It’s Sunday all over again, and for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, as he tells us in his post Talented With Potential, Jim is inviting us to play a song from a band or artist that had potential, but never got their due. That suggests an historical component, but my choice is still playing, though they are more to be seen as live performers these days: it has been twelve years since their last record release and fourteen since the last of their three albums. They have been included in releases by others, though, as I’ll explain later.

My chosen act for today’s theme is one that I have played here before, but I think only with one of their songs. I’m playing you three by them today, including a reprise of the previous one: they are The Webb Sisters. This is the title track of their most recent album, Savages, which was released digitally in November 2010, and in CD format in May 2011:

I love that video, as it feels like everyone was having so much fun making it. And before I forget, here are the lyrics:

Well I nearly jumped out, right out of my skin
Before my sense pulled me back in
I nearly ran out of my heart and soul
I nearly hung my heart as a martyr

Told me told me told me told me…… yeah you
Sold me sold me hold me hold me…. yeah you
Don’t know me
Don’t own me at all

Diving into the ocean
Savages in the open
Fighting arms of devotion
Savages in the open

Well I really can’t stand being broken in
When the punishment has to be strong to the chin
I’ll never get back what was taken from me
Pain takes the edge off one more mouth to feed

Told me told me told me told me…… yeah you
Sold me sold me hold me hold me….yeah you
Don’t know me (don’t know me at all)
Don’t own me at all

Diving into the ocean
Savages in the open
Fighting arms of devotion
Savages in the open

Told me told me told me told me…… yeah you
Sold me sold me hold me hold me….yeah you
Don’t know me (don’t know me at all)
Don’t own me at all

Told me told me told me told me…… yeah you
Sold me sold me hold me hold me….yeah you
Don’t know me (don’t know me at all)
Don’t own me at all

You look like you’re smiling but
You could rip my head off I know

You don’t know
You don’t know
You don’t know

Songwriters: Hattie Webb, Charley Webb

Lyrics: songmeanings.com

Charley and Hattie Webb were born in Kent, England, to an entrepreneur-drumming father and a tennis coach mother. They have two brothers who are both drummers. According to Charley, music often blared from all over the house when they were growing up.  Hattie plays the harp and mandolin, and Charley the guitar, clarinet, and piano. When they were teenagers, the pair began to give recitals all over the country, and played at some charity functions and parties, during which they played twice for Princess Anne and once for Queen Elizabeth II. 

I think I’m safe in saying that The Webb Sisters haven’t enjoyed the chart success I feel they deserve, as the Official Charts Company website lists just one week at #92 for a single from 2006 and makes no mention of this album, though Wikipedia says that it reached #132 in the UK.  Savages took three years to record, as from 2008 to 2014 the sisters were backing singers for Leonard Cohen and toured with him extensively around the world: making their own record had to take second place! It is a lovely album, which won an award for its opening track, Baroque Thoughts, at the UK’s Annual Independent Music Awards. I’m not playing you that one today, much though I like it, as I’m going for my favourite track on the album, the one I’ve played a couple of times before as part of Tuesday Tunes sets:

As the clip showed, that was In Your Father’s Eyes. I went for an audio version – the original recording – as it really highlights the beauty of their sibling harmonies and the delicacy of their musicianship. There are a couple of live performance videos on YouTube but their sound quality isn’t too great. Ironic that I should say that, as one of them was recorded during a show I attended, and the sound was perfect on the night!

I said earlier that The Webb Sisters had appeared on records by others. One of those was Sting’s album If On A Winter’s Night, on which they sang harmony vocals for several tracks, and more recently they were on the CD and DVD versions of Leonard Cohen’s 2009 Live In London, and on a subsequent Live In Dublin version from 2014.

Leonard Cohen referred to them as ‘the sublime Webb Sisters,’ and they performed one of his songs in his concerts: it was also included on Savages, complete with Leonard’s intro. I’m playing that as my closing track for today, If It Be Your Will:

I think ‘sublime’ was a pretty good description! While they haven’t been making records together in recent years they have been far from idle. Hattie has released two solo albums, they were backing singers for Tom Petty on his final tour in 2017 (the header photo), and last year were invited to join David Gilmour for his Luck And Strange album – a UK #1 – and subsequently toured with him. The invitation came about as he had been impressed by their work with Leonard Cohen. They have since joined with David’s daughter Romany, who also appeared on the record and was part of the tour, and the other backing vocalist, Louise Marshall, to form their own Marshall Gilmour Webbs band, so maybe some new music might be forthcoming. I live in hope!

That’s it for today. As always I give my thanks to Jim for running the show, and hope to see you again for Tuesday Tunes. Until then, stay well and happy 😊