Yesterday Once More

26 Jul 2016

The Heavens

There are two ways of looking at this week’s theme. ‘The Heavens’ could refer to all matters astronomical or it could refer to all matters religious. It is not surprising then that there are songs presenting both views of heaven. It is a common approach to compare romance with religion. For example, Col Joye expresses this very notion in ‘Heaven Is My Woman’s Love’ while almost forgotten Aussie singer, Warren Williams, combines both the astronomical and the religious in ‘A Star Fell From Heaven’. Comparing love ones to angels is also a common practice in song writing. Bobby Helms expresses this sentiment in ‘My Special Angel’ while Merrilee Rush is more ironic about the meaning of angel in her huge hit ‘Angel of The Morning’.

The astronomical side of the heavens has also been written about and performed in many songs. Opening with Dutch group Shocking Blue’s big hit ‘Venus’, to David Bowie’s ‘Life On Mars’ and Carole King’s ‘I Feel The Earth Move’ the planets are given wide coverage. The moon too, a source of astronomical interest and romantic connotations is a common subject in songs such as the great Lena Horne’s version of ‘Only The Moon And Me’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Bad Moon Rising. Stars and the Sun also feature with ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More’ from The Walker Brothers and ‘Starlight Starbright’ from our own Lonnie Lee. Finally, The rock musical ‘Hair’ featured both astronomical and astrological themes. ‘The Age Of Aquariius/Let The Sunshine In’ medley by the Fifth Dimension from ‘Hair’, cleverly combines both astrological and astronomical elements of the heavens.

Playlist

* Venus – Shocking Blue
* Heaven Is My Woman’s Love – Col Joye
* Angel of The Morning – Merrilee Rush
* Age Of Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In – Fifth Dimension
* The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More – Walker Bros
* Only The Moon And Me – Lena Horne
* I Feel The Earth Move – Carole King
* Life On Mars – David Bowie
* Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
* My Special Angel – Bobby Helms
* Starlight Starbright – Lonnie Lee
* A Star Fell From Heaven – Warren Williams