Offline
When a much-admired woman passes, in her prime, as happened in Toronto this week, one may hear someone remark that "She's climbing a Stairway to Heaven", intended as a compliment.
However Stairway to Heaven's lyrics aren't a compliment; just the opposite. Any other examples out there of lyrics that are commonly misused/misinterpreted?
G.
Offline
Don't mean to take issue with you, but I think it's "She's buying a stairway to heaven," which is a different thing. But I get the reference and it certainly applies to the late and gone-too-soon Ms. Blatchford. A great writer and fearless journalist in Canada, for those reading this outside the country.
As to your other point, I'm guessing the most misinterpreted song in history may well be "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. It somehow morphed into a romantic wedding song, when the guy who wrote it - Sting - says he meant it as a creepy tune about a stalker. And yet the wrong meaning has usurped the original and it's now seen as a de facto wonderful love song.
Offline
The term stairway to heaven does not bring the song to mind for me, rather this image from the 1943 film Cabin in the Sky:
Keeping with the oldies theme, Lena Horne had a starring role and Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington had parts in the film.
Offline
aflem wrote:
Don't mean to take issue with you, but I think it's "She's buying a stairway to heaven," which is a different thing
Thank you (that's what happens when I post at a noisy coffee shop with laptop on lap during the any size coffee for $1 promotion)
Offline
Well, the Platters told us "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." I guess coffee gets in your ears!
Offline
aflem wrote:
Well, the Platters told us "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." I guess coffee gets in your ears!
gee, i hope this isn't so much of a mondegreen situation as perhaps human nature... at least, i hope i'm not the only one who commonly revises a lyric to more appropriately apply to a situation. for some reason, i find i'm often reminded of songs by the clash, which, with a revision here or there, can be applied to many occasions and occurances i encounter..
Last edited by gopher (February 15, 2020 3:30 am)
Offline
Just the title of James Darren's "Her Royal Majesty" leads you to believe just that. It turns out to be a sarcastic title of an ex that wasn't very nice.
Last edited by It's me Karen (February 15, 2020 9:54 am)
Offline
Go back a few years and The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane should qualify.
Offline
And in much the same vein, Save All Your Kisses for Me by the Brotherhood of Man.
Offline
Diary - Bread
Offline
Memphis - Johnny Rivers
Marie is only six years old
Offline
Taz wrote:
Memphis - Johnny Rivers
Marie is only six years old
really glad you like, and cited, johnny's version. he's one of my favorites too... i am sure you know, though, that chuck berry originally wrote and recorded the song. .
Last edited by gopher (March 11, 2020 2:24 am)
Offline
gopher wrote:
Taz wrote:
Memphis - Johnny Rivers
Marie is only six years oldreally glad you like, and cited, johnny's version. he's one of my favorites too... i am sure you know, though, that chuck berry originally wrote and recorded the song. .
Actually, that’s what caused me to post it, yesterday I saw old footage of Chuck Berry performing it on one of the shows on TCM. Pretty horrid.
Last edited by Taz (March 11, 2020 3:55 am)
Offline
Taz wrote:
gopher wrote:
Taz wrote:
Memphis - Johnny Rivers
Marie is only six years oldreally glad you like, and cited, johnny's version. he's one of my favorites too... i am sure you know, though, that chuck berry originally wrote and recorded the song. .
Actually, that’s what caused me to post it, yesterday I saw old footage of Chuck Berry performing it on one of the shows on TCM. Pretty horrid.
...And last night I watched a PBS program about Mr. Berry. A lot of footage of him performing and some artists doing his songs.
Offline
chuck berry horrid? i will not surmise or infer anything further in such a remark, without evidence, regardless if its gist may seem obvious to me. i am admittedly confused at times.
.
Last edited by gopher (March 11, 2020 9:07 am)
Offline
gopher wrote:
chuck berry horrid? ....
Just in that clip. Did you watch? No rhythm in his movement, voice too high. Reminded me of a young Eddie Murphy on SNL.
Chuck got a lot better, I'm a fan. But I've also seen some stuff where, like many others, he performed when he was too old.
Offline
This is reminding me of something that the late Gator Rouge said about Rivers many years ago on the old board. He called Johnny Rivers "The Improver" for the way his remakes would improve on the originals of songs. I was born in 1960, and so with this song and some of Rivers' other remakes, I became familiar with his versions before I got to know the originals -- and I think that the originals suffered somewhat by comparison for me as a result. But now I try to appreciate the originals on their own merits, and that would be the case here ... I think that Berry came up with a very good song, and then Rivers found some ways of improving on it that made it even better.
Offline
I like a lot of songs Willie Nelson sang but I don’t think I’d want to hear him do Crazy.
Offline
I agree with you Lorne. I've always found Rivers' remakes as good as if not better than the originals. Some critics openly wondered over the years why he didn't do more original material - Poor Side of Town proves he could have hits with his own stuff.
He had a very distinctive voice. Which is why it's so surprising to hear how he sounds now - he recently released a free download of one of his new songs (yes, he's still recording) on his website.
It doesn't sound anything at all like the Johnny Rivers I remember. If I didn't know it was him, I'd never guess who it was.
"This Life Of Mine" download
Last edited by aflem (March 11, 2020 10:33 am)
Offline
Green, Green Grass of Home - Tom Jones. It's on the same CD with Engelbert Humperdinck's Quiet Nights referenced in the mroldies thread.
Last edited by Taz (March 11, 2020 3:08 pm)
Offline
I guess I look a bit more on the brighter side of things. From the first time I heard "Memphis", I thought Johnny was lamenting the fact that he had broken up with his wife and missed his daughter ("tore apart out happy home"). As someone who has been estranged from his own daughter for 30+ years, that's still the way I hear it. I would also point out that there was a much brighter song called "Stairway To Heaven", a Top 10 hit for Neil Sedaka in 1960.
Last edited by Jim Southern (March 11, 2020 6:00 pm)
Offline
Jim, that is the only way I can see to interpret it. Just a little twist there at the end.
Offline
Just heard Sweet Talking Guy by the Chiffons and realized it ain't about a nice guy.