Skip to main content

Troubadours

"Can you hear that sound?"


Mark Isham's ringing trumpet lifts us away from mundane matters as Toni Marcus' strings elevate to the realms of dreamt romantic love. The clarity of the playing by the musicians on this track amplifies the purity of Van's own declaration told through this tale from the "days of yore." The three part solo section seems to echo the early stages of  romance, the initial heart skipping swoon before the excitement of reciprocity and finally seduction itself to the sound of Pee Wee's tenor saxophone but all of this virtuosity only leads to the true climax of the song.  

 The moment when it is transformed from fantasy to reality as Van changes from outwardly describing the troubadours, to setting himself in their place "lift your window high, turn your lamp down low, oh baby don't you know? I love you so." and the questioning of whether she hears that sound, "Do you hear that sound? Do you dig that sound?" I'm standing below your balcony.  I'm playing this for you, do you hear that sound?  The knocking of his heart. 


From the ancient sun to the old hearth stove sang the troubadours
From the city gates to the castle walls come the troubadours
On a sunlit day it was bright and clear
And the people came from far and they came from near
To hear the troubadours
Do do do do, do do do do, do do do
If the troubadours sang their songs of love to the lady fair
She was sitting outside on a balcony in the clear night air
It was a starry night and the moon was shining bright
And the trumpets rang and they gave a chime
For the troubadours
Do do do do, do do do
And for everyman all across the land and from shore to shore
They come singin' songs of love and chivalry from the days of yore
Baby lift your window high, do you hear that sound?
It's the troubadours as they go through town
With their freedom song, do do do do
Oh baby lift your window high, do you hear that sound?
It's the troubadours with their freedom sound
Do do, do do, do do, do do, do, baby, baby
Baby lift your window high, turn your lamp down low
Oh baby don't you know? I love you so
Do you hear that sound?
Do you dig that sound?
It's the troubadours, coming through town

Two remarkable live versions.



Did you hear that sound?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Beauty Of The Days Gone By

I want to sing this song for you ... A prayer like song of reminiscence with an air of celebration. A memory of a time when the soul was free, the heart awake, a desire for the contemplation of one's own true self and a wish to keep young as one grows old.  So lift your glass and raise it high ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cul de Sac

This is it ... Van celebrating where he is, back in Ireland (despite recording this track in NYC) having travelled far (all the way to California and the Palomar mountain range and observatory), hiding away in the studio, laying down the tracks so fresh they're still wet, with absolute freedom to drift in song. You can't fail to hear how much this all means, his impassioned vocal is among the finest he has ever laid down. Open hearted and open throated, you feel it right inside. He's gone. In the cul de sac, so smooth I look down Be less sure sir And take your rest It's been much too long  Since we drifted in song Lay it down wet In this hide away Oh I travelled far To the nearest star And met Palomar, mar, mar, And we don't care just who you know  It's who you are And when they all go home Down the cobblestones You can double back (this is it) To a cul de sac Oh I travelled far The nearest star And M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dweller On The Threshold

Let me go down to the water ... This song resonated with me the first time I heard it as a young man on the first disc of the original Greatest Hits. It gave voice to the feeling that there was so much 'more' and if I could only make a breakthrough, take a step over some 'threshold' then things would fall into place, make some kind of sense.  The remarkable thing about this song, propelled along as it is by the tsking of the high-hat and those insistent horns, is that it still resonates to this day even now when I am so much older. It still feels like I'm on a threshold, possibly we're always and eternally on a threshold. The darkness still exists to be consumed and I'm still waiting for the dawn to end the night. Singing the song of ages until it comes.  I'm a dweller on the threshold And I'm waiting at the door And I'm standing in the darkness I don't want to wait no more I have seen without perceiving I hav...
Post a Comment
Read more