C F
Have you ever seen a one trick pony in the field so happy and free?
C G
If you’ve ever seen a one trick pony, then you’ve seen me.
Have you ever seen a one-legged dog making its way down the street?
If you’ve ever seen a one-legged dog, then you’ve seen me.
F C
Then you’ve seen me… I come and stand at every door.
F C
Then you’ve seen me… I always leave with less than I had before.
F C Am7
Then you’ve seen me. Bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor…
G F Am7
Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more?
G F C
Tell me, can you ask for anything more?
Have you ever seen a scarecrow filled with nothing but dust and wheat?
If you’ve ever seen that scarecrow, then you’ve seen me.
Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze?
If you’ve ever seen a one-armed man, then you’ve seen me.
CHORUS
C F C
These things that have comforted me, I drive away.
C F C
This place that is my home, I cannot stay.
C F C Am7
My only faith’s in the broken bones and bruises I display…
Have you ever seen a one-legged man trying to dance his way free?
If you’ve ever seen a one-legged man, then you’ve seen me…
** These chords and lyrics are interpretations and transcriptions, respectively, and are the sole property of the copyright holder(s). They are posted on this website free of charge for no profit for the purpose of study and commentary, as allowed for under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law, and should only be used for such personal and/or academic work. **
For Beach Boys / Culture Club chords & lyrics, CLICK HERE!
By Chris Moore:
The general public’s response to my video tonight will most likely be:
“Culture Club? Finally!”
Since I’ve been focusing so heavily on more recent music, I decided tonight to go back to one of the best bands of all time, the Beach Boys! (You might be thinking: “Wait, I thought he said ‘Culture Club,’ and you’d be right. Be patient; all will become clear soon…) For the past week, I’ve been listening back and forth to newer and older music. In the car, it’s been newer — Wilco and Marcy Playground — and in the house, it’s been older — Beach Boys and George Harrison. (I’m trying to iron out my George Harrison essentials playlist; I made the first selection of tracks months ago, but the recent release of the Let it Roll CD has inspired me to finally make the next set of cuts necessary to carve out the compilation.)
For tonight’s session, I’ve chosen to cover “Passing Friend,” a track from the Beach Boys’ self-titled release back in 1985. This song was penned by George O’Dowd — better known as Boy George — and Roy Hay of Culture Club. (So, I suppose, this technically isn’t a Culture Club song, but it’s as close as we’re going to come on this blog at least for now!) “Passing Friend” is generally considered to be a disposable track on what is often considered a disposable album in the Beach Boys catalog.
Nonsense!
Okay, so maybe “Passing Friend” is somewhat disposable. But let’s be very clear here that The Beach Boys (1985) is one of my favorite albums of all time. I think that I’m one of only two people who would give it that distinction, but it really is an enjoyable, versatile, all-around great album. “Passing Friend” isn’t one of the strongest songs on the album by any means, but it’s still a solid track. I was surprised by how easy and fun it was to learn, play, and record an acoustic cover of the over-produced studio version.
The story behind the song is based on members of the then-popular band Culture Club — singer Boy George and guitarist/keyboardist Roy Hay — writing a track for the Beach Boys to record. It seems that the Beach Boys were experimenting with new ways to regain some semblance of relevance in a musical climate that was drastically different from their 1960’s hey day. At the time, Culture Club had taken a break after touring England. Hay was involved in a new band (This Way Up) and Boy George was making the rounds on the club scene. Although they came together to write this song, Culture Club was destined to disband the following year due to tensions within the band and Boy George’s addiction to drugs.
Thus, we have “Passing Friend,” a deep track if I’ve ever heard one! I hope you enjoy this stripped down version. Maybe it will even encourage you to give The Beach Boys (1985) either a shot or a second chance…
To address old business, I had promised in last week’s cover song music video post that I would bring you a double header this week. Well, today was a tremendously busy day, so I decided to hold off, as I need just a little more time to focus and figure out the chords for the second of the two songs. I won’t give them away just yet, but suffice it to say that I’m presenting an all-new band to the blog. They are big time one hit wonders — probably for good reason — and I’ll be recording a video of their hit single, as well as the single from their most recent album.
There’s more to come — including a very special post, one that is very near and dear to me.
I realize this is all very vague, but believe me: these posts promise to be well worth your time clicking back to the best acoustic cover song blog in the universe! (And we’re modest, too…) There’s plenty more musical fun in the archive.
“New Pony”
Bob Dylan (Covered by the Dead Weather)
A
I had a pony; her name was Lucifer.
I had a pony; her name was Lucifer.
A E
She broke her leg and needed shooting;
E A
I swear it hurt me more than it could’ve hurted her.
Sometimes I wonder what’s going on with Miss X.
Sometimes I wonder what’s going on with Miss X.
She got such as sweet disposition;
I never know what the poor girl’s gonna do to me next.
I got a new pony; she knows how to fox trot, lope, and pace.
I got a new pony; she knows how to fox trot, lope, and pace.
She got great big hind legs;
Long big shiny hair hanging in her face.
SOLO
Everybody says you’re using voodoo; I’ve seen your feet walk by themselves.
Everybody says you’re using voodoo; I’ve seen your feet walk by themselves.
Oh baby, but that god that you’ve been praying to
Gonna give you back what you wishing on someone else.
Come over here, pony; I wanna climb up one time on you.
Come over here, pony; I wanna climb up one time on you.
You oh so nasty and you’re so bad,
But I swear I love you, yes, I do.
Hello and welcome to the final Monday post of 2009! It’s been quite a year, and certainly a year of changes and improvements here at the best cover song music video blog in the universe. For starters, we came up with a weekly schedule of new material that did NOT involve each of us recording a video once every three days.
The “session-a-day” concept may not have been the brightest idea I ever had…
I started the year playing a simple, pretty little Big Star song called “Thirteen,” covers of which I had heard performed by Elliott Smith and Wilco. In much the same way, I wanted to end the year with another simple but catchy song. I chose the Wilco track “Far, Far Away,” an acoustic song that incorporates harmonica — another definite plus! Over the past year and a third, I’ve recorded Wilco songs from all of their studio albums (including both Mermaid Avenue releases) except for two. Since this song was originally on the 1996 double album Being There, I now only have one uncovered album to select from in the future.
Thanks to the Christmas break, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to sit back and play this song over the past five days. By the time I hit “Record with iSight” on my iMovie earlier today, this song felt like second nature. It’s one of those songs that is deceptively simple, and I respect the original Wilco version even more now, especially the way Tweedy’s vocals resonate throughout. I was also fortunate enough to be in the right groove and managed to arrange and record my session for the next week. Because it would be my first session of the new year, I wanted to pick a thematically relevant song. The track I picked is fairly simple, but I initially had difficulty translating it to an acoustic performance. Overall, I am very pleased with my recording, and I couldn’t wait to post it the next year.
Um, I mean the next week.
Outside of these songs, I’ve been thinking a lot about my top thirty rock albums of the decade list. I was due to post it in less than a week, so the pressure was on. I’ve had the list ready for weeks, but I keep listening to more of the albums again and, consequently, the positions of many of them have been fluctuating. For instance, I’ve been agonizing over my decision to make Maroon number five instead of number four. So, especially after conversations with Nicole and with Mike and Alb tonight, I’ve decided I need to spend some more time reconsidering my options, and then finalize this thing. After all, the reason I’m doing this in the first place is to (a) have a reason to revisit some of my favorite albums of the past ten years and think about them all over again, and (b) spark conversation with my friends and share opinions, engage in debates, and explain justifications for the rankings. Just tonight, Mike made a great argument for Snacktime being one of the best albums of the decade.
One more to consider…
Outside of music, I haven’t been getting any grading done yet this break, but I have been reading. I’m one chapter into The Wilco Book, a book I’ve been excited about reading since I first got into Wilco over a year ago. It was the perfect gift, as I could never bring myself to buy it. I’ve also been reading Revolution in the Air, a book by my favorite “Dylanologist,” Clinton Heylin. Heylin has somehow managed to compile a list of 600 original Dylan compositions written between 1957 and 2006 and organized them by when they were written (that’s right — when they were written, not recorded). The story behind each song is explained, and even though I’m only forty pages in, it’s a fascinating read. Just when I thought I had read all there was of interest about Bob Dylan, this book comes along…
Finally, I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie last night. Because I teach several Holmes stories to my Mystery class, I was hesitant about enjoying the action-packed previews. Fortunately, the movie is excellent: Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law perfectly play their parts as Holmes and Watson, and the film manages to balance action and an interesting mystery. It was so much fun, that I’ve finally set off on a goal I’ve had for some time but never followed through with: to read all 56 Holmes stories penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Nicole and I have taken turns reading the first seven “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” to each other, the most recent being “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” If you know what a carbuncle is, then you are probably just as confused by the title as I originally was. Let’s just say that the story centers around a different kind of carbuncle than the common meaning of the word.
And, on that side note, I’m about ready to get some sleep. Before I go to bed, I’m going to finish watching Live Free or Die Hard, sort through the rest of my old bills and records (shredding whatever I can before moving), and continue to write and organize the poems I’m compiling for an upcoming poetry collection. In fact, there’s one poem I’ve had nearly finished in my head since I was washing my hands before dinner yesterday, so I better write that one down before I lose it…
