I am aware that ‘left’ has always been the dispised younger brother of right. The Romans used the word ‘sinister’ for left and we have taken the word to indicate something uneasy. Left-handed people have always been look on with suspicion. Indeed my father was forced to become right handed at school because left-handedness was thought not to appropriate for education. So I am expecting that there will be less choice in the selection of songs for ‘left’. Let’s see.
The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D Major was composed by Maurice Ravel between 1929 and 1930. It was commissioned by the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm during World War I. The Concerto had its premiere in January 1932, with Wittgenstein as soloist performing with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
“I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is a song, written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, with music by George Cory (1920–1978) and lyrics by Douglass Cross and best known as the signature song of Tony Bennett. In 1962, the song was released as a single by Bennett as the b-side to “Once Upon a Time”, peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard. The song is one of the official anthems for the city of San Francisco.
“Left of Center” is a song written by Suzanne Vega and Steve Addabbo which was released as part of the soundtrack to the 1986 film Pretty in Pink. It features Joe Jackson on piano. It was released as a single and reached No. 35 in Australia, No. 28 in Ireland and No. 32 in the UK.
“Left to My Own Devices” is a song by English duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the second single from their third studio album, Introspective (1988). It was also the first track of the album. The single fared better than the album’s lead single, “Domino Dancing”, charting three positions higher in the UK, at number four. It became the first track that Pet Shop Boys recorded with an orchestra, arranged by Richard Niles. Since its release, it has become a staple of Pet Shop Boys live performances.
Left Outside Alone” is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her third studio album. Written primarily by Anastacia as well as Dallas Austin, and Glen Ballard detailing the singer’s strained relationship with her estranged father. The song was released as the album’s lead single in March 2004, to both critical and commercial success. The song peaked at number one in Australia, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland; number two in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway; and number three in the United Kingdom and Hungary, while overall it became the sixth-biggest-selling European single of 2004.
“Chord Left” is the first track on ‘Aventine’ the second studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel, released in September 2013 by PIAS Recordings. The album received positive reviews from music critics. It was also a commercial success, charting inside the top 40 of the charts in nine countries. On Aventine, Agnes Obel commented : “I recorded everything quite closely, miking everything closely in a small room, with voices here, the piano here – everything is close to you. So it’s sparse, but by varying the dynamic range of the songs I could create almost soundscapes. I was able to make something feel big with just these few instruments.”
“Left Handed Kisses” is a track from ‘Are You Serious’ the tenth solo studio album by Andrew Bird, released in April 2016. The album features collaborations with Fiona Apple and Blake Mills. Fiona Apple was his first choice to appear on the single “Left Handed Kisses”, and he contacted her through mutual friends. The track’s recording session was, according to Bird, “a long whiskey-fuelled night.” The music video for the single “Left Handed Kisses”, directed by Phil Andelman, was released on March 14, 2016, and features Bird and Apple sitting by a window and singing to each other.
