The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is...that I'm (twelve days) late again....
My introduction to this week's tune came when I wrote about the one song I knew by this week's artist. On a whim I gave one of his bigger hits mentioned in Wikipedia a listen, and it was kismet--I fell in love with it immediately. On a side note, I now know two songs by this week's artist....
I wrote about George Ezra in Vol. CDXLVII, in 2023, and according to Wikipedia he has done nothing musically or in the entertainment realm in the last approximately three years. Don't ever remember that happening for an artist still pretty much in his prime, but one of the many things I've learned in my many years is that there's a first time for almost everything....
"Budapest" was the second single from Ezra's 2013 debut album, with the rather well-travelled title Wanted on Voyage. The song hit #3 in the U.K., #32 (with a bullet!) in the U.S., and #1 in Austria, New Zealand, and Slovenia (so many cool kids...around the world!). The album reached #1 in Great Britain, #19 in America, and crashed the top ten in nine other nations.
Fun Fact: Ezra was a big fan of Paddington Bear when he was young, and on Paddington's suitcase was a sticker that said "Wanted on Voyage"--thus the title for this week's album. Back in the day when people travelled by ship to other countries, they would put stickers with "Wanted on Voyage" on their luggage so that it would remain with them rather than go in the cargo hold. As Ezra did a lot of travelling around Europe as he was writing songs for his debut album, he thought it a fitting title.
No matter how hard I try, I'm not going to be able to do justice to this week's tune. Ezra has stated that he used the first three chords he was taught on guitar for the song (so much to be said for simplicity), and that it was his first attempt at writing a love song (resounding success). Lyrically, Ezra takes a man who has everything but would be willing to throw it all away for her love, riches and family be damned--and does it with lyrics that are not your standard love song fare. His vocals are transcendent--he has these odd inflections that take the song to unforeseen heights, and his "you-ooh, you-ooh" is absolutely to die for. Musically it's as catchy of a piece of pop pie as you'll ever hear, and it stays in your head and your soul and fills in the beautiful blanks in your day. Just a wonderful pop ballad--as good of a song as I've heard in the last ten years.
Lyric Sheet: "My acres of land/That I've achieved/It may be hard for you/To stop and believe/But for you/Ooh, you/Ooh, I'd leave it all..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
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