miércoles, 7 de diciembre de 2022
martes, 29 de noviembre de 2022
HAPPY Xmas (WAR IS OVER). JOHN LENNON/YOKO ONO
"Happy
Xmas (War Is Over)" is a Christmas song released in 1971 as
a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with
the Harlem Community Choir. It was the
seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. The song reached number four in
the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972 and has periodically
reemerged on the UK Singles Chart,
most notably after Lennon's murder in
December 1980, when it peaked at number two.
Also a protest song against the Vietnam War, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has since become a Christmas standard, frequently recorded by other artists, appearing on compilation albums of seasonal music, and named in polls as a holiday favourite. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted tenth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.
LYRICS
So this is
Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
A very Merry
Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this
is Christmas (ooh)
For weak and for strong (ooh)
For rich and the poor ones (ooh)
The war is so long (ooh)
And so happy Christmas (war is over)
For black and for white (if you want it)
For yellow and red ones (war is over)
Let's stop all the fight (now)
A very Merry
Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this
is Christmas (ooh)
And what have we done (ooh)
Another year over (ooh)
And a new one just begun (ooh)
And so happy Christmas (war is over)
We hope you have fun (if you want it)
The near and the dear ones (war is over)
The old and the young (now)
A very Merry
Christmas
(And a Happy New Year) Ooh, oh
(Let's hope it's a good one) It' a good, it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas (war is over)
And what have we done (if you want it)
Another year over (war is over)
And a new one just begun (now)
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/john-lennon/happy-xmas-war-is-over
Songfacts®:
·
This
is a very unusual Christmas song. Instead of evoking sleigh bells and
mistletoe, it asks us to think about those who live in fear, and collectively
bring about the end of war. The call to action is the refrain "war is
over, if you want it."
It's an esoteric but not unfounded concept that John Lennon and Yoko Ono also
put forth in "Imagine": If enough people want something
to happen, it will. So the idea was to get us to actively desire peace, which
could bring about the end of war.
·
John
Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote this in their New York City hotel room and recorded
it during the evening of October 28 and into the morning of the 29th, 1971, at
the Record Plant in New York. It was released in the US for Christmas, but didn't
chart. The next year, it was released in the UK, where it did much better,
charting at #4. Eventually, the song became a Christmas classic in America, but
it took a while.
·
John
and Yoko spent a lot of time in the late '60s and early '70s working to promote
peace. In 1969, they put up billboards in major
cities around the world that
said, "War is over! (If you want it)." Two years later this slogan
became the basis for this song when Lennon decided to make a Christmas record
with an anti-war message. John also claimed another inspiration for writing the
song: he said he was "sick of 'White Christmas.'"
·
The
children's voices are the Harlem Community Choir, who were brought in to sing
on this track. They are credited on the single along with Yoko and The Plastic
Ono Band.
·
Lennon
and Ono produced this with the help of Phil Spector. Spector had worked on some
of the later Beatles songs and also produced Lennon's "Instant Karma." It was not Spector's first foray
into Christmas music: he and his famous session stars (including a 17-year-old
Cher) spent six weeks in the summer of 1963 putting together A
Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, featuring artists like The
Ronettes and Darlene
Love. Unfortunately,
the album was released on November 22, 1963, which was the same day US
president John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The album sold poorly as America
was focused on news of the killing.
·
·
This
was originally released on clear green vinyl with Yoko Ono's "Listen, The
Snow Is Falling" as the B-side.
·
At
the beginning of the song, two whispers can be heard. Yoko whispers:
"Happy Christmas, Kyoko" (Kyoko Chan Cox is Yoko's daughter with
Anthony Cox) and John whispers: "Happy Christmas, Julian" (John's son
with Cynthia). >>
·
This
being a Phil Spector production, four guitarists were brought in to play
acoustic guitars: Hugh McCracken (who had recently played on the Paul McCartney
album Ram), Chris Osbourne, Stu Scharf and Teddy Irwin. According
to Richard Williams, who was reporting on the session for Uncut,
when Lennon taught them the song, he asked them to "pretend it's
Christmas." When one of the guitarists said he was Jewish, John told him,
"Well, pretend it's your birthday then."
As for the other personnel, Jim Keltner played drums and sleigh bells, Nicky
Hopkins played chimes and glockenspiel. Keltner and Hopkins were part of
Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, and a third member, Klaus Voorman, was supposed to
play bass on this track, but got stuck on a flight from Germany. One of the
guitarists brought in for the session covered the bass - which one nobody seems
to remember.
·
John
Lennon was shot and killed less than three weeks before Christmas in 1980. The
song was re-released in the UK on December 20 of that year, reaching #2 (held
off the top spot by "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" by St.
Winifred's School Choir). It made the UK Top 40 again in 1981 (#28), 2003 (#32)
and 2007 (#40). Also in 2003, a version sung by the finalists of the singing
competition Pop Idol reached #5.
·
This
didn't appear on an album until 1975, when it was included on Lennon's Shaved
Fish singles compilation. Most Christmas songs are compiled with other
songs of the season, but Shaved Fish listeners got to hear it year
round.
·
At
1:15, there's a line in this song where Lennon sings what sounds to our ears
like "the road is so long." This line was transcribed as "the
world is so wrong" on the Shaved Fish back cover and was
apparently published that way. As a result, most cover versions sing it as
"the world is so wrong," but that would be a rather pessimistic view:
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
"The road is so long" seems more congruent with the hopeful message
of the song, and is likely what he sang. Keep in mind that the lyrics didn't
appear in print until Shaved Fish, four years after the song was
released. It appears this line was transcribed incorrectly and has never been
rectified.
·
Why
not "Merry Christmas" or "Merry Xmas"? In England,
"Happy Christmas" is a more common seasonal greeting and helped
differentiate it from the holiday standard "Merry Christmas Baby." More confusing to Americans is
"Father Christmas," which is the English version of
Santa Claus.
·
The
Fray were the first to chart with this song in America, reaching #50 in 2006;
Sarah McLachlan's version went to #107 that same year. Other artists to cover
it include The Alarm, The Cranes, The December People, and Melissa Etheridge
(in a medley with "Give Peace a Chance").
The Australian artist Delta Goodrem also covered it in 2003, taking it to #1 in
her native country as a double-A-side single with
"Predictable." >>
·
This
was covered by a group called Street Drum Corps. Bert McCracken, the frontman
for rock band The Used, supplied vocals for their cover. It appears on the
album Taste Of Christmas, released in the winter of 2005. The album
is a compilation of classic and original Christmas songs as done by artists on
the Taste Of Chaos tour. >>
·
The
chords and melody borrow heavily from the traditional English folk standard
"Skewball," in particular the 1963 version (titled
"Stewball") by Peter, Paul and Mary.
·
When
Lennon first played his demo for Phil Spector, the producer remarked that the
song's opening line, "So this is Christmas..." was rhythmically
identical to the Paris Sisters' 1961 hit "I Love How You Love Me," which he produced.
·
Though
now a Christmas standard, Lennon originally penned this as a protest song about
the Vietnam War, and the idea "that we're just as responsible as the man
who pushes the button. As long as people imagine that somebody's doing it to
them and that they have no control, then they have no control."
·
Miley
Cyrus, Mark Ronson and Sean Ono Lennon came together at New York's Electric
Lady studios to cover the song for the 2018 holiday season. Cyrus told Jimmy
Fallon that they wanted to do a Christmas song, and there wasn't anything more
relevant to what's going on in the world right now than 'War is Over.'"
She added that not only has Sean inherited his father's voice and looks, he's
also got the former Beatles' "radiant magic."
The trio performed the song on the season finale of Saturday Night Live,
December 15, 2018. For Cyrus, the song is a call to action for her generation,
asking "what have we done?"
·
In
November 2019, John Legend released a new version of the song titled
"Happy Christmas (War Is Over)." He performed his cover with Jorja
Smith at the Global Citizen Prize award ceremony on December 13, 2019 at
London's Royal Albert Hall. Legend's interpretation peaked at #9 in the UK and
#69 in the US.
miércoles, 21 de septiembre de 2022
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN / GOD SAVE THE KING
‘God Save the
King/Queen’ is one of the world’s best known anthems. But did you know it has another
five verses? Here’s all you need to know.
‘God Save the King/Queen’ is the
British national anthem, as well as that of all Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the
Crown Dependencies in the British isles.
The words used today substitute ‘King’ for ‘Queen’ where appropriate. (from 6th February 1952 to 8th September 2022)
At official
occasions, usually only the first verse is sung.
|
God Save the King |
|
|
Letra en inglés |
|
|
Primera estrofa |
|
|
God
save our gracious King, |
|
|
Segunda estrofa (omitida) |
|
|
Oh
Lord, our God, arise, |
|
|
Tercera estrofa |
|
|
Thy
choicest gifts in store, |
. |
Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has died, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Puedes leer y ver el reportaje en el siguiente enlace:
Artículo con documental. Channel4, news/queen-Elizabeth-II-dies-aged-96
viernes, 27 de mayo de 2022
FEVER - LITTLE WILLIE JOHN - 1956 / FEVER - PEGGY LEE - 1958
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever_(Little_Willie_John_song)
"Fever"
Released.- May 1956
Length.- 2:40
Songwriter(s.-
) Eddie Cooley John Davenport
"Fever" is a song written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, who used the pseudonym John Davenport. It was originally recorded by American R&B singer Little Willie John for his debut album, Fever (1956), and released as a single in April of the same year. The song topped the Billboard R&B Best Sellers in the US and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard pop chart. It was received positively by music critics and included on several lists of the best songs during the time it was released.
It has been covered by numerous artists from various musical genres, most notably by Peggy Lee, whose 1958 rendition became the most widely known version of "Fever" and the singer's signature song. Lee's version contained rewritten lyrics different from the original and an altered music arrangement. It became a top-five hit on the music charts in the UK and Australia in addition to entering the top ten in the US and the Netherlands. "Fever" was nominated in three categories at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year
|
FEVER -
LITTLE WILLIE JOHN - 1956 You never
know how much I love ya When you
kiss me Listen to
me, baby When you
kiss me Bless my
soul, I love you When you
kiss me Sun lights
up the daytime When you
kiss me Umm-mmm-mmm-mm-mmm-mm |
FEVER - PEGGY LEE -
1958 Never know
how much I love you When you
kiss me, fever when you hold me tight Sun lights
up the daytime When you
kiss me, fever when you hold me tight Everybody's
got the fever Romeo loved
Juliet When we
kisseth, fever with thy flaming youth Captain
Smith and Pocahontas With his
kisses, fever when he holds me tight Now you've
listened to my story When you
kiss them, fever if you live and learn |
|
VOCABULARY |
Missus noun UK /ˈmɪs.ɪz/ US /ˈmɪs.ɪz/ informal =
wife = esposa ·
Me and the
missus (= my wife) are going to our daughter’s for Christmas. ·
Have you met
Jack’s new missus? Sooth noun [ U
] old use UK
/suːθ/ US /suːθ/ = in sooth =
used to show or emphasize that something is true: ·
In sooth, I
know not why I am sad. Thou pronoun old use
UK /ðaʊ/ US /ðaʊ/ =you,= used when speaking to one person Thou noun UK
/θaʊ/ US /θaʊ/ plural thou
=informal for thousand , especially when referring to an amount of
money: ·
"How much
do you think it cost him?" "About thirty thou." Treat verb UK
/triːt/ US /triːt/ treat verb
(DEAL WITH) = to behave towards
someone or deal with something in a particular way: ·
My parents
treated us all the same when we were kids. ·
He treated his
wife very badly. ·
It's wrong to
treat animals as if they had no feelings. ·
I treat
remarks like that with the contempt that they deserve.(Trato comentarios como
ese con el desprecio que se merecen) |
Other notable cover versions of "Fever" include those by Elvis Presley, Boney M., Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bublé, The McCoys, La Lupe and Beyoncé. Madonna released it as a single from her fifth studio album, Erotica (1992), in March 1993 through Warner Bros. It topped the charts in Finland and the Hot Dance Club Songs in the US in addition to charting in the top 50 in many other countries. Madonna promoted "Fever" by filming and releasing a music video directed by Stéphane Sednaoui and performing the song on several television shows as well as her 1993 The Girlie Show World Tour. Various versions of "Fever" have been used in many films, plays and television shows.
La versión de La Lupe siguiente no es ejemplo para un buen aprendizaje de pronunciación, pero me resulta simpática.«Fever» es una canción escrita por Eddie Cooley y Otis Blackwell,bajo el seudónimo de John Davenport, en 1956. El tema fue originalmente grabado por el cantante Little Willie John,
aunque realmente alcanzó la fama en la versión de Peggy Lee de 1958.
La idea original para la composición
de la canción partió de Eddie Cooley, quien se puso en contacto con el
compositor Otis Blackwell para
que le ayudara a desarrollarla. El cantante elegido por el sello King Records para grabar el tema
fue Little Willie John,
que en un principio rechazó la idea, pero que finalmente accedió a las
presiones de Syd Nathan,
dueño de la compañía discográfica. "Fever" fue lanzado como sencillo
en abril de 1956, logrando alcanzar el puesto 24 de la lista Billboard Hot 100.
En mayo de 1958, Peggy Lee grabó su propia versión del
tema, reescribiendo gran parte de la letra. Aunque nunca apareció acreditada
como compositora, su letra ha sido la elegida por la mayor parte de los
artistas que posteriormente versionaron la canción. Lee realizó una
interpretación más lenta que la original de Little Willie John,
acompañada únicamente por Joe Mondragon al contrabajo y por el
prestigioso percusionista Shelly Manne. El chasquido de dedos que
acompaña la grabación fue efectuado por la propia cantante. El sencillo,
publicado en junio de 1958, fue un verdadero éxito, mayor que la versión
original, alcanzando el puesto número 8 de las listas norteamericanas y el
número 5 de las británicas. Fue además nominado a tres premios Grammy en 1959, incluida la
categoría de mejor canción del año.
Otras notables versiones de «Fever»
incluyen a Elvis Presley, Madonna, Michael Bublé, The McCoys, La Lupe o Beyoncé. La versión de
Madonna fue publicada en 1993 como cuarto sencillo del
álbum Erotica, alcanzando el número uno de la
lista Billboard Hot 100 Dance Music.
En 1976, Rita Moreno interpretó una versión del
tema en El show de los
Teleñecos acompañado por "Animal" en la batería,
que la distrajo repetida y cómicamente con un estilo de batería más agresivo
que el que la canción requería, lo que causó que Moreno usara dos platillos
para aplastar la cabeza de "Animal" y detener su salvaje
interpretación. Erik Adams lo consideró en The A.V. Club como uno de los mejores
momentos de la serie, y lo calificó como un "clásico del género"
recordado por varias generaciones.
Durante el episodio titulado Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers", perteneciente a la décima temporada de la serie de animación Los Simpson, el personaje de Edna Krabappel interpreta "Fever". La versión de La Lupe aparece en el episodio titulado "Angels Of Death" perteneciente a la segunda temporada de la serie de televisión Magic City
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