Website tag: Songs

Big Yellow Taxi

Song written, composed, and originally recorded by Joni Mitchell in 1970. It was originally released on her album ‘Ladies of the Canyon’. When it was released as a sing;e, it was a hit in her native Canada (no. 14) as well as Australia (no. 6) and the UK (no. 11). It only reached number 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at number 24. The song was notably covered by Amy Grant in 1994 and Counting Crows in 2003. The song was also sampled in Janet Jackson’s ‘Got ’til It’s Gone’ (1997).

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde performed the song live during a concert for Tilehouse Counselling centre in Hitchin, together with guitarist Benny Smith, on 27 September 2019. It was the only time she performed the song.


Lyrics

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swinging hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Ooh, bop-bop-bop
Ooh, bop-bop-bop

They took all the trees and put ’em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
No, no, no
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Ooh, bop-bop-bop
Ooh, bop-bop-bop

Hey, farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don’t care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
Ooh, bop-bop-bop (why not?)
Ooh, bop-bop-bop

Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door sway
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
Now, don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot

 

Lean on Me

Song written and recorded by Bill Withers.
It was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, ‘Still Bill’. It was a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and reached number 18 in the UK singles chart. Numerous other versions have been recorded, and it is one of only nine songs to have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with versions recorded by two different artists: Club Nouveau released their version in 1987 and topped the chart in the USA with it.

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde performed the song live during a concert for Tilehouse Counselling centre in Hitchin, together with guitarist Benny Smith, on 27 September 2019. It was the only time she performed the song.


Lyrics

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Lean on me
When you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If you have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill
Those of your needs
that you won’t let show

You just call on me brother when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me
When you’re not strong
I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on…
For it won’t be long
Till I’m gonna need somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother
When you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load
If you just call me

Call me
If you need a friend
Call me
Call me
If you need a friend
Call me
Call me
Call me
If you need a friend
Call me
Call me

 

Puppy Song

Song performed by Kim Wilde together with Igudesman & Joo, backstage during the Night of the Proms tour in 2008. The song appeared on Igudesman & Joo’s YouTube channel.


Lyrics

I love my puppy
My puppy wuppy wuppy
‘cos sometimes she’s quite fluffy
and sometimes she’s just gruffy
She’s very, very naughty
And sometimes she’s quite sporty
She’s very, very beautiful
My naughty, naughty – all together!

I love my puppy
My puppy wuppy wuppy
‘cos sometimes she’s just fluffy
and sometimes she’s just gruffy
She’s very, very naughty
And sometimes she’s quite sporty
She’s very, very beautiful
My naughty, naughty girl

 

My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean

‘My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean’, or simply ‘My Bonnie’, is a traditional Scottish folk song that is popular in Western culture. The song has been recorded by numerous artists since the beginning of the 20th century, and many parody versions also exist.  The best known recording of the song may be a rock n’ roll version titled ‘My Bonnie’ by Tony Sheridan and the Beatles, recorded in the first ever commercial recording session that featured the Beatles, and the resulting single is generally regarded as the Beatles’ first single.

Kim Wilde sang the first verse of the song during a French TV programme called ‘Vitamine’, broadcast on 8 October 1986, as part of a larger appearance in this programme. It is still the only time she performed this song in public.


Lyrics

My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me

Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Bring back, bring back
Bring back my Bonnie to me
 

Poison

Song written by Alice Cooper, John McCurry and Desmond Child. 
Alice Cooper recorded the song and included it on his eighteenth album ‘Trash’. It became one of Cooper’s biggest hit singles in the United States, peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The power ballad performed even better in the UK by peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

Kim Wilde performed the song together with Alice Cooper during the Rock Meets Classic tour in March and April 2014. It was the penultimate song of Alice Cooper’s set, which ended with ‘School’s Out’, which he performed together with all the artists from this tour.


Imagine

Song written by John Lennon. He recorded it on his 1971 album of the same name. The best-selling single of his solo career, the lyrics encourage listeners to imagine a world of peace, without materialism, without borders separating nations and without religion. Shortly before his death, Lennon said that much of the song’s lyrics and content came from his wife, Yoko Ono.

Lennon and Ono produced the song together with Phil Spector. Recording began at Lennon’s home studio at Tittenhurst Park, England, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July. In October, Lennon released ‘Imagine’ as a single in the United States, where it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was first issued as a single in the UK in 1975, to promote the compilation ‘Shaved Fish’, and reached number 6 on the UK Singles Chart that year. It later topped the chart following Lennon’s murder in 1980.

In 2008, ‘Imagine’ was performed by all the artists involved in the Night of the Proms tour in Germany. During these performances, Kim sang the very last verse.


Lyrics

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky

Imagine all the people
Livin’ for today
Ah

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too

Imagine all the people
Livin’ life in peace
You

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

Joyful Joyful

Also known as ‘Beethoven Goes Joyful Joyful’, this song is an arrangement of the 1907 song ‘Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee’, written by Henry J. van Dyke and the ‘Hymn to Joy’, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The song was performed by the Angels In Harlem Gospel Choir during the Night Of The Proms in 2008 with Kim Wilde rapping a verse.


Lyrics

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
Drive the dark of doubt away
Giver of immortal gladness
Fill us with the light of day!

Get up, get up, get up
Get up, get up, get up
Get up, get up, get up

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
Drive the dark of doubt away
Giver of immortal gladness
Fill us with the light of day!

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

Song written by Holland, Dozier, Holland and recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye in 1964. It was included on his fifth studio album of the same name, released in 1965. The song title was inspired by one of the actor and comedian Jackie Gleason’s signature phrases, ‘How Sweet It Is!’

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde performed the song live during a concert for Tilehouse Counselling centre in Hitchin, together with guitarist Benny Smith, on 27 September 2019. It was the only time she performed the song.


Lyrics

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
 
I needed the shelter of someone’s arms
And there you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs
And there you were
 
With sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you, baby
I wanna stop and thank you baby, yes I do
 
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Feels so fine
How sweet it is to be loved by you
 
I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went it seems I’d been there before
 
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways
I wanna stop and thank you, baby
I just wanna stop and thank you baby, oh yes
 
How sweet it is to be loved by you
It’s like sugar sometimes
How sweet it is to be loved by you
 
You were better to me than I was to myself
For me, there’s you and there ain’t nobody else
I wanna stop and thank you, baby
I just wanna stop and thank you baby, oh now
 
How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you
It’s like jelly, baby, oh now
 
How sweet it is to be loved by you, oh now
How sweet it is to be loved by you
Just like honey to the bee baby, yeah now
Na, na, na, to be loved by you

An der Nordseeküste

Song written by De Reede, Mol, Ortel, Von Hill and Klaus Büchner.
The song was based on an Irish folk song called ‘The Wild Rover’, written in the 1600s.
The German text was added by Klaus Büchner from the German duo Klaus & Klaus, formed by Büchner with Klaus Baumgart.
When ‘An der Nordseeküste’ was released as a single in 1985, the duo, who had been working together since 1983, had their breakthrough in Germany, with over 250,000 copies sold.

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde and her band performed an acapella version of ‘An der Nordseeküste’ in the German TV programme ‘Die goldene Eins’, broadcast on 21 September 1992.


Pop Muzik

Song written by Robin Scott.

M version

Robin Scott recorded the song on his debut album ‘New York • London • Paris • Munich’ (1979) using the stage name M. Originally it was conceived as a R&B and funk track, until a friend of Scott suggested using synthesizers. The single was released in the UK first, peaking at number 2 in the UK singles chart in May 1979. In August of the same year, it was released in North America, where it eventually climbed all the way to number 1 in Canada and the USA. The UK 12″ single was notable for the A-side having a double groove so that the two tracks (‘Pop Muzik’ and ‘M Factor’) both started at the outer edge of the record and finished in the middle (with a long silence at the end of “M Factor” since the track was the shorter of the two). This resulted in a random selection of the two tracks, depending on which groove the needle landed in the lead-in. To further market this idea, the UK record sleeve stated “B side included on A side, full length disco mix of Pop Musik on Seaside”. ‘Seaside’ (in other words “C side”) was a simple play on words as the letter C, apart from being the logical next “side” after the A and B sides, is pronounced the same way as the English word “sea”.

In 1989, a remixed version of the track was released, without significant chart success. The track was covered by the UK band All Systems Go in 1988 and performed live by U2 in 1997, during their PopMart tour.

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde performed the song live during her Greatest Hits Tour in 2022, with Ricky Wilde performing lead vocals and Kim and Scarlett Wilde doing the female backing vocals. The song was intertwined with her own track The Second Time.


Wire, the

Song written by Laura Fares, Nina Boldt and Jon Wide.
Recorded by Nina on her 2020 album ‘Synthian’.

On 14 August 2020 Nina released ‘Synthian – The Remixes’, featuring remix versions of three tracks from the album. The remix of ‘The Wire’ was created by Ricky Wilde, with added vocals by Kim Wilde.


Lyrics

Enter
I’ve been locked up here forever
I feel it
Gotta see it to believe it

Digital
There’s a connection when we’re fusing
Analogue
Never forget I could be human

Now it’s down to the wire
Can I be a fighter?
Will I climb these walls of ice and fire?
Before my time expires
Gonna be down to the wire

War game
I was told that I was insane
Release me
Is it real or am I dreaming?

Digital
There’s a connection when we’re fusing
Analogue
Cold to the touch but my heart’s beating

Now it’s down to the wire
Can I be a fighter?
Will I climb these walls of ice and fire?
Before my time expires
Gonna be down to the wire

Now it’s down to the wire
Gonna be down to the wire, wire
I feel it now
I’m what I am
Gonna be down to the wire, wire

Now it’s down to the wire
I will be a fighter
I will climb these walls of ice and fire
Before my time expires
Gonna be down to the wire, wire

Now the flames go higher
Will you break the curse of my desire?
Before my time expires
Gonna be down to the wire

Perfect Paradise

Song written by Abigail Gordon, David Petterson and Don Dellpiero.
Recorded by Bunny X on their 2021 album ‘Young & In Love’.

On 15 April 2022 they released ‘Young & In Love – The Remixes’, featuring remix versions of seven tracks from the 2021 album. One of the remixes was created by Ricky Wilde, with added vocals by Kim Wilde.


Lyrics

Hey
When I look into your eyes
It’s a perfect paradise
Paradise

Hey
You betcha I don’t mind
If we stay up late and talk all night
And we can share our dreams
Under the moonlight

I, I think it’s alright
If we stop the clock and turn back time
You can tell me anything
Whatever’s on your mind

When I look into your eyes
It’s a perfect paradise
Paradise
Hey
When I look into your eyes
It’s a perfect paradise
Paradise

Every time we meet
When I look into your eyes
It’s a perfect paradise
When I look into your eyes

If you wanna believe in something
Then let it be this one thing
Paradise
We could make it last forever
As long as we’re together
It’s paradise

(Am I singing this again or am I just doing adlibs?)
(Adlibs)
(Oh yeah)