Drum roll please.....
Nick Cave - Spinning Song
170 weeks, not out, I must say that has a nice little ring to it and I am very happy with that.
If you tuned in last week for my Nick Drake Three Tune Tuesday week 169, you could easily come to the conclusion that I am covering all the musically inclined Nick's that I know. No, not quite. There is something else at play here. I got chatting with @gibic about concept albums the previous week when I posted some songs from Pink Floyd's wonderful The Wall album, which of course is a concept record and this got me thinking about my favourite concept records.
So this week, I am going to start out on a little journey of discovering these concept records and as each artist intended, we are going to listen to them in the order that they appear on the album, no shuffles here my friends.
Let's start this little journey with Nick Cave's brilliantly sad, uplifting, heartbreaking, poignant and beautifully raw album Ghosteen. He breaks the album into two parts, with the first 8 songs making up "The Children" and the last 3 songs making up "The Parents"
This Part I post will look at the first three songs in "The Children"
Spinning Song sets the tone and as a parent who lost a child, I feel every word of this song whenever I hear it and indeed each song on this emotionally charged album. My interpretation of this song
"The king is the husband and the queen is the wife. Her hair is a metaphor for how she is the foundation and hope for the new family. With her help they start to build a life which is the garden. That garden flourishes into a tree that holds a bird which is their son. This tree is now their foundation. The branches are the years they spent together. The nest can be represented as the life they have built for the son. The wings represent their son's life as he approaches an age to be free.
In this point in the story you find out that the king has died and the wife is heartbroken. The bird, nest, and tree have also fallen. Everything they had worked on together has been taken away. You can assume at this point something happened to their child which destroys the father and leaves him "dead" as losing someone can make you feel lost and dead inside. This puts a big toll on their marriage and the mother is heartbroken by the loss of their child and the loss of their relationship/family.
The feather can be seen as a representation of a memory of the child. It continues to spin like a "spinning song" stuck in the head. When you are going through grief, any sad song on the radio can make you think of what you are grieving over. The feather continuing to spin upwards could possibly be seen as acceptance as well as the reference to the son's impact on the parents in relation to how Elvis left his mark on the world. The writer, being Christian, could see that as their child reaching the heavens. Even so the child is gone and reached the heavens, his memory will forever have an impact on the parents life.
The song ends with the realization that the story about the king was in the character's head. The character being someone dealing with the memories of a lost one. The, "I love you," and "peace will come," section can be seen as the character battling a breakdown due to the memories a song by Elvis brought up. The prior story about a king being a story inspired by the song on the radio and Elvis being referred to as, "The King."
I can emphatise with so much of what Nick is expressing here and this album has been cathartic for me.
Here is a link to this first song.
Nick Cave - Bright Horses
.
.
.
And I love you
And I love you
And I love you
And I love you
And I love you
And I love you
And I love you
Peace will come
Peace will come
Peace will come in time
A time will come
A time will come
.
.
.
The end of spinning song rings out, and then brings us into one of my favourite songs from the album "Bright Horses"
Without spoiling the song too much before you have listened to it, some lyrics that hit me hard on early listens were these two:
"And the little white shape dancing at the end of the hall / Is just a wish that time can't dissolve at all"
“The field are just fields, and there ain’t no lord”
Most of all this next verse below got me and in a kind of a good way as Nick sings it in such a sincere and hopeful way, I'm not sure when my own 5:30 train will arrive, but I do know that my own little baby will be waiting for my wife and I and our boys whenever each of us catches that 5:30 train.
"I can hear the whistle blowing, I can hear the mighty roar
I can hear the horses prancing in the pastures of the Lord
Oh the train is coming, and I'm standing here to see
And it's bringing my baby right back to me
Well there are some things too hard to explain
But my baby's coming home now, on the 5:30 train"
Here is the song, have some tissues at the ready for this one.
Nick Cave - Waiting For You
I remember coming across a fantastic review of the next song Waiting for you on https://www.musicmusingsandsuch.com/ which I will share with you below.
Again I can emphatise with this one so much, and even though we lost our daughter ten years ago, my wife and I both dealt with it differently and it has taken us a long long time to get to where we are no in terms of dealing with it and it completely changed our relationship for a long time. We all grieve differently and we all have different emotional make ups and nobody knows how to deal with loosing a child, as innately we bury parents, not children.
"Whereas one might have expected something quite soothing or ethereal to open the song, Waiting for You, instead, there is a clatter and rumble of percussion that has definite rumble and intent. There is an industrial sound to the drums; a sound that seems familiar but, with Nick Cave, you know the song is not going to be a Dance tune or something similar. Instead, it is a brilliantly atmospheric moment that opens a truly gorgeous song. The piano comes in and replaces the percussion. It is slow and meditative; it has a grace and elegance but, alongside that, there is a sadness that is accompanied by hovering, elevated electronics. Before Cave sings a word, you get this picture of an abandoned scene or night-time drive. Our hero talks of the cool evening breeze and the heroine’s hair being caught and blown. Driving along, they park up by the beach. Cave’s projection is measured and slow; it allows the words to breathe and unfold as one hears every emotion and ounce of his soul going into the song. It seems that some things are better now said and it is best to remain in silence. Whether Cave is referring to a romantic moment where they are capturing the beauty of the surrounding or whether we are experiencing a tense encounter, I am not sure. One cannot help but fall for the sheer wonder of Cave’s delivery and the passion that he puts into the song. The woman’s body is an anchor that never asked to be free; she is in the business of making the hero happy. There are a number of possibilities one can extract from that but, for me, there is a slight hesitancy to this love. One could rush to visions concerning women of the night, but I think Cave’s tryst is purer, yet there is a slight fracture or pause. It makes for arresting listen as the chorus allows the song’s title to be stretched and unfolded so powerfully. Cave’s voice never seems too heavy or mordant. Instead, he is quivering with emotion and desire."
"It makes for one of his most beautiful and moving moments ever. Strings echo and shiver as Cave talks about “a Jesus freak” and a priest running through the chapel. I do wonder whether Cave meant his words to be taken literally or whether there is this sense of metaphor and imagery that symbolises a sense of turmoil and change. It is fascinating unpacking the words and trying to decipher where Cave’s mind is. This heroine’s soul is an anchor and it seems like it is keeping Cave safe and warm. It never asked to be free and, as he sings those words, I wonder whether that is a regret for both. One can interpret that sentiment and feel like Cave is reliant on the heroine and she is being tied down. I think the lyrics are referring to two sweethearts who are, maybe, in different spaces or are divided at the moment. The chorus has a real sense of desire, which makes me think the two are not together. It seems a little bit of faith can go a long way and, my mixes religious imagery and language together with vocals that are exquisitely tender and heartfelt, you cannot help but be affected by Cave’s plight. I had to come back to the song a few times and just play the song without thinking. I just let its power move me and inspire imagery. It is one of the finest tracks I have heard from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Waiting for You ranks alongside the most beautiful songs of 2019. If Skeleton Tree seems to carry a heavy heart, I do think songs such as Waiting for You have a degree of hope and feeling of betterment; like things will turn and we can recover. I would encourage people to listen to the entirety of Ghosteen, but Waiting for You really stood out for me."
Three Tune Tuesday
That's right, it's Tuesday folks and for our merry little band of ladies and lads, that means sharing tunes, good vibes and engagement. As another week disappears in the rearview mirror, we have loads of engagement and tunes flying around on Three Tune Tuesday and sure isn't that bloody fantastic! I hope you're ready to share three tunes from wherever you find yourself on this magical spinning lump of rock that we all call home and sure you might even sing us a tune if we're lucky?
It's a time of the week when lovers of music, tunes and craic bring their blockchain community three of their finest and brightest tunes to share and celebrate, so let's roll on and let the tunes flow free.
This is my 170th week waxing lyrical for Three Tune Tuesday and we are still going strong.
It started off with me just sharing tunes into what seemed like a void, but little by little others joined and now I'm thrilled that we have a little corner of Hive where we come and share our tunes every Tuesday, and long may it continue. I almost stopped posting the songs and thoughts a few times, but I stuck with it and now interestingly it is my favorite thing about Hive. I love music and now I have a network of folks around the world who love music too and we share our tunes and catch up with each others tunes and discuss them each week. We get Pop, Metal, Rock, Gospel, Folk, Jazz, Rap, Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, Reggae, Bippy bappidy Flange Hop. Ok I made that one up, but you get the idea, we are all learning about new artists, bands, back stories and sure isn't it just mighty!
Something that excites me the most is that we even get musicians sharing their covers of famous songs and even their own songs from time to time here on #ThreeTuneTuesday, which is a real favorite of mine, as that takes talent, time and dedication.
We are adding New posters and retaining our core of regulars here on #TTT which is fantastic. Let's keep it growing. Over the years, I have listened to fantastic music shared from like-minded folk from around the globe and interacted with their posts. This has led me to genres I don't know well and to some amazing new bands and artists and has even introduced me to some musical instruments I did not know existed. It also allows me to upvote smaller accounts and find some really interesting people from all over the world, which is heartening.
I hope you enjoy the tunes - be sure to tell me all about it in the comments below and above all else, please enjoy the rest of your Tuesday - smile at a stranger, rub a dog, be a nice human to someone who was not expecting it - peace out.
For those unfamiliar with TTT or Three Tune Tuesday....
The jist is as follows
Every Tuesday I'm going to share 3 songs which I like to listen to and I invite your feedback in the comments below. Better still, why not have a blast of your own Three Tune Tuesday and mention me in the post and I'll come and find the post and upvote it. If you could also use #threetunetuesday tag that would be great, as that is what I use when sifting through all the entries every Wednesday. It'll be a sweet way for us all to discover new music. You'll also be in with a chance of winning the prize - more on that later.
HBI contest - win 10HBI
Share your Three Tune Tuesday songs below or create a post with #ttt or #threetunetuesday and mention me so I can find the post.
I'll pick the three songs I enjoyed the most each week as the winner and transfer 1 share of HBI to the winner when this post pays out 7 days from now, but wait there's more...
Three Tune Tuesday Sponsors
My old pal and brother from another mother @blanchy started a trend and now also commits a share of HBI each week and along came ten more Three Tune legends @blackdaisyft @hannes-stoffel @tengolotodo @inthenow @wwwiebe @grindan @jasperdick @dbooster @thebighigg and @geneeverett so now the winner will receive twelve shares of HBI, not too shabby at all folks.
12 SHARES OF HBI FOLKS!!!! BOOM!!!
Thanks a million to our sponsors above once again.
Sin é, That's all folks, thanks for stopping by.
That's it for another week. Those are your three songs for this week. Let me know what you think - good, bad or indifferent? Did you like them all or just one or two?
Also, as I said before, I love getting good steers for new tunes, so please tell me about the latest and greatest from your playlist below and I'll be sure to check em out.
The YouTube videos shared are not owned by me and I am simply sharing great music with the community here on Hive
Thanks as always for stopping by everyone and a big shout out to @stickupcurator whose continued generous support to #ttt is noticed and truly appreciated - thanks gents.
Peace Out
