Benvenuti alla puntata 81 di Let it rock!
Anche questa settimana ci concentriamo sugli anni 80: se la settimana scorsa abbiamo ascoltato brani di gruppi e artisti Americani, questa settimana a farla da padrone sono il Regno Unito e l’Irlanda, che ci hanno regalato numerosi capolavori in questo decennio.
Questa settimana però ho pensato di corredare ogni canzone di una parte del testo, che esprima il significato della canzone stessa. I testi sono ovviamente in Inglese, ma anche chi non conosce la lingua con un po’ di aiuto ‘tecnologico’ può comprenderlo.
Buon ascolto e buona lettura.
U2 - Running to stand still (live)
She runs through the streets
With eyes painted red
Under a black belly of cloud in the rain
In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea
She is raging
She is raging
And the storm blows up in her eyes
She will suffer the needle chill
She's running to stand
Still.
All the times
When we were close
I'll remember these things the most
I see all my dreams come tumbling down
I can't be happy without you around
So all alone I keep the wolves at bay
And there is only one thing that I can say
Did you stand by me
No, not at all
Did you stand by me
No way
Pretenders - Back on the chain gang
The powers that be
That force us to live like we do
Bring me to my knees
When I see what they've done to you
But I'll die as I stand here today
Knowing that deep in my heart
They'll fall to ruin one day
For making us part
(la canzone è dedicata a James Honeyman-Scott, chitarrista e cofondatore dei Pretenders, morto nel 1982 per overdose)
Richard Thompson - Shoot out the lights
In the dark, who can see his face?
In the dark, who can reach him?
He hides like a child. He hides like a child.
Keeps his finger on the trigger
You know he can't stand the day
Shoot out the lights. Shoot out the lights
(la canzone parla di un soldato russo di guardia in un villaggio Afghano durante l’invasione Russa dell’Afghanistan)
You alone of all
You in the sky
I want to know why clouds
come in between You and I
Old, may I sit down here and learn today?
I'll hear all you say, won't go away
One summer evening drunk to hell
I stood there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
Where the water lilies grow
And on the jukebox Johnny sang
About a thing called love
And it’s how are you kid and what’s your name
And how would you bloody know?
In blood and death ‘neath a screaming sky
I lay down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed
Then prayed and bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me
You can't be happy while
Someone else has a fistful
They glow from TV screens
Healthy strong and fiscal
And everybody slaps their
Back while you're alone
With a wristful
Jerking to the rhythm
Of success
Billy Bragg - Levi Stubbs' tears
One dark night he came home from the sea
And put a hole in her body where no hole should be
It hurt her more to see him walking out the door
And though they stitched her back together they left her heart in pieces on the floor
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
She takes off the Four Tops tape and puts it back in its case
When the world falls apart some things stay in place
Levi Stubbs' tears
Smiths - The boy with the thorn in his side
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire for love
How can they look into my eyes
And still they don't believe me?
How can they hear me say those words
Still they don't believe me?
Simple Minds - Hunter and the hunted
hey were young - they were brave - they were the honest set
The greatest show on earth is here tonight love
See me as a figure in the late night plan
See me as I'm cocooned up in Badlands
The side effects of cruising at the speed of life
The side effects of living in temptation
When only one star is waiting up on all of us
You'll see me as I'm cocooned up in Badlands
And how do I feel living in the eighties
And do I get to see the light of day
It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like dream in the night
Who can say where we're going
No care in the world
Maybe I'm learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning
More than this, there is nothing
More than this, tell me one thing
More than this, there is nothing
