Song 10: The Beatles "With a little help from my friends"

The songs have really fallen behind in a big way. Other things have just been more inportant of late. BUT - the songs are back on my list this week and this is a special!

A while ago a friend of ours who's heading out to Kenya on a mission trip this summer, asked if I'd like to be an act in their fundraising "Stars in their Eyes" night. Well, that's not actually how it happened, but anyway, myself and three other guys decided that we would be The Beatles for one night only.

We've left it a bit late really - the show is on Saturday evening - but we've just met up and had a run through the song, and I think we'll just about have an act.

Bizarrely, I don't really know many Beatles' songs. I mean, I don't know them well. I know lots of the songs but do I know the words? Apparently not. Bit of choruses and bridges but not a whole song.

So this has become song 10, and may well put me back on track. I didn't really learn the last three very well so I may have some revisiting to do.

A big "well done", then, for getting us organised and actually picking the song, and a big cheer for Lydia, who's faithfully following God's call to service - may her fun night be truly blessed.

Songs 8 and 9: The Monkees "Daydream Believer" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"

I've been a bit preoccupied with other things so song-learning has been top of my agenda lately, but there has been some progress.

I struggled with "Mr Jones", not with the words, as you might have expected, but with the rhythm. Singing and playing this song at the same time is really hard. So I know all the words, and I know all the music, but I can't do both at the same time!

Last week was Song 8 and I had a go at learning The Monkees "Daydream Believer". Another piece that I know all the words to already and so it should just be a case of committing the chords to memory, but again, rhythm got me stuck. This really isn't a guitar song...at least, not without some major re-arrangement. So I gave up quite quickly. I don't think I've even memorised the chords. Consider this dropped from the list!

And so I approached song 9. Leornard Cohen's "Hallelujah", which has been covered by many people in many different ways. I'm attempting a fairly standard take of it on the accoustic guitar.

I'd been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading this one. When I mentioned it to Sally she expressed some doubt about it - it sounded to her like quite a complicated piece. But I reckoned the chords weren't too difficult (I'm sufficiently musical that I can tell a complicated chord sequence). But any song that's really a melancholy piano piece that will have to be carefully picked on the guitar is gonna be a bit hard.

So I was delighted to find it not all that hard at all. OK, so I don't do it justice - it's a beautiful song and I play it clumsily - but I can play C, F, G, Em and Am, and get between them, pretty OK. I've still got some words to learn but most of them are there. And it's been a real joy to do.

I'm away on holiday next week so the next song may have to wait. I'm well behind but have nearly 10 under my belt. That's 10 songs more than I knew by heart three months ago! Yay!

Song 7: Mr Jones

I have a bit of a thing about songs with complicated words. I enjoy the challenge of learning them, and I'm a bit of a show off at heart (have you noticed?) so I'd rather learn something that makes people go "You know ALL the words to that?".

There's a couple of these on my list - Nothing Ever Happens turned out to be one! And here's another - Counting Crows' "Mr Jones".

I discovered Counting Crows a bit later than my contemporaries. Their debut was, I believe, released in the 90's but I only found them through Sally's record collection a couple of years back. And they're awesome!

A friend of mine who is a very good musician, and who's musical opinion I very much respect, has Counting Crows' "August and Everything After" album on his list of top albums of the 90's, and I really do agree - it's an album I've listened to again and again and again and never grown bored of. In fact, I keep finding more and more intricacies to keep me interested. For example, the song "Anna Begins" was usually skipped over at first, but it's a true gem that I choose to listen to now.

Anyway - Mr Jones is a great song. A poem set to music. It's rousing, thoughtful, interesting, and dynamic. But it's a complicated one. I HAVE already learned all the words. I will probably not be able to get them in the right order. I know that the music contains d-minor's - my least favourite chord. But it shouldn't be too hard to learn.

I'm falling a bit behind again. This is week 10, so I've skipped 3 songs. But never mind. So I really only have until Tuesday to learn this! Eeek!

Song 6: Breakfast at Tiffany's

If I was embarrassed about song 5 because it's such a bog-standard anthemic piece of indie pop. Song 6 (last week's song) fills me with even more dread!

I can't even remember why Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" became popular. It has very little going for it. It contains no more than three guitar chords. The words are...well, they make sense but why you'd write it I don't know. And it's just cheesy jangly guitar pop.

Yet, I'm sure many many people know it, so it's on my list. Its also ridiculously easy to play, I already know the words, and it's another one that I've tried to learn before, so it's just a case of cementing the chords in my head. Should be an easy one to fit into a busy week.

Song 5: (Dare I admit it) Oasis' "Wonderwall"

I'm not really sure what to make of the fact that I've put Wonderwall on the list. It's the quintessential, moany, groany Oasis track that all sing-along guitarists should know how to play. Yet, at the same time, I'm a bit embarrassed about it.

It provokes a reaction in me that's more "Oh yeah...Wonderwall....how predictable" rather than "YES! Wonderwall MUST be on the list".

Still, it's a good one to learn. I THINK the difficulty will be more with the rhythm than the chords (which I don't think are that difficult) or the words (which I, and anyone pretty much any English person my age, will already know).

Or perhaps I'll learn to play it Mike Flowers' Pops style? Now there's a thought!

Song 4: R.E.M.'s "Man on the Moon"

So, finally, here we are at song 4. I've been a bit lazy about it (it's week 7, I think), but, frankly, I've had more important things to do.

I've chosen this one because I mostly know it already - I just need to firm the words up in my head, get the order right, and learn the chords for the bridge and chorus (the verse is just C and D - with D played as a C shape starting on fret 3).

For reference the verse lines are:

• Mott the Hoople...
• Andy Kaufman...
• Monopoly 21...
• Mr Fred Blassie...
• Let's play Twister...
• I'll see you in heaven...
• [Chorus...losing touch]
• Moses went walking...
• Newton got beaned...
• Egypt was troubled...
• Mr Charles Darwin...
• [Chorus...having fun]
• Here's a little agit...
• Here's a little ghost...
• Here's a truck stop...
• Mr Andy Kaufman's...
• [Chorus...losing touch]
• Lots of "If you believe"'s....
  

(Hey, never noticed the chorus varies...weird what happens when you see something written down!)

It's a good guitar song. Easily recognisable, easy to play, but I find it quite hard to sing right. I think it's a bit high for my voice. Not that I can sing anything properly anyway.

4 days to do it (changeover day is Tuesday) and then pick something more complicated for next week.

P.S. I've given up stating what key things are in - this would be a useful thing for an index of my songs I've learned, just to trigger the memory a little, but I don't really understand which of the chords in the song is the key and, with Song 3, I got it wrong anyway 'cos it needs to be played with a capo on fret 5. Oops!

Song 3...still? What's happening?

OK, so I should make it clear at this point that, in my head at least, if not on paper, "52 songs" is a concept, not a target. I never thought I'd learn 52 songs this year, but the idea was to learn SOME pop songs this year, the 52 Songs concept was to give me some discipline to do it, and that's what I will continue to do!

So, I considered choosing another song to learn but with the bad and busy week I've had I decided to drop it and learn the last two verses of "Nothing Ever Happens". I now know all the words and just need to learn the musical bridge before verse 4.

It's a cool song. I don't know for sure, but I guess it's about how we all go about doing our business and work and shopping and stuff, we all have our routines. But nothing really ever happens, and "we'll all be lonely tonight, and lonely tomorrow. We don't achieve anything by just plodding through a working, consumerist, selfish life.

It reminds me of a book in the Bible called "Ecclesiastes", which starts off:

“Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.

What does man gain from all his labour

at which he toils under the sun?”

The point of life is not just to wake up and follow the same old routine every day. That's not life. That's missing the point!

Here's something else I read about life recently. This is Tom Wright, the Bishop of Durham, writing about the time when Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and gives examples of how to do this:

Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person, and go ahead and do it. Think of what you'd really like someone to do for you, and do it for them. Think of the people to whom you are tempted to be nasty, and lavish generosity on them instead. These instructions have a fresh, springlike quality. They are all about new life bursting out energetically, like flowers growing through concrete and startling everyone with their colour and vigour...Imagine if even a few people around you took Jesus seriously and lived like that. Life would be exuberant, different, astonishing.

Doesn't that sound exciting?!

Of course, this is a huge challenge for us, especially in our me-first culture. It's a huge challenge for me personally - it sounds massively exciting living that way, but I find it incredibly hard too.

I'm fortunate to have some incredibly loving and generous people around me in the shape of my close friends and family. They are all different and astonishing in the ways that they love others and live life to the full, and I'm hugely thankful for them.

In other places, I don't see much of this kind of life at all. I hardly know my neighbours for example. I hope that as the weather improves and we start chatting over the fences and in the street, we will get to know them and have opportunities to be generous towards them.

Del Amitri don't give suggestions as to how to get out, meet people and find an exuberant life (I like the word exuberant - I must use it more!). But they make us think - what are we doing here? How can we make life worth living?

---

P.S. I got a little carried away there - I suspect next week's song won't be anywhere near as interesting!

Song 3: Del Amitri's 'Nothing Ever Happens' - Update

MOSTLY learnt all of the words and the chords were pretty simple. It's been a busy week and this will roll on to next week now. Looks like I'm only make 51 songs. :-(

Oh well - at least I haven't bailed out completely yet!

Song 3 - Del Amitri's 'Nothing Ever Happens' - Key of C

Last week was a bit of a write off week, but I've just about learned the chords to "Angels" including the odd F#m. I've also done a bit of rehearsing Song 1 to bed it into my brain a bit.

This week Sally has challenged me to learn "Nothing Ever Happens" by Del Amitri. I'm not even convinced that this is a well known, sing-along pop song. But the chorus is pretty rousing, so worth a go. I've downloaded from iTunes and the music and words are in one of my books.

At the end of this weel I'll have covered three classes of song:

• Difficult music and difficult words (Fairytale of New York);
• Difficult music and easy words (Angels...well, the chords were easy but I had to do more work to learn them than the words, which were already firmly in my head);
• and Easy music and difficult words (Nothing Ever Happens)
  

Yes, this week is like memorising poetry. Sally doesn't make life easy! Chords are C, F, Am, G, with a few others in the musical bridge.

Sally has pledged to learn to play along on the mandolin, which will make it more fun. Perhaps I should make her learn the words too?

Song 2 - Robbie Williams' "Angels" - Key of "E"

Last week was fun AND challenging, songwise. I picked a tricky one to start but it's mostly nailed. The trick will be remembering it in a week or so's time.

This week's been a bit of a nightmare with busy evenings, rats, water leaks, a trip to Leeds for work, the wedding at the weekend, and health problems, so I've picked an easy one - Angels.

I already know this song, won't really need to learn the words (maybe a few), and I've tried to learn it before. The only real thing to do is learn the chords properly. A sure fire crowd-pleaser though don't ya think?

Song 1 - The Pogues' A Fairytale of New York (Key of G)

I just know I'll regret this...it's already taking over my life. I'm almost embarassed to write anything because I'll be writing my resignation post before I know it. Still...let's give it a go.

Week 1 of the new year's challenge. Learn a popular song every week for a year.

There were various discussions about which to do first, but I've decided on Sally's suggestion of The Pogues' "A Fairytale of New York". Pretty simple music, mostly Gs, Ds and As with a few Bm's, but with some interesting words. It helps that the words kind of tell a story as it's easier to remember.

The choice of a male/female duet may probe interesting too.

I've actually spent more time trying to learn the words than the music. That will have to change. The problem is that it's one of those songs that I've heard a million time and I think I know some of the words from what they sound like. e.g. I always thought the chorus bit was:

"The wise and the unwise singing (something) were singing going (something)"

when it's actually

"The boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay"

which makes a LOT more sense.

In other "52 songs" news, I've using technology to help me! I've started downloading some popular tracks from iTunes at 79p each. I'm going to create a "52 songs" playlist to help me along, and I have a folder for keeping the tabs (guitar chord music) in.

Anyway...off to learn the music! Report back - and a new song! - at the end of the week.

52 songs

Oh dear, what have I done??

Our friend Simon had his 30th birthday on 2nd December and he had a really fun party in York that we attended. He's a musician and has lots of musical friends, so part of the party was there was a PA and some musical instruments set up and a thrown-together band that played some well known party songs.

This was MOST entertaining, particularly the random, unrehearsed singalong at the end of the evening.

It gave me the (crazy, stupid) idea of having a new years resolution to learn a popular song each week. I've been playing guitar for about 8 years now and don't know many pop songs by heart, this would be a good way to learn.

Anyway, I never really thought I'd do it. But Sally's gone and bought me some chord books of pop songs for Christmas, so I guess I have to.

I doubt I'll make one per week, but I'll start a new thread here and maybe use it to keep people posted on how I'm getting on (if at all). Maybe this is a good way to be accountable and have people suggest songs too. If you're one of my limited readership, feel free to post comments or email me suggestions/ideas.

Thoughts turn to what the first few songs might be. "Love me do" by the Beatles is a good choice as it REALLY is three chords and has simple words. Though Robbie Williams' "Angels" may also be a good start as I sort-of learnt it before. Or maybe a Christmas song...especially as I've been playing LOTS on Christmas Carol services at church of late.

An update sometime soon...I hope.