1000 SONGS - DAY 32 - SONGS #53-55

Day 53 - A song you want to play at your wedding

First choice for songs played at any wedding are songs that would work well as party-songs. In that respect, I would choose the same songs for my wedding (if I wasn't yet married) as for my funeral, both events representing great occassions to have a rousing party. Songs in this category could also be "great love songs" or "songs about marrying". The artistic work of ROWLAND STUART HOWARD (1959- 2009), former member of The Birthday Party and Crime and the City Solution contains songs and albums refering to wedding, honeymoons and the like. We could name among those his collaboration with Lydia Lunch: Honeymoon in Red, a concept album featuring musicians like Nick Cave , Thurston Moore, Mick Harvey or Genevieve McGuckin, a later member of THESE IMMORTAL SOULS, alongside Rowland, Epic Soundtracks (1959-1997, brother of Nikki Sudden; when putting together this post I realized that these people are of my generation, many of them born in 1959 like me) and Rowland|s zounger brother Harry. Here is the debut single of These Immortal Souls, MARRY ME (LIE! LIE!):

SEE THAT MY GRAVE IS KEPT CLEAN is a song by BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON, prominently featured on Bob Dylan's debut album, Bob Dylan. Many singers and bands have done versions of it, among them Steve Wynn's Dream Syndicate on their 1988 album "Ghost Stories" (the version I would like to hear at my funeral - in case that there is some chance to hear anytghing on your own funeral), Lou Reed and Grateful Dead.

Let us start with BLJ:

Well there's one kind of favor I'll ask of you
Well there's one kind of favor I'll ask of you
There's just one kind of favor I'll ask of you
You can see that my grave is kept clean
And there's two white horses following me
And there's two white horses following me
I got two white horses following me
Waiting on my burying ground
Did you ever hear that coffin sound
Did you ever hear that coffin sound
Did you ever hear that coffin sound
Means another poor boy is under the ground
Did you ever hear them church bells toll
Did you ever hear them church bells toll
Did you ever hear them church bells toll
Means another poor boy is dead and gone
And my heart stopped beating and my hands turned cold
And my heart stopped beating and my hands turned cold
And my heart stopped beating and my hands turned cold
Now I believe what the Bible told
And there's one last favor I'll ask of you
And there's one last favor I'll ask of you
And just one last favor I'll ask of you
You can see that my grave is kept clean

Here is a very dramatic version done by DIAMANDA GALÁS, great american vocalist/artist/performer of Greek origin:

Day 55 - A song that makes you laugh

Finally, after all this earnest stuff, a song that makes me laugh. I dig Zappa once again, Although it does not make me laugh in the strict sense of the word, Muffin Man is a funny song, written by Zappa & Cptn. Beefheart, from Bongo Fury; the version I found on UTUBE does not feature the story about the MM at the beginning, but is a rather good performance, in my opinion:

The muffin man is seated at the table in the
laboratory of the utility muffin
Research kitchen... reaching for an oversized
chrome spoon he gathers an
Intimate quantity of dried muffin remnants and
brushing his scapular aside
Procceds to dump these inside of his shirt...
He turns to us and speaks:

"some people like cupcakes better. I for one
care less for them!"

Arrogantly twisting the sterile canvas snoot of a
fully charged icing
Anointment utensil he poots forths a
quarter-ounce green rosette (oh ah yuk
Yuk... let’s try that again...!) he poots forth a
quarter-ounce green rosette
Near the summit of a dense but radiant muffin of
his own design.
Later he says:

"some people... some people like cupcakes
exclusively, while myself, I say
There is naught nor ought there be nothing so
exalted on the face of god’s grey
Earth as that prince of foods... the
muffin!"

Girl you thought he was a man
But he was a muffin
He hung around till you found
That he didn’t know nuthin’

Girl you thought he was a man
But he only was a-puffin’
No cries is heard in the night
As a result of him stuffin’