[Growster...]

Send in the clowns...

(I actually love this by Judy Collins, but really don't understand it all yet)...

[oldgrunge]

Most of Bob Dylan's, but still enjoy them!

[Stewarty]

I've recently been haunted by a jolly-sounding tune that I half-heard in a Spanish supermarket a few weeks ago. I dimly remembered it from the 80s, and had a sort of hazy image of the singer, including funny haircut, probably from an old Top of the Pops. Gradually the name of the singer came to me, in fragments, eventually forming themselves as Gilbert O'Sullivan!  So I googled him, to hear the whole tune, clarify his visual image, and check the lyrics.

Fascinating outcome  -  The song was called 'Alone again - naturally'. The haircut was there. The tune was jaunty and catchy and hummable. But the words were in striking contrast  -  3 episodes of personal tragedy, quite devastating when read off the page rather than heard. Be interested to hear anybody else's thoughts....

[Growster...]

Most of Bob Dylan's, but still enjoy them!

Absolutely, Old!

I used to know most of the words by Bod Dylan back then, and even bought 'Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands' many years after it was produced, as it has such a haunting, but beautiful tune, but there again, it's not a song to understand, especially as it's a whole side of an LP...

[Growster...]

Stewarty, when Gilbert O'Sullivan first appeared on Top of the pops, he played a piano, and wore a flat cap. There was also a hatsand with an old raincoat hung there as a prop!

He was a real change from the normal diamante trashy stuff, but I didn't think at the time that his lyrics were that important, so perhaps I should try harder!

I did like his songs though, and it's worth a quick WIKI to see what happened later! Thanks!

[Goosegirl]

Really like him and that song - it has such pathos which you don't expect with that kind of tune unless you really listen to the words. He also wrote one about his baby daughter that has a giggle at the end. There are some songs I don't get - all I can think of at the moment is MacArthur Park.

[hamstergbert]

I think the Gilbert O'Sullivan thing was Claire or Clare (and I think also was about his manager's little daughter).

Not quite sure about the metaphor/s behind Paul Simon's 'Diamonds in the soles of her shoes'

MacArthur Park on the other hand is not complex at all and is in fact a simple warning to amateur bakers not to expose their baked goods to the weather when showers are forecast.  Probably.

[Growster...]

I just love MacArthur Park! Richard Harris was such a great character, and those lyrics made it all the more fun!

When it came out, there was 'flower power' everywhere, and this made all those squidgy luvvie songs look more like dross than before!

I don't believe for one moment, Hamsters, that it was a warning to bakers! I reckon you made that up...

OK, here's another one - 'Subterranean homesick Blues'... (Dylan again - who else)