Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Henry Gross - Shannon

Henry Gross - Shannon Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Release
Released: 1976

Shannon Lyrics

Shannon

"Shannon" was a song written about the passing of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish Setter of the same name. The song went gold and became a worldwide hit. The second single, "Springtime Mama," sold just short of gold. This was Gross' first album and first hit on the new Lifesong Record label.

This song was a hit in the US in 1976, but is perhaps best known for being the subject of a legendary, profanity-laced tirade by American Top 40 radio show host Casey Kasem while recording an episode of the show in 1985. A listener had requested the song as a "Long Distance Dedication" (a regular feature of the AT40 show) to his own recently-deceased dog. Kasem was upset that the show's producers had placed the dedication immediately following the Pointer Sisters' hit "Dare Me," an up-tempo song that Kasem considered a poor lead-in to a sad song like "Shannon" - and he let the producers know of his displeasure in no uncertain terms. In the end, the dedication, and the mismatched songs, were presented as scripted in spite of Kasem's objection, but the outtake of his rant eventually surfaced as a bootleg recording. The so-called "Snuggles tape" (named for the dog to whom the dedication was made) contradicted Kasem's normally straight-laced, easygoing on-air persona, and provided an amusing footnote to his 18-year-long run as the show's original host.

The falsetto vocals on "Shannon" were written because Gross was a big fan of Beach Boy member Brian Wilson and was influenced by his singing style.

Queen - White Man

Queen - White Man Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: A Day At The Races
Released: 1976

White Man Lyrics

I'm a simple man
With a simple name
From this soil my people came
In this soil remain
Oh yeah, oh yeah

We made us our shoes
We trod soft on the land
But the immigrant built roads
On our blood and sand
Oh yeah, oh yeah

White Man, White man
Don't you see the light behind your blackened skies
White man, White man
You took away the sight to blind my simple eyes
White man, White man
Where you gonna hide
From the hell you've made ?

Oh the Red man knows war
With his hands and his knives
On the bible you swore
Fought your battle with lies
Oh yeah

Leave my body in shame
Leave my soul in disgrace
But by every God's name
Say your prayers for your race
Oh yeah

White man, White man
Our country was green and all our rivers wide
White man, White man
You came with a gun and soon our children died
White man, White man
Don't you give a light for the blood you've shed
Oooh yeah

Oh White man, White man (White man)
White man, White man
Fought your battle with lies, yeah
White man, White man - but weren't too civilized yeah
White man, White man
Take a look around
Every skin and bone
Hey

What is left of your dream ?
Just the words on your stone
A man who learned how to teach
Then forgot how to learn
Oh yeah

Writer/s: BRIAN HAROLD MAY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

White Man

This song was written by Queen guitarist Brain May. The lyrics are about the wars between colonists and Native Americans.

In a 1976 interview on Capital Radio, Freddie Mercury was asked how he managed to get such a loud noise on one record. He replied: "I don't know, it's down to Mike Stone our engineer. We're very bad in the studio for that actually, the poor engineer has to really suffer because we really want as much level as possible. We keep pushing the phasers up and he keeps looking at the meters and going 'Oh it'll never cut'. Then we give him the added task of going over to New York or wherever and saying 'Make sure that cuts as loud as possible'."

Jackson Browne - The Pretender

Jackson Browne - The Pretender Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Pretender
Released: 1976

The Pretender Lyrics

I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again
Amen.
Say it again
Amen.

I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening?
I've been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it's the wink of an eye
When the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again
Amen.

Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender.
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls The Pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there

Ah the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight

I'm gonna find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again

I'm gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Thought true love could have been a contender
Are you there?
Say a prayer for the Pretender.
Who started out so young and strong
Only to surrender.

Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Are you prepared for the pretender?

Writer/s: JACKSON BROWNE
Publisher: Jackson Browne/Swallow Turn Music/Night Kitchen Music/Open Window Music
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Pretender

This song is about a man who gives up his dreams and lives a life of routine monotony in order to accumulate money. He is the pretender.

In a 1997 interview with Mojo magazine, Browne said of this song: "I'm a big fan of ambiguity and its bountiful rewards, and 'The Pretender' is two things at once. It's that person in all of us that has a higher ideal, and the part that has settled for compromise - like Truffaut says, there's the movie you set out to make, and there's the one you settle for. But in a more serious way, 'The Pretender' is about '60s idealism, the idea of life being about love and brotherhood, justice, social change and enlightenment, those concepts we were flooded with as our generation hit its stride; and how, later, we settled for something quite different. So when I say 'Say a prayer for The Pretender,' I'm talking about those people who are trying to convince themselves that there really was nothing to that idealism."

Browne's first wife, Phyllis, committed suicide in the spring of 1976, but in the wake of the tragedy he recorded his commercial breakthrough album, The Pretender. The record climbed into the Top 10 upon its fall 1976 release, going platinum in the spring of 1977.

This appears on the soundtrack of the movie Mr. Holland's Opus.

Browne said in Rolling Stone, October 16, 2008: "'The Pretender' took a long time. It's not that I worked on it every day; I was reluctant to finish it before I had gotten all there was out of it. Songwriting is a search. Most of my songs set up a bunch of questions, and it takes a while to answer them."

Jackson Browne told Mojo magazine in 2015: "It's grappling with the question of whether the life you're living is the life you thought you were heading for. 'The Pretender' is an open question: Do you find life's best qualities by having children and a job, or in tearing those things down?"

Queen - You Take My Breath Away

Queen - You Take My Breath Away Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: A Day At The Races
Released: 1976

You Take My Breath Away Lyrics

Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh take it take it all away
Ooh ooh ooh ooh - ooh take my breath away - ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh You Take My Breath Away

Look into my eyes and you'll see
I'm the only one
You've captured my love
Stolen my heart
Changed my life
Every time you make a move
You destroy my mind
And the way you touch
I lose control and shiver deep inside
You take my breath away

You can reduce me to tears
With a single sigh
(Please don't cry anymore)
Every breath that you take
Any sound that you make
Is a whisper in my ear
I could give up all my life for just one kiss
I would surely die
If you dismiss me from your love
You take my breath away

So please don't go
Don't leave me here all by myself
I get ever so lonely from time to time
I will find you
Anywhere you go, I'll be right behind you
Right until the ends of the Earth
I'll get no sleep till I find you to tell you
That you just take my breath away

I will find you
Anywhere you go
Right until the ends of the Earth
I'll get no sleep till I find you to
Tell you when I've found you -
I love you

Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath, take my breath
Take my breath away.

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

You Take My Breath Away

This song was written by Freddie Mercury and is based on the Japanese pentatonic scale. According to Brian May, Japan was a big influence on Queen, as we can hear through songs like "Teo Torriatte" from the same album.

This song is probably about Freddie Mercury's female lover Mary Austin, whom he lived with for 6 years and remained friends with until his death. Austin and Mercury split up in 1980 when Mercury decided he preferred male partners. Upon his death in 1991, Mercury left Austin his house in London.

Freddie Mercury in an interview on Capital Radio: "This one I did myself, I multi tracked myself. So the others weren't used on this for the voices. I played piano and basically, I don't know how we managed to stay this simple you know, with all our over dubs and things. People seem to think that we're over complexed, and it's not true. It depends on the individual track really, if it needs it - we do it. So this is pretty sparse actually by Queen and our standards."

David Soul - Don't Give Up On Us

David Soul - Don't Give Up On Us Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Don't Give Up On Us
Released: 1976

Don't Give Up On Us Lyrics

Don't Give Up On Us, baby
Don't make the wrong seem right
The future isn't just one night
It's written in the moonlight
Painted on the stars
We can't change ours

Don't give up on us, baby
We're still worth one more try
I know we put a last one by
Just for a rainy evening
When maybe stars are few
Don't give up on us, I know
We can still come through

I really lost my head last night
You've got a right to start believin'
There's still a little love left, even so

Don't give up on us, baby
Lord knows we've come this far
Can't we stay the way we are?
The angel and the dreamer
Who sometimes plays a fool
Don't give up on us, I know
We can still come through

It's written in the moonlight
Painted on the stars
We can't change ours

Don't give up on us, baby
We're still worth one more try
I know we put a last one by
Just for a rainy evening
When maybe stars are few
Don't give up on us, I know
We can still come through

Don't give up on us, baby
Don't give up on us, baby

Writer/s: TONY MACAULAY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Don't Give Up On Us

This was written by Tony Macaulay, who co-wrote 4 other UK #1s: "Baby Now That I've Found You" for the Foundations, "Let The Heartaches Begin" for Long John Baldry, "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" for Edison Lighthouse and "Silver Lady" for David Soul.

David Soul played Hutch (the blonde) on the TV cop show Starsky & Hutch. Soul was a singer before he became an actor, and recorded folk and pop singles in the early '70s without any success. In desperation he sent a photograph of himself to the top New York entertainment agency William Morris. His ploy of disguising his face with a ski mask caught their imagination and he was immediately contracted to become the Covered Man, the resident singer on the Merv Griffin TV show. After completing the first series of Starsky & Hutch, Soul released an album before teaming up with Tony Macaulay and recording this, which became his first hit single. In the US this remained his only chart entry but in the UK he achieved four more Top 20 singles including another #1 with "Silver Lady" and a #2 with "Going In With My Eyes Wide Open."

Soul: (from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh): "I made an album in San Francisco for Private Stock but there was nothing suitable for a single. The company told me that Tony Macaulay had some good tunes and he came over and played me Don't Give Up On Us and Going In With My Eyes Wide Open. Within 10 days, I had leant the songs and recorded them and Tony had mixed them and taken them back to England. They bazoomed to the top and they are 2 songs which have stood the test of time."

In the UK, this was the top single of 1977.

The Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything

The Real Thing - You To Me Are Everything Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Children Of The Ghetto: The Pye Anthology
Released: 1976

You To Me Are Everything Lyrics

I would take the stars
Out of the sky for you
Stop the rain from falling
If you asked me to
I'd do anything for you
Your wish is my command
I could move a mountain when
Your hand is in my hand
Words cannot express
How much you mean to me
There must be some other way
To make you see
If it takes my heart and soul
You know I'd pay the price
Everything that I possess
I'd gladly sacrifice

Oh You To Me Are Everything
The sweetest song
That I could sing
Oh baby, oh baby
To you I guess
I'm just a clown
Who picks you up
Each time you're down
Oh baby, oh baby
You give me just
A taste of love to
Build my hopes upon
You know you got
The power boy
To keep me holding on
So now you got
The best of me
Come on and
Take the rest of me
Oh baby

Though you're close to me
We seem so far apart
Maybe given time
You'll have a change of heart
If it takes forever boy then
I'm prepared to wait
The day you give your love to me
Won't be a day too late

Oh you to me are everything
The sweetest song
That I could sing
Oh baby, oh baby
To you I guess
I'm just a clown
Who picks you up
Each time you're down
Oh baby, oh baby
You give me just
A taste of love to
Build my hopes upon
You know you got
The power boy
To keep me holding on
So now you got
The best of me
Come on and
Take the rest of me
Oh baby
Writer/s: KEN GOLD, MICHAEL DENNE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

You To Me Are Everything

Although they prided themselves on writing their own material, brothers Chris and Eddie Amoo, who were members of The Real Thing, decided they needed to be more commercial just to get radio play. So they recorded this song, which was written by songwriters Ken Gold & Michael Denne, which gave them the commercial success they were looking for.

The Real Thing were four Liverpudlians who first came to public notice in the UK on television's talent show Opportunity Knocks. After an unsuccessful spell with two other labels, their fortunes changed after signing with Pye Records. This was their first chart entry and 8 other hits followed over a 3 year period, including "Can't Get By Without You," also written by Ken Gold & Michael Denne, which reached #2. Most of their other hits were written by the Amoo brothers. In the mid 1980s, re-mixed versions of their '70s hits revived interest in them and a re-mixed version of this song by Froggy, Simon Harris & KC took the band back into the Top 5. The new version stayed on the UK charts for 13 weeks, two weeks more than the chart-topping original.

Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves

Junior Murvin - Police And Thieves Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Police And Thieves
Released: 1976

Police And Thieves Lyrics

Mmmm yes

Police And Thieves in the street (oh yeah)
Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah)
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition

From Genesis to Revelation yeah
And next generation will be hear me

All the crimes committed day by day
No one try to stop it in any way
All the peacemakers turn war officers
Hear what I say

Hehehehehehehey

Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah)
Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah)
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition

Oh yeah

All the crimes committed day by day
No one try to stop it in any way
All the peacemakers turn war officers
Hear what I say

Hehehehehehehey

Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah)
Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the street (oh yeah)
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition

Police and thieves
Police

Writer/s: MURVIN, JUNIOR / PERRY, LEE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Police And Thieves

This song was co-written by Junior Murvin with the legendary Reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. At a session at Perry's famous Black Arc studio in Jamaica, Murvin and his backing band The Upsetters were jamming on a version, when out of nowhere lyrics, structure and melody all came together and Perry made the snap decision to record the song in that form that very day. The next day a dub remix and alternative versions were recorded, and by the end of that week the record was released and gaining heavy airplay in Jamaica.

"Police and Thieves" had already become a huge hit in the UK before the British Punk band The Clash made the song even more famous with their cover version on their debut album. Originally recorded simply to fill space, the band were incredibly nervous about being a white Rock band covering a Reggae song so deeply entrenched in Jamaican roots. In the Westway to the World documentary singer Joe Strummer explained: "We had some brass neck to do that. By all rights they should've said 'ya heathen mon, ya ruined de works of Jah!' But they were hip enough to realize that we'd brought our own music to the party."

"In the way that '60s bands would cover contemporary R&B classics, we covered the latest record from Jamaica," noted guitarist Mick Jones.

The Clash's version features rearranged guitar patterns (playing on both the on-and-off beat to set it aside from Reggae, at the behest of Jones) and an opening homage to The Ramones by quoting the line "They're going through a tight wind!" from "Blitzkrieg Bop." It became a live standard for the band, being played from April 1977 through to pretty much the end of the band, and Strummer often enjoyed improvising new sections of lyrics or music into live versions, often more parts of "Blitzkrieg Bop" or Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack."

This became a hugely popular song in the UK club scene, and was particularly popular amongst Punk rockers thanks to exposure by DJ Don Letts, who championed many Reggae songs. Since early on in Punk history there weren't many actual singles out (The Damned's "New Rose" was the first and only Punk single for a while), DJs in clubs had to play other songs aside from Punk, and often played Reggae singles - including "Police and Thieves." As a result of it's popularity in the UK and The Clash's cover version, Murvin's original version was re-released in 1980 and became a UK Top 40 hit at #23.

Other covers aside from The Clash's version include a Drum 'n' Bass rendition by the group Dubversive in 1997, a version by Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl for the Reno 911!: Miami film, and further covers by The Rabble, The Orb, Charlie Harper (of fellow UK punk band The UK Subs), Perez Trope Ska, and Culture Club.

"Police and Thieves" has featured on many film soundtracks, most famously in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) where it soundtracks a scene in a cannabis farm in an apartment. It also features in the Wes Anderson movie The Royal Tenenbaums, and in the 1978 movie Rockers.

Ramones - Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue

Ramones - Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Ramones
Released: 1976

Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue Lyrics

Now I want to sniff some glue
Now I want to have somethin' to do
All the kids want to sniff some glue
All the kids want somethin' to do

1-2-3-4 Now I want to sniff some glue
Now I want to sniff some glue
Now I want to have somethin' to do
All the kids want to sniff some glue
All the kids want somethin' to do
One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight

Now I want to sniff some glue
Now I want to have somethin' to do
All the kids want to sniff some glue
All the kids want somethin' to do
Now I want to sniff some glue
Now I want to have somethin' to do
All the kids want to sniff some glue
All the kids want somethin' to do

Writer/s: ERDELYI, THOMAS/CUMMINGS, JOHN (RAMONE)/COLVIN, DOUGLAS/HYMAN, JEFFREY
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue

Bass player Dee Dee Ramone wrote this song, which is about sniffing glue, a cheap and easy way to kill some brain cells. This is a pastime of bored teenage boys with bad judgment.

Running just 1:34, this song has minimalist lyrics driven by a propulsive beat. The words are simply these lines repeated three times:

Now I wanna sniff some glue
Now I wanna have somethin' to do
All the kids wanna sniff some glue
All the kids want somethin' to do

The Ramones didn't really want folks to sniff glue. Tommy Ramone explained in Hey! Ho! Let's Go! The Ramones Anthology by David Fricke: "I have a feeling Dee Dee was talking about his childhood, how he actually thought it was some kind of release when he was a kid. I thought of it as a parody. He might have been a little more serious."

Johnny Ramone added: "We couldn't write about love or cars, so we sang about this stuff, like glue sniffing. We thought it was funny. We thought we could get away with anything."

This is one of the tracks on the Ramones first album. On their follow-up, they included a song called "Carbona Not Glue," which is about graduating to cleaning solvent for a cheap high.

Crosby & Nash - Spotlight

Crosby & Nash - Spotlight Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Whistling Down the Wire
Released: 1976

Spotlight Lyrics

How come you ask me what I'm doing here
With my guitar in hand
I'm at the microphone stand
I think the reason should be very clear
You see the Spotlight it's for a good night
Something happens to you

And the same thing happens to me
So if I sing about the places you've been to
You can see them once again through me
But it's only me

So if you catch me handing you a line
Please forgive me ah but let me be
I've got to do it almost all the time
It fills a big hole in my young soul
Something happens to you

And the same thing happens to me
You can see them once again through me
But it's only me

Writer/s: NASH/KORTCHMAR
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Spotlight

David Crosby and Graham Nash are better known for their trio with Stephen Stills and foursome with Neil Young, but they also released three albums in the '70s as a duo, Whistling Down the Wire being the last. Their biggest hit was "Immigration Man," which made #36 in 1972, but they also reached the charts with "Carry Me" (#52), "Out Of The Darkness" (#89), and "Southbound Train" (#99).

"Spotlight" bubbled under at #109, but is one of their best-remembered songs. With lyrics by Graham Nash, the song explains why they perform. With no mention of money, groupies or the side-effects of stardom, Crosby and Nash sing about how being under the spotlight allows them to tell stories - and not always their own.

Graham Nash wrote this song with, Danny Kortchmar, who played guitar on the album. Kortchmar, who became a formidable songwriter in the late '70s and '80s, was one of the top session players in Los Angeles, appearing on classic albums by Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, James Taylor and many others. He told us about writing this song:

"I had a chord progression and a groove, so I played it for Graham. It was just something I was fooling around with. And Graham being the kind of guy he is, he immediately started coming up with lyrics for it. Graham does that. He's not one of these grooving guys that sits and waits for the muse to hit him forever and ever. He starts writing right away. He's written a lot of songs. He's a prolific writer and he comes right to the point.

Graham is from the old school. He grew up in the early '60s when he was playing rock & roll with the Hollies and you didn't have a lot of time to meditate on what you wanted to say. You had to come up with something right then, and that's his way of writing." (here's our full Danny Kortchmar interview .)

Starbuck - Moonlight Feels Right

Starbuck - Moonlight Feels Right Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Moonlight Feels Right
Released: 1976

Moonlight Feels Right Lyrics

The wind blew some luck in my direction
I caught it in my hands today
I finally made a tricky French connection
You winked and gave me your o.k.
I'll take you on a trip beside the ocean
And drop the top at Chesapeake Bay
Ain't nothing like the sky to dose a potion
The moon'll send you on your way

Moonlight Feels Right
Moonlight feels right

We'll lay back and observe the constellations
And watch the moon smilin' bright
I'll play the radio on southern stations
Cause southern belles are hell at night
You say you came to Baltimore from Ole Miss
Class of seven four gold ring
The eastern moon looks ready for a wet kiss
To make the tide rise again

We'll see the sun come up on Sunday morning
And watch it fade the moon away
I guess you know I'm giving you a warning
Cause me and moon are itching to play
I'll take you on a trip beside the ocean
And drop the top at Chesapeake Bay
Ain't nothin' like the sky to dose a potion
The moon'll send you on your way

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

Moonlight Feels Right

This was written by Starbuck keyboardist/vocalist/producer Bruce Blackman. The group formed in Atlanta in 1974, around the talents of Blackman and marimba player Bo Wagner.

This was featured in the Farrelly Brothers 2003 comedy movie Stuck On You, starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.

When this song was on Casey Kasem's American Top 40 radio show, it was promoted as the first Rock song ever to feature a marimba.

James Taylor - A Junkie's Lament

James Taylor - A Junkie's Lament Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: In The Pocket
Released: 1976

A Junkie's Lament Lyrics

A Junkie's Lament

This is an autobiographical song about Taylor's battles with addictions (primarily heroin), the "monkey on his back."

Speaking with Rolling Stone in 2015, Taylor explained: "This one's a warning not to think of a junkie as a complete functioning human being. Heroin should've killed me about five times, but it never did. My kids suffered from their father being an addict. I think there's no way they can't. People take drugs to be in control. They want to short-circuit any risk that they might take in life, any uncertainty, any anxiety. They just want to find the chemical route, to just push the button that gets the final result. So all of your relationships suffer, no question about it."

Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting

Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Kung Fu Fighting And Other Great Love Songs
Released: 1976

Kung Fu Fighting Lyrics

(Oh oh oh oh) y'all ready?
(Oh oh oh oh) yeah, let's go
(Oh oh oh oh)

(Oh oh oh oh) y'all ready?
(Oh oh oh oh) yeah, let's go
(Oh oh oh oh)

Now here it is, one to make you move
Something with a funky kung fu groove
Something that'll make you shout
Make you play the crowd
And make you want to turn it out (yeah)
So, honeyz, gather round (right round)
I'll pick you up and take you on
Go pound for pound
'Coz I'm the only man who'll please you
I got a little something that'll tease you (oh oh oh oh)
So throw those hands up high (come one)
Shake your body, move from side to side (that's right)
(Oh oh oh oh) 'Coz we've just begun
Party people in the place
Yeah, we're having fun (oh oh oh oh)
Oh yeah, I'm gonna be a big star
I'm gonna lay it on and go "woo-hah" (oh oh oh oh)
'Coz when the move gets excited (come on)
When everybody's Kung Fu Fighting

Everybody was kung fu fighting, come on (huh) woo-hah
These kids were fast as lightning (ha) woo-chok
In fact, it was a little bit frightening (huh) huh huh
But they fought with expert timing (ha)

(Oh oh oh oh) sing it, girl
Sexy kung fu fighter (oh oh oh oh)
Let me take you higher (oh oh oh oh)
I got the moves, baby
Single-move fighter (oh oh oh oh)
Take you higher (ah yeah)

Dance bright lights, Orinoco flow (so bright)
A kung fu fighter in the disco
He's out to take his chance
He knows the honeyz in the house only go for romance
(He's on the floor) he's got a white suit on
Five past one and the night has just begun
'Coz when he lays it on with style
A ladies' man with a nice smile (oh oh oh oh)
And right before his eyes
Sees a pretty young thing looking real fly (oh oh oh oh) so fly
He wants to make the score
So he takes her hand and leads her to the dancefloor (oh oh oh oh)
He's giving her line after line
She tells him that he looks real fine (oh oh oh oh)
'Coz he's the man of perfect timing
Just like when he's kung fu fighting

Everybody was kung fu fighting, come on (huh) woo-hah
These kids were fast as lightning (ha) woo-chok
In fact, it was a little bit frightening (huh) huh huh
But they fought with expert timing (ha)

(Oh oh oh oh) sing it, girl
Sexy kung fu fighter (oh oh oh oh)
Let me take you higher (oh oh oh oh)
Kung fu fighter everywhere
Throw those hands in the air (oh oh oh oh)
The time has come to turn it out
Everybody, let me hear you shout)

One, two, do the kung fu (One, two, do the kung fu)
Say three, four on the dancefloor (Three, four on the dancefloor)
Come on
One, two, do the kung fu (One, two, do the kung fu)
Say three, four on the dancefloor (Three, four on the dancefloor)
One more time

Roundhouse kck, karate chop too
I'm gonna teach you all the kung fu
It's an eastern thing, that's what I'm saying
While the retro disco track's playing
Gonna make you shout, make you beg for more
So you get your body on the dancefloor, (come on, girl)
So, boys and girls, you know what to do
Throw those hands up and do the kung fu

Everybody was kung fu fighting, come on (huh) woo-hah
These kids were fast as lightning (ha) woo-chok
In fact, it was a little bit frightening (huh) huh huh
But they fought with expert timing (ha)

Writer/s: PERRY LEE
Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC GROUP, INC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Kung Fu Fighting

Douglas was a session singer for Pye records when he wrote this. He got the idea for the song when he saw 2 kids in London doing some Kung Fu moves.

In 1974 the Asian producer Biddu asked Douglas to record a song he wrote with Larry Weiss called "I Want To Give You My Everything," and Douglas convinced him to use "Kung Fu Fighting" as the B-side. They recorded "Kung Fu" in 10 minutes, figuring it was just a B-side, but the record label loved it and made it the A-side. After a slow start, it began selling and Biddu became the first Asian to produce a UK #1 hit. It went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide.

Biddu (From the Metro newspaper August 6, 2004): "Kung Fu Fighting was not meant to be a hit. Carl Douglas recorded something for an A-side of a single and every session was three hours long. We spent two hours on the first song and then took a break and I said: 'Quick guys, we need to record the B-side in two takes.' Kung Fu Fighting was the B-side so I went over the top on the 'huhs' and the 'hahs' and the chopping sounds. It was a B-side: who was going to listen? I played the A-side to the guy at Pye Records, Robin Blanchflower, and he said: 'Can I listen to the rest of the reel?' When he heard it, he said: 'This should be the A-side.'"

Kung Fu movies were very popular at the time, and this capitalized on the craze. Bruce Lee was a big star.

Douglas is from Jamaica. He was the first Jamaican-born singer to have a #1 hit in the US.

Of course this was used in the 2008 kid's movie Kung Fu Panda, performed by Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black. The original Carl Douglas version was used in the movies City of God (2002), Wayne's World 2 (1994), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), Daddy Day Care (2003), and Bowfinger (1999).

In 1998 this returned to the UK charts peaking at #8 in a rendition by British dance act Bus Stop. Their version sampled Carl Douglas' original vocals. Bus Stop were production group Mark Hall and Graham Turner who later recorded as Flip & Fill. Daz Sampson, who later represented the UK in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, was also a member of the group.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - All I Can Do Is Write About It

Lynyrd Skynyrd - All I Can Do Is Write About It Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Gimme Back My Bullets
Released: 1976

All I Can Do Is Write About It Lyrics

Well this life that I've lead has took me everywhere
There ain't no place I ain't never gone
But it's kind of like the saying that you heard so many times
Well there just ain't no place like home
Did you ever see a she-gator protect her young
Or a fish in a river swimming free
Did you ever see the beauty of the hills of Carolina
Or the sweetness of the grass in Tennessee
And lord I can't make any changes
All I can do is write 'em in a song
I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes

Do you like to see a mountain stream a-flowin'
Do you like to see a young gun with his dog
Did you ever stop to think about, well, the air your breathin'
Well you better listen to my song
And lord I can't make any changes
All I can do is write 'em in a song
I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes

I'm not tryin' to put down no big cities
But the things they write about us is just a bore
Well you can take a boy out of ol' dixieland
But you'll never take ol' Dixie from a boy
And lord I can't make any changes
All I can do is write 'em in a song
I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes
'Cause I can see the concrete slowly creepin'
Lord take me and mine before that comes

Writer/s: VAN ZANT, RONNIE / COLLINS, ALLEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

All I Can Do Is Write About It

This is an acoustic tune about Ronnie Van Zant's outlook on how things were changing around him and how he enjoyed the natural world and the laid-back honesty of the American South. It is probably about the growth of his hometown as he was cautioning about urban and suburban sprawl. This song helps refute the image of Lynyrd Skynyrd as just a bunch of racist rednecks.

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Released: 1976

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Lyrics

If you're havin' trouble with the high school head
He's givin' you the blues
You want to graduate but not in 'is bed
Here's what you gotta do
Pick up the phone
I'm always home
Call me any time
Just ring
36 24 36 hey
I lead a life of crime

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap

You got problems in your life of love
You got a broken heart
He's double dealin' with your best friend
That's when the teardrops start, fella
Pick up the phone
I'm here alone
Or make a social call
Come right in
Forget about him
We'll have ourselves a ball

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap

If you got a lady and you want her gone
But you ain't got the guts
She keeps naggin' at you night and day
Enough to drive ya nuts
Pick up the phone
Leave her alone
It's time you made a stand
For a fee
I'm happy to be
Your back door man

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap yeah
Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap

Concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT
Done dirt cheap
Neckties, contracts, high voltage
Done dirt cheap

Dirty deeds
Do anything you wanna do
Done dirty cheap
Dirty deeds
Dirty deeds
Dirty deeds
Done dirt cheap

Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young got the song title from the 1962 animated cartoon series Beany and Cecil. The Show first aired on ABC Television and only ran for one season until the 26 episodes shown were cast as repeats for the next five years until it was recreated in 1968. The specific inspiration for the song name was the cartoon's main villain, "Dishonest John," who would carry around a business card that said, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays, and Special Rates."

This song epitomizes AC/DC's dangerous and mean sound, with Angus Young's heavy guitar and Bon Scott's leering, vocals that would have scared the living daylights out of any unsuspecting teenage Pop fans when this song first hit the airwaves (they did it on a national TV show in Australia called Countdown, which was usually frequented by acts like ABBA and Bucks Fizz).

This was recorded at Alberts Studios in Sydney, Australia in 1976 soon after the sessions that produced the Australian version of their TNT album.

The ending is one of the most famous screams in Rock history. For those wondering, it's spelled: "Yaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggghhhhhh!"

This was used in the Norm MacDonald movie Dirty Work. It is played while Norm's character Mitch and his friend Sam are wrecking a building in an attempt to get it condemned.

Lesley Gore, known for '60s hits like "It's My Party," recorded this for the 2002 compilation album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear . Her version was produced by Mauro DeSantis, who worked with Cevin Soling on the track. Soling, who was executive producer of the album, explains why he chose this song for Gore: "Her stuff was fairly empowering as far as female artists and things that she was doing. So it's not like it was the complete stretch, but you still think kind of the lighter girl-group kind of music from the '60s, and here's something that's pretty hard-core aggressive. But at the same time, I certainly concede that she was doing edgy stuff in her own way, at the time." (Check out our interview with Cevin Soling.)

On a 2008 episode of The Simpsons where they team up on a stakeout, we learn that Homer Simpson and the pious Ned Flanders have come common ground in their musical tastes. Homer likes AC/DC, and Ned likes their Christian tribute band: AD/BC, and their version of this song, "Kindly Deeds Done For Free."

Regarding the lyrics, "Just ring: 3-6-2-4-3-6," this was an actual phone number in Australia at the time, and it also could describe the measurements of a very shapely woman: 36-24-36. A year later, the Commodores used the same measurements to describe a woman in their song "Brick House." Sir Mix-a-Lot, however, scoffed at these measurements in his 1992 hit "Baby Got Back," where he says: "36-24-36? Only if she's 5'3."

The song about murder for hire enjoyed a sales spike following drummer Phil Rudd being charged with trying to procure a murder in November 2014. The charge was soon dropped.

Talking Heads - Theme

Talking Heads - Theme Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Not Released on an Album
Released: 1976

Theme Lyrics

Theme

This instrumental is a previously unreleased Talking Heads song that was placed online in December 2013. The track was recorded at CBGB's in New York on July 30, 1976 and revealed at the Talking-Heads.nl, a Dutch information website for the band. Webmaster Francey explained, "The instrumental song is introduced by David Byrne as 'Theme' and never developed into a complete song. Talking Heads played two sets at legendary venue CBGB's that night, opening both times for Television. The recording is of the first Talking Heads set of that night. It's unknown whether it was played during the second set as well. David Byrne introduces the track as 'We call it "Theme," but then we just keep it to ourselves.'"

Rush - Lessons

Rush - Lessons Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: 2112
Released: 1976

Lessons Lyrics

Sweet memories flashing very quickly by
Reminding me, giving me a reason why
I know that my goal is more than a thought
I'll be there when I teach what I've been taught

You know we've told you before
But you didn't hear us then
So you still question why
You didn't listen again

Sweet memories, I never thought it would be like this
Reminding me just how close I came to missing
I know that this is the way for me to go
You'll be there when you know what I know

Writer/s: ALEX LIFESON
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Lessons

Although drummer Neil Peart is responsible for most of the lyrics beginning with Rush's second album Fly By Night, when he joined the group this song was written solely by Rush founder and guitar player Alex Lifeson.

The Manhattans - Kiss And Say Goodbye

The Manhattans - Kiss And Say Goodbye Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Manhattans
Released: 1976

Kiss And Say Goodbye Lyrics

This has got to be the saddest day of my life
I called you here today for a bit of bad news
I won't be able to see you any more
Because of my obligations
And the ties that you have
We've been meeting here every day
And since this is our last date together
I want to hold you just one more time
When you turn and walk away
Don't look back
I want to remember you just like this
Let's just kiss
And say goodbye

I had to meet you here today
There's just so many things to say
Please don't stop me 'till I'm through
This is something I hate to do
We've been meeting here so long
I guess what we done was wrong
Please, darling, don't you cry
Let's just Kiss And Say Goodbye (goodbye)
Many months have passed us by
(I'm gonna miss you) I'm gonna miss you, I can't lie
(I'm gonna miss you)
I've got ties and so do you
I just think this is the thing to do
It's gonna hurt me, I can't lie
Maybe you'll meet another guy
Understand me won't you try, try, try, try, try, try
Let's just kiss and say goodbye

(I'm gonna miss you) I'm gonna miss you
(I'm gonna miss you) Understand me, won't you try
(I'm gonna miss you) It's gonna hurt me, I won't lie
(I'm gonna miss you) Take my handkerchief and wipe your eyes
(I'm gonna miss you) Baby you'll find, you'll find another guy
(I'm gonna miss you) Let's kiss and say goodbye, pretty baby
(I'm gonna miss you) Please, don't you cry
(I'm gonna miss you) Understand me, won't you try?
(I'm gonna miss you) Let's just kiss and say goodbye

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

Kiss And Say Goodbye

The Manhattans are a Rhythm and Blues vocal group from Jersey City who first formed in 1962 and have performed with changing membership since then. This moving song is about the end of a longtime love due to "obligations" and "ties." He asks the woman he's breaking up with to be stoic and remember him with love rather than falling apart and trying to stay together.

The song became The Manhattans biggest hit, reaching the top of the charts in the US and staying there for two weeks.

The song was written by Manhattans member Winfred "Blue" Lovett. He said in an interview that he envisaged Glen Campbell singing his tune. Said Lovett: "Back then I was into listening a lot to country things. Lionel Richie jumped the gun on me, but I had been listening for three or four years. I liked a lot of things Glen Campbell was doing... and Charley Pride."

"Kiss and Say Goodbye" was produced by the Philadelphia-based record producer Bobby Martin, a former member of the MFSB band of session musicians and recorded in 1975 at Joe Tarsia's Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. It would be a full year until it was released, possibly as the label was concerned about dropping a ballad during the Disco explosion. "We thought that 'Kiss and Say Goodbye' would be the wrong song to release, and we were very much upset with Columbia choosing a R&B-Country song during the disco era," said Lovett. "And how wrong we were!"

Columbia issued two different singles: the full version aimed toward the R&B market, which included a mid-song rap and an edited "pop" edition without the spoken part. Lovett said: "Pop stations didn't like the rap the way I was talking, like Barry White, Isaac Hayes or Lou Rawls. They didn't like that talking in the beginning. They felt it would sell better, if it was without the rap. I was fine with that. Whatever would sell records that was fine." (Source of quotes Soul Express )

This was the second single to earn platinum certification status, after the RIAA established the designation in 1976. (Labelmate Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" had been the first a few months earlier.)

UB40 covered this in 2005 scoring a #19 UK hit with their version.

Chicago - If You Leave Me Now

Chicago - If You Leave Me Now Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Chicago X
Released: 1976

If You Leave Me Now Lyrics

If You Leave Me Now, you'll take away the biggest part of me
No baby please don't go
If you leave me now, you'll take away the very heart of me
No baby please don't go

A love like ours is love that's hard to find
How could we let it slip away
We've come too far to leave it all behind
How could we end it all this way
When tomorrow comes we'll both regret
Things we said today

'Cause I need you more than you'll ever know

Writer/s: CETERA, PETER P.
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

If You Leave Me Now

Chicago's bass player Peter Cetera wrote this and sang lead. Cetera specialized in ballads, adding variety to the band's sound which featured many more rock-oriented songs, often written by Terry Kath or Robert Lamm.

Cetera's ballads quickly became the band's biggest hits, with "If You Leave Me Now" their most successful song to that point, topping the charts in the US and UK. Of course, their record company wanted more of where that came from and kept pushing the Cetera songs - the big hit from their next album was his tune "Baby What a Big Surprise." The group found a new audience and became much more successful, but they also got earmarked as a soft rock group, which took the focus away from their grittier, horn-heavy songs. This became a point of contention for Chicago's famed section, especially trombone player James Pankow , who recalls constant battles to get the horns higher in the mix from that point forward.

When Cetera left Chicago in 1985, his hits didn't stop: In 1986, "Glory Of Love" went to #1 US and his duet with Amy Grant, "The Next Time I Fall," made it to #4.

Lyrically, this is a surprisingly simple song, but it does have an unusual structure. Depending on how you look at it, there's either no chorus, or it's all chorus. The song opens with the title line, which is also the hook:
If you leave me now, you'll take away the biggest part of me

The next line gives Peter Cetera a chance to show off his vocal range, and makes it clear that he is full-on pleading:
Ooooh no, baby please don't go

The title then returns, but with another consequence:
If you leave me now, you'll take away the very heart of me

The rest of the song is Cetera making his case for why the girl shouldn't leave, in very histrionic fashion. He wrote the words around the melody, which he composed first. Cetera is very good at composing songs that push emotional extremes, and these songs are well suited to his voice, which can reach the notes to accentuate these feelings.

Considering their longevity and success, it's surprising how Chicago has been spurned by both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammys. The band's only Grammy award came for this song, when it won for Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo, Group or Chorus.

The song also won the award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), which went to James William Guercio and Jimmie Haskell.

This was the first Chicago single to feature an acoustic guitar lead. It was played by the band's manager, James William Guercio, who produced the track. Guercio is an accomplished musician who before working on this song had toured with The Beach Boys as a bass player. On "If You Leave Me Now," he played the acoustic guitar part as a demo, figuring their regular guitarist, Terry Kath, would put down the proper track when he was available. The band thought Guercio's part sounded great, so they left it on the record.

In the UK, this was Chicago's only #1 hit. In Britain, the group had nowhere near the success they had in America. They wouldn't make the Top 40 on the UK chart again until 1982 with "Hard to Say I'm Sorry."

Jimmie Haskell did the string arrangement on this song along with producer James William Guercio. Haskell had done a lot of work scoring films, and was able to bring a cinematic quality to the sound.

Rush - Fountain of Lamneth

Rush - Fountain of Lamneth Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Caress Of Steel
Released: 1976

Fountain of Lamneth Lyrics

I am born
I am me
I am new
I am free
Look at me
I am young
Sight unseen
Life unsung

My eyes have just been opened
And they're open very wide
Images around me
Don't identify inside
Just one blur I recognize
The one that soothes and feeds
My way of life is easy
And as simple are my needs

Yet my eyes are drawn toward
The mountain in the east
Fascinates and captivates
Gives my heart no peace
The mountain holds the sunrise
In the prison of the night
Till bursting forth from rocky chains
The valley floods with light

Living one long sunrise
For to me all things are new
I've never watched the sky grow pale
Or strolled through fields of dew
I do not know of dust to dust
I live from breath to breath
I live to climb that mountain to
The Fountain of Lamneth

Listen

Crying back to consciousness
The coldness grips my skin
The sky is pitching violently
Drawn by shrieking winds
Seaspray blurs my vision
Waves roll by so fast
Save my ship of freedom
I'm lashed helpless to the mast

Call out for direction
And there's no one there to steer
Shout out for salvation
But there's no one there to hear
Cry out supplication
For the maelstrom is near
Scream out desperation
But no one cares to hear

Remembering when first I held
The wheel in my own hands
I took the helm so eagerly
And sailed for distant lands
But now the sea's too heavy
And I just don't understand
Why must my crew desert me
When I need a guiding hand

The whiteness of confusion
Is unfolding from my mind
I stare around in wonder
Have I left my life behind

I catch the scent of ambergris
And turn my head, surprised
My gaze is caught and held
And I am helpless, mesmerized

Panacea, liquid grace
Oh let me touch your fragile face
Enchantment falls around me
And I know I cannot leave

Here's a meaning for my life
A shelter from the storm
Pacify my troubles with
Her body, soft and warm
Naked in our unity
A smile for every tear
Gentle hands that promise me
Comfort through the years
Yet I know I must be gone
Before the light of dawn

Panacea, passion pure
I can't resist your gentle lure
My heart will lie beside you
And my wandering body grieves

Another endless day
Silhouettes of grey
Another glass of wine
Drink with eyes that shine
To days without that chill at morning
Long nights time out of mind

Draw another goblet
From the cask of '43
Crimson misty memory
Hazy glimpse of me
Give me back my wonder, I've something more to give
I guess it doesn't matter
There's not much more to live

Another foggy dawn
The mountain almost gone
Another doubtful fear
The road is not so clear
My soul grows ever weary
And the end is ever near

Look, the mist is rising
And the sun is peaking through
See, the steps grow lighter
As I reach their final few
Hear, the dancing waters
I must be drawing near
Feel, my heart is pounding
With embattled hope and fear

Now, at last I fall before
The Fountain of Lamneth
I thought I would be singing
But I'm tired, out of breath
Many journeys end here
But, the secret's told the same
Life is just a candle
And a dream must give it flame

The key, the end, the answer
Stripped of their disguise
Still it's all confusion
And tears spring to my eyes
Though I've reached a signpost
It's really not the end
Like Old Sol behind the mountain
I'll be coming up again

I'm in motion
I am still
I am crying
I am still
I'm together
I'm apart
I'm forever
At the start

Still, I am

Writer/s: G. LEE, N. PEART
Publisher: OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Fountain of Lamneth

The song is divided into 6 parts:
I. In the Valley
II. Didacts and Narpets
III. No One At the Bridge
IV. Panacea
V. Bacchus Plateau
VI. The Fountain

Some lyric explanation:
"Ambergris" is a waxy substance from the intestines of the sperm whale, highly valued for making perfume with.
"Didacts and Narpets" possibly an anagram for "Addicts and Parents."
"Panacea" is a supposed cure for everything.
"Bacchus" was the Roman god of wine. The Greek equivalent is Dionysus.

In the October 1991 news release from the Rush Backstage Club, Neil Peart said: "Okay, I may have answered this before, but if not, the shouted words in that song represent an argument between Our Hero and the Didacts and Narpets - teachers and parents. I honestly can't remember what the actual words were, but they took up opposite positions like: "Work! Live! Earn! Give!" and like that." (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, Washington, for all above)

A didact would be a teacher, sharing a root with the word didactic, which is "inclined to teach" or "teaching moral lessons." It would fit with Narpets being Parents, though, seeing as how the major shaping influences in the life of a young person are the teachers and parents, with the two often being one and the same. (thanks, Steve - Farmington, NY)

Steely Dan - Green Earrings

Steely Dan - Green Earrings Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Royal Scam
Released: 1976

Green Earrings Lyrics

Cold, daring
No flies on me
Sorry, angel
I must take what I see
Green Earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind

Greek medallion
Sparkles when you smile
Sorry, angel
I get hungry like a child

Green earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind

Writer/s: BECKER, WALTER CARL / FAGEN, DONALD JAY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Green Earrings

This is about a jewel thief who feels no remorse whatsoever in what he does, even when he steals from a lover. (thanks, John - Wilmington, NC)