In his 1961 hit song “Marieke”, the Belgian singer, Jacques Brel sings about a Flemish girl, Marieke, whom he once loved and lived “between the towers of Bruges and Gent. It is the only song where he sings both in his native French language and in Flemish. Towers played an important part in medieval life. …
Author Archives: M&M
Beloved Isle Cayman
This is the tite of the national song of the Cayman Islands written by Leila Ross-Shier in 1930. Born on the island in 1896 she wrote a number of hymns and ballads. The national anthem of the island still remains “God Save the Queen”, but Ross-Shier’s lyrics are a more apt song for the island. …
Chariots of Fire
This edition we will be visiting the birthplace of the Greek composer Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, otherwise known as Vangellis. He is probably best known in the UK as the composer of the soundtrack for the film “Chariots of Fire”. The 1981 film is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 …
Formentera Lady
Houses iced in whitewash guard a pale shore-lineCornered by the cactus and the pineHere I wander where sweet sage and strange herbs growDown a sun-baked crumpled stony road. These opening lyrics to the 1969 song “Formentera Lady” by British band, King Crimson helps to explain why many musicians have found inspiration on the tiny island …
Indiana Wants Me
“Indiana Wants Me” is a 1970 song written by Canadian singer R Dean Taylor. It is reputed that he wrote the song after seeing the film “Bonnie and Clyde”. Whilst Indiana might have wanted R Dean Tayor, we want to visit Indiana and in particular the state capital of Indianapolis. The most famous event in …
Let’s go to Costa Rica
With little on the UK Government’s Green List to choose from. The lyrics of the track “Costa Rica” by Canadian Singer-Songwriter had a bit more weight. A slight editing of the lyrics gives us “I wanna leave this place yeah to never be found” … “Let’s go to Costa Rica”. I guess some of us …
Solsbury Hill
Solsbury Hill was written and performed by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel. It was his debut single after his split from the band, and it is widely acknowledged that the song is about his thoughts around his decision to leave them. Solsbury Hill itself is a small flat-topped hill, that was once an iron age …
Charlie on the MTA
“M.T.A” aka “The MTA Song” aka “Charlie on the MTA”, tells the tale of a man called Charlie, who is trapped on the Boston subway system. So famous has the song become over the years that the electronic card based fare collection system on the Boston subway is known as the “Charlie Card”. The Kingston …
Porto
This official video for the track Porto by the French DJ and musician Kevin Rodrigues, who is better known as Worakls gives a really good flavour of the city of Porto. There are no lyrics the images say it all. Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and lies along the Douro River estuary …
Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
Jules Verne’s 1864 novel “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” tells the story of a German scientist and his nephew who believe that they can journey to the centre of the earth by descending into Iceland’s inactive volcano “Snæfellsjökull”. Snæfellsjökull can sometimes be seen from the Icelandic capital of Reykjavík, a distance of 120 …