girl groups | Take It Easy

After last week’s foray into the realms of pop when we were invited to share a boy band song, Jim’s post Decades of Female Music evens things up this week by asking us to play something by a girl group. For me there can be only one possibility for this (with a passing nod of recognition towards the Go-Go’s) and this is probably the most obvious choice I could have made. No doubt others will be playing this one too, but I’m going to add a twist into the post for you. With no further introduction needed, I give you The Bangles:

And as this is Song Lyric Sunday, here are those lyrics:

Six o’clock already
I was just in the middle of a dream
I was kissin’ Valentino
By a crystal-blue, Italian stream

But I can’t be late
‘Cause then I guess I just won’t get paid
These are the days
When you wish your bed was already made

It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah)
I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah)
‘Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah, woah, woah)
My I don’t have to run day (Woah, woah)
It’s just another manic Monday

Have to catch an early train
Got to be to work by nine
And if I had an aeroplane
I still couldn’t make it on time

‘Cause it takes me so long (Oh, oh)
Just to figure out what I’m gonna wear
Blame it on the train
But the boss is already there

Of all my nights
Why did my lover have to pick last night
To get down?
(Last night, last night)
Doesn’t it matter
That I have to feed the both of us?
Employment’s down

He tells me in his bedroom voice
C’mon honey, let’s go make some noise
Time it goes so fast
(When you’re having fun)

It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah)
I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah)
‘Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah, woah, woah)
My I don’t have to run day (Woah, woah)

It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah)
I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah, woah, woah)
‘Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah)
It’s just another manic Monday

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Prince Rogers Nelson

Those of you who know my tastes might think that is too ‘pop’ for me. I’ve played this song a few times before, so it is definitely one that I like, and it has the credentials of being written by Prince to fall back on. His take on this is rather pleasant, too, and there are some other covers. That video has the small matter of over 65m views on YouTube, so it seems I’m not the only one who likes it. And it helps when your lead singer is one of the cutest people on the planet (she still is). The Bangles were formed in 1981 and had a relatively brief period of peak popularity, which began with the January 1986 release of Different Light, their second album, which included this track. This was the lead single, and it got to #2 in both the US and the UK. In doing so it propelled the album upwards too: that also reached #2 in the States, and got to #3 here. They have only released five albums over their career – in 1984, 1986, 1988, 2003 and 2011 – so can’t be deemed prolific, but they make pleasant music. Somehow, their record company has contrived to make ten compilation albums out of these, the first of which, Greatest Hits, was released in 1990 and reached #4 here in the UK.

I thought that I might play Prince’s version of Manic Monday, but decided not to. I am going to give you a bonus cover version, though. Again, those of you who have been following me for a while may have previously noticed that I am a huge fan of the English folk singer Kate Rusby, who has appeared here several times over the years. I have played this one a couple of times before, too, as it is so very charming:

That is just so adorable and Kate’s daughters, Phoebe and Daisy, steal the show. Daisy, the older one, is the announcer, in case you were wondering. You may have gathered it from the video, but the guy rocking the tutu look is Damien O’Kane, Kate’s husband and the kids’ Dad, an accomplished musician in his own right. The song was the opening track on Kate’s album of cover songs, Hand Me Down, which was released at the height of the pandemic in August 2020, with several videos made during lockdown to accompany it – you can see the evidence of that timing on this one. The album peaked at #12 in the UK chart, the highest placing of her career and a remarkable achievement for a folk musician. Both this track and the album reached #1 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter charts, another amazing achievement. But how could anyone resist this? Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles sent Kate a congratulatory note too:

You don’t get one of those every day, do you! And, as Susanna said, it was the perfect way to brighten her Monday – or any other day, come to that. It is also the perfect way for me to sign off this week’s Song Lyric Sunday. For those who partake, you’ll see me again for this week’s Tuesday Tunes, which is going to be a rather special piece, slightly different from the norm. I hope to see you then.