Some substitutes for title songs #5

Emmylou Harris, Heaven 17, and especially Amy Grant

peter gabriel.soThese are more substitutes for title songs. The album name appears as a lyric, but it’s not the title song. There is no actual title song, but these can be substituted. I’ve provided links when I could easily find them on YouTube.

Allelujah – Fairground Attraction. Album: The First of a Million Kisses Lyric: “And we’ll kiss the first of a million kisses.”

Emerald Eyes – Fleetwood Mac. Album: Mystery To Me. Lyric: “She’s still a mystery to me.”

Battle of Who Could Care Less – Ben Folds Five. Album: Whatever and Ever Amen. Lyrics: “General apathy and major boredom singing Whatever and ever Amen.”

Home – Foo Fighters. Album: Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace, Lyrics: The echoes and silence, patience and grace All of these moments I’ll never replace.”
All My Life -Foo Fighters. Album: One By One. Lyrics: “All my life, I’ve been searching for something.”

Into the Sun – Roddy Frame. Album: Seven Dials. Lyrics: “So bury me at Seven Dials So my soul can never find its way back to where I kissed you.”

Good Grief – Frazier Chorus. EP: Monkey Spunk

Death Dream – Frightened Rabbit. Album: Painting of a Panic Attack. Lyrics: “A still life is the last I will see of you. A painting of a panic attack.”

Gee

Red Rain, Don’t Give Up, That Voice Again, In Your Eyes, Mercy Street, Big Time -Peter Gabriel. Album: SoLyrics.

Even Though Our Love Is Doomed – Garbage. Album – Strange Little Birds. Lyrics: “Such strange little birds devoured by our obsessions.”

Too Many Lovers – Crystal Gayle. Album: These Days. Lyrics: “These days too many lovers. These days not enough love.”

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight – Genesis. Album: Selling England By the Pound. Lyrics: “It seems he’s drowned; selling England by the pound.”

Vanilla Queen – Golden Earring. Album: Moontan. Lyrics: The secret of your beauty was your moontan and your fear.”

Radio King – Golden Smog. Album: Down By the Old Mainstream. Lyrics: Let’s go down together Down by the old mainstream.”

El Shaddai  – Amy Grant. Album: Age to Age. Lyrics: “Age to age you’re still the same.”
Fight – Amy Grant. Album: Unguarded. Lyrics: “I’ve made up my mind now, I don’t want to lose out (Unguarded)”
Baby, Baby  – Amy Grant. Album: Heart in Motion. Lyrics: “And ever since the day you put my heart in motion.”
Turn This World Around – Amy Grant. Album: Behind The Eyes. Lyrics: “We are all the same it seems Behind the eyes”

Here Comes Sunshine – Grateful Dead. Album: Wake of the Flood. Lyrics: “Wake of the flood, laughing water, forty-nine.”

Locomotive – Guns n’ Roses. Album: Use Your Illusion II. Lyrics: “You can use your illusion- Let it take you where it may.”

Aitch

Trans Am (Highway Wonderland) – Sammy Hagar. Album: Street Machine. Lyrics: “Red on black, she’s a street machine.”

Before Believing – Emmylou Harris. Album: Pieces Of The Sky. Lyrics: “Pieces of the sky were falling in your neighbors’ yard”
Easy From Now On – Emmylou Harris. Album: Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town. Lyrics: “It’s a quarter moon in a ten-cent town.”

Radio Silence – Harvey Danger. Album: Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone.

Community of Hope  – PJ Harvey. Album: The Hope Six Demolition Project. Lyrics: “Here’s the Hope Six Demolition Project switching down the Benning Road.” This is a fascinating story.

How Wonderful You Are – Gordon Haskell. Album: Harry’s Bar. Lyrics: “Listen to the jazz in Harry’s bar.”

Vainglorious -Heart. Album: Jupiter’s Darling. Lyrics: “Jupiter’s darling standing in the ring.”

Key To The World – Heaven 17. Album: The Luxury Gap. Lyrics: “But trying to fill the luxury gap has pushed me to the brink.”
Five Minutes To Midnight – Heaven 17. Album: How Men Are. Lyrics: “You know how men are.”

Izabella– Jimi Hendrix. Album: First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Lyrics: “Girl, here comes the rays of the rising sun.” Live track substitute.

Hi

Adios to California – John Hiatt. Album: Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns. Lyrics: “Dirty jeans and mudslide hymns that all began with soon.”

Listening to the Higsons – Robyn Hitchcock. Album: Gotta Let This Hen Out. Lyrics: “Said “‘ gotta let this hen out And give this hen some eyeballs.'”

Boys Keep Swingin’  – Susanna Hoffs. Album: When You’re a Boy. Lyrics (first of many in the David Bowie cover) “Nothing stands in your way When you’re a boy.”

Stuck Between Stations and First Night – The Hold Steady. Album: Boys and Girls in America. Lyrics to the first: “Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together.”

Hello To Romance – The Hollies. Album: A Crazy Steal. Lyrics: “Such a crazy steal.”

Preacher In The Ring, Pt. 1 – Bruce Hornsby. Album: Spirit Trail. Lyrics: “Believers out shakin’ on the spirit trail.”

Wheels – Hunters and Collectors. Album: Jaws of Life. Lyrics: “Hadda spit the dummy do a Jaws of Life job.”

Proxy title songs of albums

“It’s time for a few small repairs”

Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading

Back in the olden days, when people used to buy albums, there were naming protocols. Often the first album was named for the band. Those albums are called self-titled or eponymous. Here are some of the best.

Variations are albums that have the group name in the title. Herb Alpert’s Ninth, Chicago V, Meet the Supremes, Beatles for Sale, the new McCartney III.

Particularly in the early days of the LP, there would be a track that was designated to be the “hit” or the most significant. This is called the title song, and there are scads of them. Are You Experienced -Jimi Hendrix, Let It Be-The Beatles.

There’s another category, and I don’t know what it’s called. It’s the songs that have the title of the album in the lyrics, but the name of the album is NOT the name of the song. I’ve called it Proxy title songs of albums, but if there’s a better designation, I’m amenable.

The list came from a Facebook music group and a couple of folks from Quora, but not the guy who suggested I “look on the Internet.” Some I already knew.

The music

I’m Lucky – Joan Armatrading from Walk Under Ladders. “I’m lucky. I can walk under ladders.”

E.T.I.  (Extraterrestrial Intelligence) – Blue Öyster Cult from Agents of Fortune. “Don’t report this, agents of fortune.”

Sunny Came Home – Shawn Colvin from A Few Small Repairs. “It’s time for a few small repairs.”

Drive, She Said – Julian Cope. “Here piggy Peggy sooey suicide.”

Alison – Elvis Costello from My Aim Is True is mentioned in the track Alison. “Oh, Alison, my aim is true.”

Skateaway  – Dire Straits from Making Movies. “She’s making movies on location.”

You Learn – Alanis Morissette from Jagged Little Pill. “Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill).”

Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana from Nevermind. “I found it hard, it’s hard to find. Oh well, whatever, never mind.”

Brain Damage – Pink Floyd from Dark Side of the Moon. “I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon.”

Dancer – Queen from Hot Space. “Hot space let’s go!”

Groups beginning with the letter S

Without a Trace – Soul Asylum from Grave Dancer’s Union. “I joined the Grave Dancers Union, I had to file.”

We Built This City – Starship from Knee Deep in the Hhoopla. “Knee-deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight.” Oy.

Doctor Wu – Steely Dan from Katy Lied. “Katy tried. I was halfway crucified… Katy lies, you can see it in her eyes.” (Close enough.)

Sister Moon -Sting from …Nothing Like the Sun. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.”

The Six Teens – Sweet from Desolation Boulevard. “And dream they saw their name in lights On Desolation Boulevard.”

Girlfriend Is Better -Talking Heads from Stop Making Sense. “I got a girlfriend that’s better than that.”

Walk On – U2 from All That You Can’t Leave Behind. “The only baggage you can bring Is all that you can’t leave behind.”

Mean Streets – Van Halen from Fair Warning. “Wait a minute, ah (This is home) Somebody said ‘Fair warning’, Lord.”

Could This Magic? – Van Halen from Women and Children First. “Better save the women and children first.”

Stinkfoot – Frank Zappa from Apostrophe (*). “Well I told ’em right then, Fido said. It should be easy to see. The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe.”

Since  I wrote this, I found a slew more of these. Expect a follow-up.  

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