Calling you - Javetta Steele

Ringrazio il segnalatore anonimo per questa bella e intensa canzone che vanta svariate cover di voci illustri tra cui il nostro amato Jeff Buckley.






Traduzione in italiano: qui


A desert road from Vegas to nowhere
Some place better than where you've been
A coffee machine that needs some fixing
In a little café just around the bend

I am calling you
Can't you hear me
I am calling you

A hot dry wind blows right thru me
The baby's crying and can't sleep
But we both know a change is coming
Coming closer sweet release

I am calling you
I know you hear me
I am calling you Oh

I know it's over - The Smiths

Ringrazio sempre lo stesso lettore Anonimo dell'altra canzone degli Smiths, quella di questo post è sicuramente una delle canzoni più tristi che mi siano capitate.
Ciò che apprezzo particolarmente è la ricchezza del testo di cui la cosa che più mi ha colpita è l'inizio: "Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head", questo rivolgersi alla madre in un modo così naturale, mostra un lato veramente intimo e se vogliamo istintivo, ma non è questo che mi ha colpita, quanto il fatto che se ne parli direttamente in una canzone, è la prima volta che mi capita, e mi ha colpita proprio per il fatto che si tende a fare i duri, a farsi vedere "grandi", invece questo rivolgersi alla propria madre, mostrandosi in tutta la sua umana debolezza, stampa nella mia mente un'immagine veramente commovente, più familiare e vicina, così naturale eppure così forte.
Voglio dire, spesso nei testi si incorre in metafore, iperboli o figure retoriche esasperate, qui invece c'è tutto il dolore nudo e crudo ed è così forte che riesco a sentirlo anche io che non ho mai vissuto la situazione delineata nel testo.

Credo di non essermi mai soffermata così tanto su di una singola frase, ma questa mi ha veramente colpita.


Ero indecisa, se classificare la canzone come "#non corrisposto" o meno, per via della frase:
And it never really began
But in my heart it was so real
Ed in realtà non è neppure mai cominciata
Ma dentro di me era tutto così reale
Ma nel "#non corrisposto" io vedo comunque una possibile speranza, insomma, non si sa mai, qui invece c'è tutto il peso della certezza, non c'è più spazio per la speranza, quindi per me è decisamente relativa alla fine di una qualcosa.


Traduzione in italiano: qui





Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed
Oh well, enough said..
I know it's over, still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
See the sea wants to take me
The knife wants to slit me
Do you think you can help me?
Sad veiled bride, please be happy
Handsome groom, give her room
Loud, loutish lover, treat her kindly
though she needs you more than she loves you
And I know it's over, still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
I know it's over
And it never really began
But in my heart it was so real
And you even spoke to me and said:
"If you're so funny
then why are you on your own tonight?
And if you're so clever
then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very entertaining
then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very good-looking
Why do you sleep alone tonight?
I know
'Cause tonight is just like any other night
That's why you're on your own tonight
With your triumphs and your charms
While they're in each other's arms.."
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind
Love is Natural and Real
But not for you, my love
Not tonight, my love
Love is Natural and Real
But not for such as you and I, my love

Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head


E per finire la cover di Jeff Buckley, bellissima anch'essa.
Tra l'altro c'è qualcosa nella musica poco prima che inizi a cantare che mi fa pensare troppo alla sua versione di Hallelujah e questo gli dà un tocco di malinconia in più, anche se tra le due non saprei proprio scegliere, entrambe trasmettono molto.

Last goodbye - Jeff Buckley

Potrei spendere due parole su questa canzone di Jeff, ma la musica parla da sola, fantastica la performance live del video, buon ascolto!



Traduzione in italiano:qui


This is our last goodbye
I hate to feel the love between us die.
But it's over
Just hear this and then I'll go:
You gave me more to live for,
More than you'll ever know.

Well, this is our last embrace,
Must I dream and always see your face?
Why can't we overcome this wall?
Baby, maybe it's just because I didn't know you at all.

Kiss me, please kiss me,
But kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation.
Oh, you know it makes me so angry 'cause I know that in time
I'll only make you cry, this is our last goodbye.

Did you say, "No, this can't happen to me"?
And did you rush to the phone to call?
Was there a voice unkind in the back of your mind saying,
"Maybe, you didn't know him at all,
you didn't know him at all,
oh, you didn't know"?

Well, the bells out in the church tower chime,
Burning clues into this heart of mine.
Thinking so hard on her soft eyes, and the memories
Offer signs that it's over, it's over.

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

Hallelujah, scritta da Leonard Cohen, è stata incisa nel 1984 per l'album Various Positions, portata però in auge da Jeff Buckley nel 1994 quando ne incise la cover.


Il testo della canzone si presta a varie interpetazioni tanto che si è discusso a lungo sul reale significato attribuito a questa canzone da parte di Cohen.

Iniziamo col notare il richiamo alle vicende Bibbliche:
-Davide e Betsabea: "you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you".
-Sansone e Dalila: "She broke your throne and she cut your hair".

Entrambi hanno perso qualcosa cedendo alla seduzione femminile.

Tra l'altro proprio con l'immagine di Re Davide che si apre la canzone:
"I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord"
(che secondo la tradizione è l'autore del Libro dei Salmi.)

Infine, notiamo come nel testo ci sia un richiamo agli accordi usati nella musica stessa:
"Well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift"
The fourth, la quarta, corrisponde al Fa (la tonalità di tutta la canzone è Do maggiore); the fifth, la quinta, al Sol; the minor, la minore, al La minore e the major, la maggiore di nuovo al Fa. (wikipedia)


A parte tutto questo, il senso della canzone (e anche parte del testo) cambia a seconda di chi la interpreta, la cover di Jeff per esempio è più triste dell'originale ed è stata descritta da lui stesso come un hallelujah sull'orgasmo:
"chiunque la ascolti attentamente scopre che è una canzone sul sesso, sull'amore e sulla vita terrena. Non è un hallelujah per una fede, un idolo o un dio, ma è l'hallelujah dell'orgasmo. E' un'ode alla vita e all'amore." (Jeff Buckley)
"There was a time you'd let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me do you?
Remember when I moved in you?
The holy dark was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah"

Insomma nella versione di Jeff Buckley abbiamo un intrecciarsi di vicende Bibbliche e vita moderna. E' una canzone d'amore, dove l'amore non è sempre dolce e tenero, spesso è doloroso, perché amare vuol dire lasciare se stessi esposti alla sofferenza.


video ufficiale




Traduzione in italiano:qui

I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
love is not a victory march
Its a cold and its a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you'd let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me do you?
Remember when I moved in you?
The holy dark was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above
And all I ever learned from love
was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
Its not a cry you can hear at night
Its not somebody who's seen the light
Its a cold and its a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah



Per chi ne avesse curiosità questa è la versione originale di Cohen, che ha un significato più prettamente religioso (Leonard Cohen è ebreo):


E poi questa sua recente interpretazione live: qui.


Hallelujah (Ita)

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah


Per finire vi voglio proporre una cover che a me piace molto molto, se non erro riprendere proprio quella di Jeff Buckley, quella di Brandi Carlile:
Hallelujah (link a grooveshark)
Se vi piace date un'occhiata al mio ***Progetto/Esperimento***.

Qualcuno ha la sua interpretazione personale che vuole condividere? Sarebbe sicuramente interessante visto la complessità del testo sapere come viene recepito un po' da tutti.

Forget her - Jeff Buckley

Canzone di chiusura dell'album Grace, una delle mie preferite, essenziale, lucida, intensa e poi Jeff è fantastico.

Forget her (Ita)



while this town is busy sleeping
all the noise has died away
i walk the streets to stop my weeping
cause she'll never change her ways

don't fool yourself
she was heartache from the moment that you met her
my heart feels so still
as i try to find the will to forget her somehow
oh i think i've forgotten her now

her love is a rose pale and dying
dropping her petals and men unknown
all full of wine the world before her
was sober with no place to go

don't fool yourself
she was heartache from the moment that you met her
my heart is frozen still
cause i try to find the will to forget her somehow
she's somewhere out there now

(guitar solo)

oh my tears are falling down as i try to forget
her love was a joke from the day that we met
all of the words all of the men
all of my pain when i think back to when
remember her hair as it shone in the sun
the smell of the bed when i knew what she'd done
tell yourself over and over you wont ever need her again

But don't fool yourself
she was heartache from the moment that you met her
oh my heart is frozen still
as i try to find the will to forget her somehow
she's out there somewhere now

oh
she was heartache from the day that i first met her
my heart is frozen still
as i try to find the will to forget you somehow
cause i know you're somewhere out there right now