― miccio (miccio), Monday, 27 June 2005 13:04 (eighteen years ago) link
This is not a defense of it.
― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Monday, 27 June 2005 13:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Monday, 27 June 2005 13:07 (eighteen years ago) link
I know that I'm a prisonerTo all my Father held so dearI know that I'm a hostageTo all his hopes and fearsI just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paperFilled with imperfect thoughtStilted conversationsI'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see itHe says it's perfect senseYou just can't get agreementIn this present tenseWe all talk a different languageTalking in defence
Say it loud, say it clearYou can listen as well as you hearIt's too late when we dieTo admit we don't see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrelBetween the present and the pastWe only sacrifice the futureIt's the bitterness that lasts
So Don't yield to the fortunesYou sometimes see as fateIt may have a new perspectiveOn a different dayAnd if you don't give up, and don't give inYou may just be O.K.
Chorus
I wasn't there that morningWhen my Father passed awayI didn't get to tell himAll the things I had to say
I think I called his spiritLater that same yearI'm sure I heard his echoIn my baby's new born tearsI just wish I could have told him in the living years
― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 27 June 2005 13:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:00 (eighteen years ago) link
1) The bitterness of the song makes it a little more sophisticated than "Gee dad, I miss you." I actually find the second stanza kind of effective in this way. "I'm a hostage to all his hopes and fears," -- that's kind of a dark, difficult idea for a top-10 pop song, even if it does make the cliched pairing of "hopes and fears"
2) Why do people rag on this song so much more than Time After Time? The Lauper song is equally soft-rock-y, sentimental, and maudlin, and I don't think you can argue that it's lyrically or musically superior.
3) I really did like this song (and Time After Time) when I was a little kid.
― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:05 (eighteen years ago) link
― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:07 (eighteen years ago) link
This question deserves its own thread.
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:10 (eighteen years ago) link
Comments:The song "In the Living Years" has always eluded me to this day, and now that I have located the artists and the lyrics, I can understand why. I totally relate to this song and it has made me realize the importance of making sure we always tell our loved ones what and how we feel no matter how hard it is to say. Thanks for allowing me to join in to make comments and check out the things you have in here. Donna- Donnalynn, Blaine, WAPaul Young who was the 53 year old lead singer with Mike and the Mechanics (and previously Sad Café) died from a suspected heart attack in July 2000. He collapsed at his home in Altrincham, Cheshire, UK.- Danial, Dubai, OtherPaul Carrack was also in the bands Ace and Squeeze. This is one of my favorite 80's bands and I think they were very underated. I still have a videotape of the '89 Grammy performance of this song.- Steve, St. Louis, MOIt's pretty inspirational alright - powerful stuff!!- Helen, Dublin, IrelandLove this song, inspires me to live life in the now not in the past or future- Daniel, Perth, AK
― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:23 (eighteen years ago) link
http://www.songfacts.com/additionalSearches.lasso?about=More%20songs%20about%20a%20mother%20or%20father
― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 27 June 2005 14:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ian Riese-Moraine eats nation-states for breakfast! (Eastern Mantra), Monday, 27 June 2005 15:18 (eighteen years ago) link
and
You just can't get agreementIn this present tense
Words can't describe how much I loathe these lines. I penned better lyrics when I was thirteen! So clumsy, so lazy, so urgh...
― Ian Riese-Moraine eats nation-states for breakfast! (Eastern Mantra), Monday, 27 June 2005 15:23 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 27 June 2005 16:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― Candicissima (candicissima), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:03 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:05 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:11 (eighteen years ago) link
― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:12 (eighteen years ago) link
"Oi!"
― Wayne (vassifer), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:12 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― Candicissima (candicissima), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:15 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:18 (eighteen years ago) link
― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:19 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:21 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:22 (eighteen years ago) link
― Buffalo Stan (Buffalo Stan), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:53 (eighteen years ago) link
― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Monday, 27 June 2005 17:55 (eighteen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:41 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:42 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:44 (eighteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:45 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:50 (eighteen years ago) link
Say it looooooouud(say it loud!)Say is cleeeeear(oh say it cle-ear!)
This song is NOT better than "Cat's In the Cradle" and while it doesn't save that song, it makes "Leader of the Band" look like a Dylan tune.
― Gear! (Ill Cajun Gunsmith) (Gear!), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:54 (eighteen years ago) link
http://www.carrack-uk.com/Paul-Carrack---intro-Sam-Mo.jpg
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 27 June 2005 18:59 (eighteen years ago) link
― Gear! (Ill Cajun Gunsmith) (Gear!), Monday, 27 June 2005 19:00 (eighteen years ago) link
― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Monday, 27 June 2005 19:07 (eighteen years ago) link
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 27 June 2005 19:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 27 June 2005 19:19 (eighteen years ago) link
You can at least tap your toe to "Cradle" though now I do wonder what it would've sounded like had Ugly Kid Joe coverd "Living Years" instead.
― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 27 June 2005 19:27 (eighteen years ago) link
― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 27 June 2005 19:32 (eighteen years ago) link
cmon, Africa is fuckin' When The Levee Breaks compared to The Living Years
That said I recently read Rutherford's memoir of the same name and it was pretty good
― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, 6 April 2019 22:46 (five years ago) link
well, parents put their kids in British public schools with the expectation that those kids can form paragraphs.
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 6 April 2019 22:50 (five years ago) link
Every generationHates this fuckin song
― Buttigieg comes right from the source (Neanderthal), Saturday, 6 April 2019 23:23 (five years ago) link
There's no song I hate more in the world. My friend Adam knows this and used to call my answering machine and singing it softly every six months or so. It is so awful.
― Benson and the Jets (ENBB), Monday, 8 April 2019 14:23 (five years ago) link
I was about to fulminate on how Paul Carrack has never sung or played on anything decent whatsoever, then I remembered he sang on Squeeze's "Tempted". Apart from that it's been a 50-year reign of terror. Even his early 70s prog band (Warm Dust) were shit. Checking him on Discogs, it seems he has over 50 releases (albums, singles and DVDs) on his own label since 2000 or thereabouts. 50! Who the fuck needs 50 Paul Carrack records?!
― Zeuhl Idol (Matt #2), Monday, 8 April 2019 15:06 (five years ago) link
I do not like this song, also it's of the same level of quality as Africa by Toto and lots of people seem to like that for some reason.― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, April 6, 2019 9:34 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, April 6, 2019 9:34 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
otm.
― ☮ (peace, man), Monday, 8 April 2019 15:21 (five years ago) link
I have childhood fondness for both this and Silent Running, but Over My Shoulder was the bane of my ITV Chart Show-watching existence for what seemed like an eternity when I was a teenager.
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 8 April 2019 15:25 (five years ago) link
i kind of like 'how long' tbh xxp
― kolarov spring (NickB), Monday, 8 April 2019 15:26 (five years ago) link
so do grocery stores
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 8 April 2019 15:31 (five years ago) link
i actually like over my shoulder
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Monday, 8 April 2019 16:46 (five years ago) link
weird to google and see that over my shoulder didn't even get into the top 10 in the uk because it felt like it was on the radio all the time for a couple years
― findom haddie (jim in vancouver), Monday, 8 April 2019 16:47 (five years ago) link
M&tM are opening for Phil Collins in June? Oh, the unfulfilled expectations of deluded Genesis fans
― doug watson, Monday, 8 April 2019 18:06 (five years ago) link
silent running is miami vice rock, so much better than this
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 8 April 2019 20:24 (five years ago) link
Predicted Brexit.
― dinnerboat, Monday, 8 April 2019 20:34 (five years ago) link
I was a kid when this song came out, my mom always played the Adult Contemporary stations in the car growing up, IDGAF I love this song, come at me
― thewufs, Friday, 15 November 2019 04:13 (four years ago) link
Only wish ya coulda told us
― Jordan Pickford LOLverdrive (Neanderthal), Friday, 15 November 2019 04:41 (four years ago) link
IT'S TOO LATE WHEN WE DIE
― muntjac wagner (Neanderthal), Monday, 17 August 2020 23:39 (three years ago) link
I liked the pre-chorus to this song better when Linkin Park stole it for "Breaking the Habit"
I would shoot this song if I could.― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, June 27, 2005 1:04 PM bookmarkflaglink
SHOOT IT LOUD
― muntjac wagner (Neanderthal), Monday, 17 August 2020 23:44 (three years ago) link
Remember first knowingly hearing this in the early 00s as I "faced-up" the paint isle in the mount vernon b&q. Dont understand why that's stuck with me so much, maybe because the combination was so dispiriting
― Temporary Erogenous Zone (jim in vancouver), Monday, 17 August 2020 23:55 (three years ago) link
Aisle even, cripes.
Honestly dont mind "over my shoulder" mind you
― Temporary Erogenous Zone (jim in vancouver), Monday, 17 August 2020 23:58 (three years ago) link
The BBC dubbed Carrack "The Man with the Golden Voice",[3] while Record Collector remarked: "If vocal talent equalled financial success, Paul Carrack would be a bigger name than legends such as Phil Collins or Elton John."[4]
― linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Thursday, 20 July 2023 19:00 (nine months ago) link
say it louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud
― CEO Greedwagon (Neanderthal), Thursday, 29 February 2024 17:36 (one month ago) link