From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V4 #7 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Friday, January 8 1999 Volume 04 : Number 007 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Lyrical interpretation Part II ["Brian Cundieff" ] singing [jp ] Re: basia-digest V4 #6 ["Ashoke S. Talukdar" ] Re: Basia in the air [billsch@transmeta.com (Bill Schnaitter)] Re: Basia in the air ["Ashoke S. Talukdar" ] Re: Basia in the air ["Joe Palcher" ] BasiaCon'99 West ["Ashoke S. Talukdar" ] THE COPERNICAN CHRONICLES: Yearning for remembrance... ["Ashoke S. Talukd] [none] ["tom, kelly & jordan" ] Re: lyrics [RonCB1@aol.com] Yearning ["Joe Palcher" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 11:25:31 +0900 From: "Brian Cundieff" Subject: Re: Lyrical interpretation Part II From: JPovlock@aol.com Date: Wednesday, January 06, 1999 10:38 >I don't care what Seal says, I feel that we want to >hear what the artist really is singing, not what we think he is singing. >Remember the old song by Creedence Clearwater Revival, where the line goes >"there's a bathroom on the right". No, you dummy, it's "there's a bad moon on >the rise"!! Let's not leave this stuff open to interpretation - we'll each do >that when we can read the real lyrics. Thank you, Jim. I agree 100%. Usually, I don't MISunderstand lyrics. I either understand them or I don't. And when I don't understand, it just sounds like nonsense, and I wish I knew what the artist was saying. When I bought Time and Tide, for example, I used to play "Miles Away" over and over again trying to work out the lyrics. I couldn't even make reasonable guesses about some of those lines. It's aggravating. If I only want to "feel" a song and totally give it my own interpretation, I listen to foreign language music. When it comes to someone like Basia, though, I really want to know what SHE'S trying to say. - -Brian* ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 08:59:48 EST From: Richard216@aol.com Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #6 To all: Did anyone notice the clever beat change from the on to off beat and back again within about 5 measures in The Waters of March? I don't know if that beat change was in the original song however it is indeed in Basia's version. This is the first time I have heard such a unique and subtle change in rhythm in the middle of a song and further shows the musical originality of Basia and Danny. I hope that someone who has heard the original can tell me if the rhythm in Basia's version is unique to her interpretation of the song? Richard from Ohio ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 09:18:32 EST From: Richard216@aol.com Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #6 As for Yearning. The lyric "... homeless in our hearts" says it all for me. I know the feeling well, especially when I am away from home, unwillingly, for an extended period of time, unwillingly being the key. "...Others just cannot sit still. They're driven by the power of MIGHTY WANDERLUST." This phrase describes me to the tee. I absolutely LOVE to travel, constantly wondering what is around the next turn, however, it is nice to know that there is always a home for me somewhere. One final note (excuse the pun), the musical ending of this song is perfect, wherein there is a long echoey moaning that someone who is very homesick might scream. Has anyone noticed? It's a classic and moves me every time I hear it. Richard ................. of course from Ohio ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 08:14:25 -0800 From: Stephen Ylvisaker Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #6 At 08:59 AM 1/7/99 EST, you wrote: > >To all: >Did anyone notice the clever beat change from the on to off beat and back >again within about 5 measures in The Waters of March? I don't know if that >beat change was in the original song however it is indeed in Basia's version. >This is the first time I have heard such a unique and subtle change in rhythm >in the middle of a song and further shows the musical originality of Basia and >Danny. I hope that someone who has heard the original can tell me if the >rhythm in Basia's version is unique to her interpretation of the song? > >Richard from Ohio > Hi! I haven't noticed that change you speak of in Basia's version, or any other. I may not be paying attention. Another lady who has recently interpreted Waters of March is Susannah McCorkle on her CD "From Bessie to Broadway". In the meantime, I will listen to both versions again. Thanks, Stephen Stephen Ylvisaker greyfell@iname.com "That's the whole problem with science.  You've got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder." - Calvin (& Hobbes) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 11:57:28 -0500 From: jp Subject: singing I noticed people staring at me as I walked down the aisle of my local Food Lion this morning. I realized I was singing "Baby You're Mine" along with Basia who was singing over the store P.A. system. I haven't heard her outside my home in years. un abrazo, juan ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 12:15:03 -0500 From: "Ashoke S. Talukdar" Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #6 I noticed it but assumed that's how it was written. BTW, my initial transcription of the chords of Baby You're Mine were almost right. The song is even in the right key (C), which is AMAZING since I have not tuned my guitar to a standard key in about 3 years!!! However, I would never have been able to figure out the progression of chords to "got the best and I can't hide it anymore, I want the world to know...". The actual dominants are played in part by the bassist (!) or the keyboard player (i.e. Danny). THANK YOU, Richard! Regards, Ashoke. - -----Original Message----- From: Richard216@aol.com To: basia@smoe.org Date: Thursday, January 07, 1999 9:06 AM Subject: Re: basia-digest V4 #6 > >To all: >Did anyone notice the clever beat change from the on to off beat and back >again within about 5 measures in The Waters of March? I don't know if that >beat change was in the original song however it is indeed in Basia's version. >This is the first time I have heard such a unique and subtle change in rhythm >in the middle of a song and further shows the musical originality of Basia and >Danny. I hope that someone who has heard the original can tell me if the >rhythm in Basia's version is unique to her interpretation of the song? > >Richard from Ohio > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 12:32:53 -0500 From: "Ashoke S. Talukdar" Subject: Re: singing jp who loves to hug, wrote: > >I noticed people staring at me as I walked down the aisle of my local Food >Lion this morning. I realized I was singing "Baby You're Mine" along with >Basia who was singing over the store P.A. system. >I haven't heard her outside my home in years. > You know you guys who actually live in places where she still gets airplay are so fortunate. I would freak out if I ever heard her in the grocery store. Incidentally, I was at the local Arabica once and the young lady who was serving my mocha was humming "The Queen and the Soldier" by Suzanne Vega and I started humming along with her. Needless to say, she took her break right then and we had the most incredible conversation about. Now get this (WIERD): she ALSO graduated from Davidson College, NC (although in 1995)!!!! I was dumbfounded - what are the chances of THAT??!! Many hugs, Ashoke. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 10:14:08 -0800 From: billsch@transmeta.com (Bill Schnaitter) Subject: Re: Basia in the air I'm in the bay area (SF) and it's not so seldom that I hear a Basia number playing in a store or elsewhere. In the past year, maybe 8 times? I know... it's seldom ... but it's frequenter than never; after all, being a geek, I don't get out that much. - -Bill ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 13:36:20 -0500 From: "Ashoke S. Talukdar" Subject: Re: Basia in the air Hey, nothing wrong with being a geek as long as you can do it with style and class! :-) Ashoke. - -----Original Message----- From: Bill Schnaitter To: basia@smoe.org Date: Thursday, January 07, 1999 1:19 PM Subject: Re: Basia in the air > >I'm in the bay area (SF) and it's not so seldom that I hear a Basia number >playing in a store or elsewhere. In the past year, maybe 8 times? I >know... it's seldom ... but it's frequenter than never; after all, being >a geek, I don't get out that much. > >-Bill > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 17:07:47 -0500 From: "Joe Palcher" Subject: Re: Basia in the air Hey, well, I guess I'm lucky. I get to hear Basia at least every other day on my company's PA system! :) raburabu joe ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 17:28:13 -0500 From: "Ashoke S. Talukdar" Subject: BasiaCon'99 West ...as Joanna adds to Leslie's monicker. Just wanted you guys to know that I will be in San Diego, CA from 2/22 - 2/25 for a conference. After that I will be in West Hills (near LA) from 2/25 - 3/4 (during which time I might take a trip to Palm Springs or SF). If y'all Basia fans in the area want to hook up, please let me know. Obviously, I can't provide a home made challah this time (you'll have to come to Cleveland for that), but we can at least get together for dinner or a beer or something. This would be very fitting since, as Joanna, pointed out, my first face-to-face interaction with a Basia fan was with Joanna (a California resident). So it is somehow apropo that BasiaCon'99 should start there. Of course EVERYONE is invited. :-D Regards, Ashoke (who has been humming "Baby You're Mine" ALL day). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 19:20:31 -0500 From: "Ashoke S. Talukdar" Subject: THE COPERNICAN CHRONICLES: Yearning for remembrance... The most cherished moments of life are always those that are beatifully wrapped in memory and tucked away in the cobweb-glittered recesses of our minds. And what a joy it is to stumble across them from time to time simply because someone ponders upon a few of theirs, which acts as the catalytic reminder for the wealth that lies in our past. _____________________________________________________________________ The ending of "Yearning" (studio version) IS very haunting, particularly NOW that I know what the Polish words mean and where they come from. One of my soft spots in song-writing is coming across aspects of remembrance. Those are the kinds of songs that blend the line between lyrics and poetry. Indeed the best way I can describe "Yearning" is lyrical poetry. And when it comes to poetry, remembrance and nostalgia play a poignant role. Hence, throwing in a line of a folk song about a little girl "walking into the green forest" (and I believe the next line of the original song says something about her meeting someone) conveys (to me, at least) that exact message - Basia remembering her childhood in Poland. That may or may not have been the intent but nevertheless, it makes this beautiful song EVEN more charming, by conjuring up an imaginary mental picture of a little Basia. :-) However, the imagery is stronger than that. It may be a lot more than a little girl going to the green forest. The experience would not be altogether dissimilar from a young Basia leaving her home and coming to Chicago for the first time. Several thousand miles from home, young and alone in a huge city where everyone's identity tends to blend into one melting pot would be as ominous as approaching the dark, musty and mysterious approaches of a forest. Folklore and myths have always abounded regarding this intriguing aspect of the woods and what lies there, just beyond the reaches of our "conventional" civilizations. And when Richard talks about being fond of travel, I can totally relate. An d this is also the realization that ultimately, home is within oneself and is really a matter of being at peace with oneself. That indeed is a home that we can effortlessly take with us wherever we go. And indeed giving upthe globe does not seem such a formidable thing anymore. When I think back on the time when I was first leaving home, eighteen, scared, but too proud to show it, and immensely excited at the same time at the prospect of taking up temporary residence in a different land, it all seems a bit melodramatic. But in reality, the most cherished aspect of it remains the wonderful process of human adaptation, the true incarnation of which is this gradual, progressive, and abundantly life-giving passage of self-discovery. The following is a poem I wrote about 3 years ago, for my friend Arturo. Llong before I heard "Yearning", we had a conversation about how he was in England and how he missed his home in Caracas, Venezuela. He dreamed of going back and having a baby boy, who would have his golden hair and blue eyes, walking him to the park and watching him grow. The starkness of his sentiments and his honesty and simplicity prompted the poem. Those sentiments are aptly captured in "Yearning" and while my poem doesn't do them nearly as much justice as Basia does, I thought it would be appropriate to add it here, because Yearning for a home is but a manifestation of this process of self discovery, not unlike that of my friend Arturo, a young man discovering his parental instincts as he yearns for a home and a family and a little angelic child - a son that will be his mirror and continue this quest. *************** Angel The blue gems set in deep frown Under locks of gold as I drown In your soft gaze, a whisper That I will treasure forever Ah my jewel, my rock of gold Of whom this silence has told A story that I longed to hear But my lips trembled in fear Your sweetness a song may carry To my world, my heart may tarry Patient, waiting for your smile To calm this soul, for a while Lost in a distance as I roam The lonely shores far from home Looking for a peaceful place Waiting for your golden face The warm sands of life I travel Footprints like mysteries unravel Searching for my golden wonder Impatient to stop and ponder Like a lost minstrel I fall silent The inner smile in patience spent A precious name to the winds I tell Tonight "My angel, my sweet angel". ___________________________________________ Ashoke Talukdar 1995. *********** Regards, Ashoke. ________________________________________________________________ Ashoke S. Talukdar | When the darkness takes you talukdar@morph.ebme.cwru.edu | with her hand across your face Home : 216-381-5872 | Don't give in too quickly Imaging Lab : 216-368-8812 | Find the things she's erased MetroHealth : 216-778-8987 | Find the line, find the face Pager : 216-670-5872 | Through the grain... Cellular : 216-317-7079 | Fax : 216-368-4969 | Suzanne Vega ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 19:51:05 -0600 From: "tom, kelly & jordan" Subject: [none] Message from the planet; "Hello Basia, are you there?" Your Friends! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 21:43:55 EST From: RonCB1@aol.com Subject: Re: lyrics Where in Florida? I'm in Orlando. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 22:48:26 -0500 From: "Joe Palcher" Subject: Yearning All this talk about "Yearning" and the Polish at the end of the song has made me "yearn" to listen to it carefully again. Okay, the pun was intentional. But I digress. I don't think I ever really like "Yearning" so much--it was, at a time, my least favorite song. But all of this discussion has made me think more about the song, and I appreciate it so much more. Thanks, guys! But then, while listening to it tonight, I remember what always did strike me about this song before. You know the sounds in the background that sound like whale songs? Was this intentional to make the (what I assume) synthesizer sound like them? And if it was intentional, what significance does it have for her "yearning?" Also, any Basians in Japan? I know Brian is. I SWEAR the Polish that she sings at the end of "Yearning" sounds exactly like the jingle for a Japanese commercial for "Aomoriya." I forgot what Aomoriya sells. Anyone have any ideas? Every time I hear that song now I think of these cute Japanese singing that tune (they were in the commercial). Okay, time for bed. Take care, Basians! raburabu joe ******************************************************************** Joe Palcher jjpalcher@msn.com ICQ#4618534 ******************************************************************** ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V4 #7 *************************