Cheesy Event

If you live in Belgium, and happen to like the songs we post on our blog, I think I do have something to recommend.
only during the gentse feesten (this coming week) :



it seems that from 6 p.m, a DJ will play records from the 50's and 60's. I don't know much more but I have a good feeling about this!
here's their website .

Johnny Burnette - Little Boy Sad

Released in 1961 and later covered by Herman's Hermits.




You've been lyin', been untrue
Now they call me Little Boy Blue
Someday, baby, you're gonna find
Nobody in the world's gonna give you lovin' as sweet as mine

You've been cheatin', doin' me bad
Now they call me Little Boy Sad
Someday, baby, you're gonna see
Nobody in the world's gonna give you lovin' as sweet as me

Little Boy Blue, that's my name
Little Boy Sad, you're to blame

You've been sneakin', doin' me dirt
Now they call me Little Boy Hurt
Someday, baby, you're gonna find
Nobody in the world's gonna give you lovin' as sweet as mine

Wanda Jackson - I Gotta Know

This was the first hit for the Queen of Rockabilly, in 1956.
Wanda Jackson is still alive and rockin, having performed on August 2007 on Elvis and more, the 30th Memorial Concert dedicated to Elvis Presley, whom she dated. Elvis strongly encouraged her to abandon the gospel/country style and move towards rock n' roll.




Well I thought that you were a wantin' romance
But all you ever do is dance dance dance
So I boppity bop the whole night long to the knocked out music of a jukebox song
One thing I gotta know I gotta know I gotta know
If our love's the real thing where's my weddin' ring

Yes we rocked and rolled till the broad daylight
You're a little too pooped to kiss your baby goodnight
I know you've had it when the rockin' is through
So I let you go home what else could I do
One thing I gotta know ...

Well I thought that you were a wantin' romance...

When you're on that floor you're cool man cool
But when it comes to lovin' you need to go to school
You know I'm longin' for a weddin' day but all you ever do is play boy play
One thing I gotta know ...

Dion - Runaround Sue

Okay, what's up with this Sue/Suzie character?
All the songs are about her.



Here's my story, its sad but true
It's about a girl that I once knew
She took my love then ran around
With every single guy in town

Ah, I should have known it from the very start
This girl will leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people what I'm telling you
A-keep away from-a Runaround Sue

I miss her lips and the smile on her face
The touch of her hair and this girl's warm embrace
So if you don't wanna cry like I do
A-keep away from-a Runaround Sue

Ah, she likes to travel around
She'll love you but she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue

Yeah, keep away from this girl
I know know what she'll do
Keep away from sue

She likes to travel around
She'll love you but she'll put you down
Now people let me put you wise
Sue goes out with other guys
Here's the moral and the story from the guy who knows
I fell in love and my love still grows
Ask any fool that she ever knew, they'll say
Keep away from-a Runaround Sue

Ritchie Valens - That's my little Suzie

I hesitated between this and "rockin' all night"... It's also a good song.
This video seems to be made from parts of the movie "La Bamba" which related Ritchie's life.





Well, I got a gal named Sue
She knows just what to do
She's just a-rockin'
She knows what to do

She knows how to love me
And rock it, too
That's my little Suzie
She knows what to do

She rocks to the left
And she rocks to the right
She rocks all day
And she rocks all night
When my baby gets tired a-me
I'm gonna drown myself in a sea

Well, come on let's go little Suzie
Tell me you'll be true
If I shoud lose you
Oh, what could I do?

(Ritchie - guitar solo & instrumental)

She rocks to the left
And she rocks to the right
She rocks all day
And she rocks all night
When my baby gets tired a-me
I'm gonna drown myself in a sea

Well, come on let's go little Suzie
Tell me you'll be true
If I shoud lose you
Oh, what could I do?

Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

And now... a popstar who, unlike the previous ones, is more alive than dead...
Pete Burns in Dead or Alive, singing "You Spin me Round (Like a Record)".
According to Pete, the eye patch was a clever idea to distract people from his recent nose job.

Very catchy and danceable hit from 1985.

I want your lo-o-o-o-oooove

Yeah I, I got to know your name
Well and I, could trace your private number baby
All I know is that to me
You look like you're lots of fun
Open up your lovin' arms
I want some

Well I...I set my sights on you
(and no one else will do)
And I, I've got to have my way now, baby
(and no one else will do)
And I, I've got to have my way now, baby
All I know is that to me
You look like you're havin' fun
Open up your lovin' arms
Watch out, here I come

*You spin me right round, baby
right round like a record, baby
Right round round round
You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round

I, I got be your friend now, baby
And I would like to move in
Just a little bit closer
(little bit closer)

**All I know is that to me
You look like you're lots of fun
Open up your lovin' arms
Watch out, here I come

[*Repeat]

I want your love
I want your love
[**Repeat]

Elvis Presley - The girl of my best friend

ELVIS LIVES!


Well, through his songs anyways. This one deals with a popular subject- a case of everyday drama. The album Elvis Is Back! on which the song appeared
was #2 on the Top Pop Albums chart in 1960.

and yet ANOTHER 60's song...

Note : If you have seen Elvis, please report to this website.

(words & music by Beverly
Ross - Sam Bobrick)

The way she walks,
The way she talks
How long can I pretend
Oh I can't help I'm in love
With the girl of my best friend

Her lovely hair,
Her skin so fair
I could go on and never end
Oh, I can't help I'm in love
With the girl of my best friend

I want to tell her
How I love her so
And hold her in my arms, but then
What if she got real mad
and told him so
I could never face either one again

The way they kiss
Their happiness
Will my aching heart ever mend
Or will I always be in love
With the girl of my best friend?

Never end,
Will it ever end?
Please let it end

Buddy Holly - Love is Strange

This is actually a cover, the original was performed by Mickey & Silvia (see below)in 1957. This song appeared on Charles Hardin "Buddy" Holley's last album, Giant, issued 10 years after his tragic death in a plane crash. The album was put together using tapes brought in by Buddy's parents which were then transferred to a multi-track recorder.

Love
love is strange
many people
take it for a game
once you've had it
you're in an awful fix
'cos when you've had it
you never want to quit

many people
they don't understand
they think love
is money in their hand
but your sweet love
is better than a kiss
and when you leave me
those kisses I will miss

Love, mmmm
love is strange
many people, mmmm
take it for a game
once you've had it, mmmm
you're in an awful fix
'cos when you've had it
you never want to quit

many people, mmmm
they don't understand
they think love, mmmm
is money in their hand
but your sweet loving, mmmm
is better than a kiss
and when you leave me, mmmm
those kisses I will miss

those kisses I will miss
those kisses I will miss

Leonard Cohen - Suzanne

The lyrics for this 1967 song first appeared as a poem entitled Suzanne Takes You Down on Cohen's 1966 book Parasites Of Heaven.

Leonard Cohen specified, notably in a BBC interview, that the song was about encountering Suzanne Verdal, the wife of sculptor Armand Vaillancourt, in a Montreal setting. (...)
She is now homeless in Venice Beach, California, USA, where she lives in her automobile. Verdal claims that she and Cohen never had sexual relations, contrary to what some interpretations of the song suggest. Cohen himself stated in a 1994 BBC interview that he only imagined having sex with her, as there was neither the opportunity nor inclination to actually go through with it. She says she has met Cohen twice since the song's initial popularity; once after a concert Cohen performed in the 1970s and once in passing in the 1990s where Cohen did not speak to her (and possibly did not recognise her). - wikipedia

Click here for a 1998 interview with Suzanne Verdal about this song.



Covered by Judy Collins, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and many others.

This is Françoise Hardy's french version of it. (lyrics, which remain rather faithful to the original, can be found here)




Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she's half crazy
But that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind.
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said "All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them"
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind.

Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind

Serge/Charlotte Gainsbourg - Lemon Incest

Controversial love song.

Nierdoi Sseaurou stands for Henri Rousseau, le douanier (french naïf painter).

Released in 1984 on Serge Gainsbourg's Love On The Beat, also to be found on Charlotte Gainsbourg's 1986 album Charlotte For Ever.

Covered by Vive La Fête.



Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa
Naïve comme une toile du Nierdoi Sseaurou
Tes baisers sont si doux
Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa
L’amour que nous n’ f’rons jamais ensemble
Est le plus beau le rare le plus troublant
Le plus pur le plus enivrant
Exquise esquisse
Délicieuse enfant
Ma chair et mon sang
Oh mon bébé mon âme

Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa
Naïve comme une toile du Nierdoi Sseaurou
Tes baisers sont si doux
Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa

L’amour que nous n’ f’rons jamais ensemble
Est le plus rare le plus troublant
Le plus pur le plus énivrant
Exquise esquisse
Délicieuse enfant
Ma chair et mon sang
Oh mon bébé mon âme

Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa
Naïve comme une toile du Nierdoi Sseaurou
Tes baisers sont si doux
Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa

L’amour que nous n’ f’rons jamais ensemble
Est le plus rare le plus troublant
Le plus pur le plus énivrant
Exquise esquisse
Délicieuse enfant
Ma chair et mon sang
Oh mon bébé mon âme

Inceste de citron
Lemon incest
Je t’aime t’aime, je t’aime plus que tout
Papapappa

Erasure - Blue Savannah

A Little Respect was going to be my choice, but then I gave it a thought. And while A Little Respect is more interesting, this is better.

Released as a single in 1989.




Blue savannah song
Oh its a blue savannah song
Somewhere cross the desert
Sometime in the early hour
In a restless world
On the open highways

My home is where the heart is
Sweet to surrender to you only
I send my love to you

Blue savannah song
Oh its a blue savannah song
Racing cross the desert
At a hundred miles an hour
To the orange side
Through the clouds and thunder

Home is where the heart is
Sweet to surrender to you only
I send my love to you

Im on my way back
And your love will bring me home
Im travelling fast
And your love will bring me home
Will I discover
That your love will bring me home?

Somewhere cross the desert
Sometime in the early hour
To the orange side
Through the clouds and thunder

My home is where the heart is
Sweet to surrender to you only
I send my love to you

Françoise Hardy - Tous Les Garçons et Les Filles

Another 60's french song (1962).
She sings about how boys and girls around her know what love means, while she's lonely. No one whispers "I love you" in her ear. In the end, she wonders when the sun's gonna shine for her too.




Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Se promènent dans la rue deux par deux
Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Savent bien ce que c'est qu'être heureux
Et les yeux dans les yeux
Et la main dans la main
Ils s'en vont amoureux
Sans peur du lendemain
Oui mais moi, je vais seule
Par les rues, l'âme en peine
Oui mais moi, je vais seule
Car personne ne m'aime.

Mes jours comme mes nuits
Sont en tous points pareils
Sans joie et pleins d'ennui
Personne ne murmure «je t'aime» à mon oreille

Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Font ensemble des projets d'avenir
Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Savent très bien ce qu'aimer veut dire
Et les yeux dans les yeux
Et la main dans la main
Ils s'en vont amoureux
Sans peur du lendemain
Oui mais moi, je vais seule
Par les rues, l'âme en peine
Oui mais moi, je vais seule
Car personne ne m'aime.

Mes jours comme mes nuits
Sont en tous points pareils
Sans joie et pleins d'ennui
Oh! quand donc pour moi brillera le soleil?

Comme les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Connaîtrai-je bientôt ce qu'est l'amour?
Comme les garçons et les filles de mon âge
Je me demande quand viendra le jour
Où les yeux dans ses yeux
Et la main dans sa main
J'aurai le coeur heureux
Sans peur du lendemain
Le jour où je n'aurai
Plus du tout l'âme en peine
Le jour où moi aussi
J'aurai quelqu'un qui m'aime

France Gall - Laisse Tomber les Filles

Okay, it was time to update this blog!
This is a song by France Gall, written by Serge Gainsbourg and recorded in 1964.
It's a warning for jerks (and jerkettes?) : don't play with innocent hearts! Below is a fairly recent version by April March called Chick Habit (1995). It was featured in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. Lyrics are pretty similar.

hang up the chick habit
hang it up, daddy,
or you'll never get another fix

.

Laisse tomber les filles
Laisse tomber les filles
Un jour c'est toi qu'on laissera
Laisse tomber les filles
Laisse tomber les filles
Un jour c'est toi qui pleureras
Oui j'ai pleuré mais ce jour-là
Non je ne pleurerai pas
Non je ne pleurerai pas
Je dirai c'est bien fait pour toi
Je dirai ça t'apprendra
Je dirai ça t'apprendra
Laisse tomber les filles
Laisse tomber les filles
Ça te jouera un mauvais tour
Laisse tomber les filles
Laisse tomber les filles
Tu le paieras un de ces jours
On ne joue pas impunément
Avec un cœur innocent
Avec un cœur innocent
Tu verras ce que je ressens
Avant qu'il ne soit longtemps
Avant qu'il ne soit longtemps

La chance abandonne
Celui qui ne sait
Que laisser les cœurs blessés
Tu n'auras personne
Pour te consoler
Tu ne l'auras pas volé

Laisse tomber les filles
Laisse tomber les filles
Un jour c'est toi qu'on laissera
Laisse tomber les filles
Laisse tomber les filles
Un jour c'est toi qui pleureras
Non pour te plaindre il n'y aura
Personne d'autre que toi
Personne d'autre que toi
Alors tu te rappelleras
Tout ce que je te dis là
Tout ce que je te dis là

Dick Justice - Henry Lee

Another song from the Anthology of American Folk Music;  another tragic story. 
Typical "if I don't get you, nobody else will" twisted situation.

Interesting fact:

In case you wonder how a pen-knife could be so fatal, it was originally a "weapon knife," pronounced "weepin' knife," from whence "wee pen-knife," and an easy verbal jump to "little pen-knife."

(from this page, which has more information on the song :
 Remembering the Old Songs )

there is a well known version by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. I find the lalala, lalali part rather irritating, but that's just my personal opinion. It can be viewed here.


"Get down, get down, little Henry Lee, and stay all night with me.
The very best lodging I can afford will be fare better'n thee."
"I can't get down, and I won't get down, and stay all night with thee,
For the girl I have in that merry green land, I love far better'n thee."

She leaned herself against a fence, just for a kiss or two;
With a little pen-knife held in her hand, she plugged him through and through.
"Come all you ladies in the town, a secret for me keep,
With a diamond ring held on my hand I'll never will forsake."

"Some take him by his lily-white hand, some take him by his feet.
We'll throw him in this deep, deep well, more than one hundred feet.
Lie there, lie there, loving Henry Lee, till the flesh drops from your bones.
The girl you have in that merry green land still waits for your return."

"Fly down, fly down, you little bird, and alight on my right knee.
Your cage will be of purest gold, in deed of property."
"I can't fly down, or I won't fly down, and alight on your right knee.
A girl would murder her own true love would kill a little bird like me."

"If I had my bend and bow, my arrow and my string,
I'd pierce a dart so nigh your heart your wobble would be in vain."
"If you had your bend and bow, your arrow and your string,
I'd fly away to the merry green land and tell what I have seen."

Kathy Young - Our Parents Talked It Over

Kathy Young with The Innocents. Their biggest hit was a cover of The Rivileers 1954 song "A Thousand Stars", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. This one, however, didn't do well in the charts.
But it's just so heartfelt!

edit: lyrics!



so our parents talked it over
and they all seemed to agree
we were much too young for marriage
you were much too old for me

there would me no ceremony
there would be no weddingbells
just a very lonely girl
and unhappy teenage boy

we begged them and we pleaded
we tried to make them see
i could not live without you
and you so needed me

maybe someday they'll be sorry
and i hope it won't be long
we will prove that what we wanted
was a love that won't go wrong

The Doors - The Crystal Ship

Some say The Doors' late singer Jim Morrison wrote "The Crystal Ship" when he was
dropping acid on an Isla Vista beach one night, transfixed by the glittering lights of
Platform Holly, an offshore oil rig. [beware this is a .pdf]

To quote wikipedia: ' John Densmore "co-writer" states: "Jim wrote The Crystal Ship for Mary Werbelow in 1964, a girlfriend with whom he was breaking up, it was in his famous notebook of poetry he had when we formed. (sic),. . . . The song was a goodbye love song." '

Not cheesy.




Before you slip into unconsciousness
Id like to have another kiss
Another flashing chance at bliss
Another kiss, another kiss

The days are bright and filled with pain
Enclose me in your gentle rain
The time you ran was too insane
Well meet again, well meet again

Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
Youd rather cry, Id rather fly

The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, Ill drop a line

Dodie Stevens - Pink Shoelaces

1959 hit single
who doesn't love eccentric, wealthy men?




Now I've got a guy and his name is Dooley
He's my guy and I love him truly
He's not good lookin', heaven knows
But I'm wild about his crazy clothes

He wears tan shoes with pink shoelaces
A polka dot vest and man, oh, man
Tan shoes with pink shoelaces
And a big Panama with a purple hat band

ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh
ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh

He takes me deep-sea fishing in a submarine
We got to drive-in movies in a limousine
He's got a whirly-birdy and a 12-foot yacht
Ah, but thats-a not all he's got

He's got tan shoes with pink shoelaces
A polka dot vest and man, oh, man
Tan shoes with pink shoelaces
And a big Panama with a purple hat band

Now Dooley had a feelin' we were goin' to war
So he went out and enlisted in a fightin' corps
But he landed in the brig for raisin' such a storm
When they tried to put 'em in a uniform

He wanted tan shoes with pink shoelaces
A polka dot vest and man, oh, man
He wanted tan shoes with pink shoelaces
And a big Panama with a purple hat band

ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh
ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh

Now one day Dooley started feelin' sick
And he decided that he better make his will out quick
He said "Just before the angels come to carry me
I want it down in writin' how to bury me."

A'wearin tan shoes with pink shoelaces
A polka dot vest and man, oh, man
Give me tan shoes with pink shoelaces
And a big Panama with a purple hat band

ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh
ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh
ooh-ooh, ooh, ooh

And a big Panama with a purple hat band

Buell Kazee - The Butcher's boy/ The Railroad Boy

This song appeared on the influential Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)

And over my coffin, place a snow white dove
To warn this world that I died for love

sad; sad
 
sung by Buell Kazee (1900-1976)

and also by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan




Too bad I can't find the one I heard the other night, by this band. It was better than this one above. I think.


Lyrics as performed by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Hughes Stadium, Colorado
University, Fort Collins, CO, 23 May 1976,
transcribed by Manfred Helfert.

She went upstairs to make her bed
And not one word to her mother said.
Her mother she went upstairs too
Saying, 'Daughter, oh daughter, what's troublin' you?':

'Oh mother, oh mother, I cannot tell
That railroad boy that I love so well.
He courted me my life away
And now at home will no longer stay.'
'There is a place in yonder town
Where my love goes and he sits him down.
And he takes that strange girl on his knee
And he tells to her what he won't tell me.'
Her father he came home from work
Sayin', 'Where is my daughter, she seems so hurt'
He went upstairs to give her hope
An' he found her hangin' by a rope.
He took his knife and he cut her down

And on her bosom these words he found:
'Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Put a marble stone at my head and feet,
And on my breast, put a snow white dove
To warn the world that I died of love.

Ken Laszlo - Hey Hey Guy

The video is a little gem. In it, "Ken" answers a woman's phone call only to address her as:
hey, hey guy.





Ken: "Hallo"
French guy: "Hallo??"
Ken: "Oh dear, you have phone"
French guy: "Yeah, hey guy, tell me about your menicure"
Ken: "I love you and feel the groove"
French guy: "Tell me about it, is it the true"
Ken: "It's true, yes, it's true"
French guy: "Don't fool out, it's dangerous"
Ken: "Don't worry, baby gold"
French guy: "Everything is same as all"
Ken: "Everything is the same"
French guy: "Oh, I love you"
Ken: "Me too"
French guy: "I love you"

Let me see what you have done
Let me know what happens here tonight
Love for hire is dangerous
Let me know what happens here tonight

Hey hey guy (Shell I get you)
Hey hey guy (Oh yeah)
Hey hey guy (? any longer)
Hey hey guy (Oh yeah)

Steps to heaven, three steps to me
Let me know what you are doing tonight
You love me, but sorry I don't love you
Let me know what you are doing tonight

Fool for love and shine
Shine into my life
In your eyes my trouble
I forget that's right

Let me try your love
Yes babe, I'm waiting, please don't stop
Hey guy all your love forever...

Neil Sedaka - Calendar Girl

Pick your favourite!

edit: here's a petition you can sign to get Neil Sedaka on The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame



I love, I love, I love my calendar girl
Yeah, sweet calendar girl
I love, I love, I love my calendar girl
Each and every day of the year

(January) You start the year off fine
(February) You're my little valentine
(March) I'm gonna march you down the aisle
(April) You're the Easter Bunny when you smile
Yeah, yeah, my heart's in a whirl
I love, I love, I love my little calender girl
Every day (every day), every day (every day) of the year
(Every day of the year)

(May) Maybe if I ask your dad and mom
(June) They'll let me take you to the Junior Prom
(July) Like a firecracker all aglow
(August) When you're on the beach you steal the show

Yeah, yeah, my heart's in a whirl
I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl
Every day (every day), every day (every day) of the year
(Every day of the year)

(September) Light the candles at your Sweet Sixteen
(October) Romeo and Juliet on Halloween
(November) I'll give thanks that you belong to me
(December) You're the present 'neath my Christmas tree

Yeah, yeah, my heart's in a whirl
I love, I love, I love my little calendar girl
Every day (every day), every day (every day) of the year