I thought this would a quick one, but they rarely are.
In 1962, the "Singing Ranger" Hank Snow (originally from Canada) had a huge country hit in which he listed all the places in North America that he'd supposedly visited...
I had a sequel in mind for this tune, but what I didn't realise was that Hank's version was a sequel in its own right.
The tune was originally written by Australian country singer, songwriter and aircraft mechanic, Geoff Mack. The Aussie hit version was recorded by Lucky Starr...
Lucky Starr also recorded a UK version, and I'm pleased to note that he had visited Huddersfield. This particular sequel was also recorded by some bloke we won't mention because he died in jail, leaving a black mark on all our childhoods...
However, none of these is the sequel I had in mind when I planned this post. No, that one circles back to the man most famous for recording I've Been Everywhere (unless you count Johnny Cash's version, backed by Tom Petty's Heartbreakers): Hank Snow.
In 1970, Hank recorded a new version of the song... in which it appears he'd rather changed his mind.
And one more, in a similar vein, recorded during lockdown when all our options were limited. This should bring back a few memories...
Every day at work, we gather in the staff dining room to eat our lunch, and my colleagues evaluate each other's victuals.
"What have you got today?"
"That smells nice."
"Ooh, that looks a nice sandwich - what's in it?"
No one ever directs a comment or question my way since I always have exactly the same thing in my Spider-Man lunchbag: turkey and beetroot, with mayo, on two Warburtons sandwich thins. A bag of pop chips, sour cream and onion. An apple. A satsuma. A small Hulk lunchbox containing brazil nuts, walnuts and a small handful of apricots. The same lunch five days a week, with only the occasional variation: a bag of Skips instead of Pop Chips.
Whenever Louise and I get together with other couples (rarely, to be honest), conversation inevitably turns to travel. Louise has been all around the world and has the stories to go with it: New York, Paris, Rome, Hawaii, etc etc... she even spent a couple of months working in an Aussie outback bar. I've been to France. Kefalonia. And on the school Sixth Form ski trip, we drove in a coach through Germany to get to the Swiss Alps. I rarely have anything to contribute to world travel conversations.
The only real hobby or interest I have is music, but even there I fail to be interesting. It seems I like too much, and not enough of the right stuff, to ever be considered cool. That's been the case as long as I've expressed any interest in pop songs. I remember telling kids in junior school I'd rather listen to Frank Sinatra than Madness. They'd sing "Roll out the barrel..." to represent my taste in music. I'm presuming one of my wag mates had heard the Vera Lynn version and thought it a good fit. Then in high school, while my cooler pals were heading off to investigate the Smiths and other John Peel delights, I was buying Huey Lewis records and getting into Springsteen. Other contemporaries started out liking pop music and then turned their back on it when they discovered more esoteric offerings. I kept a foot in all camps. As much time as I spend now delving into dusty 70s and 80s relics that even Peel might have only played once, I still won't hear a bad word said against Meat Loaf or Queen or even Jon By Jovi. My refusal to shun the music the cognoscenti has cast out will forever mark me down as someone with no taste.
I make the same sandwiches every day because I like them, and they're easy to do. The last thing I want to do when I get home from work is spend ages thinking about or creating something new. It's lunch, it's not performance art.
There are places in the world I'd like to visit, but I don't feel particularly aggrieved by not having a fully stamped passport. New York, one day... beyond that, I'm happy enough trudging round the British Isles. In another lifetime, with other opportunities, maybe... but I don't lay awake at night bemoaning my provincialism.
And as to the music... I know this is a bugbear I return to a lot on this blog because of the chip certain individuals in the real world and the blogosphere have cemented to my shoulder, so there's not much more to add.
I will say this though... I may be boring, but I'm never bored. I honestly do not remember the last time I ever felt even remotely bored. There's always something to do or think about or listen to or read. Why would you ever get bored? I'll save that till I'm dead...
Taken from Rufus Wainwright's album of Shakespeare Sonnets, Take All My Loves.
Onto the business at hand then: what did you have for me this week?
Let's start with last week's winner, Douglas, who found himself struggling a little this time...
"I can offer little new regarding the 29s from my own corpus of beloved songs and artists, despite having scoured through some 2500 LPs, 500 CDs, and a few thousand files on the hard drives and mp3s."
Blimey - that's dedication.
"So I hit the search engines, and came across a few songs that were new to me, with 29 in the title, including:"
"29" by Loic Nottet (who, despite being a young male Belgian singer, here most puts me in mind of Adele)
I can definitely hear that. "Loïc Nottet", on the other hand, is an anagram waiting to happen.
"Ryan Adams - 29 (an artist entirely on my periphery, and who, on the strength of this song, seems likely to remain there)"
Ryan Adams made two or three excellent albums early in his career, although he lost his quality control over the years and has recently been dragged into a bit of a #metoo scandal, so he loses points for that as well.
"And perhaps the best of the 3, Gin Blossoms - 29, who at very least fit in some nice jangly guitars into a pretty decent tune with some appropriately wistful lyrics."
Yes. I'm rather fond of the Gin Blossoms also, so that would be my winner from your selections.
Over to Martin, who ticked quite a few off my list...
Then came Alyson, who's petitioning for a return of Randy Tuesdays or Kenny Wednesdays. One thing at once, eh? I'm still not back up to full steam. She did have this to offer though...
"A date this week rather than a time but Chicago did an anti-war kind of song called Someday (August 29, 1968) - Included is real audio of the crowds at an infamous demonstration."
Never heard that before, but I did like it. I always enjoy early Chicago when they had a brass section.
Martin stole many of Rigid Digit's suggestions this week, but RD did dig out the following...
"Simultaneously the best and worst album ever released..."
"From it, Pachuco Cadaver opens with the philosophical line:"
A squid eating dough in a Polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous
"Fanciful nonsense?"
I've to admit, RD, I tried very hard with TMR back in the day, but couldn't ever find my way into it.
"But the 29 bit comes later:"
Got her wheel out of a B-29 Bomber, Brody knob amber
I'm less surprised nobody predicted this week's winner though. It has featured on this blog previously, but probably isn't that well known in the real world.
You join us today at the mouth of the river Ness in the Highlands of Scotland, birthplace of Karen Gilan from Doctor Who & Guardians of the Galaxy; one of my favourite contemporary writers, Ali Smith; Runrig guitarist Malcolm Jones; and the Loch Ness Monster.
We're steering clear of Nessie today though and sticking to the city itself, which you'll find mentioned in Mike Scott's Long Way To The Light...
I spent the night in Glasgow
Flew to Inverness
I found the Place and at the first
I was not impressed
Nobody said hello
The faces left me cold
Back then how was I to know
All that would unfold?
Tough crowd there, Mike?
You'll also find Inverness mentioned in the sequel to Hank Snow's I've Been Everywhere... gloriously titled I Ain't Been Anywhere...
I ain't been anywhere Joe, ain't been anywhere Joe
I didn't want to go so I guess I'll never know Joe
An old stick in the mud Bud
I ain't been anywhere.
Kumquat, Limerick, Inverness, Loch Ness
Swansea, Cuanda, Colombia, Gold Coast
Edinburgh, Singapore, Galveston, Okinawa
Blarney, Killarney, Karachi, Pyongyang
Warsaw, Tarancon, Down, Libya
Goose Bay, Labrador, Outer Space, no place.
However, surely the greatest lyrical mention of Inverness comes in another song that gets about a bit... even visiting the small Norfolk village where I went on holiday last year. (And now I'm kicking myself for using this track for Inverness... what chance do I have of ever finding another song about Cley-next-the-Sea?)
Land's End at dusk
A day of churches
Her getting her hair cut
A windswept walk to Dunnet Head
Boarding a north-bound train at Inverness
A rainy Cley-next-the-Sea
Her swinging on a tyre
Me taking her picture
A station frozen in time
March stars in a Norfolk sky
407 miles down the country next week, back to my home county, but a little bit further south... it ain't New York City, that's for sure!
"We're going out tonight - out and about tonight..."
Yes, I actually went out on a Saturday night... whatever makes her happy, as Brett sang. So all I expected to provide you with this Sunday morning were the pre-prepared answers, no scores. Then you only went and hoovered up all the points in a three horse race that took under an hour - a record! Congrats to Rigid Digit, Martin and Lynchie... who just pipped the other two to the trophy by one point. Thanks also to Chris for mopping up the stray half point a bit later.
Commiserations to Brian, who stayed out late with the hope of sweeping in to get an early victory. Hope you had a nice night out before that, Brian!
Answers then...
10. In the days before mobile phones, these neanderthals ruled the airwaves.
Pretty self-explanatory, this one... if you remember it.
I gave up trying to explain why I was never a Gerry Anderson fan years ago (even as a young boy, I couldn't suspend my disbelief that they were just puppets) because too often I saw the tears or rage or regret welling up in the eyes of those for whom Anderson was a god. I get that: if someone tries to tell me why they never liked Spider-Man, I'd probably react in the same way.
I'm not sure I can get my head around your love for the Joe 90 theme tune either. Other Anderson shows had far better tunes, surely? Thunderbirds? Stingray? Even Captain Scarlet's "This is the voice of the Mysterons" - that still manages to send a chill down my spine, even though the show itself left me cold.
One thing I do like is that back then, TV shows had proper intros. That's 3 and half minutes before the show even starts! No way would that be allowed in today's attention-span-deficit TV culture. I miss that slower pace.
Martin started the bidding with a very strong contender, Taking the title from one of Wham!'s greatest hits and updating it to show what Freedom meant to him now that he was a solo artist, this is an excellent demonstration of the way George matured as a songwriter. Yes, it's a year song, but the 90 meant much more than just "this is when I'm releasing this track".
1. Bow Wow Wow - C30 C60 C90 Go!
Congratulations to C for stealing the points for this one. And no, this won't pop up again at Numbers 60 and 30, because the rule book says no song can appear more than once... and because C90 was by far my cassette of choice. The mix-tape maker's dream!
Which brings us to 89. I think there's pretty much only one choice, but your suggestions are welcome...
