Saturday, November 25, 2006

Anita O'Day sings "Sweet Georgia Brown"

Duration 4:28


Anita O'Day
(Oct 18, 1919 to Nov 23, 2006)



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Anita O'Day's rendition


Sweet Georgia Brown


No gal made has got a shade on Sweet Georgia Brown.
Two left feet, but oh so neat, Sweet Georgia Brown.
They all sigh and wanna die for Sweet Georgia Brown.
I'll tell you why. You know I don't lie (much).

It's been said she knocks 'em dead when she lands in town.
Since she came why it's a shame how she cools 'em down.
Fellas she can't get are fellas she ain't met.
Georgia named her, Georgia claimed her, Sweet Georgia Brown.

No gal made's got shade on Sweet Georgia Brown.
Two left feet, oh oh, so neat, Sweet Georgia Brown.
They all sigh, wanna die, for Sweet Georgia Brown.
I'll tell you just why. You know I don't lie (not much!).

It's been said she knocks 'em dead when she lands in town.
Since she came, it's a shame how she cools 'em down.
Fellas she can't get are fellas this girl has never met.
Georgia named her, Georgia claimed her, Sweet Georgia Brown.

No gal made got the shade on Sweet Georgia Brown.
Two left feet, but oh so neat is Sweet Georgia Brown.
They all sigh, wanna die for Sweet Georgia Brown.
Tell you just why. You know I don't lie (much!).

Since she came, why it's a shame how she cools 'em down.
It's been said she knocks 'em dead when she lands in town.
Fellas she can't get are fellas this girl has never met.
Georgia named her, Georgia claimed her, Sweet Georgia Brown.


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music by Maceo Pinkard


words by A. Ken Casey



Sweet Georgia Brown


She just got here yesterday, Things are hot here now they say,
There's a new gal in town.
Gals are jealous, there's no doubt. All the guys just rave about
Sweet, Sweet Georgia Brown.
And ever since she came, the common folks all claim, say;

No gal made has got a shade on Sweet Georgia Brown.
Two left feet, but oh, so neat has Sweet Georgia Brown.
They all sigh and wanna die for Sweet Georgia Brown,
I'll tell you just why, you know I don't lie (not much!).
It's been said she knocks 'em dead when she lands in town.
Since she came why it's a shame how she's cooled 'em down.
Fellas that she can't get Must be fellas that she ain't met.
Georgia claimed her, Georgia named her, Sweet Georgia Brown.

All you gals will get the blues, all you pals will surely lose.
And, there's but one excuse.
Now I've told you who she was, and I've told you what she does,
Still, give this gal her dues.
This pretty maiden's prayer is answered anywhere

No gal made has got a shade on Sweet Georgia Brown.
Two left feet, but oh, so neat has Sweet Georgia Brown.
They all sigh and wanna die for Sweet Georgia Brown,
I'll tell you just why, you know I don't lie (not much!).
All those tips the porter slips to Sweet Georgia Brown
They buy clothes at fashion shows for one dollar down.
Fellas, won'tcha tip your hats. Oh boy, ain't she the cats?
Who's that mister, tain't her sister, It's Sweet Georgia Brown.


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Thursday, November 23, 2006

John Newton's poem, LeAnn Rimes' a capella, & the Cherokee: Amazing Grace




originally a poem


written with William Cowper (1731-1800)


by Rev. John Newton (1725-1807)



Faith's Review and Expectation


Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the vail,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be for ever mine.


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performed by LeAnn Rimes


Amazing Grace


Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
I was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to feel
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed.

When we've been dead ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Then when we first begun.

Amazing grace, O how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found.
I was blind, but now I see.


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Duration 6:00



in Cherokee


u ne la nv i u we tsi
i ga go yv he i
hna quo tso sv wi yu lo se
i ga gu yv ho nv
a se no i u ne tse i
i yu no du le nv
ta li ne dv tsi lu tsi li
u dv ne u ne tsv
e lo ni gv ni li squa di
ga lu tsv he i yu
ni ga di da ye di go i
a ni e lo hi gv
u na da nv ti a ne hv
do da ya nv hi li
tsa sv hna quo ni go hi lv
do hi wa ne he sdi


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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

"Silver Springs" live from Fleetwood Mac

Duration 5:37



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performed by Fleetwood Mac
        Lindsey Buckingham, guitar
        Mick Fleetwood, drums
        Christine McVie, keyboards
        John McVie, bass
        Stevie Nicks, vocals


at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank CA, 1997


written by Stevie Nicks



        Silver Springs


You could be my silver springs--
bluegreen colors flashing.
I would be your only dream,
your shining autumn, ocean crashing.

And did you say she was pretty?
And did you say that she loves you?
Baby, I don't wanna know. Oh no no.

I'll begin not to love you--
turn around, see me running.
I'll say I loved you years ago,
tell myself you never loved me, no.

And did you say she was pretty?
And did you say that she loves you?
Baby, I don't wanna know. Oh, no.
And can you tell me, was it worth it?
Really, I don't wanna know.

Time casts a spell on you,
but you won't forget me.
I know I could have loved you,
but you would not let me.

Time casts a spell on you,
but you won't forget me.
I know I could have loved you,
but you would not let me.

I'll follow you down 'til the sound
of my voice will haunt you.
You'll never get away from the sound
of the woman that loves you.

I'll follow you down 'til the sound
of my voice will haunt you.
Was I just a fool?
You'll never get away from the sound
of the woman that loves you.
Was I just a fool?

I'll follow you down 'til the sound
of my voice will haunt you.
Give me just a chance!
Never get away, never get away,
never get away!

You could be my silver springs,
my bluegreen colors flashing.


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And Death Shall Have No Dominion by Dylan Thomas

Duration 7:30


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by Dylan Thomas


And Death Shall Have No Dominion


And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
and the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.


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Should Lanterns Shine


Should lanterns shine, the holy face,
Caught in an octagon of unaccustomed light,
Would wither up, and any boy of love
Look twice before he fell from grace.
The features in their private dark
Are formed of flesh, but let the false day come
And from her lips the faded pigments fall,
The mummy cloths expose an ancient breast.

I have been told to reason by the heart,
But heart, like head, leads helplessly;
I have been told to reason by the pulse,
And, when it quickens, alter the actions' pace
Till field and roof lie level and the same
So fast I move defying time, the quiet gentleman
Whose beard wags in Egyptian wind.

I have heard may years of telling,
And many years should see some change.

The ball I threw while playing in the park
Has not yet reached the ground.


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There Was a Saviour


       There was a saviour
       Rarer than radium,
    Commoner than water, crueller than truth;
       Children kept from the sun
       Assembled at his tongue
    To hear the golden note turn in a groove,
Prisoners of wishes locked their eyes
In the jails and studies of his keyless smiles.

       The voice of children says
       From a lost wilderness
    There was calm to be done in his safe unrest,
       When hindering man hurt
       Man, animal, or bird
    We hid our fears in that murdering breath,
Silence, silence to do, when earth grew loud,
In lairs and asylums of the tremendous shout.

       There was glory to hear
       In the churches of his tears,
    Under his downy arm you sighed as he struck,
       O you who could not cry
       On to the ground when a man died
    Put a tear for joy in the unearthly flood
And laid your cheek against a cloud-formed shell:
Now in the dark there is only yourself and myself.

       Two proud, blacked brothers cry,
       Winter-locked side by side,
    To this inhospitable hollow year,
       O we who could not stir
       One lean sigh when we heard
    Greed on man beating near and fire neighbour
But wailed and nested in the sky-blue wall
Now break a giant tear for the little known fall,

       For the drooping of homes
       That did not nurse our bones,
    Brave deaths of only ones but never found,
       Now see, alone in us,
       Our own true strangers' dust
    Ride through the doors of our unentered house.
Exiled in us we arouse the soft,
Unclenched, armless, silk and rough love that breaks all rocks.


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Monday, November 20, 2006

10,000 Maniacs: "What's the Matter Here"




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performed by 10,000 Maniacs:
        Natalie Merchant, vocals
        Robert Buck, guitars, mandolin, pedal steel guitar
        Steve Gustafson, bass
        Jerome Augustyniak, drums, percussion
        Dennis Drew, keyboards


written by Robert Buck & Natalie Merchant



What's The Matter Here


That young boy without a name,
anywhere I'd know his face.
In this city, the kid's my favorite.
I've seen, I've seen, I've--
I see him every day--seen him
run outside looking for a place to hide
from his father, the kid half naked,
and said to myself, "O, what's the matter here?"

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses.
He's their kid. I stay out of it.
But who gave you the right to do this?

We live on Morgan Street, just ten feet between.
And his mother, I never see her.
But her screams and cussing, I hear them every day.
Threats like: "If you don't mind I will beat on your behind,"
"Slap you, slap you silly," made me say,
"O, what's the matter here?"

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses:
he's your kid, do as you see fit.
But get this through that I don't approve of
what you did to your own flesh and blood.

I have heard the excuses everybody uses:
he's your kid, do as you see fit.
But get this through that I don't approve of
what you did to your own flesh and blood.

"If you don't sit in your chair straight,
I'll take this belt from around my waist
and don't you think that I won't use it!"

Answer me and take your time,
what could be the awful crime
he could do at so young an age?
If I'm the only witness to your madness,
offer me some words to balance
out of what I see and what I hear.

All these cold and rude things that you do,
I suppose you do because he belongs to you.
And instead of love, and the feel of warmth
you've given him these cuts and sores
that don't heal with time or his age.

But I don't dare say, "What's the matter here?"
But I don't dare say.


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The Beach Boys: "Do It Again"



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performed by The Beach Boys:
Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, & Dennis Wilson



written by Brian Wilson & Mike Love


Do It Again


It's automatic
when I talk to old friends,
the conversations
turn to girls we knew
when their hair
was soft and long
and the beach
was the place to go.

The sun-tanned bodies
and waves of sunshine
the California girls
and the beautiful coastline--
warmed up weather,
let's get together and
do it again.

With a girl the lonely sea
looks good in twilight.
Makes your nighttimes
warm and outta sight.

Been so long.
(hey now hey now hey now . . .)

Well I've been thinking
about all the places
we've surfed and danced,
and all the faces
we missed so
let's get back together and
do it again.



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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Inaugural Address of John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Part 1, Duration 9:58



Part 2, Duration 5:36



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delivered after taking the oath of office


January 20, 1961


by John F. Kennedy



Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy, fellow citizens:


We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning--signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

This much we pledge--and more.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

Let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free."¹

And, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor--not a new balance of power, but a new world of law--where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this Administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,"² a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.


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Yevhen Hrebinka's Ochi Chornyje (Dark Eyes): Chet Atkins' & Dmitri Hvorostovsky's renditions




Chet Atkins (1924-2001)



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originally a poem in Ukrainian


by Yevhen Hrebinka (1812-48)


composer unknown



Dark Eyes (The Gypsy Anthem)


Eyes of ecstacy, always haunting me,
Always taunting me, with your mystery,
Tell me tenderly, you belong to me
For eternity--dark eyes talk to me!

Eyes so dark and dear, eyes of loveth here,
Beauty full and true, I'm in love with you.
Give me eyes of love, like the stars above.
You stole my heart. May we ever part!

Gypsy melody that has haunted me,
Won't you set me free of all memory:
Of the time that's waste, of the path we traced
Of the pain we taste--so endlessly!


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К. П. Гребенка


Очи черные, очи страстные !
Очи жгучие и прекрасные !
Как люблю я вас! Как боюсь я вас !
Знать, увидел вас я в недобрый час !

Ох, недаром вы глубины темней !
Вижу траур в вас по душе моей,
Вижу пламя в вас я победное:
Сожжено на нем сердце бедное.

Но не грустен я, не печален я,
Утешительна мне судьба моя:
Все, что лучшего в жизни бог дал нам,
В жертву отдал я огневым глазам !


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Duration 2:02



Dmitri Hvorostovsky (b. 1962)



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Saturday, November 04, 2006

Isolation by John Lennon




by John Lennon (1940-1980)


Isolation


People say we got it made
Don't they know we're so afraid
Isolation
We're afraid to be alone
Everybody got to have a home
Isolation

Just a boy and a little girl
Trying to change the whole wide world
Isolation
The world is just a little town
Everybody trying to put us down
Isolation

I don't expect you to understand
After you've caused so much pain
But then again, you're not to blame
You're just a human, a victim of the insane

We're afraid of everyone
Afraid of the sun
Isolation
The sun will never disappear
But the world may not have many years
Isolation






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