Category: Music

Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love

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#5: Incognito, Spellbound and Speechless

Across the crowded room/
Stood apart from it all/
You took my breath away/
(Yes, you did.)

Incognito, Spellbound and Speechless. YouTube

This will probably be my favorite segment on my blog in a very long time! Welcome to Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love!

100° and Rising is an album by the British acid jazz band Incognito, produced by band leader Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick and released in 1995 on Talkin’ Loud Records.[1] The album peaked at No. 11 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 2 on the UK R&B Albums Chart.[2] In the United States, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 29 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic hailed the album saying “On 100 Degrees and Rising, the pioneering acid house outfit, Incognito, turn in another first-rate record, featuring their trademark mixture of jazz, soul, and funk. There’s not much to distinguish 100 Degrees from their previous handful of records, but the band is smooth, accomplished, and deep, finding new variations on their trademark sound.”

Spellbound and Speechless is No. 8 on the album, and it gripped my heart, wrung it free of its blood, and washed me clean when I first heard it. Joy Malcolm is the lead singer on this track. Her voice is luring, exceptionally fluid, and memorable. The opening lyrics pulled me in and gave me pause. They make me wish for a love-at-first-sight kind of love. Here is a live rendition of the song… Joy is killing it here, too!

This is a forever JAM for me, and I hope it becomes one for you, too.

For the next five Sundays, I’ll share with you my favorite opening lyrics to songs I truly love. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe you won’t. Perhaps you’ll share favorite opening lyrics to songs you love as well. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, we’re going to have a good damn time.

See you next week!

Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love

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#4: Ambrosia, How Much I Feel

I don’t know how this whole business started/
Of you thinkin’ that I have been untrue/
But if you think that we’d be better parted/
It’s gonna hurt me, but I’ll break away from you/

Ambrosia, How Much I Feel. YouTube

This will probably be my favorite segment on my blog in a very long time! Welcome to Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love!

Ambrosia is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1970. Ambrosia had five Top 40 hit singles released between 1975 and 1980, including the Top 5 hits “How Much I Feel” and “Biggest Part of Me“, and Top 20 hits “You’re the Only Woman (You & I)” and “Holdin’ on to Yesterday“. Most of the original band members have been active with the group continuously since their 1989 reformation to the present day, with the notable exception of original guitarist and lead vocalist David Pack who left in 2000.

“How Much I Feel” is a 1978 song by American rock band Ambrosia. The song, written by the band’s guitarist/vocalist David Pack, was released in the summer of 1978 as the lead single from their third album, Life Beyond L.A., peaking at position three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[5] and number two for three weeks on the Cash Box Top 100.

I don’t know how anyone can hear David Pack’s crooning and not fall completely in love with this song. My favorite part (aside from the opening lyrics & the chorus) is the riff in the song where he says, “So you try to make amends/But you’re better off as friends” and he takes it up another octave and you can just hear the emotion in the pitch… Whew! It gets me every single time.

Ambrosia has a couple of other songs that I truly love as well, “Biggest Part of Me” and “You’re the Only Woman”, and I won’t deny the fact that those two pull just as much emotion from me, too, but something about them still doesn’t hold a candle to “How Much I Feel.”

For the next six Sundays, I’ll share with you my favorite opening lyrics to songs I truly love. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe you won’t. Perhaps you’ll share favorite opening lyrics to songs you love as well. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, we’re going to have a good damn time.

See you next week!

until it all fades

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musical selection: One Step Ahead, Aretha Franklin

One Step Ahead, Aretha Franklin via YouTube

until it all fades

we’re all just moving
about robotically;
carrying years of
hurt on our backs.

our scrabbly efforts
have done nothing to
alleviate the pain.

forced to exist in a
world of crafted
terror, the light at the
end of the tunnel
f a d e s.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love

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#2: Moochild, Cure

I’ve had my eyes on you for a while, and though/
It seems the time isn’t right, I know/
You want the love that I’ve got to give/

Moonchild, Cure.

This will probably be my favorite segment on my blog in a very long time! Welcome to Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love!

“Cure” is the lead single from ‘Voyager’, the third album from the LA-based trio Moonchild – whose candid style of soul and new-school jazz has propelled them onto a swirling, emotionally charged journey of the heart. “Cure” has been met with upfront radio support from Gilles Peterson and Jamz Supernova, kind words from Soul Bounce & Saint Heron and was premiered via The Fader.

The moment “Cure” unfurls, so do the sweltering, bluesy vocals of Amber Navran, whose soothing words provide comfort as they ask for trust. Written about falling for somebody who’s still getting over their ex, Navran’s vocals croon over a bed of soft synth and keyboard flourishes that were inspired by Stevie Wonder’s ‘70s era. The beat is swathed in a cool LA sound, whilst saccharine guitar strums, and a newly found love for sampling bird songs are captured in glittering refrains.

What moves me about these opening lyrics? Amber is so creative and free with her voice. It is luring. It is calming. It is “stop right there and let me say this to you” worthy. I have replayed those very lyrics more times than I care to count. They are balm to a hurting soul. They are needed in times of anguish and pain. I hope they move you, too.

For the next eight Sundays, I’ll share with you my favorite opening lyrics to songs I truly love. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe you won’t. Perhaps you’ll share favorite opening lyrics to songs you love as well. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, we’re going to have a good damn time.

See you next week!

Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love

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#1: Lizzo, About Damn Time

It’s Bad Bitch o’clock/
Yeah, it’s Thick Thirty/
I’ve been through a lot/
But I’m still flirty.

Lizzo: About Damn Time

This will probably be my favorite segment on my blog in a very long time! Welcome to Opening Lyrics to Songs That I Love!

3X Grammy award-winning superstar, Lizzo has become a household name with over 5 billion global streams and a platinum selling debut album to date.

With the help of anthemic smash hits like the 7x Platinum “Truth Hurts,” the 3x Platinum “Good As Hell,” and the 2x Platinum “Juice,” Lizzo released her Nice Life Recording Company/Atlantic Records debut album CUZ I LOVE YOU on April 19th 2019, debuting at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and spending 24 consecutive weeks in the chart’s Top 10.

Why these opening lyrics?! Are you kidding me?! Why not! Out the gate, Lizzo tells you she’s a bad, thick bitch, it’s her time, and she’s still flirty regardless of all she’s been through. It gets no better than that for me.

For the next nine Sundays, I’ll share with you my favorite opening lyrics to nine more songs I truly love. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe you won’t. Perhaps you’ll share favorite opening lyrics to songs you love as well. Perhaps you won’t. Either way, we’re going to have a good damn time.

See you next week!