Category: Throwback Thursday

One of my favorite guitar songs a bunch of years ago happened to be a tune called Heavy. I remember coming back from the record store (yes, I do remember record stores) with the CD of a band called Collective Soul. I’d been a fan. Even got a chance to go backstage and meet them once at a gig in Los Angeles. Nice guys. The moment I put the CD in and heard Heavy, I was like “What the fuck?!?” I really dug the opening guitar riff, it was Heavy and it had a very modern sound. Loved it right from the start. So, here are the lyrics from Heavy in all their glory for this Throwback Thursday.

Heavy

Complicate this world you wrapped for me
I’m acquainted with your suffering

All your weight it falls on me
It brings me down
All your weight it falls on me
It falls on me

Hold me up to those whom you’ve deceived
Promises you break you still believe

All your weight it falls on me
It brings me down
All your wieght it brings me down
It brings me down
All your wieght it falls on me
It brings me down
All your weight it falls on me
It falls on me.

All your wieght it falls on me
It brings me down
All your wieght it falls on me
It falls on me.

Songwriters: MONAHAN, PAT/STAFFORD, JAMES W/COLIN, CHARLIE

Enjoy!

A couple of years ago I was privy to a little trip that involved myself, my mother and my sister. We attempt to make at least one trip a year as a little familial unit. The particular trip I’m thinking of was down highway 12 in the state of Utah. On this particular trip we stayed in a little B&B type place in Boulder Utah, not Boulder Colorado. It’s a very small farming community on the south side of Boulder Mountain. While staying at the B&B I was sitting out in the yard around a fire pit. Up walked a local who sat down with a guitar and started up a conversation. He found out that I’m a musician and asked me to play a couple of songs. We had a little fun talking music. This trip also happened to be the first time that I had heard the song Little Bird by Annie Lennox. I enjoyed it so much that I used it as a soundtrack to a slideshow of pictures I made from the trip. There’s something about her delivery on this song that just smacks me inside and makes me want to hear the song over and over any time I happen to play. That’s dangerous.

Little Bird

I look up to the little bird
That glides across the sky
He sings the clearest melody
It makes me want to cry
It makes me want to sit right down
and cry cry cry
I walk along the city streets
So dark with rage and fear
And I…
I wish that I could be that bird
And fly away from here
I wish I had the wings to fly away from here

But my my I feel so low
My my where do I go ?
My my what do I know ?
My my we reap what we sow
They always said that you knew best
But this little bird’s fallen out of that nest now
I’ve got a feeling that it might have been blessed
So I’ve just got to put these wings to test

For I am just a troubled soul
Who’s weighted…
Weighted to the ground
Give me the strength to carry on
Till I can lay this burden down
Give me the strength to lay this burden down down down yeah
Give me the strength to lay it down

But my my I feel so low
My my where do I go ?
My my what do I know ?
My my we reap what we sow
They always said that you knew best
But this little bird’s fallen out of that nest now
I’ve got a feeling that it might have been blessed
So I’ve just got to put these wings to test

Enjoy Your Day and have a great trip sometime!

Taking a look back into pop music history I’m digging out a tune by an artist I have a strange respect for. Growing up guitar didn’t really lend me to wanting to listen to Michael Jackson. However, learning more about him and his career changed that. Once I was finally out of music school I really started getting into artists/bands that were more about the song and not the means in the individual guitars involved. As it so happens, this song is one of my favorite Michael Jackson tunes thanks to the percussive groove that propels it.

In fact a whole lot of my own writing stems from getting an amazing groove going. Much like Michael’s core work. The sense of rhythm that gets your body moving and your head bobbing. My personal feeling is that if the music isn’t moving you in some way. shape or form, then it’s likely doing something wrong. Michael was a definite master of this. No question about it.

They Don’t Really Care About Us

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, aggravation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Bang bang, shot dead
Everybody’s gone mad

All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us

Beat me, hate me
You can never break me
Will me, thrill me
You can never kill me
Jew me, sue me
Everybody do me
Kick me, kike me
Don’t you black or white me

All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us

Tell me what has become of my life
I have a wife and two children who love me
I am the victim of police brutality, now
I’m tired of bein’ the victim of hate
You’re rapin’ me off my pride
Oh, for God’s sake
I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy…
Set me free

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Trepidation, speculation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Black male, black mail
Throw your brother in jail

All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us

Tell me what has become of my rights
Am I invisible because you ignore me?
Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now
I’m tired of bein’ the victim of shame
They’re throwing me in a class with a bad name
I can’t believe this is the land from which I came
You know I really do hate to say it
The government don’t wanna see
But if Roosevelt was livin’
He wouldn’t let this be, no, no

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, speculation
Everybody litigation
Beat me, bash me
You can never trash me
Hit me, kick me
You can never get me

All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us

Some things in life they just don’t wanna see
But if Martin Luther was livin’
He wouldn’t let this be, no, no

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, segregation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Kick me, kike me
Don’t you wrong or right me

All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us

All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about
All I wanna say is that
they don’t really care about
All I wanna say is that
They don’t really care about us

Writer(s): Michael Jackson, Michael Joe Jackson
Copyright: Mijac Music