Tuesday Tunes 318: September

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For this week’s Tuesday Tunes I thought I would take a kind of leaf out of Jim’s Song Lyric Sunday book, but instead of going for birthdays I’m playing a set of songs with September in their title. I’ve played most of these before but as I always say, you can’t keep a good song down, and a couple of these are amongst my all time favourites.

I’m starting this week with a real pop classic, which I never grow tired of hearing:

Carole King released It Might As Well Rain Until September in September 1962. It had originally been co-written with Gerry Goffin for Bobby Vee, but after the record company had released Carole’s version as a single Vee decided he only wanted his version to be an album track. This was Carole’s best performer in the UK charts, peaking at #3, and it also reached #22 in the US.

This next one is one of the two I count as all time favourites in this set:

Green Day, with Wake Me Up When September Ends, in the mini-movie version. The track was first released on their seventh album, American Idiot, in September 2004. This was a massive success, going to #1 in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and several other countries, and has to date sold more than 23m copies worldwide. 6.2m of those are in the US, where it has gone 6x Platinum, and it has achieved 8x Platinum in the UK for 2.6 m sales: big numbers! It became the fourth single taken from the album, in June 2005, peaking at #3 in Canada, #6 in the US and #8 in the UK. Its sales figures are also pretty impressive, especially when you consider how many would already have had the song on the album. For 320,000 in Canada it has gone 4x Platinum, In the US it went Platinum for 1m, but its biggest sales were here in the UK, where it has sold 1.2m, going Double Platinum in the process. It seems that I’m not alone in liking this one!

I’ve played this next one before but the song and video are so good I’m going round again:

That was Frazey Ford with September Fields. I absolutely love this song, and I think Frazey has the most amazing voice. She is Canadian, and originally came to my notice by being a founder member of the folk/Americana band The Be Good Tanyas, of which she is still a part, though she has now released three solo albums too. This was on the second of those, Indian Ocean, which was recorded in Memphis with Al Green’s backing band and released in 2014: it has that feel, doesn’t it. It is a great album, and comes highly recommended by me.

I thought that many of you would expect me to play Earth Wind and Fire’s big hit, September, for this theme, but I’m not a particular fan of the band. However, while I was trawling YouTube I found this cover version, which I think is lovely, so it is getting its first airing by me today:

Ever heard of Campsite Dream before? No, neither had I, so I did some digging to find out about them, as I love their version of September. The AI Overview describes them as ‘an electronic dance music group and production duo, known for mellow, acoustic-infused electronic covers and chill beats.’ On this evidence that seems a fair summary. They are from The Netherlands, and in particular the island of Texel (highlighted on the video and pronounced ‘tessel’), which is part of the North Holland region, and has a long history as being the site of sea battles through the wars. As well as their own songs they frequently release cover versions, like this one, and share them on Apple Music and Spotify – more of them can be found there, as well as on YouTube, if you’re interested: they have more than 40m streams on Spotify, and 1.1m regular monthly listeners, making them a candidate for being the biggest band you’ve never heard of! They often collaborate with others who provide vocals for them: on this one they are by Clara Wolf, who is apparently French but equally elusive.

I’ve saved the other of my all time favourites till the end:

That was Roseanne Cash in a duet with her father, Johnny, with September When It Comes. Roseanne is the eldest of four daughters of Johnny and his first wife, Vivian, and she has clearly inherited some good musical genes. She co-wrote this song with her second husband, John Leventhal, and it was released in March 2003 on her album Rules Of Travel. It is a lovely album, with a number of fine duets, but this for me is the standout track. The song is a partial story of Rosanne’s life, a remembrance of birth, childhood, and the profound bond she shared with her father. The American Songwriter site quotes her as saying “I was obviously thinking about my dad because he was really sick. And John [Leventhal] said ‘If there was ever a song to sing with your dad, this would be it.’ At first, I really resisted that, and then I realized he was right. So I asked my dad. I called him and said ‘Would you want to sing the song with me?’ He said ‘I’ll have to see the lyrics first. Ever the professional! He was very sick, but he went to the studio with me and did it. And then he said, “You take that back to John. If he doesn’t like it, I’ll do it again, but I told him “It’s good enough.”

I think that is a massive understatement! The album came out six months before Johnny died, making this one of his final recordings. The second verse, that Johnny sings, is a look  at what his life is now with a look ahead to his demise. It uses September as the metaphor for when it might end for him which, sadly, was prophetic: he died on 12 September 2003. That background adds to the beauty of the song, and as I said it is incredibly poignant when you know that. When he sang the line “I cannot move a mountain now, I can no longer run” it reduced Roseanne to tears, and I can understand why. In fact, the whole song has that effect: it is just so beautifully evocative….
I’ve gone on at length a bit for that one, but I think you can probably see why. It has a very personal meaning for me, as I played it a lot for comfort when my own Dad was in his final stages, and it always moves me to tears when I hear it. It is such a beautiful song, and judging by the comments on YouTube it resonates with many people….
That’s my full set for today, and I hope you enjoyed them. As usual I’ll be sharing this post at Esme’s Senior Salon Pit Stop and Cathy’s Monday’s Music Moves Me, both of which I commend to you. And a final thought for anyone else who, like me, has a birthday this month:

 

Have a lovely week, and I’ll see you again soon. Take care 😊

39 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 318: September”

  1. Clive,

    I only knew Green Day’s song, “Wake Me When September Ends”. My favorite picks in your line up is the one by Roseanne & Johnny Cash. The lyrics are beautiful and sad. Johnny’s aged voice really adds to the song’s meaning. Thanks for sharing and joining the 4M party. Have a boogietastic week!

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    • I thought some of these might be unfamiliar – that’s part of the joy for me in doing this! That Roseanne and Johnny one is so beautiful and the video adds to that.

      You have a great week too 👍

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  2. The Johnny Cash song is very emotional and from the heart. I was shocked when she died first and, for her funeral, he dressed in white which just shows how much he loved her. I enjoyed the others songs too but the ladt one, its okay but I prefer the original.

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  3. You batted 100% with me two weeks in a row, Clive. You know your audience so well. The first one that popped into my head was Earth, Wind, & Fire. Unlike you, I like a lot of their music, though I really like this cover, which has a much different sound. I don’t remember the Frazey Ford song, even though I might have heard it before on your site. It’s great. The other one I had never heard before was by Johnny & Roseanne. Johnny Cash has really grown on me over the years.

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    • I’m pleased you enjoyed these, Pete. I hadn’t heard that EWF cover until recently, but I much prefer it to the original – more my style! You may well have heard Frazey Ford here as I’ve played it before, likewise Roseanne and Johnny. That last one is a real gem.

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  4. Hey Clive this was a really fun post and September is such a sweet month. My son number two was born in September, later in the month, and he was supposed to come in October but I think I did too much and couldn’t stay off my feet. Anyhow I hope you have a very happy September birthday and cheers

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  6. That Green Day song is so fantastic that I increase my love of it every time I hear it. I know some here in the United States associate it with 9/11 but it is so much deeper and richer. Ditto for the Roseanne and Johnny Cash duet. Have to admit, though, that I am an Earth, Wind and Fire fan (soft spot for horn bands) and that cover just didn’t do it for me. But it’s all good; each to our own. Have a good week ahead, Clive, and happy to see you’ve become a Music Moves Me regular. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    • Those two are both great, aren’t they. As you say, each to their own: horn bands do nothing for me and I much prefer this cover!

      I’m enjoying sharing with MMMM, and will be exploring other participants tomorrow – it’s a bit late in the evening now. You have a good week too 👍

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