Almanac Music: Let There Be Light: Ten Songs of ‘Light’ from Favourite Mainstream Australasian Artists

 

 

 

Let There Be Light: Ten Songs of ‘Light’ from Favourite Mainstream Australasian Artists

 

Following on from my mainstream Australasian ‘songs of darkness’ post of last week, this time I’m flipping the coin in relation to the issue, or, to put it another way, turning the glove inside out and putting it on again, to write about ten ‘songs of light’. To make the piece even more interesting, and to line it up as neatly as possible alongside last week’s post, I’ve decided to choose songs from the same artists and songwriters I featured then. In definitional terms, I consider ‘songs of light’ to be those which, in an overall way, suggest light in a poetic sense; typically, these songs convey optimism and uplift.

 

Here, then, are ten of my favourite mainstream Australasian songs of light, bearing in mind the above criteria.

 

 

 

‘Eagle Rock’ (1971), performed by Daddy Cool, written by Ross Wilson. Exuberant and danceable are two words that immediately spring to mind when I think about this iconic Australian song: ‘Hey hey hey, good old Eagle Rock is here to stay / I’m just crazy ’bout the way we move’ is sung in the chorus, certainly fitting lines for an all-time, ‘here to stay’ Australian classic. Another memorable aspect of ‘Eagle Rock’ is the infectious guitar riff. I remember playing it repeatedly (those in my household might have said obsessively and annoyingly!) as a teenager, and performing the song in secondary school rock bands. ‘Eagle Rock’ also makes me think of Melbourne, particularly the city in the early seventies, the era featured in the black-and-white clip made to accompany the song. I didn’t know until very recently that ‘doin’ the Eagle Rock is a metaphor for having sex, and that Elton John and Bernie Taupin were inspired by this song to write ‘Crocodile Rock’.

 

 

 

 

‘Hello Sandy Allen’(1982), performed by Split Enz, written by Neil Finn. When one explores the Enz’s catalogue in detail, the vast majority of songs, at least in their earlier days, are edgy and on the dark side. ‘Hello Sandy Allen’, refers to the time when the band met the (then) world’s tallest woman in America: “Hello Sandy Allen /The world’s tallest woman /We made friends in New York’. Overall, this is an upbeat song accentuating the positive, in spite of containing New York-inspired sounds involving sirens and some powerful, John Bonham-esque drumming which would normally be found in other, heavier musical contexts.

 

 

 

 

‘April Sun in Cuba’ (1977), performed by Dragon, written by Marc Hunter and Paul Hewson. Dragon’s standout song of light has to be this catchy, bright hit of theirs, doesn’t it? The song’s title is suitably indicative of the rest of the lyrics, which involve a desire to flee for exotic sun and a paradisiacal location in general. And jeez, doesn’t the sustained fourth chord get a good run in this song? Perhaps the only thing about ‘April Sun in Cuba’ on the down side is that is has been (almost) played to death over the years, on various media and especially on radio, as well as, I suspect, by many Australasian pub bands who relied upon cover versions for the bulk of their repertoire. It is a fun song, and not especially difficult to play live.

 

‘Leaps and Bounds’ (1987), performed by Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, written by Kelly with Chris Langman. This is joyful, richly nostalgic, impressionistic and one of Australia’s most iconic songs. It also says ‘Melbourne’ more than any photograph could – the opening lines are so well known:

 

‘I’m high on the hill
Looking over the bridge
To the M.C.G.
And way up on high
The clock on the silo
Says eleven degrees

I remember … ‘

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Now We’re Getting Somewhere’ (1986), performed by Crowded House, written by Neil Finn. This is very much an upbeat song about a relationship heading in the right direction, after having gone through an uninspired phrase. Here’s the first verse and part of the chorus:

 

(Verse 1) ‘It never used to be that bad
But neither was it great
Somewhere in the middle then
Content and much too safe
Oh tell me please
Why it takes so long
To realise when there’s something wrong

 

Chrous: Lay me out with your heart
Now we’re getting somewhere
Push me back to the start
Now we’re getting somewhere
Take me out let me breathe
Now we’re getting somewhere …’

 

The video clip accompanying it, in which the band members are mucking about in the snow, and other places, is a joy. Jesus, sweet Jesus, I love this song!

 

 

 

 

‘Capricorn Dancer’ (1976), performed by Richard Clapton, written by Richard Clapton. This is the cool Australian beach/summer/surf culture song par excellence – though I can’t imagine for one moment Dick Clapton hanging ten! Perhaps, though, I can see him as someone whose ‘crazy eyes keep looking out to sea’, as he sings memorably in ‘Deep Water’. Anyone who listened regularly to Oz popular music in the seventies would know the words to the chorus of ‘Capricorn Dancer’:

 

‘Capricorn dancer
I’m ridin’ to shelter
Show me a sign
Lead me on to the tropical zone’

 

 

 

 

‘Blue Jeans’ (1976), performed by Skyhooks, written by Greg Macainsh, is as whimsical and daydreamy as Macainsh ever got as a songwriter. That said, the song is not connected to ‘the light’ or ‘the dark’ in any straightforward, simple way. It is certainly about conformity (‘Everybody’s wearing blue jeans’), but it is also about individuality (‘Everybody’s got their own scenes’). Ultimately, though, the feel of the song is playful and fun; poetically, it is connected to the ‘light’. The basic sentiment seems to be: ‘We do a lot of the same things, but our commonality is that we’re all human, so who cares?’ Musically, the song is a kind of pastiche, involving 1950s-ish doo-woop, bits of 12-bar, a touch of country and western, and even barber shop quartet, but it is never exactly – or perhaps continually is the better word word here – these things, taking interesting chordal and stylistic twists and turns. As usual, I like Red Symons’ clever, melodic lead guitar work.

 

 

 

 

‘Science Fiction’ (1982), performed by Divinyls, written by Christina Amphlett and Mark McEntee. As many would know, the song commences:

 

‘I thought that love was science fiction
Until I saw you today
Now that love is my addiction
I’ve thrown all my books away’

 

Interestingly, though the song is about the reality of love for someone for whom it didn’t previously exist (in terms of a romantic relationship), the musical feel of this heavy rocking song is not that different from something like the Divinyls’ ‘Only Lonely’ mentioned last week in my ‘Songs of Darkness’ post. This indicates an important aspect of the ‘songs of light / songs of darkness’ issue, in that it is a salutary reminder that songs of light are not inevitably tonally bright and uplifting and songs of darkness not inevitably heavy and gritty.

 

‘It’s Only The Beginning’ (1991), performed by Deborah Conway, written by Deborah Conway and Scott Cutler. The song is certainly Conway’s ‘ode to joy’ – the joy being (possible) new love. The chorus starts: ‘It’s only the beginning / But I’ve already gone and lost my mind’. In spite of her feeling, though, the singer in the song is never quite sure that her new love will last or if it’s perhaps illusory, ‘maybe just a daydream’. Nevertheless, Conway’s distinctive mezzo vocals convey great happiness, as does the general tone of this wonderfully engaging song. The film clip made to accompany ‘It’s Only The Beginning’, set on a golf course, is fabulous, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Street of Love’ (1989), performed by Jenny Morris, written by Paul Kelly. Though Jenny Morris’s voice possesses a plaintive quality no matter what she sings, what overrides in this song and makes it ‘of the light’ is the happy realisation on the part of the singer that, after enjoying life’s material excesses, she has finally realised what matters most: love – and that now this is all she really wants. She has become ‘a beggar on the street of love’, metaphorically speaking, but this ‘begging’ is not problematic – she has become enlightened and is on the right path.

 

In overall terms, then, this ‘songs of light’ piece was written to provide the other side of the coin compared to the ‘songs of darkness’ article posted on The Footy Almanac last Friday. Again, I invite Almanackers to contribute their relevant songs and ideas, to add to what I’ve put forward.

 

 

MAIN GENERAL REFERENCES

 

https://www.azlyrics.com/

https://genius.com/

https://www.lyricfind.com/

http://www.songlyrics.com/

https://songmeanings.com/

Wikipedia

YouTube

 

 

For more from Kevin, click HERE.

 

 

 

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