| The Surfaris – Surfer Joe Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| The song in this form doesn't make as much sense as the unedited version, which has two extra verses. after Joe caught cold (not "got cold"). After Joe goes AWOL, he ends up on KP (Kitchen Patrol). | |
| The Surfaris – Surfer Joe Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| Also, he was stationed at (Camp) Pendleton, which is a Marine Base north of Oceanside, CA, not "Penalton". | |
| The Surfaris – Wipe Out Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| If you happen to have an album that features this song, and Surfer Joe, but a bunch of songs by "the Challengers", well, that is how the LP first came out. Since they were young when they recorded it, there was a conflict about the contract. | |
| The Surfaris – Wipe Out Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| The initial sound, which is supposed to be a wave breaking, is a board being broken in two. | |
| The Capitols – Cool Jerk Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| Before "Fight the Power" was written for Spike Lee's film "Do the Right Thing", Lee thought it would be a good idea to have Rosie Perez dancing to "Cool Jerk". | |
| The Olympics – (Baby) Hully Gully Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| At the very end of this song, someone says, "Whew!" | |
| Bill Haley & His Comets – Shake, Rattle and Roll Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Haley's version is much cleaner than Big Joe Turner's, but there is one line that, thanks to drummer "Baby" Lovett is probably the lewdest of all. It's a genetical euphemism: "I'm like a one-eyed cat, peepin' in a seafood store". It's in BOTH versions! |
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| The Beatles – Lady Madonna Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The piano part is a patch on the song "Bad Penny Blues" by Humphrey Lyttleton. The song was originally written for Antoine "Fats" Domino, but due to a schedule conflict he couldn't record it, so the Beatles did first. McCartney's voice sounds a bit like Domino, in homage to the man. The Beatles'' version was a hit, but Domino did get around to recording it and it was a minor hit for him, too! |
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| The Tornados – Telstar Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| Joe Meek was a genius of studio manipulation. The opening collage of sounds features an electronically-treated of a toilet being flushed, played in reverse. | |
| The Tornados – Telstar Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| A collection of sketches rejected by "Saturday Night Live" called "Mr. Mike Mondo Video" used this tune with lyrics added as the opening and closing theme song. | |
| Frankie Avalon – Venus Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| According to Avalon, the reverb on the song was achieved by recording him singing the word "Venus" in a bathroom. He joked that the song was a hit, "...from the bottom up". | |
| Joni Mitchell – Smokin' (Empty, Try Another) Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| Joni Mitchell was a chain-smoker and when a vending machine at the studio ran out of brand of cigarettes, a voice would say, "Try another". They dragged a mic out to the machine and recorded it, so the mechanical voice is in the song as well. | |
| The Turtles – Happy Together Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[JSNTS:14716] It's about a relationship that could be, but isn't, according to the songwriter, Gary Bonner. You mentioned "association" and ironically, the band "The Association" were SERIOUS drug users! |
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| The Turtles – Happy Together Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[smellingtheroses12:14715] The book I quoted, "Behind the Hits", as I remember correctly, is recalling what the songwriters' interpretation of the lyrics are, not my take on the song. The tune is sweet, but this fellow is actually sad. If you want an innocent track, you'll want "Elenore" by the Turtles, although, that was the result of the band caving in to the record label's demand for another hit single, so they wrote this with "bad" lyrics ("You're my pride and joy, et cetera", "Gee I think you're swell"), so that White Whale would get off their backs and were mildly horrified as the single climbed up the charts! |
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| Love – Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Arthur Lee was convinced that "Forever Changes" would be the last LP that he would make before he died, which turned out not to be the case. | |
| Love – 7 & 7 Is Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| The song has very little to do with the title. According to Arthur Lee, it is a reference to the fact that the song's author, Arthur Lee and his then-girlfriend were both born on the seventh day of the month, so "...7 and 7 IS". | |
| The Monkees – Daydream Believer Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I think It's a take number, as in "Take 7-A". He is asking Chip [Douglas] the producer which take of the song he's singing. It is possible that the earlier takes were not satisfactory or may have had different instrumentation. | |
| The Monkees – Daydream Believer Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I read the lyrics and I have a couple of thoughts. 1. The song is about a fellow who daydreamed big, but never achieved the goal of his dreams. In high school, or sometime after, he fell in love and married Jean, who was homecoming queen. Since the song does not mention anything about occupations or children, "Daydream Believer" and "Homecoming Queen" are the two biggest things they've achieved in life. 2. The Bluebird, as the old clichè goes, might be the Bluebird of Happiness, since a symbolic bird would be large enough for the protagonist to hide himself away from the six o'clock alarm, which symbolizes the drudgery of whatever job or obligations he has. The fact that he needs to shave is a "stinging" reminder of his routine. 3. The original line was, "...now you know how FUNKY I can be", as in, "in a blue funk", not as in "make my Funk the P-Funk". This make more sense than "happy", which Colgems preferred over funky. How deep has DB's funk been? Has he been sullen or even physically abusive? Certainly not "knightly" in behavior if the good times are sporadic. 3. The song is about a man that feels that he hasn't lived up to his potential and Jean, who one thought of him as a passport to better times, probably has been let down by him (and herself) enough times that it is easier to go to bed and forget their troubles. It is a cautiously hopeful song, for in his exhorting her to "cheer up", he still clings to his daydreams. At least they are still together. |
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| The Turtles – Happy Together Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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According to what I've read, this is NOT a love song, it is a song about unrequited love. The narrator is singing about how he WANTS things to be. She has spurned him. The first line says, "Imagine me and you...", so it hasn't happened. At the end, she is still not interested, so he changes the subject to the weather, just to keep talking to her. That is why there is a little "cry" in his voice on the weather line. No one is dead, but her interest in HIM is! |
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| The Monkees – Randy Scouse Git Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Because of the sexual innuendo of the name of the song, it was released as "Alternative Title" in the UK. | |
| The Monkees – Daydream Believer Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Strange addition to all that has been said: when John Stewart sang his song, he sang the line, "Now you know how funky I can be". | |
| The Turtles – Elenore Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Hear, hear! I heard an interview with some of the band members and the higher-ups at White Whale, their record company kept saying, "We need another hit, boys! Write another hit.", so they wrote this to appease them, and happy/sadly, up the charts it shot. |
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| The Turtles – Happy Together Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song, according to "Behind the Hits" by Bob Shannon & John Javna is NOT about a stalker. It's about a man whose feelings of love aren't returned in kind. The first line, "Imagine me and you, I do" makes most of the song a wish of the narrator. He then goes on about how wonderful things would be IF they were together. At the end, the odd line, "...how is the weather?" is sung with a slight crack in the voice, because, even after his pleas (with background vocals AND horns to boot!), the object of his affection is STILL not moved, so he is breaking into tears over having lost again, so he tries to change the subject over to something innocuous, like the weather. As for the instrumentation, it's rather clever. The first few lines are sung with minor or sad chords, but the lines that begin with, "I can't see me lovin' nobody but you..." have major or "happy" chords, which suggest to me that his hopes go up as he goes further into his fantasy. The last few chords are minor, save the last chord, which is major, so if I may take a bit of liberty here, it suggests to he's lost again, but he hasn't given up hope. So, I don't find it any creepier than, say, "What a Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers, which is this song's less-subtle cousin. When I heard this explanation, it put a nice sad, subtext to a great song. |
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| The Turtles – Happy Together Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song was explained in a book called, "Behind the Hits". "Imagine me and you, I do..." this makes the song a pipe dream of the narrator. This is a song about a fellow imploring his object of desire to love him. He is unsuccessful. At the end of the song, the line, "How is the weather?" is sung with a cry in the narrator's voice. He is sad that he can't win his love and he is now changing the subject to the weather, just to make small talk. If you read the lyrics again knowing the above, it's a happy-sounding song about a sad situation. And yes, "invest a dime" means spending a dime in a pay phone to make a call. It is not a drug reference. The ba-ba-ba means that it is being sung by one sheep to another. Just kidding. |
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| Bob Dylan – Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I believe that this explanation came from "Behind the Hits" by Jon Javna. When recording this song, it was raining and two people came in the studio to get out of the rain. It was a mother and her daughter. The mom's age was 35, her daughter was 12. In the sixties, there were truckloads of songs that had titles that had nothing to do with the song. In "Don't Look Back", Bob Dylan seems rather adamant about NOT explaining his songs. For a slew of those types of titles, see Love's "Forever Changes" album. "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale", I can't shed too much light on, save that Clark and Hilldale are successive streets that intersect the famous Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. |
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| Bob Dylan – Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I believe that this explanation came from "Behind the Hits" by Jon Javna. When recording this song, it was raining and two people came in the studio to get out of the rain. It was a mother and her daughter. The mom's age was 35, her daughter was 12. In the sixties, there were truckloads of songs that had titles that had nothing to do with the song. In "Don't Look Back", Bob Dylan seems rather adamant about NOT explaining his songs. For a slew of those types of titles, see Love's "Forever Changes" album. "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale", I can't shed too much light on, save that Clark and Hilldale are successive streets that intersect the famous Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. |
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