The other day the musical phrase "Del-ta Da-a-a-wn what's that flower you've got on ... could it be a faded rose from days gone by?" came to mind -- completely unasked for. My mind of course continued to sing along to the too well remembered ditty, "and did I hear you sa-a-y, he was meeting you here today ... to take you to his man--siooon in the sky!"
Someone told me recently that Cee Lo Green's great FU number ("Forget You" in polite circles) had turned into one of those tunes that everyone in the bar sings along with whenever it comes on the juke box. I was immediately (a) disappointed it doesn't appear to be on my local pub's juke box, and (b) how in the 1970s entire bars in Willits erupted with off key, inebriated renditions of "Delta Dawn." No doubt what planted the tune in my subconscious.
As usual when such well remembered bits of musical story come to mind I marveled at how many of the lyrics I seemed to remember. That is usually accompanied by the compulsion to sing the whole darned song out loud (if alone) or at least mentally, to test just how much of the song I could get through before the endless repeat of the one stanza that seems to stand out in memory. Then, of course, I'm stuck with the endless repeats as that particular song seems to get stuck in "replay" mode ... what Daniel J. Levitin calls an "ear worm" ["This is your brain on music, the science of a human obsession." 2006, A Plume Book, pg 155]. Levitin's book is real gem, I heartily recommend it! <3
So why did all those men and women of different ages and backgrounds all relate to the story of the poor Tennessee lady left in the lurch at the station by her fiancée? And is Cee Lo's tale one of despair or revenge? I don't know but it's got a good beat and I'd give it 65.
Someone told me recently that Cee Lo Green's great FU number ("Forget You" in polite circles) had turned into one of those tunes that everyone in the bar sings along with whenever it comes on the juke box. I was immediately (a) disappointed it doesn't appear to be on my local pub's juke box, and (b) how in the 1970s entire bars in Willits erupted with off key, inebriated renditions of "Delta Dawn." No doubt what planted the tune in my subconscious.
As usual when such well remembered bits of musical story come to mind I marveled at how many of the lyrics I seemed to remember. That is usually accompanied by the compulsion to sing the whole darned song out loud (if alone) or at least mentally, to test just how much of the song I could get through before the endless repeat of the one stanza that seems to stand out in memory. Then, of course, I'm stuck with the endless repeats as that particular song seems to get stuck in "replay" mode ... what Daniel J. Levitin calls an "ear worm" ["This is your brain on music, the science of a human obsession." 2006, A Plume Book, pg 155]. Levitin's book is real gem, I heartily recommend it! <3
So why did all those men and women of different ages and backgrounds all relate to the story of the poor Tennessee lady left in the lurch at the station by her fiancée? And is Cee Lo's tale one of despair or revenge? I don't know but it's got a good beat and I'd give it 65.
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