[Download A Song Of Ice And Fire Book 4 Pdf
Jamar Lizarraga
"Fire" is a song written by Bruce Springsteen in 1977 which had its highest profile as a 1978 single release by the Pointer Sisters. The song was also released by Robert Gordon and Springsteen himself.
The first released recording of "Fire" was by neo-rockabilly singer Robert Gordon who had met Springsteen through E Street Band bass player Garry Tallent. They remained on friendly terms before Springsteen gave Gordon the song "Fire" after seeing a live gig by Gordon and Link Wray. According to Gordon, "it was a choice between 'Fire' and another new song but [Springsteen] decided to keep the other one for himself."[1] Springsteen played piano on Gordon's recording of "Fire" which was released on Gordon's 1978 album Fresh Fish Special, recorded in December 1977 at Plaza Sound Studios in Manhattan with veteran rock 'n' roll producer Richard Gottehrer co-producing with Gordon.
Anita Pointer recalled, "['Fire'] became [the Pointer Sisters'] first gold single: we had had gold albums before but I didn't realize what a difference a gold single made 'cause...that one song [is played] over and over all over the world. ['Fire'] really became a major hit for us and made a total difference in our career."[5]
Bruce Springsteen envisioned "Fire" as a song which could be recorded by his idol Elvis Presley. It was written after Springsteen saw Presley perform at a May 28, 1977 concert at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Springsteen said, "I sent [Elvis] a demo of it but he died before it arrived."[26]
Springsteen completed a studio recording of "Fire" on June 17, 1977,[27] which was one of 52 tracks at least partially recorded which did not make the cut for his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town as they were considered inconsistent with his thematic vision for the album. Springsteen's manager Jon Landau speculated Springsteen had a special concern that, if included on Darkness on the Edge of Town, "Fire" would be Columbia Records' single of choice despite not being representative of the album as a whole.[28]
Despite his disinterest in releasing his own version of "Fire" Springsteen was reportedly upset when the Pointer Sisters version of the song reached no. 2 in February 1979. At that point Springsteen's most successful single remained "Born to Run" which had reached no. 23 in 1975. The Pointer Sisters were actually the second act to score a smash hit with a Springsteen cover, with Manfred Mann's Earth Band having taken "Blinded by the Light" to no. 1 in 1977. Additionally, "Because the Night" had been a no. 13 hit for Patti Smith in 1978, having begun as an unfinished Springsteen song he originally meant to record himself. Springsteen finally scored his own inaugural top 10 hit in 1980 with "Hungry Heart" which was his first single release subsequent to the Pointer Sisters' success with "Fire" (Springsteen had in fact written "Hungry Heart" for the Ramones but was persuaded by his manager/producer Jon Landau that the song was the ideal vehicle to break Springsteen as a major singles artist).[29][30]
The studio version of "Fire" was first released on The Promise box set (but the lead vocal was re-recorded in 2010, and overdubbed, replacing the original)[33] and a video version appeared on the associated The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story as part of the Thrill Hill Vault Houston '78 Bootleg: House Cut DVD.
Shakin' Stevens had a January 1979 UK single release with "Fire" serving as B-Side to his remake of "Endless Sleep". In the Netherlands, the single was issued with "Fire" as the A-side and formatted with a picture sleeve, this Dutch pressing being valued at 200+ in 1987.[34]
Link Wray, rockabilly guitarist who played on the Robert Gordon version, released his own version on his 1997 live album Walkin' Down A Street Called Love. In 2001, contemporary jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb covered the song on his release In a Heartbeat.[36][37]
The Pop Song Professor project is all about helping music lovers like you to better understand the deeper meanings of popular song lyrics so that you know what your artist is saying and can enjoy your music more.
I've never really listened to Arcade Fire until recently, and I still hadn't explained any song but "I Give You the Power" until now, but I've got an old work associate who every time I see him asks if I'm going to start explaining Arcade Fire. And I honestly wasn't enthused about the idea. They aren't as popular as the bands I usually review, and I didn't know what to make of them.
Well, I saw that "Creature Comfort" had come out this weekend, and I decided it was time to give them another chance. (I wasn't a fan of "I Give You the Power"--it was preachy, political, and boring.) Well, I'm glad to say that I did. I love the alt-indy/pop sound of "Creature Comfort." Arcade Fire doesn't sound like a typical rock act. They've got a unique sound that's somewhere between Passion Pit and a space age Panic! at the Disco or a M83.
The lyrics of "Creature Comfort" are about suicide and depression, but it's not about the band's feelings. It's about their fans. Arcade Fire gets in the heads of two different crowds of listeners--boys and girls--and describes some of those fans' more depressing thoughts and actions, we assume, for the purpose of helping these listeners to feel understood and maybe to give them a different perspective on their own actions.
Win Butler begins "Creature Comfort" by singing about discontented individuals: "Some boys hate themselves" and part of this hate comes from "resenting their fathers." He also mentions girls who "hate their bodies" as they "[s]tand in the mirror and wait for the feedback." The feedback comes from their own minds as they criticize themselves more than anyone else would.
In the next stanza, Butler tells us that even while these kids seem to have these unfortunate problems, a more serious problem lies below the surfaces of their psyches. Apparently, they are also considering suicide. They are "[s]aying / 'God, make me famous.'" When they kill themselves, they want to make it on the news and for others to at least hear about them. But even if that can't happen, they ask God to at least "make it painless." The pain of living feels greater to them than the pain of killing themselves.
The chorus could be from the perspective of Win Butler or it could be the imagined perspective of the fans who are considering suicide. Either way life is difficult, and the narrator watches it go "on and on," and sings, "I don't know what I want" as life keeps giving such depressing news or situations. If it's Win Butler singing, he's probably overladen with the weight of caring for these fans, and if it's the fans' perspective, they truly don't know what they want and keep having to deal with a steady stream of difficult thoughts and situations.
Butler goes back for more description of fans struggling with their lives and images. He tells us that "[s]ome girls hate themselves" and that they "[h]ide under the covers with sleeping pills and / Some girls cut themselves." These girls turn to drug overdoses or self-harm to escape lives that they truly hate.
And then Rgine Chassagne, Win Butler's wife, sings about "boys [who] get too much . . . love [and] touch." She doesn't make clear what this means, but she could be referring to "players" who sleep around or to guys who seems to have it all together on the outside but who "starve themselves" and [s]tand in the mirror and wait for" other people's opinions and assessments just like the girls do.
While Butler doesn't specifically refer to any one "creature comfort," he tells us that it "makes it painless," which we assume refers to the suicide. Therefore, the creature comforts are either actual creature comforts (like food, warmth, or any physical comfort), or they are the suicide itself, a comfort from the pain of living for these individuals.
That suicide will leave the narrator buried "penniless and nameless" even though he was "[b]orn in a diamond mine." They have great wealth and opportunity in their lives: "It's all around you, but you can't see it." They are blinded by the thoughts that haunt them, and so they risk losing their lives at their own hands, using creatures comforts to mask the pain, when they could have the abundance all around them.
The second bridge contains a very important message and is likely the thematic turning point of the album. Butler goes from describing the problem to explaining the problem he has with the problem. He negates what the kids said about it being "painless" and exclaims that "[s]he was a friend of mine / And we're not nameless." He and others who are friends or families of these kids are the ones who will experience the pain and heartache even if these kids don't necessarily feel anything. He wants them to reconsider for this reason.
Verse 4 seems to be from the perspective of those who feel depressed and who Win Butler reveals he is part of. He explains that those like him "are the bones under your feet"--the casualties of war that people without these problems might find easy to ignore. They have found the "white lie of American prosperity," and we assume that lie is that money doesn't bring happiness. Depression can still attack.
They "wanna dance, but we can't feel the beat," and this line explains that though they see happiness and want to take part in it, their mental states keep them from feeling like they can fully embrace it or feel it sincerely. Win Butler himself, though, tells us that he's "a liar" but that we shouldn't "doubt my sincerity." He may not be dancing, and he acknowledges that he's been deceptive, but he feels what he feels and doesn't want us to think he or anyone else is faking these feelings.
Hi! I'm a university writing center director who teaches literature classes and loves helping others to understand the deeper meanings of their favorite songs. I'm married to my beautiful wife April and love Twenty One Pilots, Mumford & Sons, Kishi Bashi, and so many others!
795a8134c1