One of fallen glory. One of vanity.
The world's roof was raging, but we were looking fine;
'Cause we built that thing and it grew wings,
in Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.
Wisdom was a teapot; Pouring from above.
Desolation angels
Served it up with Love.
Ignitin'[g strife] like every form of light,
then moved by bold design,
slid in that thing and it grew wings,
in Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.
It was Blood, shining in the Sun;
First: Freedom!
Speeding the american claim:
Freedom; Freedom; Freedom; Freedom!
China was the tempest; [And] Madness overflowed.
[The] Lama was a young man,
and [he] watched his world in flames.
Taking Glory down by the edge of clouds;
It was a cryin'[g] shame.
Another lost horizon. Tibet the fallen star.
Wisdom and compassion Crushed, in the land of Shangri-La.
But in the land of the Impala, honey, well,
we were lookin' Fine,
'cause we built that thing and it grew wings;
In Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.
'Cause we built that thing and it grew wings;
In Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.
It was the best of times, it's [was] the worst of times;
In 1959; 1959; 1959; 1959; 1959; 1959; 1959.
It was the best of times; It was the worst of times.
[In] Nineteen-Fifty-Nine.
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, and author whose 1975 debut album Horses made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fused rock and poetry in her work. In 1978, her most widely known song, "Because the Night", co-written with Bruce Springsteen, reached 13th on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and fifth on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2005, Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In November 2010, Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids, written to fulfill a promise she made to Robert Mapplethorpe, her longtime partner. She is ranked 47th on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, published in 2010, and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2011.
Aye, Patti has been and continues to be one of the most influential voices in alt.rock – sometimes she's edgy, raw, cranky – definitely not for the mainstream listener. But even her oldest songs have aged so very well that I still like to listen to them with the volume yanked up (except maybe "Because the Night" – that one has been played to death by the mainstream radio gaga stations).
Now, hush children and go back to play ... ;-)
What would have been even better to play was her version of Gloria, clearly the best rock-and-roll song of all time.
Then Zager & Evans!
Then 1979 by the Pumpkins?
Then "1989" by Robert Fripp...then "1999" by His Purpleness...
I have come to appreciate Patti Smith and her music (including this song) more in my older age. Saw her on late night talk show a few months ago and she was very interesting and likable. Maybe she has mellowed with age too.
I think she's always been so, her entire life. Otherwise she couldn't be Patti Smith.
I can completely identify with that sentiment.
Then "1989" by Robert Fripp...then "1999" by His Purpleness...
1984 by Orwell? Whoops, wrong medium.