For his first Song Lyric Sunday theme of the new year Jim’s post – Kicking It Off – is inviting us to play a song by someone who was born in the month of January. I think this is a great idea, and hope that he does this for other months, as it gives such a wide range of possibilities for us to choose from. Jim gives a long list of candidates for us to play, many of which count among my favourites, but I’m going with one he missed. I have to admit that their birthday isn’t the first thing I think about with a musician, so I needed some help, as I wrote this before I saw Jim’s suggestions. This very helpful website gave me all I needed. I decided that, as others might find a similar list and start scrolling down it that might give rise to duplications, so to minimise the chance of that I started at the end and worked backwards.
I had already found a couple of possibilities when I got to 27 January, and a name just leapt off the screen at me: one of my favourites, a gorgeous lady with a gorgeous voice, and I never pass up an opportunity to play something by her. I’ve played this song before, though not for SLS, and it is a perfect fit for the theme:
The beautiful Margo Timmins, of The Cowboy Junkies, with Anniversary Song. Hard to think that she is about to turn 64. Here are the lyrics:
Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful as that of the rain-soaked purple of the white birch in spring?
Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful than on a warm fall night under a Mackerel sky, the smell of grapes on the wind?
Well I have known all these things and the joys that they can bring And I’ll share them all for a cup of coffee and to wear your ring
Have you ever had the pleasure of watching a quiet winter’s snow slowly gathering like simple moments adding up?
Have you ever satisfied a gut feeling to follow a dry dirt road that’s beckoning you to the heart of a shimmering summer’s day?
Well I have known all these things and the joys that they can bring And I’ll share them all for a cup of coffee and to wear your ring
And I don’t know how I survived those days before I held your hand Well I never thought that I would be the one to admit that the moon and the sun shine so much more brighter when seen through two pairs of eyes than when seen through just one
Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful as a face in a crowd of people that lights up just for you?
Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful as when you wake by the side of that boy or girl who has pledged their love to you?
Well I have known all these things and the joys that they can bring And now every morning there’s a cup of coffee and I wear your ring
This is a lovely celebration of an anniversary that means love, and the little things that make it special. And I loved the way they squeezed in a couple of sly digs in the names that feature on screen. This is a track from the band’s fifth album, Pale Sun, Crescent Moon, which was released in 1993. They have never set the charts alight, but have made some great records. This one peaked at #25 in their native Canada and at #114 in the US, but didn’t chart here. The song was a #10 hit single in Canada, and reached #28 on the US Modern Rock chart, which is based on airplay. Their trademark sound has been descried as ‘ethereal,’ largely based around those gorgeous vocals of Margo Timmins. Theirs is a back catalogue I can highly recommend.
The Cowboy Junkies are known for slower paced, beautiful songs, and this one is a little bit more upbeat than a lot of their records. While I’m here I thought I might play a couple of their others in a slower vein, as they are just so very good. I first came across them when I heard a couple of tracks on the radio from their third album, TheCaution Horses – this was the lead single from it:
See what I mean about their music being beautiful? The album was released in March 1990, and peaked at #11 in their native Canada. It also broke through for them here in the UK, where it made #33, and in the US at #47. SunComes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning made #22 in the Canadian Singles chart, and crept into ours at #90. It wasn’t a US hit, though it did make #11 on their Modern Rock radio airplay chart.
Like most of their albums the songs were largely written by Margo’s brother, Michael, though they did include a cover of a song by another Canadian – Neil Young’s Powderfinger. They have also covered others of his songs, and I thought I’d leave you today with the treat of their version of Helpless:
This performance was from a live CD/DVD set the band released in October 2006: Long Journey Home (Live InLiverpool), though they have never included a studio version on any of their albums. The CD has eleven tracks, not including this one, but it was among the full set of eighteen on the DVD. The Beatles cover that Margo mentions when they return for their encore is George Harrison’s Isn’t It A Pity, by the way. To be honest, I don’t think music gets much better than this, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead!
See you soon for the first Tuesday Tunes of 2025. Have a good day, and if you have snow try not to get too cold! 😊
