The voice of Janus

From Vienna, a blog on great cover versions (© Carlos Penela)

[thevoiceofjanus]

A.A. WILLIAMS: "PORCELINA OF THE VAST OCEANS" (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS)

"As far as you take me That's where I believe The realm of soft delusions Floating on the leaves On a distant shoreline She waves her arms to me As all the thought police And closing in for sleep The dilly dally Of my bright lit stay The steam of my misfortunes Has given me the power to be afraid And in my mind I'm everyone And in my mind

Without a care in this whole world Without a care in this whole world Without a care in this life It's what you take that makes it right

Porcelina of the oceans blue Porcelina, porcelina

In the slipstream, of thoughtless thoughts The light of all that's good The light of all that's true To the fringes gladly I walk unadorned With gods and their creations With filth and disease Porcelina, she waits for me there With seashell hissing lullabies And whispers fathomed deep inside my own Hidden thoughts and alibis My secret thoughts come alive

Without a care in this whole world Without a care in this whole world Without a care in this life It's what you take that makes it right And in my mind I'm everyone And in my mind I'm everyone In my mind I'm everyone of you You make it right It's all all right You make it right

Porcelina of the oceans blue Porcelina of the oceans blue"

[thevoiceofjanus]

ALELA DIANE: "RAKE" (TOWNES VAN ZANDT)

"Well I used to wake and run with the moon I lived like a rake and a young man I covered my lovers with flowers and wounds And my laughter, the Devil would frighten

The sun, she would come and beat me back down But every cruel day had its nightfall I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars Full of fire and forgetful

My body was sharp and the dark hair clean And outrage my joyful companion And whispering women, how sweet did they seem Kneeling for me to command them

And time was like water but I was the sea I wouldn't have noticed it passing Except for the turning of night into day And the turning of day into cursing

Well you look at me now and don't think I don't know What all your eyes are a-saying Does he want us to believe these ravings and lies They're just tricks that his brains been a-playing?

A lover of women, he can't hardly stand He trembles, he's bent and he's broken I've fallen, it's true, but I say to you Hold your tongues until after I've spoken

Well I was taking my pride in the pleasures I'd known I laughed and said I'll be forgiven But my laughter turned 'round eyes blazing and said "My friend, we're holding a wedding"

I buried my face but it spoke once again The night to the day we're a-binding And now the dark air is like fire on my skin And even the moonlight is blinding And now the dark air is like fire on my skin And even the moonlight is blinding"

[thevoiceofjanus]

CÉCILE McLORIN SALVANT: "UNTIL" (STING)

"If I caught the world in a bottle And everything was still beneath the moon Without your love, would it shine for me?

If I was smart as Aristotle And understood the rings around the moon What would it all matter if you loved me?

Here in your arms where the world is impossibly still With a million dreams to fulfill And a matter of moments until the dancing ends Here in your arms when everything seems to be clear Not a solitary thing would I fear Except when this moment comes near the dancing′s end

If I caught the world in an hourglass Saddled up the moon so we could ride Until the stars grew dim, until

One day you'll meet a stranger And all the noise is silenced in the room You′ll feel that you're close to some mystery

In the moonlight and everything shatters You feel as if you've known her all your life The world′s oldest lesson in history

Here in your arms where the world is impossibly still With a million dreams to fulfill And a matter of moments until the dancing ends Here in your arms when everything seems to be clear Not a solitary thing do I fear Except when this moment comes near the dancing′s end

Oh, if I caught the world in an hourglass Saddled up the moon and we would ride Until the stars grew dim Until the time that time stands still, until"

[thevoiceofjanus]

JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN: KEEPER OF THE FLAME (NINA SIMONE)

"I’m the keeper of the flame My torch of love lights his name Ask no pity, beg my shame I’m the keeper of the flame

Played with fire and I was burn Gave a heart but I was spurn All these time I have yearned Just to have my love return

Years have passed by The spark still remains True love can’t die It smoulders in flame When the fire is burning off And the angels call my name Dying love will leave no doubt I’m the keeper of the flame

Years have passed by The spark still remains True love can’t die It smoulders in flame When the fire is burning out And the angels call my love Dying love will leave no doubt I’m the keeper of the flame"

[thevoiceofjanus]

TOM BARMAN & GUY VAN NUETEN: "FRUIT TREE" (NICK DRAKE)

"Fame is but a fruit tree So very unsound. It can never flourish ‘til its stock is in the ground So men of fame Can never find a way ‘til time has flown Far from their dying day

Forgotten while you’re here Remembered for a while A much updated ruin From a much outdated style

Life is but a memory Happened long ago Theatre full of sadness For a long forgotten show Seems so easy Just to let it go on by ‘til  you stop and wonder Why you never wondered why

Safe in the womb Of an everlasting night You find the darkness can Give the brightest light Safe in your place deep in the earth That’s when they’ll know what you were truly worth Forgotten while you’re here Remembered for a while A much updated ruin From a much outdated style

Fame is but a fruit tree So very unsound It can never flourish ‘til it’s stock is in the ground So men of fame Can never find a way ‘til time has flown Far from their dying day

Fruit tree, fruit tree No-one knows you but the rain and the air Don’t you worry They’ll stand and stare when you’re gone

Fruit tree, fruit tree Open your eyes to another year They’ll all know That you were here when you’re gone"

[thevoiceofjanus]

BILLIE EILISH: "SOMETHING" (THE BEATLES)

“Something in the way she moves Attracts me like no other lover Something in the way she woos me

I don’t want to leave her now You know I believe and how

Somewhere in her smile she knows That I don’t need no other lover Something in her style that shows me

Don’t want to leave her now You know I believe and how

You’re asking me will my love grow I don’t know, I don’t know You stick around now it may show I don’t know, I don’t know

Something in the way she knows And all I have to do is think of her Something in the things she shows me

Don’t want to leave her now You know I believe and how.”

[thevoiceofjanus]

WEYES BLOOD: "SAD EYED LADY OF THE LOWLANDS" (BOB DYLAN)

"With your mercury mouth in the missionary times And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes And your silver cross, and your voice like chimes Oh, who among them do they think could bury you? With your pockets well protected at last And your streetcar visions which you place on the grass And your flesh like silk, and your face like glass Who among them do they think could carry you? Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums Should I leave them by your gate Or, sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

With your sheets like metal and your belt like lace And your deck of cards missing the jack and the ace And your basement clothes and your hollow face Who among them can think he could outguess you? With your silhouette when the sunlight dims Into your eyes where the moonlight swims And your matchbook songs and your gypsy hymns Who among them would try to impress you? Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums Should I leave them by your gate Or, sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

The kings of Tyrus with their convict list Are waiting in line for their geranium kiss And you wouldn’t know it would happen like this But who among them really wants just to kiss you? With your childhood flames on your midnight rug And your Spanish manners and your mother’s drugs And your cowboy mouth and your curfew plugs Who among them do you think could resist you? Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums Should I leave them by your gate Or, sad-eyed lady, should I wait?

Oh, the farmers and the businessmen, they all did decide To show you the dead angels that they used to hide But why did they pick you to sympathize with their side? Oh, how could they ever mistake you? They wished you’d accepted the blame for the farm But with the sea at your feet and the phony false alarm And with the child of a hoodlum wrapped up in your arms How could they ever, ever persuade you? Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums Should I leave them by your gate Or, sad-eyed lady, should I wait?"

[thevoiceofjanus]

PUNCH BROTHERS: "2+2=5" (RADIOHEAD)

"Are you such a dreamer To put the world to rights? I stay home forever Where two and two always makes up five

I lay down the tracks Sandbag and hide January has April's showers And two and two always makes up five

Its the devil's way now There is no way out You can scream it, you can shout It is too late now

Because

You have not been paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention

You have not been paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention

You have not been paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention

You have not been paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention

I try to sing along But the music is all wrong 'Cause I'm not 'Cause I'm not I swat 'em like flies but like flies the bugs keep coming back And not, but I'm not

All hail to the thief All hail to the thief

But I'm not But I'm not But I'm not But I'm not

Don't question my authority or put me in the box 'Cause I'm not 'Cause I'm not Oh go and tell the king that the sky is falling in

When it's not But it's not But it's not Maybe not Maybe not"

[thevoiceofjanus]

KIM VESTIN: "LOVE LETTER" (NICK CAVE)

"I hold this letter in my hand A plea, a petition, a kind of prayer I hope it does as I have planned Losing her again is more than I can bear I kiss the cold, white envelope I press my lips against her name Two hundred words. We live in hope The sky hangs heavy with rain

Love Letter Love Letter Go get her Go get her Love Letter Love Letter Go tell her Go tell her

A wicked wind whips up the hill A handful of hopeful words I love her and I always will The sky is ready to burst Said something I did not mean to say Said something I did not mean to say Said something I did not mean to say It all came out the wrong way

Love Letter Love Letter Go get her Go get her Love Letter Love Letter Go tell her Go tell her

Rain your kisses down upon me Rain your kisses down in storms And for all who’ll come before me In your slowly fading forms I’m going out of my mind Will leave me standing in The rain with a letter and a prayer Whispered on the wind

Come back to me Come back to me O baby please come back to me"

[thevoiceofjanus]

MARLON WILLIAMS: "IT'LL TAKE A LONG TIME" (SANDY DENNY)

"Oh it's like a storm at sea, And everything is lost, And the fretful sailors calling out their woes, As to the waves they're tossed.

Oh they are all gentlemen, And never will they know, If there is a reason each of them must go, To join the cruel flow.

And it'll take a long, long time. It'll take a long, long time. It'll take a long, long time. Oh it'll take such a long, long time.

There is no need for rules, There's no-one to score the game, And there is nobody living in this town, As even knows its name.

Oh it'll take such a long, long time. It'll take a long, long time. It'll take a long, long time. A long, long time."

[thevoiceofjanus]

DAVID NUMWAMI: "MY LOVE" (PAUL McCARTNEY)

"And when I go away I know my heart can stay with my love It's understood, it's in the hands of my love And my love does it good Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa My love does it good

And when the cupboard's bare I'll still find something there with my love It's understood, it's everywhere with my love And my love does it good Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa My love does it good

Whoa-whoa, I love, oh-whoa, my love Only my love holds the other key to me Oh-whoa, my love, oh-oh, my love Only my love does it good to me

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa My love does it good

Don't ever ask me why I never say goodbye to my love It's understood, it's everywhere with my love And my love does it good Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa My love does it good

Whoa-whoa, I love, oh-whoa, my love Only my love does it good to me Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, whoa-whoa-whoa"

[thevoiceofjanus]

SINÉAD O'CONNOR : “NO NEED TO ARGUE" (THE CRANBERRIES)

“There’s no need to argue anymore I gave all I could but it left me so sore And the thing that makes me mad Is the one thing that I had

I knew, I knew, I’d loose you You’ll always be special to me, special to me, to me

And I remember all the things we once shared Watching TV movies on the living room armchair But they say it’ll work out fine Was it all a waste of time

Cause I knew, I knew, I’d loose you You’ll always be special to me, special to me, to me

Will I forget in time a-ah You said I was on your mind There’s no need to argue No need to argue anymore There’s no need to argue anymore

ouh-ouh-ouh-ouh-ouh ouh-ouh-ouh-ouh-ouh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-o-o-ohh

oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Special”

[thevoiceofjanus]

ANGÈLE: “THAT LOOK YOU GIVE THAT GUY & LE COUP DE SOLEIL” (EELS & RICCARDO COCCIANTE)

“I never thought that I could be so bold

To even say these thoughts aloud I see you with your man Your eyes just shine While he stands tall And walking proud That look you give that guy I wanna see Looking right at me If I could be that guy Instead of me I'd never let you down It always seems like you're going somewhere Better than you've been before While I go to sleep and I dream all night Of you knocking on my door That look you give that guy I wanna see Looking right at me If I could be that guy Instead of me I'd be all I can be I'm nothing like what I'd like to be I'm nothing much I know it's true I lack the style and the pedigree And my chances are so few That look you give that guy I wanna see Looking right at me If I could be that guy Instead of me I'd give you all I got I never thought that I could be so bold To even say these thoughts aloud But if, let's say, it won't work out You know where I can be found That look you give that guy I wanna see Looking right at me If I could be that guy Instead of me I'd never let you down I'd never let you down”

[thevoiceofjanus]

TINA TURNER: “TONIGHT I’LL BE STAYING HERE WITH YOU” (BOB DYLAN)

“Throw my ticket out the window

Throw my suitcase out there, too Throw my troubles out the door I don’t need them anymore ’Cause tonight I’ll be staying here with you I should have left this town this morning But it was more than I could do Oh, your love comes on so strong And I’ve waited all day long For tonight when I’ll be staying here with you Is it really any wonder The love that a stranger might receive You cast your spell and I went under I find it so difficult to leave I can hear that whistle blowin’ I see that stationmaster, too If there’s a poor boy on the street Then let him have my seat ’Cause tonight I’ll be staying here with you Throw my ticket out the window Throw my suitcase out there, too Throw my troubles out the door I don’t need them anymore ’Cause tonight I’ll be staying here with you”

[thevoiceofjanus]

CHRIS THILE: “WALTZ#2″ (ELLIOTT SMITH)

“First the mic, then a half cigarette Singing, "Cathy's Clown" That's the man she's married to now That's the girl that he takes around town She appears composed, so she is, I suppose Who can really tell? She shows no emotion at all Stares into space like a dead china doll

I'm never gonna know you now But I'm gonna love you anyhow

Now she's done and they're calling someone Such a familiar name I'm so glad that my memory's remote 'Cause I'm doing just fine hour to hour, note to note Here it is, the revenge to the tune "You're no good You're no good, you're no good, you're no good" Can't you tell that it's well understood?

I'm never gonna know you now But I'm gonna love you anyhow

I'm here today and expected to stay On and on and on I'm tired I'm tired

Looking out on the substitute scene Still going strong XO, mom

It's okay, it's alright, nothing's wrong Tell Mr. Man with impossible plans to just leave me alone In the place where I make no mistakes In the place where I have what it takes

I'm never gonna know you now But I'm gonna love you anyhow I'm never gonna know you now But I'm gonna love you anyhow I'm never gonna know you now But I'm gonna love you anyhow.”

[thevoiceofjanus]

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: “BEWARE OF DARKNESS” (GEORGE HARRISON)

“ Watch out now, take care Beware of falling swingers Dropping all around you The pain that often mingles In your fingertips Beware of darkness

Watch out now, take care Beware of thoughts that linger Winding up inside your head The hopelessness around you In the dead of night

Beware of sadness It can hit you, it can hurt you Make you sore and what is more That is not what we are here for

Watch out now, take care Beware of soft shoe shuffling Dancing down the sidewalks As each unconscious sufferer Wanders aimlessly Beware of Maya

Watch out now, take care Beware of greedy leaders They take you where you shouldn't go While Weeping Atlas Cedars They just want to grow, grow Beware of darkness 

(beware of darkness)

Thank you Please welcome, Joe Brown

How we doin' lads?“

[thevoiceofjanus]

NOUVELLE VAGUE: “IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING” (TUXEDOMOON)

“ In a manner of speaking

I just want to say That I could never forget the way You told me everything By saying nothing

In a manner of speaking I don't understand How love in silence becomes reprimand But the way that I feel about you Is beyond words

Oh, give me the words Give me the words That tell me nothing Oh, give me the words Give me the words That tell me everything

In a manner of speaking Semantics won't do In this life that we live, we live, we only make do The way that we feel Might have to be sacrificed

So in a manner of speaking I just want to say That just like you I should find a way To tell you everything By saying nothing

Oh, give me the words Give me the words That tell me nothing Oh, give me the words Give me the words That tell me everything

Oh, give me the words Give me the words That tell me nothing Oh, give me the words Give me the words That tell me everything.”