Simply Blessed » Music

Song to the Siren

heartsdeesire — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:19:36 +0000

This is dedicated to the many who have suffered as a result of the devastation in Japan. Yes, indeed, we were here when you were “full sail”. And though, we may not know you personally, you touched us all.

On the floating shipless oceans
I did all my best to smile
‘Til your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving into your isle

And you sang, “Sail to me, sail to me, let me enfold you.”
“Here I am, here I am, waiting to hold you.”
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?

Now my foolish boat is leaning
Broken lovelorn on your rocks
For you sing, “Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow.”
Oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow.

Well, I’m as puzzled as the newborn child
I’m as riddled as the tide
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or should I lie with death my bride?
Hear me sing, “Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you.”

“Here I am, here I am, waiting to hold you.”

Song to the Siren

Lyrics as sung by the Cocteau Twins

Original lyrics by Tim Buckley

A Blaze of Light

heartsdeesire — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:51:13 +0000

How many ways can we open our hearts today? Here is one way:

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don’t even know the name
But if I did, well really, what’s it to you?
There’s a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn’t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

~Leonard Cohen~

Moody Blues Wisdom #1

heartsdeesire — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:58:39 +0000

My inner Bethie jumped up and down with excitement when I decided to post the Wisdom of the Moody Blues. Yay, it’s a Moody Blues love fest! I’ve loved this musical group for eons and was able to see them in concert twice. First when they were at the height of their career and again just last year out here at Chateau St. Michelle winery.

For the first concert, I spent the day in Denver, exploring the city, as I lived in Colorado at the time. That day I had one song I kept singing in my head and out loud every chance I got, “Tuesday Afternoon”. And sure enough, when the concert began that was the song they opened with. It blew my mind and frankly I haven’t been the same since!

What I loved about the Moody Blues was equally the music and the lyrics. This was not “baby, oooh, baby I love you” music. No, their music was deep and thoughtful and poetic. It was as if they were asking the questions I was back then and to some extent, answering them. Their music was seductive in ways that “baby, I love you” music could never be for me. Now it’s a few decades later and their music still casts a spell on me.

Here are some of my favorite songs and lyrics and somewhere in these posts, I will throw in a youtube video or two for the curious and the rest who, like me, have never tired of them.

Something there outside
Says we’re only
In the hands of time
Falling slowly
It’s there for us to know
With love that we can go
Burn slowly the candle of life
(Candle of Life)

* * *

Time waits for no one my love
No, not even you
You thought you’d seen it all before
You really thought you knew

I’ve shattered the illusion
Of forture and of fame
I’m waking up
I’m reaching up
I’m getting up from this game
Oh no… don’t leave me driftwood
On the shore
Oh no… don’t, don’t leave me driftwood
On the shore…
(Driftwood)

* * *

The mist is lifting slowly
I can see the way ahead
And I’ve left behind the empty streets
That once inspired my life
And the strength of the emotion
Is like thunder in the air
‘Cos the promise that we made each other
Haunts me to the end

I know you’re out there somewhere
Somewhere, somewhere
I know you’re out there somewhere
Somewhere you can hear my voice
I know I’ll find you somehow
Somehow, somehow
I know I’ll find you somehow
And somehow I’ll return again to you

The secret of your beauty
And the mystery of your soul
I’ve been searching for in everyone I meet

You see I know you’re out there somewhere
O yes I know you’re out there somewhere
You see I know I’ll find you somehow
O yes I know I’ll find you somehow

the words that I remember
From my childhood still are true
That there’s none so blind
As those who will not see
And to those who lack the courage
And say it’s dangerous to try
Well they just don’t know
That love eternal will not be denied

Yes I know it’s going to happen
I can feel you getting near
And soon we’ll be returning
To the fountain of our youth
And if you wake up wondering
In the darkness I’ll be there
My arms will close around you
And protect you with the truth

Isn’t love strange
A word we arrange
With no thought or care
Maker of despair
Each breath that we breathe
With love we must weave
To make us as one

Isn’t life strange
A turn of the page
A book without light
Unless with love we write;
To throw it away
To lose just a day
The quicksand of time

Wished I could be in your heart
To be one with your love
Wished I could be in your eyes
Looking back there you were
(Isn’t Life Strange)

* * *

Where is this place that we have found
Nobody knows where we are bound
I long to hear, I need to see
Cos I’ve shed tears too many for me

On the wind soaring free
Spread your wings
I’m beginning to see
Out of mind far from view
Beyond the reach of a nightmare come true

Well I’ve had dreams enough for one
And I got love enough for three
I have my hopes to comfort me
I got my new horizons out to sea

But I’m never going to lose your precious gift
It will always be that way
Cos I know I’m going to find my own peace of mind
Someday…
Someway…
(New Horizons)

Falling Slowly ~ Once

heartsdeesire — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:30:30 +0000

This is a first for my little blog of 18 months or so – it’s first audio file. I’ve chosen the words and music to Falling Slowly from the album and movie entitled Once. The song won an Oscar in what was a very low budget film against two big Disney songs earlier this year. The movie is a beautiful, tender, often poignant and funny piece that invites you to curl up some evening to laugh and cry, truly it will touch you in ways you hadn’t expected. Raise your hopeful voice is one of my favorite lines from this song. The whole soundtrack is every bit as good as its Oscar winning song. Enjoy…Love, Bethie

I don’t know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can’t react
And games that never amount
To more than they’re meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can’t go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I’m painted black
Well you have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It’s time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You’ve made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I’ll sing it loud.

Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová

I Hope You Dance

heartsdeesire — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:58:01 +0000

I sat in a coffee shop the other day and heard this song play
overhead. Instantly it took me back to the day I first heard
it. It was at a celebration of a friend’s life. It still gives me
goosebumps to hear it today. It is absolutely one of the
most inspiring songs I’ve ever heard – so filled with hope, faith,
trust and encouragement to just go for it. As Rilke once
wrote: You, sent out beyond your recall, go to the limits of your
longing. Embody me. Flare up like flame and make big shadows
I can move in. Love, Bethie

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they’re worth taking
Lovin’ might be a mistake
But it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

songwriters Toby Keith, Marv Green and Aimee Mayo
performed by Lee Ann Womack

Ordinary World

heartsdeesire — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:52:41 +0000

I’m having a ’90′s moment today. :) I heard Ordinary World by Duran Duran on the radio after many, many years of not hearing it. I wondered about the lyrics and what it really meant by ordinary world and learning to survive. I googled it and found some information on Wikipedia. Couched in terms of war, I now understand how meaningful an ordinary world can be. So today I appreciate the quiet and extraordinary grace of an ordinary world and I look forward to a time when all of us can live in peace. Love, Bethie

From Wikipedia:
“Ordinary World” is the first single from Duran Duran’s self-titled 1993 album, better known as the Wedding Album. The song peaked No. 3 in the American charts and No. 6 in the British charts. Simon LeBon, the vocalist, later sang this song with Luciano Pavarotti, to help children affected by war in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

By the early 90s, Duran Duran’s popularity had faded. Their album Liberty had proved a commercial failure, its two singles failing to make a significant showing on British or American charts.

It wasn’t until Capitol leaked “Ordinary World” to a radio station in Florida in the autumn of 1992 that it looked like Duran Duran mania might yet hit again. The single proved so popular that Capitol had to push the US release date up, ultimately releasing it in December. In the UK, the original January release date stood. The song can be credited as introducing Duran Duran to a new generation of fans.

The strings in the song were arranged and performed by Nick Rhodes, using a Kurzweil K2000, a digital synthesizer that was highly advanced for its time.

The song won an Ivor Novello Award in May 1994 and later featured in the soundtrack to the film Layer Cake in 2005.

Came in from a rainy Thursday
on the avenue
thought I heard you talking softly

I turned on the lights, the TV
and the radio
still I can’t escape the ghost of you

What has happened to it all?
Crazy, some’d say
Where is the life that I recognize?
gone away

But I won’t cry for yesterday
there’s an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
and as I try to make my way
to the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Passion or coincidence
once prompted you to say
“Pride will tear us both apart”
Well now pride’s gone out the window
cross the rooftops
run away
left me in the vacuum of my heart

What is happening to me?
Crazy, some’d say
Where is my friend when I need you most?
Gone away

but I won’t cry for yesterday
there’s an ordinary world
somehow I have to find
and as I try to make my way
to the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Papers in the roadside
tell of suffering and greed
here today, forgot tomorrow
ooh, here besides the news
of holy war and holy need
ours is just a little sorrowed talk

And I don’t cry for yesterday
there’s an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
and as I try to make my way
to the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

every one
is my world, I will learn to survive
any one
is my world, I will learn to survive
any one
is my world
every one
is my world