Take This Tune

I essentially live in my home town in Queens, NY. The block I used to live on has changed so drastically that I don't recognize it anyore. So I personally don't have a story to tell. But Elvis does. He sings "The Green Green Grass of Home" a very poignant song:

Green, Green Grass of Home Lyrics
Artist(Band):Elvis Presley

(words & music by Claude Putman, Jr.)
GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME

The old home town looks the same
As I step down from the train
And there to meet me, is my mama and papa
Down the road I look, and there runs Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch, the green green grass of home

Yes they'll all come to greet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly
It's good to touch, the green green grass of home

The old house, is still standing
Though the paint is cracked and dry
And there's that old oak tree, that I used to play on
Down the lane I'll walk with my sweet Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It's good to touch, the green green grass of home

Yes they'll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly
It's good to touch the green, green grass of home

Then I awake, and look around me
At four gray walls that surround me
And I realize, that I was only dreamin'
For there's a guard and there's that sad old padre
Arm and arm we'll walk at daybreak
Again I'll touch, the green green grass of home

Yes, they'll all come to see me
In the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me ‘neath the green green grass.... of home

Take This Tune and 5 on Friday

Here's a post for both Jamie's Take This Tune and Travis's 5 on Friday. Five selections from John Prine.

ENJOY!

Take This Tune

Jamie asked us to post this week about obsessive fans, or groupies, who follow singers or movie stars around and worship them from afar.

The first thing that ocurred to me is the story of the stalker of a radio DJ who keeps asking him to "Play Misty For Me." That's the name of the movie starring Clint Eastwood as the DJ.

When I was young I loved that movie and loved the song "Misty" which was made popular by my all time favorite, (I still to this day know the words to every song he's ever sung) Johnny Mathis.

Here's the trailer for the movie and then "Johnny" singing the song: 

Lyrics To "Misty"

Look at me
I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree
And I feel like I'm clinging to a cloud
I can't understand
I get misty just holding your hand

Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play
Or it might be the sound of your hello
That music I hear
I get misty the moment you're near

You can say that you're leading me on
But it's just what I want you to do
Don't you notice how hopelessly I'm lost
That's why I'm following you

On my own
Would I wander through this wonderland alone
Never knowing my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove
I'm too misty, and too much in love.

Look at me...

Take This Tune

The challenge today from Jamie at Duward Discussion involves Mark Knopfler, a guitarist I've never heard of, but who impressed me greatly, in duet with Emmylou Harris, from their album, Real Live Roadrunning.

I found Knopfler and Eric Clpton in concert with Elton John doing "I don't Wanna Go On With You Like That." Incredible rock! They were performing for the Prince's Trust in 1988.

Whaddya think, Jamie?

Lyrics

I've always said that one's enough to love
Now I hear you're bragging one is not enough
Something tells me you're not satisfied
You got plans to make me one of four or five

I guess this kind of thing's just in your blood
But you won't catch me carving up my love
I ain't no puzzle piece that needs to fit
If it takes more than me let's call it quits

`Cause I don't wanna go on with you like that
Don't wanna be a feather in your cap
I just wanna tell you honey I ain't mad
But I don't wanna go on with you like that

It gets so hard sometimes to understand
This vicious circle's getting out of hand
Don't need an extra eye to see
That the fire spreads faster in a breeze
[ Lyrics provided by www.mp3lyrics.org ]

And I don't wanna go on with you like that
Don't wanna be a feather in your cap
I just wanna tell you honey I ain't mad
But I don't wanna go on with you like that
No I don't wanna go on with you like that
One more set of boots on your welcome mat
You'll just have to quit them if you want me back
`Cause I don't wanna go on with you like that

Oh if you wanna spread it around sister that's just fine
But I don't want no second hand feeding me lines
If you wanna hold someone in the middle of the night
Call out the guards, turn out the light

Take This Tune - Elvis

Jamie posted a wonderful post for Take This Tune this week.  Go to her blog and find Alanna Myles singing "Black Velvet," a song about the phenomenon of Elvis Presley. 

Elvis defined my childhood and his comeback performance in 1968, dressed in black leather, was, in my opinion, the most incredible performance of his short life. Below he sings "Are You Lonesome Tonight:"

Lyrics:

Are you lonesome tonight,
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter sunny day
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?
Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

I wonder if you're lonesome tonight
You know someone said that the worlds a stage
And each must play a part.
Fate had me playing in love you as my sweet heart.
Act one was when we met, I loved you at first glance
You read your line so cleverly and never missed a cue
Then came act two, you seemed to change and you acted strange
And why I'll never know.
Honey, you lied when you said you loved me
And I had no cause to doubt you.
But I'd rather go on hearing your lies
Than go on living without you.
Now the stage is bare and Im standing there
With emptiness all around
And if you wont come back to me
Then make them bring the curtain down.

Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?

Take This Tune

So where would I like to spend my last days? That's the question Jamie of Take This Tune asks.

Now I always have wanted to spend my last days looking over the sea in Hawaii. But since that earthquake in Chile a few weeks ago that threatened Hawaii with a tsunami, I 've made a slight adjustment. I want to be in Hawaii but up on the 25th floor of a hotel.

Rock a Hula Baby! Lyrics

The way she moves her hips to her fingertips
I feel I'm heaven bound
And when she starts to sway, I've gotta say
She really move the grass around

Rock-a-hula baby
Rock-a-hula baby
Got a hula lulu from Honolulu
That rock-a-hula baby of mine

Although I love to kiss my little hula miss
I never get the chance
I wanna hold her tight all through the night
But all she wants to do is dance

I bet that she could teach the palms along the beach
To sway when breezes blow
And birds up in the sky could learn to fly
By watchin' how my baby can go The way she moves her hips to her fingertips
I feel I'm heaven bound
And when she starts to sway, I've gotta say
She really move the grass around

Rock-a-hula baby
Rock-a-hula baby
Got a hula lulu from Honolulu
That rock-a-hula baby of mine

Although I love to kiss my little hula miss
I never get the chance
I wanna hold her tight all through the night
But all she wants to do is dance

I bet that she could teach the palms along the beach
To sway when breezes blow
And birds up in the sky could learn to fly
By watchin' how my baby can go

Take This Tune

What can I say about Mandy Patinkin singing "Younger Than Springtime" from South Pacific? Just Listen.

Thanks you Jamie for this prompt.



Jamie's Take This Tune post is here

Take This Tune - Dexter

My favorite non-network TV series is DEXTER. Starring Michael C. Hall, and this past 5th season, John Lithgow. It's shown on SHO and based on the series of books by Jeff Lindsay. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst with the Miami-Dade Police Department, but he is also a serial killer who was taught by his Dad (who was also a policeman) to kill only guilty people, those who for some reason or other or technicality, have gotten away with murder.

Here's the incredible Main Title Theme music written by Rolf Kent:

I'm afraid there aren't any lyrics for the Main Title Theme. But here is a song by Jon Licht called "Die This Way" included in the Dexter Soundtrack and I have the lyrics for this one:

Lyrics:

If you look close, you can see his disguise
He's got the mind of a killer buried deep in his eyes
It's a different mind than you and me
One fueled by a pure sense of apathy
Ta-Ta-Take blood just to get his fill
He's got a demon inside he can't seem to kill
Another day, another dead
Slash his knife 'til he sees red
There's nothin' left but a drop between glass to stay
Another life is taken away
But not in haste, or for waste
Just in time for him to get another taste
Lost in a state of mind
Lost looking for another of his kind
But his lonely mind is his only friend
His lonely friend will be with him to the end
And she sang

[Chorus]:
A lonely whisper in your ear
Saying the things you don't want to hear
With a breath, you hear him say
On this night, you will die this way
You will die this way

Yo it's a chilly evening on the westside
And D E X is snoopin around a double- wide
All of a sudden, a page comes through
Rita's makin dinner she wants you to come too
He doesn't get hungry when there's blood in the air
This'll be quick he won't even know I was there
Another day, another dead
Something's wrong up in your head MR. D E X
I gotta kill just to get some rest
Another night, another bloody success
Yo now it's clean-up time stash away the knives
And the little brown box holdin so many lives
I guess for some, it's easier to say
Believe it or not, you gonna die this way

[Chorus]

Take This Tune

In my early years i.e., my 20s and 30s, I was taken by this song sung first by Wilson Pickett and then The Commitments. The Commitments picked up the rhythm a bit and it became for me a perfect song for driving. In those days I had to drive upstate New York, often alone, and Mustang Sally kept me singing and driving.

The Commitments is a 1991 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Roddy Doyle, which tells the story of some unemployed Dubliners who form a soul band. It was directed by Alan Parker from a screenplay adapted by Dick Clement, Ian Le Frenais and Doyle himself. The film was an international co-production between companies in Ireland, the UK, and the United States.

It was filmed on location in Dublin.^[1]

The Commitments stars Robert Arkins as Jimmy Rabbitte, Johnny Murphy as Joey "The Lips" Fagan, and Colm Meaney as Jimmy Rabbitte Sr. The members of the band are played by Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle, Dave Finnegan, Bronagh Gallagher, Félim Gormley, Glen Hansard, Dick Massey, Kenneth McCluskey, and Andrew Strong as Deco.

The featured song in the movie was "Mustang Sally" by Sir Mack Rice. The film was very successful at the box office and introduced a new generation to rhythm and blues.

Lyrics:

Mustang Sally
H'uh, h'uh
Guess you better slow
Your Mustang down
Oh Lord, what I say now

Mustang Sally, now baby
Oh Lord
Guess you better slow
Your Mustang down
H'uh, oh yeah

You been runnin' all over town, now
Oh, I guess I have to put your flat feet
On the ground
Ha!
What I said, now

Listen!
All you wanna do is ride around Sally
(Ride Sally, ride)
All you wanna do is ride around Sally
(Ride Sally, ride)
All you wanna do is ride around Sally
(Ride Sally ride) hu'h
All you wanna do is a ride around Sally
Alright (ride Sally ride)
Well, listen

One of these early mornins', yeah
Woow!
Gonna be wipin' yo weepin' eyes
H'uh!
What I said, now

Look-a-here!
I bought you a brand new Mustang
A nineteen sixty-five, h'uh!
Now you come around
Signifyin', now woman
You don't wanna let me ride

Mustang Sally, now baby
Oh Lord!
Guess you better slow that Mustang down
H'uh! oh Lord!
Listen, you been runnin' all over town
OOOW!
I have to put your flat feet on the ground
H'uh!
What I said now, yeah

Let me say it one more time y'all

Now, all you wanna do is ride around Sally
(Ride Sally)

All you wanna do is ride around Sally

FADES-

(Ride, Sally ride)

Ride Sally.

As an aside, Sally Ride was the first American woman in space and her name became associated with the song.

Take This Tune - lighthouses

Take This Tune

Jamie, I never tire of visiting and photographing lighthouses. I have lots of photographs of lighthouses up and down the Northeast coast, the Hudson River, and Long island.

Here are two (scanned) photos of a lighthouse taken back in 1991 of the lighthouse on Goat Island in Newport, Rhode Island.

What follows is A Lighthouse Tale

This music video, set in the 1850's, is a classic love story revolving around the often tragic life of the American lighthouse worker. The video is based on Nickel Creek's A Lighthouse Tale.

Lyrics:

I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves.
I keep my lamp lit, to warn the sailors on their way.

I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past.
I was so happy, but joy in this life seldom lasts.

I had a keeper, he helped me warn the ships at sea.
We had grown closer, 'till his joy meant everything to me.

And he was to marry, a girl who shone with beauty and light.
And they loved each other, and with me watched the sunsets into night.

[Chorus:]
And the waves crashing around me, the sand slips out to sea.
And the winds that blow remind me, of what has been, and what can never be.

She'd had to leave us, my keeper he prayed for a safe return.
But when the night came, the weather to a raging storm had turned.

He watched her ship fight, but in vain against the wild and terrible wave.
In me so helpless, as dashed against the rock she met her end.

[Chorus]

Then on the next day, my keeper found her washed up on the SHORE.
He kissed her cold face, that they'd be together soon he'd swore.

I saw him crying, watched as he buried her in the sand.
And then he climbed my tower, and off of the edge of me he ran.

[Chorus]

I am a lighthouse, worn by the weather and the waves.
And though I am empty, I still warn the sailors on their way.

Take This Tune - Love of Place

Jamie I'm gonna do the Irish thing here and offer one place that feels like I could call it home. Though I've never been there, all my ancestors come from there and one very important cousin remains there and I speak to her often. The music of this land speaks to my heart.

The place is Limerick, Ireland.

I have two YouTube songs for you.

The first song is sung by Cherish the Ladies:

Here are the lyrics of "My Own Native Land"

There's a dear little isle in the Western Ocean
An island of purity, holy and grand
Whose name fills its daughters and sons with emotion
When heard on the shores of a far distant land.
It's Ireland, God bless her, the birthplace of heroes
The home of the patriot, warrior and sage
Of bards and of chieftains whose names live in story
May they live forever on history's page.

You once were a proud and a glorious nation
Your name and your fame were known all o'er the world
'Til misfortune came o'er you and sad desolation
And the emerald banner in slavery lay unfurled.
They tortured your children, despoiled your green bowers
They tried to exterminate you long, long ago
But the Irish are somehow like wild, creeping flowers
The faster you pluck them, the quicker they grow.

I love every blade of grass, green on your mountain,
Every leaf on your tree, every rock upon your strand
I love your green hills and your murmuring fountains I love you,
a *cuisle, my own dear native land.

*cuisle - pulse
cuisle mo chroi - pulse of my heart

Visit Take This Tune for other participants.

Take This Tune

This week Jamie of Take This Tune proposes the challenge of posting in song the romance of a lover thought lost who finally comes home! She suggests that the folk tale/myth lies at the heart of folk ballads such as "The Demon Lover," "John Reilly," or "Pretty, Fair Maiden in the Garden."

I searched the web for the ballad of The Demon Lover and found several versions, especially the American one called "The House Carpenter." Find below the lovely voice of Joan Baez singing the song that tells of the story of a man (usually the Devil), who returns to a former lover after a very long absence, and finds her with a husband (usually a carpenter) and a baby. He entices her to leave both behind and come with him, luring her with many ships laden with treasure. Together they board one of his ships, (which in many versions she is surprised to find does not have a crew) and put to sea.

She soon begins to lament leaving behind her child, but is heartened by spying a bright hill in the distance. Her lover informs her that the hill is heaven, where they are not bound. Instead he indicates a much darker coast, which he tells her is hell, their destination. He then breaks the ship in half with his bare hands and feet, drowning them both. In other versions, the ship is wrecked by a storm at sea.

LYRICS for "The House Carpenter"
Child Ballad #243.

"Well met, well met, said an old true love.
"Well met, well met, said he.
"I have just returned from the salt, salt sea.
"And it's all for the love of thee."
Come in, come in, my own true love,
And have a seat by me.
It's been three-fourths of a long, long year,
Since together, we have been.

"I can't come in and I can't sit down,
"For I've only a moment's time.
"They say you're married to a house carpenter,
"And your heart will never be mine.

"I could have married a King's daughter, fair,
"And she would have married me,
"But I have forsaken her crowns of gold,
"And it's all for the love of thee."

"Now you forsake your house carpenter,
"And go along with me.
"I'll take you where the grass grows green.
"On the banks of the deep blue sea."

Then she picked up a darlin' little babe,
And kisses, she gave it three.
Saying "Stay right here, my dalrin' little baby,
"And keep your pappa company."

They had not been on the ship two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three,
Till his true love began to weep and to mourn,
And she wept most bitterly.

Sayin': "Are you weepin' for my silver and my gold."
Sayin': "Are you weepin' for my store?
"Or are you weepin' for your house carpenter,
"Whose face you'll never see no more?"

"A curse, a curse to the sailor," she cried.
"A curse, a curse," she swore.
"You robbed me of my darlin' little babe,
"That I shall never see no more."

They had not been on the ship three weeks,
I'm sure it was not four,
When there came a leak in the bottom of the ship,
And sank them for to rise no more.

This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in Ballads Weird and Wonderful (1912) and illustrated by Vernon Hill. The New York Times review of Hill's illustrations accompanying this ballad was noted as a particular highlight of his illustrations thus:

... the design of Satan rushing down through the waves with the boat containing the faithless wife, is tremendous. Satan himself has one of the most graceful and beautiful human bodies ever drawn; the rhythm of the whole is thrilling, and the conventionalized waves are splendid.

The Demon Lover
Vernon Hill

“Demons do not exist any more than gods do, being only the products of the psychic activity of man” Sigmund Freud

Take This Tune

Okay Jamie see if you can follow my reasoning. I couldn't find any witty lost love songs like the ones you posted with Bob Hope. Soooooo, here's what I did.

I found a video that shows Kate and Jack from the "Lost" TV show getting together and breaking up to a song by New Kids on the Block called "Funny Feeling." Eh? eh? Whaddya say? Does it work? Lost, love, funny (witty) feeling, huh? huh?

Lyrics: Funny Feeling, New Kids on the Block

All I asked for was your hand, love
was in demand, how was I to understand?
Then you told me how you feel, it was so
unreal, guess, it's time for
me to reveal the way I feel.

Gotta funny feeling that you don't even,
even love me (Don't love me)
Gotta funny feeling that you don't even, even care.

We assured each other at the start, forever in our hearts,
you and I would never part.
Then you...
Gotta funny ....
Gotta funny ... [repeat ad lib & fade]
[end]

Take This Tune

Jamie of Take That Tune, in her post "Riffin' on Heartbreak," suggests we post our favorite song about heartbreak.

It took me some time to come up with a favorite song but finally, finally,I came up with Michael McDonald and Patti laBelle performing "On My Own," a perfect song for this meme.

"On My Own" was a hit duet by singers Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald when it was released as a single in 1986. It was released from LaBelle's first platinum album, Winner in You and was written and produced by Burt Bacharach and his former wife Carole Bayer Sager.

The song became the biggest single ever for both singers, both of whom were members of respective funk/R&B groups in the 1970s.

It was often stated the two performers were in separate cities when they recorded their individual parts which were then "married" during mastering. This was reflected in the music video produced to promote the song, which depicted LaBelle and McDonald performing the song simultaneously on different coasts.

The singers were shown on separate sides of a split screen, each singing the song while walking through apartments which had identical layouts but different decor and furniture. The views from their respective perches, where they finished the song, made clear their separation by the continent. At the end of the video, Patti is stands on the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge and when the camera lifts up and sweeps toward Manhattan there are the Twin Towers!

Lyrics

So many times
Said it was forever
Said our love would always be true
Something in my heart always knew
I'd be lying here beside you
On my own
On my own
On my own

So many promises never should be spoken
Now I know what loving you cost
Now we're up to talking divorce
And we weren't even married
On my own
Once again now
One more time
By myself

No one said it was easy
But it once was so easy
Well I believed in love
Now here I stand
I wonder why

I'm on my own
Why did it end this way
On my own
This wasn't how it was supposed to be
On my own
I wish that we could do it all again

So many times
I know I should have told you
Losing you it cut like a knife
You walked out and there went my life
I don't want to live without you
On my own
On my own
On my own
Chorus Repeat

This wasn't how it was supposed to end
I wish that we could do it all again
I never dreamed I'd spend one night alone
On my own, I've got to find where I belong again
I've got to learn how to be strong again
I never dreamed I'd spend one night alone
By myself by myself
I've got to find out what was mine again
My heart is saying that it's my time again
And I have faith that I will shine again
I have faith in me
On my own
On my own
On my own

Go visit Jamie at Take This Tune for other participants.

Take This Tune

Jamie's post this week at Take This Tune is a silly one; "I'm My Own Grandpaw" sung by Ray Stevens. She's feeling wacky, as she says, after all that seriousness last week and before...

Well, for silliness, howz this one written by Roger Miller in the 60s called "My Uncle Used to Love Me but She Died:"

Lyrics:

My uncle used to love me but she died.
A chicken ain't chicken unless it's lickin' good n' fried.
Keep on the sunny side.
my uncle used to love me but she died.

Who'll bid me a quarter, 30 cents for a ring of keys
$3.65 for a dollar bill of groceries.
I'll have my own car someday but now I need a ride.
My uncle used to love me but she died.

CHORUS

Hamburger, cup of coffee, lettuce and tomato
Two times a dime to see a man kiss the alligator.
One more time free 'round the ferris wheel ride.
My uncle used to love me but she died.

CHORUS

Apples are for eatin' and snakes are for hissin'
I've heard about all the huggin' and a kissin'
I read about free in a 50 cent illustrated guide.
My uncle used to love me but she died.

Take This Tune

Jamie, don't be angry with me that I'm going to relate Mozart, one of his very famous operetta's and a song from that operetta to Lost, the very well-known TV program that begins again this month and ends with this final season. I have been following it since it began and mean to watch the final season come "hell or high-water!" I will probably (if I find the time) to re-watch last year's episodes to remind me of all the details... Keeping track of the story and what is going on has been a monumental task...

"Voi Che Sapete" is the Italian opera aria playing on the soundsystem of the Elizabeth when Sayid, Jack, and Sawyer find Desmond inside, in "Live Together, Die Alone". It is an aria from Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), written by Lorenzo da Ponte. The character who sings it is Cherubino, a lovesick young pageboy. The topic of love seems appropriate for Desmond, as the rest of the episode delves into his relationship with Penelope Widmore.

Lyrics

Original

“

Voi che sapete che cosa e amor, Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor, Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor. Quello ch'io provo, vi ridiro, E per me nuovo capir nol so. Sento un affetto pien di desir, Ch'ora e diletto, ch'ora e martir. Gelo e poi sento l'alma avvampar, E in un momento torno a gelar. Ricerco un bene fuori di me, Non so chi il tiene, non so cos' e. Sospiro e gemo senza voler, Palpito e tremo senza saper, Non trovo pace notte ne di, Ma pur mi piace languir cosi. Voi, che sapete che cosa e amor Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor, Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor, Donne, vedete, s'io l'ho nel cor.

”

Translated

“

You who know what love is, Ladies, see if I have it in my heart. I'll tell you what I'm feeling, It's new for me, and I understand nothing. I have a feeling, full of desire, Which is by turns delightful and miserable. I freeze and then feel my soul go up in flames, Then in a moment I turn to ice. I'm searching for affection outside of myself, I don't know how to hold it, nor even what it is! I sigh and lament without wanting to, I twitter and tremble without knowing why, I find peace neither night nor day, But still I rather enjoy languishing this way. You who know what love is, Ladies, see if I have it in my heart.

”

Go visit Jamie at Take This Tune to see about joining her meme. It's one of the cleverer (Is that a word?) memes in the blogosphere. :)

Take This Tune

Jamie has posted "O Come, O Come Emmauel" a very old hymn for Advent in plain song for Take This Tune this week. I was able to find another old Advent hymn written in the 5th century and interestingly enough translated by the same person who wrote the modern lyrics for "O Come, O Come Emmauel."

The song is called "Of the Father's Love Begotten." It is a Lutheran hymn and I've posted both the Latin and the English lyrics.

Thomas Helmore, paired this hymn with the Latin plainchant Divinum Mysterium.

The theology of the hymn is here

English Lyrics:

"Of the Father's Love Begotten"
by Aurelius C. Prudentius, 413, cento
Translated by John. M. Neale, 1818-1866
and Henry W. Baker, 1821-1977

1. Of the Father's love begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.

2. Oh, that birth forever blessed
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Savior of our race,
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face
Evermore and evermore.

3. O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.

4. This is He whom Heaven-taught singers
Sang of old with one accord;
Whom the Scriptures of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word.
Now He shines, the Long-expected;
Let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.

5. Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unending praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory
Evermore and evermore.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #98
Text: 1 Tim. 3:16
Author: Aurelius C. Prudentius, 413, cento
Translated by: John. M. Neale, 1854 and Henry W. Baker, 1861
Titled: "Corde natus ex Parentis"
Tune: "Divinum mysterium", Plain-song tune, 12th century


Latin lyrics:

Corde natus ex parentis
Ante mundi exordium
A et O cognominatus,
ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt,
quaeque post futura sunt.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Ipse iussit et creata,
dixit ipse et facta sunt,
Terra, caelum, fossa ponti,
trina rerum machina,
Quaeque in his vigent sub alto
solis et lunae globo.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Corporis formam caduci,
membra morti obnoxia
Induit, ne gens periret
primoplasti ex germine,
Merserat quem lex profundo
noxialis tartaro.
Saeculorum saeculis.

O beatus ortus ille,
virgo cum puerpera
Edidit nostram salutem,
feta Sancto Spiritu,
Et puer redemptor orbis
os sacratum protulit.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Psallat altitudo caeli,
psallite omnes angeli,
Quidquid est virtutis usquam
psallat in laudem Dei,
Nulla linguarum silescat,
vox et omnis consonet.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Ecce, quem vates vetustis
concinebant saeculis,
Quem prophetarum fideles
paginae spoponderant,
Emicat promissus olim;
cuncta conlaudent eum.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Macte iudex mortuorum,
macte rex viventium,
Dexter in Parentis arce
qui cluis virtutibus,
Omnium venturus inde
iustus ultor criminum.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Te senes et te iuventus,
parvulorum te chorus,
Turba matrum, virginumque,
simplices puellulae,
Voce concordes pudicis
perstrepant concentibus.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Tibi, Christe, sit cum Patre
hagioque Pneumate
Hymnus, decus, laus perennis,
gratiarum actio,
Honor, virtus, victoria,
regnum aeternaliter.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Latin text by Prudentius (b. 348)

Take This Tune

This meme is hosted by Jamie of Take This Tune.

Here's the Chanukah Song by Adam Chandler.



Gee he makes me wanna be Jewish!

Here are the lyrics:

"Okay...
This is a song that uhh..
There's a lot of Christmas songs out there and uhh..
Not too many Chanukah songs.
So uhh..
I wrote a song for all those nice little Jewish kids who don't get to hear any Chanukah songs.
Here we go..."

Put on your yarmulke
Here comes Chanukah
So much funukah
To celebrate Chanukah
Chanukah is the festival of lights
Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights

When you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree
Here's a list of people who are Jewish just like you and me
David Lee Roth lights the menorah
So do James Caan, Kirk Douglas, and the late Dinah Shore-ah

Guess who eats together at the Carnegie Deli
Bowser from Sha Na Na and Arthur Fonzerelli
Paul Newman's half Jewish, Goldie Hawn's half too
Put them together, what a fine lookin' Jew

You don't need "Deck The Halls" or "Jingle Bell Rock"
'Cause you can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock- both Jewish

Put on your yarmulke
It's time for Chanukah
The owner of the Seattle Supersonicahs
Celebrates Chanukah

O.J. Simpson, not a Jew
But guess who is? Hall of famer Rod Carew- he converted
We got Ann Landers and her sister Dear Abby
Harrison Ford's a quarter Jewish- not too shabby

Some people think that Ebenezer Scrooge is
Well he's not, but guess who is
All three Stooges
So many Jews are in showbiz
Tom Cruise isn't, but I heard his agent is

Tell your friend Veronica
It's time to celebrate Chanukah
I hope I get a harmonicah
Oh this lovely, lovely Chanukah
So drink your gin and tonicah
And smoke your marijuanikah
If you really, really wannakah
Have a happy, happy, happy, happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah

Take This Tune

Jamie wants to give some time to all the traditions in some fashion during the winter holidays in her Take This tune meme. So to kick them off, she's posted a great spiritual with many variations that draws on both the Old and New Testaments sung by the incomparable Audra McDonald.



For my post Ron Winans sings "Rise up Shepherd, and Follow" in the following video:



Ron Winans was a member of the gospel-singing Winans family and died in 2005 two weeks before his 49th birthday.

Take This Tune

Jamie posted Joan Baez singing "Diamonds and Rust" for her meme this week. I chose Joan Baez, too, but she's singing "With God On Our Side," written by Bob Dylan. It's an anti-war song and the video is from 1966 the year I got married during a terrible time of protest and fear.

My husband, Vinny, was classified "1Y" during the Vietnam War which meant he was qualified for military service only in time of national emergency. He had a torn knee ligament which he lives with to this day. Obviously he never had to serve.

My nephew, Jim, came to spend Thanksgiving with us this year and we were delighted. He dressed for the day in blue shirt and kahki pants. He asked if he should wear a tie. He's blond, blue-eyed and takes after his father, my brother, in that regard. Jim, has been home two years since he went to fight in Iraq as a U.S. Marine. He's studying Arabic language and culture now at university and hopes to join the FBI or the State Department when he graduates next year.

Now putting all this together listen to Joan Baez sing, but open your hearts to the men and women who serve and defend our country. Be against war but for our armed forces. Be proud of those who go in harm's way to defend us.

With God On Our Side

Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys
It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting
I never got straight
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.

When the Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too
Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians
All through my whole life
If another war starts
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons
Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ
Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
If God's on our side
He'll stop the next war.

Copyright ©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music