HIM

Lily Allen is a British pop singer, musician, songwriter and also a fashion designer. She has a very short discography but it is full of hits and awards. “Alright, Still” is the name of her first album, released in July 2006. Allen has said she cringes now when listening to tracks from “Alright, Still”, as it reminds her that she was a "sort of over-excitable teenager who desperately wanted attention" when she wrote it.

Her first single “Smile” reached the top position in UK Singles Chart.

Then, in 2009 “It’s Not Me, It’s You” was released and debuted at the number one position in UK, Canada and Australia. From this album, I would like to highlight the song “Him”. In this song, Allen reflects about society and criticizes it. However, what she basically does during the song is to question religion and things that people do in the name of God. “It’s Not Me, It’s You” took Allen to a different direction as she wanted to write about things which were relevant to her, but also universal. That explains why, in her last work, we can find references to racism, ageism, drug dependency, premature ejaculation, etc.

As I mentioned before, she has a short discography but her sense of humour, personality, musical style and mainly her histrionics, make her one of my favourite artist.

Erin

“Love is all around”

This is a song written by Reg Presley and performed by The Troggs. It has been sung by many artists, but the best known version was Wet Wet Wet´s cover, for the soundtrack of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. The song was an international hit in 1994. In 2003, a parody of the song was used as a central theme in the British Christmas/romantic comedy Love Actually. They changed the lyrics of the classic "Love Is All Around" to "Christmas Is All Around". In my opinion, this song brings hapiness because there´s nothing more beautiful than love. So I strongly recommend you to listen it to if you are not feeling well, I promise it will cheer you up!

Mimi

Top of the World by The Carpenters

Last week, I was working and I listened to 4^th form students singing this song in the music class. They are practicing it for the end-of-year choir. I can´t believe they were singing it! My parents used to listen to it when I was kid. When I came back home, I immediately looked for it.  I started playing it and now I can’t stop listening to it! It´s a beautiful song if you are in love and a sad one if you are not. Either way it makes you cry!

This song was composed by The Carpenters in 1973 and topped the Billboard. Then, some other singers like Lynn Anderson and Björk covered it. I would highly recommend this song to you. It´s so sweet! Karen Carpenter´s voice is incredibly angelical! You will fall in love with it!!!!

Zoe.

Song: Jealous Guy By John Lennon

I was dreaming of the past
And my heart was beating fast
I began to lose control
I began to lose control
I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh no, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

I was feeling insecure
You might not love me anymore
I was shivering inside
I was shivering inside

I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh no, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh no, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

I was trying to catch your eyes
Thought that you was trying to hide
I was swallowing my pain
I was swallowing my pain

I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh no, I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy, watch out
I'm just a jealous guy, look out babe
I'm just a jealous guy

Comment: Jealous Guy is in my opinion one of the best songs by John Lennon, in which he manages to express his feelings in such a way that people may place themselves into the situation described. Although jealousy is not “healthy” when in excess, the words used and the way in which feelings are showed, make the hearer feel sympathy for this “jealous guy”. It is a subtle way of illustrating any “common guy’s” insecurity and fear of loosing the love of his life.

Sunshine

Song: Here I go again

When I heard the song I really liked a lot. This song tells about a man who is looking for the love of his life but he cannot find it yet. So he continues with his life alone hoping that someday appears a true love.

I think it worth waiting love because you feel you are complete. You realize that you can spend every moment of your life with the person you wanted to be with you. It gives you strength to carry on. So, the more in love you are the more comfortable you feel.

Poly

Song: My All

The first I listened to this song I liked it. It’s about a woman who sings to a man because she wants him to stay with her for one night at least. I think it’s very romantic, and if you listen to Mariah Carey’s version you’ll appreciate it more.

It makes me think about the power of love, and how people can be happy or sad because of it. It’s a strange feeling, isn’t it? It can be the best feeling you ever felt, or the worst. It is said that some people give everything for love, even their lives. It’s very interesting.

Evan

In my Life by The Beatles

Several years ago I heard a song from The Beatles, In my Life, recited by the actor Sean Connery. I got captivated by his voice immediately. He has got a soft tone mixed with the maturity of years, and the intonation and rhythm he uses to recite the song are really wonderful . Those things together with the melody transported me directly to the places the song describes, and made me feel aware of how we leave things behind and continue with our lives, but there are always things that make you remember something else.

When I heard the song for the first time, the Internet were not an available tool for me, so I decided to copy the song by listening to it many times( I think many of you have done this, at least once in your life!!). The lyrics accompanied me many times when I missed my hometown. or when I missed certain people that were not near me anymore. Then, as time went by and I could afford to get the Internet at home, I could get the lyrics, and now I would like to share this song with you. I hope that you can enjoy it as much as I did.

                                                                                                                                    QueenV.

(Note: the original song with its music is also beautiful.)

 

Here are the lyrics:

In my Life (The Beatles)

There are places I remember

All my life, though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers

There is no one compares with you

And these memories lose their meaning

When I think of love as something new

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life I love you more

In my life I love you more

Wavin´ Flag by K´naan

Wavin´ flag is the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is sung by K´naan, a Somali musician who lived in Africa, where he met starvation and war, and then he moved to the United States of America, to finally settle down in Canada, where he lives at present.
There are two versions of the song, the original one, Wavin´ Flag, and a recast version, a pre-chorus, Wavin´ Flag: the Celebration Mix, that seems to set the uplifting and unified tone of the World Cup. This version talks about the champions, and the proud they make people feel, as well as unity and celebration of every nation. The original version, on the other hand, is a strong critique to the sufferings that South Africa went through for many years. The song claims freedom; it seems that people want to be free from someone else, but in fact they want to be free from hunger, from wars, darkness, poor people on the streets and the so many bad treatments they suffer as a nation.
For me, the song is a mixture of confusing elements, because it has a rhythm that makes you sing it, but when you read its lyrics and between the lines you find the hidden and the real message that nation wants other nations to know.
Read the lyrics and listen to the songs by clicking HERE.

QueenV

Song: “Spending my time” by Roxette

After listening to this song many times, I looked for its lyrics to read them because I was really interested in the song´s topic. The fact that it tells us about a solitary woman, who has fallen completely in love with a man, who doesn´t care about her, makes me feel sad and dissapointed because more than once, I felt in the same situation in which this woman feels. Besides, I can´t stop thinking about how powerful love is, it has the ability to make someone feel so small and miserable, as this woman says she feels after spending her time waiting for him to come. I also like this song very much because, like the message it transmits, I think that, the majority of the times, when people feel frustrated because of love matters, they tend to become depressed and close their minds without letting anyone help them, instead of finding a solution or at least try to change their views.

Bryana

A song

When I think of ‘the song’ and its lyrics in particularly, I can only figure in my mind the picture of the marvellous ‘SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW’. It can easily make you go into its wonderful world with a great colourful rainbow behind, birds and butterflies flying all around. Then, these gigantic flowers all over the place giving the perfect smell that makes you feel like walking in the air. Also, if you close your eyes and listen carefully to the kind melody of the song, you may feel like expanding yourself in the atmosphere. Sometimes, the music is capable of provoke on you the entire state of peacefulness.
Click HERE to read the lyrics and HERE to listen to the song.

Isabella

Englishman in New York by Sting

Englishman in New York is a very catchy song by Sting, in which the writer compares New York with his hometown in England. On the one hand, the story describes typical English habits that he has to leave aside, such as the tea tradition. Besides, he highlights his culture’s values and customs like good manners and sobriety. On the other hand, the composer criticizes some negative characteristics of the new society that really annoy him. For example, their violent behaviour. In my opinion, the author can only see the worst part of American society, because he feels like “an alien” that can not fit in. However, I think that the problem is not only the difficulty to accept a new culture, but also the hard task that giving up his previous life means. In addition, this song is a great piece of music that you can enjoy even if you don’t want to analyse the lyrics.

Atlantis