Author’s
note: Hi. My
name is Christopher Chase. I teach English Communication and Culture classes at
Last update:
~~^^::In
My Life::^^~~
English Class CD
INTRODUCTION
Hi ~*((everybody))*~! Welcome
to my homepage's description of the songs on the CD mix I made. I hope that you
are enjoying the music and that you will read more about the songs that you
liked. Also, please check out the links! Some of them are to Japanese sites,
some are videos done by young amateur musicians over at youtube.
Finally, please e-mail me if you have found any good links (or information)
that I can add here, or if you just want to give me feedback on the music. Take
care, and enjoy!!
Christopher Chase
christopherchase2002@yahoo.com
~*Two of Us*~
The song Two of
Us was originally recorded in 1969. It is the first song on the Beatles'
Let it Be album. You can read the full lyrics here. This is one of
my favorite Beatles songs, because John Lennon and Paul McCartney sound like
they are really having fun, singing together. Please check out this *video*
of the Beatles rehearsing the song live in the studio.
The song is about two friends traveling
through life together. When I hear this song I think about my closest friends
and my family as well. Its about the people we travel
through life with, the ones we love the most...
You
and I have memories
longer than the road
that stretches out ahead
Two
of us wearing raincoats
standing solo in the sun
You and me chasing paper
getting nowhere on our way back home
We're on our way back home
We're on our way home
We're going home
We're going home
The version of this song that we listened to in
class is from the I Am Sam
movie soundtrack. It's sung by Aimee
Mann and Michael Penn. ((I really like Aimee Mann's voice!)) In the movie
it is played during the last scene when Sam hugs Lucy at the soccer game.
By the way, the original Let it Be album was
re-released a few years ago, as it was originally recorded. The movie Let it Be is also
going to be released soon on DVD.
~*Change the World*~
This love song is by Eric Clapton.
He is singing about how he is in love with a woman, but has not yet told her
that he loves her. Inside his heart he can feel it. He wants to tell her the
truth, but for now its "only in his dreams."
Once he tells her he believes he will "change the world." He imagines
that he will be the sunlight in her universe. He hopes that she will soon
realize how great and powerful his love is. (He sure has a BIG heart, doesn't
he?!) Please check out this cover version of the song by Ben Deignan *here*
If
I can reach the stars,
Pull one down for you,
Shine it on my heart
So you could see the truth:
That
this love I have inside
Is everything it seems.
But for now I find
It's only in my dreams.
And
I can change the world,
I will be the sunlight in your universe.
You would think my love was really something good,
Baby if I could change the world.
Here is a
website with the full
lyrics.
~*Always in My Head*~
This song is by India Arie, from
her first album Acoustic Soul. I think this song goes nicely with Change
the World because
"The
leaves blowing in the breeze, ring out like guitars
A tin can rolls across the gravel like a
tambourine"
In 2002
~*Mother Nature's Son*~
Mother Nature's Son was originally written by
Paul McCartney, for the Beatle's White album. The version on the CD is
sung by Sheryl Crow. Sheryl is a close
friend of Eric Clapton. Actually, they were lovers for awhile, have helped each
other with albums and played some concerts together. One of these (Eric
Clapton and friends) is available on video and DVD.
I wanted to introduce this song to you
because it is very precious to me. I must tell you a short story to explain
why. In 1994 my son Dylan was born here in
I was surprised. Dylan was all red from the
blood of his birth. In
Born
a poor young country boy
Mother Nature's Son
All day long I'm sitting
singing songs for every one
Sit
beside a mountain stream
See her waters rise
Listen to the pretty
sound of music as she flies
Did Dylan enjoy my singing? I don't think so.
He immediately started to scream! Was it from my voice? Perhaps it was because
of my cold hands? I don't know. Anyway, this is his "birthday song."
Please check out this great youtube *video*
with a cover version by Pedro, in
~*Seven Years*~
This next song is sung by Norah Jones, from her first album Come
Away with Me. Norah won 8 Grammy awards for this album in 2003!! You can
see a video of Norah singing the song *here* Norah
was born in NY City, in 1979. She grew up in
Anoushka, Ravi &
Norah
I chose this song for class because I think
it's very similar to the song Sheryl Crow sings. This is about a little girl
who is laughing and singing outdoors. She is "Mother Nature's
daughter" -- just enjoying herself, singing and dancing alone, to her
favorite song. You can read the full lyrics here.
Eyes
wide open
Always hoping for the sun
And she'll sing her song to anyone
that comes along
~*In My Life*~
This is a very beautiful song, by the Beatles.
It was written by John Lennon. A nice youtube version
by Nortrello is *here*. The
lyrics are about all the places we remember, and the lovers and friends we have
shared our life with. We remember them, though some of them may be gone now.
And while we may feel love for many people in our life, sometimes there is a
special person who we love the most.
We never know what will happen in the future, so we should enjoy our lives now. We should try to appreciate our family and friends. Live your life fully and enjoy every day. Give as much love as you can to all the people and places you experience. You can only live your life once, so it's a very precious gift. Every person and place you meet is special. That's what this song is about, I think.
There
are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all
~*Crazy Love*~
This is one of my favorite love songs from the
beginning of the 1970’s. It's by the Irish singer and song writer Van Morrison,
from his album Moondance (which I think is excellent!). I love Van
Morrison’s voice, and the lyrics of this song always make me smile. The woman
he loves gives him "crazy" love, which doesn't mean she is mentally
sick. He is using the word crazy to mean something like "genki." If you were singing this song in
She
gives me love, love, love, love, genki love
She gives me love, love, love, love, genki love
This is a song about a peaceful, funny and
joyful lover. She has a great sense of humor, and makes him laugh. She takes
away all his sadness, all his unhappiness and stress. When he goes to see her
he feels peaceful and happy. She makes him feel "mellow" deep down
into his soul. (To feel mellow means to be really REALLY
relaxed). The song was used in a movie a few years ago. I don’t remember which
one. If you know, please send me an email!!
The lyrics are pretty easy to understand, I
think. You can find all of them here.
I don't have a good link to the original version, but this is a great *cover
version* by a singer named Omar Dean, a young student living in
I
can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smiles
And when I come to her that's where I belong
Yes I'm running to her like a river's song
She
gives me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She gives me love, love, love, love, crazy
love
~*Something*~
George Harrison, of the Beatles, wrote
"Something" in 1969, for his wife Patti (see the photo above). It was
recorded on the British group's last album,
Their dramatic story has become one of rock's
legends, two best friends in love with the same woman! It was of course very
difficult for the three of them, but I don't think anyone else in the history
of rock music has inspired as many great love songs as the beautiful Patti Boyd
Harrison/Clapton.
Please check out this great *cover
version* of the song by the Japanese band BeaTrips.
You can read more about their story, and see photos of Patti and George, here.
Something
in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me
I don't want to leave her now
~*
Scarborough Fair is sung by the American
folk-rock group Simon and Garfunkel. It is based on a
very old love poem,
written hundreds of years ago. The song is about a man who's
friend is going to Scarborough Fair, where his old lover still lives.
Are
you going to
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
He tells his friend to find her and then ask
her to do some things to find out if she still loves him. The things he asks
her to do are impossible! Sew a shirt without using a needle,
find an acre of land between the beach and ocean waves. This is not really
a love poem, its more like an angry ex-lover's poem!
He also sings about 4 spices- parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. I wish I
could tell you WHY he sings about these four spices, but I don't know... ((sorry!!)). You can see a video of Simon and Garfunkel singing the song in
An Irish musician named Martin Carthy put the poem to music, and then Paul Simon borrowed
his arrangement. He also added a second series of verses, which are sung in the
background behind the original poem. Most people do not know what this
background song is about, because it's very difficult to hear, even for native
English speakers!
(On
the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves)
(Washes the ground with so many tears)
(A soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
(War bellows, blazing in scarlet battalions)
(Generals order their soldiers to kill)
(And to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)
The background verses are about some soldiers
going off to war, dieing without knowing why they are fighting. I think this
song is really unique and interesting. On the surface it has a beautiful
melody. It sounds like it must be a LOVE song. But actually, it combines 2
stories together, one about lost love, the other about the meaninglessness of
war. I didn't know what the song was REALLY about until just recently.
If you like the sound of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's voices you might want to check out some of their other music. They were very famous in the 1960's and their Greatest Hits CD is excellent. You can also read more about them (in Japanese) at this web site: Salmon & Garlic.
~*Hotel California*~
This is a song from the late 1970's, by the Eagles.
To be honest, this song is very hard to explain. It is kind of like a scene
from a strange dream. A man is walking down a dark desert highway. The wind is
blowing around him. The warm smell of a flower, colitas,
is in the air. Up ahead he sees a hotel. He starts to feel tired. A beautiful
woman is standing in a doorway of the hotel. He enters, and then gets trapped
inside. People are dancing in the courtyard. Everyone seems happy, but he can't
escape. Is this heaven or hell, he wonders?
This song is really popular all over the
world. People sing it in karaoke bars, from
Here's a live *music video*
of the band doing an acoustic version, in 1994. You can also watch this *video*
of the original electric version from back in 1976.
I don't know why this song is so popular. Maybe it describes a feeling famous people have sometimes, when they chase their dreams and then feel trapped by them? And yet, there is also something beautiful about our dreams, even when they don't work out. Or maybe it is that the whole world seems to be caught up in a dream like this, where hopes for pleasure and happiness can lead humans deeper into trouble? I don't know, it's a very mysterious song.
On
a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...
Welcome
to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
~*Fragile*~
On the evening of
On
and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a
star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are,
how fragile we are
~*Tears in Heaven*~
This is one of the most powerful songs I have
ever heard, by Eric Clapton. He wrote it for his 4 year old son Conor, who died on
Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong and carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong here in heaven.
The song is so
sad, but at the end Clapton leaves us with words of hope. In Heaven, he says,
there are no more tears. We on earth may be sad and miserable, but the people
we love who have died are not. They are filled with love, and calmness.
"Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure, And I
know there'll be no more tears in heaven." What a beautiful thought, ne? Here's a *music video*
of Eric singing the song soon after he wrote it, and *this* is a
cover version by an 18 year old girl named Esmee
Denters singing it over at youtube.
Here are the full lyrics.
~*Knockin'
on Heaven's Door*~
This song was originally written by Bob
Dylan. The version I played in class is sung by Avril Lavigne. You can see her singing in this *music
video.* Many other musicians have covered the song
over the years, including Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses
and Eric Clapton. You can find the guitar chords at this site.
Why is this song so popular? I think because it is a very simple song against war and killing. It's about a sheriff who doesn’t want to kill anymore. He'd rather bury his guns in the ground. He feels too close to death, like he is knocking on heaven's doors. Dylan wrote the song for a movie called Pat Garret and Billy the Kid. You can listen to Bob's original version *here*
Mama,
put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore.
That long black cloud is comin' down
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door.
Knock,
knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
~*No Woman, No Cry*~
This is one of the most famous songs by the
reggae singer Bob Marley. It's
a beautiful ballad and seemed to fit well with all these other songs. Listening
to Fragile, Tears in Heaven and Knocking on Heaven's Door can make you feel
really sad! Bob Marley however is saying that everything is Ok, "Don't
Cry!" There are a lot of really beautiful lines in this song. I especially
like the way he sings "Everything is going to be alright."
Here's a *music video* of Bob singing the song live, just as played on the CD.
Good
friends we have had,
Oh good friends we've lost along the way
In this bright future you can't forget your
past
So dry your tears I say
No
woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
Little darlin'
don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry
~*^:::^*~
~*Information on the Other Songs Coming Soon!!*~
Information
about the song
Let it be
~*::*~