Skip to main content

...and I Will Sing a Lullaby.


If there’s one song that hits me smack bang in the soul, it’s The Beatles' Golden Slumbers.

It’s one of the shortest songs in their back catalogue, clocking in at just a minute and a half, yet it somehow manages to define everything about them in those ninety seconds. The fact it was written and recorded at the tail-end of their career, in the midst of bitter acrimony, makes it all the more touching; like a beacon of light shining from the darkness, from a man who knew the band that meant so much to him - and was desperate to keep alive - was falling apart.

One of the most common clichés McCartney’s detractors raise when discussing his work is the suggestion he doesn’t emote; that he can write a pretty melody, but that he tends to keep his true feelings out of it. To say this, is to ignore countless examples to the contrary: from Let it Be to Calico Skies; from Maybe I’m Amazed to The End of The End. For me, the vocal in Golden Slumbers is a case in point, and one of the most powerful moments he committed to tape. When he sings the word “home” he somehow sums up everything it could ever mean to me; it’s a brave, vulnerable performance that gets me every time.

I’m not one for Christmas adverts, least of all before December, but the fact Golden Slumbers has been used in this year’s John Lewis commercial (covered by the excellent Elbow) may lead to me uncustomarily unmuting my TV when it’s on. And while Guy Garvey’s a great singer, he could never beat the power of the original; but then, who could?

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...

'...I'm Gonna Look at You 'til My Eyes Go Blind."

Over the past week or two, I’ve been on a bit of a Sheryl Crow kick, largely thanks to rediscovering her cover of one of my most-liked Bob Dylan songs. She has one of my favourite female voices, yet despite this, I only own one CD and that’s just a single (her '97 release ‘Hard to Make a Stand’); on that basis, you can only imagine how much of her back catalogue I’d own if I hated her (it would fall into minus-figures). Dylan, conversely, takes up more of my collection than anyone else, save The Beatles and Paul McCartney’s solo work. He’s one of those artists who, when you get him, you really get him - and once I’d tuned into his style as a student, I'd time and again be blown away by his lyrics; he’ll have more jaw-dropping imagery in one track than other people fit in a whole career. These days, I mostly listen to music in the morning when getting ready, and more often than not, this will consist of a suggested YouTube playlist when I’m in the bath, r...

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...