Streetwalking songs
See the way he walks down the street
Watch the way he shuffles his feet—
“He’s a Rebel” was one of those wonderful girl-group numbers that entertained us in the early 60s. It’s also one of a host of rock songs that walk the walk in addition to talking the talk—that is, they feature the words “walk” and “street” (or its variant, “road”), either in title or lyrics.
That got me to thinking of all the other oldies but goodies (or in some cases not-so-very-oldies, and sometimes not-so-very-goodies) that contain the words “walk” or “street.” “He’s a Rebel,” with its glorification of the perennial bad boy, almost inevitably led me to the Shangri-Las‘ paean to another rebellious-but-lovable hottie: “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” (“he’s good-bad, but he’s not evil”):
And now let us shift from badass street-walking boys to alluring street-walking (although not in the professional sense) girls—or shall we say “women:”
And just as The Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel” led to the Shangri-Las’ “Give Him a Great Big Kiss,” the great Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” (“walkin’ down the street…I don’t believe you, you’re not the truth/
No one could look as good as you) almost inevitably leads to The Doors’ “Hello, I Love You” (“she’s walkin’ down the street…sidewalk crouches at her feet/like a dog that begs for something sweet”)…
And then, if you want to continue to talk about resemblances (in theme, if not in musical style), there’s also “The Girl From Ipanema” (“the girl from Ipanema goes walking…And when she passes, he smiles/but she doesn’t see”):
Which leads us to the newer hit “You’re Beautiful” (“she caught my eye/As we walked on by…And I don’t think that I’ll see her again”), which to me seems to express a version of the same unquenched yearning:
And here, without further ado or commentary (but with You Tube links for every one), and in no particular order, are the others that popped into my head:
“Love Street”
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
“Boogie Street”
“I Get Around”
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”
“Long and Winding Road”
“Walk on By”
“When You Walk in the Room”
“You’re So Vain”
“Country Roads”
“Blowin in the Wind”
“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”
But that’s just my little list. It turns out the someone else has been down this road before. And a much much longer road than mine it is.
[ADDENDUM: How could I have left out “Walk Away Renee?” To remedy that shameful omission, I’ll post the You Tube video:
[Hat tip: Tonawanda.]
You could subtitle this one “Never on Sunday.”
The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began…
The Highwayman came riding, riding…
In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde…
There is something evocative about roads in general. People moving along roads, how they are moving and the kind of road it is, also conveys poetic information to us.
“Walk Away, Renee” – – the pain and loneliness so rawly, beautifully done. If this has happened to you, such a personal song.
Doo Wah Diddy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30p0PJrHrgE&feature=related
She walked up to me
And she asked me to dance
I asked her her name
And in a dark brown voice
She said, “Lola”
L-O-LA Lola
Lo Lo Lo Lo-la
Well I’m not dumb
But I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman
But talked like a man.
Tonawanda: good one—I can’t believe I left that out. I will add it.
Tonawanda – that was my band’s signature retro song in the 70’s – we were the first to do 60’s retro. We looked at Sha-Na-Na doing 50’s throwbacks, said “it won’t be long before the 60’s get the same treatment” and thought Why not us? The song sounds sounds so personal because it has just a touch of a whine. Linda Ronstadt’s “Long, Long, Time” has the same quality, just below the edge where you’d notice – unless you have to sing it four times in one day, six days a week, at King’s Dominion.
Paul from Houston tells me my link here is wrong. It must have been so for years. Fixed now.
one thing is to look how musics subject has changed. i have mentioned this before.
it went from love songs and songs of life, into what we have now.. narcissistic dreams, nihilism, etc…
some of the best are most vile in the mental state they imply is normal..
and you can add james taylor, walking man…
and if you want old songs…
those caissons go rolling along
[also over hill over dale]
When the saints go marching in
I can literally list hundreds (from memory) if i take the time..
fun ones to add
stray cat strut
walk on the wild side
walk this way [talk this way]
Walk On By (a fav from the past)
Walking Slow
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (?)
and cant forget jim croce
walking back to georgia… 🙂
and for interesting trivia, look up the reasoning behind the song. darling save the last dance for me.
Artfldgr: “Walk On By” and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” are already on the list I posted, with video links.
Tom Russell, “The Road It Gives and The Road It Takes Away”
There was a song in “Good Morning Vietnam” that I really liked. I thought the name was “Prima Ballerina”. That is, until now. I found it after clicking on “Walk Away Renee”. The real name is “Pretty Ballerina”. Thanks for the post, Neo!
On the Street Where You Live from “My Fair Lady”
But then I’m ancient!
How about Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone”?
And the highway never ends.
Dancing in the Streets by Martha and the Vandellas.
Hard Travelin’, by Woodie Guthrie.
how could i miss them?
like a gorilla on a basketball court with a red hat. 🙂
In a more rustic vein: Dirt Road Blues by Bob Dylan
King of the Road , by Roger Miller
Streets of Bakersfield featuring Dwight Yoakum and Buck Owens on guitar, with Flaco Jimenez on accordion.
I did not recall Dionne Warwick’s “Walk on By.” I was more familiar wsith Walk on By , by Leroy Van Dyke. Same title, different song, different genre.
Other songs I recalled have been already covered on the DOT website.
Neo:
You do have “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”…
But my favorite is “Love is Just Four letter Word” by either Dylan or Joan Baez.
I played it on the 33rpm – full volume – and then proposed. Told her she was taking a chance.
She accepted – soon fifty years ago.
Since this post went up, the format of your front page just went to hell, when viewed by Firefox.
If I switch it to an IE tab, it appears normal.
Is anyone else encountering this?
–
It looks OK in Safari.
Huh! I didn’t expect to find it on YouTube, so I didn’t bother looking for it:
Dirt Road Blues
George Jones, Lonely Street
Emmylou Harris, Boulder to Birmingham
Don’t know how old it is, but a cheerful song “sunny side of the street”. One line is “If I never had a cent, I’d be rich as Rockefeller”. Or something like that.. I’ve never looked it up, just listened on stations that play stuff by Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and Steve and Edie.
That’s funny. I was just going to post this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL69Dz7gcec&NR=1
–which is an acoustic version of Crosby Stills & Nash doing “Guinevere” … with alternate vocals. Recorded in 1969 but never used.
More of a “drifting like a feather in the wind” song, though.
How very nice Neo,
Perhaps Robt. Earl Keene The road goes on forever and the party never ends.
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
— Windy, The Association
How I miss melody in pop music…
Here’s a beauty from Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span fame. Few people know it and that’s a shame.
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
Beyond these present storms that blow
Waiting patiently
No secrets held in an open heart
A spirit that soars over mountains
Somewhere along the road
Someone waits for me
— Somewhere Along the Road, Maddy Prior
When you get to thinkin’ about it, there are a ton of walkin’ songs.
But how could we all have missed, “Walkin’ After Midnight” by Patsy Cline?
The clincher in “He’s a Rebel,” if you ask me, comes in the last verse:
“If they don’t like him that way
They won’t like me after today
I’ll be standing right by his side…”
The late Gene Pitney wrote this, and it still enchants, all these years later, despite the total absence of actual Crystals on the record. (Phil Spector hurriedly cut this with the Blossoms – that’s Darlene Love on lead – in an effort to beat a rival version by Vikki Carr to the charts.)
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother by the Hollies
Listening to “Walk Away, Renee” sent me to “Pretty Ballerina,” which was the B side of the 45. Both these songs were so beautiful and serious in a way that only youth can be serious. What I feel listening to them now is more than nostalgia, which can be a falsifying emotion. It’s a true re-experiencing of emotion, a collapsing of time.
mizpants: You may be pleased to know I’ve been researching “Walk Away Renee” and am so fascinated by what I’ve found that I plan a post on just that song. Coming soon to a blog near you.
neo: Look forward to that.
“Walk Away Renee” and “Pretty Ballerina” by the Left Banke were two indelibly magic songs of that era whose album went out of print fast.
When I was younger, I searched in vain for an affordable copy in the used record stores. It’s only recently a reasonably priced Left Banke in MP3 format became available.
Rickie Lee Jones has a transcendent live version of “Walk Away Renee.”
“The late Gene Pitney wrote this”
Pitney, aka “The Rockville Rocket” was one of the few pop stars from central Connecticut where I grew up. He had a number of memorable hits from the era including “Town Without Pity”, “It Hurts to be in Love”, “Half Heaven, Half Heartache”, “Every Breath I Take” and many others.
Ooooh! Huxley beat me to posting “Windy!” That was one of the first I thought of and it’s a favorite! (Once you hear it, you will be listening to it for days in your head!!!!!!
Girl From Ipanema was another natural, and popped into my head immediately!
And one of my other “most favorites:” Downtown, sung by Petula Clark
When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go – downtown
When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know – downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, things’ll be great when you’re
Downtown – no finer place, for sure
Downtown – everything’s waiting for you
Don’t hang around and let your problems surround you
There are movie shows – downtown
Maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close – downtown
Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova
You’ll be dancing with him too before the night is over
Happy again
The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, where all the lights are bright
Downtown – waiting for you tonight
Downtown – you’re gonna be all right now
[Instrumental break]
And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along
So maybe I’ll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares
So go downtown, things’ll be great when you’re
Downtown – don’t wait a minute for
Downtown – everything’s waiting for you
Downtown, downtown, downtown, downtown …
Finally, Dionne Warwick singing just about anything — particularly anything by Burt Bacharach, is just the thing to send me back to a time and place I remember as special (even if I was then just an itty bitty thing thrilled to take ANYTHING my most revered neighbors –all the really cool older kids!) bequeathed to me…when their parents demanded pre-college closet clean outs!
Fun post, neo…
And, Glen Yarborough, “Roads Go Ever, Ever On”, from Tolkein.