RIP John Stewart, songwriter extraordinaire
John Stewart died from a stroke yesterday. He was 68, an age that seems younger and younger to me all the time. One report said he had recently been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's, so it's one of those deaths that may be a blessing. He's best known for "Daydream Believer" and his years with The Kingston Trio, but songs such as "Gold," "Lost Her in the Sun" and "Chilly Winds" have been widely covered.
Oddly enough, I've been completely earwormed with one of his songs, "The Spinning of the World," for about two weeks.
The Spinning of the World
Is it wrong to be so much in love with a girl
That you can't tell her voice
From the spinning of the world?
I am gone, I can fly, like a comet on the sky,
Looking for the shelter of a hurricane's eye.
If I turn the corner and your face, it isn't there,
I'll come running back tomorrow
And go searching everywhere.
The sunset is red, I remember what you said,
There's no rest for the weary, I'd be better off dead.
I cannot find any words that'll rhyme,
My eyes, they can see, but it feels like I'm blind.
Is it wrong to be so much in love with a girl
That you can't tell her voice
From the spinning of the world?
In the wonderful world of mondegreens, until I looked up these lyrics online, I always thought "I cannot find any words that will rhyme" was "I cannot find any words for my mind." I think I like my version better.
Wild Horse Road
Oh, there ain't no wild horses
Out on Wild Horse Road,
There ain't no wild horses there, I know.
Somewhere they're trucking mustangs
On a lonesome desert road,
But there ain't no wild horses
Out on Wild Horse Road …
Running down a mustang,
Oh, what'll it take,
A pickup and a gun?
Hey, you moonlight gunner,
Where's the sun?
And don't it make you feel like
Kicking in a whitewall
Now you that you finally know
That there ain't no wild horses
Out on Wild Horse Road.
Oddly enough, I've been completely earwormed with one of his songs, "The Spinning of the World," for about two weeks.
The Spinning of the World
Is it wrong to be so much in love with a girl
That you can't tell her voice
From the spinning of the world?
I am gone, I can fly, like a comet on the sky,
Looking for the shelter of a hurricane's eye.
If I turn the corner and your face, it isn't there,
I'll come running back tomorrow
And go searching everywhere.
The sunset is red, I remember what you said,
There's no rest for the weary, I'd be better off dead.
I cannot find any words that'll rhyme,
My eyes, they can see, but it feels like I'm blind.
Is it wrong to be so much in love with a girl
That you can't tell her voice
From the spinning of the world?
In the wonderful world of mondegreens, until I looked up these lyrics online, I always thought "I cannot find any words that will rhyme" was "I cannot find any words for my mind." I think I like my version better.
Wild Horse Road
Oh, there ain't no wild horses
Out on Wild Horse Road,
There ain't no wild horses there, I know.
Somewhere they're trucking mustangs
On a lonesome desert road,
But there ain't no wild horses
Out on Wild Horse Road …
Running down a mustang,
Oh, what'll it take,
A pickup and a gun?
Hey, you moonlight gunner,
Where's the sun?
And don't it make you feel like
Kicking in a whitewall
Now you that you finally know
That there ain't no wild horses
Out on Wild Horse Road.