2010s songs, falling in love

#440 River (live)- Vanessa Carlton

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The river flows, it takes ahold and it’s running through/
And we ain’t changing on our own, oh, we change for you.

The best version of this song is the live version on The Spotify Living Room Sessions.

This list is meant to be a celebration of these songs, so let’s talk about what is great about Vanessa Carlton’s “River”. The melody of the chorus is stunning. The vocal on the verses is strong too. I prefer the arrangements where Carlton is just playing with her and a piano, as opposed to the official recording. Though, the official release is great too. Carlton sounds very emotionally connected to this song, and that is hugely important in my book.

River Great Songs Meaning
Vanessa Carlton

The lyric is a little difficult to comprehend. I think she is trying to say something about how love changes us. I wouldn’t have minded a little more clarity but I supposed I can just enjoy it for what it is.

River-Vanessa Carlton-Lyrics

Sailors on the sea, are we heading clear for the edge of the ocean?
There’s no city that keeps you king for a gypsy
And are we guided by some vision?
All our moves adding up to an ancient arc
We are free of the canyon cliff of my heart

The river flows, it takes ahold and it’s running through
And we ain’t changing on our own, oh, we change for you
The river flows, it always flows

And he walks home in another city
Your mind’s stuck in an ancient war
And all you need is the space for the beauty to take you
And she will take you

The river flows, it takes ahold and it’s running through
And we ain’t changing on our own, oh, we change for you
The river flows, it always flows
Flows through you, flows through you

The river flows, it takes ahold and it’s coming through
And we ain’t changing on our own, oh we change for you
The river flows, it always flows
And we’re just sailors on the sea
Yeah, we’re just sailors on the sea
Yeah, we’re just sailors on the sea

Songwriters: Vanessa Carlton

 

1990s songs, looking for love

#439 Sway- Bic Runga

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My head is battling with my heart/
My logic has been torn apart.

“Sway” is a beautiful song by Bic Runga about the difficulties of communicating with the opposite sex-specifically with a crush. In Runga’s heart she wants to tell him to “come stay with me all the time” but she needs to practice saying his name out loud because she loses the nerve to say these things when she is around him.

Instead she’ll say less direct things like “sway my way”. That is, if you feel like it, come hang out with me. Her mind is hedging and protecting her from getting hurt but by doing so she is not expressing what she feels. It may work, it may not. We don’t find out.

Sway Great Songs Meaning
Bic Runga

The song has an easy 90s sound that is not over-produced. The mix brings Runga’s raw voice to the forefront and we hear the indecision in her voice. Should I tell him my feelings or should I hide them? We can hear that struggle.

Sway Lyrics

Don’t stray, don’t ever go away.
I should be much too smart for this,
You know it gets the better
Of me, sometimes.

When you and I collide,
I fall into an ocean of you,
Pull me out in time
Don’t let me drown.
Let me down…
I say its all because of you.

And here I go
Losing my control,
I’m practicing your name
So I can say it to your face.

It doesn’t seem right,
To look you in the eye.
And let all the things you mean to me,
Come tumbling out my mouth indeed its time.
Tell you why I say its infinitely true.

Say you’ll stay, don’t come and go
Like you do,
Sway my way, yeah I need to know
All about you.

And there’s no cure,
And no way to be sure.
Why everything’s turned inside out
Instilling so much doubt.

It makes me so tired,
I feel so uninspired.
My head is battling with my heart,
My logic has been torn apart.

And now, it all turns sour,
Come sweeten every afternoon.

Say you’ll stay, don’t come and go,
Like you do.
Sway my way, yeah I need to know
All about you.

Say you’ll stay, don’t come and go,
Like you do.
Sway my way, yeah I need to know
All about you.
Its all because of you.
Its all because of you.

Songwriters: Bic Runga

1960s songs, no love song

#438 When a Man Loves a Woman- Percy Sledge

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He’d give up all his comforts/
And sleep out in the rain.
If she said that’s the way/
It ought to be.

Everyone thinks “When a Man Loves a Woman” is a love song. It’s not! It’s a song about all the foolish decisions a man makes when he loves a woman. He spends all his money, he can’t see her cheating, he ditches his friends, he’ll sleep out in the rain if she tells him to. It sounds like someone got burned. Love can make us into a fool.

When a Man Loves a Woman Meaning
Percy Sledge

What is interesting is that this song is sung at weddings. It is in the camp of songs that should be retired from weddings because they are really not happy love songs. Songs like “Every Breath You Take” and Dido’s “Don’t Leave Home” come to mind.

Listening back, the organ does sound a bit ominous. Like a funeral march. The horns sound kind of depressing too. This is more of a “chicks suck” song than a love song. Remarkably, the song does hold up well musically for being a song from the 50s. A lot of songs from that time period have not aged well. This still sounds relatively contemporary. (Compared to something like Tuiti Fruiti).

When a Man Loves a Woman Lyrics

When a man loves a woman
Can’t keep his mind on nothin’ else
He’d trade the world
For a good thing he’s found
If she is bad, he can’t see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he puts her down

When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
Trying to hold on to what he needs
He’d give up all his comforts
And sleep out in the rain
If she said that’s the way
It ought to be

When a man loves a woman
I give you everything I’ve got (yeah)
Trying to hold on
To your precious love
Baby please don’t treat me bad

When a man loves a woman
Deep down in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she is playing him for a fool
He’s the last one to know
Loving eyes can never see

Yes when a man loves a woman
I now exactly how he feels
‘Cause baby, baby, baby
I am a man
When a man loves a woman

Songwriters: Calvin Houston Lewis / Andrew James Wright