Under Pressure

Zwei der größten Stimmen, eins der besten Baßriffs, ein beeindruckend sauber gearbeiteter Song. Under Pressure von Queen und David Bowie. Wer davon wirklich wieviel geschrieben hat wird wohl niemand wissen. Wikipedia sagt, der größte Teil stamme von Freddy Mercury, doch klar ist, daß der Song niemals das wäre, was er ist, ohne die beiden Stimmen von Mercury und Bowie.

Für mich einer der Schätze der Popgeschichte. Und ein Liedanfang, der rockt, egal wie oft man ihn hört – und ich hab ihn nun schon einige male hintereinander gehört, um herauszufinden, was Freddy da am Anfang wirklich sagt. Meine beste Schätzung findet Ihr hier.

Bm bm ba deb
Um bum ba beb
B b bm ba be be

Pressure,
pushing down on me,
pressing down on you,
no man ask for.
Under pressure,
that burns a building down,
splits a family in two,
puts people on streets –

Bm ba ba be
Bm ba ba be
De day da
Ee day dab

It's the terror of knowing
what this world is about,
watching some good friends
screaming "Let me out",
pray "Tomorrow gets me higher!"
Pressure on people, people on streets –

Day day dab, mm hm
Da da da ba ba
Oh ehay

Chippin' around, kick my brains round the floor,
these are the days it never rains but it pours –
Ee do ba ba
Ee da do ba bab
Um bo bob
Be lap
People on streets – ee da de da de
People on streets – ee da de dab de dab de dab

It's the terror of knowing
what this world is about,
watching some good friends
screaming "Let me out",
pray "Tomorrow gets me high, high, high!"
Pressure on people, people on streets –

Turned away from it all like a blind man,
sat on a fence but it don't work,
keep coming up with love, but it's so slashed and torn.
Why? Why, why?
Love –
Insanity laughs: under pressure we're cracking.

Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?
Why can't we give love, give love?

'Cause love's such an old fashioned word,
and love dares you to care for
the people on the edge of the night,
and loves dares you to change our way of
caring about ourselves. –
This is our last dance.
This is our last dance.
This is ourselves
under pressure.
Under pressure.
Pressure.

Von den Videos möchte ich Euch zwei ans Herz legen, das eine das offizielle (übrigens ein sehr schönes), das andere eine Aufnahme, die Bowie mit einer jungen Dame gemacht hat, Gail Ann Dorsey. Gail Dorsey übernimmt bei dieser Aufnahme nicht nur den Part von Freddy Mercury, sondern auch gleich noch den von Bassist John Deacon, und das mit einer brillianten Performance. Dabei wird einem erst einmal bewußt, in welchen Tonlagen Freddy Mercury so gesungen hat – der Ton, den er auf dem Wort Why? erreicht, ist wenn ich nicht irre, das zweigestrichene a, ein astreiner Sopranton. Was die Leistung von Frau Dorsey betrifft, so gilt einer der Kommentare, die man auf YouTube zu diesem Video findet:

Watch bowie again… he does NOTHING except say and speak a few words… THE GIRL DOES EVERYTHING!

Aber Bowie schnippt.

Update 2.4.2010: Das Video, auf das ich mich bezog, ist in Deutschland nicht mehr verfügbar. Ihr seht unten eine Liveaufnahme von Bowie und Dorsey, aufgenommen 1996 in Deutschland.

Kayleigh

Kayleigh von Marillion, ein großer Song meiner Jugend. Das Album Misplaced Childhood zählt sicher zu den besten aus diesen Tagen.

Do you remember?
 Chalk hearts melting on a playground wall.
Do you remember?
 Dawn escapes from moonwashed college halls.
Do you remember?
 The cherry blossom in the market square.
Do you remember?
 I thought it was confetti in our hair.

By the way, didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart.
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart,
But you broke mine.

Kayleigh, is it too late to say I'm sorry?
And Kayleigh, could we get it together again?
I just can't go on pretending that it came to a natural end.

Kayleigh, oh I never thought I'd miss you,
And Kayleigh I thought that we'd always be friends.
We said our love would last forever,
So how did it come to this bitter end?

Do you remember?
 Barefoot on the lawn with shooting stars.
Do you remember?
 Loving on the floor in Belsize Park.
Do you remember?
 Dancing in stilettoes in the snow.
Do you remember?
 You never understood I had to go.

By the way, didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart.
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart,
But you broke mine.

Kayleigh, I just wanna say I'm sorry,
But Kayleigh, I'm too scared to pick up the phone,
To hear you've found another lover to patch up our broken home.

Kayleigh, I'm still trying to write that love song,
Kayleigh, it's more important to me now youre gone.
Maybe it will prove that we were right,
Or it will prove that I was wrong.

Like a rolling stone

Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone war die Lösung des ersten halbakustischen Schneeseerätsels. Gewußt hats mal wieder der Papst, wie auch Andreas. War wohl doch zu einfach. Aber das ist nun wirklich mal einer der berühmtesten Liedanfänge der Popgeschichte.

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?