A Little More Music

Updated September 7, 2014, including the addition of a "Word History," which was not part of the original text. Otherwise, I made minor changes and all of the songs are the same.

Well I figured to post a few more of my favorite songs. I'll keep it simple, so here they are, in no particular order:

Lonely Is The Night-by Billy Squier, American, from the album, "Don't Say No," 1981.

The Eye In The Sky-by The Alan Parsons Project from England, from the album of the same name, 1982. Hmm, did I say these were in no particular order? I said that? (No fair looking back to prove a point!) Actually this song is really in my top five. It is a bit haunting, and you may just wonder who might be looking over your shoulder at you. Your spouse? Your "friend?" The CIA? YIKES! Maybe me? DOUBLE YIKES! "I am the eye in the sky, looking at you!"

Kashmir-by Led Zeppelin, from England, from the album "Physical Graffiti," 1975. A long song, but worth every minute of it.

Bang The Drum All Day-by Todd Rundgren, American, from "The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect," 1983. Another GREAT fun song. It won't take you long to get hooked on this one, and you'll go around singing this song, especially the line, "Every day when I get home from work, I feel so frustrated, the boss is a jerk." Ah, second thought, you'd better not go around singing that line while on the job.

Lost In A Lost World-by The Moody Blues from their album "Seventh Sojourn," 1972. The song seems just as pertinent today as it did all of those years ago. This song is "heavy."

Out In The Country-by Three Dog Night, an American group, from the album "It Ain't Easy," 1970. Real soothing song, just as being out in the country should be. Ah, did I say these weren't in any particular order? This belongs in my top five or six

Everybody Plays The Fool-by The Main Ingredient, an American group, from their album "Bitter Sweet," 1972. A little note: The father of actor Cuba Gooding, Cuba Gooding Sr., was the lead singer for this group.

The Land Of Make Believe-by The Moody Blues from their album "Seventh Sojourn," 1972. Ah, did I say these weren't in any particular order? This belongs in my top five or six, or is that now seven?

I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock and Roll Band)-by The Moody Blues also from their album "Seventh Sojourn," 1972. This is an awesome song in concert, too. I saw them perform this in Atlantic City in the 1990s, and the whole building was vibrating. The crowd loved it and everyone was on their feet for the whole song; something you don't always think about with most Moodies' songs..

Crazy Train-by Ozzy Osbourne of England, from a solo album "Blizzard of Ozz," 1980. Another great fun song of mine, although I guess we've all felt like we're going a little kooky at times. Did I say just a little kooky?

Dust In The Wind-by Kansas, an American group, from their album "Point Of No Return," 1978.

WORD HISTORY:
Sing-This word goes back to Indo European "sengwho," which meant "to sing, to chant." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "singwanan," which then helped to produce Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "singan." This then became "singen," before the ending was discarded, thus producing the modern form.^ The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German "singen," Dutch "zingen," West Frisian "sjonge," Icelandic "syngja," Danish and Norwegian "synge," and Swedish "sjunga."

^ As you can see in some of the closest relatives of English (German, Low German, Dutch), verb forms often still end in -en, and English did the same, but extensive changes in English grammar eventually dropped the endings. During the time of the -en endings, English speakers didn't have to say two words, "to sing," for the infinitive form, as "singen" meant that, just as it still does in modern German. While English speakers have to add "to" in modern times, it's still a small price to pay for the more simplified verb conjugations, as compared to many of English's Germanic cousins, where conjugations are a bit more complex.