Glob-a-log

I was reading one of Ken Bruen’s very dark ‘Jack Taylor’ novels and he mentioned a song that he (or at least the main character) liked. It was ‘Sunday morning coming down’ by Kris Kristofferson. According to Bruen (or his alter ego) the song told you all about alcoholism that you needed to know.

So, I put down the book, did a quick Google search and found the song. A good song too. Then I made a note of it and forgot about it for a while.

Today though, I’m in a mood for that kind of music and I was thinking of other drinking songs I like. Not the jolly, happy-clappy ones about smiling, friendly faces and welcoming bars but the ones that offer a somewhat darker, maybe more honest picture.

So, here’s my top three of drinking songs – not a definite one by any means; just three songs I like – and one bonus song as a special, ‘last round’ offer. First, of course, the one Ken Bruen mentioned. A good, proper song – and I love the opening lines:

Well I woke up Sunday morning,
With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes,
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
An’ I washed my face and combed my hair,
An’ stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

Here’s the song:

The second song I’m gonna play for you – well, Youtube will – is by one of my favourite artists: the Belgian singer, Jacques Brel. One of those people who cram a lot of living in the way too few years given to them. He died from cancer, having retired from the stage a few years before that, but he left a great body of work. The next song is called ‘l’Ivrogne’ (The Drunk). It’s about a man, sitting in a bar. These are the opening lines, the French original and my translation:

Ami remplis mon verre
Encore un et je vas
Encore un et je vais
Non je ne pleure pas
Je chante et je suis gai
Mais j’ai mal d’être moi
Ami remplis mon verre
Ami remplis mon verre

(My friend, fill my glass again
one more and I will go
No, I’m not crying
I sing, I’m happy
but I hate being me
My friend, fill my glass again)

And here’s the song:

My all time favourite song writer (and singer) is Leonard Cohen and he too wrote a very fine song about people drinking in a bar, called ‘Closing time’. They seem to be having a good time – but it ain’t exactly paradise we’re dealing with here. These are the opening lines:

Ah we’re drinking and we’re dancing
and the band is really happening
and the Johnny Walker wisdom running high
And my very sweet companion
she’s the Angel of Compassion
she’s rubbing half the world against her thigh
And every drinker every dancer
lifts a happy face to thank her
the fiddler fiddles something so sublime
all the women tear their blouses off
and the men they dance on the polka-dots
and it’s partner found, it’s partner lost
and it’s hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
it’s CLOSING TIME

Here is the complete song. The embedding is disabled, so you’ll have to follow this link to watch it.

Okay, we’re almost done for now. Time to go home, really, but I want to give you one more for the road. A very funny one, by Tom Waits, ‘The piano has been drinking.’ Here are the opening lines:

The piano has been drinking
My necktie’s asleep
The combo went back to New York, and left me all alone
The jukebox has to take a leak
Have you noticed that the carpet needs a haircut?
And the spotlight looks just like a prison break
And the telephone’s out of cigarettes
As usual the balcony’s on the make
And the piano has been drinking, heavily
The piano has been drinking
And he’s on the hard stuff tonight

Here is the song:

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 16:59 and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.