Sea of Love

Did you know Robert Plant was the lead singer of The Honeydrippers? I didn’t. Am I right about that, or am I confused? Keep those cards and letters coming.

Either way, when I hear this song I think of the old slow-dancing days, and then that memory is pushed aside by the steamy image of Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. Against a wall. Have a listen, and see what comes up…

 

As Time Goes By

Eeek! The sound quit on my computer. No idea why. This could put a serious cramp in video selection. I have a few (I hope) that I looked up in advance—thanks to the good habits I learned years ago writing a weekly column—and here’s one of them. Audra again. Her New Years Eve concerts on PBS make it a pleasure (almost) to have nowhere to go.

 

The Man That Got Away

So there I was at the nursing home, singing this great song,”The Man That Got Away.” I was happy to entertain these lovely people who sat so politely in their wheelchairs, hanging on my every word. My every word….

“The night is bitter,” I sang. “The stars have lost their glitter. The wind grows colder, and suddenly you’re older.”

Oops! Okay, well, that’s over. Surely the song gets better. Maybe they’ll forget about the colder/older stuff. I sang on.

“That great beginning has seen its final inning.” Oh, dear.

“No more that all-time thrill, for you’ve been through the mill.” All right, that’s it. That’s enough.

In the middle of “The Man That Got Away,” I launched into the only thing I could think of, which was “Happy Days Are Here Again.” And I didn’t sing it slowly like Barbra Streisand. I positively zipped through the song. My goal was to make their ears ring and their heads spin and completely erase their memories of the song I started with.

From the movie “A Star is Born,” it’s closely associated with Judy Garland and Streisand. But here it is by Audra McDonald. I love Audra McDonald.

 

Why Was I Born?

Back when I used to sing regularly at a nursing home, this song was in my repertoire….until I realized that “Why was I born? Why am I living?” was perhaps not the best lyric for that venue.

This video is a treat. You’ll have to sit through “Bill” to get to “Why Was I Born?” but that’s no hardship when the performance is by the wonderful Kristin Chenoweth.

Incidentally, singing “Why Was I Born?” at the nursing home wasn’t nearly as awful as another song I used to sing…. but never mind. I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

 

Come Rain Or Come Shine

Happy together,
unhappy together,
and won’t it be fine?

Johnny Mercer could do no wrong, in my book. I love this song. It’s one of my first choices when I feel like belting. One of these days I’ll try a more subtle approach, but it feels good to produce all those decibels once in a while.

You haven’t had your Lizz Wright fix in some time, have you? Here’s one.

 

Unchained Melody

There’s probably a story behind the title. How many popular songs are called “Melody”? I loved this song when I was young, and it still gets to me. It was great to hear it in the movie “Ghost,” too.

Here’s a video with somewhat crummy visuals (a matter of individual taste, I know) but unusually fine audio by the Righteous Brothers. Great subtle inflections in the voice.

Or, if you’d rather see a live performance, complete with screaming (but a fuzzy audio), try this one. Either way, don’t be surprised if you find yourself hungering for somebody’s touch.

 

Four Walls

Out where the bright lights are glowing
you’re drawn like a moth to a flame.
You laugh while the wine’s overflowing,
while I sit and whisper your name.

I loved this song when I was a kid. I envisioned the bright-lights-loving woman as a bad girl (with black hair, natch) who made that sweet Jim Reeves miserable, poor guy. Now, of course, I have a lot more sympathy for the fun-loving blonde who enjoys a glass or two of wine.

I never expected to find the original version by Reeves himself on YouTube. Surprised again.

 

Trouble Again

I never really was a bad girl
but you got me in trouble again.

Whatever happened to Karla Bonoff?

 

Danny Boy

I found myself singing the second verse solo this weekend when the rest of the group ran out of words. They hummed a nice accompaniment, though. Such sad, sad lyrics. Such a beautiful melody. Always irresistible, even if—like me—you haven’t a drop of Irish blood in you.

This version is a little overly laundered for my taste, but for a purely angelic treatment it can’t be beat. I wonder how she can breathe, much less sing, in that dress. And I also wonder why they couldn’t match up the audio a little better. But then again, I’ve never even tried to use the video camera I was given in 2004, so what do I know?

 

We Are The Champions

I’ve always liked this song. Do you remember when a high school principal (or should I say high-school principal?) refused to allow it to be played because Freddy Mercury was gay? That made me so angry and disgusted. Why did the song pop into my head tonight? Maybe it has something to do with all those anti-Harvard football songs I sang at Yale this weekend. (It was a great weekend.)

Here’s the song.