Saturday, August 01, 2009

A Little Glen Phillips


I don't have much time today, so I thought I'd just toss out some song lyrics that move me from one of my favorites, Glen Phillips. Back in the '90s, he was the front man for the band Toad the Wet Sprocket, but since, he's embarked on his own solo career - one for which I'm very thankful. Very, very talented and intelligent guy. Here's some lyrical examples.

From his CD Mr. Lemons, here's a sample from the last track A Joyful Noise that exemplifies the grace of God.
Mouth open
lies pour out
you know we’re not leaving you, not leaving you alone now
you will make a joyful noise

Hallelujah

This is a song of thanks to the Creator also from Mr. Lemons. It's called Thank You. This is one you really have to hear the way it crescendos into a rhymic, tribal chanting at the end. It's really cool.

You made this world, You made this world
You made this world, Thank you, thank you
You gave me life, You gave me life
You gave me life, Thank you, thank you

Your love is everywhere, Your love is everywhere
Open me, open me
You sowed these seeds, You sowed these seeds,
You sowed these seeds, Thank you, thank you

You brought this peace, You brought this peace
You brought this peace, Thank you, thank you

Your love is everywhere, Your love is everywhere
Your love is everywhere, Open me, open me
And last, the whole song, Duck And Cover (bolded for emphasis by me), from the CD Winter Pays for Summer, pretty much explains itself:

Someone's in the back yard, banging on the door
Daddy's gone away, he's coming back no more
His baby's curled up on a stranger's floor
Mama's thinking family dinners weren't too much to ask for

Everybody here's got a story to tell,
Everybody's been through their own hell
There's nothing too special about getting hurt
Getting over it, that takes the work
Cause one way or another, we'll all need each other
Nothing's gonna turn out the way you thought it would
But friends and lovers, don't you duck and cover
Cause everything comes out the way it should

Blessed are the humble, blessed are the meek
Blessed are the hungry, blessed are the weak
Blessed are the ones on the other side
Blessed are we for just being alive
One day I stopped wanting anything at all
The heavens opened up like a waterfall
No use in worrying about when it ends
Just for now be thankful for what I get
Cause one way or another, a man's gonna suffer
It makes no difference the way you wanted it
But friends and lovers, don't you duck and cover
Cause everything comes out the way it should in the end

Seems like life is a palindrome
You cry when you die, you cry when you're born
In between it's all about the ups and downs
Add 'em all together, they cancel each other out
Cause one way or another, One way or another
You won't get what you wanted
You'll get enough, for sure
One way or another
Winter pays for the summer
Won't get what you wanted
What you got'll be good

Someone's in the back yard, banging on the door
Daddy's gone away, he's coming back no more
His baby's curled up on a stranger's floor Mama's
thinking happy endings weren't too much to ask for.

Glen's go so many great songs. Some of my other favorites are Everything But You, I Still Love You, Train Wreck, Easier, Thankful, Waiting, Sleep of the Blessed. And if that's not enough, go pick up a copy of the Toad retrospective P.S., which has a sixteen great songs, and almost any American adult will recognize at least a few of the tunes on that CD. YouTube any of the songs on P.S., and they'll take you back, I promise.
Just like I promise you'll love Glen Phillips' music. It's a money back guarantee!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't followed his solo career so closely, but I was a big fan of Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Fear was a really good record and Dulcinea was exceptional college rock as college rock was morphing into mainstream "alternative" rock (back when mainstream alt rock [oh, the irony!] didn't suck quite so hard as it does today).

DougALug said...

"Said 'I'm fine!' as she covered up her trembling hands."... from Fall Down.

For me, this was one of the more memorable lines of any song in the 90's. Toady was awesome.

I have to catch up with Glen. Thanks for the reminder.

God Bless
Doug

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, Doug.

"Fall Down" was a great rocker for that era and "Something's Always Wrong was a terrific (and fairly ambitious) ballad for a college rock band in the early-mid '90s.

The whole Dulcinea album still stands up. Toad was a really good band.

-BP

Rich said...

Toad had a ton of greats. Even ones that didn't get a ton of airplay:

P.S., Jam, All She Said (maybe my fav TTWS song ever), Little Heaven, Crowing, Rings, Eyes Wide Open... there's a long list.

U2, The Cars, Vigilantes of Love, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 77s, Toad's up there with every last one of my all-time favs.