Song: Baker Street Artist: Gerry Rafferty (Originally published Dec.5, 2011)

I remember when Baker Street came out in 1978 because this song compelled me to buy the whole album, which was great. The most unusual thing about this song is that the chorus is entirely instrumental with that distinguishable sax solo. Apparently this song lead to a resurgence in the purchase of saxophones, called the “Baker Street Phenomenon”. Any song that drives people to want to learn an instrument is okay in my books!

The whole album is terrific, and I seriously don’t think he had as successful an album since that one.  One of Gerry’s more famous previous songs was “Stuck In The Middle” from his stint in the band Stealer’s Wheel, but for me Baker Street was far superior.  He wrote it after Stealer’s Wheel broke up and he was involved in a prolonged legal battle to get out of his contract with the band.  He travelled quite a bit between Glasgow and London during the contract dispute and ended up staying at a friend’s in London on Baker Street, where the idea for the song was born.

The Baker Street sax solo was supposedly first meant to be sung, then a guitar bit was considered.   It was the session player Raphael Ravenscroft who suggested he try it on a soprano sax, and the rest is history.  When I think of it now, I can’t imagine it being anything other than sax.

“Winding your way down Baker Street”…lyrically, the song is in the second person but I imagine the song as being autobiographical, describing a guy who has had some struggles with alcohol and depression, with life being lived out on the low end.  “Just one more year and then you’ll be happy, but you’re crying, you’re crying now.”

Musically the song is in the key of “D”, but one of my favourite parts is the pre-chorus where it shifts to a Dm7 and Am.  Shifting from a major to a minor 7th can create a powerful emotional impact:

Here is the first pre-chorus:

Dm7                              Am    

  You used to think that it was so easy

Dm7                            Am         

  You used to say that it was so easy

     C             G              D    * 

But you’re tryin, you’re tryin’ now

Dm7                            Am              

  Another year and then you’d be happy

Dm7                                  Am           

  Just one more year and then you’d be happy

     C               G             A     Dm7/G         

But you’re cryin’, you’re cryin’ now 

Gerry Rafferty died last January (2011), apparently of multi-organ failure after years of alcohol abuse.  It brought on a surge of new interest in his songs, but in the years leading up to his death he appeared to spiral deeper and deeper into his dark place.  It’s too bad that it often takes an artist or songwriter’s death to bring the attention that they so desire in life.  Rafferty had that attention during the late 70’s and although he released a number of albums since, none of them achieved the success that City to City did.

Listen to Baker Street in the video below.

~ IJ

Song: Karma Police Artist: Radiohead (Originally published Dec.1, 2011)

I swear I’ve sung this song dozens of times with guitar classes and students, and every time I do, it leaves me both confused and mesmerized. I absolutely love the chord progressions in this song, and the twists and turns musically. But what was it about?

I know enough about karma because I’m an avid reader of Buddhist philosophy. In the refrain, the line that repeats is “This is what you get.” which makes perfect sense to me, karmically-speaking (I know, I know, karmically is not a word!). But lines like “her Hitler hairdo is making me feel ill” and “he talks in maths, he buzzes like a fridge” went right over my head until I did a little research on the meaning of the song.

However, before I explain it, why not have a listen?  You can find the video below.

My interpretation of it is a son trying to enact revenge on his father, but you know, but when I watched the video of the song, well, these video directors and producers just like to play with images flying around in their own heads sometimes, so the video doesn’t necessarily explain anything. Here are the lyrics, including chords as I teach them, you lucky dogs!

INTRO: | Am D7/F# | Em G | Am F | Em G | Am D |
       | G G/F# C C/B | Am | Bm D |

Am    D7/F# Em
  Kar_ma Police,
   G        Am
Arrest this man,
   F        Em
He talks in maths,
   G             Am
He buzzes like a fridge
     D    | G G/F#  C  C/B | Am | Bm D |
He’s like a detuned ra-di—-o

Am    D7/F# Em
  Kar_ma  Police,
   G        Am
Arrest this girl,
    F      Em
Her hitler hairdo,
   G              Am
Is making me feel ill,
    D       G       G/F# C C/B Am Bm D
And we have crashed her  par—ty

REFRAIN:
| C         D         | G   F# |
    This is what you’ll get,
| C         D         | G   F# |
    This is what you’ll get,
| C         D         | G
    This is what you’ll get,
         Bm      | C | Bm D |
When you mess with us…

Am    D7/F# Em
  Kar_ma  Police,
     G           Am
I’ve given all I can,
     F    Em
It’s not enough,
     G           Am
I’ve given all I can,
    D           G  G/F# C     C/B Am Bm D
But we’re still on the  pay—roll

[REPEAT REFRAIN]

| Bm          D    | G 
    And for a minute there,
  D    | G      D     | E   |
I lost myself I lost myself, 
| Bm          D    | G 
    And for a minute there,
  D    | G      D     | E   |
I lost myself I lost myself,

| Bm D | G D | G D | E |

Bm           D      G
   And for a minute there,
  D      G      D      E
I lost myself I lost myself,
Bm           D           G
  Just for a minute there,
  D      G      D      E
I lost myself I lost myself

||: Bm D | G D | G D | E :|| 

So, are you any closer to figuring out what it’s about?  Okay, I’ll let you off the hook :-).  Here’s an explanation from Wikipedia:

“Radiohead members used to tell one another that they would call ‘the karma police’ on them if they did something wrong. The joke was incorporated as into the lyrics and title of the song. Yorke explained that the song was about stress and ‘having people looking at you in that certain [malicious] way, I can’t handle it anymore’. Thom Yorke explained the idea of the lyrics to The Independent in 2006, saying, ‘It’s for someone who has to work for a large company. This is a song against bosses. Fuck the middle management!’ Yorke and Jonny Greenwood emphasized in interviews that the song had a humorous bent; Yorke said, ‘[It’s] not entirely serious, I hope people will realize that.’ The song includes the line ‘He buzzes like a fridge/He’s like a detuned radio’, a reference to the distracting, metaphorical background noise Yorke calls ‘fridge buzz’. Yorke has said that the idea of fridge buzz is one of the primary themes of OK Computer [the CD containing Karma Police];’Karma Police’ also shares themes of insanity and dissatisfaction with capitalism.”

Now you know 🙂 

~ IJ

Song: Fall At Your Feet Artist: Crowded House (Originally published Dec.1, 2011)

I have to admit that I didn’t hear this song until quite recently when I saw Neil Finn perform it live as an acoustic solo on a television show. I pretty much fell at his feet! I have always admired Crowded House, so I’m asking myself why I never bought one of their albums? They have some powerful songs, the songwriting is very solid and their harmonies are simply delicious. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” was the first song that caught my attention when it was released in 1986. Fall At Your Feet can be found on their 1991 album “Woodface”.  You can listen to the song in the iTunes player to the right.

There are a lot of websites or blogs dedicated to song meanings, and on one site I found that most people seemed to have more than one possible interpretation of this one. There seemed to be a general consensus that it had to do with the singer trying to comfort a woman he’s in a relationship with. But others thought it might have more to do with cheating or a break-up. The funny thing about lyrics when we hear them is that we tend to stamp our own meaning and experience on them.  So when you’re a songwriter, you’re always trying to get the idea of a “universal” experience into your lyrics.  If it’s too, too personal, others can’t make it their own.

I think a key line in this song is “the finger of blame that’s turned upon itself”, which to me, indicates some kind of flux in their relationship. Also, when he sings the first verse he’s singing about “her”, whereas the rest of the song is about “you”. However you look at it, there’s a love song in there, and a break up song, and a song about being brought to your knees by a relationship for any one of a number of reasons.

Here are the lyrics:

I’m really close tonight
And I feel like I’m moving inside her
Lying in the dark
And I think that I’m beginning to know her

Let it go
I’ll be there when you call

And whenever I fall at your feet
You let your tears rain down on me
Whenever I touch, your slow turnin’ pain

You’re hidin’ from me now
There’s somethin’ in the way that you’re talkin’
The words don’t sound right
But I hear them all moving inside you

Know
I’ll be waiting when you call

Hey, whenever I fall at your feet
Won’t you let your tears rain down on me?
Whenever I touch, your slow turnin’ pain

The finger of blame has turned upon itself
And I’m more than willing to offer myself
Do you want my presence or need my help?
Who knows where that might lead
I fall

Whenever I fall at your feet
Won’t you let your tears rain down on me?
Whenever I fall (at your feet)
Whenever I fall

Musically, Neil Finn and his older brother Tim, who co-wrote this song and others on the same album, are brilliant. The plaintive melodic phrase “whenever I fall at your feet” is such a beautiful hook, rising as the bass line is falling. I admit though, that I was actually hooked from the first verse of this particular song. If you’ve never explored Crowded House, you should give yourself the pleasure of their music. Have a listen to the song in the video below!

~ IJ

Song: I’m All Over It Artist: Jamie Cullum (Originally published Nov.29, 2011)

Jamie Cullum was a discovery because of a guitar student (as so many of them are for me!).  She requested another song by Cullum called “All At Sea”, which I liked, but it wasn’t until I did more research that I discovered this song, which I immediately fell in love with.

It’s not a deep song, lyrically speaking, but the jazz/pop musical style of Jamie Cullum is so tasty that you can’t help yourself wanting to listen to it again and again.  I remember being a kid and listening to and falling in love with songs that I paid very little attention to when it came to the lyrics.

Some of that was not my fault…the recording quality and subsequent radio broadcast quality often lead to misheard or misunderstood lyrics.  In fact, there are a number of websites dedicated to misheard lyrics, one of them being Kiss This Guy which was originally called The Archive of Misheard Lyrics.  Kiss This Guy is a reference to a line in the song “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix.  The actual line was “excuse me while I kiss the sky”, but many people heard it as “excuse me while I kiss this guy”.  But I digress :-).

Jamie Cullum’s lyrics are definitely not poorly recorded, but they are not remarkable either.  Many times when I’m writing lyrical tips on this songwriting blog I really emphasize the importance of lyrics.  So am I contradicting myself?  Not really.  “I’m All Over It” is a good hook, and it’s a typical break up song, lyrically speaking, but the music, the production and Jamie’s performance greatly overshadow any weakness in his lyrics.  He’s considered somewhat of a jazz prodigy, with a lot of his earlier recorded works being covers of old jazz standards.  But his songwriting really makes him a great find.  Have a listen to the song in the video below and tell me what you think!

IJ