I'm watching a peculiar collection of Beatles covers compiled from the BBC archives. Gosh, the Carpenters version of 'Help' is terribly bizarre, but of course Nana Mouskouri is singing 'Hey Jude' just for me.
I do love Nana's lilac eyeshadow. It reminds me that next Friday I'm being taken by a poetry friend of mine, Jacqueline Saphra, down the West End to experiment with make up. She says as a performer I should be able to use it on stage. But I have something of a phobia when it comes to feminine consumer culture.
On Friday I will face up to my cosmetic fears. As I listen to Nana, I imagine she is urging me to be brave in the face of gigantic lipsticks and eyeliners. This makes her 'Hey Jude' feel even more surreal.
Hey Jude, do you mind it when people say 'Hey Jude' as a 'witticism'? I've shied away from it till now but you have emboldened me with this article.
ReplyDeleteHey Jude is a strange song. It has always been one of my fave Beatles songs but what the hell is it about? Well i know really but it's not easy to tell. And despite its odd lyrics it was covered by many middle of the road people, including Bing, who did an album called Hey jude / Hey Bing.
Another strange one is 'Something.' "You stick around and it may show..." That sounds slightly pervy, and yet no-one bothers to question it. Shirley Bassey, Sinatra, they all covered it regardless.
And don't even get me started on 'A Hard Day's Night'...
Hey Tone,
ReplyDeleteYou don't mind me calling you Tone do you? I've shied away from it till now ...
Re: 'Something' by is George Harrison whose lyrics are generally weak or have weaknesses IMHO - unless he is writing about religious/spiritual themes then he comes into his own.
Ok, now it's time for me to be 'sleeping like a log', good night!
You were talking a while ago about singing a Welsh song. Nana Mouskouri's rendition of "Ar Hyd Y Nos" is just about perfect, and she's done justice to songs from every language and culture I can think of. I had never even considered her makeup before this, though.
ReplyDeleteI think Nana is wonderful - I haven't heard 'Ar Hyd Y Nos' I shall mention that song to my Welsh bouzouki compadre. I'm not sure the Welsh song will happen - perhaps I should ask Andy G to write a Welsh chorus that I could write a song around.
ReplyDelete