Now I know this is a silly one but it is a great example of the way Macartney and the Beatles in their day composed songs from snippets. Paul verges on 'spoken word' in the earlier verses, sounding almost conversational. I think it catches the sense of the times, the early 70's, as the idealism of the 60's was looking a little worn around the edges, the Vietnam war was intensifying and everything was looking a bit confused. Of course, this was when the Beatles had fallen apart as well, so another element of disintegration. This song has that dreamy, airy-fairy tone that was present in some of the Beatles tunes (ie - Octopus's Garden, Eleanor Rigby) but in other pop music as well ... remember "Aquarias"?

Uncle Albert - Paul and Linda Macartney (1971)

We're so sorry, uncle albert,
We're so sorry if we caused you any pain.
We're so sorry, uncle albert,
But there's no one left at home
And i believe it's gonna rain.

We're so sorry but we haven't heard a thing all day,
We're so sorry, uncle albert,
But if anything should happen
We'll be sure to give a ring.

We're so sorry, uncle albert,
But we haven't done a bloody thing all day.
We're so sorry, uncle albert,
But the kettle's on the boil
And we're so easily called away.

Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh,
Doo-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh,
Uh-uh -

Hands across the water, heads across the sky,
Hands across the water, heads across the sky.

Admiral halsey notified me,
He had to have a berth or he couldn't get to sea.
I had another look and i had a cup of tea and a butter pie.

"couldn't put it in something else
So i pulled it in the pie, alright!"

Hands across the water, heads across the sky,
Hands across the water, heads across the sky.

Live a little, be a gypsy, get around,
Get your feet up off the ground,
Live a little, get around.

Live a little, be a gypsy, get around,
Get your feet up off the ground,
Live a little, get around.

Hands across the water, heads across the sky,
Hands across the water, heads across the sky.

Oh thank you for that Giselle.

Isn't it lovely not to be intense? I sometimes think that pop songs should cheer us up, leaving intensity and passion to the Opera buffs:

This was such a catchy tune - It's accompanied me all my life it seems -

Thanks to Randy Newman, I beleive.

I may go out tomorrow if I can borrow a coat to wear
Oh I'd step out in style with my sincere smile and my dancing bear
Outrageous alarming courageous charming
Oh who would think a boy and bear
Could be well accepted everywhere
It's just amazing how fair people can be

Seen at the nicest places where well fed faces all stop to stare
Making the grandest entrance is Simon Smith and his dancing bear
They'll love us, won't they?
They feed us, don't they?
Oh, who would think a boy and bear
Could be well accepted everywhere
It's just amazing how fair people can be

Who needs money when you're funny?
The big attraction everywhere
Will be Simon Smith and his dancing bear
It's Simon Smith and the amazing dancing bear

Hey, I just figured out a favorite tune of mine is a Bob Dylan. I know it from Cover Girl by Shawn Colvin. What brought it to mind, you ask? Was just thinking about DWill away in Colorado for the week and it popped into my head. So, this one spins for DWill --

You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
I’ve seen love go by my door
It’s never been this close before
Never been so easy or so slow
Been shooting in the dark too long
When somethin’s not right it’s wrong
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Dragon clouds so high above
I’ve only known careless love
It’s always hit me from below
This time around it’s more correct
Right on target, so direct
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Purple clover, Queen Anne’s Lace
Crimson hair across your face
You could make me cry if you don’t know
Can’t remember what I was thinkin’ of
You might be spoilin’ me too much, love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Flowers on the hillside, bloomin’ crazy
Crickets talkin’ back and forth in rhyme
Blue river runnin’ slow and lazy
I could stay with you forever and never realize the time

Situations have ended sad
Relationships have all been bad
Mine’ve been like Verlaine’s and Rimbaud
But there’s no way I can compare
All those scenes to this affair
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m doin’
Stayin’ far behind without you
Yer gonna make me wonder what I’m sayin’
Yer gonna make me give myself a good talkin’ to

I’ll look for you in old Honolulu
San Francisco, Ashtabula
Yer gonna have to leave me now, I know
But I’ll see you in the sky above
In the tall grass, in the ones I love
Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go

Oh Saffron, don't we make real friends on here.

Lovely post - thank you!!

Penelope wrote:Oh Saffron, don't we make real friends on here.

Lovely post - thank you!!

Hello, hello! Long time since we connected on BT.

Just heard a brand new song from a favorite band of mine, January Hymn by The Decemberists. I wish you could hear the lovely guitar behind the lyrics.

On a winter's Sunday I go
To clear away the snow
And green the ground below

April all an ocean away
Is this the better way to spend the day?
Keeping the winter at bay

What were the words I meant to say before you left?
When I could see your breath lead
Where you were going to
Maybe I should just let it be
And maybe it will all come back to me
Sing: O January O

How I lived a childhood in snow
And all my teens in tow
Stuffed in strata of clothes

Pale the winter days after dark
Wandering the gray memorial park
A fleeting beating of hearts

What were the words I meant to say before she left?
When I could see her breath lead
Where she was going to
Maybe I should just let it be
And maybe it will all come back to me
Sing: O January O

I had forgotten about this thread until I read Saffron's recent post and when I looked back to find a Bob Dylan tune she had posted I decided to post one of my own. This is one of my favourite Bob D songs because it smacks of defiance and standing up to 'the man'. Also, its in 'tune', so to speak, with Huck Finn, which I am reading and I note that the word 'slave' appears in the second last line. And I like Bob's sarcastic reference to authority, 'window of bricks .. the National Guard'. Anyway, this song just talks to me.


Maggie's Farm

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
No, I aint gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
Well, I wake up in the morning
Fold my hands and pray for rain
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin' me insane
It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
No, I aint gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
Well, he hands you a nickel
He hands you a dime
He asks you with a grin
If you're havin' a good time
Then he fines you every time you slam the door
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more
No, I aint gonna work for Maggie's pa no more
Well, he puts his cigar
Out in your face just for kicks
His bedroom window
It is made out of bricks
The National Guard stands around his door
Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more
Well, when she talks to all the servants
About man and God and law
Everybody says
She's the brains behind pa
She's sixty-eight, but she says she's twenty-four
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's ma no more.

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I aint gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am
But everybody wants you
To be just like them
They say sing while you slave and I just get bored
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.