From one of my favorite live performances. From back in the day before auto tune, the boys walked up, got on, and got down. Rod Stewart w/ the Faces. "Stay With Me"

"You won't need too much persuading
I don't mean to sound degrading
But with a face like that
You got nothing to laugh about, no, no
Red lips, hair and fingernails
I hear you're a mean old Jezebel
Let's go upstairs and read my tarot cards, c'mon"

 

It's the entire song, and one of the saddest country songs I know. But quite profound.

-George Jones

He said I'll love you 'til I die
She told him you'll forget in time
As the years went slowly by
She still preyed upon his mind

He kept her picture on his wall
Went half crazy now and then
He still loved her through it all
Hoping she'd come back again

Kept some letters by his bed
Dated 1962
He had underlined in red
Every single I love you

I went to see him just today
Oh but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

(Chorus)

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today

(recitation)

You know she came to see him one last time
Oh and we all wondered if she would
And it kept running through my mind
This time he's over her for good

 

The Night Chicago Died
Paperlace

And there was no sound at all
But the clock upon the wall
Then the door burst open wide
And my daddy stepped inside
And he kissed my mama's face
And he brushed her tears away

 

Billy, Don’t Be a Hero
Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods

Billy, don't be a hero, don't be a fool with your life
Billy, don't be a hero, come back and make me your wife
And as he started to go she said, Billy, keep your head low
Billy, don't be a hero, come back to me
I heard his fiancee got a letter
That told how Billy died that day
The letter said that he was a hero
She should be proud he died that way
I heard she threw that letter away ...

 

It was long ago and it was far away,
and it was so much better than it is today.

 

Gordon Lightfoot's "wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" always gets me a little misty eyed mainly because I've sailed through severe weather in an effort to save at least one life.

I am a "square knot" sailor having sailed all the main bodies of sea water of the world on a submarine or Coast Guard Cutter and yet the thought of drowning literally terrorizes me.

I can't imagine what would got through a sailor's mind as the main hatchway gave in or the ship started to break apart and there's nothing there to help them survive.

 

Interesting you mention this. We're honoring the memory of this local man in a ceremony over Memorial day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Breault

 

Thank for sharing! That gives me chills up my spine.

 

While in college, Gordon Lightfoot's roommate and best friend, Sandy Greenberg, developed severe glaucoma at age 20 and was blind by age 22. Lightfoot nicknamed himself "Darkness" and always referred to himself in the first person (as "Darkness") when speaking with Greenberg. The Simon and Garfunkel song, "Sounds of Silence" is about his best friend and written as if he's speaking to Greenberg Greenberg is talking to him.


Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp.
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening, People writing songs that voices never share And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence.
"Fools" said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you, Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell, And echoed In the wells of silence.
And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning, In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls."
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrae...art-garfunkel/

 

Interesting piece of song trivia.

 

Indeed it is!

I've never ever heard that story about SoS----not necessarily doubting it but IIRC Paul had written it with a very different motivation, to wit: Sounds of Silence I found it quite intriguing even at my young dumb tender life that at the time the song hit the radio I'd not lived too much of "life". I knew the lyrics were meaningful but had no idea why---or how much they're ring true almost 60 years later.

As I gained more experience in "life" the lyrics were a bit more poignant---there are several lines that speak to today's world its almost stunning in their accuracy. The original version is great for its time however the most recent live version by the band Disturbed adds a new urgency and poignancy to the lyrics. Hope you like this one:
Great contributions guys----we look smart(er) now!

 

Interesting. I'd never heard that story of the duo's early years or that version of the song's origins.

I can see the two stories blending to be a more complete truth though. Simon's early experiment with singing in the dark joined with his friend's sudden blindness, inspiring his greatness...

 

Grand Funk Railroad:

Everybody listen to me
And return me my ship
I'm your captain, I'm your captain
Though I'm feeling mighty sick
I've been lost now for days uncounted
And it's months since I've seen home
Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
Or am I all alone?
If you return me to my home port
I will kiss you Mother Earth
Take me back now, take me back now
To the port of my birth
Am I in my cabin dreaming?
Or are you really scheming
To take my ship away from me?
You'd better think about it
I just can't live without it
So please don't take my ship from me
I can feel the hand of a stranger
And it's tightening around my throat
Heaven help me, Heaven help me
Take this stranger from my boat
I'm your captain, I'm your captain
Though I'm feeling mighty sick
Everybody listen to me
And return me my ship
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my home
I'm getting closer to my, closer to my home
Everybody listen to me
And return me my ship
I'm your captain, I'm your captain
Though I'm feeling mighty sick

 

Always liked that song, the layered production with background sounds of sea gulls etc was very cool!

 

One of the best concerts I ever went to. Ten Years After & GFR. Loud as hell in the dump that was the Jacksonville Coliseum. I remember there was a bunch of dips#%s sitting in front of us that were passing around a joint and generally acting stupid. One of them was particularly irritating to me so I broke the filter off one of my Winstons and rolled it up like a joint, tapped the dude on the shoulder, and asked him if he wanted a shotgun. He did and I blew him one off that cigarette. Dude started coughing and hacking immediately. That caused his group to get pissed but we had the larger group and we had the high ground so they just left. That was back in the day when is was general admission, mid '70's, sit where you want. Ahhh, the good 'ol days.