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soul crying out
composer
Words and music: Simple Minds
publisher
© 1989 Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd
background
One of the earliest songs to be developed, Soul Crying Out originated from jamming
Song To The Siren during the Live In The City Of Light sessions.
"After the live album was released in 1987, we tried to do
a Tim Buckley song, Song To The Siren. That was in Woodstock
and Lisa Germano was there - the first time we worked with her - and so was
Garth Hudson, formally of The Band. We rewrote part of the song and that section started
off 'Soul crying out'." - Mick, Street Fighting Years songbook
"It's confusing to talk about this song because the verse and the chrous have the same chords. There's an introduction of
a melody, that's what makes it a chorus, no more. The rhythm track gave problems, we wanted somebody like Levon Helm
to play on it, we wanted brushes or a colourful rhythm. But Lipson cracked the rhythm
problem. He made it dark and menacing. We did the over-dub quite aggressively." - Charlie, Street Fighting Years songbook
"We did most of it at Glenstriven. This track had a major breakthrough and a major setback. We recorded it with
a drum programme and everything was fine. But it wasn't very inspiring. Then something happened to my gear. The way we worked
for the most part of the album would be that the keyboards and the rhythm section were in Mick's
computer with Charlie playing along. After that we would transfer everything into
my computer. They'd do the broad strokes and I'd do the detail. With this one, I made a mistake with a piece of equipment,
everything went into a sampler - and it sounded fantastic! A great big 16/16 rumbling. That became the rhythm track.
Instead of being a mad, unusable noise, we made it work. That was a bit of a breakthrough." - Steve Lipson, Street Fighting Years songbook
"It's about a sort of moral bankruptcy on the part of governments who represent the people and don't care. It's
about people who've been let down by everything and almost can't take it any more, who are struggling to exist, even on the brink of
resorting to crime. It had a kind of dust bowl blues about it as well. It made me think of Steinbeck: disillusioned
but knowing that there must be something more. And there was a local element as well. Things were bad enough on the domestic
scene in Scotland and then the government brought out the fucking poll tax, which is like a tax on breathing." - Jim, Street Fighting Years songbook
Despite its popularity amongst fans, it was only played live during the Street Fighting Years Tour of 1989.
This Is Not America
It is actually. And as with all countries, seemingly there are countries within countries.
The views I saw just last Sunday during my morning walk through Manhattan, have nothing in common with
the landscape I witnessed during today's early morning walk through the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
And yet, although I come from another continent, much of what I saw today reminded me so much of the views
that I witnessed while growing up in the West of Scotland in the 60's and 70'.
That stands to reason given that Bethlehem (where Simple Minds are due to start their North American
tour in less that 24 hours from now) just like my hometown of Glasgow and the surrounding central belt
of Scotland - became a centre of heavy industry and trade during the industrial revolution. The accompanying photo
that I took this morning, easily makes me think of an area only minutes from the street where both guitarist,
Charlie Burchill, and I were raised.
Unlike the State, in the UK they did not refer to areas such as ours as the "rustbelt". And yet all around us
deindustrialisation had, during our childhoods, gradually set in among many of the surrounding towns and communities
near Glasgow. Resultantly much of the landscape we witnessed at home, started to take on an image of places that the
modern/computerised world - had left behind.
That reality caused much pain to so many during our childhood years. Job losses and unemployment caused
never-ending heartbreak in equal measure. (The Simple Minds song Soul Crying Out,
was written specifically about this subject.)
Nevertheless, I was quite thrilled this morning. To find myself so far from home, and yet spiritually
speaking, somehow feeling utterly close to a time and place that produced me - and so many of my generation - who
still managed to succeed in someways against odds that were stacked high against us.
My trek ended with me taking a hike up towards Lehigh University, located on South Mountain on the city's South Side.
It has 5,000 undergraduates and 2,100 graduate students, some of whom passed me by - taking no notice of this
tourist within their midst. I however could feel their energy, on this already quite chilly morning. Doing so, it dawned
on me that the future lay with them, and I have hope that they will succeed. Leading then to the possibility that this
town/area that became world famous once before could be reborn so forcefully once again.
I have to say that it felt great to be in America this morning. And I am so happy that we are here in the
heartlands, and very much ready to go to work tomorrow night!
Jim
24th September 2018
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lyrics
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Listen to the rhythm,
Listen to the beat,
It has a cold wind blowing,
Up through the street.
Soul crying out,
People crying out.
In through the valleys,
In through the streets,
Feel the whole world moving,
Underneath our feet.
Something's going on,
I said what is going wrong?
I feel them coming,
So close behind.
Sister says, we're next in line.
The man he says, that's OK,
And the Government says you're gonna pay, pay, pay.
And you pay,
Still you pay.
It's just a soul crying out,
It's just the people crying out.
It's the land crying out,
And I can hear you crying out.
And I say, I don't know,
Maybe I don't care.
What I know is,
I gotta get out of here.
And I'm going,
Going any day.
Some sweet day,
Some sweet day,
I gotta find a way.
I can hear the lovers, whisper in the street,
See a crowd has gathered underneath the heat.
I hear what they say,
But I don't believe what they say.
I see the woman, with tears in her eyes,
I hear the baby, calling in the night.
Something on the bed, was it something she said?
Hell this is not right,
What goes on through the night?
I hear her coming, all in my mind,
Sweet common love, so hard to find.
Someone said, man that's sad,
And the people walk by, cos they're so blind.
And you pay,
Still you pay.
It's just a soul crying out,
Just the people crying out.
It's the earth crying out,
And I can hear you crying out.
And I can feel you crying out.
And I say, I don't know,
Maybe I don't care.
All I know is, I gotta get out of here,
And I'm going, going any way.
Do you know, some place to go?
I'm getting out of here.
Where will I find some peace of mind?
I'm getting out of here.
I come walking to you,
I come singing to you.
Some sweet day.
I'm gonna walk away,
I'm gonna walk away.
It's just the soul crying out.
It's just the land crying out.
It's just the children crying out.
All the babies crying out.
Any way, some sweet day,
I'm gonna walk away,
Turn away.
It's just the soul crying out.
It's just the land crying out.
I wanna hear,
I want you here,
Some sweet day.
Just a soul crying out,
Of a land crying out anyway.
When you say,
Some sweet day...
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