If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
Since approximately November, I’ve been using a gimmick I stole from somebody’s blog, which I now can’t find and therefore can’t credit. (Bad librarian. No biscuit.) I’ve started titling my posts with song lyrics. This is a great little mental game for me and it absolves me of the actual work of coming up with an original title. (I’m guessing that you’ve already picked up on this shtick, being the cultured and intelligent group you are.)
Of course, this begs a quiz. How’ve you been doing identifying these? These are really tiny snippets of lyrics, and some of them are pretty obscure, so I’ve handicapped them with point values. Some should be blindingly obvious, and there are one or two with hints in the original posts. I figure just about anybody should be able to get 2 points. There’s a theoretical maximum of 92.5 points on the quiz, but I’m pretty sure it’s unattainable. Somebody might hit 77.5, but I’d be shocked.
General rules: Leave a comment naming the artists and the titles of the songs you recognize. Take bragging rights if you’re the first person to name one. Alternately, tally up your points and just assert your score. If the lyric hits you like a maddening earworm but you have to Google the specifics, take half-credit. Words in parentheses are my edits; really, those should not be confounding.
Everyone reading this is encouraged to play. Come out, come out, wherever you are. If you think the scores aren’t fair… well, maybe Lemming and TRP want to convene an Academic Review Board. But I doubt it.
The Quiz:
OK, these aren’t lyrics, but they’re cultural references:
(On Live Journal, they call this the Lyrics Meme, and you're encouraged to try something similar if you run a blog/LJ. If you decide to, let me know and I’ll come play.)
Answers in a week, unless everybody I know posts sooner.
Of course, this begs a quiz. How’ve you been doing identifying these? These are really tiny snippets of lyrics, and some of them are pretty obscure, so I’ve handicapped them with point values. Some should be blindingly obvious, and there are one or two with hints in the original posts. I figure just about anybody should be able to get 2 points. There’s a theoretical maximum of 92.5 points on the quiz, but I’m pretty sure it’s unattainable. Somebody might hit 77.5, but I’d be shocked.
General rules: Leave a comment naming the artists and the titles of the songs you recognize. Take bragging rights if you’re the first person to name one. Alternately, tally up your points and just assert your score. If the lyric hits you like a maddening earworm but you have to Google the specifics, take half-credit. Words in parentheses are my edits; really, those should not be confounding.
Everyone reading this is encouraged to play. Come out, come out, wherever you are. If you think the scores aren’t fair… well, maybe Lemming and TRP want to convene an Academic Review Board. But I doubt it.
The Quiz:
- If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine (4 pts)
- And you need a fire to sit beside while the winter winter weaves on its cloak (8 pts)
- Through light projected he can see himself up close (5 pts)
- That would be roaringly funny (5 pts)
- Won't you help me sing? (2 pts)
- Don't like your prayer; it's worse than a vice (15 pts. 30 if you did not live in the DC metropolitan area in the mid 1990s. Bonus point if you can make a convincing argument that I’ve transcribed this lyric wrong.)
- One song that would steal our hearts before they turn into silver and gold (7 pts)
- If there was one I could receive in (5 pts)
- Twelve Drummers Drumming (0.5 pts... I mean, come on)
- Razzle-Dazzle Them (1 pt)
- Friends and relations send salutations (2 pts)
- Diamonds in the snow sparkle (4 pts. Bonus point if you can name the artist on the cover version I adore)
- Take another little piece of my heart, now, (Buddy) (0.5 pts)
- Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow (0.5 pts)
- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (0.5 pts)
- Five to one, baby. One in five. (1 pt)
- And so it's your (birthday), and what have you done? (0.5 pts)
- Tiger Tiger Woods, y’all (5 pts)
OK, these aren’t lyrics, but they’re cultural references:
- I am (not) Tiger Woods (3 pts)
- If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it (8 pts)
(On Live Journal, they call this the Lyrics Meme, and you're encouraged to try something similar if you run a blog/LJ. If you decide to, let me know and I’ll come play.)
Answers in a week, unless everybody I know posts sooner.
posted by Joe at 5:29 PM
10 Comments:
I got all of the 0.5 point songs. I'm consistent.
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine is from the poem entitled Ripple by Robert Hunter (The Grateful Dead). Here's the entire poem (well, lyrics);
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
I don't know, don't really care
Let there be songs to fill the air
Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blowReach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men
There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blowYou who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall you fall alone
If you should stand then who's to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.
Lovely!
Okay, one more, then I gotta fly .. And you need a fire to sit beside while the winter weaves on its cloak comes from the poem The Coming of the Snow by Rod Macdonald. Hrm .. who sings it? I don't know.
When you decide to return again to the land that raised you
to find yourself traveling back to your New England home
and you're passing through and you run into
somebody I used to know
tell her I been thinking about her in the coming of the snow.
When you're standing on the pier by the empty harbor
and the fishing boats are lying quiet until the spring
and you need a fire to sit beside
while the winter weaves out its cloaktell her I been thinking about her in the coming of the snow.
And if you awaken with her long hair spread across your shoulder
and the day outside is as dark as her eyes
take care to hold her close
into the morning
and she will be true to you if you love her more than I
If you're traveling in the woods I used to walk along
and you find her out there standing in the falling leaves
and a chill should pass through the arms
that cradle her longing
you know you can take her hand one more time for me
When you decide to return again to the land that raised you
you find yourself traveling back to your New England home
and you're passing through and you run into
somebody I used to know
tell her I been thinking about her in the coming of the snow.
Got all of the 0.5 songs, too.
"That would be roaringly funny" is from the song "Funny" from City of Angels.
"Friends and relations send salutations" scans like Tom Lehrer, but it's not.
"Five to one baby/ one in five/ no one makes it out alive..." ooo, I should know that one.
yeah, unless you exclusively use lyrics of one of the following four bands I'm never going to get it:
Violent Femmes
Cake
Depeche Mode
Moxy Fruvous
I can name all the .5 except: Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow
I can sing the song for "Razzle Dazzle them", but am not sure if I know the title. (Can also tell you Joel Gray performed it and did it with the muppets once)
Friends and RElations Send Salutations - Jimmy Buffet I do believe.
Diamonds in the Snow Sparkle - since this isn't scoring Jeopardy style and there's no penalty for getting it wrong I'm saying it's Pink Floyd and you like the cover by Scissor Sisters.
Now post the answers, please, so I can feel even more stupid for not getting some of these right. :)
"That would be roaringly funny" is indeed from City of Angels. It's one of Stine's songs, originally sung by Gregg Edelman. "Funny", I think. God, it's been aeons since I listened to that soundtrack.
I'm not gonna go there with the drums, you.
"Razzle-dazzle them" is from Chicago. Sung by Billy whatshisname, the primary male lead. Again, I think it's a titular lyric. Could be Joel Grey; could be Richard Gere.
"Take another little piece of my heart" is Janis Ian. Another titular lyric.
"Until then..." is from "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I have the Pretenders' version in my head.
"It's beginning to look..." is another titular lyric. Is this a show song? I don't remember...
"And so it's your (birthday)"...man, the scansion on this one sounds so much like "And So This Is Christmas" (if that's the title, which I doubt) by John Lennon. What is it really?
--Q
OK, so that was undoubtedly too hard. I shouldn’t be surprised that the show tunes did better than the rock songs, but I am.
The Quiz:
If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine - Ripple, Hunter/The Dead
And you need a fire to sit beside while the winter winter weaves on its cloak – The Coming of the Snow, Rod Macdonald did record it.
Through light projected he can see himself up close – Lemon, U2
That would be roaringly funny – Funny, City of Angels
Won't you help me sing? – Redemption Song, Bob Marley. (Wasn't everyone who went to college in the 90s issued a copy of Legend?)
Don't like your prayer; it's worse than a vice – Take, Boomslang. Boomslang was a terrific DC bar band in the mid-90s.
One song that would steal our hearts before they turn into silver and gold – Pirate Radio, John Hiatt
If there was one I could receive in – Acrobat, U2
Twelve Drummers Drumming – 12 Days of Christmas
Razzle-Dazzle Them – Is the name of the song, from Chicago. Original Broadway Cast was Jerry Orbach; I saw Robert Urich sing it on tour.
Friends and relations send salutations – Please Come Home For Christmas, The Eagles(as far as I know). I can’t find a Jimmy Buffett recording, Swankette. It does sound like a Tom Lehrer lyric, but I really doubt it.
Diamonds in the snow sparkle – Two Thousand Miles, The Pretenders (I think), although there’s a cover by The Holly Cole Trio which I adore.
Take another little piece of my heart, now, (Buddy) – Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin. (Q, was that just a typo?)
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Meet Me In St. Louis
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas – is the title
Five to one, baby. One in five. – Five to One, The Doors.
And so it's your (birthday), and what have you done? – Is a riff on Happy Christmas (War Is Over), John Lennon. Probably not a fair question.
Tiger Tiger Woods, y’all – is apparently a Chris Rock song, called Champagne. I'm pretty sure I saw it on Pardon the Interruption.
I am (not) Tiger Woods – “I am Tiger Woods” was a Nike commercial or something.
If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it – Moby Dick.
The Chris Rock song is "No Sex (in the Champagne Room)".
On my copy of Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time album, two song writers are listed as Bonnie Raitt and John Haitt. Incidentally, John Hiatt's "Have a little faith in me" contains the coolest little metrical trick ever in a pop song.
Hugh--
I assume that the metrical trick is "Expecting nothing in return/Just for you to have a little faith in me." I've known something cool happened there rhythmically, but have never taken the effort to figure out what. What does he do?
--TRP
I actually vastly prefer Hiatt's original "Thing Called Love" to Raitt's big hit with it. Raitt's version, of course, is rolling and sassy and sexy and fun, but Hiatt's is down and dirty and funky and... crazy. More roadhouse than House of Blues. I'm not aware of Hiatt having a writing credit on anything else on Nick of Time.
It's also interesting to compare the original "Have a Little Faith", a stripped-down track laid at the end of an exhausting recording session, with the more highly produced version on his Best Of album. I'm not sure which version I prefer, honestly.
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