I’ve said it before and I will repeat myself. Having listened (and God help us only briefly) to the many songs screeched out in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest 2024; and indeed speaking in general in relation to most of today’s pop music; same is barely music, but owes itself more to modern technology, rather than actual musical and vocal talent.
Hereunder, find a song with poetic lyrics, demonstrating real feelings in both its subject matter and performance.
Lyrics: Songwriter Terry Clarke. Vocals: Original lead singer of the English rock band Smokie, Yorkshire-born Chris Norman.
Shallow Waters.
I lost my heart on love’s waters, They were warm as summer gold. When the sunlight gave way to the moonlight, I was swimming so naked and cold.
They say still waters run deep, But I find that hard to believe, And I fell as easy as I fall asleep. Well I guess I wore my heart on my sleeve.
And if you fall in love in a heartbeat, Lose your head at the touch of her hand, You can easily drown in shallow waters, Within easy reach of dry land.
They say to beware of the rip-tide, When the sky above was so blue, But I found I was caught in a landslide, Too late to turn back from you.
Yea, I heard that no man is an island, But I never heeded the tale. When you reached out and touched me like a child, Oh I guess I wore my heart on my sail.
But if you fall in love in a heartbeat, Lose your head at the touch of her hand. You can easily drown in shallow waters, Within easy reach of dry land.
Oh you can easily drown in shallow waters, Oh within easy reach of dry land.
Love Will Survive (from The Tattooist of Auschwitz)
The book “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” is an truly an extraordinary book, which relates a true story about the extremes of human behaviour existing, each side by side; the calculated brutality alongside impulsive and selfless acts of love.
This true story relates to a fact that in April 1942, pre-war business man Lale Sokolov, [born Ludwig Eisenberg on October 28th 1916 ], latter a Slovakian Jew, was forcibly transported to the WWII concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover thatLale speaks several languages, he is forced to work as a Tätowierer (German word for tattooist), tasked with the permanently marking of his fellow prisoners arms.
While imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale, (latter prisoner number 32407), witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism, but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Now, often risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange money and jewellery, same taken from Jewish prisoners already murdered in the camp, using same to acquire food, thus keeping his fellow prisoners alive.
One day in July 1942, Lale comforts a nervous young woman, latter waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. He discovers her name is Gita [(Giselle) Cycowicz (née Friedman)] born in 1927 in Chust, Czechoslovakia, (today Khust, Ukraine), and from his first encounter with her, Lale vows to somehow survive the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp and marry her, same marriage in fact come to pass in 1945.
Love Will Survive (from “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”)
Vocals: American singer, actress, songwriter, producer and director Ms Barbra Streisand. Lyrics: American songwriter and record producer Charlie Midnight, in collaboration with German-born American film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer, composer for film and television MsKara Talve and American record producer and songwriter Walter Afanasieff.
Love Will Survive (from “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”)
Until I find you and walk beside you, Until we face every heartache together, I’ll keep believing, feel your breathing, hear your cries, With every season of sorrow, somehow our love survives. As nights grew longer, our prayers grew stronger, And in the darkness, we kept hope alive. We made a promise that love will survive. And in our dreams, we are running from shadows, Leaving behind the tears and the ghosts. Until I’m near you, somehow, I’ll hear you, Your voice will echo inside me forever. And in our dreams, we are running from shadows, Leaving behind the tears and the ghosts, Whilst our years were taken, our spirits shaken, But in the darkness, we kept hope alive. We made a promise that love will survive. Love will survive.
End
The book is a vivid, harrowing, yet ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov’s experiences, as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of fellow prisoners with what would eventually become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, which was Nazi Germany’s deliberate, organized, state-sponsored persecution and genocide of European Jews. During WWII, this Nazi regime and their collaborators systematically murdered over six million Jewish people.
The book, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz“ is a true testament to the endurance of love and humanity, under the darkest possible conditions of a concentration camp during WWII.
Vocals: British rock band Katrina and the Waves. Lyrics: Written by English rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and Cambridge archaeologist Kimberley Charles Rew.
The song, hereunder, represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997, latter held in Dublin, which resulted in the country’s fifth win at this contest.
Yes, those were the days when the Eurovision was watchable and eagerly awaited. It was a time when songs were judged by their actual lyrics and the vocal ability of each performer. It did not totally depend on exploding light shows; insane costumes; outlandish on-stage behaviour; obscene and profane expletives and the generation of political statements, promoting hatred.
“Love Shine a Light”.
Love shine a light in every corner of my heart. Let the love light carry, let the love light carry, Light up the magic in every little part, Let our love shine a light in every corner of our hearts. Love shine a light in every corner of my dreams, Let the love light carry, let the love light carry, Like the mighty river, flowing from the stream, Let our love shine a light in every corner of my dreams. And we’re all gonna shine a light together, All shine a light to light the way, Brothers and sisters, in every little part, Let our love shine a light in every corner of our hearts. Love shine a light in every corner of the world, Let the love light carry, let the love light carry, Light up the magic, for every boy and girl, Let our love shine a light in every corner of the world. And we’re all gonna shine a light together, All shine a light to light the way, Brothers and sisters, in every little part, Let our love shine a light, in every corner of our hearts. And we’re all gonna shine a light together, All shine a light to light the way, Brothers and sisters, in every little part, Let our love shine a light in every corner of our hearts. Shine a light in every corner of our hearts.
Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge – Please don’t tell me how the story ends (1978).
Lyrics: American retired country singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson. Vocals:Kris Kristofferson and his former wife and American recording artist Ms Rita Coolidge.
Please don’t tell me how the story ends.
This may be our last goodnight together. We may never pass this way again. Just let me enjoy it ’till its over, Or forever. Please don’t tell me how the story ends. See the way our shadows come together, Softer than your fingers on my skin. Someday this may be all, we’ll remember. Of each other. Please don’t tell me how the story ends. Never’s just the echo of forever, Lonesome as the love that might have been. Let me go on loving and believing, ‘Till it’s over babe. Don’t tell me how the story ends Please don’t tell me how the story ends.
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen, the well known and much loved American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, (nicknamed “The Boss), arrives in Kilkenny city, Co. Kilkenny to perform this evening. Hereunder is a taste of what his many fans can expect.
The River.
Lyrics: Bruce Springsteen. Vocals:Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band. (Recorded 1979).
The River.
(In his 2016 autobiography Springsteen confirmed that he wrote the above song as a tribute to his sister and his brother-in-law.)
I come from down in the valley, Where, mister, when you’re young, They bring you up to do like your daddy done. Me and Mary we met in high school, When she was just seventeen, We’d drive out of this valley, Down to where the fields were green. We’d go down to the river, And into the river we’d dive. Oh, down to the river we’d ride. Then I got Mary pregnant, And man, that was all she wrote, And for my nineteenth birthday, I got a union card and a wedding coat. We went down to the courthouse, And the judge put it all to rest. No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle, No flowers, no wedding dress. That night we went down to the river, And into the river we’d dive, Oh, down to the river we‘d ride. I got a job working construction, For the Johnstown Company, But lately there ain’t been no work, On account of the economy. Now all them things that seemed so important, Well mister they vanished right into the air, Now I just act like I don’t remember, And Mary acts like she don’t care. But I remember us riding in my brother’s car, Her body tan and wet, down at the reservoir, At night on those banks I’d lie awake. And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take. Now those memories come back to haunt me. They haunt me like a curse, Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true, Or is it something worse, That sends me down to the river, Though I know the river is dry, That sends me down to the river tonight, Down to the river. My baby and I, Oh, down to the river we ride-ide. Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh.
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