Τετάρτη, Μαρτίου 30, 2011

James - Sit Down (1989)




I sing myself to sleep
A song from the darkest hour
Secrets I can’t keep
Insight of the day
Swing from high to deep
Extremes of sweet and sour
Hope that God exists
I hope I pray

Drawn by the undertow
My life is out of control
I believe this wave will bear my weight
So let it flow

Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, down
In sympathy

Now I’m relieved to hear
That you’ve been to some far out places
It’s hard to carry on
When you feel all alone
Now I’ve swung back down again
It’s worse than it was before
If I hadn’t seen such riches
I could live with being poor

Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, down
In sympathy

Those who feel the breath of sadness
Sit down next to me
Those who find they’re touched by madness
Sit down next to me
Those who find themselves ridiculous
Sit down next to me
In love, in fear, in hate, in tears
In love, in fear, in hate, in tears
In love, in fear, in hate, in tears
In love, in fear, in hate

Down
Down

Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, down
In sympathy

Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Oh sit down
Sit down next to me
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, down
In sympathy

Down.

Τρίτη, Μαρτίου 29, 2011

Μαρία Φαραντούρη - Ο Αντώνης (1975)



Μουσική: Μίκης Θεοδωράκης
Στίχοι: Ιάκωβος Καμπανέλης

Εκεί στη σκάλα την πλατειά
στη σκάλα των δακρύων
στο Βιλεγκράμπεν το βαθύ
το λατομείο των θρήνων

Εβραίοι κι αντάρτες περπατούν
Εβραίοι κι αντάρτες πέφτουν
Βράχο στην πλάτη κουβαλούν
βράχο σταυρό θανάτου

Εκεί ο Αντώνης στη φωνή
φωνή, φωνή ακούει
ω καμαράντ, ω καμαράντ
βόηθα ν' ανέβω τη σκάλα

Μα κει στη σκάλα την πλατειά
και των δακρύων τη σκάλα
τέτοια βοήθεια είναι βρισιά
τέτοια σπλαχνιά κατάρα

Ο Εβραίος πέφτει στο σκαλί
και κοκκινίζει η σκάλα
και συ λεβέντη μου έλα εδω
βράχο διπλό κουβάλα

Παίρνω διπλό, παίρνω τριπλό
μένα με λεν Αντώνη
κι αν είσαι άντρας έλα εδώ
στο μαρμαρένιο αλώνι

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Lover's Touch (2010)



Oh my lord*
She give me chills and fever
Sends a signal
To my receiver
Hard livin' killing me
I need that woman to set me free

And I want her
I want her so much
Cause she got the lover's touch

Feel sold out
Water gettin' higher
Livin' on the shoreline
Starin' at the fire

And I want her
I want her so much
Cause she got the lover's touch

I hear her voice
When I'm all alone
Gives me comfort
So soft and low

And I want her
I want her so much
Cause she got the lover's touch.

Σάββατο, Μαρτίου 26, 2011

Γρηγόρης Μπιθικώτσης - Μέρα Μαγιού (1960)



Στίχοι: Γιάννης Ρίτσος
Μουσική: Μίκης Θεοδωράκης

Μέρα Μαγιού μου μίσεψες
μέρα Μαγιού σε χάνω
άνοιξη γιε που αγάπαγες
κι ανέβαινες απάνω

Στο λιακωτό και κοίταζες
και δίχως να χορταίνεις
άρμεγες με τα μάτια σου
το φως της οικουμένης

Και μου ιστορούσες με φωνή
γλυκιά ζεστή κι αντρίκεια
τόσα όσα μήτε του γιαλού
δεν φτάνουν τα χαλίκια

Και μου 'λεγες πως όλ' αυτά
τα ωραία θα είν' δικά μας
και τώρα εσβήστης κι έσβησε
το φέγγος κι η φωτιά μας.




Θεσσαλονίκη, Μάης του 1936. Μια μάνα μοιρολογεί, στη μέση του δρόμου, πάνω από τον νεκρό γιο της. Ο Γιάννης Ρίτσος εμπνέεται από το γεγονός που το διαβάζει στις εφημερίδες της εποχής και γράφει εκείνη τη χρονιά τον Επιτάφιο.

«Μέρα Μαγιού μού μίσεψες»
«Μέρες Μαγιού» από το 1893 ώς σήμερα

Τρίτη, Μαρτίου 15, 2011

Pink Floyd - The Final Cut (1983)






1. The Post War Dream

[Car sound, switching on of car radio]
"...announced plans to build a nuclear fallout shelter at Peterborough
in Cambridgeshire..."
[phzzt! of returning]
"...three high court judges have cleared the way..."
[phzzt!]
"...It was announced today, that the replacement for the Atlantic
Conveyor the container ship lost in the Falklands conflict would be
built in Japan, a spokesman for..."
[phzzt!]
"...moving in. They say the third world countries, like Bolivia, which
produce the drug are suffering from rising violence...[fades]"

Tell me true, tell me why, was Jesus crucified
Is it for this that Daddy died?
Was it for you? Was it me?
Did I watch too much T.V.?
Is that a hint of accusation in your eyes?
If it wasn't for the nips
Being so good at building ships
The yards would still be open on the clyde.
And it can't be much fun for them
Beneath the rising sun
With all their kids committing suicide.
What have we done, Maggie what have we done?
What have we done to England?
Should we shout, should we scream
"What happened to the post war dream?"
Oh Maggie, Maggie what have we done?


2. Your Possible Pasts

They flutter behind you your possible pasts,
Some bright-eyed and crazy, some frightened and lost.
A warning to anyone still in command
[Cattle truck noises]
"Ranks! Fire!"
Of their possible future, to take care.
In derelict sidings the poppies entwine
With cattle trucks lying in wait for the next time.

Do you remember me? How we used to be?
Do you think we should be closer?

She stood in the doorway, the ghost of a smile
Haunting her face like a cheap hotel sign.
Her cold eyes imploring the men in their macs
For the gold in their bags or the knives in their backs.
Stepping up boldly one put out his hand.
He said, "I was just a child then, now I'm only a man."

Do you remember me? How we used to be?
Do you think we should be closer?

By the cold and religious we were taken in hand
Shown how to feel good and told to feel bad.
Tongue tied and terrified we learned how to pray
Now our feelings run deep and cold as the clay.
And strung out behind us the banners and flags
Of our possible pasts lie in tatters and rags.

Do you remember me? How we used to be?
Do you think we should be closer?

3. One of the Few

When you're one of the few to land on your feet
What do you do to make ends meet?
Teach.
Make them mad, make them sad, make them add two and two.
Make them me, make them you, make them do what you want them to.
Make them laugh, make them cry, make them lie down and die.

4. When the Tigers Broke Free

It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four.
When the forward commander
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn.
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And that's how the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.

And kind old King George
Sent Mother a note
When he heard that father was gone.
It was, I recall,
In the form of a scroll,
With gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day
In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed
With his own rubber stamp.

It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that's how the High Command
Took my daddy from me.

5. The Hero's Return

Jesus, Jesus, what's it all about?
Trying to clout these little ingrates into shape.
When I was their age all the lights went out.
There was no time to whine or mope about.
And even now part of me flies over
Dresden at angels one five.
Though they'll never fathom it behind my
Sarcasm desperate memories lie.

Sweetheart sweetheart are you fast asleep? Good.
'Cause that's the only time that I can really speak to you.
And there is something that I've locked away
A memory that is too painful
To withstand the light of day.

When we came back from the war the banners and
Flags hung on everyone's door.
We danced and we sang in the street and
The church bells rang.
But burning in my heart
My memory smolders on
Of the gunners dying words on the intercom.

6. The Gunner's Dream


Floating down through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now.
In the space between the heavens
and in the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream.
I had a dream.
Good-bye Max.
Good-bye Ma.
After the service when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell
And touch the silk in your lapel
And as the tear drops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream.
A place to stay
"Oi! A real one ..."
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
About your doubts and fears
And what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door.
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore.
And no one kills the children anymore.

Night after night
Going round and round my brain
His dream is driving me insane.
In the corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight.
What's done is done.
We cannot just write off his final scene.
Take heed of his dream.
Take heed.

7. Paranoid Eyes

Button your lip. Don't let the shield slip.
Take a fresh grip on your bullet proof mask.
And if they try to break down your disguise with their questions
You can hide, hide, hide,
"I'll tell you what, I'll give you three blacks, and play you for five
..."
"Ta! You was unlucky there son"
"Time gentleman!"
Behind paranoid eyes.

You put on our brave face and slip over the road for a jar.
Fixing your grin as you casually lean on the bar,
Laughing too loud at the rest of the world
With the boys in the crowd
You hide, hide, hide,
Behind petrified eyes.

You believed in their stories of fame, fortune and glory.
Now you're lost in a haze of alcohol soft middle age
The pie in the sky turned out to be miles too high.
And you hide, hide, hide,
Behind brown and mild eyes.

"Oi!"

8. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert

"Oi...Get your filthy hands off my desert!"
"What 'e say?"

Brezhnev took Afghanistan.
Begin took Beirut.
Galtieri took the Union Jack.
And Maggie, over lunch one day,
Took a cruiser with all hands.
Apparently, to make him give it back.


9. The Fletcher Memorial Home

Take all your overgrown infants away somewhere
And build them a home, a little place of their own.
The Fletcher Memorial
Home for Incurable Tyrants and Kings.

And they can appear to themselves every day
On closed circuit T.V.
To make sure they're still real.
It's the only connection they feel.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Reagan and Haig,
Mr. Begin and friend, Mrs. Thatcher, and Paisly,
"Hello Maggie!"
Mr. Brezhnev and party.
"Scusi dov'è il bar?"
The ghost of McCarthy,
The memories of Nixon.
"Who's the bald chap?"
"Good-bye!"
And now, adding colour, a group of anonymous latin-
American meat packing glitterati.

Did they expect us to treat them with any respect?
They can polish their medals and sharpen their
Smiles, and amuse themselves playing games for awhile.
Boom boom, bang bang, lie down you're dead.

Safe in the permanent gaze of a cold glass eye
With their favorite toys
They'll be good girls and boys
In the Fletcher Memorial Home for colonial
Wasters of life and limb.

Is everyone in?
Are you having a nice time?
Now the final solution can be applied.

10. Southampton Dock

They disembarked in 45
And no-one spoke and no-one smiled
There were to many spaces in the line.
Gathered at the cenotaph
All agreed with the hand on heart
To sheath the sacrificial Knifes.
But now
She stands upon Southampton dock
With her handkerchief
And her summer frock clings
To her wet body in the rain.
In quiet desperation knuckles
White upon the slippery reins
She bravely waves the boys Goodbye again.

And still the dark stain spreads between
His shoulder blades.
A mute reminder of the poppy fields and graves.
And when the fight was over
We spent what they had made.
But in the bottom of our hearts
We felt the final cut.

11. The Final Cut

Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes
I can barely define the shape of this moment in time
And far from flying high in clear blue skies
I'm spiraling down to the hole in the ground where I hide.

If you negotiate the minefield in the drive
And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall,
Dial the combination, open the priesthole
And if I'm in I'll tell you what's behind the wall.

There's a kid who had a big hallucination
Making love to girls in magazines.
He wonders if you're sleeping with your new found faith.
Could anybody love him
Or is it just a crazy dream?

And if I show you my dark side
Will you still hold me tonight?
And if I open my heart to you
And show you my weak side
What would you do?
Would you sell your story to Rolling Stone?
Would you take the children away
And leave me alone?
And smile in reassurance
As you whisper down the phone?
Would you send me packing?
Or would you take me home?

Thought I oughta bare my naked feelings,
Thought I oughta tear the curtain down.
I held the blade in trembling hands
Prepared to make it but just then the phone rang
I never had the nerve to make the final cut.

"Hello? Listen, I think I've got it. Okay, listen its a HaHa!"

12. Not Now John

Fuck all that we've got to get on with these
Gotta compete with the wily Japanese.
There's too many home fires burning
And not enough trees.
So fuck all that
We've go to get on with these.

Can't stop
Lose job
Mind gone
Silicon
What bomb
Get away
Pay day
Make hay
Break down
Need fix
Big six
Clickity click
Hold on
Oh no
Brrrrrrrrrring bingo!

Make 'em laugh.
Make 'em cry.
Make 'em dance in the aisles.
Make 'em pay.
Make 'em stay.
Make'em feel ok.

Not nah John
We've got to get on with the film show.
Hollywood waits at the end of the rainbow.
Who cares what it's about
As long as the kids go?
Not now John
Got to get on with the show.

Hang on John we've got to get on with this.
I don't know what it is
But it fits on here like.....
Come at the end of the shift
We'll go and get pissed.
But now now John
I've got to get on with this.

Hold on John
I think there's something good on.
I used to read books but.....
It could be the news
Or some other abuse
Or it could be reusable shows.

Fuck all that we've got to get on with these
Got to compete with the wily Japanese.
No need to worry about the Vietnamese.
Got to bring the Russian Bear to his knees.
Well, maybe not the Russian Bear
Maybe the Swedes.
We showed Argentina
Now let's go and show these.
Make us feel tough
And wouldn't Maggie be pleased?
Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah!

"s'cusi dove il bar
(What?)
se para collo pou eine toe bar
s'il vous plait ou est le bar
(...say it in English!...)
oi, where's the fucking bar John?
(Oh, now you're talking!)"
Oh! Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the day
Down!
Go, Maggie!
Hammer, Hammer, Hammer, Hammer, now!

13. Two Suns in the Sunset

In my rear view mirror the sun is going down
Sinking behind bridges in the road
And I think of all the good things
That we have left undone
And I suffer premonitions
Confirm suspicions
Of the holocaust to come.

The wire that holds the cork
That keeps the anger in
Gives way
And suddenly it's day again.
The sun is in the east
Even though the day is done.
Two suns in the sunset
Hmmmmmmmmmm
Could be the human race is run.

Like the moment when the brakes lock
And you slide towards the big truck
"Oh no!"
"[scream] Daddy, Daddy!"
You stretch the frozen moments with your fear.
And you'll never hear their voices
And you'll never see their faces
You have no recourse to the law anymore.

And as the windshield melts
My tears evaporate
Leaving only charcoal to defend.
Finally I understand the feelings of the few.
Ashes and diamonds
Foe and friend
We were all equal in the end.

"...and now the weather. Tomorrow will be cloudy with scattered showers
spreading from the east ... with an expected high of 4000 degrees
Celsius"

Δευτέρα, Μαρτίου 14, 2011

Σάββατο, Μαρτίου 12, 2011

Alice in Chains - Grind (1992)



In the darkest hole, you'd be well advised
Not to plan my funeral before the body dies, yeah
Come the morning light, it's a see through show
What you may have heard and what you think you know, yeah

Let the sun never blind your eyes
Let me sleep so my teeth won't grind
Hear a sound from a voice inside

Sure to play a part, so you love the game
And in truth your lies become one and same, yeah
I could set you free, rather hear the sound
Of your body breaking as I take you down, yeah

Let the sun never blind your eyes
Let me sleep so my teeth won't grind
Hear a sound from a voice inside

In the darkest hole, you'd be well advised
Not to plan my funeral before the body dies, yeah

Let the sun never blind your eyes
Let me sleep so my teeth won't grind
Hear a sound from a voice inside.

Παρασκευή, Μαρτίου 11, 2011

Kyuss - Gardenia (1994)



One blow till I'll take ya' down, I'll take ya down
One smoke and your head spins around and around
Chrome mags, a million drags, a never lags
An ol' transport queen momma you never seen

Hear a purrin' motor
And she's a burnin' fuel
Push it over, baby
We're makin' love unto you

Power booster, I'm talkin' to God and more
Crank it up and above my head
Smell my shit eating grin on the skin of my world
Six hundred sixty six miles per hour

Hear a purrin' motor
And she's a burnin' fuel
Push it over, baby
We're makin' love

Hear a purrin' motor
And she's a burnin' fuel (oh they were burnin')
Push it over, baby
We're makin' love unto you
Makin' love unto you...making

Get back, get back a-rollin' (3x)
Get back, get back motherfucker
Get back, get back a-rollin'
Get back, get back motherfucker(2x).

Τετάρτη, Μαρτίου 09, 2011

Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) (1998)



Yo, remember back on the boogie when cats use to harmonize like...
whooo, whooo whooo whooo,
yo, my men and my women,
don't forget about the dean,Sirat al-Mustaqim
yo, its about a thing, uh

If ya feel real good wave your hands in the air
and 'lick' two shots in the atmosphere...
yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah
yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah...

It's been three weeks since you've been looking for your friend
The one you let hit it and never called you again
'Member when he told you he was 'bout the Benjamin's
You act like you ain't hear him then gave him a little trim
To begin, how you think you really gon' pretend
Like you wasn't down then you called him again
Plus when you give it up so easy you ain't even foolin’ him
If you did it then, then you’d probably fuck again
Talking out your neck sayin' you're a Christian
A Muslim sleeping with the gin
Now that was the sin that did Jezebel in
Who you gon' tell when the reprocussions spin
Showing off your ass 'cause you're thinking it's a trend
Girlfriend, let me break it down for you again
You know I only say it 'cause I'm truly genuine
Don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem
Baby girl, respect is just a minimum
Niggas fucked up and you still defending 'em
Now Lauryn is only human
Don't think I haven't been through the same predicament
Let it sit inside your head like a million women in Philly, Penn.
It's silly when girls sell their soul because it's in
Look at where you be in hair weaves like Europeans
Fake nails done by Koreans
Come again
Win win come again, brethren come again, my friend come again, yo come again

Guys you know you better watch out
Some girls, some girls are only about
That thing, that thing, that thing(2x-this line)

The second verse is dedicated to the men
More concerned with his rims and his Tims than his women
Him and his men come in the club like hooligans
Don't care who they offend popping yang like you got yen
Let's not pretend, they wanna pack pistol by they waist men
Crystal by the case men, still in they mother's basement
The pretty face men, claiming that they did a bid men
Need to take care of their three and four kids then
They facing a court case when the child's support late
Money taking, heart breaking now you wonder why women hate men
The sneaky silent men, the punk domestic violence men
The quick to shoot the semen stop acting like boys and be men
How you gon' win when you ain't right within
How you gon' win when you ain't right within
How you gon' win when you ain't right within
Uh uh Come again
Yo yo Come again, brethren come again, sistren come again, come again

Watch out watch out, look out look out,
Watch out watch out, look out look out.

Girls you know you better watch out
Some guys, some guys are only about
That thing, that thing, that thing(2x-this line)

guys you know you better watch out
some girls, some girls are only about
that thing, that thing, that thing(2x-this line)