martes, 1 de noviembre de 2011

244. DESCUBRIENDO A GREG BROWN

.
Como les contamos a los amigos de Oregón que una de las cosas más interesantes de las vacaciones allí había sido descubrir a JONATHAN BYRD, ni cortos ni perezosos se aprestaron a recomendarnos a GREG BROWN, un cantante folk de largo recorrido y prolífica producción.

Rosalía inició una pequeña investigación y le encantó su voz profunda y varonil. Por mi parte, me hice con tres álbumes:

THE POET GAME, de 1994
IN THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA (doble album), del 2004, y su último trabajo:
FREAK FLAG, de este mismo 2011.

La primera impresión es que es más un cantante de presencia que de lírica, y por las imágenes, sonidos del escenario y juegos de palabras, un tanto histriónico. En sus canciones las letras parecen tener un papel más destacado que la música, lo que es un handicap para quienes no las entendemos sin leerlas ( a diferencia de Byrd, el inglés de su vocalización no está a nuestro alcance). De todos modos canta maravillosamente bien y se escucha con agrado pelando las vainas en la cocina.

Como muestra, vaya esta canción del álbum THE LIVE ONE de 1995:




I DON´T WANT TO HAVE A NICE DAY

I've been up honey all night long
It felt right, now it feels wrong
I just want to feed my misery
The Boston Globe and some black coffee

I don't want to have a nice day
And I wish that you wouldn't say
That to me, not that 'a way
I don't want to have a nice day


I think that somebody unscrewed my head
I know I look just like an unmade bed
But you know that when I feel this way
What it is is 'a what I say

I don't want to have a nice day
And I wish that you wouldn't say
That to me, not that 'a way
I don't want to have a nice day

I can remember a little restaurant, you know?
Somewhere down in Chicago
She threw that whopper right in my face
And she said to me, "Have a nice day"
And I said,

I don't want to have a nice day
And I wish that you wouldn't say
That to me, not that 'a way
I don't want to have a nice day

What'dya wanna do then?

I wanna weep, I wanna sleep
I wanna get by cheap
I wanna creep into the deep
I wanna fall down in a heap

I'm gonna do it right here on your floor
If you say that to me just once more
You'll have to roll me right out the door
Yeah, I'll give ya the old 'what for'

I can remember what the people did
Way back when I was just a little kid
They didn't ask you to be always high
They just said thank you and goodbye.

I don't want to have a nice day
And I wish that you wouldn't say
That to me, not that 'a way
I don't want to have a nice day

No, no, no, etc
Why don't you have one?
Take two, they're small
Why don't you have a day like a painting of kid with big eyes?
Why don't you have a day like a puppy with a ribbon around it's neck?
Like the sun going down over the sea?
Why don't you have a day like a painting of a kid with big eyes holding a puppy with a ribbon around it's neck, standing down by the with the sun going down? No, no, no, no
I don't wanna no, no
I don't wanna no, no
No, no, no, no, etc
.
.