Monday, February 17, 2020

Every Lyric Tells a Story Story #MusicMovesMe

You know the drill - it's Monday, and it's time for Music!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me (4M)?  We are bloggers who blog with music each Monday. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only- Please post containing links to You Tube or Vimeo for actual music.  Other posts are subject to removal or labeling as "No Music".)  Every other week we have a theme and on alternate weeks we have "You Pick".  

Our conductors? First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  

For February our guest conductor is Robin at Songbird's Crazy World.  For today, her theme is: "Songs that tell a story".


This is a theme full of richness.   Music lyrics tell so many stories.

Some are based on historical events or wars.

Johnny Horton - The Battle of New Orleans (with apologies to my British readers).

Covering The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", Joan Baez sings of the United States Civil War.

Some are working class songs, such as Midnight Oil's Blue Sky Mine (about workers in an asbestos mine in Australia and a mining company that wouldn't take responsibility for their illnesses).

Billy Joel sings the story of a struggling Long Island fisherman, accompanied by the great violinist Itzhak Perlman in "The Downeaster 'Alexa'"

A story about loneliness - The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", a favorite of my teen years.



This Marty Robbins song from 1959 speaks of a man who does the unspeakable for love, and its aftermath.  Listen to the wonderful lyrics of "El Paso".

I end with a final true story in Bob Dylan's Hurricane, from 1975, about a boxer, Hurricane Carter, who spent 19 years in prison for murdering three people - a crime many say he did not commit.  WARNING:  The "N" word is included in the lyrics.

I sadly left out The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a song I love so much but I have included in another blog post somewhere along the line. 

Join us next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.

10 comments:

  1. WHOA!! LOVE THE NEW LOOK HERE! (grin--sorry for shouting). I was just telling Robin I forgot about the Music Monday, hitting my head.

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  2. Yes, the new look of the blog is great.

    Interesting that you chose two of the same songs that I chose, the ones by Horton and Baez.

    I love all of your choices.

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  3. El Paso may be one of the ten greatest country songs ever recorded. It was a cross-over hit as it went no.1 on the pop charts as well. Like you Elanor Rigby was a favorite Beatles tune for me. They had graduated from the "boy band" tunes like I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and were writing and recording songs that told stories about their lives. Great selections here. Well done indeed. Have a blessed week.

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  4. What an excellent play list! I had forgotten about the Billy Joel song. It's a great one!

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  5. Brown! Yes!

    Do you believe it? "Eleanor Rigby" and "El Paso" never even crossed my mind. Great choices!

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  6. Nice collection for the theme, Alana. We have Hurricane also on our list. The song of Billy Joel and Itzhak Perlman is very heart touching. Thank you for the mewsic 😸Pawkisses for a Happy Monday🐾😽💞

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  7. Your tunes are outstanding! Especially the one with Billy Joel. Great job girlfriend. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Oh my gosh, Marty Robbins I haven't heard that song in like forever. Cute. Eleanor Rigby - fantastic girlfriend. You really got a run on this one don't ya. Great tunes - fantastic job. Woo Hoo & have a great day! hugs......

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  9. Alana,

    Every time I hear 'Eleanor Rigby' I'm transported backward in time to 6th grade band class. We learned how to play this that year and used it in the home coming parade for the local high school. I wonder what became of my band teacher? Sometimes an old teacher will cross my mind like this. Can you believe it I am connected with my junior high school Home Ec teacher on Facebook? :) She was such a beauty in her day! :) I guess she's well into her 80s by now. Thanks for sharing some great tunes for this week's theme on the dance floor, my dear. Have a boogietastic week!

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