A great melody first, then lyrics,(only) THEN 'vocals'

[Mark Blackburn]

Something I

[Mark Blackburn]

Reading this month's 'SHOWCASE' (July 2010) thread reminded me that strong melodies and great lyrics may be "so rare" (to coin a song title) but they're still being written! And the best of them can become Grammy-winning songs given 'cover' renditions by great singers. Case in point: "HERE'S TO LOVE."

It's the title track from that Shirley Horn album [mentioned above] acknowledged in a survey by a certain jazz publication as

[blue2blue]

Well, it really seems to be based to a substantial degree on an old Chilean song (original title "Gracias a la Vida") written by Violeta Parra and which was made world famous (outside the benighted culture-dummy zone of the United States) by Mercedes Sosa.

You can read the Spanish lyrics with a rough translation here. (Surfer beware; lyrics sites typically live 'beyond the law' and so are sometimes infection vectors for malware.) And you can read the in places quite similar Molinary-Butler "version" here.

Here in the US, Molinary and Butler usually get credit for the song. Outside the US, credit is typically given to the originally credited author, Parra. "Here's to Life": http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:1871040 | "Gracias a la Vida": http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=17:1729985

You'll see that credit is sometimes also mistakenly given to Joan Baez, who first covered the song back in the 70s, when it was largely unknown in the US.

There is a serious cloud of conflicting claims to authorship credit on this song. Which made it so drolly ironic that Robby originally thought he could slip it past me (as a prank, I'm sure) as an 'original' when he first posted it in the main forum.

Poor Robby, he couldn't believe I knew the song -- but I was already quite familiar with both the original Spanish language version and the 're-written' (ahem) English version -- from recordings by Sosa, Baez, Horn, and others.

PS... Horn's version -- like almost all her work -- is very beautiful, but anyone who likes that version should hear Mercedes Sosa's long-established version, which is amazing. There' a live recording on the album of the same name, where the audience is clearly on its feet, cheering and clapping, for maybe the better part of a minute as the song ends... it's how closely associated she has been with the song for the last 40 years or so.

PPS... There's also a Swedish and a Finnish version by Finnish singer Arja Saijonmaa -- give that one a shot, Robby -- I'm pretty sure I've never heard it.

[Mark Blackburn]

As a student of song origins I was fascinated to find all the links you kindly provided and checked each one. What I find is that Mercedes Sosa

[Mark Blackburn]

Quincy Jones tells of the time when he was on Frank

[Mark Blackburn]

Hank Cochran died today. He nearly made it to his 75th birthday. Hank

[Mark Blackburn]

I know,

[blue2blue]

 

Originally Posted by Mark Blackburn

As a student of song origins I was fascinated to find all the links you kindly provided and checked each one. What I find is that Mercedes Sosa

[Mark Blackburn]

Quick question: What does the word

[Mark Blackburn]

My Rifle, My Pony, and Me . . .

Seven years before he wrote his Academy Award-winning words to Johnny Mandel

[ShaneErikBowman]

My Rifle, My Pony, and Me . . .

One of my favorites. It's a top request when I sing to the kids at bedtime.

Thanks for your great posts Mark.

Shane

[Mark Blackburn]

First, a big thank you to Shane. You made my day -- picturing you singing requests at bedtime: is there any better way to end the day?

I came here today to sing the praises of Carly Simon

[Mark Blackburn]

You can't copyright a song title (you knew that) and Wikipedia lists at least eight songs with the same title, "STAY WITH ME." None of them the one I was looking for -- the one recorded by Frank Sinatra (at his vocal peak in 1963) and played earlier this hour on satellite radio by Rod McKuen.

And who is he? Well for the 30-somethings who (I

[Lee Knight]

Thought I'd straighten out the layout to bring better light to this wonderful rhyme and cadence. Nice...

Though I grow and I blunder

And I

[Mark Blackburn]

Raquel Welch, the sexiest woman of my generation, (see p 4 of this thread) alluded, in a recent interview, to the

[Mark Blackburn]

As if to say to me,

[blue2blue]

I think you need a blog, Mark.

[Mark Blackburn]

Frank made the remark midway through his "live" performance (in April 1987 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas) of his favorite Carolyn Leigh song -- WITCHCRAFT. Channel 75 satellite radio played it earlier this day. On another thread, someone asked "what's your favorite line" in a song?" This song, with words by Carolyn Leigh set to Cy Coleman's wonderful melody, contains several of my favorites. For those who never heard it before . . .

"Those fingers in my hair, that sly, 'come-hither' stare -- that strips my conscience bare -- it's Witchcraft. And I've got no defence for it, the heat is too intense for it, what good would common-sense for it, do?

'Cause it's witchcraft! crazy witchcraft -- and although, I know, it's strictly taboo . . .

[bridge]

When you arouse the need in me, my heart says, 'Yes, indeed!' in me; proceed, with what you're leading me to!

[At which point Sinatra interrupts himself with a laugh to say, "One of the dirtiest songs I ever heard!]

It's such an ancient pitch, but one I'd never switch! 'Cause there's no nicer witch . . . than YOU.

-- Carolyn Leigh (1957)

[Lee Knight]

Establish parallel construction, then give it a twist. Establish a pattern, then cut across the grain.

"Those fingers in my hair

that sly, 'come-hither' stare

that strips my conscience bare

it's Witchcraft.

And I've got no defense for it,

the heat is too intense for it

what good would common-sense for it

do?

Establish parallel construction, then give it a twist. Establish a pattern, then cut across the grain.

Like King's I've got a dream speech in some ways.

So let freedom right from the

prodigious hilltops

mighty mountains

Heightening Alleghenies

Snowcapped Rockies

I love when MLK switches from privileged America to include the segregated areas, to better break the established pattern and make the point, he drops the adjectives. Below:

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California (but then)

But not only that; let freedom ring from

Stone Mountain of Georgia

From Lookout Mountain of Tennessee

Every hill and mo-hill of Mississippi.

Sans adjectives. Pattern, pattern, pattern, drop.

It feels good. Witchcraft does it nicely.

[Lee Knight]

Note in Witchcraft, how that parallel construction carries through in the music as well, or visa-versa. Think of those chords comping against that repeating melody, evolving and building for each phrase

"Those fingers in my hair bam

that sly, 'come-hither' stare Bam

that strips my conscience bare BAM!

(then elegantly trips on the deviation with a stop or resolve)

it's Witchcraft. resolve

I love it.

[Mark Blackburn]

"Establish parallel construction, then give it a twist. Establish a pattern, then cut across the grain."

Thank you, Lee for that insightful analysis. And particular thanks for your alluding to the similarity of cadences (and sudden interruptions) contained within the most stirring speech I ever heard -- the Reverend Dr. King's "I HAVE A DREAM" (I remember seeing it "live" on television that day; it still gives me goose bumps). But I wasn't able to analyze it, the way you have, Lee.

Appreciated too, your concluding observation about WITCHCRAFT's perfectly-mated melody by Cy Coleman:

" . . . how that parallel construction carries through in the music as well [and]those chords comping against that repeating melody, evolving and building for each phrase

"Those fingers in my hair [bam]

that sly, 'come-hither' stare [bam]

that strips my conscience bare [bAM!]

(then elegantly trips on the deviation with a stop or resolve)

" . . . it's Witchcraft." [resolve]

[i love it too! Thanks, as well, to our moderator "Blue2Blue" for that implied compliment!]

-- Mark B. of the North

[Lee Knight]

Downright delectable, diggity dog!! Yeah, I love that stuff. From Webster's Book on Grammar: "Parallelism, or parallel structure, means that grammatical elements that share the same function will share the same form."

Meaning ideas of equal rank are expressed in similar ways. For example, adjectives are paired with adjectives, and verbs correspond with matching verbs in tense, mood, and voice. Nouns with nouns. You're the artist, paint with the words.

prodigious hilltops

mighty mountains

Parallel structure. But dig how Too Close For Comfort plays with parallelism. Be fair, beware? After using true parallelism, the screwdriver is thrown in the gear box covertly.

Jerry Bock's tune and lyric play with parallel structure on a lot a levels intuitively way beyond what my simple notes below suggest. Dig it.

Be firm, be fair,

Be sure, beware

On your guard, take care

While there's such... temp...ta... tion

One thing leads to another

Too late to run for cover

Much too, too close for comfort now

This is a great version by Dianne Reeves, btw...

[Mark Blackburn]

First a big "thanks" to Lee for embedding that video. Several of my American friends (fellow musicians) consider Dianne Reeves one of the very best jazz singers. One of them says,

 

[Mark Blackburn]

Norman, who?

Anyone remember

[Mark Blackburn]

Channel 75 just played one of those