SLS: I Will Give You Good Cheer

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This week for Song Lyric Sunday Jim is inviting us to play a song that makes us think about life, as he tells us in his post, Pondering Existential Thoughts. This theme ran previously, in September 2024, when I played you two songs in SLS: To Everything… I’m also playing you two today, but different ones, as there are plenty to choose from!

As I said last Sunday, I have been having trouble with paragraph formatting for my SLS posts, whether I run them in Classic or Block mode, so I experimented with playing lyric videos to meet the request to share the songs’ lyrics – this is Song Lyric Sunday, after all! That seemed to work ok, so I’m doing it again with this week’s pair of tunes. And the beauty of these is that unofficial lyric videos are rarely country-restricted, so I don’t have to worry that you won’t see them. A win-win, I think. But that’s enough waffle, time for some music. Both of these are long time favourites of mine, this first one being the older of them:

Jethro Tull released Life Is A Long Song as the lead song on a five track EP in September 1971, and it reached #11 in the UK Singles chart (we had done away with a separate EPs chart by then). All five tracks were included on the band’s first compilation album, Living In The Past, which came out in June 1972 and peaked at #8 in the UK and #3 in the US. I bought the EP when it was released, but couldn’t resist also adding the album to my collection: it was a real goldmine of their ‘best of’ up to that point, along with some previously unreleased recordings. These five tracks were later included on the 40th anniversary re-release of the Aqualung album in 2011, presumably making up for their omission from the original release.

This week’s theme is songs that make us think about life, and this one has always done that for me. To me, it is about friends offering their support in times when we might be feeling down and in need of help, something I think we all welcome. Sadly, Ian Anderson concludes that the tune (i.e. life) “ends too soon for us all,” with the underlying message that we shouldn’t waste our time – make the most of what we have been given!

 

 

Not that I plan these, or anything, but that is also the message of my second tune for today:

Wasted On The Way was released in June 1982 on Crosby Stills and Nash’s third album as a trio, Daylight Again, which peaked at #8 in the US but didn’t make the UK charts. It was the first single taken from the album and reached #9 in the US, again not making it here. It is a lovely album, well worthy of its Platinum award in the US, if only because it contains my all time favourite CSN song, Southern Cross. Wasted On The Way was written by Graham Nash, who said in an interview around that time with Songfacts that “We had wasted a lot of time arguing with each other and debating how we should do this or do that, and that’s what I wanted to say: We wasted a lot of time. CSN&Y only did what, three albums? We had wasted a lot of time, and I just wanted to make my partners realise that.” Songfacts also tells us that “David Crosby was, in fact, ‘wasted’ around this time, a point disc jockeys often made when playing the song. His drug abuse got really bad in the late ’70s and was an issue when they recorded this song in late 1980 and early 1981. He was arrested for freebasing cocaine in 1982 just a few months before the song was released. Crosby only sobered up after spending much of 1986 in jail, which he says probably saved his life.”

Having decided to play lyric videos I am perhaps depriving myself of the joy of sharing a wonderful live performance by the three of them from 1989, after Crosby had got himself well again. The sheer delight they share in playing together is wonderful:

Never let it be said that I shortchange you! Isn’t that fantastic?

That’s my two for today. As always, I hope you enjoyed them, and I give my thanks to Jim for running this great show. I’e already read some of the early posts that have been made today, and the variety of choices is, as always, great to see.

Have a lovely day, and I hope to see you again for Tuesday Tunes. Take care 😊

63 thoughts on “SLS: I Will Give You Good Cheer”

  1. The restraint in both tracks is what lingers most: no grand histrionics, just clear-eyed observation wrapped in melodies that refuse to wallow. That blend of folk acuity and layered harmony turns potential melancholy into something quietly affirming, as if the music itself is practising the forgiveness the lyrics advocate.

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  6. Great song choices Clive. As you know, I’m also a Tull and CSNY fan. ‘Life’s a Long Song’ is one of my favourites, not just because of the music but the message in the lyrics. Anderson performed a wonderful version about 10 years ago in his home accompanied by a string quartet. Worth checking out if haven’t seen it.

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  8. Clive, two good choices. “Wasted on the way” has huge meaning to me. How much time do we waste? Reading argumentative emails where your cc’ed on back and forth BS. Being in meetings that run over because of people digressing from the agenda. And, so on. Keith

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  10. Excellent song choices and another great write up this week, Clive. I like lyric videos and have been using them for a while, not exclusively but frequently. Many times I can’t understand what’s being sung and the captioning is often incorrect. Lyric videos are a great solution for that problem and are especially good for SLS. They’re also a great space-saver!

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    • Thank you, Nancy, I’m pleased you enjoyed the tunes and the words. I know what you mean about the captioning – I sometimes wonder what language they are speaking! I’ve used lyric videos for SLS for the past two weeks, as importing large amounts of text was throwing the posts all over the place. The saving of space is an added bonus.

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  11. Oddly, I hadn’t ever heard the one by Jethro Tull before … not destined to become a favourite, but I didn’t have to turn it off after 20 seconds, either — I listened to the whole thing and I think I liked it better by the end. Now … as for the CS&N song … YES! I’ve always loved that one, never thought about the lyrics before, but the lyrics to both the songs you played have some thought-provoking meaning. Good post, Clive! And … you’ve given me an idea … 🤔

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    • I’m not surprised you didn’t know the Jethro Tull one, as it wasn’t a chart hit over there. I’m glad you persisted with it, as it is a lovely song and well worth your time. The CS&N one is pretty special, isn’t it – both songs have meaningful lyrics, which is always a bonus for me.

      Intrigued by your thought! If you haven’t done a CS&N week now would be a good time for one 😉

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      • Yeah, I think that Jethro Tull one could grow on me if I listened to it a few times! And the lyrics ARE worthy, for sure.

        Well, dear friend, your memory is as bad as mine is, for I did a CSN&Y Week in March 2025!!! I didn’t remember, either, though, and was gonna play one for you today, but I just played it less than a year ago!!!! We might better get a whetstone and sharpen our memories, my friend — and I do mean ME, too! Heck, I’m lucky if I remember my name when I wake up in the mornings!

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    • I’m pleased you liked them. I expected the Jethro Tull one to be unfamiliar over there but thought you might know the CS&N song, as it was a big hit. Happy to have made the introductions for you 👍

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  13. Clive, two EXCELLENT choices for the prompt today. I’ve turned to the Tull one many times for emotional sustenance. The CSN one is a feelgood also.

    Back to the Tull, I have watched this YouTube MANY times, probably because it shows Ian keepin on keepin on:

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  16. It’s a very ‘Tull’ song in its structure and Anderson’s delivery. ‘Wasted’ is beautiful, of course.

    WP- every time they tout their latest ‘improvement’ I sigh deeply and get ready for another round of frustration and pounding the keyboard, screaming at the screen and losing my f- train of thought. I too stick to the El Cheapo Poverty Row not-gonna-pay plan. But the WP tech gurus, despite what they say in their latest update, do NOT make it easy.

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  18. Nice selections, Clive. I like the way Ian Anderson looked at life’s passing, with a bittersweet, yet comforting message that “the tune ends too soon for us all”. The CSN song Wasted On The Way really makes you think about the missed opportunities and endless drama that happens in life.

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    • I’m that bit older, and grew up with them. I actually bought the EP with some of the money I was given for my 18th birthday!

      CS&N have always been fantastic, and I bought their first album in 1969 when it came out. Fan for life!

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  22. “Life is a Long Song” is a great tune. Anderson, like Frank Zappa, has always seemed more cerebral than most rock musicians.

    WordPress is like so many entities these days in that they have employees whose job is to “tinker” and make things as difficult and complicated as they can. Not easy for older farts like us!

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  24. I do like ‘Life Is A Long Song’ (note to self must get a ‘Best of’ Jethro Tull album- you’ve been saying so for 35-40 years now)

    You have my deepest sympathies with the paragraph issue. A problem shared etc…etc…WP have been tinkering again, I know it!

    Best wishes

    Roger

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    • It’s one of a great catalogue – and you have many ‘best of’ collections from which to choose!

      WP seem to delight in making things difficult for us, but I refuse to pay for a plan as that might not help anyway!

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      • Paying WP does not help at all. I can to close down a previous blog because of their quirks. Neither WP or Kismet admitting they were at fault.
        I daresay they are of great help for those running small commercial operations but for those of us who blog for personal reasons not so much.

        Jertho Tull – I will be searching 😀

        Thanks Clive.

        Roger

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    • Thank you, Jodi, I’m glad you liked my choices. Tull have been a favourite of mine ever since they first started, and it may be heresy to say it but I always thought CS&N were better than CSN&Y!

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