Fun Fact: This is the shortest song on the album AND the only song performed a capella.
"A Pretty Girl is Like" Mashup Cover: Infinite Exes live in 2012. |
2.1 Roses |
2.2 Love Is Like JazzLENGTH: 2:56
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: D Minor GENRE: Coffee House Near MIT LISTEN FOR: Tape manipulation LYRICS: Love is Love is Like Jazz You make it up as you go along And you act as if you really knew the song But you don't and you never will So you flaunt your mistakes And you make them until They They Are you Love is like jazz The same song A million times The same song A million times In different ways In different ways "Strange Fruit" with and without wind chimes It's divine It's asinine It's depressing And it's almost entirely window dressing But it'll do |
"John: We're not supposed to talk about this one."
"Among the ways 69 Love Songs' surreal "Love Is Like Jazz"- which includes a sly nod to "They Were You" from the eternal off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks (1960-2002)- compares romance with the musical genre, the most telling is: "the same song a million times/ in different ways." This Modernist notion pervades 69LS and is central to Stephin's Pop Art ideals of repetition, mechanical reproduction and art as marketing strategy, and what sage Camille Paglia has called "allegorical repletion," or the symbolic doubling (on 69LS, more an exponential metastasizing) of something..." "(The only requirement, when playing this song, is that you wear sunglasses)." This song's instrumentation was recorded by Stephin letting each musician record a two and a half minute improvisation in separate locations at separate times. The first take was the only take. Stephin insists that "the song doesn't necessarily require multitracking. There should be no music planned beforehand." |
"Peter Straub: An exuberant, almost surrealist list song composed entirely of superlatives that goes way beyond Cole Porter's "You're the Top." It embodies a way of seeing. Merritt's searching deliberately for joy and extravagance. There's something similar but with a completely opposite valence in "Asleep and Dreaming"-also a list, but one that aches with sincerity. It's a list of poses and stances which ends with a natural downbeat sigh that's directly opposite to the charged gaudiness of "When My Boy Walks Down the Street.""
"Stephin: Massively sped up, but not sped up enough. |
2.3 When My Boy Walks Down the StreetLENGTH: 2:38
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: D Major GENRE: Late Salvation Army/ Early LISTEN FOR: Double drum kit, "California fade" (i.e. fast fadeout) LYRICS: Grand pianos crash together When my boy walks down the street There are whole new kinds of weather When he walks with his new beats Everyone sings "hallelujah" When my boy walks down the street Life just kind of dances through you From your smile down to your feet Amazing He's a whole new form of life Blue eyes blazing And he's going to be my wife The world does the hula-hula When my boy walks down the street Everyone thinks he's Petula So big and yet so petite Butterflies turn into people When my boy walks down the street Maybe he should be illegal He just makes life too complete Amazing He's a whole new form of life Blue eyes blazing And he's going to be my wife Oh Shadows of echoes of memories Oh Things that he brings that he found in the sea Oh Shadows of echoes of mem'ries of songs Oh How could he know that it won't be long Grand pianos crash together When my boy walks down the street There are whole new kinds of weather When he walks with his new beats Everyone sings "hallelujah" When my boy walks down the street Life just kind of dances through you From your smile down to your feet |
2.4 Time Enough for Rocking When We're OldLENGTH: 2:03
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Bb Major GENRE: Trad LISTEN FOR: Fingerpicked tremolo bass, Stephin's low Bb on "old" LYRICS: There'll be time enough for rocking when we're old We can rock all day in rocking chairs of gold But tonight, I think I'd rather just go dancing There'll be time enough for rocking when we're old My love There'll be time enough for talking in the nursing home Darling, time enough to write an epic poem But tonight, I think I'd rather just go dancing There'll be time enough for talking in the home My love There'll be time enough for sleeping when we're dead You will have a velvet pillow for your head But tonight, I think I'd rather just go dancing There'll be time enough for sleeping when we're dead My love There'll be time enough for sex and drugs in heaven When our pheromones are turned up to eleven But tonight, I think I'd rather just go dancing There'll be time enough for sex and drugs in heaven My love And time enough for rocking when we're old |
"John: The extra measure in the last verse [at the backing vocal "Heaven"] is a happy accident, something I miscounted. Stephin liked it so we kept it in."
Jazzy Cover: Caroline Henderson on her 2009 album "No. 8."
A Cover Your Middle-Aged Mother Will Like: Martha Bassett on her 2019 album "Hot Pepper Queen." Mandy Patinkin Cover: On his 2018 album "Diary: January 27, 2018." Spanish Cover: "Tiempo Para El Rock" by the duo Espanto off of their 2007 album "Cantando En Tu Siesta." |
"Dudley: It was a challenge to convey the song's emotion and not let it be just a joke. Being in love with someone who doesn't love you back is never funny, except possibly to outsiders. Or to the object of your affection... the hateful loser."
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2.5 Very FunnyLENGTH: 1:26
SUNG BY: Dudley KEY: D Major GENRE: Torch LISTEN FOR: Dudley's "laugh" as "lahff" (also in "Long-Forgotten Fairytale") LYRICS: Everybody knows but me When you go where you shouldn't be Everybody knows but me Where you go when you're feeling free Everybody knows but me So you go there for a laugh You just go to take photographs To believe that I'd be daft But yes, I think you go for a laugh And you say I love you, honey Very funny |
2.6 Grand CanyonLENGTH: 2:28
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: D Major GENRE: Electrofolk LISTEN FOR: Slow vibrato on analog synth obligato, finger cymbal as snare LYRICS: If I was the Grand Canyon I'd echo everything you say But I'm me I'm only me And you used to love me that way So you know how to love me that way If I was Paul Bunyan I'd carry you so far away But I'm just me I'm only me And you used to love me that way So you know how to love me that way If I was the Grand Canyon I'd echo everything you say But I'm just me I'm only me And you used to love me that way So you know how to love me that way |
"Ed Park: I've always liked this one, but often felt something was missing... that it needed to be grander somehow. Today I decided that the small scope is precisely why the song is so good. It distils epic themes- American themes- to their essences. The legendary finds new meaning- its only meaning, only resonance- in the personal."
"Linda Merritt: I love the self-defining while staying connected: "I'm only me and you used to love me that way."" "Susan Kirby-Smith: It is moving that the singer would "echo" everything the beloved says. This augments my belief that one or more of the people involved in Merritt's songs must be a great poet." "Stephin: I have what is probably a false memory of being dangled by a hippy over the Grand Canyon when I was a child." A Note on Covers: All covers of this song are whiny and gross. I would not recommend them.
Live Version: Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo, 2012. |
"Charles Newman: Stephin wanted the drum track to have a 70s sound, so we recorded two almost-identical drum takes. I then spent several hours editing all the tracks so they matched up and created a phasey sound."
No One Will Ever Love You is, in Stephin Merritt's account, an attempt to distill Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album into a single song. This applies not just to the composition and arrangement, but to the lyrics as well, which are obliquely styled to hint at desires, passions and tensions without ever quite naming them. In live performance of the song, Stephin has been known to introduce singer Shirley Simms as Shirley Nicks. A Cover That Lacks Quality But Makes Up for It with Whimsy: Zoe Woodbury-High (and friends).
Punk Country Mashup Cover: Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles on their 2009 album "The Stars Are Out." |
2.7 No One Will Ever Love YouLENGTH: 3:14
SUNG BY: Shirley KEY: C Major GENRE: Tusk LISTEN FOR: Out-of-tempo tremolo on rhythm guitar; John being Lindsey Buckingham, Shirley being Christine McNicks LYRICS: If you don't mind Why don't you mind Where is your sense of indignation You are too kind Much too kind Where is the madness that you promised me Where is the dream for which I paid dearly When things go wrong I sing along It is the nature of the business But you're not here To make my sad songs more sincere No one will ever love you honestly No one will ever love you for your honesty No one will ever love you honestly No one will ever love you for your honesty |
2.8 If You Don't CryLENGTH: 3:06
SUNG BY: Claudia with Stephin KEY: C Major GENRE: Self-Help Drinking Song LISTEN FOR: Monophonia LYRICS: Softly the crystals falling on Seventeenth Street Do their dance and die and are gone Millions of crystal balls roll around your feet Nothing gets done An hour goes by She doesn't If you don't cry It isn't love If you don't cry Then you just don't feel it deep enough Dying all day in thousands of little ways Dancing alone and drinking a lot Closing the clubs and haunting the cabarets Looking for what Another five Years off your life If you don't cry It isn't love If you don't cry Then you just don't feel it deep enough A year goes by She doesn't If you don't cry It isn't love If you don't cry Then you just don't feel it deep enough If you don't cry It isn't love If you don't cry Then you just don't feel it deep enough |
"Stephen Coates: I have wondered about Stephin's misanthropy but this makes it- if it exists- forgivable because you couldn't write a song like this without knowing what it's actually like... Or, indeed, feeling it deep enough."
"Claudia: Whenever I sing a hilarious lyric people start looking sad and serious. This song is actually sort of melancholic, but maybe Stephin meant it to be funny because it's so ridiculously literal." Synth Pop Cover: Resistor on Soundcloud.
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In his interview with Stephin Merritt in The New York Observer, Philip Weiss records this exchange about the song:
"I told Mr. Merritt I sang it to my wife (trying to imitate his deep sad tones). He looked at me like I was crazy. "The song is tragic and pathetic. 'When you cancel dinner plans, I wish I didn't understand'?" he said. "It's a declaration of love for someone who doesn’t return it." "It's a song about separateness in a relationship," I said. "My wife cancels dinner plans—so what."" |
2.9 You're My Only HomeLENGTH: 2:17
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Anamorphic Crystals LISTEN FOR: Rising line starting at solo designed to give the listener that sinking feeling LYRICS: I will stay if you let me stay And I'll go if you let me go But I won't go far away Because you're my only home And I will hide what you want hidden And I'll roam if you say "roam" But I'd just as soon you didn't Because you're my only home When you cancel dinner plans When you cross the street And you don't take my hand When you make impossible demands I wish I didn't understand I will stay if you let me stay And I'll go if you let me go But I won't go far away Because you're my only home And I will hide what you want hidden And I'll roam if you say "roam" But I'd just as soon you didn't Because you're my only home |
2.10 (Crazy for You But) Not That CrazyLENGTH: 2:18
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Eb Major GENRE: Sequel ("Absolutely Cuckoo") LISTEN FOR: Ring-mod synth line LYRICS: I built a ship With my own hands To take us to the moon I took a pen In my own hand And wrote you a hundred tunes Now I'm crazy for you but not that crazy I'm crazy for you but not that crazy I pretended you were Jesus You were just dying to save me I stood beneath your window With my ukulele I made my yard a playground Just in case we had a baby Now I'm crazy for you but not that crazy I'm crazy for you but not that crazy I treated you like radium I treated you like God You're my glass menagerie Did you not find that odd I dwelt within And went without And broke my virgin flesh I performed acts of devotion As if you were Ganesh But now I'm crazy for you but not that crazy I'm crazy for you but not that crazy |
"Stephin: The Moog bass sound is straight out of mid-70s Sweet records, specifically "Lies in Your Eyes" by Sweet. The drum patterns on the versus are half-time Motown, the choruses are "Bette Davis Eyes."
"Reggie Chamberlain-King: Essentially the same song as "I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," in which the protagonist states every willingness until the upper limit that he daren't pass." |
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2.11 My Only FriendLENGTH: 2:01
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Ab Major GENRE: Ferrante & Teicher Tribute LISTEN FOR: Multi-octave MC Escher piano programming LYRICS: Billie, you're a miracle And god knows I need one Sing me something terrible That even dawn may come You and me We don't believe in happy endings Hey, Lady Day Can you save my life this time Can you cry so beautifully You make my troubles rhyme Hey, Lady Day Can you save my life again My only love is gone away Will you be my only friend Billie, you're a genius Enough to be a fool A fool to gamble everything And never know the rules Some of us can only live in songs of love and trouble Some of us can only live in bubbles Hey, Lady Day Can you save my life this time Can you cry so beautifully You make my troubles rhyme Hey, Lady Day Can you save my life again My only love is gone away Will you be my only friend |
2.12 Promises of EternityLENGTH: 3:46
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: F# Major GENRE: Synthetic Vegas LISTEN FOR: Absurd timpani LYRICS: What if the show didn't go on? What if we all got jobs and got to bed before dawn? What if Old Joe had to retire? What if all the stagehands were let go or fired? That's just like what the world would be If you fell out of love with me I can't let this happen to you Don't you let it happen to me What would our friends and family say If they could only see If you let this happen to us Don't think you'd be setting me free Wasn't it you and I who made Promises of eternity What if the lights didn't go on? What if the velvet curtain had to be taken down? What if the clowns couldn't be clowns? And all those painted smiles Gave into plaintive frowns What if no show ever happened again? No seven No 8 1/2 No nine And no 10 All numbers and no mystery No promise of eternity I can't let this happen to you Don't you let it happen to me What would our friends and family say If they could only see If you let this happen to us Don't think you'd be setting me free Wasn't it you and I who made Promises of eternity I can't let this happen to you Don't you let it happen to me What would our friends and family say If they could only see If you let this happen to us Don't think you'd be setting me free Wasn't it you and I who made Wasn't it you and I who made Promises of eternity |
"NancyKay Shapiro: My imaginary video for this song includes dry ice and lasers."
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2.13 World LoveLENGTH: 3:07
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Afropop Worldwide Pastiche LISTEN FOR: Pretty classical guitar LYRICS: When the rhythm calls The government falls Here come the cops From Tokyo to Soweto Viva la musica pop We are black and white And we dance all night Down at the hop And the letters were tall On the Berlin Wall Viva la musica pop So if you're feeling low Stuck in some bardo I, even I Know the solution Love, music, wine And revolution Love Love Love, music, wine And revolution This too shall pass So raise your glass To change and chance And freedom is The only law Shall we dance? This too shall pass So raise your glass To change and chance And freedom is The only law Shall we dance? So if you're feeling low Stuck in some bardo I, even I Know the solution Love, music, wine And revolution Love Love Love, music, wine And revolution So if you're feeling low Stuck in some bardo I, even I Know the solution Love, music, wine And revolution |
2.14 Washington, D.C.LENGTH: 1:53
SUNG BY: Claudia KEY: G Major GENRE: Chamber of Commerce LISTEN FOR: Lovely piano with dotted-eighth-note echo, the perfectly enunciated "ain't" LYRICS: W-A-S-H-I-N-G T-O-N, baby D. C. W-A-S-H-I-N-G T-O-N, baby D. C. Washington, D.C. It's paradise to me It's not because it is the grand old seat Of precious freedom and democracy No, no, no It's not the greenery turning gold in Fall The scenery circling the Mall It's just that's where my baby lives That's all Washington, D.C. It's the greatest place to be It's not the cherries everywhere in bloom It's not the way they put folks on the Moon No, no, no It's not the spectacles and pageantry The thousand things you've got to see It's just that's where my baby waits for me W-A-S-H-I-N-G T-O-N, baby D. C. W-A-S-H-I-N-G T-O-N, baby D. C. Washington, D.C. It fits me to a T It's not the people doing something real It's not the way the springtime makes you feel No, no, no It ain't no famous name on a golden plaque That makes me ride that railroad track It's my baby's kiss that keeps me coming back It's my baby's kiss that keeps me coming back |
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"Susan Kirby-Smith: A sort of love-seizure... it sounds like flashing lights, disorientation, absurdly strong feelings and weakness."
"Dudley: Stephin had all the singers record songs with distinct types of sexual narratives- gay, straight, cross-gender, gender non-specific: Claudia sings "Sweet Lovin' Man," Stephin sings "Bitter Tears" to no one in particular, etc. This was my last song to record for the album. I was at Stephin's and he was playing through old cassette tapes looking for something, and an old demo of this song came on. I said, "I want to do this as my same-sex love song."" "Linda Merritt: It's a disturbing, psychologically accurate peek at a sadomasochistic love affair. Dudley makes it come alive." "Jorge Colombo: Since this song I can't hear New Order-style percussion without imagining people being slapped." |
2.15 Long-Forgotten FairytaleLENGTH: 3:37
SUNG BY: Dudley with Stephin KEY: B Major GENRE: Hyperbolic ABBA LISTEN FOR: Backing vocals (real and Harmoniser'd) LYRICS: Someone told me you'd be here Whispering these familiar things Talking to my little pets Smoking the same old cigarettes I would have laughed I saw you last in summertime You said you hated long goodbyes You said there's nothing to explain In every life, a little rain Et cetera And a long-forgotten fairytale Is in your eyes again And I'm caught inside a dream world Where the colors are too intense And nothing is making sense There's a floating town of ire down In a mist of mystery There's an old enchanted castle And the princess there is me Decked out like a Christmas tree I guess you've had your little joke But I have lost my sense of humor My medication's wearing off For it's just not strong enough To cover this Then you kiss me like before I find myself wanting more Then you tell that little lie That kept hypnotized Another kiss And a long-forgotten fairytale Is in your eyes again And I'm caught inside a dream world Where the colors are too intense And nothing is making sense There's a floating town of ire down In a mist of mystery There's an old enchanted castle And the princess there is me Decked out like a Christmas tree If someone told me I'd succumb If someone said I'd be so dumb After all the sleepless nights When I turned on all the lights I would have hit them But I have turned the other cheek My voice trembles My knees are weak And you beat me once again And I know what happens then You raise the ante And a long-forgotten fairytale Is in your eyes again And I'm caught inside a dream world Where the colors are too intense And nothing is making sense |
2.16 Kiss Me Like You Mean ItLENGTH: 2:00
SUNG BY: Shirley KEY: F# Major GENRE: SM Gospel LISTEN FOR: Rhyming "been" and "mean," à la Annie Lennox LYRICS: He is my lord He is my savior And he rewards My good behavior My secret soul I know he's seen it He says "Come here, baby And kiss me like you mean it" He calls me "baby" Says "Kiss me like you mean it" (humming) He is my light And my salvation He's always right He's always patient I pinch myself It's like I'm dreaming it He says "Come here, baby And kiss me like you mean it" He calls me "baby" Says "Kiss me like you mean it" (humming) He is my love He's always been it He says "Come here baby And kiss me like you mean it" He calls me "baby" Says "Kiss me like you mean it" |
"NancyKay Shapiro: I always wonder if Stephin intended it, or if I'm the only one who hears this as the codependent warble of a woman entangled with an emotionally abusive man who's broken down her self-respect."
"Stephin: Listen for Shirley's broadest suburban-Baltimore accent, and how she rises perfectly to the five-note melisma on "se-e-e-e-elf"- it's gospel, after all." In the 69LS liner notes, Stephin Merritt says the song is "about a B & D [bondage and domination] relationship." |
"Charles Newman: When we recorded the drums for this I felt like I was part of history in the making."
"Miss Gretchen- There was a lot of discussion on as to Mike's gender, with various proofs offered up. Now, everyone knows Mike is based on Nancy Sinatra in the movie Wild Angels. But why must people be so... definite? A little ambiguity never harmed anyone." "Reno Dakota: Which came first, "Papa Was a Rodeo," or Brokeback Mountain?* Guess it doesn't matter. Whether we're herdin' sheep or wrestlin' gators, it's all about how that dead serious, bow-legged, butt-pluggin' MANLOVE can just sidle up outta nowhere and steal away with our juicy-stupid hearts. Jeez, I get teary every time I play this lovely song. I'd like to think Heath and Jake do, too." "Ed Park: An epic in the way "Grand Canyon" isn't: it's packed with detail, and the lovers' story is vast, encompassing decades- that gloriously deadpan time-shift: "And now it's 55 years later." For a long time I assumed the lyrics described a gay romance but on the millionth listen, I felt the carpet being pulled, as Stephin frames a memory and Shirley delivers the chorus. Is the object of his (dis)affection "Mike" actually a woman? The fact that Shirley's chorus is the same as Stephin's scans as a sweet affirmation of the lovers' common background- or else it's a senile descent into solipsistic self-love. Both sound great to me." "Stephin: Part of this one was written at the Rainbow Cattle Company (a now-closed gay bar) in Austin, Texas." Fun Fact: At five minutes one second, this is the longest song on the album.
*"Papa Was a Rodeo" came first. |
2.17 Papa Was a RodeoLENGTH: 5:01
SUNG BY: Stephin & Shirley KEY: G Major GENRE: Countrypolitan LISTEN FOR: Plinky uke turnaround starting at second refrain LYRICS: I like your twisted point of view, Mike I like your questioning eyebrows You've made it pretty clear what you like It's only fair to tell you now That I leave early in the morning And I won't be back 'til next year I see that "kiss me" pucker forming But maybe you should plug it with a beer 'Cause Papa was a rodeo Mama was a rock and roll band I could play guitar and rope a steer Before I learned to stand Home was anywhere with diesel gas Love was a trucker's hand Never stuck around long enough For a one night stand Before you kiss me, you should know Papa was a rodeo The light reflecting off the mirror ball Looks like a thousand swirling eyes They make me think I shouldn't be here at all You know Every minute Someone dies What are we doing in this dive bar? How can you live in a place like this? Why don't you just get into my car And I'll take you away I'll take that kiss now But Papa was a rodeo Mama was a rock and roll band I could play guitar and rope a steer Before I learned to stand Home was anywhere with diesel gas Love was a trucker's hand Never stuck around long enough For a one night stand Before you kiss me, you should know Papa was a rodeo And now it's fifty-five years later We've had the romance of the century After all these years wrestling gators I still feel like crying When I think of what you said to me Papa was a rodeo Mama was a rock and roll band I could play guitar and rope a steer Before I learned to stand Home was anywhere with diesel gas Love was a trucker's hand Never stuck around long enough For a one night stand Before you kiss me, you should know Papa was a rodeo Ooh-ooh What a coincidence Your papa was a rodeo Too |
2.18 Epitaph for My HeartLENGTH: 2:50
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Bb Minor GENRE: 1. Found-Poetry Madrigal 2. Goth Tom Petty LISTEN FOR: Guitar solo!, muted bass à la Carol Kaye LYRICS: Caution, caution, caution To prevent electric shock Do not, do not, do not Remove cover No user-serviceable parts inside Refer servicing to qualified Service personnel Let this be the the epitaph for my heart Cupid put too much poison in the dart This is the epitaph for my heart Because it's gone, gone, gone And life goes on and on anon And death goes on, world without end And you're not my friend Who will mourn the passing of my heart? Will its little droppings climb the pop chart? Who'll take its ashes and, singing, fling From the top of the Brill Building And life goes on, and dawn, and dawn And death goes on, world without end And you're not my friend |
"NancyKay Shapiro: Only Stephin would make a lyric out of the safety warning on the back of a stereo receiver, and then turn that into a huge metaphor in a song that for all its cleverness, is existentially devastating."
"John St Denis: Live, it's more bitter than the recording, and I like it that way." |
"Stephin: I love watching people sleep. Except when they're at the wheel."
"John St Denis: Stephin has said many times that good songwriting doesn't require a composer to feel every emotion conveyed in his songs- they're not about him. I absolutely believe him. Yet he gives us "Asleep and Dreaming" or "Book of Love" and I can't help seeing the half-mask of the clever songsmith slipping down, giving us a glimpse of the wounded romantic underneath." This song is reminiscent of the Greek myth of Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, and the mortal Endymion whom she loved. According to some stories, Selene loved how Endymion looked when he slept so much that she asked Zeus to grant him eternal sleep. Every night, Selene would visit him as Endymion, forever youthful and undisturbed, slept. |
2.19 Asleep and DreamingLENGTH: 1:53
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Warholian Weepy LISTEN FOR: Slithery piano obligato LYRICS: I've seen you laugh At nothing at all I've seen you sadly weeping The sweetest thing I ever saw Was you asleep And dreaming Well, you may not be beautiful But it's not for me to judge I don't know if you're beautiful Because I love you too much I've seen you laugh At nothing at all I've seen you sadly weeping The sweetest thing I ever saw Was you asleep And dreaming I've seen you when Your ship came in And when your train Was leaving The sweetest thing I ever saw Was you asleep And dreaming |
2.20 The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes DancingLENGTH: 2:46
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Db Major GENRE: Ukulele Disco LISTEN FOR: Intermittent radar, "heartbeat" bass drum in bridge LYRICS: So the sun goes down And the world goes dancing And the stars come out And they all go dancing And there is nothing I'd like more Than a twirl across this rickety old floor And I don't know why But I just feel like dancing I can't imagine why But I feel like dancing And there is nothing in this world That I'd like better than A twirl across your rickety old floor Baby, it's you You know your eyes are awful blue Maybe it's more Maybe you're all I ever waited for After all the endless nights When I wished I could still cry The sun goes down And the world goes dancing And the stars come out And they all go dancing And there is nothing I'd like more Than a twirl across this rickety old floor Well, I don't know why But I just feel like dancing I can't imagine why But I feel like dancing And there is nothing in this world Than I'd like better Than a twirl across your rickety old floor |
"Stephin: Most Top 40 songs are either about love or dancing, and if they're recurring themes in my lyrics that's just because they're recurring themes in all lyrics."
Bus Stop Cover: Damon Guyett via YouTube. |
"Stephin: Written in the 80s, but not recorded then because it, like "Kiss Me Like You Mean It," sounds ridiculous with me singing it."
"Stephin: The way the person says good-night is never actually described in any way. You have no idea how he or she says good-night. You're free to imagine in what exotic, strange and grandiose way it is that they say good-night. It's about an anticlimax so I built the anticlimax into the arrangement." |
2.21 The Way You Say Good-NightLENGTH: 2:44
SUNG BY: LD KEY: C# Major GENRE: Cello Fantasia LISTEN FOR: Skewed bells in the coda LYRICS: So far away and so alone How could I ever take you home? You're beautiful Beautiful You've got a devastating point of view And everything you say is true You're beautiful Beautiful The nightbirds start to sing their favorite song The way you say good-night The nightbirds start to sing their favorite song And the moon begins to sing I kiss you and the sun goes down How come it's always dark when you're around? You're beautiful Beautiful The nightbirds sing their favorite song The moon begins to sing You're beautiful Beautiful The stars begin their Busby Berkeley dance The way you say good-night And the night becomes a musical extravaganza The way you say good-night The way you say good-night I dream of all day long Oh, I could write a song about the way you say good-night The way you say good-night I dream of all day long Oh, I could write a song about the way you say good-night The way you say good-night I dream of all day long Oh, I could write a song about the way you say good-night |
2.22 Abigail, Belle of KilronanLENGTH: 2:00
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Irish War Ballad LISTEN FOR: Bass drum entry when the hero goes to war, heavy tremolo on ukulele LYRICS: Abigail Can you feel my heart in the palm of your hand? And do you understand Why I can't stay? Abigail An evil wind is blowing through the land And they need every man To drive it away When I come home If I come home You'll be a grown woman When I come home If I come home Don't be alone Abigail, Belle of Kilronan Abigail Is gonna be the beauty of County Galway And she will live always In a world of love Abigail I'm off to the war But you can be sure I will know you're What I'm fighting for I'm off to the war But you can be sure I will know you're What I'm fighting for I'm off to the war But you can be sure I will know you're What I'm fighting for When I come home If I come home You'll be a grown woman When I come home If I come home Don't be alone Abigail, Belle of Kilronan |
"Stephin: I like over-the-top sentimentality if there's a justification for it, and war is a pretty good justification. As long as you say that there's a war going on, practically any emotion follows."
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"Peter Straub: Stephin's voice, which I've heard him denigrate, is a wonderful, expressive instrument, though tonally it may not offer much variation. But it is emotionally expressive. It conveys a kind of all-stops-out romanticism that is framed almost ironically, but is not felt ironically. When I heard him sing this at Lincoln Center his voice seemed to shatter, as though he were literally breaking something. It seemed to go lower than any human voice I'd ever heard- down into the depths where sound couldn't sustain itself."
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2.23 I ShatterLENGTH: 3:09
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Krautrock LISTEN FOR: Tricky timing on backing vocals LYRICS: Bang, there was you Too gold Too blue You told the truth I cried You flew You called me mad (And I am mad) As a hatter Some fall in love (Some fall in love) I shatter You make it rain Too bleak Too stark Should night not fall You make Things dark You called me mad (And I am mad) As a hatter Some fall in love (Some fall in love) I shatter Bang, here am I No one Nowhere No ground, no sky No light No air You called me mad (And I am mad) As a hatter Some fall in love (Some fall in love) I shatter |
