My new obsession--Emily Portman

I am so enamoured with Emily Portman. 

She has a master's degree in folk music  She has a voice like an angel under water. A strange and haunting voice, sometimes harsh and discordant, sometimes melodic and ethereal. She sings about the darkest fairy tales, murder ballads and mythology.

Like me, many of her ideas come to her in the Dreamtime.

I want to BE her.

I love her the way that I love Kate Bush and Loreena McKennitt for their unusual voices and storytelling. She is like the musical version of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Literary subject matter, exquisite attention to detail.

I first discovered her when I was writing my Murder Ballad Monday series where I was researching every different version I could find of Child Ballad 10 (The Twa Sisters.) She does a haunting version of this song which you can read about or listen to {HERE}

I do not know why I never investigated her other songs until now. But once I heard them, there was no going back. I found her BANDCAMP PAGE where you could digitally download her albums, but i was hoping for a proper CD with beautiful artwork on the cover and liner notes to answer my questions.

Luckily I found her HOME PAGE and she was having a sale on her CDs. You could get three of them

The Glamoury
Hatchling
Coracle

all for £20 plus postage. Plus she said she would autograph them! I realise that CDs are dinosaurs...digital is in and artwork and liner notes are out. So i was extremely thankful that she was selling them off so i could get a piece of beauty as well as the music.

If you like these songs, please do go to one of her pages and buy them.

I just want to share with you my favourite songs from The Glamoury. I have not had the chance to listen to the other CDs yet. However, liner notes tell me that the first song on Hatchling is a lullaby from Leda (who was raped by Zeus in the form of a swan) to her hatchlings. The poem LEDA AND THE SWAN by Yeats has long been a favourite. I can't wait to listen to it properly.  

Song one:
Tongue Tied. This a version of the fairy tale The Seven Ravens (similar version-- The Seven Swans) Basically, a mother wishes for a daughter and curses her seven sons who who are turned into ravens. The only way for them to be freed from their enchantment is for the sister to be silent for seven years as she weaves and stitches them seven shirts made from sharp thistles (some versions say stinging nettles). In most versions she marries and has children and her mother in law, fearing she is a witch, steals the babies and accuses her of cannibalism.  She cannot speak to defend herself or else her brothers will be ravens forever. At the moment of her execution, the seven years are up and she cries out and gives the shirts to the ravens who are transformed and plead her case. Sadly, she wasn't able to finish the shirts as she was about to be burned at the stake and so her youngest brother retains one raven's wing.

Listen to it here (helpful lyrics included.)

Song two:
Stick Stock. A favourite childhood tale of mine full of murder, cannibalism, reincarnation and revenge. The Juniper Tree has a stepmother murdering her stepchild (in this case a daughter in a sort of "jealous of her beauty in Snow White sort of way", but i have also seen it where the brother is murdered.)  The mother cooks the child and feeds it to the unwitting father, but the brother who knows what happened will not eat. He gathers her bones (sometimes tying them in a silk handkerchief) and buries them under the juniper tree. The spirit of the murdered child is reborn into a songbird who sings a refrain that says:

 My Stepmother slew me 

My dear Father ate me 

Little brother whom I love 

Sits below, I sing above

In many versions the bird sings the song around town exchanging the tune for gifts for the family, such as a pair of boots for the father, a toy from the brother and a millstone for the stepmother. As a child i spent hours trying to picture how a tiny songbird carried any of these things but particularly a millstone. The gifts are given and the stepmother is crushed under the weight of the millstone and dies. In a few versions (though not this one) the death of the stepmother reverses the death of the child and they are transmogrified from bird form back to human.

This is one of her discordant and angular songs, but i love it.

Listen to it here (helpful lyrics included):

Song 3:
Hide. I was just struck in the solar plexus by this song. I had no idea what it was based on. Since it involves the killing of a horse and using it's skin as well of themes of an abusive spouse my first thought was it was a version of Donkeyskin. But no. This is based on an old  ballad The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin. The ballad is about a man who marries above him and his wife refused to do her duty (either in the bedroom or with cooking and cleaning). He cannot beat her because of her high status, but he can beat his animals and so he kills his mare (or sheep or other farmed animal) and covers his wife with the skin and gives her a good hiding. In the traditional ballads, the beating "fixes" her attitude and she behaves. It is a comedy ballad about how to get your wife to stay in line. Emily Portman has turned this into both a feminist and animal right's anthem. The refrain of
Hide Woman Hide/ She won't lay down her pride is extremely powerful and the double meaning of the word hide a really good choice.

Listen to it here:

Song 4:
Grey Stone. A song about a Selkie. In traditional folklore a Selkie is a seal who can take off her skin and become a woman. If her skin is stolen, she will have to remain a human and marry the man who stole the skin and bear his children, though she will forever long for the sea. In this song a daughter reunites her mother with her seal skin .

Listen to it here:

The harmonies in this are exquisite. They vibrate like a harmonium.

I cannot wait to explore these albums further. I suspect they will give me many dreams that will turn into short stories.

Murder Ballad Monday-- Hazard by Richard Marx

Hello and welcome to the very last Murder Ballad Monday. I started this journey 56 weeks ago, not really knowing where it would lead. I began by exploring different variations of the traditional ballad The Twa Sisters (I found over 30 different versions, some of which were non-English versions) and then I went on to other favourite songs about murder and death. I have really exhausted every song that I loved, discovered some new ones along the way, and have had a wonderful time researching and writing up my findings and sharing it with everyone. I just feel like I am ready to move on to something else. Yes, there are hundreds more murder ballads out there and I could just write about them, but this has been a personal journey and a labour of love. I wanted to only write about songs that mattered to me and it would feel disingenuous of me to continue with just any old songs. But fear not, loyal reader. I have plans for a series of posts where I explore the darker versions of fairy tales. If you only know the Disney versions, be prepared to be scandalised.  

                             

So, what song is my last murder ballad of the series? The 1992 song Hazard by Richard Marx. It’s one I remember because of the video and the mystery behind it. I spent many hours watching VH-1 and hoping it would reappear, so I could add more clues into my log book. Yes, I had a log book where I wrote down clues from the video and tried to analyse the lyrics. I loved it because it was like watching a crime drama, but with singing. A musical version of Law and Order.  

I was not the only one who was obsessed with the videos (yes—there were at least 2 different videos, the second one containing more clues in the form of dialogue, but VH-1 showed it showed less and I only saw it once or twice. There was also a rumoured third version that I never saw) because there are still several fan sites where people write their own theory of the crime and analyse it to the extreme. These are my people. If you want to read their theories go HERE and HERE.

I really like it because I could never decide. I wanted to say he was innocent and just mistrusted because he was an outsider—I certainly knew that that felt like. But then the video shows us disturbing footage of his mother (who bears a great resemblance to the murdered girl) having an affair and the anger he felt as a child when he witnessed it. There is also footage of a burning house—the house with his mother and her lover. Was on an accident? Or did he know exactly what he was doing? Mary is murdered after he sees her with a lover in a car. Is it history repeating itself or is it just bad luck?

There are other clues. The song lyrics contradict the video. Wikipedia says:

The video makes it apparent that he flees the scene where he sees Mary with the unidentified person, leaving his scarf behind, which is later used as an attempt to place him at the scene. Yet the lyrics state that he 'left her by the river [...] left her safe and sound', which contradicts the video. Additionally, how would he know that he left her there, if he had not been with her, because she 'went walking alone and never came home'? 

And then there’s the creepy Sheriff. He is seen following Mary in his car and taking secret photographs of her with the Richard Marx character. Is he some sort of pervert? Is he worried about Mary’s safety with Marx’s character as he has a history of bumping off promiscuous women? Did he do it and frame Marx?

What about the lover? He is seen getting down with Mary in a car (how classy) as both the Sheriff and Richard Marx look on. Marx runs away, leaving his scarf behind. The scarf that will later be used to strangle her. Mary is seen to run away and chase after Marx. Was the lover jealous? Did he do it and frame Marx or was Marx jealous and commit the crime of passion?

What about suicide? The second video has dialogue that declares that suicide was a theory due to lack of evidence. Did Mary feel guilty for betraying Marx’s character by boning that dude in the car and then kill herself? But then how did she strangle herself with the white scarf? Or did she? We only have the Sheriff’s word that that is how she actually died.

Marx even made appearances on VH-1 when the two versions of the video aired urging the viewer to watch and .and see if you can figure out who killed Mary."

We will never know. So, as my parting gift to you, loyal reader, I leave you with the mystery. Who do YOU think killed her?

Here are the videos. Lyrics below in case you need to write them in your log book for later analysis.

Version one:

Version two:

                                    

"My mother came to Hazard when I was just seven
Even then the folks in town said with prejudiced eyes
That boy's not right
Three years ago when I came to know Mary
First time that someone looked beyond the rumors and the lies
And saw the man inside

We used to walk down by the river
She loved to watch the sun go down
We used to walk along the river
And dream our way out of this town

No one understood what I felt for Mary
No one cared until the night she went out walking alone
And never came home
Man with a badge came knocking next morning
Here was I surrounded by a thousand fingers suddenly
Pointed right at me

I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound
I need to make it to the river
And leave this old Nebraska town

I think about my life gone by
And how it's done me wrong
There's no escape for me this time
All of my rescues are gone, long gone

I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound
I need to make it to the river
And leave this old Nebraska town

Thanks to everyone who has stood by me for the last 56 weeks and read all the murder ballads I had to share. I hope you will continue my journey as I explore the history of fairy tales, the original darker sources which have been sanitised by Disney.

I hope to see you in 2018 on Fairy Tale Friday.

Murder Ballad Monday--Jenny was a Friend of Mine (The Killers)

Hello and welcome to the penultimate Murder Ballad Monday. These last weeks will deal with ambiguous songs—did they or didn’t they? First person songs where the protagonist swears they are innocent.

But are they?

                            

The song I want to examine this week is Jenny Was a Friend of Mine by The Killers from their 2004 album Hot Fuss. It is a part of The Killers' alleged "Murder Trilogy", which consists of three songs detailing the murder of a girl named Jenny. The other two being Midnight Show (also off of Hot Fuss) and Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf  (released in 2007.)

I was first introduced to this song (and the band The Killers) by my friend Iain back when we lived in England. The first thing that struck me was how it reminded me of Richard Marx’s Hazard (which I will be looking at next week.) Hazard was written two years before Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and we’ll explore more about it next week.

What really got me about this song was the Did he/Didn’t he aspect of it. The protagonist has been arrested. He has been grilled repeatedly about his whereabouts and what happened when he saw Jenny last. Exhaustedly, he proclaims:

I know my rights, I’ve been here all day and it’s time
For me to go, so let me know if it’s all right
I just can’t take this, I swear I told you the truth

He admits to a fight on the promenade out in the rain, but said he said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go. He doesn’t know what happened. He says over and over:

There ain’t no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine.

So, did he do it or is he a convenient scapegoat?

There is another line that the protagonist often repeats that is a bit more worrisome. Twice he says the creepy words

           

           She couldn’t scream while I held her close. I swore I’d never let her go.

That sounds rather suspicious. Perhaps there is a good reason to detain him. According to Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers there is. When the song is performed live, the line she couldn't scream while I held her close, is often replaced by she couldn't scream while I held her throat, or she kicked and screamed while I held her throat, which is considerably more blatant. His intentions are clear. I think I prefer the sinister quality of the ambiguous words, personally.  

I have also read several accounts online that this song was inspired by the Preppie Murder in 1986 where the murderer Robert Chambers was known to the victim Jennifer Levin and used the defence “Why would I do this? Jennifer was a friend of mine” after her body was found raped and mutilated in Central Park.

Here is Jenny was a Friend of Mine. I have included the lyrics below if you want to follow along.

We took a walk that night, but it wasn’t the same
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn’t scream while I held her close
I swore I’d never let her go

Tell me what you wanna know
Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on
There ain’t no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine

So come on, oh come on, oh come on

I know my rights, I’ve been here all day and it’s time
For me to go, so let me know if it’s all right
I just can’t take this, I swear I told you the truth
She couldn’t scream while I held her close
I swore I’d never let her go

Tell me what you wanna know
Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on

And then you whisper in my ear
I know what you’re doing here
So come on, oh come on, oh come on
There ain’t no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for the very last Murder Ballad Monday.

Murder Ballad Monday--Goodbye Earl (Dixie Chicks)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. For the past few weeks we've been looking at murder ballads with a humorous slant. This week we have a black comedy country song by the Dixie Chicks entitled Goodbye Earl. 

The video features an all-star cast and is the tale of a BFF friendship, domestic abuse, pinky-swearing, murder and zombies. Well, maybe not that last one. But, if you watch the video to the end you'll see what I mean.

The song was originally written by Dennis Linde and recorded by Sons of the Desert in the late 1990's but was made popular by the Dixie Chicks in 1999 on their fifth album Fly. 

                     

A few radio stations refused to play it because it was said to promote violence. The Chicks' Emily Robison says, "We're not promoting murder, and we even say that in a disclaimer on our album. Besides, is there a gentler way to go than with black-eyed peas?"

A few years alter this song was released, the band would receive death threats and tremendous loss of sales and support from the country music community over comments about the Iraq war made by lead singer Natalie Maines.
She said:

"Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas."

But back to the song. I love this song and the accompanying video because of the story it tells and how it makes you root for the murderers--even when you know murder is wrong. Domestic violence (just like gun violence) is no laughing matter, but this song (like The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun) doesn't take itself too seriously. The tongue is firmly planted in cheek here.

Enjoy the video, but I have included the lyrics below if you are interested.

Mary Anne and Wanda were the best of friends
All through their high school days
Both members of the 4H club, both active in the FFA

After graduation
Mary Anne went out lookin' for a bright new world
Wanda looked all around this town and all she found was Earl

Well, it wasn't two weeks after she got married that
Wanda started gettin' abused
She'd put on dark glasses or long sleeved blouses
Or make-up to cover a bruise
Well she finally got the nerve to file for divorce
And she let the law take it from there
But Earl walked right through that restraining order
And put her in intensive care

Right away Mary Anne flew in from Atlanta
On a red eye midnight flight
She held Wanda's hand as they worked out a plan
And it didn't take 'em long to decide

That Earl had to die, goodbye Earl

Those black-eyed peas, they tasted alright to me, Earl
You're feelin' weak? Why don't you lay down and sleep, Earl
Ain't it dark wrapped up in that tarp, Earl

The cops came by to bring Earl in
They searched the house high and low
Then they tipped their hats and said, thank you ladies
If you hear from him let us know

Well, the weeks went by and spring turned to summer
And summer faded into fall
And it turns out he was a missing person who nobody missed at all

So the girls bought some land and a roadside stand
Out on highway 109
They sell Tennessee ham and strawberry jam
And they don't lose any sleep at night, 'cause

Earl had to die, goodbye Earl

We need a break, let's go out to the lake, Earl
We'll pack a lunch, and stuff you in the trunk, Earl
Is that alright? Good! Let's go for a ride, Earl, hey!
Ooh hey hey hey, ummm hey hey hey, hey hey hey

Stay tuned next week for an ambiguous song--did he or didn't he? 

Murder Ballad Monday--The Irish Ballad (Tom Lehrer)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. Last week we began looking at murder ballads with a humorous slant. This week is no exception.

If you don't know Tom Lehrer then you don't know what you are missing. He is a Harvard educated mathematician who was famous for his pithy, humorous songs. His dry sense of humour really appeals to me and was one of the first things Spiderman and I discovered we had in common--a love for these witty songs.

He is known in the adult world for songs like The Elements where he sings all the elements on the Periodic table to the tune of I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.

He is know in the kiddie world as the singer of some of the best songs from The Electric Company such as LY and Silent E. I still use both of these when teaching to explain these concepts.
                                  
But the song I want to discuss today is entitled The Irish Ballad from his 1953 album Songs by Tom Lehrer which makes fun of of this style of sob-story tragedy ballads, so common in Irish lore. He sings with a perfectly straight face an increasingly disturbing catalogue of murders by a young girl who does her whole family in. He includes elements of traditional folk ballads--an "idiotic refrain" with the words rickety-tickety-tin, interminable verses and a wrong note played every now and then to sound authentic.

There are even two punchlines--one where she arrested for her crimes and one where the singer denounces the audience saying:

My tragic tale, I won't prolong,
Rickety-tickety-tin,
My tragic tale I won't prolong,
And if you do not enjoy the song,
You've yourselves to blame if it's too long,
You should never have let me begin, begin,
You should never have let me begin.

It is a true masterpiece of comedy. I have included the lyrics below if you'd like to follow along. 

 About a maid I'll sing a song,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
About a maid I'll sing a song
Who didn't have her family long.
Not only did she do them wrong,
She did ev'ryone of them in, them in,
She did ev'ryone of them in.

One morning in a fit of pique,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
One morning in a fit of pique,
She drowned her father in the creek.
The water tasted bad for a week,
And we had to make do with gin, with gin,
We had to make do with gin.

Her mother she could never stand,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
Her mother she could never stand,
And so a cyanide soup she planned.
The mother died with a spoon in her hand,
And her face in a hideous grin, a grin,
Her face in a hideous grin.

She set her sister's hair on fire,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
She set her sister's hair on fire,
And as the smoke and flame rose high'are,
Danced around the funeral pyre,
Playin' a violin, -olin,
Playin' a violin.

She weighted her brother down with stones,
Rickety-tickety-tin,
She weighted her brother down with stones,
And sent him off to davy jones.
All they ever found were some bones,
And occasional pieces of skin, of skin,
Occasional pieces of skin.

One day when she had nothing to do,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
One day when she had nothing to do,
She cut her baby brother in two,
And served him up as an irish stew,
And invited the neighbors in, -bors in,
Invited the neighbors in.

And when at last the police came by,
Sing rickety-tickety-tin,
And when at last the police came by,
Her little pranks she did not deny,
To do so she would have had to lie,
And lying, she knew, was a sin, a sin,
Lying, she knew, was a sin.

My tragic tale, I won't prolong,
Rickety-tickety-tin,
My tragic tale I won't prolong,
And if you do not enjoy the song,
You've yourselves to blame if it's too long,
You should never have let me begin, begin,
You should never have let me begin.

That's all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a tale of a white trash murder.

Murder ballad Monday--The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun (Julie Brown)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. Up until now, all of the ballads have been serious. I hadn't really thought about the fact that a song about murder could be funny (even silly) until I thought about this song.

So, for the next few weeks we will look at murder ballads with a humorous slant.

Last week we looked at a very serious song about gun violence. Working in a school in Louisiana, I saw my share of gun violence and how it affected my students. I am very serious when it comes to guns. I don't think it is clever or funny to pretend to shoot anyone. In the UK, I have always pulled a child aside and talked to them about the gun violence I have seen and how it is not a good way to play. They are often shocked when they hear true stories about real shootings. True stories about children I know who were shot.

So, why is this song an exception? Well, The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun is less about shooting and more about being part of those 1950's doo-wop Teenage Tragedy songs. You know, like Leader of the Pack or Tell Laura I Love Her. It is a satirical look at the shallowness of teenage girls rather than about mass shootings (even though it contains one.)
                     
I first heard this song on the Dr Demento show.  I fell in love with Julie Brown and her silly Valley Girl persona (see also: Cause I'm a Blond from the film Earth Girl's Are Easy) and Spiderman and I continually quote this song to each other, even now.

Julie Brown has said that after the Columbine High shootings, she doesn't feel comfortable singing this song in her live shows anymore and I understand that. In 1983, you could still make fun of things like this. These days, it just feels too tragic to do so.

The song was originally released as a B-Side to her self-released single I Like 'Em Big And Stupid and was later re-released in  1984 on her Goddess in Progress and re-released again on her 1987 album Trapped In The Body Of a White Girl. 

The video, full of Julie Brown at her Valley Girl best, was a huge hit with Spiderman and me. We still say things like Stop it Debbi, you're embarrassing me! whenever the other person does something outlandish in public As well as An hour later the cops arrived and I said . . . in her good ear. 

The video is a comic masterpiece, so you don't want to miss it. You do have to suspend your disbelief as she shoots around 24 times and never reloads, but it is a comedy so I can let it slide.  However, I have included the lyrics below if you'd like to follow along.

Did you see that bit at the end where someone steals her tiara? Priceless.

It was homecoming night at my high school
Everyone was there, it was totally cool
I was real excited, I almost wet my jeans
Cause my best friend Debbi was homecoming queen

She looked so pretty in pink chiffon
Riding the float with her tiara on
Holding this humongous bouquet in her hand
She looked straight out of Disneyland
You know, like, the Cinderella ride
I mean definitely an E-ticket


The crowd was cheering, everyone was stoked
I mean it was like the whole school was totally coked or something
The band was playing "Evergreen"
Then all of a sudden, somebody screamed
"Look out—the homecoming queen's got a gun"

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun

Debbi's smiling and waving her gun
Picking off cheerleaders one by one
Oh, Buffy's pompom just blew to bits
Oh no, Mitzi's head just did the splits
God, my best friend's on a shooting spree
Stop it, Debbi, you're embarrassing me
How could you do what you just did
Are you having a really bad period?

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun

(Stop Debbi, you're making a mess
Powder burns all over your dress)

An hour later, the cops arrived
By then the entire Glee Club had died—no big loss
You wouldn't believe what they brought to stop her
Tear gas, machine guns, even a chopper

(Throw down your gun and tiara and come out of the float)

Debbi didn't listen to what the cop said
She aimed and fired, and now the math teacher's dead
Oh, it's really sad, but kind of a relief
I mean, we had this big test coming up next week

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun

(Debbi's really having a blast
She's wasting half of the class)

The cops fired a warning shot that blew her off the float
I tried to scream "duck" but it stuck in my throat
She hit the ground and did a flip, it was real acrobatic
But I was crying so hard, I couldn't work my Instamatic
I ran down to Debbi, I had to find out
What made her do it, why'd she freak out
I saw the bullet had got her right in the ear
I knew then the end was near

So I ran down and I said, in her good ear
"Debbi, why did you do it"
She raised her head, smiled, and said
"I did it for Johnny"

Johnny
Well, like, who's Johnny
Answer me, Debbi, who's Johnny
Does anybody here know Johnny
Are you Johnny
There was one guy named Johnny
But he was a total geek
He always had food in his braces
Answer me, Debbi, who's Johnny
Oh god, this is like that movie "Citizen Kane"
You know, where you later find out Rosebud was a sled
But we'll never know who Johnny was
Cause, like, she's dead

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a
Everybody run
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun.

  

 It was homecoming night at my high school

Everyone was there, it was totally cool
I was real excited, I almost wet my jeans
Cause my best friend Debbi was homecoming queen

She looked so pretty in pink chiffon
Riding the float with her tiara on
Holding this humongous bouquet in her hand
(Bouquet)
She looked straight out of Disneyland
You know, like, the Cinderella ride
I mean definitely an E-ticket


The crowd was cheering, everyone was stoked
(Was stoked)
I mean it was like the whole school was totally coked or something
The band was playing "Evergreen"
Then all of a sudden, somebody screamed
"Look out—the homecoming queen's got a gun"

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun

Debbi's smiling and waving her gun
Picking off cheerleaders one by one
Oh, Buffy's pompom just blew to bits
Oh no, Mitzi's head just did the splits
God, my best friend's on a shooting spree
Stop it, Debbi, you're embarrassing me
How could you do what you just did
Are you having a really bad period?

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun

(Stop Debbi, you're making a mess
Powder burns all over your dress)

An hour later, the cops arrived
By then the entire Glee Club had died—no big loss
You wouldn't believe what they brought to stop her
Tear gas, machine guns, even a chopper

(Throw down your gun and tiara and come out of the float)

Debbi didn't listen to what the cop said
She aimed and fired, and now the math teacher's dead
Oh, it's really sad, but kind of a relief
I mean, we had this big test coming up next week

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun

(Debbi's really having a blast
She's wasting half of the class)

The cops fired a warning shot that blew her off the float
I tried to scream "duck" but it stuck in my throat
She hit the ground and did a flip, it was real acrobatic
But I was crying so hard, I couldn't work my Instamatic
I ran down to Debbi, I had to find out
What made her do it, why'd she freak out
I saw the bullet had got her right in the ear
I knew then the end was near

So I ran down and I said, in her good ear
"Debbi, why did you do it"
She raised her head, smiled, and said
"I did it for Johnny"

Johnny
Well, like, who's Johnny
Answer me, Debbi, who's Johnny
Does anybody here know Johnny
Are you Johnny
There was one guy named Johnny
But he was a total geek
He always had food in his braces
Answer me, Debbie, who's Johnny
Oh god, this is like that movie "Citizen Kane"
You know, where you later find out Rosebud was a sled
But we'll never know who Johnny was
Cause, like, she's dead

Everybody run
The homecoming queen's got a gun
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a
Everybody run
Everybody run
The homecoming queen has got a gun.

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a (not so) traditional Irish Ballad

Murder Ballad Monday--I Don't Like Mondays (The Boomtown Rats)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. Last week we took a small detour into the land of disco, but this week we look at a more serious murder ballad that is based on a true story. 

These days, sadly, there are many incidents of school shootings. This was one of the first to really make headlines due to the senseless nature of the shooting--a crime with no real reasons.  

On January 29, 1979 in San Diego, California, 16-year-old  Brenda Spencer fired thirty rounds of ammunition into the schoolyard of Grover Cleveland Elementary School from her house across the street, killing the principal and a custodian as well as wounding eight children and a police officer. She then barricaded herself in her house.

A reporter reached Spencer by phone while she was still in the house after the shooting, and asked her why she did it. She answered: "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day."

Prior to the shooting, Spencer had been a pupil at a facility for problem students due to issues with truancy as well as burglary and shooting BB guns to kill birds in her neighbourhood. A psychiatric evaluation arranged by her probation officer recognised Spencer as suicidal and recommended she be admitted to a mental hospital for depression, but her father refused to give permission For Christmas 1978, her father gave her a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle with a telescopic sight and 500 rounds of ammunition. Spencer later said, "I asked for a radio and he bought me a gun." She speculated that her father had wanted her to kill herself. 

She was clearly very disturbed and in need of help. Spencer was tried as an adult and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and as of June 2017, remains incarcerated. 

On the day of the shooting in 1979, Irish rocker Bob Geldof, lead singer of The Boomtown Rats (later to star as Pink in Pink Floyd’s film The Wall and to be the co-founder of Band Aid and Live Aid) was being interviewed at a WRAS (Georgia State University's campus radio station) when he heard the news come over the telex machine.

                             

Telex machine: It was a bit like sending a fax as it was connected to the phone. It was like a print version of sending a Morse code telegraph communication.

According to Wikipedia, Geldof explained how he wrote the song:

I was doing a radio interview in Atlanta with [Johnnie] Fingers and there was a telex machine beside me. I read it as it came out. Not liking Mondays as a reason for doing somebody in is a bit strange. I was thinking about it on the way back to the hotel and I just said 'Silicon chip inside her head had switched to overload'. I wrote that down. And the journalists interviewing her said, 'Tell me why?' It was such a senseless act. It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it. It wasn't an attempt to exploit tragedy.

Spiderman and I first heard this song in 1990 when we were exchange students on our home-stay experience. We bought a double cassette from Woolworth’s in Pinner entitled Milestones and this was the second track on side one.

                               

Just like Bob Geldof, we were struck with the senselessness of it all. There was no reason behind it. These days, with every tragedy that unfolds due to gun violence, I find myself thinking of this song. 

I have included the lyrics below if you’d like to follow along.

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody's gonna go to school today
She's going to make them stay at home
And daddy doesn't understand it
He always said she was as good as gold
And he can see no reason
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be sure

Oh, oh, oh tell me why
I don't like Mondays

Tell me why
I don't like Mondays

Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down

The Telex machine is kept so clean
As it types to a waiting world
And mother feels so shocked
Father's world is rocked
And their thoughts turn to their own little girl
Sweet sixteen ain't that peachy keen
Now, it ain't so neat to admit defeat
They can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need oh, woah 

Tell me why
I don't like Mondays

Tell me why
I don't like Mondays

Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot
The whole day down
Down, down
Shoot it all down 

All the playing's stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die
And then the bullhorn crackles
And the captain tackles
With the problems and the how's and why's
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die, die

Oh, oh, oh and the silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody's gonna go to school today
She's going to make them stay at home
And daddy doesn't understand it
He always said she was as good as gold
And he can see no reason
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be sure

Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
Tell me why

I don't like Mondays
Tell me why

I don't like, I don't like, I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like, I don't like, (tell me why) I don't like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I want to shoot, the whole day down

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a very different sort of school shooting. 

Murder Ballad Monday--Copacabana (Barry Manilow)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday.

 Loyal reader, I had not intended to include this song in my list of favourite murder ballads. It had completely slipped my mind. As I was writing last week's entry I was completely prepared to move straight into a song about a school shooting. I had the next seven weeks of murder ballads planned out.

Then last week, I was listening to the radio and this song came on. I boogied around our kitchen pretending to be a sexy showgirl until the part of the song comes on and you don't know who has been shot and I suddenly realised--This is a murder ballad. 

I had never considered it that way before, but it fits. It has all the hallmarks of a murder ballad. It tells a story. A jealous lover. Someone dies. A mystery. It just does it to a disco beat. It's from Barry Manilow's 1978 album Even Now.
                              

This was a favourite song from my childhood, precisely because it tells a story that could be easily acted out. I spent a great portion of my childhood dressing up and acting in front of a mirror. I preferred characters who were sad or downtrodden or bravely dying so I could try to make myself cry. I played orphans, teens with a drinking problem or unwanted pregnancy as well as Beth from Little Women and Lenny shooting George from Of Mice and Men.

Lola the showgirl was perfect for me as she showed character progression. One minute she was doing the cha-cha, the next she was a faded alcoholic. I had this yellow sparkly outfit that I had left over from a dance recital that had some yellow feathers on it. I used to put it on and reenact this song in front of the mirror. It was also the perfect song for me as I loved (still do!) disco. Spiderman says this tells you everything you need to know about me.

I loved the very precise descriptions--they worked from eight til four. I used to ponder over that. Was that eight at night until four in the morning? Surely not! But it was a club . . . so perhaps so. We get a good description of Lola's clothing (yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there) but we never find out about Tony's appearance. He tended bar, so I always pictured him in one of those half aprons and looking like Isaac the bartender from The Love Boat as this was my entire frame of reference for bartenders at this point in my life. Now Rico, he wore a diamond. I spent many hours contemplating this fact. Where did he wear it? As a pin on his lapel? In a ring? I asked my father where men might wear a diamond and he suggested cuff links and then explained what cuff links were. I rejected this theory because cuff links come in pairs and the song only mentions a diamond in singular. My father then suggested it was on his tie-pin.  I also loved the mystery element to it. You know that Tony and Rico had a struggle and as the song says, But just who shot who? 
Then you find out that Tony was killed which caused Lola to sit there so refined and drink herself half-blind and you are left to wonder--what happened to Rico? Was he charged with murder?

Sound effect fact: I adored the bit where Rico called her over and whistled. I used to act this bit too as I knew just what sort of "c'mon" gesture that was required.

Silly fact: My friend Tammy and I used to occasionally sing the lyrics She lost her youth and she lost her toenail, now she's lost her mind.

So, here I leave you with the only disco murder ballad I am aware of. If you know of another one, please let me know.

I have printed the lyrics below in case you would like to follow along.

And to double your pleasure, here is Liza Minnelli singing Copacabana on the Muppet Show.

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
And while she tried to be a star, Tony always tended bar
Across a crowded floor, they worked from 8 till 4
They were young and they had each other
Who could ask for more?

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)
At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Copa....they fell in love

(Copa Copacabana)

His name was Rico, he wore a diamond
He was escorted to his chair, he saw Lola dancin' there
And when she finished, he called her over
But Rico went a bit too far, Tony sailed across the bar
And then the punches flew and chairs were smashed in two
There was blood and a single gun shot
But just who shot who?

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)
At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Copa....she lost her love

(Copa. . Copacabana)
(Copa Copacabana) (Copacabana, ahh ahh ahh ahh)
(Music and passion...always the fashion)

Her name is Lola, she was a showgirl
But that was 30 years ago, when they used to have a show
Now it's a disco, but not for Lola
Still in the dress she used to wear, faded feathers in her hair
She sits there so refined, and drinks herself half-blind
She lost her youth and she lost her Tony
Now she's lost her mind!

At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana (Copacabana)
The hottest spot north of Havana (here)
At the Copa (CO!), Copacabana
Music and passion were always the fashion
At the Copa....don't fall in love

(Copa) don't fall in love
Copacabana
Copacabana

That's all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a murder ballad about a school shooting. 

Murder Ballad Monday--The Wedding List (Kate Bush)

 Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. We've recently been exploring many ballads based on dashing Highwaymen which have a more classical feel to them. Today, I would like to introduce you to murder ballad based on a Western.

The Wedding List by the stunning Kate Bush is everything you'd expect in a song by her--sky high vocals, enormous wide-eyed looks, angular mimes, over the top performance and unusual-never-before-done subject matter. The song was inspired by the 1968 Western film The  Bride Wore Black  by François Truffaut.

                                   

If you don’t know the film, basically the plot is this: {SPOILER ALERT}

A groom is accidentally murdered on the day of his wedding by a group of five people who shoot at him from a window. They were members of a hunting club and were horsing around with the gun when it went off. The bride succeeds in tracking down each one of the five and kills them in a row. The last one happens to be in jail, so she lets herself be arrested for killing the others and manages to kill the last one in prison.

                                        

The song was premiered during the Christmas Special in 1979 and appeared a little over eight months later on Kate's third album, Never For Ever.

It is a masterpiece of story-telling as well as a perfect reminder of what the 80’s looked like—all frizzy crimped hair and way too much makeup.

Kate Bush is a bit Marmite—you either love her or you hate her. Personally, I adore her and her creativity. She never does anything by halves, and this song is no exception.

I love the story element of it,

I love her crazy, jerky almost marionette style dancing on the chorus that perfectly matches the discordant tone of her voice.

I love that her brother Paddy plays both the Vicar in the filmed wedding scene and the “baddie” in the live portions.

I love her perfect breasts in that wedding dress.

I love the way she appears to either bite a blood capsule or manage to smear her lipstick all over her teeth, so at the end as she’s singing her heart out all wild eyed and crazy and her mouth is filled with red.

I love the way her voice goes up in the stratosphere at the end and she does that little hop—it reminds me of Yosemite Sam, for some reason.

I also really love that this premiered on a Christmas special. Only in Britain.

The video is a masterpiece--like a mini film-- but I have also included the lyrics below if you'd like to follow along. And if you are one of the people who don't like her voice (it can be sort of shrill), then skip the video and listen to the video below it. It is an early demo of the song, just Kate and a piano, and it is more melodic and less jarring. Lyrically, it is slightly different. It is fascinating to me to see her editing process and see how the lyrics changed over time. I am so pleased that she altered it to include my favourite line 

You got what you gave by the heel of my bootie.

Bang-bang--Out! like an old cherootie.

And now the earlier demo:

No, I'll never give the hunt up,
And I won't muck it up.
Somehow this is it, I knew.
Maybe fate wants you dead, too
We've come together in the very same room,
And I'm coming for you!

Do you think I'd ever let you
Get away with it, huh?
He swooned in warm maroon.
There's gas in your barrel, and I'm flooded with Doom.
You've made a wake of our honeymoon,
And I'm coming for you!"

"All of the headlines said 'Passion Crime"
'Newlyweds Groom Shot Dead
'Mystery Man.' God help the bride
She's a widow, all in red,
With his red still wet. She said--"

I'll put him on the wedding list!
I'll put him on the wedding list!
I'll get him, and I will not miss.

Now, as I'm coming for you,
All I see is Rudi.
I die with him, again and again.
And I'll feel good in my revenge.
I'm gonna fill your head with lead
And I'm coming for you!

And when it's all over you'll roll over
The butt of my gun:
One in your belly, and one for Rudi.
You got what you gave by the heel of my bootie.
Bang-bang--Out! like an old cherootie,
I'm coming for you!

"All of the headlines said 'Passion Crime:
'Newlyweds Groom Shot Dead
'Mystery Man.' God help the bride!
She's a widow, all in red,
With his red still wet. She said--"

She sure got him on the wedding list
I'll got him on the wedding list!
I'll got him, and I will not miss.
I'll put him on the wedding list!

"And after she shot the guy,
She committed suicide.
I'm coming, Rudi!
"And later, when they analysed,
They found a little one inside.
"It must have been Rudi's child."
I shot, I shot, I shot him honey!
"Never mind, she got the guy."
He hit the ground, Rudi!

"An eye for an eye."
Ashes to ashes
"Eye for an eye."
I hit him, hit him
Rudi!, Rudi!
I'm coming coming, coming honey
"Eye for an eye."
Rudi!

Stay tuned next week for a murder on the dance floor. 

Murder Ballad Monday--Whiskey in the Jar (Thin Lizzy and Metallica)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. Last week we looked at a dashing Highwayman and his sweetheart Bess from the poem by Alfred Noyes put to music by Loreena McKennitt. This week, we continue with the theme of the Highwayman, but from a different source.

Whiskey in the Jar is a traditional Irish song about a Highwayman who is betrayed by his wife or lover. What a contrast to last week's ballad where the lover gave her life to try to save her sweetheart!  It is set in the southern mountains of Ireland as many versions mention the counties of Cork and Kerry, specifically. The song originally comes from a song entitled The Highwayman and the Captain, but was adapted into the version we know today in 1967 by the Irish folk band The Beasley Brothers and later became the signature song for The Dubliners.

I first heard a version of this by Peter, Paul and Mary entitled Gilgarra Mountain. In their version, the Highwayman robs Colonel Farrell and takes the money home to his sweetheart Jenny who betrays him to Farrell's men and puts him at the disadvantage when they arrive by stealing his rapier and filling the charges of his gun with water.  He is then taken before a judge but escapes through some fancy fist work (the songs says They didn't me fists, so I knocked the jailer down and bid a farewell to this tight-fisted town.) There is no murder in this version. Nor are there murders in versions entitled Kilgary Mountain.

The version I want to highlight was the one recorded by the band Thin Lizzy off their Vagabonds of the Western World album in 1973.  This version was slightly different to the ones that follow the fisticuffs mode of Gilgarra Mountain and the like. This version was a murder ballad.
                             
In 1998, hard rockers Metallica did a cover version of Thin Lizzy's Whiskey in the Jar on their album Garage Inc. I had never heard the original by Thin Lizzy, but this version made me investigate the band. While I appreciate the Thin Lizzy version, I adore the Metallica one. Lead singer James Hetfield's trademark sneer goes well with the arrogance of the Highwayman.

This one doesn't just have the protagonist knock the jailer down, it has him shooting Colonel Farrell with both barrels of his gun after he was betrayed by his sweetheart Molly. The song ends with him lamenting all the things he misses as he rots in prison--especially sleeping with Molly (even though she betrayed him.)

I have included the lyrics below if you'd like to follow along.

And if you'd like to compare it to Thin Lizzy's version, then you can watch it here:

As I was goin' over
The Cork and Kerry Mountains
I saw Captain Farrell
And his money, he was countin'
I first produced my pistol
And then produced my rapier
I said, "Stand and deliver or the devil he may take ya"

I took all of his money
And it was a pretty penny
I took all of his money,
Yeah, and I brought it home to Molly
She swore that she loved me,
No, never would she leave me
But the devil take that woman,
Yeah, for you know she tricked me easy

Musha rain dum a doo, dum a da
Whack for my daddy, oh
Whack for my daddy, oh
There's whiskey in the jar, oh

Being drunk and weary
I went to Molly's chamber
Takin' Molly with me
But I never knew the danger
For about six or maybe seven,
Yeah, in walked Captain Farrell
I jumped up, fired my pistols
And I shot him with both barrels

Yeah, musha rain dum a doo, dum a da, ha, yeah
Whack for my daddy, oh
Whack for my daddy, oh
There's whiskey in the jar, oh

Yeah, whiskey, yo, whiskey
Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah

Now some men like a fishin'
But some men like the fowlin'
Some men like to hear,
To hear the cannonball roarin'
Me, I like sleepin',
'Specially in my Molly's chamber
But here I am in prison,
Here I am with a ball and chain, yeah

Musha rain dum a doo, dum a da, heh, heh
Whack for my daddy, oh
Whack for my daddy, oh
There's whiskey in the jar, oh, yeah

Whiskey in the jar, oh

Musha rain dum a doo, dum a da
Musha rain dum a doo, dum a da, hey
Musha rain dum a doo, dum a da
Musha rain dum a doo, dum a da, yeah

Stay tuned next week for a tale based on a Western.