Author: John Holton

I'm a writer and blogger who writes and blogs about things that interest me.

Song Lyric Sunday: “I Still Can’t Say Goodbye”

Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, great-grandfathers, foster fathers and pet fathers!

Here’s one by Chet Atkins that he used to sing at the end of his concerts. Now that Chet’s gone, Tommy Emmanuel sings it at the end of his concerts. Tommy has a little explanation at the beginning.

Lyrics from SongLyrics.com

When I was young
My dad would say
“C’mon son, let’s go out and play”
Sometimes it seems like yesterday

And I’d climb up the closet shelf
When I was all by myself
Grab his hat and fix the brim
Pretending I was him

No matter, how hard I try
No matter, how many tears I cry
No matter, how many years go by
I still can’t say goodbye

He always took care
Of Mom and me
We all cut down a Christmas tree
He always had some time for me

Wind blows through the trees
Street lights, they still shine bright
Most things are the same
But I miss my dad tonight

I walked by a Salvation Army store
Saw a hat like my daddy wore
Tried it on when I walked in
Still trying to be like him

No matter, how hard I try
No matter, how many years go by
No matter, how many tears I cry
I still can’t say goodbye

I thought it was appropriate for today’s prompt, “Dad/Father/barbecue.”

That’s Song Lyric Sunday for Father’s Day, 2019.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: “Pillow Talk”

I liked my last Battle of the Bands, where I chose several different songs with the name “Do It Again” and asked which one you liked best, so much that I decided to do it again. So, today’s battle is between songs that share the name “Pillow Talk.”

Sylvia

Sylvia Robinson wrote this in 1972 and offered it to Al Green, who turned it down because of his religious values, so she decided to record it herself in 1973, and it reached #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Soul chart that year.

Zayn

Zayn Malik is a British singer, formerly a member of One Direction. He recorded his “Pillow Talk” in 2016 and it became a #1 hit fo him in the US and UK and a Top 10 hit in most of the rest of the world.

Wild Child

Wild Child is an indie pop band from Austin, Texas. Their “Pillow Talk” was the title track from their 2011 album.

So, those are the contestants. You know the drill:

  1. Listen to all three songs.
  2. Decide which you like the best.
  3. Vote for your favorite by leaving me a comment with your choice. If you feel like telling us why, feel free.
  4. Then, visit the other participants and vote in their Battles:

I’ll tally the votes and announce the winner next Saturday, June 22, so be sure and get your vote in by then. Remember, you don’t need to participate in Battle of the Bands to vote.

The lines are now open. Good luck to Sylvia, Zayn, and Wild Child!

Go Away, I’m Busy… #socs

I’m having a hard time with this because I don’t feel especially social right now. I get this way sometimes when I’m working on something new. In this case, the “something new” is figuring out the Z shell (or zsh), which I just learned Apple is going to deliver as the preferred Unix shell when they come out with their next major release of MacOS, Catalina (or 10.15, if you prefer). Most Mac users don’t really care about the Terminal, but there are times when it can save you time, and a lot of the stuff I like to do requires at least a working knowledge of it. The shell is the interface between the operating system and the user. There are about six shells delivered with Mac, and up to now the default one has been the Bourne Again Shell, or bash. I guess there are licensing issues with bash, which is why they’re switching. It’ll still be there, so I could switch back, but after working with zsh, I can’t see that happening.

I’m not an especially social person, anyway. I don’t think I ever was, even though I can be the life of the party. Mary’s not especially social, either; I guess that’s why we’ve gotten along so well.

And that’s really all I have to say…

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to you each week by Linda Hill and this station. Now a word from Paul Masson Crackling Rosé. It really crackles!

The Friday 5×2 (-1): CFNY (102.1 Toronto), 6/12/86

CFNY, according to Wikipedia, “rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freestyle DJing format and unique (at that point) choice to play alternative music.” They had a pretty rough history starting in the ’90’s, when the station changed hands a couple of times, eventually becoming “102.1 The Edge,” playing Top 40 music. Here is their Top 9 (that’s all ARSA has listed) for June 12, 1986.

  1. David Bowie, “Underground” Bowie was interested in scoring a children’s movie, and his chance came with the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth (from which “Underground” was taken), in which he starred with Jennifer Connelly. It was a Top 10 hit in Ireland and The Netherlands, and a Top 20 hit in most of the rest of the world.
  2. a-ha, “Hunting High And Low” Title track from their 1985 album, it reached #10 in their native Norway, #4 in France and IKreland, #9 in The Netherlands, and #5 in the UK. They’ve recorded extensively for the last 30 years, and still can’t get another hit in the US…
  3. Matt Bianco, “Dancing In The Street” You might remember me telling you at some point that one of the original members of Matt Bianco was Barbara Trzetrzelewska, better known (thank heaven) by her mononym Basia. She left Matt Bianco after their first album and went on to solo fame and fortune, so this is without her. You’ll notice almost immediately that this isn’t a cover of Martha and the Vandellas…
  4. Eurythmics, “When Tomorrow Comes” This song wasn’t released in North America as a single, but as CFNY wasn’t restricted to playing only singles, it made their survey. It only reached #30 in the UK, but was a Top 10 it in Australia, Norway and Sweden.
  5. Redskins, “It Can Be Done” Redskins were a British band known for their left-wing politics and skinhead appearance. As a single, it reached #76 in the UK.
  6. Win, “Shampoo Tears” Win were a Scottish pop band known for their song “You’ve Got The Power,” which was used in an ad campaign for the brewery McEwan’s. This song was the follow-up single to “Power.”
  7. Billy Newton-Davis, “Right Beside You” As an alternative station, CFNY placed no time restrictions on song, which is how this could make their list. Billy is originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and moved to Canada in 1980. This is from his debut album, 1986’s Love Is A Contact Sport, which won the Juno Award for Best R&B/Soul album.
  8. Sandie Shaw, “Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken” Sandie was popular in the UK in the ’60’s, having hits with “(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me” (1964), “Long Live Love” (1965), and “Puppet On A String” (1967), with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest. After spending the ’70’s without a hit, she returned in 1982 with a cover of “Anyone Who Had A Heart.” “Heartbroken” reached #68 in the UK.
  9. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, “Going Underground” From their 1986 album Criminal Tango, this was released as a single but didn’t make the official chart, but clearly the CFNY listeners thought it was OK.

And that’s The Friday 5×2 (minus one) for June 14, 2019.