Matt Johnson is one of the most talented songwriters of all time. I first heard songs by "The The" in late 1983 when living as an 18 year old in Melbourne, Australia. A truly great English band.
i keep returning to this song to see i've already liked all the comments and then i fogret and then i return and then i forget and return endlessly. this song is unforgettable, but does not stick well in memory - it is always better listened than simply recalled
No-one in the first bright flush of their career or relationship can record this authentically. It's an autumn song... when your career is sliding down to somewhere unfashionable / real / better. And all the better for it. Gotta love Evan for giving her space to "be what she could be" here.
I used to love The The, all of the albums are magnificent. I found them with my now, very much ex, the live of my life, almost 30 years ago (shit I feel old, I'm 50 now so, yup, having to double check the timeline there, !!!, 30 years). I'm just sat here, feeling a downward spiral coming on, and this song came to me, thus listening. I think The The are one of the most underrated bands of all time, his song writing is beautiful, sad, genius, the musicality beyond. Thank you The The for some of the best memories of my life, bittersweet, painful but mostly just downright beautiful. I will now be putting on the album, Mind Bomb. In memory of the love of my life, mental illness and thankful amazement that I'm still here, living and breathing on planet pain Earth, 51 this year, never thought I'd make it past 25, my mission is obviously not complete yet!!! Bless to all that read this, we are all perfect imperfections and beautiful the way we are. Mental illness is a fecking bitch, a painful teacher but I am glad I'm here, my son upstairs, happily noisy chatting with his mate, and the downward spiral has again commenced. Hey ho, up and down we go. God bless 💓
Good spot Ollie, to my ears it's adding the bulk of the magic here to make this rendition extraordinarily gorgeous. Love the honesty of the vocals though, so beautiful
Hey Mahogany! Can you put it back to where it was? This is absolute garbage, you twat. You took an absolutely beautiful thing and made it annoying. WTF
Probably the best song on Soul Mining . A great song makes you feel things and takes you somewhere else .. and this makes me feel almost sick with worry (the sinking feeling I guess) yet jubilant and euphoric all at once . Just a great fucking song.
The prostitute is beautiful (lit. Girl of pleasure) Over there on the corner She has a client Who fills her stockings up (pays) When her job is done She goes on her way Looking for a bit of dreams At a dancehall in the suburbs Her man is an artist He's a strange, little guy An accordionist Who knows how to play the java (a dance) She hears the java But she doesn't dance She doesn't even look at the dancefloor And her loving eyes Follow the vigorous playing And the wiry, long fingers of the artist It gets under her skin From the bottom, from the top She has the urge to sing, it's physical All of her being is tensed Her breath is held c'est UN OUEVRE tordue de la musique - it's a work of art shaped by the music The prostitute is sad Over there on the corner Her accordionist Left to be a soldier When he comes back from war They will have a house She will be the cashier And he will be the boss How beautiful life will be They'll be true big-shots And every night for her He'll play the java She hears the java That she hums softly She looks again at her accordionist And her loving eyes Follow the vigorous playing And the wiry, long fingers of the artist It gets under her skin From the bottom, from the top She has the urge to cry, it's physical All of her being is tensed Her breath is held It's a work of art shaped by the music The prostitute is alone Over there on the corner The girls who are sulking The men don't want And too bad if she dies Her man is never coming back Farewell to all of those beautiful dreams Her life is fucked Nevertheless her tired legs Take her to the dive (dancehall) Where there's another artist Who plays all night long.... She hears the java She listens to the java... She closes her eyes... Those wiry, vigorous fingers It gets under her skin From the bottom, from the top She has the urge to yell out, it's phyisical And so to forget She begins to dance, to turn To the sound of the music... lyricstranslate.com
It is worth doing a Google search to find the words in French with an English translation alongside. La Java is a cabaret club in Paris in the Rue du Faubourg. Piaf sang there.
May I know where this version comes from? I checked the song list of the original soundtrack of the movie "The History Boys", and Bewitched seems to be sung by Rufus Wainwright, so is this a different version that I can buy somewhere else?
This is on the original soundtrack CD for The History Boys (Barcode 5051011709326). It's track no 6 and credited to Samuel Barnett and Richard Sisson. The Rufus Wainwright version is also on it but it's not the only one. It's still available second hand if you're looking for it. Hope that's helpful!
Funny, Japan had the 'hit' singles and the TOTP appearances, but Josef K had the critical acclaim (except for the album, which everyone slagged, but then the music press back then got bored quickly and in time slagged anyone who wasn't Elvis Costello, the Smiths or, er, Bobby Womack). Josef K were massively influential in the mid-80's, but not to any purpose (unless you count Franz Ferdinand).
Even as waful as it always was, the music industry had every now and then true artists rising above the ocean of mediocrity and just enough visibility; nowadays, anyone have a chance and thinks that deserves it through this shit called the internet... including the worst and the lowest as never before in History.
I had no idea Samuel Barnett could sing, I love his voice so much, it's so gorgeous! Also, all the Dirk Gently fans in the comments YES HI #DirkGentlyIsntOver let's get him to sing in a season 3 WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN
