Lyrics of Sarah's Song by Madness
Edit: Skip down to the comments for the correct lyrics to both versions of Sarah's Song.
The short version: I'm trying to figure out what this lyric is: MP3 clip.
Have a guess before you read the clues below.
A few years ago there was a musical called Our House based on the songs of Madness.
emmzzi and I went to see it in Birmingham. I can't speak for Emma but I rather enjoyed it. I subsequently bought the DVD, which I happened to re-watch tonight. It features a couple of songs that were written specifically for the show. One of them (Simple Equation) isn't that great, but the female lead's theme song is quite lovely. I didn't know what it was called so I Googled some of the lyrics and found a poor transcription of a very different version of the song that Madness recorded after the musical came out.
What prompted this post is that I tried to correct all the mistakes in the transcription but I can't quite make out that one line. In the musical version of the song, the line is quite clearly "You say you fight for what you love, but in the end." The transcriber thought the lyric was, "And I thought that love would have coped but in the end." I'm fairly sure that's wrong.
Here is the full version from the musical (minor spoilers): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZVwyu0hst4
Here is the version released as Sarah's Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sS6EnpAxo8
The short version: I'm trying to figure out what this lyric is: MP3 clip.
Have a guess before you read the clues below.
A few years ago there was a musical called Our House based on the songs of Madness.
emmzzi and I went to see it in Birmingham. I can't speak for Emma but I rather enjoyed it. I subsequently bought the DVD, which I happened to re-watch tonight. It features a couple of songs that were written specifically for the show. One of them (Simple Equation) isn't that great, but the female lead's theme song is quite lovely. I didn't know what it was called so I Googled some of the lyrics and found a poor transcription of a very different version of the song that Madness recorded after the musical came out.What prompted this post is that I tried to correct all the mistakes in the transcription but I can't quite make out that one line. In the musical version of the song, the line is quite clearly "You say you fight for what you love, but in the end." The transcriber thought the lyric was, "And I thought that love would have coped but in the end." I'm fairly sure that's wrong.
Here is the full version from the musical (minor spoilers): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZVwyu0hst4
Here is the version released as Sarah's Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sS6EnpAxo8
"I fought the law for ward of court, but in the end" to me
:-)
Thinking about it, the lyrics of 'Sarah's Song' including your guess as to the above line would have made sense if a different character had sung them in a different scene. I wonder if they wrote the song for an earlier version of the script, then the song got moved and rewritten but they decided to release the original anyway. If so then it's not really Sarah's Song at all, it's the protagonist's mother's song (whose name has slipped my mind).
Welcome home
Seems as if it were yesterday since you were gone
Now sit yourself and let me witness what's become
Of the smiles that you brought, and placed upon
But there was nothing that I could or would have done
Oh, the look in your eyes as they dragged you from
The clutches of my breaking heart
All hopes torn and court orders drawn
Time has stood still until now
Although it was unfair
You're back in my arms again, now
Although the memory's bare
We can rebuild all our hopes again
Please understand
That you were like an angel glowing in my hands
But circumstances change as do their demands
And I fought the law for ward of court, but in the end
Oh there was only ugly scenes and reprimands
And the look in your eyes as they dragged you from
The clutches of my breaking heart, now
Although it was unfair
You're back in my arms again, now
Although the memory's bare
We can rebuild all our hopes again
The clutches of my breaking heart and happy home
Time has stood still until now
Oh yes it was unfair
But now
You're back in my arms again, now
(Although it's unfair)
Although it was unfair
You're back in my arms again, now
Although the memory's bare
We can rebuild all our hopes again, now
Although it was unfair
You're back in my arms again, now
Edited at 2011-01-26 09:37 pm (UTC)
Suddenly
After all this time a boy stands there in front of me
A boy I thought had gone, a boy from history
Who let me down, preferring his own destiny
Now there's the strangest feeling that's come over me
Oh the look in your eyes as you turn to leave
A look I haven't seen in years
The way I feel is so unreal
Like time stood still until now
Although it seems unfair
I feel you've slipped through my arms again
Oh now
Although the memory's bare
I feel you've slipped through my arms again
Please understand
That you were like an angel glowing in my hands
But circumstances change as do their demands
You say you fight for what you love, but in the end
There'll be only ugly scenes and reprimands
Oh the look in your eyes as you turn to leave
The clutches of my breaking heart
I stand alone, all hope torn, court orders drawn
[brief pause for on-stage action while music continues to play]
Oh the look in your eyes as you turn to leave
The clutches of my breaking heart
I stand alone, all hope torn, court orders drawn
Like time stood still until now
Although it seems unfair
I feel you've slipped through my arms again
Oh now
Although the memory's bare
I feel you've slipped through my arms again
Oh now
Although it seems unfair
I feel you've slipped through my arms again
Oh now
Although the memory's bare
I feel you've slipped through my arms again
Tell me how
We got here
Now