I heard this song the other day and it brought me right back to 1974 when it was first released. I remember singing it as loud as I could when I was by myself. 'Help me' indeed. Which one of us has not had this experience that she sings about--falling in love with someone knowing that it may not last, knowing that the other person is a 'rambler and a gambler and a sweet-talking ladies man?' And yet pursuing the relationship anyway even when we knew it was not likely to go anywhere? When we were young, it seemed so vitally important that we took the relationship opportunities seriously. After all, they might be the only real opportunities for love that would come our way. I remember my brother telling me post-divorce that there were a lot of other 'fish in the sea'. It didn't seem to me to be true at all. That's how many of us thought when we were young and why we made mistakes and continued to make mistakes until we learned. We learned the hard way. Learning the hard way lent itself to a plethora of books written on the subject, about why women choose the wrong men and vice versa. But mostly about why smart women choose the wrong men. They're still doing it in 2026, so the heart is not a smart learner.
I love these two songs by the Swedish band Dina Ögon, which translates to "Your Eyes" in English. These two songs are from their album that was released this month, entitled Människobarn (meaning Human Child).
Människobarn is the first song, and Margaretas Sång is the second.
Lyrics to Människobarn (Human Child):
Vad, vad, vad är det där du kämpar för?
Vad är det där du kämpar för?
Vad är det du kämpar för?
Du tror du sparkar uppåt, du sparkar ner, ner, ner, ner
Vad, vad, vad är det där du bryr dig om?
Vad är det där du bryr dig om?
Vad är det du bryr dig om
När kärlek och frihet blir till makt och kontroll?
Är du nöjd nu, människobarn?
När du får styra och inte bara åka med
Är du nöjd nu, människobarn?
Det finns inget mer att erövra, inget mer att se
När, när, när kommer du att stanna upp?
När kommer du att stanna upp?
När kommer du stanna upp
Du ger aldrig upp och vänder dig om och ser ner, ner, ner, ner
När, när, när kommer du att ramla ner?
När kommer du att ramla ner?
När kommer du ramla ner
Och faktiskt se hur högt du är, du har redan nått till
Höga toppar
Höga toppar, högt i det blå
Höga toppar (kommer du ramla, kommer du ramla)
Höga toppar, högt i det blå (kommer du ramla, kommer du ramla)
I started my training session (treadmill) yesterday with this song--Ready to Go by Republica. One of the best songs from the 1990s (released in 1996). Love the song but not the video. The video makes me dizzy what with the zooming in and out, in and out. But having said that, it's a great song to move to. And the others I like to train to have the same kind of driving beat. I've made a playlist and I'll share it in one of my near-future posts. In the meantime, enjoy:
Lyrics
Ready to go Ready to go
You're weird, in tears Too near and too far away He said, "Saw red Went home, stayed in bed all day"
Your T-shirt's dish dirt Always love the one you hurt
It's a crack, I'm back, yeah I'm standing on the rooftops shouting out Baby, I'm ready to go I'm back and ready to go From the rooftops, shout it out
It's a crack, I'm back, yeah I'm standing on the rooftops having it Baby, I'm ready to go I'm back and ready to go From the rooftops, shout it out Shout it out
You sleep too deep One week is another world (Big mouth) big mouth (drop out) drop out You get what you deserve You're strange, insane One thing you can never change
It's a crack, I'm back, yeah I'm standing on the rooftops, shouting out Baby, I'm ready to go I'm back and ready to go From the rooftops, shout it out
It's a crack, I'm back, yeah I'm standing on the rooftops, having it Baby, I'm ready to go I'm back and ready to go From the rooftops, shout it out Shout it out Ready to go
Abused, confused Always love the one that Hurt ya, hurt ya, hurt ya, hurt ya
It's a crack, I'm back, yeah I'm standing on the rooftops, shouting out Baby, I'm ready to go I'm back and ready to go From the rooftops, shout it out
It's a crack, I'm back, yeah I'm standing on the rooftops, having it Baby, I'm ready to go I'm back and ready to go From the rooftops, shout it out
It's a crack Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go Baby, I'm ready to go
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Andrew Leslie Todd / Samantha Marie Sprackling / Jonathan Edward Male / Timothy Michael Dorney
I woke up this morning and this song popped into my mind. This is the music we grew up with, and thank God for that. It is a cold day here in Oslo, but the sun is shining and that always makes my day brighter. Peace to all.
Lyrics
It's a beautiful morning, ah
I think I'll go outside for a while and just smile
Just take in some clean fresh air, boy
(Ain't) no sense in staying inside
If the weather's fine and you got the time
It's your chance to wake up and plan another brand-new day
it's a beautiful morning, ah
Each bird keeps singing his own song, so long
I've got to be on my way now
(Ain't) no fun just hanging around
I got to cover ground, you couldn't keep me down
It just ain't no good if the sun shines
When you're still inside (shouldn't hide)
Still inside (shouldn't hide)
Still inside (shouldn't hide)
Still in-, oh, oh, oh-oh-oh
Oo-ooh-ah-ah
Oo-ooh-ah-ah
There will be children with robins and flowers
Sunshine caresses each new waking hour
Seems to me that people keep seeing more and more each day
I listened to this song today and was transported to a place inside myself that I guard fiercely--that place that treasures music and lyrics. It's not just my heart but my mind and soul as well. How wonderful it is that we can fill our worlds with music, especially in times like these, where absolutely nothing is certain or sacred. Music and lyrics live on eternally. One hundred years from now, the world can listen to this song and wonder about the lives of the men who wrote and sang it, and about the conditions that created it. Creativity never ceases to intrigue me--how it happens, where ideas come from. I like to think that the collective unconscious is always floating above us and that we can reach up and pluck an idea or two from it. And do something with it that makes it uniquely our own. I love that idea. That has definitely been the case for me and my writing. I recognize poetry when I hear it in music and I am grateful that others write it too. It's not dead if it lives on in music. Here are the lyrics to Speed of Sound by Coldplay:
How long before I get in?
Before it starts, before I begin
How long before you decide?
Before I know what it feels like
Where to, where do I go?
If you never try, then you'll never know
How long do I have to climb
Up on the side of this mountain of mine?
Look up, I look up at night
Planets are moving at the speed of light
Climb up, up in the trees
Every chance that you get is a chance you seize
How long am I gonna stand
With my head stuck under the sand?
I'll start before I can stop
Or before I see things the right way up
All that noise, and all that sound
All those places I got found
And birds go flying at the speed of sound
To show you how it all began
Birds came flying from the underground
If you could see it then you'd understand
Ideas that you'll never find
All the inventors could never design
The buildings that you put up
Japan and China, all lit up
The sign that I couldn't read
Or a light that I couldn't see
Some things you have to believe
But others are puzzles, puzzling me
All that noise, and all that sound
All those places I got found
And birds go flying at the speed of sound
To show you how it all began
Birds came flying from the underground
If you could see it then you'd understand
Oh, when you see it then you'll understand
All those signs, I knew what they meant
Some things you can't invent
Some get made, and some get sent
Ooh-ooh
Birds go flying at the speed of sound
To show you how it all began
Birds came flying from the underground
If you could see it then you'd understand
Oh, when you see it then you'll understand
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Christopher Anthony John Martin / Guy Rupert Berryman / William Champion / Jonathan Mark Buckland
If there was ever a song that brings me right back to NYC during the 1980s, this is it. I remember the anticipation and the wonder attached to each venture out into the world of Manhattan on the weekends. Finding a place to dance was foremost in our minds, and the Limelight was the place to go to dance during the 1980s. We tried other dance clubs and discos as well, but always came back to the Limelight. I remember one evening when I was dressed to the nines and out on a date with a colleague who was also dressed to the nines. We were picked out of the crowd waiting to get into the Limelight, to visit their VIP room. I hardly remember what was so special about that room, just that I thought it was so much fun to have been chosen. I remember that I was wearing a Betsey Johnson dress that I loved and bright pink high-heeled shoes that were originally part of a bridesmaid ensemble. My date didn't like my shoes, but I didn't care, I wore them anyway. Those days were fun and adventurous, and to my mind, part of everything that makes those years in Manhattan special to me. I suppose one might call it nostalgia, but I just prefer to call them fun memories. No going back to those days, but when I think about how much I loved to go out dancing, those memories immediately come to mind.
If you've never heard The Edgar Winter Group before, here's your chance. A great rock group from the 1970s......Their album, Shock Treatment from 1974, contains the following four songs that I personally love. Enjoy......
I heard this song yesterday, and it brought me right back to that time in my life when we were teenagers and discovering music. And there was so much good music to discover. So many good bands, not like today with mostly one-hit wonders who score it big and then go and do something else after having earned tens of millions of dollars. It seems to me that music was less about business then compared to today. And I'm glad for that. Enjoy this song from 1970. I'm including the lyrics as well.
[Verse 1]
Everybody, listen to me
And return me my ship
I'm your captain, I'm your captain (Alright)
Though I'm feeling mighty sick
[Verse 2]
I've been lost now, days uncounted
And it's months since I've seen home
Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
Or am I all alone?
[Verse 3]
If you return me to my home port
I will kiss you, Mother Earth
Take me back now, take me back now
To the port of my birth
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 4]
Am I in my cabin dreaming
Or are you really scheming
To take my ship away from me?
You'd better think about it
I just can't live without it
So, please don't take my ship from me, yeah, yeah, yeah
