SONG OF DEVASTATION – NUMBER 31 – The Vampire's Wife

SONG OF DEVASTATION – NUMBER 31 The Songs of Devastation are coming thick and fast these days! Someone (I’m sorry I have lost their name) suggested I post this song by my dear friend and Vampire’s Wife advocate, Chan Marshall, better known by her stage name, Cat Power. She is really one of our greatest, most beautiful singers, and this short song, ‘Say’, holds a kind of deep and secret despair, the words circling around an unnamed devastation. A painful and gorgeous thing both, completely and utterly enriching as all these Songs of Devastation are! Love Susie. x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sES7VOxYsW4

Say

Learn to say the same thing

Let us hold fast to saying the same thing

I hope all is well with you

I wish the best for you

When no one is around, love will always love you

Learn to say the same thing

What defeats people is a double confession

One time they will confess one thing

And the next they will confess something else

Talk to them, they will say

Learn to say the same thing

Let us hold fast to saying the same thing

Never give up, no, never give up

If you're looking for something easy

You might as well give it up

Never give up, no, never give up

If you're looking for something easy

You might as well give it up

One time they will confess one thing

And the next they will confess the next

Talk to them, they will say

Learn to say the same thing

Let us hold fast to saying the same thing

Songwriters: Chan Marshall

THE CARNIVAL IS OVER

I have just a simple song for you all from 1967, all the way from Australia (where my husband is), by The Seekers. I love this song, melancholy but so stirring, and Judith Durham, dressed in what looks like something from the archives of The Vampire’s Wife, is so touching. It is a song full of tears about the end of things and love’s enduring presence. We adore this song here at The Vampire’s Wife.

TIME AFTER TIME, LITTLE JIMMY SCOTT

Look at this heart-breaking piece of film of Little Jimmy Scott singing Time After Time and giving his thoughts on what a song is meant to be. He is a vast talent and a beautiful man; we met him at my husband’s Meltdown Festival in London in 1999.

TO DIE BY YOUR SIDE

I heard this wonderful version of The Smiths classic song "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" by the brilliantly ebullient Dum Dum Girls on the DJ Lonny’s amazing Cover to Cover on Radio Lewes this week. What a great show! What a superb song! What a joyful cover! ‘To die by your side is pleasure and a privilege’ indeed!