Natalie Cole - This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)
The very song that skyrocketed Natalie Cole to fame, though she was already well known as Nat King Cole’s daughter. This song came out in 1975 and became one of her biggest hits, reaching number one as an R&B single.
Charlie Winston - I Love Your Smile
This song is one of the classics. Ironically, I often find that I can’t stop myself from smiling listening to it. Charlie Winston is an English songwriter-performer, though he has gained most of his success while being based in France. “I Love Your Smile” has one of those music videos that perfectly complements the song. It is a joy to watch.
Nat King Cole - L.O.V.E.
There are so many sweeping love songs by Nat that it is nearly impossible to choose just one. I’ve decided to post the most famous. I mean, when the title is “love” itself, its hard not to add it to a week of love songs. The tune was featured on Nat’s album of the same name, and was released in 1965, just before his death that year, the day after Valentine’s Day.
Ella Fitzgerald - Long as I Live
This may be the perfect love song. It speaks of a love that is already solid and true, and the main worry is whether the speaker will be able to love their person for as long as they want to, which is likely longer than their own lifetime. This song is found in Ella’s glorious album “Ella Swings Lightly” (1958). If any of you have a special someone, I’d recommend playing this album while having a candlelit dinner; the two go hand in hand.
This week is the week of St. Valentine. Little is known of him and his identity is obscure, but it is believed he was a third century Roman saint. In the high middle ages, likely the fourteenth century, he became associated with courtly love and to romantic love in general. In one hagiographical account from the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493) he was killed for aiding Christians and, perhaps linking him to romantic love, marrying Christian couples.
Now, we have February 14th, our day of candy hearts, flowers, cheesy films and chocolates. And so this week, we shall be playing some all-time classic love songs and continuing the tradition that the high medieval ages set forth.
This marks the conclusion of our first week.
I thought that I would be able to contentedly pick and choose only a song a day each week, and leave it at that. But I’ve only just begun this, and I’m not yet very good at keeping it concise. So, to satisfy my compulsion to show every song I love that deals with this week’s topic, I’m going to list twenty four more below. You can listen to one an hour!
Airborne - Marie
Airborne was a fantastic group from Vancouver, formed in 1974, and this song was featured on their album “Songs for a City” (1977). As you can hear, they had a great acoustic sound with rich, mellifluous vocals. “Marie” is a fitting song to play on a calm ocean and a gentle breeze. You can hear the gentle warmth of the sun hitting your face while listening to them. In fact, Airborne’s whole album seems to produce this effect. One particular song worth giving a hear is “Sail Away”. Just listen to these lyrics: “Leaving town on a pleasure cruise, nothing to pack but your running shoes.” That sounds like the perfect idea.
Harry Belafonte - Big Boat Up The River
If ever I was stuck on a boat for a long period of time, I would listen to Harry Belafonte ceaselessly. The “King of Calypso” does it again with this wonderful tune from his album “Ballads, Blues and Boasters”, released in 1964. This song tells a story of a man traveling and working on a river, and how he wants to get home to his wife -plus there’s a bit of a twist at the end. Two other great songs by Belafonte, dealing with sailing and sea life, are the infamous Banana Boat Song (Day-O) and his incredible version of Michael Row the Boat Ashore.
Randy Newman - I Will Go Sailing No More
These lyrics get me every time. Anyone who has watched “Toy Story” will recognize this majestic tune. Mr. Newman, one of my favorite songwriters, knows how to get down to the grit of the human spirit. Newman’s lyrics follow the journey Buzz takes in finding who he truly is. This song, as well as the scene, shows the elements of determination and disillusionment -along with, I believe, an acknowledgement of how small one is and how one fits like a tiny puzzle piece in this world. It concisely portrays an array of emotions that many have, or will, experience in life.
“All the things I thought I’d be,
All the brave things I’ve done.
Vanish like a snowflake
With the rising of the sun.”
Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová - Into the Mystic (Van Morrison cover)
A frequent guest in Hansard’s performances, “Into the Mystic” reflects the impact the great Van Morrison had on his musical career. Indeed, Hansard has called Morrison “the greatest living songwriter from [his] country” (1). I heard it once said on CBC Radio Two that Glen sang this song at every live concert. Unfortunately, I have not been to one concert, let alone them all, so I can not corroborate this fact. The song’s lyrics combine language pertinent to sea-side living with an “ethereal”, over-arching message. Morrison himself stated, “I guess the song is just about being part of the universe.”(6) To be sure, when listening to this song, you can’t help being set adrift in its calm, celestial rhythms.
