Divine
Sorry! That’s a classic Bait-and-switch. We’re not talking about Divine, John Waters, Pink Flamingos or dog poop.
Instead, I’m just going to post a few The Divine Comedy songs. It’s not Dante, it’s Neil Hannon.
I discovered him on Yann Tiersen‘s L’absente.
Just loved Les Jours Tristes
It’s hard, hard not to sit on your hands
And bury your head in the sand
Hard not to make other plans
and claim that you’ve done all you can all along
And life must go on
It’s hard, hard to stand up for what’s right
And bring home the bacon each night
Hard not to break down and cry
When every idea that you’ve tried has been wrong
But you must go on
It’s hard but you know it’s worth the fight
’cause you know you’ve got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
Don’t be afraid of what they’ll say
Who cares what cowards think, anyway
They will understand one day, one day
It’s hard, hard when you’re here all alone
And everyone else has gone home
Harder to know right from wrong
When all objectivity’s gone
And it’s gone
But you still carry on
’cause you, you are the only one left
And you’ve got to clean up this mess
You know you’ll end up like the rest
Bitter and twisted, unless
You stay strong and you carry on
It’s hard but you know it’s worth the fight
’cause you know you’ve got the truth on your side
When the accusations fly, hold tight
And don’t be afraid of what they’ll say
Who cares what cowards think, anyway
They will understand one day, one day.
I discovered Tiersen before he broke into mainstream with the the mostly instrumental soundtracks for Amélie Poulain and Good Bye Lenin!
I actually liked his songs like Monochrome with Dominique A on his earlier album Le Phare. Despite the accent, the lyrics were just what I needed at the time.
Anyway, I can try
Anything it’s the same circle
That leads to nowhere and I’m tired now.
Anyway, I’ve lost my face,
My dignity, my look,
Everything is gone
And I’m tired now.
But don’t be scared,
I found a good job and I go to work
Every day on my old bicycle you loved.
I am pilling up some unread books under my bed
And I really think I’ll never read again.
No concentration,
Just a white disorder
Everywhere around me,
You know I’m so tired now.
But don’t worry
I often go to dinners and parties
With some old friends who care for me,
Take me back home and stay.
Monochrome floors, monochrome walls,
Only absence near me,
Nothing but silence around me.
Monochrome flat, monochrome life,
Only absence near me,
Nothing but silence around me.
Sometimes I search an event
Or something to remind,
But I’ve really got nothing in mind.
Sometimes I open the windows
And listen people walking in the down streets.
There is a life out there.
But don’t be scared,
I found a good job and I go to work
Every day on my old bicycle you loved.
Anyway, I can try
Anything it’s the same circle
That leads to nowhere and I’m tired now.
Anyway, I’ve lost my face,
My dignity, my look,
Everything is gone
And I’m tired now.
But don’t worry
I often go to dinners and parties
With some old friends who care for me,
Take me back home and stay.
Monochrome floors, monochrome walls,
Only absence near me,
Nothing but silence around me.
Monochrome flat, monochrome life,
Only absence near me,
Nothing but silence around me
A bit like The Incompetents’ amazing lyrics associated to Serge’s french accent
Anyway, revenons à nos moutons…
Neil Hannon / Divine Comedy
Discovered him a bit better on a 2004 Black Session. You know, the radio and concerts organized by the French John Peel, Bernard Lenoir. Lebanon’s version would be the one and only Ziad Nawfal and his Ruptured Sessions.
So, in early 2004 I record this amazing live performance on a k7! Yes one of these.
I played it until it melted recently but I did manage to transfer it to crappy Mp3, alongside sessions for Interpol and Feist.
Neil Hannon covered Randy Newman’s Lonely At The Top, played a couple of quirky originals, like Happy Goth.
But most importantly he played a fantastic version of Our Mutual Friend
No matter how I try,
I just can’t get her out of my mind
And I when I sleep I visualize her.
I saw her in the pub,
I met her later at the nightclub.
A mutual friend introduced us
We talked about the noise
And how its hard to hear your own voice
Above the beat and the sub-bass.
We talked and talked for hours,
We talked in the back of our friend’s car
As we all went back to his place.
On our friend’s settee,
she told me that she really liked me
And I said: “Cool, the feeling’s mutual.”
We played old 45s
And said it’s like the soundtrack to our lives
And she said: “True, it’s not unusual.”
Then privately we danced
We couldn’t seem to keep our balance
A drunken haze had come upon us.
We sank down to the floor
And we sang a song that I can’t sing anymore
And then we kissed and fell unconscious.
I woke up the next day
All alone but for a headache.
I stumbled out to find the bathroom
But all I found was her
Wrapped around another lover.
No longer then is he our mutual friend.
Heart-wrenching. He’s really an amazing storyteller
I actually remembered it when I stumbled upon his cover of The Smiths’ There Is A Light That Never Goes Out while researching my previous post.
Ok, so this is getting a bit glum
Let’s end it on a cheery note
To quote the top 2 comments:
“Best eurovision song ever.”
“His Majesty Dude from the movie the Big Lebowski”
It’s a great track that could’ve been composed by Paul Williams for Phantom of The Paradise
His latest offering has some even weirder stuff on it
Definitely NSFW
Enjoy!
Audiogrammes 
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