By MussoliniHeadkick
Here I sit, chained to the laptop reflecting on this week’s song theme and what struck me, as I listened to the nominations, was how so many of the songs used the metaphor of being chained up, bound or shackled to describe their feelings regarding love and intimate relationships in some shape or form. Step up please The Dirtbombs, The Cookies, Ray Charles, The Undertones, Sons and Daughters, The Raveonettes, Big Mama Thornton and Depeche Mode. Although I suspect that Dave Gahan might be referring to his addition to something rather than someone when he sings, “You've got me dying for you, it's you that I'm living through… I’m in chains, in chains, I’m in chains.”
Such a stark contrast to July 2024 when I made the playlist for the theme Happiness and commented that “my choices would be guided by the very time specific subjective feelings of happiness that have recently been engendered by my tentative welcoming of someone new into my life, after a good number of years of feeling that I would probably never again experience the happiness which that can bring.” In that case, the majority of, the playlist and nominations described the happiness that love had brought to the life of the singer.
Quite coincidentally I was with that very person tonight and my newly found happiness in love and companionship continues, I’m sure you’re happy to hear. However, we were watching the new Edna O’Brien documentary film ‘Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story’ and the story’s re- telling of her first marriage certainly resonated with the theme of the search for happiness in love developing into a relationship in which she felt shackled and ultimately decided to break the chains of what was clearly mis-placed love.
So back to the A List and, of course, there’s The Chills, Kendrick Lamar, The Beach Boys, Lesley Duncan and Todd Rundgren. Reflecting the fact that not all of the nominations referenced the chains of love. Of course, there were many nominations that referenced the actual physical experience of being chained, manacled or shackled and some of those I have included in the Bound Up B-list. However, The Chills and Kendrick Lamar focus on the chains of heredity. For The Chills we are all ‘dangling by the chains our parents made’ while Kendrick forcefully proclaims that ‘Sex, money, murder, our DNA.’
So far so grim but The Beach Boys provide some hope with Dean Wilson being determined to ‘Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down’ and even more hopefully, Lesley Duncan’s Chain of Love is one that,
“Every day,
It's growing stronger
The chain of love
It's getting a little longer
Every day
It's growing stronger
The chain of love...”
Here's hoping, Lesley.
And finally, perhaps we might take the advice of Todd Rundgren and: “Don't take yourself too seriously……if I should die tomorrow”, life “will carry on.”
The Chain Link A-List:
The Dirtbombs – Chains of Love (happyclapper)
The Cookies – Chains (Marconius7)
Ray Charles – Unchain My Heart (pejepeine)
The Undertones – Chain of Love (ParaMohr)
Sons and Daughters – Chains (Viking Child)
The Raveonettes – Chain Gang of Love (happyclapper)
Big Mama Thornton – Ball and Chain (Nicko)
Depeche Mode – In Chains (VikingChild)
The Chills – Tied Up in Chain (Uncleben)
Kendrick Lamar – DNA (DiscoMonster)
The Beach Boys – Long Promised Road (TarquinSpodd)
Lesley Duncan – Chain of Love (ParaMohr)
Todd Rundgren – Chain Letter (Uncleben)
Bound Up in the B-List:
The Mystics – Chain Gang (Nicko)
Jackson Browne – In The Shape of a Heart (Sweet Home Alabama)
Sparklehorse – London (happyclapper)
The Cure– A Chain of Flowers (happyclapper)
Aimee Mann –Jacob Marley’s Chain (ShivSidecar)
The Bags – Chainsaw (TarquinSpodd)
Lil Johnson – Stavin’ Chain (That Rockin’ Swing) (Severin)
Champion Jack Dupree – Chain Gang Blues (Nicko)
The Black and Blues – Chains (Loud Atlas)
Sam Cooke – Chain Gang (AltraEgo)
Missing Links Wild Card List:
James – Chain Mail
McCarthy – A Child Soon in Chains
DNA chain: Kendrick Lamar
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Click the links and join: songs about chains. The next topic will launch on Thursday after 1pm UK time.
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