Somedays won't end ever And somedays pass on be I'll be working here forever, At least until I die, dammed if you do, dammed if you don't I'm supposed to get a raise week, you know damn well I won't.
Up every morning just to keep a job I gotta fight my way through the hustling mob Sounds of the city pounding in my brain While another day goes down the drain
Have to catch an early train, got to be to work by nine And if I had an aeroplane, I still couldn't make it on time 'Cause it takes me so long just to figure out what I'm gonna wear Blame it on the train, but the boss is already there
You got me forced to crack my lids in two I'm still stuck inside this rubber room I gotta punch the clock that leads the blind I'm just another gear in the assembly line
3. A beautiful French hive.
In French, their name means beautiful hive. (According to Google Translate, anyway. Ernie may tell us different.)
No, I've never heard of Gazebo either, but apparently this was a 1983 Number One in 7 European countries. In the UK, we were too busy listening to Karma Chameleon.
Just as we had a band called The Bens for our Top Ten Ben Songs, The Donnas were an obvious choice to open this week's post... although there is a far more famous Donna who we come to shortly.
I think that there is also a band called The Donnas, said Charity Chic, who was in a huff because I sided with George last week.
Please please please include all girl band The Donnas with the wonderfully dirty glorious 'Take It Off', said C.
I agree with C, The Donnas are ace, said Swiss Adam.
Even my millennial hipster politico friend, Ben, was quick to chime in that I should feature the great Aussie garage band, The Donnas...
I haven't the heart to tell him they're American. He gets upset if you challenge his youthful wisdom. (It's OK, he doesn't read this. He's far too busy. He votes by proxy.)
Anyway, here they are, with one of many fine tunes from their back catalogue...
There were less suggestions this week because there are less songs featuring Donnas. I'm not saying I engineered it that way to cut down on my workload... but if we do My Top Ten Eammon Songs next week... well...
Still, there were a few strong suggestions that didn't quite make the Top Ten. Such as this one from Lynchie...
Frank Zappa had a song called "Donna Ya Wanna", but it's very rare - only on live bootlegs I think.
Sadly so rare I couldn't find it on youtube. Although it did suggest this fine slice of Zappa as an alternative...
It's worth noting that at this point I considered allowing songs with Madonna in the title, but it opened up a whole kettle of fish and I wondered how I'd manage to make ends meet. But still, there was this...
Tea time won't be the same without my Donna At night I lie awake and dream of Donna I think about that small cafe That's where we used to meet each day And then we used to sit a while And drink our afternoon tea
Suggested by Lynchie. I have to wonder why Donovan would want to go out with another Donna though. Too confusing. It'd be like me going out with a Rolamina.
Rigid Digit and my millennial hipster politico friend, Ben, preferred this version...
When you dig a little deeper though, you discover it's not a song about a girl at all, but an old Yiddish song from the 1940s about a calf being led to slaughter.
Donna has a nine year old kid In another months time she's expecting twins She says she can quit anytime she likes But I know she's on a mission tonight Donna get off that crack says the sign on the third floor flat Donna get off that crack just say no get your life back Don't pay no bills don't pay the rent But you don't forget where the money went And who will you turn to when the money's all gone You'll wonder why, why you were born
I wish that was a Flight of the Conchords piss-take. But I think they're serious. My millennial hipster politico friend, Ben, objects to that because he says it's "classist", which I didn't even know was a word. But I guess you can see his point.
From last year's Pixies album, Beneath The Eyrie, which I ended up listening to quite a lot during the first lockdown. Not the kind of Donna you want to meet on Halloween...
And when the moon grows smaller Donna picks out a flower Gives her a witchy power There in the witching hour, in the witching hour Donna's taking her potion, eating all my devotion Fucking up my emotion, in the witching hour Donna picks her a flower, in the witching hour
Speaking of Donna Summer, said Brian, here's early Paddy that goes back to at least '84...
Which gets you almost top marks as far as I'm concerned, Brian, and allows me to pay proper tribute to the lady many of you expected to be at the top of the page...
Obvs a picture of Donna Summer is required, said Charity Chic... although he loses points for saying "obvs".
Come on, guys, you're both grown men - you're both older than me, for pity's sake! Leave "obvs" to the young uns, eh?
Anyway, here's Donna Summer with a song written specially for her by Bruce Springsteen (who also wrote Cover Me with her in mind, until Jon Landau convinced him to keep it for himself)...
"What are the answers to yesterday's Saturday Snapshots, Rol? I Need To Know!"
Apparently this week's Saturday Snapshots was a tough one. OK guys, don't have a Breakdown. Hopefully you'll Feel A Whole Lot Better now... well done to Lynchie for reclaiming the early bird crown this week...
10. Nathaniel holds his own against the 7th rabbit house. Control.
Nate is short for Nathaniel and he is holding a dog.
Rabbits live in warrens. G is the 7th letter of the alphabet.
I always thought Dubstar was a rubbish name for a band, particularly a band with very little dub in their sound. I always liked the fact that you could hear Sarah Blackwood's northern accent in her vocals though.
The interweb tells me Dubstar are recording again and soon to release a new record. Ooh...
A song about dead children to cheer your dark winter days. Could have been worse (?) - I could have gone with Tom Lehrer - Poisoning Pigeons In The Park.
Named after the old Jane Fonda / Robert Redford movie, this is David Gedge going all romantic on us again. Hardly the sort of thing you'd hear on Steve Wright's Sunday Love Songs, but perhaps it ought to be...
Yes it's because you're just sublime That I think about you all the time Don't ask me if it's true Because how could anybody not love you?
You may have expected this nearer the top... but in retrospect, isn't it just the teeniest bit annoying? Great single, but still... a bit annoying. Actually, I'm not sure who's more annoying, Damon or Phil Daniels. Probably Damon... Phil's just playing a part.
For something slightly less annoying from the Blur boys (but not half as catchy), try Trailer Park.
Look, I'm not going to apologise for the amount of times Bruce makes My Tops Tens... but I should probably apologise that this one only got to #4. In any other chart... Number One With A Bullet.
And me, I just got tired of hangin' in them dusty arcades
Bangin' them pleasure machines Chasin' the factory girls underneath the boardwalk Where they all promise to unsnap their jeans
And you know that tilt-a-whirl down on the south beach drag
I got on it last night and my shirt got caught
And they kept me spinnin', dear, didn't think I'd ever get off
I feel inclined to blow my mind
Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun
They all come out to groove about
Be nice and have fun in the sun
What did you do there?
I got high!
You don't say...
1. Richard Harris - MacArthur Park
Yes, I could have gone with the Donna Summer version, the Glen Campbell version... or even Jimmy Webb's own version... but Richard Harris did it first, and most famously. This song gets a lot of stick, partly because as a singer, Richard Harris was a great actor... and partly because nobody can really agree on what the lyrics are about. Hell to all that - it's a metaphor, deal with it.
Classic.
Those were my favourite park songs, but... which one leaves your cake out in the rain?
