Yesterday Once More

3 May 2016

Literacy And Literature

Hi Listeners,

After last week’s frivolous offering we take a more erudite approach this week. Our theme is ‘Literacy and Literature’. The basis for all reading, writing, speaking and books is words. So we have two songs with that title. Pat Boone sang ‘Words’ in the late fifties and the Bee Gee’s produced one of the most favoured karaoke songs ‘Words’ later. There are also songs about reading (If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot), an unusual talking song from Clint Eastwood (I Talk To The Trees) and writing (I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter) by Billy Williams.

Other connected literacy songs are ‘Please Mr Postman’ from the Carpenters, a wonderful version of ‘Love Letters’from Ketty Lester and an early Neil Sedaka hit, ‘The Diary’. Songs about books can be found throughout too. Perhaps the definitive song about a book is Kate Bush’s ghostly lament from Cathy, the heroine of Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’. A more disturbing performance from The Cure is ‘Killing An Arab’ based on Camus’ existentialist novel ‘The Outsider’. Finally, there is Oliver’s tribute to Muriel Spark’s book ‘The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie’ in his song ‘Jean’ which was later turned into a film starring Maggie Smith.

Playlist