Monday, 28 February 2022

Great tunes ruined by lyrics - or not...

You know the problem. A lovely tune - but later somebody turned it into a song; and now, whenever you hear the tune you simply can't help but hear the words as well...

And when the words are sentimental tosh - well, that makes it even worse. 

It's a rare and difficult feat to write a lovely melody - so having it ruined thus must be exceptionally irksome. 

Example one is the Londonderry Air:


Gorgeous stuff; until some chap called Frederic Weatherly gave it some maudlin lyrics - and made it a staple of intoxicated bar singers on the Celtic Fringe. (For example.)  

Or Brahm's Lullaby - really beautiful: 


But not enhanced by the fact that I always sing-along with a jingle from a TV advert with a baby doll for little girls: Tiny Tears, Tiny Tears - You're my very own baby. Mother's here, Tiny Tears, singing you a lullaby.


One the other hand - sometimes the song is So Good; that it must be forgiven. The finale from Mozart's Horn Concerto K495 is certainly a joyous piece:


But the comic song devised by Flanders and Swann is so utterly brilliant that maybe it even adds to the enjoyment:


2 comments:

  1. Here is Taiwan, garbage trucks play "Für Elise" as they drive around, and someone has created lyrics about recycling to go with the tune.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tis why I listen to Japanese music. Have no clue what they're saying.

    ReplyDelete

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