By The Landlord
“Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone.
They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on.
And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song.” – Leonard Cohen
“Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life.” – Charlie Brown
“You know full well as I do the value of sisters’ affections; there is nothing like it in this world.” – Charlotte Brontë
“I’m the big sister. I want to make sure she has everything, even if I don’t have anything. I love her too much.” – Venus Williams
“Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister?” – Alice Walker
“We … like two artificial gods,
Have with our needles created both one flower,
Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion,
Both warbling of one song, both in one key,
As if our hands, our sides, voices and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grow together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,
But yet an union in partition;
Two lovely berries moulded on one stem;” – Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
My sister Laura's bigger than me
And lifts me up quite easily.
I can't lift her, I've tried and tried;
She must have something heavy inside.” – Spike Milligan
You stole my hairbrush, and LPs, you bitch!
Itch invites scratch, scratch incites itch.
Siblings may bicker, boys punch and shove,
But sisters’ fight skills are a subtler silk glove.
This week let’s sing out on this female kin,
Younger or older, estranged or close twin,
As bosom best friends, tender and mothering,
Responsive, supportive, or exploitative, bothering,
Grabbing attention as a user or rival,
Seeking affection, instinctive survival,
To loving, gentle, cherished – there are no norms,
Cold- to warm-hearted, expressed in all forms.
Of course there’s all types, they differ from brothers
As much as fathers can contrast with mothers,
But which songs then give them a lyrical spotlight?
Which writers give them the greatest insight?
Perhaps your suggestions may go to the famous,
The Mitfords, the Brontës? Tennis, or chess?
Venus and Serena? Clever Polgar sisters –
Judit, Sofia, Susan – all young Grandmasters.
Sisters in numbers, strength in support
Society to arts, connections, rapport?
Or songs on sisters from sibling-based bands?
Voices and instruments from similar hands?
Three Andrews, six Gardiners, three Hadens, four Pointers,
Four Staples, three Haims, three Fontanes, four Foresters?
The Unthanks, First Aid Kit, all genres and all angles,
The Shepherds, the Kinleys, the Shaggs, and two Bangles.
But what marks out sisters, what gives them an edge?
Close harmony and movement, like four Sisters Sledge?
Or all kinds of tensions, might those have appeal
Like that in the Breeders: Kim ‘n’ Kelley Deal?
Cheeky pop bands, from stadiums to bars,
Staves, Wilson Philips, the great Shangri-Las,
Close vocal harmonies, rock, folk or jazz,
Afro-French Cuban? Ibeyi twins Diaz.
Any songs written on sisters will qualify,
But can sibling bands in turn help them amplify
Feelings, relationships, or The Emotions
That swirl around gene pools in musical oceans?
Or could this be broadened, less DNA-bent?
Macbeth’s ugly witches? Or nuns in a convent?
How do you see this in music’s great vista?
Place your suggestions in ode to the sister.
The Brontë three: Anne, Emily and Charlotte
Social sisters: the big Mitford six with brother and dog
All the best moves: Chess grandmasters Susan, Sofia and Judit Polgar
Serving champions: Serena and Venus Williams
Uniformly great: LaVerne Sophia, Maxene Angelyn, and Patricia "Patty" Marie Andrews
Hair pairs: Shangri-Las were two pairs of sisters – Mary Ann and Marge Ganser, and Betty and Mary Weiss
Three of the fabulous Staples singers
Perfect Pointers: Ruth, Anita, Bonnie and June
The Shaggs: all from the Wiggins family
Helping hands: First Aid Kit’s Klara and Johanna Söderberg
So then, putting all of this together in sister-perspective shape, I’m delighted to welcome back to the Bar our own brother in arms, the gregarious and great George Boyland! Deadline for song suggestions is this coming Monday at 11pm, for playlists published next week. Onwards, sisters …
Inside job …
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