The obscure song thread

[DocRafiki]

Originally posted by Joeblack
And yet another awesome eighties song most people don't know by name. I am sure most of you have heard it. Can you name it?

"So you wanna be a-- rock and roll star
Well, times have-- changed, that's all I say
You still need-- an electric guitar
But most of all you need that radio radio play
All day, all day, play and play and play

This is so strange. I don't know the 80's song, but I do know that in concert, Adam Duritz of counting crows sometimes begins his song "Mr Jones" with similar lyrics, so I'm dying to know what this comes from. I have a recording of him singing...

So you wanna be a rock n roll star
Well listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
Take some time, and learn how to play
Learn how to play

I was down at the New Amsterdam
Staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr Jones strikes up a conversation with a black-haired Flamenco dancer...

I never knew those intro lyrics weren't original , but I love it when he does covers anyway

 

[DocRafiki]

I remember "I Beg Your Pardon" by Kon Kan! It is NOT as bad as "Tubthumping"! GASP!

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by dmadman43
Now you've done it. I'll have this song in my head the rest of the evening.
Edward Baer - The Last Song

(LOL) There are worse fates I suppose. Its a great tune.
I wonder if Mr Baer ever had another hit.

 

[Teejay32]

I like Tubthumping. I think it qualifies as obscure.

I like it better than

wanna put my tender
heart in a blender
watch it spin around in a beautiful oblivion

which got stuck in my head for a while.

 

[dmadman43]

Originally posted by DocRafiki
This is so strange. I don't know the 80's song, but I do know that in concert, Adam Duritz of counting crows sometimes begins his song "Mr Jones" with similar lyrics, so I'm dying to know what this comes from. I have a recording of him singing...

So you wanna be a rock n roll star
Well listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
Take some time, and learn how to play
Learn how to play

I was down at the New Amsterdam
Staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr Jones strikes up a conversation with a black-haired Flamenco dancer...

I never knew those intro lyrics weren't original , but I love it when he does covers anyway

This song was orginally done by They Byrds in the 60's. It's been covered by a ton of folks since - Roxette, Patti Smith, Counting Crows, I'm not familiar with this alternate rendition.

 

[DocRafiki]

What's the name of The Byrds' song? That's before my time.

 

[Joeblack]

OK. The song I wrote the lyrics above is "Killer Cut" by Charlie, and I am positive that everybody has listened to it but cannot identify it by name. It comes in an album called "Fight Dirty".

As for Kon Kan's song, it was a great song, but, besides the title being part of the lyrics, had nothing to do with Lynn Anderson's Rose Garden.

 

[mivvers]

Joe, I hate to belabour this, but the lyrics you posted from the Kon Kan song were taken directly from the original Rose Garden. I downloaded it from Limewire to satisfy my curiosity and it sounds like a direct sample.

Have fun playing, you guys!

 

[Joeblack]

The confusion might be in the fact that some people believe that the title of Lynn Anderson's "Rose Garden" is "I Beg Your Pardon" when it isn't. If you downloaded "I Beg your Pardon" from Limewire, it was Kon Kan's song that you got, not "Rose Garden".

Here are the complete lyrics to both songs:

Artist: Lynn Anderson
Title: Rose Garden
Year: 1971

I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine there's gotta be a little rain sometime
When you take you gotta give so live and let live and let go oh oh oh oh
I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden

I could promise you things like big diamond rings
But you don't find roses growin' on stalks of glover
So you better think it over
When it's sweet talking you could make it come true
I would give you the world right now on a silver platter
But what would it matter
So smile for a while and let's be jolly love shouldn't be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine there's gotta be a little rain sometime
I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden

I could sing you a tune and promise you the moon
But if that's what it takes to hold you I'd just as soon let you go
But there's one thing I want you to know
You'd better look before you leap still waters run deep
And there won't always be someone there to pull you out
And you know what I'm talking about
So smile for a while and let's be jolly love shouldn't be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

I beg your pardon I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine there's gotta be a little rain sometime.....

----------------------------------------------------
Artist : Kon Kan
Song : I Beg Your Pardon
Year: 1989


There once was a time and there once was a way
We had something going and to my dismay
Attention to me seemed to drift though I don't know where

And when we're alone seems there's nothing to say
I bring up a topic and you push it away
You say that you do but I think it's just you don't care
Why do I feel you're using me

Are we an item or are we just two
I need some commitments all I ask of you
Your lifestyle can change
Don't be 'fraid what you think's in store

I know what's on your mind you've got lots to lose
Your shallow acquaintances what's there to choose
Yuo won't get too deep even though I'm worth so much more

So think about it carefully

Smile for a while and let's be jolly
Love shouldn't be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

Do you want to hustle?
Do you want to salsa?

Do you want to hustle?
Do you want to salsa?

If that's how you want it; that's how it'll be
There's no use in trying or making you see
That love don't come easy you don't know what it's about

To get things together won't take any pain
Don't need to see/hear from you ever again
From this day on listen but no more
Please count me out, and you know what I'm talkin' about

Smile for a while and let's be jolly
Love shouldn't be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can

I know now's the time that I went to find something new
You know it's your crime that I'm out to find someone too

 

[mivvers]

Wow Joe, that was a lot of work.

I did download Kon Kan's song. The lyrics you posted originally are the same -- word for word -- in both songs, as everyone can now see, and in the version I downloaded, it sounds like a direct sample.

So there are similarities, after all ... you told me I wasn't even close when truthfully, that's not true.

Whew! Just had to back myself up, now I'll leave it alone, if you will.

 

[WDWHound]

Looks like we need more songs. Heres one that I really like and I am always suprised that more people haven't heard of it.

"Room gets suddenly still
and when you'd almost bet you can hear yourself sweat,
he walks in"

And here is a really schmaltzy tune from 1972:

"But why In spite of our age difference do I cry?
Each time I leave you I feel I could die
Nothing means more to me than hearing you say
"I'm going to marry you. Will you marry me? Oh hurray!"

 

[mivvers]

WDWHound, that second song of yours convinced me to keep playing .... my uncle used to play it to me when I was a little girl. It's Claire (or Oh Claire) by Gilbert O'Sullivan. I think the last line is: I'm going to marry you, will you marry me, Uncle Ray. Makes me cry every time!

 

[mivvers]

....or at least that's how my uncle used to sing it. I just double-checked and your version is right!

Here's some more, late 70s, I believe (a friend's band used to cover this):

And the love that I feel is so far away
I'm a bad dream that I just had today
And you shake your head and say it's a shame.

 

[WDWHound]

Mivvers, yours was "Thick as a Brick" by Jethro Tull.

I thought it would take longer for someone to get Clair. Most people remember his big hit (Alone Again, Naturally), but I don't run in to too many who remember Clair. My sister user to play the 45 for Clair over and over and over and over, so its burned into my brain permenantly now (LOL). Thats a neat story about your uncle.

Any guesses on my first one?

 

[Joeblack]

"Brother Love's Salvation" (or something along the lines) by Neil Diamond. I believe David Spade sang that tune in a movie about 2-3 years ago.

"Claire" is a beautiful tune. WDWhoud...how about this one:

"What's in a dream
Is it all the things you'd like to have been
All the places that you haven't yet seen
Tell me what's in a dream"

 

[DocRafiki]

bump.