From the Salmon

I’ve seen this meme show up on a few sites recently, and it seemed perfect for Sometimes Arbitrary Music List Friday (I clearly need a catchier name). So in the spirit of the Top-Five-List-Obsessed characters in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, I guess I’ll give this one a shot.

Top Five Lyrics That Move Your Heart

If you’ve been reading this site for a while, you’ve already read about some of the songs that I find really meaningful. If you haven’t read them and you’re interested, you can revisit What Good Am I? — Bob Dylan, Fearless Love — David Wilcox, and At Dawn or After Dusk — Norfolk & Western. Anyhow, I thought I’d include five new sets of lyrics....

Subdivision — Ani DiFranco

i remember the first time i saw someone
lying on the cold street
i thought: i can’t just walk past here
this can’t just be true
but i learned by example
to just keep moving my feet
it’s amazing the things that we all learn to do

I could easily have filled this category several times over with Ani songs. I chose this one, because it fits in well with my previous ”What Good Am I?” post. I pulled out an excerpt for the sake of brevity, but the whole song is powerful.

Full Lyrics...

Subdivision — Ani DiFranco

white people are so scared of black people
they bulldoze out to the country
and put up houses on little loop-dee-loop streets
and while america gets its heart cut right out of its chest
the berlin wall still runs down main street
separating east side from west
and nothing is stirring, not even a mouse
in the boarded-up stores and the broken-down houses
so they hang colorful banners off all the street lamps
just to prove they got no manners
no mercy and no sense

and i’m wondering what it will take
for my city to rise
first we admit our mistakes
then we open our eyes
the ghosts of old buildings are haunting parking lots
in the city of good neighbors that history forgot

i remember the first time i saw someone
lying on the cold street
i thought: i can’t just walk past here
this can’t just be true
but i learned by example
to just keep moving my feet
it’s amazing the things that we all learn to do

so we’re led by denial like lambs to the slaughter
serving empires of style and carbonated sugar water
and the old farm road’s a four-lane that leads to the mall
and our dreams are all guillotines waiting to fall

i’m wondering what it will take
for my country to rise
first we admit our mistakes
and then we open our eyes
or nature succumbs to one last dumb decision
and america the beautiful
is just one big subdivision

Ellis Unit One — Steve Earle

Well, I’ve seen ‘em fight like lions, boys
I’ve seen ‘em go like lambs
And I’ve helped to drag ‘em when they could not stand
And I’ve heard their mamas cryin’
when they heard that big door slam
And I’ve seen the victim’s family holdin’ hands

Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest
And something cold and black pullin’ through my lungs
‘N even Jesus couldn’t save me though I know he did his best
But he don’t live on Ellis Unit One

This is from the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. I’ll be writing more about different conceptions of justice soon, and I imagine that might include a discussion of the death penalty. But for now, I’ll just say that I find this song to be absolutely chilling.

Full Lyrics...

Ellis Unit One — Steve Earle

I was fresh out of the service
It was back in ‘82
I raised some Cain when I come back to town
I left to be all I could be
Come home without a clue
Now, I married Dawn and had to settle down

So I hired on at the prison
Guess I always knew I would
Just like my dad and both my uncles done
And I worked on every cell block
Now, things’re goin’ good
But then they transferred me to Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

Well, my daddy used to talk about them long nights at the walls
And how they used to strap ‘em in the chair
The kids down from the college and they’d bring their beer ‘n all
‘N when the lights went out, a cheer rose in the air

Well, folks just got too civilized
Sparky’s gatherin’ dust
‘Cause no one wants to touch a smokin’ gun
And since they got the injection
They don’t mind as much, I guess
They just put ‘em down at Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

Well, I’ve seen ‘em fight like lions, boys
I’ve seen ‘em go like lambs
And I’ve helped to drag ‘em when they could not stand
And I’ve heard their mamas cryin’
when they heard that big door slam
And I’ve seen the victim’s family holdin’ hands

Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest
And something cold and black pullin’ through my lungs
‘N even Jesus couldn’t save me though I know he did his best
But he don’t live on Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home
Swing low
Don’t let go
Swing low and carry me home

If I Had a Rocket Launcher — Bruce Cockburn

I don’t believe in guarded borders and I don’t believe in hate
I don’t believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher… I would retaliate

I think this is an interesting song to pair with that last one, because it gets right to the heart of the struggle to find a just response in the face of overwhelming evil.

Full Lyrics...

If I Had a Rocket Launcher — Bruce Cockburn

Here comes the helicopter — second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they’ve murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher… I’d make somebody pay

I don’t believe in guarded borders and I don’t believe in hate
I don’t believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher… I would retaliate

On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation—or some less humane fate
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher… I would not hesitate

I want to raise every voice — at least I’ve got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher… Some son of a bitch would die

Njósnavelin — Sigur Rós

So this is a bit of a stretch, but stay with me. This song has no lyrics. Well, not printable lyrics, anyhow. It’s sung in a fabricated language that the band has chosen to call “hopelandic.” Yes, that’s pretentious as hell, but there’s something here that grabs me in a way very few songs can.

Perhaps it’s that the sounds Jónsi chooses to sing are the sounds of raw emotion. They’re expressive in a way that conventional lyrics often can’t be. This is how I sing along to songs that move me when I don’t know the words. This is how I feel when I sing choral pieces in other languages when I don’t remember the meaning but I’m swept up by the sounds and the momentum of the piece.

So does it belong here? I say yes.

Between the Wars — Billy Bragg

Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are
Between the wars

I grew up in a fairly conservative town, and I’m only recently getting comfortable with the idea that I’m in many ways one of those dreaded Liberals. Then again, now I live in a town that makes me seem not all that liberal after all. So maybe I can be a Radical Moderate. I kinda like that. Anyhow, regardless of how exactly it applies to me, I love Bragg’s plea for moderation not to desert us. I think that’s just about right.

Full Lyrics...

Between the Wars — Billy Bragg

I was a miner
I was a docker
I was a railway man
Between the wars
I raised a family
In times of austerity
With sweat at the foundry
Between the wars

I paid the union and as times got harder
I looked to the government to help the working man
And they brought prosperity down at the armoury
We’re arming for peace, me boys
Between the wars

I kept the faith and I kept voting
Not for the iron fist but for the helping hand
For theirs is a land with a wall around it
And mine is a faith in my fellow man
Theirs is a land of hope and glory
Mine is the green field and the factory floor
Theirs are the skies all dark with bombers
And mine is the peace we know
Between the wars

Call up the craftsmen
Bring me the draftsmen
Build me a path from cradle to grave
And I’ll give my consent
To any government
That does not deny a man a living wage

Go find the young men never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the days gone by
Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation
Desert us not, we are
Between the wars

Top Five Instrumentals

I’d comment, but this seems to be a category where words just get in the way.

1. Big Country — Béla Fleck, Mike Marshall & Edgar Meyer
2. With This Love — Peter Gabriel
3. Mona Ray — Leo Kottke
4. Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven... — Godspeed You! Black Emperor
5. House of Tom Bombadil — Nickel Creek

Top Five Live Musical Experiences

1. Paul Simon
   March 22, 1991
   Rosemont Horizon — Chicago, IL
   You Can Call Me Al
   My first major concert. Born at the Right Time tour. 20+ piece backing band. Floor seats. Simon finished playing You Can Call Me Al. He said “So, you liked that, did you?” He then proceeded to play it again. Pandemonium ensued. (Well, as much pandemonium as I suppose you can have at a Paul Simon show in the 90s.)
2. Shannon Worrell, Ben Folds, Dave Matthews and Kristen Asbury
   January 20, 1995
   Crossroads — Charlottesville, VA
   We Are the World
   Ben Folds Five opened for Shannon Worrell, a local singer-songwriter. It was early enough in his career that Ben was only selling their demo tape. Anyhow, he came out to join Shannon and Kristen for their encore. After playing a song I can’t remember, Dave Matthews came out on stage as a surprise guest for one final song. To this day, I couldn’t tell you how they ended up playing We Are the World, but it was one of the funniest damn things I’ve seen on stage, particularly Dave’s Dylan impersonation.
3. St. Louis Symphony Chorus
   Spring 2000
   Powell Symphony Hall — St. Louis, MO
   Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Orff Carmina Burana, Beethoven Symphony No. 9
   This is cheating just a little bit, but this was my last season singing with the SLSC, and to finish with three of my all-time favorite works in the span of about 5 months was incredible. I honestly couldn’t choose between them.
4. Peter Gabriel
   December 15, 2002
   HP Pavilion — San Jose, CA
   Sky Blue
   After Mercy Street, Sky Blue might be my favorite Peter Gabriel song, largely due to the contributions of the Blind Boys of Alabama. The Blind Boys were one of the opening bands for this show, and I was really hoping that they would join him for this song. But I didn’t see them onstage as the song began. And I still didn’t see them early on when their part first came in, so I thought they were overdubbed. I was crushed. Several minutes into the song (4:38 on the album version), there’s an amazing moment where everything drops out but the Blind Boys. At that instant, the center of the stage opened up, and the Blind Boys ascended from the deep. I think I may have openly wept. I’m like that a little.
5. Sigur Rós
   April 8, 2003
   Paramount Theatre — Oakland, CA
   Hafssól
   As I described above, this band just destroys me. I sat in a chair for the entire concert and walked out exhausted. I could pick any number of songs from that show, but I chose this one because it was just jaw-dropping. Georg played a percussive line on his bass with a pair of drum sticks. Jónsi played his electric guitar with a bow. As the song absolutely thundered to a close with the pulsing of Amina’s strings and the crashing of Jónsi pounding his guitar with his bow, Kjartan’s penny whistle emerged and sustained as a singular beacon in the subsiding storm. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen or heard.

Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To

Man, I’m so running out of steam at this point....

1. Iron & Wine — Quiet, beautiful, brilliant
2. Sufjan Stevens — He’s a bit crazy, but in the most excellent way.
3. Rosie Thomas — Rosie has a schizophrenic stage presence, but her songs are just gorgeous.
4. Harrod & Funck — Sadly, they went their separate ways years ago. Their two brilliant studio albums stack up against just about anybody.
5. Feist — Her album finally hit the US market and it’s great.

Top Five Albums You Must Hear from Start to Finish

Albums this great need no editorial comment.

1. Passion — Peter Gabriel
2. OK Computer — Radiohead
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — Wilco
4. Achtung Baby — U2
5. I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One — Yo La Tengo

A Final Musical Note

This took me much longer to compile than I expected, so I cut out the “Top Five Musical Heroes” category. Seriously though, what self-respecting list of Top Five Lists contains six lists?

In an oft-quoted line from High Fidelity, Rob says:

A while back, Dick, Barry and I agreed that what really matters is WHAT you like, not what you ARE like. Books, records, films — these things matter! Call me shallow, it’s the fucking truth.

As much as these lists or the music and booklists to the right or Friday Random 10 lists are fun, I like to remember that Hornby spends the rest of the novel showing how Rob comes to realize just how untrue that last statement is. That transformation is sadly underemphasized in the movie, but who you are is way more important than what you like. I hope this site tells you a bit about both.

And, now that I’ve sucked all the fun out of it....

I’d tag people to play along, but I think this one is too long to compel anyone else to complete. But feel free to take a crack at it on your own site, if you’d like. Or you can always leave comments, questions or partial lists here.