What songs do you wish you had written?

Subject: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: mg
Date: 26 Aug 11 - 11:41 PM

I know someone is going to say we did this before, but I would no sooner look up what we said three years ago than read a transcript of a conversation I had with someone to see that I was not repeating anything.

So...I always think first and foremost the town I loved so well...

I usually can't think of any others. mg

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Gurney
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 12:10 AM

Crazy, by Willy Nelson.
Several by him, really. None of them Country.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Smokey.
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 01:18 AM

Happy birthday.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: theleveller
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 03:59 AM

Come By, by Steve Knightley. Wonderful song about the plight of hill farmers.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Max Johnson
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 06:11 AM

Yesterday. Not a great song, IMO, but all those zeros on the royalty cheques would be nice.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 06:33 AM

Probably ALL the songs I sing

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Owen Woodson
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 07:52 AM

Tomorrow Belongs to me, from the film Cabaret. Then I could take out an injunction to prevent the European far right from performing it and claiming it as an anthem of theirs.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Elmore
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 09:37 AM

Chelsea Hotel by Leonard Cohen.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: The Sandman
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 10:22 AM

Masters Of War

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 10:23 AM

White Christmas and Gentle On My Mind, then relax forever on the royalties.

Dave H

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Musket
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 11:00 AM

A list that could grow if I had the time, but these are about the top of the list;

May You Never - John Martyn
Kathy's Song - Paul Simon
Boothferry Bridge - Harvey Andrews
Pair of Brown Eyes - Shane McGowan

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: RTim
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 11:01 AM

Here is My Home by Si Kahn

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: olddude
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 11:07 AM

Pretty much anything by Bankley or Murdoch

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,Suibhne Astray
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 11:33 AM

Here's ten to be going on with...

Il Pianto D'Errina - Nicolo Fontei
Dead Souls - Joy Division
We Plough the Fields and Scatter - Matthias Claudius & Johann Schulz
Come Up and See Me - Cockney Rebel
Montague Terrace in Blue - Scott Walker
Kalenda Maia - Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
The Impression of J. Temperance - The Fall
The Iron Stone - The Incredible String Band
An Astrologer's Song - Kipling / Bellamy
An Evening Hymn - Henry Purcell

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Padre
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 11:56 AM

Come, thou long-expected Jesus
All my heart this night rejoices
In the bleak midwinter
Hail thee, festival day, blest day that art hallowed forever
Now it is evening, time to rest from labor
O quanta qualia

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Elmore
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 12:30 PM

Stand up for Judas by Leon Rosselson

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 02:24 PM

Happy Birthday To You still rakes in Royalties, as does God Bless America

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,Bruce Baillie
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 04:03 PM

'You can be a Muslim too' by James F. Jarratt

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 04:06 PM

A Case Of You by Joni Mitchell

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 04:12 PM

And Mary Chapin Carpenter's I Feel Lucky

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 05:15 PM

I agree Dan....

However, I'll also add a song of yours, the very beautiful and moving 'Flowers on the Moon' made more poignant this evening because the young lad next door, which is a home for young people with autism, went into 'extreme meltdown' earlier on in the garden..And whilst he was screaming every swear word known to man, at his father, I had your gentle song going through my head.....

The good news is they calmed him down eventually. He loves to sing as well, so often at the top of his voice, bless him and...just *slightly* off-key. :0)

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: kendall
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 08:03 PM

The band played waltzing matilda

Phoebe Snow

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,sixtieschick
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 10:30 PM

Desolation Row. Brilliant.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,Allen in Oz
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 02:33 AM

Via Con Dios
The Endless Sleep
Today I Started Loving You Again
Tomorrow is a Long Time


AD

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 03:41 AM

If I could have written 'My Old Man', or 'The Joy of Living' I would consider myself a sublime poet. However, that honour belongs to Ewan MacColl.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: kendall
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 12:16 PM

Unchained melody

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 12:22 PM

I loved 'Unchained Melody' when it first came out years ago, sung by Al Hibbler, who I believe was a blind man. I never heard of him since then and wonder whatever happened to him. Anybody know?

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Midchuck
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 07:05 PM

Hundreds of them...

The ones that come to mind at the moment:

"The First Time Ever" (by E. McColl, in the very unlikely event that anyone here doesn't know that) The best happy love song ever written.

"She Was" (by Mike Lussen, the new Woodchuck) Don Meixner, in this thread, named this (although he had the title wrong) as his favorite song of love lost. Mine too.

"He Stopped Loving Her Today" (don't have the composer identity handy; recorded by George Jones, of course) The Ultimate Sad Country Song.

"March of Campbreadth" (the former Heather Alexander) Best thoroughly-p***ed-off song since "Men of Harlech." But I'm still trying to figure out the melody (what there is of it) and proper chording (if any).

"All of the Hard Days Are Gone" (Kevin McCrell, covered by Woods Tea and by the Kingston Trio, and brought to us by Mike L. I suspect the KT made the most money off of it.) One of my favorite positive-attitude songs even if the premise is almost inevitably a lie.

"The Goodnight-Loving Trail" (Utah Phillips) and "Tonight We Ride" (Tom Russell) Two of the "realest" cowboy songs.

"No Telling" (Linda Thompson, as adapted by Tom Russell) I wish I'd have been at Kendall and Jacqui's wedding so I could have sung it.

Peter

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,Allen in Oz
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 09:29 PM

Joe

I am not really a guest ...I have been a member for years

Oh well

Best wishes

AD

---

Hi, Allen - if you need help, contact me. [e-mail]

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Rapparee
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 10:51 PM

The ones that made a lot of money.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Allen in Oz
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 11:30 PM

Many thanks Joe

Another song:

"It's A Working Man I Am"

AD

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,Phil B
Date: 29 Aug 11 - 11:57 AM

'Nothing but the same old story' Paul Brady.
'Tommy' by Kelly Jo Phelps.
Adieu sweet lovely nancy.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: PHJim
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 11:57 AM

Kendall made two great suggestions. When I first heard Eric Bogle's The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, which, unlike Waltzing Matilda, actually is a waltz, I had to pull off the road and wipe the tears from my eyes.
I never would have thought of Utah Philip's Phoebe Snow, but that's a beautiful song as well.

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 05:51 PM

I wish I could write a song at all! However, there are so many great songs out there they probably don't need me.

Ewan MacColl's "Joy of Living" comes to mind, Brian McNeill's "John Muir" and "Ewen and the Gold", and Victoria Wood's "Love Song".

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 30 Aug 11 - 07:52 PM

I think I would add A man's a man for all that. mg

Subject: RE: What songs do you wish you had written?
From: Genie
Date: 31 Aug 11 - 07:19 PM

Dick G,
Yes, God Bless America does still rake in the royalties, but I believe Irving Berlin signed over all the royalties for that song to the Boy Scouts (or both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts).
DK if that was a "forever" thing or for some limited time period, but I think it was in effect during his lifetime, anyway.