53. The Proclaimers--Sunshine On Leith

 #53: The Proclaimers--Sunshine On Leith (1988)

Top-Notch Tracks: "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" (#32 HJ200), "Then I Met You," "I'm On My Way," "Cap In Hand"

Album Depth: "It's Saturday Night," "Teardrops," "Sean," "Oh Jean"

Weak Links: "Sunshine On Leith"

Stand-Out Lyrics: "I can tell the difference between margarine and butter. I can say Saskatchewan without starting to stutter."--"Cap In Hand"

"Well, I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door."--"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"

"Thought that I was finished. Thought that I was complete. Thought that I was whole instead of being half of something."--"Then I Met You"

"The drink that I had three hours ago has been joined by fourteen others in a steady flow."--"It's Saturday Night"

"Sean, I'd say the best one came from Tupelo, Mississippi. I'll tell you now that grown men cry and Irish girls are pretty."--"Sean"

"Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah."--"Teardrops"

"I love her I love her I love her I love her I love her I love her I love her...."--"Oh Jean"

The Proclaimers--Sunshine On Leith

Album Cover: 6 out of 10. Is it just me or do the Reid brothers look like giants who are about to pee all over the city? (As cool as that sounds, I'm not sure that's what they were trying for.)

Comments: Is it Johnny Depp's fault? (Many things are.) Twins Charlie and Craig Reid formed a band, calling themselves The Proclaimers. Their second album, "Sunshine On Leith," was released in 1988. Few people in America noticed. But then, in 1993, the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" was featured in the Johnny Depp movie Benny and Joon, and suddenly, five years after the album was released, The Proclaimers had a hit on their hands. (The song went all the way to #3 on the Billboard charts.) But, without the help of a Johnny Depp movie that I've never seen, I probably wouldn't know anything about the song or the album it sprang from. (Talk among yourselves. I'll give you a topic: In the movie Benny and Joon, Johnny Depp plays neither Benny nor Joon. Discuss.)

Obviously, "500 Miles" is a great song. Everyone knows it, and everyone sings along when they hear it. But the song "Then I Met You" really hits close to home for me, as a guy loping along through life who finally met that someone a few weeks before I turned 40. The album is full of fun songs. Fun songs about drinking, old lovers, and tears. Heck, even the protest song, "Cap In Hand," is fun. Go read that first line under "Stand-Out Lyrics" again: "I can tell the difference between margarine and butter. I can say Saskatchewan without starting to stutter." Even They Might Be Giants would be hard-pressed to come up with lyrics that amusing.

Thanks, Johnny!


Up next: Sing. Sing a song. 


Comments

  1. darenolsonFebruary 25, 2021 at 4:59 PM

    The Proclaimers look like the way I think I would feel if I ever got drunk on Scotch. And that's the main reason why I've never even had a sip of whiskey.

    If you're wondering why they titled this album "Sunshine on Leith," then here's a link to an old Late Night appearance by the duo in which they try in vain to explain to Dave why they called it that.

    https://youtu.be/MJuyn0WAYNI

    ReplyDelete

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