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Al Green - Full of Fire

Al Green - Full of Fire Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Full of Fire
Released: 1976

Full of Fire Lyrics

I'm Full of Fire (full of fire, full of fire)
You're my one desire,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
You can make me cry,
I can dance to the music,
I can sing, all night long
I can play with the band, until you hear my song

Cause I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
See the party lights,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
Its the reason why,
I can dance with the fire,
Burnin', burnin' low,
I can stay until the party is all over

Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
I'm over a twenty one,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire full of fire)
Life has just begun,
Oh, oh I can dance to the music,
I, I can under, understand
That there must be an upper power that is holding my hand
Dance, dance, dance

Oh I understand,
Young lady, young man, I say I understand,

Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire, full of fire)
I'm over a twenty one,
Baby I'm full of fire (full of fire full of fire)
Life has just begun,
Oh, oh I can dance to the music,
I, I can under, understand
That there must be an upper power that is holding my hand
Dance, dance, dance

Oh I understand,
Young lady, young man, I say I understand,

I can dance dance, dance, dance,
I understand, understand, understand
There's some things that may not know,
But I want the horn to blow,
There's some things that I know,
But I want the horn to blow,
I can dance dance, dance, dance,
I understand, understand, understand
There's some things that may not know,
But I want the horn to blow,
I can dance
Let me say that I can dance
Full of fire, my heart's desire
Full of fire

Writer/s: GREEN, AL L. / MITCHELL, WILLIE / HODGES, MABON
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Full of Fire

Written by Al Green, producer Willie Mitchell and guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, this was the last of six #1 R&B hits for Green.

While his own studio was crowded with other artists, Mitchell was forced to record this Disco-flavored tune in not one, but two different studios. "I recorded part of it in Vegas and part of it in Chicago," he remembered. "The sound changed... because it was a different studio."

This song marks the beginning of the end in Green and Mitchell's partnership. After one more album in 1976, Have a Good Time (and the hit "Keep Me Cryin'") Green became a self-produced Gospel singer and the pair didn't work together again until 1985 for Green's He Is the Light album.

Paul Anka - Puppy Love

Paul Anka - Puppy Love Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Paul Anka Sings His Big 15
Released: 1960

Puppy Love Lyrics

And they called it Puppy Love
Oh I guess they'll never know
How a young heart how it really feels
And why I love her so

And they called it puppy love
Just because we're seventeen
Tell them all
Oh please tell them it isn't fair
To take away my only dream

I cry each night
It's tears for you
My tears are all in vain
I hope I hope and I pray
That maybe someday
You'll be back (you'll be back) in my arms (in my arms)
Once again

Someone help me
Help me please
Is the answer, is it up above?
How can I
Oh how can I ever tell them?
This is not a puppy love
(This is not a puppy love)

Someone help me
Help me please
Is the answer up above?
How can I
Oh how can I tell them?
This is not a puppy love
(This is not a puppy love)

Writer/s: DUPRI, JERMAINE/CASEY, BRANDON D/CASEY, BRIAN D / COX, BRYAN MICHAEL PAUL/ERVING, BOBBY/SMITH, JAMES TODD
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Puppy Love

Paul Anka wrote this song about Annette Funicello, with whom Anka was having an affair during a package tour. Anka's manager insisted that the affair be low-key and kept out of the press, if possible.

Funicello was an actress who, like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, was a very popular member of Disney's Mickey Mouse Club. She wasn't allowed to date until she turned 16; she and Anka got together when both were 17. Adults dismissed their affair as "puppy love," but to the couple it felt very strong and inspired Anka to write the song. In her autobiography, Funicello wrote: "Just because we were 17 didn't mean that, for us, our love wasn't real."

The puppy love didn't last, but Funicello did cut an album of Anka's songs called Annette Sings Anka, which was also released in 1960. In 1992, she announced that she had Multiple Sclerosis, and when she passed away from the disease on April 8, 2013 at the age of 70, Anka stated: "She was kind and intelligent and she will be missed by her family and her wide circle of friends, in which I was lucky to be included."

Donny Osmond had a hit with this song in 1972 - his version topped the UK charts and peaked at #3 in the US. What sold the record was the teen idol's supercharged emotion on the line, "Someone help me, help me, help me please." Donny recalled, "(Producer) Mike Curb told me to give it my all on 'Puppy Love,' so I suppose it worked."

This is one of the more innocent songs ever recorded, but in 1986 when Donny Osmond appeared on a panel to discuss censorship in music, he used it to make the point that obscenity is in the ear of the beholder. Said Osmond: "What's the difference between me recording a song with sexual connotations and the way someone else may record it? I could get away with murder. Look at 'Puppy Love,' my biggest record. It can be a very filthy song."

After KHJ Los Angeles deejay Robert W. Morgan had spun Donny Osmond's version of the song over and over for 90 continuous minutes on his March 15, 1972 show, worried listeners summoned the local police. The LAPD broke into the studio, convinced that hippies or anarchists had taken it over. However, it turned out it was just a publicity stunt and the perplexed officers left without making any arrests.

Radio Stars - Sitting in the Rain

Radio Stars - Sitting in the Rain Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Holiday Album
Released: 1978

Sitting in the Rain Lyrics

Sitting in the Rain

"Sitting in the Rain" is a parody of overly-sentimental breakup songs ("My mind has ceased to function, I'm supporting its dead weight. My stomach needs its luncheon, but I fear it's just too late") and features Paul Jones of Manfred Mann on harmonica.

In our interview with Radio Stars bassist and songwriter, Martin Gordon, he revealed he had a "soft spot" for "Sitting in the Rain" even though Radio Stars chose not to perform it live: "We performed it once or twice live but it's a fairly minor-keyed piece, and it didn't really work. As we were always keenly pursuing added value, it was unceremoniously dropped from the set."

This song appears on Radio Stars' second album, Holiday Album, which saw the band experiment with a grandiose Pop sound in comparison to their more Punk-orientated debut, Songs for Swinging Lovers. Radio Stars met their demise in 1979 not long after the album was released, mainly owing to a lack of interest, although the original lineup have performed together at several reunion concerts since then.

Billy Swan - I Can Help

Billy Swan - I Can Help Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: I Can Help
Released: 1974

I Can Help Lyrics

If you've got a problem, I don't care what it is
If you need a hand, I can assure you this
I Can Help, I've got two strong arms, I can help
It would sure do me good to do you good
Let me help

It's a fact that people get lonely, ain't nothing new
But a woman like you, baby, should never have the blues
Let me help, I've got two for me, let me help
It would sure do me good to do you good
Let me help

When I go to sleep at night, you're always a part of my dream
Holding me tight and telling me everything I want to hear
Don't forget me, baby, all you gotta do is call
You know how I feel about you, if I can do anything at all
Let me help, if your child needs a daddy, I can help
It would sure do me good to do you good, let me help

When I go to sleep at night, you're always a part of my dream
Holding me tight and telling me everything I want to hear
Don't forget me, baby, all you gotta do is call
You know how I feel about you, if I can do anything at all
Let me help, if your child needs a daddy, I can help
Writer/s: Swan, Billy
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Can Help

Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge brought Billy Swan a little RMI organ as a wedding present. Billy was fiddling around with it when the chorus "I can help" appeared and within a few minutes he had written the lyrics. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

Swan often took his medium-sized dog to his recording sessions. While Swan was recording "I Can Help," the dog became playful and started tugging at Swan's pant leg. He finished the take - and earned the applause from the band mates that is heard at the end of the released song.

Swan wrote Clyde McPhatter's 1962 hit "Lover Please." He went on to write some popular Country songs, but this was his only hit as an artist. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL, for above 2)

Black Men United - U Will Know

Black Men United - U Will Know Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Hed Kandi: Back to Love 03.04
Released: 1994

U Will Know Lyrics

Mmm...hmm...hmm...mmm...hmm...
Yeah, yeah

When I was a young boy
I had visions of fame
They were wild and they were free
They were blessed with my name

And then I grew older
And I saw what’s to see
That the world is full of pain
And my dreams they left me

And then I got stronger
Inside of the pain
That’s when I picked up the pieces
And I regained my name

And I fought hard, y’all
To call by my place
And right now you could ask me
And it all seems in vain

[Your dreams ain’t easy] Your dreams ain’t easy
[You just stick by your plan] You just stick by your plan
[Go from boys to men] Go from boys to men
[You must act like a man] You gotta act like a man
[When it gets hard, y’all] When it gets hard, y’all
[You just grab what you know] Got what you know
[Stand up tall and don’t you fall] And my background sing

YoU Will Know [You will know], yeah...eah...
[You will know]
[You will know] You will know, you will know
[You will know]

And I know you’re cryin’
‘Cause it’s all in his vein
And the things you want you can’t have
It just all went away

But life ain’t over
Hoo...hoo...
Just grab the winds and make demands
And the vibe will take you far

[Your dreams ain’t easy] Your dreams ain’t easy
[You just stick by your plan] Stick by your plan, boy
[Go from boys to men] Go from boys to men
[You must act like a man] I know it ain’t easy
[When it gets hard, y’all] it gets hard sometime
[You just grab what you know] Yes, it does
[Stand up tall and don’t you fall] Stand up tall, don’t you fall, and you will know, yeah

[You will know]
[You will know] Ah...ah...ah... (You will know)
[You will know] Hey, there’s no doubt about it
[You will know] Hey, you will know

[You will know] You will know
[You will know] Hey...ey...hey...
[You will know] You will know, yeah
[Oh, you will know] Hey...

[Your dreams ain’t easy] Your dreams ain’t easy
[You just stick by your plan] Stick by your plans
[Go from boys to men] Boys to men
[You must act like a man] You must act like a man
[When it gets hard, y’all] It ain’t hard, yeah
[You just grab what you know] Grab what you know
[Stand up tall and don’t you fall] Oh...oh...oh...

[Your dreams ain’t easy]
[You just stick by your plan] Hey...hey...yeah
[Go from boys to men] Boys to men
[You must act like a man] I know it ain’t easy
[When it gets hard, y’all]
[You just grab what you know] Yeah...
[Stand up tall and don’t you fall] Come on D and sing this song

[You will know] Yeah...
[You will know] You will know
[You will know]
[You will know] Hey...

[You will know]
[You will know]
[You will know]
[Oh, you will know]

Writer/s: ARCHER, MICHAEL D'ANGELO / ARCHER, LUTHER
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

U Will Know

Black Men United was a supergroup of R&B artists. The people involved included D'Angelo, Brian McKnight, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, El DeBarge and a very young Usher. This was their sole release, which featured on the soundtrack of the Forest Whitaker movie Jason's Lyric.

The tune was written by a young D'Angelo along with his brother Luther. "That song really is what got me my deal [with EMI]," he revealed during a lecture, titled 'A Conversation with D'Angelo,' at Brooklyn Museum on May 21, 2014. "It was on my first demo. Jocelyn [Cooper, former president of Midnight Music] shopped it. I think that was the one. It was the one."

"It was my first demo, and I had this whole process with signing [with a record label]," he continued. "Just the direction I was going in was different, and so it was a perfect fit. And Jocelyn, being the great publisher that she his, placed it for the movie. And it was like wow. The only thing I had done [at that point] was this song called 'Overjoyed' for the Harlem Boys Choir. So here I am with all my heroes." (Source of quote The Boombox )

The Clash - The Right Profile

The Clash - The Right Profile Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: London Calling
Released: 1979

The Right Profile Lyrics

Say, where did I see this guy?
In 'Red River'?
Or a 'Place In The Sun'?
Maybe 'The Misfits'?
Or 'From Here to Eternity'?

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

New York, New York, 42nd Street
Hustlers rustle and pimps pimp the beat
Monty Clift is recognized at dawn
He ain't got no shoes and his clothes are torn

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's that Montgomery Clift, honey!

I see a car smashed at night
Cut the applause and dim the light
Monty's face is broken on a wheel
Is he alive? Can he still feel?

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "Shine a light"
And everybody say, "It's not funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

Shoot his right profile

And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

Nembutol, numbs it all
But I prefer alcohol

And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

He said go out and get me my old movie stills
Go out and get me another roll of pills
There I go again shaking, but I ain't got the chills

ARRRGHHHGORRA BUH BHUH DO ARRRRGGGGHHHHNNNN!!!!

And everybody say, "What's he like?"
And everybody say, "Is he all right?"
And everybody say, "He sure look funny"
That's Montgomery Clift, honey!

Writer/s: STRUMMER, JOE / JONES, MICK / SIMONON, PAUL / HEADON, TOPPER
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Right Profile

"The Right Profile" is about actor Montgomery Clift (A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity) and his troubled life. Clift had problems with pills and alcohol. The car crash into a tree discussed in this song occurred in 1956, while he was driving home from a party at Elizabeth Taylor's house. She saved his life then, but he died in 1966 of coronary occlusion, what some have called the "slowest suicide" in cinema history.

London Calling producer Guy Stevens had lent singer Joe Strummer a copy of Patricia Bosworth's 1978 biography of Clift, and suggested that perhaps Strummer write a song about him. With Stevens also suffering from alcohol and drug problems, perhaps Strummer saw parallels between Clift and The Clash's troubled producer? Roadie Johnny Green suggested that this was the case in his memoirs.

After Clift's car accident, his face was mangled and he needed plastic surgery for a broken jaw. He continued to make movies, but had to be shot from "The Right Profile" to look good, hence the name of the song.

Clift has been the subject of other songs as well, including R.E.M.'s "Monty Got a Raw Deal" from their 1992 album, Automatic for the People.

An the album cover is a photo of Clash bass player Paul Simonon smashing his instrument during a show at The Palladium in New York City. He later regretted doing it, because it was his best bass. The smashed bass is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Musically "The Right Profile" is one of the highlights of the London Calling album, featuring heavy usage of the Irish Horns to create a swing feel. Sadly this also proved to be the song's performance downfall, as unlike other horn-heavy songs on the album (such as "Revolution Rock" and "Rudie Can't Fail"), there was no way it could be played live without the horn section.

Bob Dylan - Dark Eyes

Bob Dylan - Dark Eyes Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Empire Burlesque
Released: 1985

Dark Eyes Lyrics

Oh, the gentlemen are talking and the midnight moon is on the riverside
They're drinking up and walking and it is time for me to slide
I live in another world where life and death are memorized
Where the earth is strung with lover's pearls and all I see are Dark Eyes.

A cock is crowing far away and another soldier's deep in prayer
Some mother's child has gone astray, she can't find him anywhere
But I hear another rum beating for the dead that rise
Whom nature's beast fear as they come and all I see are dark eyes.

They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes
They tell me revenge is sweet, I'm sure it is
But I feel nothing for their game, where beauty goes unrecognized
All I feel is heat and flame, and all I see are dark eyes.

Oh, the French girl, she's in paradise and a drunken man is at the wheel
Hunger pays a heavy prize to the falling god of speed and steel
Oh, time is short and the days are sweet and passion rules the arrow that flies
A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes.

Writer/s: BOB DYLAN
Publisher: BOB DYLAN MUSIC CO
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Dark Eyes

Dylan laid this down this tune on March 3, 1985 as the final track for his Empire Burlesque album. Recorded live-to-tape with no video editing, overdubbing, or embellishment, the song features just Dylan on guitar and harmonica.

The disturbing, forlorn tune was written by Dylan virtually on demand when producer Arthur Baker suggested something simpler for the album's closing track. Baker recalled to Uncut magazine: "I mentioned this idea about doing an acoustic song to him, and then the very next day, he came in with this 'Dark Eyes.' I really thought it was a song he'd had. Because he had so many songs, he'd bring cassettes out, and he had just tons of songs. I never thought for a second that he'd just written this."

Bob Dylan - Political World

Bob Dylan - Political World Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Oh Mercy
Released: 1989

Political World Lyrics

We live in a Political World
Love don't have any place
We're living in times
Where men commit crimes
And crime don't have any face

We live in a political world
Icicles hanging own
Wedding bells ring
And angels sing
And clouds cover up the ground

We live in a political world
Wisdom is thrown in jail
It rots in a cell
Is misguided as hell
Leaving no one to pick up the trail

We live in a political world
Where mercy walks the plank
Life is in mirrors
Death disappears
Up the steps to the nearest bank

We live in a political world
Courage is a thing of the past
Houses are haunted
Children unwanted
The next day could be your last

We live in a political world
The one we can see and feel
But there's no one to check
It's all a stacked deck
We all know for sure that it's real

We live in a political world
In the cities of lonesome fear
Little by little
You turn in the middle
But you're never sure why you're here

We live in a political world
Under the microscope
You can travel anywhere
And hang yourself there
You always got more than enough rope

We live in a political world
Turning and trashing about
As soon as you're awake
You're trained to take
What looks like the easy way out

We live in a political world
Where peace is not welcome at all
It's turned away from the door
To wonder some more
Or put up against the wall

We live in a political world
Everything is hers and his
Climb into the frame
And shout God's name
But you're never sure what it is

Writer/s: BOB DYLAN
Publisher: BOB DYLAN MUSIC CO
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Political World

Bob Dylan was struggling to come up with the right arrangement for this tirade against the modern world when producer Daniel Lanois came up with a setting that he thought could make the song work. Guitarist Brian Stolz recalled to Uncut magazine: "Dan had an idea for a little groove, kind of a funkier groove. I remember we ran through it a few times before Bob got there. Bob came walking in the room when we were playing. He said, ''What's that?' Dan said, 'It's a little something we're working up for 'Political World.' And Bob said, 'Political World'? It doesn't go like that! It goes like this.'"

"He picked up a guitar and started playing it and we all jumped in – and my memory is that's the track you hear on the record," Stolz added. "If you listen to 'Political World' you can hear how Willie (Green, drums) doesn't even come in with the beat because he was jumping in after Bob."

The song featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 Robin Williams movie, Man of the Year.

Blue Öyster Cult - Astronomy

Blue Öyster Cult - Astronomy Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Secret Treaties
Released: 1974

Astronomy Lyrics

Clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Like acid and oil on a madman?s face
His reason tends to fly away
Like lesser birds on the four winds
Like silver scrapes in May
And now the sands become a crust
Most of you have gone away

Come Susie dear, let?s take a walk
Just out there upon the beach
I know you?ll soon be married
And you?ll want to know where winds come from
Well it?s never said at all
On that map that Carrie reads
Behind the clock back there you know
At the Four Winds Bar

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Four winds at the Four Winds Bar
Two doors bought and windows barred
One door to let to take you in
The other one just mirrors it

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hellish glare and inference
The other one?s a duplicate
The Queenly flux, eternal light
Or the light that never warms
Yes, the light that never, never warms
Or the light that never
Never warms
Never warms
Never warms

The clock strikes twelve and moondrops burst
Out at you from their hiding place
Miss Carrie nurse and Susie dear
Would find themselves at the Four Winds Bar

It?s the nexus of the crisis
And the origin of storms
Just the place to hopelessly
Encounter time and then came me

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Call me Desdinova
Eternal light
These gravely digs of mine
Will surely prove a sight
And don?t forget my dog
Fixed and consequent

Astronomy
A star
Astronomy
A star
Astronomy
A star
Astronomy
A star

Writer/s: PEARLMAN, SAMUEL / BOUCHARD, ALBERT / BOUCHARD, JOSEPH
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Astronomy

Sometimes rumored to be about a girl's first lesbian encounter, the lyrics to "Astronomy" were written by the group's producer - the former music journalist Sandy Pearlman. Secret Treaties began as a concept album based on the character Desdanova, who appears in "Astronomy." You can spend a lot of time with headphones on trying to figure out what's going on in this song, but Pearlman explained it when he spoke with NME in 1975. We should point out that the British press loved the Secret Treaties album, giving it great reviews, but attempts to interview the band during this period were dominated by Pearlman, who did most of the talking, often to the bewilderment of the journalists. Anyway, here's what he said about the song: "It's New Year's Eve and Desdanova walks into the Four Winds Bar (which was a real place - an actual joint on Atlantic Beach). He plays this game with two girls which has to be completed in the six hours from midnight to dawn 'cause he can't stand the light. It's so sort of... corrosive. There's a parallel with the rose which is similarly over-fulfilled, a symbol of over-ripeness and decadence. The dog is Susy's familiar and the carrier of starry wisdom from the actual dogstar. Lovecraft had this term 'starry wisdom cult' which was so apt I had to use it."

Blue Öyster Cult recorded a new version of "Astronomy" for their 1988 concept album Imaginos, which was based on Pearlman's poem "The Soft Doctrines Of Imaginos." The concept is that Imaginos is born in 1804 and given superhuman powers. He can take on various identities and time travel, and he plays a part in events leading up to World War I where the story ends.

The 1988 version of the song contains a spoken intro by the author Stephen King, who explains the Imaginos concept. This version was made into a video as well.

Metallica recorded the song for their 1998 album Garage Inc.

The Chiffons - Sweet Talkin' Guy

The Chiffons - Sweet Talkin' Guy Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Sweet Talkin' Guy
Released: 1966

Sweet Talkin' Guy Lyrics

Sweet talking guy, talking sweet kinda lies
Don't you believe in him, if you do he'll make you cry
He'll send you flowers and paint the town with another girl
He's a Sweet Talkin' Guy
(Sweet talkin' guy)
But he's my kind of guy
(Sweet talkin' guy)

Sweeter than sugar, kisses like wine
(Oh he's so fine)
Don't let him under your skin, cause you'll never win
(No you'll never win)
Don't give him love today, tomorrow he's on his way
He's a sweet talkin' guy
(Sweet talkin' guy)
But he's my kind of guy
(Sweet talkin' guy)

Why do I love him like I do

He's a sweet talkin'
(Sweet talkin')
Sweet talkin'
(Sweet talkin') guy

Stay away from him, stay away from him, don't believe his lyin'
(Stay away from him)
No, no, no you'll never win, no you'll never win, loser's in for cryin'
(No you'll never win)
Don't give him love today, tomorrow he's on his way
He's a sweet talkin'
(Sweet talkin')
Sweet talkin'
(Sweet talkin')
Sweet talkin'
(Sweet talkin')
Sweet talkin'
(Sweet talkin') guy

Stay away from him
(Sweet sweet, sweet talkin' guy)
No no no you'll never win
(Sweet sweet, sweet talkin' guy)

Writer/s: BAER, BARBARA J / SCHWARTZ, ROBERT MICHAEL / MORRIS, DOUG / GREENBERG, ELIOT
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, HOMEFIELD MUSIC, SONY ATV MUSIC PUB LLC, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Sweet Talkin' Guy

This was written by Doug Morris in 1966, who had joined Laurie Records as a songwriter and producer the previous year. He eventually became vice president and general manager of Laurie Records, before starting his own label, Big Tree Records, which was acquired by Atlantic Records in 1978. Morris went on to become one of the most respected and influential executives in the global music industry playing an integral role in making Atlantic the leading company in the Warner Music Group before becoming Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment in 2011.

Morris recalled the story of the song to Billboard magazine: "I was working in A&R for Laurie Records, the label Dion was on, when I wrote 'Sweet Talkin' Guy.' I wrote it in the office. It was very heavily influenced by one of the Supremes songs, I forget which one. The song came pretty easily and I probably finished it in a week. At the time, I was about 24 or 26 and living in Seaford, Long Island."

"I was writing it for the Chiffons, so lyrically it would have to be something that they were interested in," he continued. "They loved it and did a great live take on it."

"I produced the session, which was at Allegro Sound Studios in New York, with Elliot Greenberg, who was one of the owners for Laurie Records, along with Gene and Bob Schwartz," Morris added.  "I wrote it, but back then the owners of the record labels also got the writing credit so that's why Elliot Greenberg and Bob Schwartz and Barbara Baer got credit."

This was the last of five Top 40 hits for The Chiffons in the US. The song originally peaked at #31 in the UK in 1966. Re-released six years later, it climbed to #4 on the UK singles chart.

Helen Reddy - I Am Woman

Helen Reddy - I Am Woman Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: I Don't Know How To Love Him
Released: 1971

I Am Woman Lyrics

I Am Woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again

[Chorus:]
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul

[Chorus]

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand

Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
Oh, I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong

I am woman
I am invincible
I am strong
I am woman

Writer/s: BURTON, RAY / REDDY, HELEN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Am Woman

Helen Reddy wrote this when she couldn't find enough songs to include on her first album, I Don't Know How To Love Him. She was looking for songs that reflected a positive self-image that she felt that she had gained from her participation in the women's liberation movement.

Included on the 1971 album, Reddy didn't like the way this version came out and neither did her producer (he thought she sounded "too butch"), but they put it on the album anyway. Another producer DID like it. Movie producer Mike Frankovitch wanted to use it in his "feminist comedy" Stand Up And Be Counted. Reddy agreed on two conditions: That she would re-record the song, and that he would donate $1000 each to Women's Centers in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

To coincide with the movie's release, the song was issued as a single in 1972, which slowly rose to #1 in America. Reddy's second album was subsequently titled I Am Woman and included this new version of the song.

When this song got a makeover in 1972, the arrangement was changed, as were some lyrics ("I can face anything" became "I can do anything"), and a verse was added. These tweaks helped the song become a huge hit.

The Australian Ray Burton co-wrote the song with Helen Reddy. Burton's contribution was writing the music to go with Helen Reddy's lyrics and editing her lyrics to fit his musical structure. Burton's other hits have included the songs "Too Hard To Handle" and "Paddington Green." He has performed, toured, and/or recorded with The Who, Billy Joel, Jimmy Webb ("MacArthur Park"), Queen, America, The Spencer Davis Group, Small Faces, Procol Harum, Little River Band, Dave Mason , and Joan Armatrading . He was a founding member of the band Ayers Rock.

He also worked at LA's world-famous Record Plant, alongside recording-session heavyweights Lee Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums), and Joe Osborn (bass). He has written music and songs for movies, including Rabbit Run, My Best Friend's Wedding, and Airport 75. He has also written advertising jingles for Coca Cola, Revlon Cosmetics and many other national brand-name products. His catalog includes more than 200 songs.

"I first wrote the song in August 1970," explained Burton. "It was first released by Capitol Records in late 1970 as an album track on Helen Reddy's first album. It was what they call a 'sleeper' in the music industry. In other words, it sat on the album doing nothing for two years and then as the women's liberation movement gathered momentum, Capitol Records released it as a single. The women's liberation movement then adopted it as their anthem and the rest is history."

This song was a cultural touchstone in America, as it underscored the feminist movement. Like the movement, the song proved divisive, generally split along gender lines with women loving the song (or at least appreciating its message) and some men hating it.

This trope played out in an episode of the TV show Married With Children when the show's patriarch, Al Bundy, enters a state of distress when his wife sings it (Katey Segal, who played the wife, is actually a professional singer - she sang it in a purposefully grating way on the show).

The song also found its way into an episode of The Simpsons when Homer sings it while dressed as a girl. Other media appearances include the TV shows Doogie Howser, M.D. and Cold Case, and the movies My Best Friend's Wedding and Sex and the City 2.

Reddy is Australian, and this song became the first Hot 100 #1 by an Australian-born artist. Some of her other hits include "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)," "Angie Baby," "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady" and "Delta Dawn."

Burton explained to Songfacts how he - a male - came to co-write one of the leading feminist anthems of all time: "It all started out by me being the only male [that I knew about] ever invited to Helen's get-togethers with her female friends at her house in the Hollywood Hills," he said. "I forget the name of the street now but I remember that it was just off Mulholland Drive and she was married to Jeff Wald at the time. Jeff (her husband/manager) was at his office when these meetings went down. From memory I only ever attended two or three of them. I felt quite out of place among all of these gung ho women's lib females but I could see the commercial potential because these women were SERIOUS! I suggested to Helen that if she felt so strongly about women's rights she should get some words down on paper and I would then take them away and construct a song from them.

A week or so later she gave me some words written out in part prose, part poetry form on a notepad size piece of paper. I proceeded to write the melody, but during the course of the melody writing I had to delete words here and add words there so that the lyrics fitted my melody rhythmically so as to fall into song form. So I wrote all of the melody and I guess I wrote some of the lyrics as well. But giving credit where credit is due, Helen wrote the majority of the lyrics and I just re-shaped and re-organized them. From the time Helen handed me her words to the completion of the song took me about 12 hours.

(Helen and I) didn't realize at the time that the song would become so huge a hit. I had a gut feeling about the potential of the song because with my commercial savvy I could sense the women's liberation movement bubbling up and just about ready to come to the boil. I was a couple of years out in my predictions though and it started to happen in 1972.

When Capitol Records released the song as a single in 1972 to coincide with the Stand Up And Be Counted movie I knew right then that it would always remain Helen's biggest song. When the song hit number one the feeling was amazing! I felt proud as an Australian songwriter trying to conquer the massive American market. I felt that I had finally cracked it for the 'Big Time.'

Being primarily an R&B, soul, country, rock type singer/songwriter/guitar player, a lot of my peers asked me what the hell I thought I was doing writing a song like that. I would tell them that it was a commercial venture and I was in the business of songwriting not only for the love of the art but to make some respectable money during the standard show business 15 minutes of fame. Here today and gone tomorrow as they say. I would also tell people that the song had nothing to do with my own musical style. It was purely a song written for a lady on a mission and I had my own race to run.

Hey everyone has a cross to bear and it could be worse right? At least I have a giant hit song under my belt that still gets played 30 plus years later. I get ribbed about it all the time by some of the guys I know but not all of them. The fact is I DO believe in equality for all. I wouldn't mind my own little dose of equality though... Helen refuses to mention me in any of her interviews on TV, on radio or in text, and claims that she wrote the songs. This is incredibly annoying but I DO see her reasoning. It just wouldn't make her look good to her female fans if a male had anything to do with the song; her credibility would be shot down in flames.

In her new book I am very briefly mentioned as 'a guitarist from Australia.' If you read my biography you will see that I am a lot more than simply 'a guitarist from Australia.' I am a well-known multi-talented musical pioneer, somewhat of a legend in the music industry and highly respected by all of my musical peers. In fact, I have just been made an offer for my song catalogue from a major publishing company and at my age I am very proud of that fact because nobody gets a very long run in this business unless you are considered exceptional. I guess I am destined to keep writing songs 'til I drop. Ha ha."

Burton offered the following advice to those who aspire to be professional songwriters: "Don't do it! No seriously you must keep at it, make writing a regular ritual, discipline yourself to do it for a couple of hours every day. If you don't have it already you MUST develop a passion for it or quit now because you are wasting your time. Remember the old adage "practice makes perfect?" Well, it does. It's like anything else, the more you practice it the better you get. Always keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground and be ready to pounce on any new trend that you see developing because it is certain to need a song to go with it. Be like a surfer: you can only ride the wave while it's there, not after it has already gone ashore. If your ship hasn't come in yet, swim out to it. Read a lot and never lose the power of the written word. Don't rely on some other person's visualizations/movies to tell you the story. Create your own mind images in pictures, words and melody, then write them down. Copyright all of your work immediately and get yourself a great music business lawyer. Go fishing alone and think your new ideas through while you are doing it. Write down your affirmations and goals and read them aloud everyday. Practice daily! Of course there are many more songwriting practice rituals and philosophies but here you have a few to get you started." (Thanks to Ray Burton for speaking with us about this song. For more, visit his website at rayburtonmusic.com.)

This was replaced at #1 by "Me And Mrs. Jones," a song by Billy Paul about marital infidelity.

This was used in commercials for Burger King to promote their Double Whopper sandwich. The song was changed to "I Am Man," and explained that the burger was perfect to satisfy a man's appetite. Here's the clip . (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Reddy won the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for this song. In her acceptance speech, she thanked "God, because She makes everything possible."

Echo & the Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever

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Echo & the Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Evergreen
Released: 1997

Nothing Lasts Forever Lyrics

Nothing Lasts Forever

The first single released to be released after Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson reformed Echo & the Bunnymen in 1997 after a four year hiatus, this gently epic ballad reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart.

McCulloch (from Uncut magazine August 2014): "I'd had that song since 1990 in various forms. The others were very negative – Will said, 'It's a bit pretty' and I thought, 'You f---ing idiot, that's like calling 'The Killing Moon' a bit beautiful.'"

"To me it's the most important song I've ever written, because it takes me back to being taken seriously, and it's one of the best songs of all time."

The song got an extra boost from uncredited backing vocals by Oasis' Liam Gallagher. McCulloch recalled: "Oasis were in the studio next door doing Be Here Now. Liam came in and listened to 'Nothing Lasts Forever,' and he had ideas for tambourine and a backing vocal and we thought, 'Yeah, we're having that.' He was spot on, it really made that song great. With the lineage of frontmen through the years, having him on it made sense for me."