Song Lyric Sunday — “Jersey Girl” — Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday prompt, “La,” I’m featuring “Jersey Girl,” written by Tom Waits with additional lyrics by Bruce Springsteen. I don’t know what it is about this song, but it gives me goosebumps up and down my spine. And I’m not a Jersey girl; imagine what it must do to one of them!

Both Springsteen and Waits married Jersey girls (Patti Scialfa and Kathleen Brennan, respectively) and Waits wrote this song for his.

“Jersey Girl” first appeared on Waits’ 1980 album “Heart Attack and Vine,” which peaked at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 200. Although it was his seventh album, he confessed in an interview, “I never thought I would catch myself saying ‘sha la la’ in a song,” adding, “This is my first experiment with ‘sha la la.'” He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 and was one of “Rolling Stone Magazine’s” 2015 picks for the “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.”

Springsteen started occasionally covering the song in the early ’80s and began including it in regular rotation in his set list during a series of concerts marking the opening of the then-Brendan Byrne Arena in Rutherford, New Jersey. (The arena was subsequently named The Meadowlands.) Springsteen tweaked the first verse a bit. Where Waits wrote “Don’t want no whores on Eighth Avenue,” Springsteen sang “Or the girls down on the avenue.” Springsteen also added three new verses and eliminated Waits’ final line “And I call your name, I can’t sleep at night.”

During one of Springsteen’s 1981 Los Angeles appearances, Tom Waits joined him on stage, where they performed the song together. In what we, today, would call a “mashup,” they combined Waits’ original lyrics with Springsteen’s new lyrics. Each sang backup for the other.

You can hear the audio in the video below. If you want to follow along with the lyrics, I’ve posted Waits’ original lyrics in full and Springsteen’s additional three verses.

Just in case you’re not familiar with their voices, Waits sings the first three verses. Springsteen chimes in on the first Sha la la las and sings the fourth and fifth verses written by Waits. Waits comes back in with his final verse (“And I call your name…”), after which Springsteen sings the three verses he wrote. Many Sha la las are mixed in throughout. Enjoy!

 

“Jersey Girl” by Tom Waits

Got no time for the corner boys,
Down in the street makin’ all that noise,
Don’t want no whores on eighth avenue,
Cause tonight I’m gonna be with you.

‘Cause tonight I’m gonna take that ride,
Across the river to the jersey side,
Take my baby to the carnival,
And I’ll take you on all the rides,
Sing sha la la la la la sha la la la.

Down the shore everything’s alright,
You’re with your baby on a Saturday night,
Don’t you know that all my dreams come true,
When I’m walkin’ down the street with you,
Sing sha la la la la la sha la la la.

You know she thrills me with all her charms,
When I’m wrapped up in my baby’s arms,
My little angel gives me everything,
I know someday that she’ll wear my ring.

So don’t bother me cause I got no time,
I’m on my way to see that girl of mine,
Nothin’ else matters in this whole wide world,
When you’re in love with a jersey girl,
Sing sha la la la la la la.

And I call your name, I can’t sleep at night,
Sha la la la la la la.

 

“Jersey Girl” additional lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

I see you on the street and you look so tired
I know that job you got leaves you so uninspired
When I come by to take you out to eat
you’re lyin’ all dressed up on the bed baby fast asleep

Go in the bathroom and put your makeup on
We’re gonna take that little brat of yours and drop her off at your mom?s
I know a place where the dancing?s free
Now baby won’t you come with me

‘Cause down the shore everything’s all right
You and your baby on a Saturday night
Nothing matters in this whole wide world
When you’re in love with a Jersey girl

compiled with information sourced from Wikipedia, AllMusic.com, SongFacts.com, and SongMeanings.com

 

Song Lyric Sunday — “The Hanukkah Song” — Adam Sandler

Adam Sandler’s classic song celebrating “eight crazy nights” is my contribution for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, “Crazy.” Written by Adam Sandler, Louis Morton, and Ian Maxtone-Graham while all three were writing (and Sandler performing) for Saturday Night Live, this gem landed in Jewish homes across America on December 3, 1994, and we LOVED it! Still do. Over the years, Sandler has tweaked the lyrics, adding and subtracting various celebrities, but for me nothing beats the original, no matter how you spell it.

So, on this seventh crazy night, Happy Hanukkah and enjoy!

 

“The Chanukah Song”

“Okay…
This is a song that uhh..
There’s a lot of Christmas songs out there and uhh..
not too many Chanukah songs.
So uhh..
I wrote a song for all those nice little Jewish kids who don’t get to hear
any Chanukah songs.
Here we go…”

Put on your yarmulke
Here comes Chanukah
So much funukah
To celebrate Chanukah
Chanukah is the festival of lights
Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights

When you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree
Here’s a list of people who are Jewish just like you and me
David Lee Roth lights the menorah
So do James Caan, Kirk Douglas, and the late Dinah Shore-ah

Guess who eats together at the Carnegie Deli
Bowser from Sha Na Na and Arthur Fonzerelli
Paul Newman’s half Jewish, Goldie Hawn’s half too
Put them together, what a fine lookin’ Jew

You don’t need “Deck The Halls” or “Jingle Bell Rock”
‘Cause you can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock- both Jewish

Put on your yarmulke
It’s time for Chanukah
The owner of the Seattle Supersonicahs
Celebrates Chanukah

O.J. Simpson, not a Jew
But guess who is? Hall of famer Rod Carew- he converted
We got Ann Landers and her sister Dear Abby
Harrison Ford’s a quarter Jewish- not too shabby

Some people think that Ebenezer Scrooge is
Well he’s not, but guess who is
All three Stooges
So many Jews are in showbiz
Tom Cruise isn’t, but I heard his agent is

Tell your friend Veronica
It’s time to celebrate Chanukah
I hope I get a harmonicah
Oh this lovely, lovely Chanukah
So drink your gin and tonicah
And smoke your marijuanikah
If you really, really wannakah
Have a happy, happy, happy, happy Chanukah
Happy Chanukah

 

Song Lyric Sunday – “Maybe Baby” – The Cars

Jim Adams has been giving us multi-word Song Lyric Sunday prompts for a while, so I was a little shocked to discover that this week’s prompt is one word: “Baby.” Of course, there is a Cars song for that. They recorded one I love, “Maybe Baby,” for their 1981 “Shake It Up” album.

You might think “Maybe Baby” is going to be a cover of Buddy Holly’s iconic 1957 hit, but you’d be wrong. The Cars’ song is a quirky Ric Ocasek original. I do think, however, that the song title is his sly tribute to Holly, just as his “Bye Bye Love” is (I believe) to The Everly Brothers, unless both Ocasek song titles are mere coincidences.

Following in the “coincidence” vein is this: Ocasek supervised the remastering of the 2017 release of an expanded version of the Cars’ 1980 “Panorama” album with bonus tracks. Among those is a “not previously released” song called “Be My Baby,” which is also sometimes referred to as an early version of “Maybe Baby.” Joke’s on us, peeps! They are exactly the same song, previously released in 1981. Word for word. Note for note.

Now, you may not know this, but Ric Ocasek could have been called a control freak. Nothing the Cars did — no album, cd, concert, tv appearance — occurred without Ric’s finger in the pie. Incongruously, he also enjoyed a good practical joke.  Somewhere in the ether, I picture him still laughing at this one.

 

 

“Maybe Baby”
I heard stories about you
I’d like to think that they were true
I did not know you’d be like that
With those surprises under hat

Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby

When you dance between the stars
In the night late, sweet and dark
Turn them over one by one
You don’t need to jump the gun

Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby

When the night is feeling flush
And when the night is all a hush
Electric look, eclectic blue
Keep one dream that won’t come true

Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my, be my
Be my maybe baby

Maybe baby
Maybe baby
Be my, be my, be my
Be my maybe baby

Maybe baby
Maybe baby
You’re the one

Maybe baby
Maybe baby
Maybe baby
Be my, be my, be my
Be my maybe baby
Be my maybe baby

I heard stories about you
I’d like to think that they were true
Be my maybe
Be my, be my, be my, be my

 

 

Charlie Farren – “In My Movie”

More than anything else, Charlie Farren is a romantic. Yes, he is a hard rocker, who leaped out of Boston’s late-70s/early-80s club scene onto a national stage when he became the lead singer for The Joe Perry Project, Aerosmith’s co-founder’s side gig. He went on to form Farrenheit, a mid-80s MTV favorite, playing arenas throughout the country. But he’s a romantic rocker, putting his rockin’ life on the back burner for 22 years while he worked local IT jobs to support his wife and family. Nowadays he is a solo act, jamming occasionally with Joe Perry and frequently “special guesting” for REO Speedwagon, Three Dog Night, and, most recently, Jay Leno.

Now, I love all Charlie’s music — a bluesy, jazzy, rock’n’roll mix. Most of all I love his ballads.  My current favorite, “In My Movie,” comes from the 2011 CD “FBI,” by Farren Butcher Inc., his collaboration with Jon Butcher, another product of Boston’s late ’70s music scene. I’ve had the CD and song on constant loop for the past week. Can’t get enough! Thought you all might like it, too.

 

Note: I borrowed this pic from one of Charlie Farren’s recent posts re his current America’s Special Guest tour. Don’t know who the photog was, but most of Charlie’s tour pics are credited to Jonathan Keating. Hope neither he nor Charlie mind my using it.

Song Lyric Sunday – “Don’t Tell Me No” and “Don’t Go To Pieces” – The Cars

The last time I featured a Cars song for Song Lyric Sunday was September 22, 2019. That’s too long ago. This week’s theme Did/Didn’t/Do/Don’t/Does/Doesn’t gives me the opportunity to remedy that oversight. Quite a few Cars songs would fit, but I’m featuring two of the best, both relatively-unknown: “Don’t Tell Me No” and “Don’t Go To Pieces.”

As with all Cars songs, Ric Ocasek wrote both, but “Don’t Go To Pieces” is one of the few Cars songs for which he shares co-writing credit with someone — Greg Hawkes, the Cars’ “jack of all trades,” whose contributions to the Cars included keyboards, synth, sax, percussion, and background vocals.

Both songs were released as singles, but neither charted. “Don’t Tell Me No,” the second single off the Panorama album, was released in November, 1980, with “Don’t Go To Pieces” on the B-side. “Don’t Go To Pieces” was released again in January, 1981, as the B-side of the third Panorama album single “Gimme Some Slack” (which also didn’t chart.) “Don’t Go To Pieces” did not appear on a Cars album until the Just What I Needed Anthology album in 1995 but was also included with the Panorama expanded edition released in 2017. Although commercially unsuccessful, both songs are cult-favorites in the Fanorama. (Considering how many times DGTP was released, I wonder if Ric Ocasek also had a soft spot for it.)

Both songs are showcases for Benjamin Orr’s vocal versatility. I’ll start with my fave:

 

“Don’t Go To Pieces”

What’s it gonna be?
Red jacket girl, lover, midnight spree
What’s it gonna be?
You look so imperial

What’s it gonna be?
You tried and you tried
But you couldn’t hook your shoelace
What’s it gonna be?
Know you got intention, difficult to see

You can make the switch
You can have your wish

What’s it gonna prove?
Turning all the dials, makin’ all the right moves
What’s it gonna prove?
It’s all so mystical

What’s it gonna prove?
You look so tacky in your chrome drip belt
What’s it gonna prove?
You’re ready to rage and startin’ to melt down

You can make the switch
You can have your wish

Don’t go to pieces, b-b-baby
Don’t go to pieces
Don’t go to pieces, b-b-baby
Don’t go to pieces

What’s it gonna show?
All left out and ready to go
What’s it gonna mean?
You feel like trash but you look so clean

What’s it gonna do?
All of them angels jealous of you
Where’s it gonna go?
Anyplace, faster pace, overcome the low blow

You can make the switch
(Ooo)
You can have your wish

Don’t go to pieces, b-b-baby
Don’t go to pieces
Don’t go to pieces, b-b-baby
Don’t go to pieces

Don’t go to pieces, b-b-baby
Don’t go to pieces
(Ooo)
Don’t go to pieces, b-baby
(Ooo)

(Ooo)
Don’t go to pieces
(Ooo)
Don’t go to pieces, b-baby
(Ooo)
Don’t go to pieces
(Ooo)

 

 

“Don’t Tell Me No“
It’s my party, you can come
It’s my party, have some fun
It’s my dream, have a laugh
It’s my life, have a half, well
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no (I like it when you tell me slow)
It’s my transition, it’s my play
It’s my phone call to beta ray
It’s my hopscotch, light the torch
It’s my downtime, feel the scorch, well
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no, no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no (I don’t like it when you tell me no)
It’s my ambition, it’s my joke
It’s my teardrop, emotional smoke
It’s my mercy, it’s my plan
I want to go to futureland, well
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no, no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no, no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no (I like it when you tell me slow)
Don’t tell me no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no, no, no, no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no, no (don’t tell me, I don’t want to know)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no, no (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no, no, no, ay (don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no (Don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no, no (don’t tell me no, no, don’t tell me no)
Don’t tell me no
Don’t tell me no (don’t tell me, you have to go, don’t tell me no)