M. Ward's "You Still Believe in Me"

I just listened to M. Ward's Transistor Radio.  I don't think I've listened to this that much, and last time I listened to it, I almost certainly wasn't as familiar with the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album as I am now.  Because otherwise, I would have noticed that M. Ward's "You Still Believe in Me" is, in some ways, an instrumental cover of the Beach Boys' "You Still Believe in Me" from Pet Sounds.  Mostly, it's a repetition of the opening piano figure, but M. Ward also includes the melody from the verse.  He changes some notes here and there, so it sounds a bit different, but it's still recognizable.

The Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care"

This morning I listened to the Traveling Wilbury's first album, The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1.  I think I'd been somewhat aware of the alliteration in the first verse (also the first line) of "Handle with Care" - "Beat, beat up, and battered around."  But there's a lot in the lyrics that I'd missed.

This alliteration is also present in the third verse:

I’ve been fobbed off, and I’ve been fooled
I’ve been robbed and ridiculed

These lines also demonstrate anaphora with the repetition of "I've been" and internal rhyme with "fobbed" and "robbed."

The third line of the final verse is also alliterative: "Oh, the sweet smell of success."

In the first two verses that feature the alliteration, there are also pairs of opposites.  In the first verse, it's in the line "Been sent up, and I’ve been shot down," with the opposites up and down.  And in the third line of the third verse - "In day care centers and night schools" - the opposites are day and night.

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen's "Good Rockin' Tonight"

This morning I listened to a compilation album of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen titled Too Much Fun: Best of Commander Cody.  I found "Good Rockin' Tonight" (written by Roy Brown) particularly interesting, although not for anything specific to their version (at least not at first).  Mostly, I was interested in the phrase "mighty, mighty man," which appears in the first verse.  "I wanna hold my baby as tight as I can / Tonight she’ll know I’m a mighty, mighty man"

"Mighty, Mighty Man" is the title of a song by Bobby Darin ("by" as in written by and performed by).  So I looked at the lyrics of his song, and I'm pretty sure he took some inspiration from "Good Rockin' Tonight."  It couldn't have been Commander Cody's version because Darin predates him by almost twenty years, but I do have versions of "Good Rockin' Tonight" by Elvis Presley (recorded 10 September 1954) and by Buddy Holly (recorded November/December 1956), both of which predate "Mighty, Mighty Man," which is from 1958.

All of the verses of Darin's song end with the line "Tonight I feel like a mighty, mighty man," which includes not only the phrase "mighty, mighty man," but also "tonight," just like "Tonight she'll know I'm a mighty, mighty man" in "Good Rockin' Tonight."  In the third verse of Darin's song, there's the line "Well, come a little closer, don’t you be afraid," which bears some resemblance to a line in the second verse of "Good Rockin' Tonight" - "Don’t you be afraid, I’d do you no harm."  Also in the third verse, there's the line "I’m gonna love you, little baby, all that I can" (at least, that's the best I could transcribe it as), which has the same sort of idea as "I wanna hold my baby as tight as I can" in "Good Rockin' Tonight."

In looking at the three versions of "Good Rockin' Tonight" I have, I also found some interesting variance in the possessive pronouns in the second verse.  All three direct the girl to "bring along... rocking shoes," but in Elvis' and Buddy Holly's versions, it's "my rocking shoes," where Commander Cody's version has it as "your rocking shoes."  The line after "bring along my rocking shoes" is some variation of "tonight I'm gonna rock away all... blues."  Elvis' and Commander Cody's versions have "all my blues," but Buddy Holly has "all your blues."

I've written about this type of thing before - where tiny words like pronouns and tense markers drastically affect what the speaker/singer is saying - and I never know whether it's an intentional change or not.  Regardless, that's illustrated again here.  In his version, Buddy Holly seems more interested in his girl's well-being than his own, wishing to rock away her blues rather than his own.

The Polyphonic Spree's Together We're Heavy

This morning, I listened to the Polyphonic Spree's Together We're Heavy.

I haven't listened to the album that much, but I had never noticed the descending melody on "down" in the line "it takes a lot to find yourself way down" in "Section 16: One Man Show."  There's even a melisma, breaking "down" into more syllables to emphasize that descending melody.

In "Section 18: Everything Starts at the Seam," there's the line "I think it was the Fourth of July."  I'm pretty sure that an-other time I listened to this I recognized that line but I couldn't place it.  This time I did.  "I think it was the Fourth of July" also appears in Chicago's "Saturday in the Park."  I'm not sure if the Polyphonic Spree took it from that Chicago song, but it's not that common a phrase.  Plus, both bands bear some resemblance to each other in that they use some uncommon instruments, like flute and brass.  So I think it's more likely than not that they took that line from Chicago.

Hey Marseilles' "Gasworks"

This morning I listened to Hey Marseilles' To Travels & Trunks.  I've always liked the line "long nights and hollow days" in "Gasworks," but I discovered something interesting about how it's articulated.  There's a slight pause between "hollow" and "days."  Ostensibly, it's there for enunciation.  Otherwise, the words might bleed into each other and sound like "holidays" or maybe even "hallowed days."  So the pause is there for clarity, but the pause also indicates the despondency and numbness inherent in the phrase "hollow days."  It's as if the singer/speaker doesn't have the energy to even describe the days.

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire's Thrills

I just listened to Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire's Thrills, and - like I did back in March and in August - I found some lyrics that Andrew Bird later re-used.

The line "two sure fatal doses of malcontent through osmosis" (or at least I think those are the words) in "Eugene" also appears as "sure fatal doses, malcontent through osmosis" near the end of "Imitosis" on Armchair Apocrypha.

"Cock O' the Walk" contains the line "took the 4:50 Addison to see Pulaski at night," and I Want to See Pulaski at Night was the title of Bird's EP from 2013.

Additionally, "a dog with a nasal disease" from "Nuthinduan Waltz" seems to be a precedent for "a wolf with a lung disease" from "Natural Disaster" on Noble Beast.

Willi Stanke und Sein Orchester's "Der Schwarzen Panther"

This morning I listened to the first disc of the compilation Swing Tanzen Verboten!, which is subtitled German Swing, Dance, and Jazz Bands 1937-1944.  The opening of "Der Schwarzen Panther" ("The Black Panther") by Willi Stanke und Sein Orchester sounds a lot like part of "Tiger Rag," specifically the part that corresponds to the lyrics "Hold that tiger," provided it's a version of "Tiger Rag" that has lyrics.  The rhythm of the phrase is the same, and in Willi Stanke's version, it's accompanied by a rapid descending phrase, which is also featured in the Mills Brothers' version of "Tiger Rag" (although theirs isn't as rapid).  This descending phrase is also in Canadian Brass' "Tuba Tiger Rag," which they included in their Tiny Desk Concert for NPR.

The problems with determining whether "Der Schwarzen Panther" is a copy of "Tiger Rag" are that there are so many versions of "Tiger Rag" and that they differ so much.  I have versions by Django Reinhardt, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Les Paul, and - as mentioned - the Mills Brothers, but parts of one version sound totally unrelated to parts of an-other version.

The publication data say that it's a different song.  "Der Schwarzen Panther" is credited to Consiglio and Casirolli, where "Tiger Rag" is credited to LaRocca, Shields, Edwards, Ragas, and Sbarbaro (with lyrics by DaCosta).  However, the musical phrase in "Der Schwarzen Panther" is so similar to that in "Tiger Rag" that I can't believe Consiglio and Casirolli didn't have "Tiger Rag" in mind while writing "Der Schwarzen Panther."  Their title mentions a large feline, too.

It makes me wonder just how different a song has to be to be garnered with a different writing credit.  "Tuba Tiger Rag" is credited to Luther Henderson, yet it's not that different from "Tiger Rag."  By hearing the two, you could tell it's the same song.  Assuming that "Der Schwarzen Panther" is a copy of "Tiger Rag," why are Consiglio and Casirolli given their own credit, where the versions by all of these other artists are credited to the original ensemble?  How different does an arrangement have to be to be considered a separate song?

The Byrds' "I Am a Pilgrim"

Earlier I listened to the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and I noticed that “I Am a Pilgrim” is pretty similar to “Wayfaring Stranger.”  I’ve heard a few versions of “Wayfaring Stranger,” but the lyrics I’m most familiar with are actually the ones that Roger McGuinn’s posted on his Folk Den (so this might not be a very impartial assessment).  He also has an entry for "I Am a Pilgrim," which is only slightly different from the version on Sweetheart of the Rodeo.  The lyrics are roughly the same too (typos notwithstanding).

The first verse of “I Am a Pilgrim” matches up to the first verse of “Wayfaring Stranger” pretty closely.  There’s the description of a “stranger” (both songs) “travelling through” (“I Am a Pilgrim”) or “wandering through” (“Wayfaring Stranger”) a land that’s “wearisome” (“I Am a Pilgrim”) or full of “woe” (“Wayfaring Stranger”).  These first two lines are followed by a contrast, specifically the “bright land” (“Wayfaring Stranger”) or “yonder city” (“I Am a Pilgrim”) that the pilgrim is trying to reach.

The next section in each (a verse in “I Am a Pilgrim” but a chorus in “Wayfaring Stranger”) talks about relatives who have already reached the pilgrim’s destination:  “I’ve got a mother, sister, and a brother / Who have gone this way before” in “I Am a Pilgrim,” and “I’m going there to see my father” in “Wayfaring Stranger.”  The second chorus of “Wayfaring Stranger” starts with “I’m going there to see my mother.”

Both also mention the Jordan River (“I’m going down to the river of Jordan / Just to bathe my wearisome soul” in “I Am a Pilgrim” and “I’m just a-going over Jordan” in “Wayfaring Stranger”), but I don’t think the river has the same rôle in both songs.

I also have a book that contains the music and lyrics for “I Am a Pilgrim.”  It’s from 1964, so it predates the Byrds’ version of the song, but it still includes these similarities to “Wayfaring Stranger.”  The lines are slightly different though.  Instead of “I’ve got a mother, sister, and a brother / Who have gone this way before,” the book has “I got a mother, sister, and a brother / Who have gone to that sweet land.”  And where the Byrds’ version has:

I’m going down to the river of Jordan
Just to bathe my wearisome soul
If I can just touch the hem of His garment, good Lord
Then I’d know He’d take me home

the book has:

As I go down to the river of Jordan,
Just to bathe my weary soul,
If I could touch but the hem of His garment, good Lord,
Well, I believe it would make me whole

It’s the same idea, but slightly different grammatically.  The book’s lyrics also rhyme (“soul”/“whole”) where the Byrds’ version doesn’t (“soul”/“home”).

A lot of folk songs exist in slightly different versions (like the version of "I Am a Pilgrim" in this book I have and the Byrds' version), so I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere back in history, "I Am a Pilgrim" and "Wayfaring Stranger" were the same song.

[Last April, I recorded a version of "Wayfaring Stranger," for which I wrote some additional vocal parts.]

The Mountain Goats' "Dance Music"

This morning I listened to the Mountain Goats' The Sunset Tree.  I'd noticed before how the harmonies in "This Year" come in during the line "twin high-maintenance machines," in order to musically portray what's in the lyrics, but this morning I discovered that this feature is also present in "Dance Music."  Aside from the choruses, the only part with a harmony vocal is the line "I don't wanna die alone."  Like "twin high-maintenance machines" in "This Year," it's an-other instance where the musical qualities add to the lyrics.

In both songs, there are harmony parts in the more anthemic sections ("I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me" and "dance music," for example - the choruses of both songs), but in some verses (moreso in "This Year" than in "Dance Music"), the harmony parts serve to emphasize particular lines, sort of like musical underlining or highlighting.

Waylon Jennings' "Lucille (You Won't Do Your Daddy's Will)"

This morning I listened to a compilation album of Waylon Jennings.  I was surprised to find that "Lucille (You Won't Do Your Daddy's Will)" turned out to be the same song as Little Richard's "Lucille."

I compared Jennings' version with Little Richard's, just to make sure, and I noticed that some of the lyrics are different.  Jennings' version has lines like, "Lucille, you won't do your daddy's will" and "There ain't nothing to you, but I love you still," where Little Richard's has "Lucille, you won't do your sister's will" and "You ran off and married, but I love you still."  Jennings' alliteration ("Lucille, you won't do your daddy's will") is more concentrated and easier to find than Little Richard's ("Lucille, you won't do your sister's will").

In the "I woke up this morning" sections, Jennings' version changes the lyrics in the repetition.  So the first time, the line is "I asked my friends about her, but all their lips were tied," and the second time, it's "I asked her friends about her" (emphasis added).  Jenning's speaker/singer is concerned to the point that he not only asks his own friends, but he asks Lucille's too.  In Little Richard's version, the line is the same both times.

I think Jennings' version has more lyrical complexity, but Little Richard's has a great rock 'n' roll energy (and he also co-wrote the song with Al Collins, which certainly counts for something), so I don't think one is better than the other.