Greenbacks - Ray Charles

Greenbacks - Ray Charles

2:51

Ray Charles, 1957

Written by Renald Richard

The album this song is on is Charles' debut.  It was re-released in 1962 under the title Hallelujah I Love Her So.  This is a humorous story song.  Told in a half-spoken vocal, punctuated with a buzzy sax, it relates how the narrator met a lady who might be described as a gold-digger.  He's got money, but she wants more. "But look here, daddy, I wear furs on my back / So if you want to have fun in this man's land / Let Lincoln and Jackson start shaking hands."  So he gets out a few more greenbacks.  He thinks he'll have a great time with her, but of course these things don't always go as planned.

Little Green - Joni Mitchell

Little Green - Joni Mitchell

3:27

Blue, 1971

Written by Joni Mitchell

This song is about Mitchell's daughter, whom she gave up for adoption in 1965 (they later reunited).  This was not publicly known until someone who knew Mitchell in the 1960s sold the story, one that was clearly not hers to tell.  "So you sign all the papers in the family name / You're sad and you're sorry, but you're not ashamed / Little Green, have a happy ending."  This is not the kind of song I usually put on here; I like songs that are fun to listen to in the car.  This is raw and personal, but it is pretty.

Green Grass & High Tides - Outlaws

Green Grass & High Tides - Outlaws

9:51

Outlaws, 1975

Written by Hughie Thomasson

I had to consider a while before putting this song on here, because of its absurd length (which it reaches by including not one but two indulgent Southern-rock guitar noodling solos).  But then I thought, well, it's a classic, a very famous song, and I don't know about it.  And Thomasson's unique voice is quite engaging.  The title, an inverse of the famous Roling Stones greatest hits compilation, refers to rock legends gone too soon: "All my stars of love who died / Came from somewhere beyond the scene you see / These lovely people played just for me."  The line about "castles made of stone" might be a reference to Hendrix, another inverse to his gone-too-soon song about castles made of sand.

Green Light - Lorde

Green Light - Lorde

3:54

Melodrama, 2017

Written by Lorde, Jack Antonoff, and Joel Little

The narrator goes about her life after a breakup, still carrying baggage, hoping for that "green light" that will let her move on.  "'Cause honey I'll come get my things, but I can't let go / I'm waiting for it, that green light, I want it."  The lyrics are somewhat simple and threadbare, necessitating the kind of repetition that turns me off a song, typically.  But here, Lorde's vocal delivery is so intense and skilled as she switches up styles, first pleading and then in a staccato burst telling us how it's going to be, that it keeps me engaged throughout.  The bass, piano, handcaps and looping drums all give it a powerful push.

Forty Shades Of Green - Johnny Cash

Forty Shades Of Green - Johnny Cash

2:53

single, 1961

Written by Johnny Cash

A gentle, midtempo ballad that extols the places and geography of Ireland, as well as a certain lady that resides there.  "I miss the river Shannon / And the folks at Skibbereen / The moorlands and the meddle / With their forty shades of green / But most of all I miss a girl / In Tipperary town."  Obviously, it's a Cash song, but he makes it pretty authentic.  I could easily hear the Clancy Brothers doing this song.

Orange Colored Sky - Nat King Cole

Orange Colored Sky - Nat King Cole

2:34

single, 1950

Written by Milton Delugg and Willie Stein

In this song, the narrator is struck, quite literally, with love, as if by an epiphany, yea, like unto Saul on the road to Damascus."I was walking along, minding my business / when love came and hit me in the eye / Flash! Bam! Alakazam! / Out of an orange colored sky."  The song doesn't mention anything about the object of his affections.  Does he like her walk, her talk, her light brown hair, jeepers creepers, her peepers?  This is like Homer deliberately not describing Helen of Troy so the listener can use his imagination.

Open And Honest - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Open And Honest - Mighty Mighty Bosstones

2:52

The Magic Of Youth, 2011

Written by Dicky Barrett, Joe Gittleman, and Kevin Lenear

I'm a fan of most anything the 'Tones record; I regard them as one of the best ska bands.  This is up there with their best songs, in my opinion.  In addition to the sharp horn section, it's got some rocking guitar licks.  And the lyrics are not only Barrett's usual avalanche of wordplay — he seems to love just playing with the sounds and senses of words — it's got a message of being genuine with each other.  "Let′s face what you're afraid of / To find out what we′re made of / In the process made aware / That there is nothing here worth fearing."

Old Becomes New - The Real McKenzies

Old Becomes New - The Real McKenzies

2:13

Off the Leash, 2008

Written by the Real McKenzies

I'm a sucker for fast Celtic punk with bagpipes!  It doesn't really matter what Paul McKenzie is singing — one of my favorites is about the Loch Ness Monster.  This song is a cry to carpe diem, a rumination on how the pendulum of time swings back and cultures refute then embrace the past.  "If you hang around long enough / You'll see that everything starts to rust / Then shine it all up til it's tip-top /And old becomes new again."  This belief, of course, is an old one, dating to even before Ecclesiastes ("there is nothing new under the sun").  Hey, that's what the song is saying!

Open the Door - Clive & Naomi

Open the Door - Clive & Naomi

2:09

single, 1965

Written by Duke Reid

This group recorded just two sides and virtually no information about them is available on the web.  The song is a typical rocksteady ska beat, with the male and female vocalists trading call-and-response verses.  It's midtempo, with a relaxed horn break in the middle.  The song itself is a droll argument, possibly of a newlywed couple, in duet form, with Clive demanding to come inside ("Your wicked doin' lock me outside / You will never live it to be my bride"), while Naomi is just as determined to keep him out ("You will never live to burst it down").

O-o-h Child - Nina Simone

O-o-h Child - Nina Simone

3:15

Here Comes the Sun, 1971

Written by Stan Vincent, 1970

Nina Simone is one of the all-time great voices as well as one of the great interpreters.  This rendition of the Five Stairsteps classic doesn't change much, but I like to think that she adds a little ironic emphasis on the word "Someday" in "Someday, when the world's much brighter."  Nina was too somber and too much of a realist to swallow the hippie Shangri-la vision whole cloth.