Now and Forever
In two weeks time, a friend of mine is getting married. We’ve been counting down the days and I’m getting into the mood by having in my playlist the songs she chose for the ceremony. This one’s not on her list but besides Ikaw (words by George Canseco and music by Louie Ocampo), this song, I believe, is one that fits the event to a T. Albeit it’s a bit gasgas na to the married folks of old. It’s a true classic - one of the best written (by George Canseco) in the vernacular as far as romaticism is concerned.
Dahil kaya sa ‘yo ng maitadhanang
Ako’y isilang sa mundo
Upang sa araw-araw ay siyang makapiling mo
Upang ngayon at kailanman
Ikaw ay mapalingkuran hirang
Bakit labis kitang mahal
Pangalawa sa Maykapal
Higit sa ‘king buhay
Malilimot ka lang
Kapag ang araw at bituin ay di na matanaw
Kapag tumigil ang daigdig at di ‘na gumalaw
Subalit isang araw pa matapos ang mundo’y nagunaw na
Hanggang doon magwawakas pag-ibig kong sadyang wagas
Ngayon at kailanman
Ay, corny ko! . More Canseco after the cut…
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They Don’t Write Songs Like This Anymore
My Joni Mitchell education only started with the movie Love Actually. Remember that CD Emma Thompson’s character got as a gift (”to continue her emotional education”) from her husband? It made me go “What is it about that CD?” What is it about Joni Mitchell that made her such an icon, especially for women? I know for a fact that Sarah McLachlan is largely influenced by her, and going back to both their songs allowed me to see the similarities in terms of melodies and lyric structure.
Joni Mitchell is a painter apart from being a musician; such artistry is also evoked by the songs she wrote. Jewel (Kilcher), another one of my favorite artists, once described Joni as someone who “describes smells and sounds to translate what is happening in her songs, using fewer words to transmit more feeling.” And feelings do come in abundance; this is folk-acoustic in its elemental best.
[The song featured above is called Blue, from the album of the same title that is widely regarded as her masterpiece. Popular Joni Mitchell songs are Both Sides Now and Big Yellow Taxi]
Train Wreck
From Perfect Girl (see last post) to Train Wreck.
Truth is, I typed the last post’s title supposedly to feature a song of the same title, but I realized I can’t really relate to the song lyrics at all. Pressed for time and ideas, I left it as it is and went on to relate an incident I’m about to share anyway here.
Now this one’s more like it:
Cause I’m a train wreck waiting to happen
waiting for someone to come pick me up off the tracks
a wild fire born of frustration
born of the one love that gets me so high
I’ve no fear at all
I just really love this concert. I think the backing band is awe-some!
Video test
Just checking my video plugin capability.
Someone made a video with one of my most favorite couples. Not Keira and Matthew. Lizzy & Darcy. And one of the earliest Mariah Carey songs - Music Box.
Over the Rainbow
When all the clouds, darken up the skyway
There’s a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your window pane
To place, behind the sun
Just a step beyond the rain?
Two of my most favorite songs of all time talk about the same thing - rainbows. The first, with the introductory lyrics quoted above, is Over the Rainbow, which was created for the film The Wizard of Oz. The other one is Rainbow Connection, which I’ll probably discuss some other time.
There’s this certain version of the first song that is widely popular - that by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. His was a pretty laid-back take on the song, which incidentally was featured as a medley with another one of my favorites, What a Wonderful World. It’s a very pleasant version to listen to, but, to me at least, making it sound upbeat sort of diminishes the thought and the heart of the song.
When Dorothy sang the lines, “Somewhere over the rainbow; bluebirds fly; birds fly over the rainbow; why then, oh why can’t I?”, she was looking toward the horizon - both dreamy and sad - hoping for some better place than the depression-era farmland she was currently living in. She fears for her dog, Toto, and wonders what the evil neighbor will do; she worries for her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, who are both getting old.
There’s something about the slow-paced melody that envelopes the duality of desperation and hope, the wide-eyed innocence amidst uncertainty, that Dorothy felt, and that I, in more than ways than one, has come to relate to. That’s why Judy Garland’s will always be the most definitive version of that song for me. A close second would be Eva Cassidy’s.
Call it a tendency towards overemotionality, but there’s no way I can see those lines taken lightly and/or stylized. But that’s just me. I’m sure others will feel differently.
I have uploaded a few song versions in my other blog.