Almanac Music: ‘Sometimes love don’t feel like it should’ – Songs Involving Hurt
Johnny Cash, 1969. [Wikimedia Commons.]
Almanac Music: ‘Sometimes love don’t feel like it should’ – Songs Involving Hurt
Hi, Almanackers! This piece in my long-running series about key popular song themes concerns songs involving hurt – in various senses of the word. With this particular theme, let’s keep to songs actually using the word ‘hurt’ or variations of it, like ‘hurts’ and ‘hurting’. (To put it another way, if all songs involving pain more broadly were allowed here, our list would be unmanageable and endless.)
So, dear readers, please put your relevant ‘hurt’ songs in the ‘Comments’ section. Below, as usual, are some examples from me to get the ball rolling.
‘Sunday Morning Comin’ Down’, written by Kris Kristofferson and performed by Johnny Cash (1970)
‘no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt’
‘Love Hurts’, written by Boudleaux Bryant, performed by Nazareth (1974)
‘Hurts So Good’, written John Mellencamp and George Green, performed by John Mellencamp (1982)
‘Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?’, written by Boy George, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay and Jon Moss, performed by Culture Club (1982)
‘Everybody Hurts’, written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, performed by R.E.M. (1992)
‘Hurt’, written by Trent Reznor, performed by Johnny Cash (2003)
‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’, written by Diane Warren, performed by Paloma Faith (2014)
……………………………………………………………………
Now, dear readers / listeners – it’s over to you. Your responses to this topic are warmly welcomed. In the ‘Comments’ section, please add your own choice of a song (or songs) involving the word ‘hurt’ and/or its variations, along with any other relevant material you wish to include.
[Note: as usual, Wikipedia has been a good general reference for this piece, particularly in terms of checking dates and other details.]
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Great list Kevin. I also would have picked Love Hurts, but the Everly Brothers version.
This is Elvis, 7 weeks before he died, he still had the voice.
https://youtu.be/jaeIysDwEY4?si=2Jad-wZkbn-zIdE_
Happy Friday mornin’ and new theme day KD!
I am happy to contribute the opening single….
Stevie Wonder (cover) – For Once In My Life (1968)
‘For once in my life, I won’t let sorrow hurt me
Not like it’s hurt me before’
A couple of Dylan songs with ‘hurt/s/ing’ in the lyrics include:
‘Positively 4th Street’
‘Just Like A Woman’
Probably many more.
Glad you like the list, Glenn – the only reason I picked the Nazareth rendition was that it was the biggest hit version of the song. I prefer the Everly Brothers version, too.
And yes, Elvis’s voice was still fabulous well up to his final days, as evidenced by your chosen clip – even if he was running out of breath a bit in later performances.
Happy Friday and new theme day, Karl! What a lovely, bright song you’ve chosen as your opening entry in terms of our new theme. Thank you.
Thanks, Col, for your Dylan pair – excellent material.
Ouch!!!
What Really Hurts – The Zimmermen
Darling It Hurts – Paul Kelly
Every Little Bit Hurts – Shirley (Strachan) et al
Love Really Hurts Without You – Billy Ocean (a Countdown classic)
Nobody Hurts You – Graham Parker & The Rumour
Needles and Pins – Ramones et al
“She’ll feel those needles and pins
Hurting her, hurting her”
Listen To My Heart – Ramones
“That girl could still be mine
But I’m tired of the hurt”
Burning Down The House – Talking Heads
“My house
Is out of the ordinary
That’s right
Don’t wanna hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house”
Air – Talking Heads
“Air can hurt you too”
Paint A Vulgar Picture – The Smiths
“At the record company meeting
On their hands, at last, a dead star
They never taint you in my eyes
They can never touch you now
No, they cannot hurt you, my darling
They cannot touch you now
But me and my true love
Will never meet again”
A great bunch of hurt songs – thanks, Swish. To pluck out just one for further comment … ‘Darling It Hurts’ has that wonderfully poetic lyric ‘ Darling it hurts to see you down Darlinghurst…’
Can’t believe this wasn’t the first one I thought of
She Loves You – Beatles
Oh of course, Swish – a fine pickup, nevertheless.
‘Not A Second Time’ is another Beatles song that fits our theme.
Jealous guy: John Lennon
My heart goes out to you: Belinda Carlisle
Should I let you in: Belinda Carlisle
From the heart: Belinda Carlisle
I need a disguise: Belinda Carlisle
We can change: Belinda Carlisle
I still love him: Belinda Carlisle
Sweet is the night: Electric Light Orchestra
One summer dream: Electric Light Orchestra
Breakin’ down the walls: Electric Light Orchestra Part II
Twist of the knife: Electric Light Orchestra Part II
Little town flirt: Del Shannon
It’s no use: The Byrds
You won’t have to cry: The Byrds
Haven’t we lost enough: Crosby Stills and Nash
Soldiers of peace: Crosby Stills and Nash
Radiate: Fleming and John
Still fighting it: Ben Folds
You don’t need to hold me tight: Kelly Groucutt
Walk my way: Australian Crawl
Rip it up: James Reyne
Love sucks you in: Mondo Rock
After you came: Moody Blues
Are ‘friends’ electric: Gary Numan
Three days: Carly Simon
Rosanna: Toto
Not alone anymore: Traveling Wilburys
Come back Karen: Wizzard
Every day I wonder: Wizzard
What a wonderful list – thanks so much, Liam. The Lennon song was a beauty to open with, too.
Cheers, Kevin.
You’ll notice the Lennon song is followed by six songs by Belinda Carlisle. Interestingly, she also did a cover version of Jealous guy.
First things first, Glen B, brilliant call on Elvis cover of the Timi Yuro light operatic song, Hurt. Elvis nails it, even before you digest his general health deterioration over the last years of his life. Hurst stands tall in reminding us how unparalleled a singer/performer he was, his whole career. It was recorded in the tiny Jungle room at Graceland fgs!
Now, on with the show. Let’s kick off with some Bruce beauties:
The Ties that Bind (You’ve been hurt and you’re all cried out, you say/You walk down the street pushin’ people out of your way/You’ve packed your bags and all alone you wanna ride/You don’t want nothin’, don’t need no one by your side/You’re walkin’ tough baby, but you’re walkin’ blind/To the ties that bind)
Because the Night (They can’t hurt you now/They can’t hurt you now/They can’t hurt you now/Because the night belongs to lovers/Because the night belongs to us/Because the night belongs to lovers/Because the night belongs to us)
Spirit in the Night (Well, by the time we made it up to Greasy Lake/I had my head out the window and Janey’s fingers were in the cake/I think I really dug her ’cause I was too loose to fake/I said, “I’m hurt,” she said, “Honey, let me heal it”)
Human Touch (So you’ve been broken and you’ve been hurt/Show me somebody who ain’t/Yeah, I know I ain’t nobody’s bargain/But hell, a little touch-up and a little paint)
Factory (End of the day, factory whistle cries/Men walk through these gates with death in their eyes/And you just better believe, boy, somebody’s gonna get hurt tonight/It’s the working, the working, just the working life/’Cause it’s the working, the working, just the working life)
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? Typical REM song, all about mega hurts
Heartaches By the Number (I never knew I could hurt this way) – Guy Mitchell
It keeps Right on Hurtin’ – Johnny Tillitson
You Always Hurt the One You Love – Connie Francis
And here’s 4 from Conway Twitty
I Still See Him (Through the Hurt in Your Eyes)
Don’t Put the Hurt in My Heart
This Time I’ve Hurt Her More
I Hurt For You
The Winner Takes It All (Though it’s hurting me, now it’s history) – ABBA
Ev’ry Little Bit Hurts – Bobby Vee
Can’t Take the Hurt Anymore – Cliff Richard
Yes, Liam. I recall Belinda C did a version of Lennon’s song.
Thanks, Rick, for the Bruce songs and the quoted lyrics. ‘Factory’ is among my favourite Springsteen songs, mainly for two reasons… I love the Flying Pickets a capella version of it, and, also, it reminds me strongly of my father’s decades of work in an aluminium refinery.
Thanks, Matt, for the REM number. They’re one of my favourite American bands.
Thanks, Fisho, for your selections – fine material, as usual.
Matt G, v funny!
A song a decade:
Those Gambler’s Blues, Jimmie Rodgers (1930s)
Something Got a Hold on Me, The Carter Family (1940s)
Can’t Believe you Wanna Leave, Little Richard (1950s)
The End, The Doors (1960s)
Heartache Tonight, The Eagles (1970s)
Careless Whisper, George Michael (1980s)
Creep, Radiohead (1990s)
Stan, Eminem (2000s)
Alright, Kendrick Lamar (2010s)
Champagne Problems, Taylor Swift (2020s)
Hi KD., it’s been a while since I contributed. I’ve had some health probs but things are settling for me so I hope to get back into the swing of things. Cheers
Everybody Hurts – Paul Anka
It Hurts to See You Cry – Paul Anka
I Didn’t mean to Hurt You – Paul Anka
The Biggest Disappointment (I learned a lot that hurt me at that time) – Slim Dusty
I Hope They Fight Again (And it hurts me when I see the type that come to take their place) – Slim Dusty
Coldplay – For You (2000)
‘Every one of us is scared
And every one of us is hurt
Every one of us has hope for you’
It Hurts Me Too – the Dylan cover version on ‘Self Portrait’ album
‘When things go wrong
Go wrong with you
It hurts me too’
Political Science – Randy Newman
“We’ll save Australia
Don’t wanna hurt no kangaroo
We’ll build an all-American amusement park there
They got surfing too”
More to come later.
Thanks, Rick, for your ‘song a decade’. Just had a listen to the Carter family number while sipping on my first cup of tea for the day – a fine way to start the morning.
Thanks, Fisho, for the Anka and Dusty songs. And, yes, welcome back! I hope you continue on the improve, health-wise.
Thanks for your latest two, Karl.
As always, I’m interested to see how many Bob songs make it onto our latest themed songlist.
Thank you, Dave, for Newman’s ‘Political Science’. I look forward to what choices and comments follow.
Shared from a response on X to this theme: a fine country song, Ray Price’s ‘Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me’.
Here’s a stranger Dylan lyric…from ‘I Shall Be Free’ off the 1963 ‘Freewheelin’ album:
‘Well, sometimes I might get drunk
Walk like a duck and smell like a skunk
Don’t hurt me none, don’t hurt my pride
‘Cause I got my little lady right by my side
She’s a-tryin’ to hide
Pretendin’ she don’t know me’
More Dylan to come – as Paul Keating once said – ‘I like to do your themes slowly’~~~~~
A couple that flashed into my scone while I was doing the dishes
Lucille – Kenny Rogers
“…I’ve had some bad times, lived through some sad times
But this time your hurting won’t heal
You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille”
You’re Gonna Get Hurt – Jenny Morris
Stranded – The Saints
“Livin’ in a world insane
They cut out some heart and some brain
Been fillin’ it up with dirt
Yeah baby, dunno how it hurts
To be stranded on your own
Stranded far from home, all right”
Thanks for ‘I Shall Be Free’, Karl.
Slowly is fine in terms of the speed at which you put forward your Dylan material.
Thanks for your latest trio of songs, Swish – my personal favourite among them is ‘(I’m) Stranded’, a key song in Oz rock history.
Here’s two from The Hollies
Don’t Run and Hide (Don’t run and hide now, ’cause you’re only hurting yourself)
Hillsborough (Why must it take such hurt and pain?)
Time for classic Dylan, circa 61 years ago…….
The Times They Are A-Changin’
‘For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled’
Owner of a lonely heart: Yes
I’ll do the latest short entries in one go.
Thanks Fisho, for the Hollies double – they have a fine discography.
Thank you, Karl – you couldn’t get more classic Dylan than that!
Thanks, Liam – very good song, ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’.
Please Don’t Tease (You know it hurts so much, come on and squeeze me) – Cliff Richard
Thanks, Fisho, for your latest Cliff Richard choice.
It Hurts to be in Love – Gene Pitney
Go Away Little Girl (It’s hurting me every minute that you delay) – Steve Lawrence
The Best Thing That Ever happened to Me (‘Cause every time I’ve spent hurtin’) – Steve Lawrence
Excellent, Fisho – keep ’em coming!
What He Don’t Know Won’t Hurt Him – Billy Crash Craddock
I Don’t Want to be Hurt Anymore – Bing Crosby
It Hurts Me – Kate Bush
Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) (It doesn’t hurt me, yeah, yeah, yo) – Kate Bush
A reflective Dylan – final track on his 1964 The Times They Are A-Changin’ album
Restless Farewell
‘Oh, ev’ry girl that ever I’ve touched
I did not do it harmfully
And ev’ry girl that ever I’ve hurt
I did not do it knowin’ly’
Some Kasey Chambers, (listening to a playlist I made up of her songs, she’s real good):
No One Hurts Up Here
Backbone (The Desert Child) – from her latest album, and it’s a song about her
Arlo – also from her latest, and it’s a song about her son
More than Ordinary
We’re All Gonna Die Someday (Well it hurts down here on Earth, lord/It hurts down here on Earth/It hurts down here ’cause we’re running out of beer/But we’re all gonna die someday)
Thanks, Fisho, for your latest quartet. From a purely personal point of view, I particularly enjoyed the Kate Bush entries.
Thanks, Karl, for your latest Dylan entry. Always an interesting (and educational) thing to see you working your way through the great man’s body of work.
Thank you, Rick, for your Kasey Chambers choices. I agree with you that she’s a quality artist. My sense is that Australian country music in general is in a very good state.
Hey KD
Did you know that Dylan goes through his entire ‘electric’ phase (65-66) without literally getting ‘hurt’ once?
Then, as he gets all ‘lovey-dovey’ on his Nashville Skyline (countryish) phase, the hurt returns:
I Threw It All Away (1969)
‘So if you find someone that gives you all of her love
Take it to your heart, don’t let it stray
For one thing that’s certain
You will surely be a-hurtin’
If you throw it all away’
Tell Me That It Isn’t True (1969)
‘To know that some other man is holdin’ you tight
It hurts me all over, it doesn’t seem right’
I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love – Carole Bayer Sager (cowritten with Peter Allen)
“I’d rather leave while I’m in love
While I still believe
The meaning of the word
I’ll keep my dreams and just pretend
That you and I are never meant end
Too many times I’ve seen the rose die on the vine
Somebody’s heart gets broken
Usually it’s mine
I don’t want to take the chance of being hurt again
And you and I
Can’t say goodbye
So if you wake and find me gone
Hey babe, just carry on
You see I need my fantasy
I still believe it’s best to leave while I’m in love”
It Hurts Me Too – Tampa Red
“You said you’re hurting
You almost lost your mind
Now the man you love
He hurts you all the time
When things go wrong
Go wrong with you
It hurts me too”
(I know Karl has already mentioned this song as a cover by Dylan but the song, a blues classic, was first recorded by Tampa Red in 1940 and later by Elmore James and others including Junior Wells. The Grateful Dead recorded it in the late 60s. I first heard it sung in Melbourne folk clubs in the mid-sixties)
Jesus Wept – Raplh McTell
“In his dream he saw a garden with all his friends asleep
He walked away the hours until the morning crept
And he wondered would the nails hurt, would he be man enough?
And that’s why Jesus wept”
Thanks, Karl, for the interesting ‘electric Bob’ note in terms of our theme, as well as the songs from his Nashville Skyline phase. Fine material, as always.
Thank you, Dave, for your latest material, including (of course) the particularly interesting note about ‘It Hurts Me Too’.
Make Me know You’re Mine (Hurt me till these teardrops burn my eyes) – Conway Twitty
I Just Don’t Understand (How you can hurt me, I just don’t understand) – Ann- Margaret
Thanks for your latest two, Fisho.
The main Conway Twitty connection I have is that he featured strongly in my parents’ record collection, while I’ve always been partial to Ann-Margret’s sultry contralto voice.
Hi Kevin, I have a vinyl LP of Conway Twitty’s Rock and Roll era. There’s some brilliant songs on it. I also own LP’s of Guy Mitchell, George Formby and Roy Orbison in my collection.
Hi Fisho. Sounds like a great deal of quality music there. I especially love the Big O.
Hey KD
The Dylan wagon careens along and emerges from its hiatus in a basement somewhere deep in Woodstock – post the comings & goings of 500000 hippies mudbathing on Yasgur’s Farm.
Only one person to call to bring some sense to this all….
Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
‘A cat’s meow and a cow’s moo, I can recite ’em all
Just tell me where it hurts yuh, honey
And I’ll tell you who to call
Nobody can get no sleep
There’s someone on ev’ryone’s toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Ev’rybody’s gonna wanna doze’
New Dylan covers article out tomorrow – may just about be my magnum opus……
Thanks for ‘Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)’, Karl.
And, of course, I do look forward to your new Dylan covers piece.
Me again Kevin, fancy me forgetting another LP in my collection – best of Manfred Mann. The Quin the Eskimo just mentioned made me remember it. I also have the sound track LP from the Pajama Game
Did someone say Charlie Rich? One of country music’s finest. Actually, he was so much more than that. His music and his voice were infused with gospel, soul, jazz and blues influences. He started at Sun Studio along with Elvis, Johnny, Jerry Lee, Carl, Roy and other greats, playing rockabilly and while he had hits along the way, it took him most of the 60s to find his groove. When he’s on song there is hardly a better singer, Elvis included.
Ten Dollars and a Clean White Shirt (So if you should see Jenny, just tell her goodbye/I’ve cried the last teardrop that I’m gonna cry/She’s cheatin’ on me so I’m going to town to get over this hurt/I’ve got ten dollars and I’m wearing a clean white shirt)
Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High) (Every time you touch me I get high/And every time you’re near me
I can fly/High above the clouds and rain/Way above the hurt and pain/And when you’re gone I fall down from the sky/But every time you touch me I get high)
I Love My Friend (She was crying and I was lonely/And a band was playing some old love song/Someone had hurt her and someone had left me/And We both needed something to hold on to/Who knows, tomorrow it might all end/But tonight I love my friend)
It Hurts Me So (It hurt me so, you’ll never know/How much it’s hurting me/To see you with another boy/You just tore up a world of joy/You’ll never know, you’ll never know/It hurt me so)
Somebody Wrote that Song for Me (I heard a brand new song today/It made me think of my baby/I wonder who?wrote?that melody?/They must?have heard the words I said/The?night I hurt my baby/Somebody wrote that song for me)
Thanks, Fisho, – your album collection sounds like a treasure trove of fine material.
Thank you, Rick, for the Charlie Rich song choices – for me, he falls into that category of artists that I’d like to know more about.
You’re Gonna Hurt Me – Patti Page
Yesterday Can’t Hurt Me – Helen Reddy
It Was Easier To Hurt Him – Dusty Springfield
Your Hurtin’ Kind of Love – Dusty Springfield
Hurtin’ You Don’t Come Easy – Neil Diamond
Sweet Caroline (And when I hurt, hurtin’ runs off my shoulders. How can I hurt when I’m holding you?) – Neil Diamond.
PS I forgot I have a Helen Reddy LP in my collection also
Nothing more needs to be noted other than if you haven’t leaned into Lucinda Williams yet, you have many great albums ahead of you. Here are a few songs where hurt is mentioned. She has many, many more where hurt is a core subtext:
Passionate Kisses (Is it too much to ask?/I want a comfortable bed that won’t hurt my back/Food to fill me up/And warm clothes and all that stuff/Shouldn’t I have this?/Shouldn’t I have this?/Shouldn’t I have all of this and/Passionate kisses/Passionate kisses (Whoa)/Passionate kisses from you?)
2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten (Man runnin’ through the grass outside/Says he wants to take up serpents/Says he will drink the deadly thing/And it will not hurt him)
I Know All About It (And if I could I would come to your side/But I know you wouldn’t want me to, it would only hurt your pride)
If Wishes were Horses (I was scared of standing on the edge/Darkness lookin’ in/I hurt you bad and now I wish/We could begin again)
Sweet Side (I’ve seen you sewin’ buttons on your shirt/I’ve seen you throwin’ up when your stomach hurt/I stick by you baby through thick and thin/No matter what kind of shape you’re in)
Mornin’ KD
We zoom from 1969 all the way to 1975 & the Blood On the Tracks album. Unfortunately, old faithful, ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ is absent on the ‘hurt’ theme but to make up for that we have a decent couplet from:
Idiot Wind
‘You hurt the ones that I love best
And cover up the truth with lies
One day you’ll be in the ditch
Flies buzzin’ around your eyes
Blood on your saddle’
‘You’ll never know the hurt I suffered
Nor the pain I rise above
And I’ll never know the same about you
Your holiness or your kind of love
And it makes me feel so sorry’
Thanks, Fisho, for your latest selections – you’re certainly taking us on an interesting journey, as is typical of your responses to our themes.Your listing of various albums in your collection reminds me to go through my old LPs and remind myself what I still have – though all my listening is via other forms (usually CDs) these days.
Thanks for the Lucinda Williams songs and quoted material, Rick. I HAVE gotten to know her work better on account of your responses to this song theme series, and that’s certainly a fine thing.
Thanks, Karl, for ‘Idiot Wind’. Pity that ol’ favourite of mine, the many-themed ‘Tangled Up In Blue’, isn’t part of this thematic list – but one can’t have everything, I suppose!
Spencer Davis Band (Steve Winwood) was the first band I heard do ‘Every Little bit Hurts’. Probably a soul cover. Nearly every song written by Lucinda Williams has a reference to hurt!
Thanks, Tony, for your input. And yes, Lucinda Williams is very much to the fore in terms of this current theme.
Here’s 3 from Cilla Black
Every Little Bit Hurts
Anyone Who Had a Heart (Like you hurt me and be untrue)
For Once in my Life (I won’t let sorrow hurt me)
Forgot to mention I have 2 Neil Diamond LPs (Hot August Night and Jonathon Livingstone Seagull) in my collection not to mention several Goons and Stan Freberg LPs.
It Never Hurts To Be Nice To Somebody – Tom Jones
I Wish I Could Hurt That way Again – Brenda Lee
Hurts So Bad – David Cassidy
Thanks for your latest choices (and the interesting tour through your record collection), Fisho.
We Better Talk This Over (1978) – Dylan (from the Street Legal album)
‘Oh, child, why you want to hurt me?
I’m exiled, you can’t convert me.
I’m lost in the haze of your delicate ways
With both eyes glazed’
Bob giveth yet again – thanks so much, Karl.
I swear I didn’t know this song, or perhaps I had erased it from my mind but it was covered in a tv show we are watching, called Paradise, another post-apocalyptic drama the US seems so fond of making (hmmm, I wonder why). Song in question, Every Rose has its Thorn, by crap metal band, Poison ( Was it something I said or something I did?/Did my words not come out right?/Though I tried not to hurt you, though I tried/But I guess that’s why they say/Every rose has its thorn).
Then I played a Talking Heads playlist I’ve put together, to rinse the poison. Now, TH is a band, just brilliant. So here is a TH song to apologise for my poison contribution:
Blind (It was light by five/Torn all apart, all in the name of democracy/He’s hurt, he’s dying/Claimed he was a terrorist, claimed to avert a catastrophe).
Cheers
Hi Rick. Neat, apt comment re the US and post apocalyptic drama!
And, as is doubtless clear from past comments I’ve made, I love Talking Heads. And jeez, ‘Blind’ is a ripper, funky, groovy song, too!
Our sojourn through the lush forests and vast wilderness of Dylan lyrics in search of some hurt is certainly proving a challenge. We emerge from a misunderstanding in the bedroom to find ourselves in some misunderstanding that’s been percolating since the dawn of time.
Neighborhood Bully (1983)
Well, he’s surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease
Now, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Thanks for ‘Neighborhood Bully’, Karl; oddly, the title of this song sounds more Dennis the Menace than Robert Zimmerman.
Wheel Of Hurt – Slim Whitman
I Love You So Much it Hurts – Tennessee Ernie Ford
I’m Hurting – Nat King Cole
Hey KD
re your comment about ‘Neighborhood Bully’….well, it did appear on Dylan’s 22nd studio album ‘Infidels’ (1983).
Some other titles/lyrics are:
Jokerman: Shedding off one more layer of skin/Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within
License To Kill: Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool/And when he sees his reflection, he’s fulfilled
Man Of Peace: He got a sweet gift of gab…You know that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace
Union Sundown: Well, it’s sundown on the union/And what’s made in the USA/Sure was a good idea/’Til greed got in the way.
May have been written in the mid 80’s but (to me) all 5 of those songs are (sadly, depressingly) more relevant some 40 years later.
Interesting song choices and material, Karl. Thanks, as always, for the input. But to be fully relevant to this theme, as per my intro, the lyrics would contain the word ‘hurt’ or variations of it.
Maybe, though, you were just intending to convey some general information about the Infidels album, which, of course, is totally fair enough.
Thanks for your latest trio of songs, Fisho.
Dwight Yoakam has some pretty sad songs, I love them but they’re real sad, which is a big reason for why I love them:
Little Ways (You’ve got your little ways to hurt me/You know just how to tear me up/And leave me in small pieces on the ground/You’ve got your little ways to hurt me/They’re not too big but they’re real tough/Just one cold look from you can knock me down)
It Won’t Hurt (It won’t hurt when I fall down from this bar stool/And it won’t hurt when I stumble in the street/It won’t hurt ’cause this whiskey eases misery/Even whiskey cannot ease your hurting me)
It Only Hurts When I Cry (The only time I feel the pain/Is in the sunshine or the rain/And I don’t feel no hurt at all/Unless you count when teardrops fall/I tell the truth ‘cept when I lie/And it only hurts me when I cry)
Guitars, Cadillacs ( Girl you taught me how to hurt real bad and cry myself to sleep/You showed me how this
town can shatter dreams/Another lesson about a naive fool that came to Babylon//And found out that the pie don’t taste so sweet)
This Time (This time is the last time that I’ll ever call her name/This time is the last time that I’ll ever play her game/And this time is the last time that I’ll endure this pain/’Cause this time is the last time she’ll ever hurt me again)
Dwight Yoakum, as far as I can recall, hasn’t featured much in these themed Almanac songlists so far, therefore it’s a fine thing to have such a renowned figure in country music receive the kind of attention you’ve given him in your latest comments and song choices. Thanks, Rick.
Which brings me to another country performer, Garth Brooks – isn’t he one of the best selling recording artists of all time… Surprising, perhaps, that his name hasn’t appeared much in our themed songlists either. Just an observation.
Buttons and Bows (and the cement hurts my toes) – Bob Hope (from that great film, The Paleface)
Thanks for the Bob Hope song, Fisho – from the film that gave him, arguably, his best and most defining role.
Not much of a GB fan, but Dwight along with Steve Earle and Randy Travis, set tup he next stage of great country songs, mid 80s. Big fan of those three, and a bunch of other 80s country artists, notably, Lucinda.
Now, let’s head back a decade or two, when these guys were kings of country music, some for a short period, some for most of their careers. Have seen four out of the five in concert. Guess which one I haven’t seen. Buck Owens. And damn, would have loved to have seen him live.
Thanks a Lot, Johnny Cash (It seems you like to hurt me and you know I’m good to you/I’d give you anything I own, I do anything you want me to/Yeah now you’ve really got me on the spot/Thanks a lot, thanks a lot (Thanks a lot, thanks a lot)
Does My Ring Hurt Your Finger, Charlie Pride (Did you enjoy yourself last night dear how was the show/You know that I don’t mind it when you go/I understand sometimes we all need time alone/But why do you always leave your ring at home)
Hurtin’ Like I’ve Never Hurt Before, Buck Owens (You’ve got me too upset to weep, and too wound up to sleep/Waiting for your knock upon my door/You’ve got me staring at the sky, chasing butterflies/Hurtin’ like I’ve never hurt before/Yes, I’m hurtin’ like I’ve never hurt before)
No one Feels My Hurt, Tom T Hall (Anytime I’m hurtin’ you hurt as much as I/I’m a man I’m not allowed so you’re the one who cries/Somehow it seems the worst in me brings out the best in you/No one feels my hurt the way you do)
Why am I Drinkin’, Merle Haggard (If love is what we’re really after/Then why am I running away?/And why am I drinking?/And why am I hurting this way?)
Thanks, Rick, for some songs from giants of country music. I agree with you about Garth Brooks, at least in terms of what I know of his work – somehow he’s always seemed a bit too narrowly ‘American’ in a Stars and Stripes sense, for my taste. Because of this, I haven’t felt the urge to explore his work in any depth. But Brooks, apparently, has sold more records in the States than Elvis, which I find amazing.
One can check out Wikipedia for specific details of Brooks’ sales figures. Just look him up by name.
Here’s a couple from Sam the Sham
Oh Lo (You know you’re gonna hurt me so )
Little Miss Muffet (I won’t hurt ya none)
Great, Fisho. Thank you.
Here’s a couple from Dylan’s ‘Empire Burlesque’ album (1985)
Never Gonna Be The Same Again
Sorry if I hurt you, baby
Sorry if I did
Sorry if I touched the place
Where your secrets are hid
When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
I can see through your walls and I know you’re hurting
Sorrow covers you up like a cape
Thanks, Karl, for your latest two Dylan songs – seems like this current theme is right up his alley. I suppose hurt is a particularly universal feeling, in all kinds of ways.
Here’s two from Brook Benton
Hurtin’ Inside
Lie To Me (Because the truth would only hurt me)
(I’ve been) Taught by Experts (Better you get hurt than me) – Peter Allen
Did I Hurt You’re Feelings? – Liza Minelli
Love Pains (Hurting me through and through) – Liza Minelli.
Fisho’s Taught By Experts – Peter Allen led me to a different song/same title:
Taught By Experts – Paul Kelly (1992) but re-recorded for his latest (2024) Fever Longing Still album:
You stand there looking so surprised
Sad confusion in your eyes
I know what you’re going through
Baby, I’ve been there too
And it hurts
I was taught by experts
Can I add that there is something chillingly connected between these 2 different songs – opinions please?
Thanks for the Allen and Minelli songs, Fisho – a major amount of talent in that one-time couple.
Thanks, Karl, for PKs song. Am very interested to read any responses to your question.
Oh and thanks, Fisho, for the Brook Benton pair, too.
And, before I forget, congratulations to all concerned in relation to us reaching our century. Fine work!
Happy weekend KD
Here’s another Dylan contribution to theme – from Things Have Changed (2000)
I hurt easy, I just don’t show it
You can hurt someone and not even know it
The next sixty seconds could be like an eternity
Happy weekend, Karl. ‘Things Have Changed’ is a Dylan song I’ve always particularly liked. I also especially enjoy Bob’s appropriation in this song of the title of a 1959 instrumental by Duane Eddy, His ‘Twangy’ Guitar and the Rebels – ‘Forty Miles of Bad Road’. There’s an interesting, amusing story behind this wonderful title, too:
‘The title, as Duane [Eddy] recalled to Dan Forte, came from the time he and Lee Hazlewood were standing in line to see a movie. Two Texans were behind them. ‘”[They] were a couple of good ol’ boys. They were kidding each other about their dates, putting each other down, and we were overhearing all of this. Finally, one said, ‘I saw your girl; she had a face like forty miles of bad road.’” ‘ (from Nostalgia Central website)
Thanks for the Duane story KD.
Interestingly, Duane & his twangy guitar (did he have any other guitar sound?) make an appearance in my next Dylan covers article.
No worries, Karl – I remembered the Duane story from some research I did while writing a past Almanac music piece. I look forward to what you have to say about Eddy in your upcoming Dylan covers article.
Love of my life (Love of my life you’ve hurt me) – Queen
Thanks, Fisho – Queen were among my favourite British bands of the seventies/eighties.
Every Little Bit Hurts – Lena Horne
Thanks, Fisho, for your latest (Lena Horne) addition.
Here’s a song that quite possibly inspired me to come up with this ‘hurt’ theme. It was in my head for quite a while but I couldn’t pin down the full details until now: a good song, written by Brian Cadd and Max Merritt, called ‘My Baby Loves To Hurt Me’ (single released in 1982)
Further note: ‘My Baby Loves To hurt Me’ was recorded by Brian Cadd.
This magnificent bastard of a song came up on a playlist last night: Working on the Highway, Bruce, from Born in the USA, actually first recorded during the Nebraska sessions, which explains the dark undertone that belies the upbeat rhythm (Friday night’s pay night guys fresh out of work/Talking about the weekend scrubbing off the dirt/Some heading home to their families, some are looking to get hurt/Some going down to Stovell wearing trouble on their shirts)
Also, I should put this forward, as I included it in the theme prior to this one: Hurtin’ on the Bottle, Margo Price, with no explanation needed
And has Don’t Cry Daddy, Elvis been put forward? If not here it is: Why are children always first to feel the pain and hurt the worst?/It’s true, but somehow it just don’t seem right/’Cause every time I cry, I know it hurts my little children so,/I wonder, “Will it be the same tonight?”
Onyas
Thanks for your latest three, Rick. I particularly love the ‘Working on the Highway’ inclusion – interesting connection to Nebraska, too. And i’m thinking that Born in the USA would have to be in the top 20 albums of the rock’n’roll era, wouldn’t it?
And ‘Don’t Cry Daddy’ hasn’t been mentioned until you did so, so that joins the list as a newbie.
NEW THEME will probably appear tomorrow, 25 April – or maybe, for a change, Saturday 26 – keep your eyes peeled.