Our third collection of songs of ‘Lions’ brings together several pieces that use ‘Lion’ in the singular rather than the plural. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is a song originally written and recorded by Solomon Linda under the title “Mbube” for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. Linda’s original was written in isiZulu, while […]
David Crosby
Once again another 20th Century musical icon has left the stage and so I am interrupting my Animal Songs series (in which I recently featured one of his recordings) to pay tribute to the late David Crosby. David Crosby was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a […]
Animal Music – Lions 2
A second visit to the Lion enclosure brings us another fine selection of songs. “Gold Lion” is the first single by American indie rock band YeahYeah Yeah’s from their second album, Show Your Bones. Distinct in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ discography, it features acoustic guitar and a more slowed-down pace in contrast to earlier works […]
Animal Songs – Goats 2
Another gentle graze through the wonderful world of songs about goats. Although GOAT has also become an acronym for the phrase ‘Greatest Of All Time”. “Paddy McGinty’s Goat” is a comic song written in 1917 by English songwriters Bert Lee and R.P. Weston in collaboration with the American performing duo The Two Bobs (Bob Alden […]
Animal Songs – Goats 1
As you might expect the only way to follow a series of posts about sheep is with something featuring goats. “The Lonely Goatherd” is a popular show tune from the 1959 Rodger and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. This song tells the whimsical story of a goatherd whose yodelling is heard from far off […]
Animal Songs – Lions 1
“Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” is a famous line spoken by Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow, in the film The Wizard of Oz. While walking through the dark forest, they get scared when they start hearing noises coming from the foliage around them. The Scarecrow wonders if there are any animals out […]
Animal Songs – Sheep 3
For our final selection of music that references ‘Sheep’ it is time to listen to some classical offerings. “Sheep May Safely Graze” is a common name for Cantata 208 by Johann Sebastian Bach composed in 1713 as a secular choral work. Although best known for ‘Sheep May Safely Graze’, this particular work is described as […]
Animal Songs – Sheep 2
Today we focus on that rarest of sheep – the so called ‘black’ one. Black sheep is an English idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The negative overtones of the use of the term ‘black’ in this context […]
Jeff Beck
I am suspending the Animal Songs series for the day to mark the passing of one the great guitar players of modern rock music. Beck helped to provide the soundtrack of my early musical life and so I wanted to feature some of his music on the blog this morning. As a teenager Beck learned […]
Animal Songs – Sheep 1
Today we begin thinking about ‘Sheep. This will no doubt take several posts to complete as there are many examples from classical, popular and modern music. “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and used in the 1954 film White Christmas. It is commonly performed as a Christmas […]