Comments on: Music Monday: Midnight Special

By: chosha

chosha — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:27:17 +0000

Here’s a present for you: http://www.songfacts.com/artist:creedence_clearwater_revival.php. It won’t answer all the lyrics questions, but there’s some interesting info there.

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know Creedence’s music. My brother is seven years older than me, so anything he was into I would have heard from when I was very young. Their music makes me feel buoyant and happy – good enough for me.

By: xJane

xJane — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:25:38 +0000

Cannonball Jones—I actually usually take Fortunate Son as proof that they’re a right-wing redneck kind of band (obvious pot use and references notwithstanding)…

Chandelle, that’s an awesome quote: “Just makes you feel good. And a little bit like getting stoned.”

By: Chandelle

Chandelle — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:52:10 +0000

Oh man! Love CCR. Totally my Saturday afternoon cleaning-the-house music. Just makes you feel good. And a little bit like getting stoned.

By: Cannonball Jones

Cannonball Jones — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:22:09 +0000

They’re seriously one of the most underrated bands ever in terms of enjoyability. I didn’t know anything about them till I looked up “Lookin’ Out My Backdoor” after it got stuck in my head from watching The Big Lebowski too many times. Since then I’ve never looked back and managed to gather most of their back catalogue. Funnily enough loads of folk over here assume, for some reason, that they’re a right-wing redneck kind of band so I take great pleasure in playing “Fortunate Son” for them

By: xJane

xJane — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:43:51 +0000

Elaine: LOL! I’ve long since suspected that they don’t care much what the lyrics are, so long as they sound good musically/rhythmically.

Jonathan Blake: you know, that could be! I always guessed “Virginia” was a state.

By: Jonathan Blake

Jonathan Blake — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:47:52 +0000

“I went down Virginia, Seekin’ shelter from the storm. Caught up in the fable, I watched the tower grow.”

Yeah, I’m guessing it’s sexual. Perhaps that’s just me.

By: Roy

Roy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Haha!
I can’t tell if you’re serious about the Down on the Corner lyrics, but those are great!

It might be because of where my family are from or because I’ve been listening to them for so long, but I don’t usually have too much trouble discerning most CCR lyrics. They’re definitely one of the all time greats. I associate them with some really great times in my life. It’s funny, because we listened to them the most on car trips, as well. Mostly to visit family. Great times.

What’s interesting to me is how much variety of subject and emotion you can go through listening to CCR. Stuff like “Lookin’ out My Back Door” and “Down on the Corner” make you want to tap your feet and get down a little bit, but something like “Someday Never Comes” is sad and tragic. Then you’ve got political songs like “Fortunate Son” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain”, about Vietnam and the impact on the common person.

Anyway, at the risk of telling you what you already know: Down on the Corner is from the Album “Willy and the Poor Boys”, and is about a four-man band made up of Willy, Blinky, Rooster, and Poorboy.

The chorus goes:
“Down on the Corner, out in the street,
Willy and the Poorboys are playin’
Bring a nickle, tap your feet.”

The second verse is:

“Rooster hits the washboard, and people just gotta smile.
Blinky thumps the gut bass and solos for a while.
Poorboy twangs the rhythm out on his kalamazoo.
Willy goes into a dance, and doubles on kazoo.”

By: Elaine

Elaine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:12:33 +0000

Even today, whenever a CCR song comes on the radio, the volume gets cranked up several notches.

By the way, did you know that so many people think that the key lyric in “Bad Moon Rising” is, “There’s a bathroom on the right,” rather than “There’s a bad moon on the rise”, that John Fogerty has taken to sometimes singing the “bathroom” lyric rather than the correct lyric in concert? Something about that just tickles the hell out of me.