Winehouse’s 2003 debut album Frank did well, both commercially and critically, in her native Britain. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album Back To Black led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first singer from the United Kingdom to win five Grammys. Read more…

Valerie by Amy Winehouse
Album: Back To Black: Deluxe Edition
Year Released: 2007

Lyrics of Valerie by Amy Winehouse after the jump.

Well sometimes I go out by myself
and I look across the water
and I think of all the things
why’d you do it
and in my head I paint a picture

Since I come home,
well my body’s been a mess
and I miss your gentle hair
and the way you like to dress

Won’t you come on over
stop making a fool out of me
why don’t you come on over Valerie
Valerie, Valerie, Valerie

Did you have to go to jail
put your house up out for sale
did you get a good lawyer
I hope you didn’t catch a tan
hope you find the right man to fix it for you

Are you shopping anywhere
changed the colour of your hair
and are you busy
did you have to pay that fine
to a ***** all the time
are you still dizzy

Since I come home,
well my body’s been a mess
and I miss your gentle hair
and the way you like to dress

Won’t you come on over
stop making a fool out of me
why don’t you come on over Valerie
Valerie, Valerie, Valerie

But sometimes I go out by myself
and I look across the water
and I think of all the things
why’d you do it
and in my head I paint a picture

Since I come home,
well my body’s been a mess
and I miss your gentle hair
and the way you like to dress

Won’t you come on over
stop making a fool out of me
why don’t you come on over Valerie
Valerie, Valerie, Valerie

Valerie, Valerie, Valerie, Valerie

Why don’t you come on over Valerie..

In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 single “Your Body Is a Wonderland” from the album Room for Squares. Read more…

Gravity by John Mayer
Album: Continuum
Year Released: 2006

Lyrics of Gravity by John Mayer after the jump.

Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down

Oh I’ll never know what makes this man
With all the love that his heart can stand
Dream of ways to throw it all away

Oh Gravity is working against me
And gravity wants to bring me down

Oh twice as much aint twice as good
And can’t sustain like a one half could
It’s wanting more
That’s gonna send me to my knees
[repeat]

Oh gravity, stay the hell away from me
And gravity has taken better men than me (Now how can that be?)

Just keep me where the light is
Just keep me where the light is
Keep you all where the light is
Just keep us where the light is
Ohh.. where the light is!

“I came from the people, they need to adore me. So Christian Dior me from my head to my toes.” This could be the reason why Her Excellency wore a “recycled” gown during her recent SONA. ~ KotsengKuba

2008 SONA Related Reading: The Greatest by uniffors

Rainbow High by Madonna
Album: Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack
Year Released: 1996

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16, 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, United States), known as Madonna, is a dance-pop singer-songwriter, record and film producer, dancer, actress, author, fashion icon, wife and mother. She is noted for her ambitious music videos and stage performances as well as using political, sexual, and religious themes in her work. Read more…

Lyrics of Rainbow High by Madonna after the jump.

[Eva:]
There again I’ve more to do
Than simply get the message through
I haven’t started
Let’s get this show on the road
Let’s make it obvious
Peron is off and rolling

[Chorus:]

[Eva's dressers:]
Eyes, hair, mouth, figure
Dress, voice, style, movement
Hands, magic, rings, glamour
Face, diamonds, excitement, image

[Eva:]
I came from the people, they need to adore me
So Christian Dior me from my head to my toes
I need to be dazzling, I want to be Rainbow High
They must have excitement, and so must I

[Eva's dressers:]
Eyes, hair, mouth, figure
Dress, voice, style, image

[Eva:]
I’m their product, it’s vital you sell me
So Machiavell me, make an Argentine Rose
I need to be thrilling, I want to be Rainbow High
They need their escape, and so do I

[chorus]

[Eva:]
All my descamisados expect me to outshine the enemy
I won’t disappoint them
I’m their savior, that’s what they call me
So Lauren Bacall me, anything goes
To make me fantastic, I have to be Rainbow High
In magical colors

You’re not decorating a girl for a night on the town
And I’m not a second-rate queen getting kicks with a crown

Next stop will be Europe
The Rainbow’s gonna tour, dressed up, somewhere to go
We’ll put on a show

Look out, mighty Europe
Because you oughta know whatcha gonna get in me
Just a little touch of
Just a little touch of
Argentina’s brand of star quality

“When the money keeps rolling out you don’t keep books. You can tell you’ve done well by the happy grateful looks.” No further questions! ~ KotsengKuba

2008 SONA Related Reading: Gloria’s SONA Version 8 by S3lv0

And the Money Kept Rolling In by Antonio Banderas
Album: Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack
Year Released: 1996

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born August 10, 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor and singer. He began his acting career at age 19 with a series of films by director Pedro Almodóvar and then starred in high-profile Hollywood films including Assassins, Evita, Desperado, Interview with the Vampire, Philadelphia, The Mask of Zorro and the Shrek sequels. Read more…

Lyrics of And the Money Kept Rolling In by Antonio Banderas after the jump.

[Che:]
And the money kept rolling in from every side
Eva’s pretty hands reached out and they reached wide
Now you may feel it should have been a voluntary cause
But that’s not the point my friends

When the money keeps rolling in, you don’t ask how
Think of all the people guaranteed a good time now
Eva’s called the hungry to her, open up the doors
Never been a fund like the Foundation Eva Peron

[Chorus:]

[Workers:]

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ rollin’
Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ rollin’
Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ rollin’
Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

Rollin’ on in, rollin’ on in
Rollin’ on in, rollin’ on in
On in

[Che:]

Would you like to try a college education?
Own your landlord’s house, take the family on vacation?
Eva and her blessed fund can make your dreams come true
Here’s all you have to do my friends

Write your name and your dream on a card or a pad or a ticket
Throw it high in the air and should our lady pick it
She will change your way of life for a week or even two
Name me anyone who cares as much as Eva Peron

[chorus]

Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
On out

[Che:]

And the money kept rolling out in all directions
To the poor, to the weak, to the destitute of all complexions
Now cynics claim a little of the cash has gone astray
But that’s not the point my friends

When the money keeps rolling out you don’t keep books
You can tell you’ve done well by the happy grateful looks
Accountants only slow things down, figures get in the way
Never been a lady loved as much as Eva Peron

[chorus]

Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
On out

[Che:]

Eva!!!
When the money keeps rolling out you don’t keep books
You can tell you’ve done well by the happy grateful looks
Accountants only slow things down, figures get in the way
Never been a lady loved as much as Eva Peron

[chorus]

Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
Rollin’ on out, rollin’ on out
On out

Please visit KotsengKuba at www.kotsengkuba.com.

TGIF Presents: KotsengKuba’s Selection For SONA

I wasn’t really fond of the movie-musical Evita until I dug really deep into each song’s lyrics. This is the best. I can’t help but laugh at how they poked pun of politics. Truly, politics is the art of the impossible. ~ KotsengKuba

2008 SONA Related Reading: SONA ‘08 makes it clear; GMA is a spent force by Sir Martin Perez

Oh What A Circus by Antonio Banderas
Album: Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack
Year Released: 1996

Evita traces the life of Eva Duarte (later Eva Duarte de Perón) (Madonna) from a child from the lower class to becoming the first lady and spiritual leader of Argentina. Early in the film, Eva is seen as a small girl attempting to attend her father’s funeral in the town of Junin with her mother and siblings. But her father’s wife and other family (who are middle class) ban Eva’s family from entering and carry Eva out screaming after she runs in on her own. Read more…

Lyrics of Oh What A Circus by Antonio Banderas after the jump.

[Che:]
Oh what a circus, oh what a show
Argentina has gone to town
Over the death of an actress called Eva Peron
We’ve all gone crazy
Mourning all day and mourning all night
Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right

Oh what an exit, that’s how to go
When they’re ringing your curtain down
Demand to be buried like Eva Peron
It’s quite a sunset
And good for the country in a roundabout way
We’ve made the front page of all the world’s papers today

But who is this Santa Evita?
Why all this howling, hysterical sorrow?
What kind of goddess has lived among us?
How will we ever get by without her?

She had her moments, she had some style
The best show in town was the crowd
Outside the Casa Rosada crying, “Eva Peron”
But that’s all gone now
As soon as the smoke from the funeral clears
We’re all gonna see and how, she did nothing for years

[Crowd:]

Salve regina mater misericordiae
Vita dulcedo et spes nostra
Salve salve regina
Ad te clamamus exules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
O clemens o pia
Hail, oh queen, mother of mercy
Our life, sweetness, and hope
Hail, hail, oh queen
To you we cry, exiled sons of Eve
To you we sigh, mourning and weeping
Oh clement, oh loving one

[Che:]
You let down your people Evita
You were supposed to have been immortal
That’s all they wanted, not much to ask for
But in the end you could not deliver

Sing you fools, but you got it wrong
Enjoy your prayers because you haven’t got long
Your queen is dead, your king is through
And she’s not coming back to you

Show business kept us all alive
Since seventeen October 1945
But the star has gone, the glamour’s worn thin
That’s a pretty bad state for a state to be in

Instead of government we had a stage
Instead of ideas, a prima donna’s rage
Instead of help we were given a crowd
She didn’t say much, but she said it loud

Sing you fools, but you got it wrong
Enjoy your prayers because you haven’t got long
Your queen is dead, your king is through
She’s not coming back to you

[Crowd:]
Salve regina mater misericordiae
Vita dulcedo et spes nostra
Salve salve regina Peron
Ad te clamamus exules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
O clemens o pia

[Eva:]
Don’t cry for me Argentina
For I am ordinary, unimportant
And undeserving of such attention
Unless we all are, I think we all are
So share my glory, so share my coffin
So share my glory, so share my coffin

[Che:]
It’s our funeral too

“Whether in love or in life, we all want to be saved from living a half life.” ~ iRonnie

Half Life by Duncan Sheik
Album: Daylight
Year Released: 2002

Duncan Scott Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Sheik’s upbringing was split between his parents’ home in South Carolina and that of his grandparents in New Jersey. His grandmother, a piano graduate of The Juilliard School, taught him to play the piano and encouraged his musical development. He graduated from Phillips Academy in 1988, after which he studied semiotics at Brown University. Read more…

Lyrics of Half Life by Duncan Sheik after the jump.

I’m awake in the afternoon
I fell asleep in the living room
and it’s one of those moments
when everything is so clear

before the truth goes back into hiding
I want to decide ’cause it’s worth deciding
to work on finding something more than this fear

It takes so much out of me to pretend
tell me now, tell me how to make amends

maybe, I need to see the daylight
to leave behind this half-life
don’t you see I’m breaking down

lately, something here don’t feel right
this is just a half-life
is there really no escape?
no escape from time
of any kind

I keep trying to understand
this thing and that thing, my fellow man
I guess I’ll let you know
when i figure it out

but I don’t mind a few mysteries
they can stay that way it’s fine by me
and you are another mystery i am missing

It takes so much out of me to pretend

maybe, I need to see the daylight
to leave behind this half-life
don’t you see I’m breaking down

Lately, something here don’t feel right
this is just a half-life
is there really no escape?
no escape from time
of any kind

come on lets fall in love
come on lets fall in love
come on lets fall in love
again

’cause lately something here don’t feel right
this is just a half-life,
without you I am breaking down

wake me, let me see the daylight
save me from this half-life
let’s you and I escape
escape from time

come on lets fall in love
come on lets fall in love
come on lets fall in love
again

My fave line in this song: “I’m going home, back to the place where I belong, where your love has always been enough for me.” ~ Ely

Home by Chris Daughtry
Album: Daughtry
Year Released: 2006

Chris Daughtry is the 4th placing contestant on the fifth season of the #1 TV show “American Idol”. After advancing onto the next round at his Denver audition of Joe Cocker’s “The Letter”, Chris continued to impress the judges in Hollywood with performances such as “The First Cut is the Deepest” and the group song “Emotions”. Read more…

Lyrics of Home by Chris Daughtry after the jump.

I’m staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I’m going to the place where love
And feeling good don’t ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel’s a different kind of pain.

I’m going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I’m not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don’t regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I’m going home.
Well I’m going home.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I’ve not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love, remains true.
And I don’t know why.
You always seem to give me another try.

So I’m going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I’m not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don’t regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.

Be careful what you wish for,
‘Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don’t want.
Be careful what you wish for,
‘Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

Oh, well I’m going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I’m not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don’t regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old.
So I’m going home.
I’m going home.

I’m not that familiar with the lyrics. I just love Cook’s version. Perfect! ~ Ely

Always Be My Baby by David Cook
Year Released: 2008

David Cook (born December 20, 1982) is a native of Blue Springs, Missouri, a singer-songwriter, and the winner of the 7th season of American Idol. Cook was praised on the show for vocal range, versatility, and his unique interpretations of rock and pop classics. Read more…

Lyrics of Always Be My Baby by David Cook after the jump.

We were as one, babe
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be mine
Now you want to be free
So I’m letting you fly
‘Cause I know in my heart, babe
Our love will never die, No

You’ll always be a part of me
I’m part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling ’cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re ever gonna shake me
Oh darling, ’cause you’ll always be my baby

I ain’t gonna cry, no
And I won’t beg you to stay
If you’re determined to leave girl
I will not stand in your way
But inevitably you’ll be back again
‘Cause you know in your heart babe
Our love will never end, no

You’ll always be a part of me
I’m part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling ’cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re ever gonna shake me
Oh darling, ’cause you’ll always be my baby

I know that you’ll be back girl
When your days and your nights get a little bit colder
I know that you’ll be right back
Oh baby believe me it’s only a matter of time

You’ll always be a part of me
I’m part of you indefinitely
Girl don’t you know you can’t escape me
Ooh darling ’cause you’ll always be my baby
And we’ll linger on
Time can’t erase a feeling this strong
No way you’re ever gonna shake me
Oh darling, ’cause you’ll always be my baby

Please visit Beyond The Horizon and his photos at LitratOrama.

TGIF Presents: Ely’s Music Selection

Here’s my fave line for this: “I waited all my life to cross this line, to the only thing that’s true…” ~ Ely

True by Ryan Cabrera
Album: Take It All Away
Year Released: 2004

Ryan Frank Cabrera (born July 18, 1982) is an American musician. Cabrera was born in Dallas, Texas to a Colombian father and an American mother. He graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in 2000, and went on to attend The University of Texas at Dallas for a year. Read more…

Lyrics of True by Ryan Cabrera after the jump.

I won’t talk
I won’t breathe
I won’t move ’til you finally see
That you belong with me

You might think I don’t look
But deep inside
In the corner of my mind
I’m attached to you
I’m weak
Its true
‘Cause I’m afraid to know the answer
Do you want me too?
‘Cause my heart keeps falling faster

I’ve waited all my life
To cross this line
To the only thing thats true
So I will not hide
Its time to try
Anything to be with you
All my life I’ve waited
This is true

You don’t know what you do
Everytime you walk into the room
I’m afraid to move
I’m weak
It’s true
I’m just scared to know the ending
Do you see me too?
Do you even know u met me?

I’ve waited all my life to cross this line
To the only thing that’s true
So I will not hide
It’s time to try anything to be with you
All my life I’ve waited

This is true

I know when I go I’ll be on my way to you
The way that’s true

I’ve waited all my life to cross this line
To the only thing that’s true
So I will not hide
It’s time to try anything to be with you
All my life I’ve waited

This is true

TGIF Presents: American Idol 7 Selection

Billy Jean by David Cook
Top 10 Performance [Studio Version]
American Idol Season 7

Lyrics of Billy Jean by David Cook after the jump.

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don’t mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Gonna dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round

She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Gonna dance on the floor in the round

People always told me be careful of what you do
Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
Be careful of what you do ’cause the lie becomes the truth

Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

For forty days and forty nights
The law was on her side
But who can stand when she’s in demand
Her schemes and plans
Gonna dance on the floor in the round
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice
Do think twice

She told my baby that’s a threat
As she looked at me
Then showed a photo of a baby cries
Eyes would like mine
Gonna dance on the floor in the round,

People always told me be careful of what you do
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
She came and stood right by me
Then the smell of sweet perfume
This happened much too soon
She called me to her room

Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice
Do think twice