The Black Crows turned the song into a rocker, using guitars instead of horns and extending the song from Redding's 2:18 original.

This was The Black Crowes' third single, following "Twice As Hard" and "Jealous Again." It made #45 in the US in December, 1990, as the group was rapidly gaining momentum. After "She Talks To Angels" hit #30 in May 1991 - over a year after the album was released - "Hard To Handle" was reissued, this time going to #26 and becoming the highest-charting single for the band on the Hot 100. The group had been together for five years before signing a record deal with Def American, which prepared them well for the onslaught of success. Their live act had already been honed, and many who saw them remained lifetime fans as they became more of a jam band.

EMF - Unbelievable

EMF - Unbelievable Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Schubert Dip
Released: 1990

Unbelievable Lyrics

You burden me with your questions
You'd have me tell no lies
You're always asking what it's all about
Now listen to my replies
You say to me I don't talk enough
But when I do I'm a fool
These times I've spent, I've realized
I'm going to shoot through
And leave you

The things, you say
Your purple prose just gives you away
The things, you say
You're Unbelievable
You burden me with your problems
By telling me more than mine
I'm always so concerned
With the way you say,
You've always go to stop
To think of us being one
Is more than I ever know
But this time, I realize
I'm going to shoot through
And leave you

Seemingly lastless, don't mean
You can ask us
Pushing down the relative
Bringing out your higher self
Think of the fine times, pushing
Down the better few, instead of
Bringing out the clues, to what the
World and everything anger to, brace
Yourself with the grace of ease,
I know this world ain't what it seems.
What the fuck was that,
It's unbelievable

Writer/s: WALLACE, CHRISTOPHER/MARTIN, CHRISTOPHER E/KELLY, ROBERT S
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Unbelievable Song Chart

This song is about a girl who is "unbelievable" in the sense that she is very demanding and offers nothing in return - the singer feels he can do nothing right when he's around her.

This used a sample of raunchy comedian Andrew "Dice" Clay saying "Oh," followed on the album version by "What the f--k was that!"

EMF was led by their guitarist Ian Dench, who is also their primary songwriter, although the entire band was credited on this track. Dench was in a band called Apple Mosaic, who had a contract with Virgin Records but little impact. He formed EMF with some spirited young musicians from around England, and their first album, Schubert Dip, placed four songs in the UK Top 40, with "Unbelievable" peaking at #3 in November, 1990. Six months later, the song broke out in America, where its quirky charm was embraced by Pop radio and dance clubs looking for a new sound. Their US success was short lived, as they did little promotion in the country (their mainman Dench didn't even join them for their tour of the States in the summer of 1991), and after the #18 charting song "Lies," they weren't heard from Stateside again. The band members who did come to America apparently had a pretty good time; their keyboard player Derry Brownson and bass player Zac Foley were just 20 years old, and their hedonism on tour was a common topic in interviews. The band's follow-up album Stigma was a more somber affair, but did produce two more UK Top 40 hits. The band charted nine times in the UK Top 40 by 1995.

On their only American tour, EMF played this multiple times at every show. It was the only song most of the audience had heard of.

Tom Jones played this at some of his live shows, to the delight of the band. Jones performed the song with EMF on a British TV show where he told them about how he sang it in Vegas. According to the band, Jones got them really drunk that night.

This was used on the soundtrack to the movie Coyote Ugly.

The CD single for this contains a song with no title, it only says "EMF live at the Bilson," and contained the lyric: "Ectasy Motherf--ker From us to you." This adds fuel to the rumor their name means Ecstasy Mother F--ker. (thanks, chet - saratoga springs, NY)

Janet Jackson - Escapade

Janet Jackson - Escapade Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rhythm Nation 1814
Released: 1990

Escapade Lyrics

As I was walkin' by
Saw you standin' there with a smile
Lookin' shy, you caught my eye
Thought you'd want to hang for a while
Well I'd like to be with you
And you know it's Friday too
I hope you can find the time
This weekend to relax and unwind

My mind's tired
I've worked so hard all week
Cashed my check
I'm ready to go
I promise you
I'll show you such a good time

Come on baby, let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me, we've got it made
Let me take you on an Escapade (let's go)

Escapade
We'll have a good time
Escapade
Leave your worries behind
Escapade
Well you could be mine
Escapade
An escapade

So don't hold back
Just have a good time, yeah yeah
We'll make the rules up as we go along
And break them all if we're not havin' fun

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade (let's go)

Escapade
We'll have a good time
Escapade
Leave your worries behind
Escapade
Well you could be mine
Escapade
An escapade

(My mind's tired I've worked
Worked so hard all week
I just got paid, we've got it made
Ready to go
I promise you I'll show you
Such a good time)

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade (let's go)

Come on baby let's get away
Let's save our troubles for another day
Come go with me we've got it made
Let me take you on an escapade

Writer/s: HARRIS, JAMES SAMUEL III/LEWIS, TERRY / JACKSON, JANET DAMITA JO
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, JANET JACKSON DBA BLACK ICE
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Escapade

Jackson was going to do a remake of the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas' 1965 hit "Nowhere to Run," but Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who were her songwriters and producers, suggested they do an original song with a similar beat, which meant they would keep more of the songwriting royalties. Jam and Lewis pulled the word "Escapade" from a notebook they kept of song title ideas, and came up with the track while Jackson wrote the lyrics.

Former New Edition member Johnny Gill contributed finger snaps.

This album proved that Jackson's previous release, the breakthrough album Control, was not a fluke. Including this song, it brought her seven US Top-5 singles, an unheard of number of (Top-5) hits for one album.

Jackson embarked on her very first concert tour - "The Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990" - the same week this song hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Jimmy Jam remembered how the song came together: "While [Janet] was sitting in one room coming up with lyrics, I put it on the 24-track. We hooked the drum machine up. On my left hand I played the bass, on the right hand I played the chord. And it was just enough for her to sing to, which we do a lot. Because we like to let her sing to as minimum of a track as we can do, then fill in the track around her so that her part is the main part of the song. With 'Escapade,' she sang it and we kept saying we'll go back and redo the track... we never redid the track."

Traditional - The Star-Spangled Banner

Traditional - The Star-Spangled Banner Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Celebrate America
Released: 1814

The Star-Spangled Banner Lyrics

The Star-Spangled Banner

This song is the national anthem of the United States. The poem that formed the basis of the lyrics was penned in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old lawyer who was sent to negotiate with the British in an attempt to gain the release of an American prisoner they were holding. On September 7, Key reached the British fleet and after a few days of negotiations, secured the release of the prisoner. However, the British planned to attack Baltimore and would not release the Americans until after the battle. On September 13, the British launched a fierce bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore that lasted throughout the night, an event Key witnessed from the deck of a US truce ship. The next morning (in the "dawn's early light") Key saw the Americans take down the battle-torn US flag at the fort and replace it with a larger one. This inspired him to write down notes for his famous poem, which he finished upon his return to Baltimore the evening of the 16th. Key later described the event: "Through the clouds of the warthe stars of that banner still shone in my view, and I saw the discomfited host of its assailants driven back in ignominy to their ships. Then, in he hour of deliverance, and joyful triumph, my heart spoke; and 'Does not such a country and such defenders of their country deserve a song?' was its question." (Thanks to the folks at the Fort McHenry national monument for providing this information. Check out the Fort in Song Images.)

Key's poem was published on September 17, 1814, the day after he returned to Baltimore. The poem was sung to the music of a popular British drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven" (also known as "The Anacreontic Song"), which has been attributed to John Stafford Smith.

Before 1931, the US National Anthem was "My Country 'Tis Of Thee."

"The Star Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889 and the White House in 1916. It got more attention when it was played during the seventh-inning stretch at Game 1 of the 1918 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. World War I was raging on, and when the band at the ballpark played the song, the players faced the flag and stood at attention. The fans did likewise, and this ritual was repeated for the rest of the Series. In ensuing years, the song was often played at baseball games as a show of patriotism. The song gained supporters, and on March 3, 1931 it was made the US National Anthem by a Congressional resolution.

The flag that was raised over Fort McKenry on September 16, 1814 is considered the Star Spangled Banner. It measures 42 by 30 feet and was made by Mary Pickersgill. The American officers wanted a huge flag so that the British would have no trouble seeing it in the distance and know that the Americans were not defeated. The flag is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

The song is hard for amateurs to sing, because of its extended vocal-range requirements. And among the professional singers who have the vocal finesse and range to "nail" all of the high notes, many often forget or stumble over the lyrics - one reason why the song is frequently prerecorded and lip-synched for public performances.

The song consists of four verses, but it is very rare to hear any but the first performed. One poll showed that 61% of Americans don't know all of the words to the song. Of those who claim to know all the words, only 39 percent know what comes after "Whose broad stripes and bright stars."

Like the British national anthem "God Save The Queen," the song is one of the few national anthems of the world without a country's name mentioned in the lyrics.

In the US, this is played before most professional sporting events. Many famous and not-so-famous musicians have performed it before football, basketball, hockey and baseball games. Sometimes kids sing it, and celebrities are occasionally asked to sing it with disastrous results. Sprinter Carl Lewis did a painfully bad version, but perhaps no version of the song has generated more ill-will than comedian Roseanne Barr's version sung at a San Diego Padres-Cincinnati Reds doubleheader in July of 1990. It launched more than patriotic fireworks... it generated a veritable firestorm of truculent criticism. Barr's version was called "disgraceful" by then-President George Bush and dubbed "The Barr-Strangled Banner" by the press. More than 25,000 fans heard her attempted belt out of the song transformed into a screeching, horrible performance. When they booed and jeered, Roseanne added insult to comedic injury by grabbing her crotch and spitting onto the field in a misguided attempt to imitate what ballplayers do. The fans didn't think it was funny at all. The San Diego Padres switchboard lit up with more than 1,000 angry calls, and Roseanne reportedly received multiple death threats owing to her disastrous rendition.

At the original Woodstock in 1969, Jimi Hendrix did a famous performance of this song. He was the last act of the festival and was scheduled to close the show on Sunday night, but he didn't take the stage until 8 am Monday morning. Of about 500,000 people who were there over the weekend, only about 30,000 were left, and many of them remember waking up to this song. Jimi did an extended version on his guitar which was very unorthodox and caused some controversy among people who felt he was desecrating the song. He had been playing this version for about a year, beginning as part of a guitar solo he played during "Purple Haze." When he played southern states in the US, he was often warned not to play it because the locals made threats against him, but Jimi always played it anyway. He tried to record his version for an album, but was never happy with the results in the studio. After he died, engineer Eddie Kramer mixed a version from Jimi's studio takes which was released on the album Rainbow Bridge, but his Woodstock performance is by far his most famous version of the song.

Hendrix' version can be seen as an anti-war song about the situation in Vietnam. Halfway through the song, Hendrix imitates the sounds of bombs dropping, machine gun fire and people singing. His version was the first song played when a propaganda radio station called "Radio Hanoi" went on the air broadcasting to American troops serving in Vietnam in an effort to destroy their morale and convince them to desert. (thanks, Euan - Lanark, Scotland)

A controversial Spanish-language version, "Nuestro Himno," was released on 28 April 2006, just days before nationwide immigration-law reform demonstrations on May 1, 2006. Public reaction was divided. "I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English," said President George W. Bush.

"Nuestro Himno" is not the first Spanish-language version of the The Star-Spangled Banner to have been published. The United States Department of State's website shows other Spanish-language versions of it, including "Himno nacional - La Bandera de Estrellas," copyrighted in 1919. Another multilingual version was released on May 16, 2006: performing as Voices United for America, 10 singers performed the song in Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Bulgarian, German, Arabic, Japanese, Tagalog, Korean, and English. The song was recorded to raise awareness of House Resolution 793, which states that the National Anthem should be sung only in English.

Other notable moments in Star Spangled Banner history:

Jose Feliciano sings a slow, Jazzy version at Tiger Stadium before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series. It was the first time artistic liberties were taken with the song preceding a major sporting event, and it created a huge controversy. Many Americans felt he defiled the song, and by extension, America, but Feliciano - a native of Puerto Rico - explained that he was simply expressing his love for the United States with feeling. His performance was released as a single and reached #50.

Marvin Gaye's soulful rendition at the 1983 NBA All-Star game the year before his death. Back in 1968, Gaye sang the National Anthem at Game 4 of the World Series - the game before Feliciano. Gaye was asked to keep the "Motown Influence" to a minimum, and sang that one straight, but at the All-Star Game, held at the Los Angeles Forum (where the Lakers played), Gaye walked out to a beat - a major departure from tradition. Gaye put the arrangement together with his musical director Gordon Banks that weekend, and showed up at the Forum shortly before the performance. Lakers management feared for the backlash, but the fans in attendance cheered wildly. This version was the first song played on VH1 when the network went on the air on January 1, 1985.

Whitney Houston's performance at the 1991 Super Bowl when the US was battling the first Gulf War. Her performance was lip-synched, but was released as a single and sold about 750,000 copies.

Steven Tyler changes the words from "Home of the brave" to "Home of the Indianapolis 500" at the 2001 race. The ad-lib didn't go over well and Tyler apologized.

In the Disney/Pixar movie Cars, a funny scene recurs when an an army jeep raises a flag in the morning to this tune, while next door a hippy micro-bus plays the Jimi Hendrix version. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, WA)

A 2008 Harris Interactive survey revealed that 67% of Americans know all the words to this song, up from 61% in 2004. Folks in the Midwest and Northeast were more likely to know the words. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The song has charted three times, all from performances at sporting events. Jose Feliciano's version checked in at #50 in 1968, Whitney Houston's made #20 in 1991, and Jennifer Hudson's performance at the Super Bowl in 2009 nicked the charts at #98. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Billy Joel sang this at the 1989 Super Bowl, and when asked about the experience in a 1998 interview with Uncut, he said: "It was OK. Between you and me, it's not a very good song, nobody can hit the high notes. They asked me to do it, and I thought it was a good way of getting Super Bowl tickets."

Surprisingly, Joel sang it again for the 2007 game.

Mariah Carey - Hero

Mariah Carey - Hero Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Music Box
Released: 1993

Hero Lyrics

There's a Hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away

[Chorus]
And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you

It's a long, road
When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand
For you to hold
You can find love
If you search within yourself
And the emptiness you felt
Will disappear

[Chorus]

Lord knows
Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone
Tear them away
Hold on
There will be tomorrow
In time you'll find the way

And then a hero comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a hero lies in you
That a hero lies in you
That a hero lies in you

Writer/s: AFANASIEFF, WALTER/CAREY, MARIAH
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Hero Song Chart

Carey claims this was intended for the 1992 Dustin Hoffman movie, also called Hero. The producers of the movie used Luther Vandross' "Heart Of A Hero" instead. Walter Afanasieff explained in Fred Bronson's Book of Billboard #1s that the original intention was that Gloria Estefan would be asked to sing the title theme. He was recording the Music Box album with Carey at the time, and during a break he, "was sitting at the piano and told Mariah about this movie. Within two hours, we had this incredible seed for this song, 'Hero.'" Afanasieff added: "It was never meant for Mariah to sing. In her mind, we were writing a song for Gloria Estefan for this movie. And we went into an area that Mariah didn't really go into - in her words, it was a little bit too schmaltzy or too pop ballady or too old-fashioned as far as melody and lyrics."

When it was nearly finished, they played the song to the president and COO of Sony Music Entertainment and Carey's fiancé Tommy Mottola, (later her husband), explaining that it was a song for the film Hero. Afanasieff recalled that Mottola responded, "Are you kidding me? You can't give this song to this movie. This is too good. Mariah, you have to take this song. You have to do it."

A limo driver named Chris Selletti sued Carey, claiming he wrote the lyrics and has them in an envelope he mailed to himself in 1990. His suit was dismissed in court, but Selletti claimed he would open the envelope on live TV to prove his case.

Carey sang this with opera singer Luciano Pavarotti at the 1999 benefit concert, "Pavarotti and Friends For Guatemala and Kosovo."

Carey recorded a live version for the album Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute

This was produced and arranged by Walter Afanasieff, who also wrote the music. Carey wrote the lyrics.

This was released shortly after Carey married Sony Music President Tommy Mottola. They divorced four years later.

Carey didn't like this song at first, feeling it was too sappy. After receiving letters from fans claiming it touched their lives, she came to realize that it was a very powerful song and appreciate it for the feelings it brings out in people.

On December 7, 1993, Colin Ferguson started shooing people on a Long Island Railroad train, killing six and injuring 19. Carey, who grew up in Long Island and rode that train often, dedicated this song to the victims.

Carey performed this on the 2001 "Tribute To Heroes" telethon for the victims of the terrorist attacks in the US. It was Carey's first public appearance since her nervous breakdown a month earlier.

Included on the 2001 benefit album God Bless America, which helped the Twin Towers Fund.

This was covered by the 12 finalists of the fifth series of the United Kingdom music talent show The X-Factor for a charity single. Each contestant took it in turns to section of the track. All proceeds went to the British Legion charity Help for Heroes. The song leapt to the top of the UK chart and 313,244 copies were sold in its first week of release, more than the remainder of the top 10 combined.

In 2015, this was used in a commercial for the video game Game of War: Fire Age. In the spot, a battle rages and a knight pulls out his smartphone to summon help, which arrives in the form of reinforcements accompanied by this song. A dragon enters, and is shot from they sky by... Mariah Carey, who puts down her crossbow and delivers the line, "Time to be heroes, guys."

Paul Simon - The Obvious Child

Paul Simon - The Obvious Child Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Rhythm Of The Saints
Released: 1990

The Obvious Child Lyrics

Well I'm accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie
But I say why
Why deny The Obvious Child?
Why deny the obvious child?

And in remembering a road sign
I am remembering a girl when I was young
And we said these songs are true
These days are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is in the ballpark
The cross is in the ballpark

We had a lot of fun
We had a lot of money
We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day

I've been waking up at sunrise
I've been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
Some people say the sky is just the sky
But I say
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?

Sonny sits by the window and thinks to himself
How it's strange that some roots are like cages
Sonny's yearbook from high school
Is down on the shelf
And he idle thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hands through his thinning brown hair
I'm accustomed to a smoother ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep the night
Some people say a lie is just a lie
But I say
The cross is in the ballpark
Why deny the obvious child?

Writer/s: PAUL SIMON
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Obvious Child

In this song, an intriguing phrase is repeated: "The cross is in the ballpark." When asked of its meaning, Simon answered, "The cross, the burden that we carry, is in the ballpark, it's doable."

Following the success of 1986's Graceland, on which he worked principally with South African musicians, Simon turned to Latin America for much of The Rhythm of the Saints. The drums for this song were recorded live at Pelourinho Square in the Brazilian city of Salvador. They were played by the Afro-Brazilian group Grupo Cultural Olodum, who are masters of the heavily percussive sub-style of samba called Batuque. Simon recalled to Mojo magazine July 2011: "One day we were driving through the old part of Salvador in Bahia when we heard this incredible drumming coming from Pelouinho Square. It was the group Olodum practising outside and (Simon's percussionist) Mazzola asked if we could record them. We did it in their back yard, just rented a couple of 8-tracks, and that was our backing-track for 'The Obvious Child.'"

Leonard Cohen - Bird On The Wire

Leonard Cohen - Bird On The Wire Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Songs From A Room
Released: 1969

Bird On The Wire Lyrics

Like a Bird On The Wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like a worm on a hook,
Like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you.

Like a baby, stillborn,
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
He said to me, "You must not ask for so much."
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
She cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?"

Oh like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir have tried in my way to be free.

Writer/s: COHEN, LEONARD
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Bird On The Wire

Speaking of this song in a 1993 interview with Song Talk, Cohen explained: "It was begun in Greece because there were no wires on the island where I was living to a certain moment. There were no telephone wires. There were no telephones. There was no electricity. So at a certain point they put in these telephone poles, and you wouldn't notice them now, but when they first went up, it was about all I did – stare out the window at these telephone wires and think how civilization had caught up with me and I wasn't going to be able to escape after all. I wasn't going to be able to live this 11th-century life that I thought I had found for myself. So that was the beginning.

Then, of course, I noticed that birds came to the wires and that was how that song began. 'Like a drunk in a midnight choir,' that's also set on the island. Where drinkers, me included, would come up the stairs. There was great tolerance among the people for that because it could be in the middle of the night. You'd see three guys with their arms around each other, stumbling up the stairs and singing these impeccable thirds. So that image came from the island: 'Like a drunk in a midnight choir.'"

Ron Cornelius ran Cohen's band for four years. Here's what he told us about this song:
"Bird On The Wire is a classic in my book. Leonard has a home on an island in Greece called Hydra, and from his living room, there's an electric wire you can see, and that's where he got the idea. He just happened to mention that one night because me and a friend that was a road manager for him all over the world, Bill Donovan, we went and stayed a couple of weeks there but Leonard just went there to open the house up and then he split for Montreal and we stayed there by ourselves, he said, 'see that wire, that's the wire right there.' When I was their there still was not a gasoline engine on the island anywhere."

In 1990, the title was used for a movie starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn - well, sort of; the song and movie were changed to "Bird On A Wire," which is how many people who cover the song do it, including The Neville Brothers, who sang the version used in the movie.

Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson, Joe Bonamassa, Tim Hardin and Johnny Cash have all recorded versions of this song.