Sing – Travis
Something light and positive for this weekend, I am sitting on the patio at my summer house, and enjoying the sun and listening to the sing, sing, sing from the birds. I could not find a photo of an singer , but here is a bird.
Songfacts®: Travis’s frontman Fran Healy told Yahoo! the story of this song: “It was written while watching MTV with the sound down. There was a thing on about swing beat. So I started singing this song – I was writing at the time, I was watching the telly and playing the guitar and humming along – and I got this cool little melody, and when it naturally got to a sort of chorus-y part, I started singing, ‘Swing… If you swing, swing, swing, swing.’ And I was imagining someone pushing someone on a swing. It was just that feeling when you’re a child on a swing – it’s the coolest feeling! And so, I played to the guys the next in the studio and everyone played along, and we recorded it as a little out take, just to get the idea down. During that, it changed from ‘swing, swing, swing’ to ‘sing, sing, sing’ halfway through the chorus. It was half and half.”
When Healy arrived back home that night and listened to it in his house, he realized the song had switched from the joy of children playing in the playground to the recuperative powers of singing. He told Yahoo: “I thought it was really cute, kinda charming. So the words in the verse I kind of directed at Nora, my fiancée.”
This song went on to become the band’s biggest hit to date and a favorite with buskers. Healy told Yahoo!: “‘Sing’ – You could replace that word with ‘Dance’ or ‘Cry’ or ‘Laugh’ or just ‘Let Go.’ ‘Cause as an expression, when you’re a child, you sing all the time. And then when you get older, you don’t – you just go, ‘I don’t want to, my voice is crap.’ But when you’re a kid, you don’t care! And I think that’s what you should always have – a little bit of that still in you. People look at people in the street that sing like they’re mad, like, ‘What are you singing for?’ But it’s about having fun and feeling good and all that stuff.”
The Invisible Band is Travis’ third studio album. The title refers to the band’s status after the success of its predecessor, The Man Who, as – says Healy – “having famous songs, but not being famous themselves.” The release quickly went to #1 in the UK and peaked at #39 in the US, making the band more visible than ever.
Baby, you’ve been going so crazy
Lately, nothing seems to be going right
So low, why’d you have to get so low?
You’re so
You’ve been waiting in the sun too long
But if you sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing
For the love you bring won’t mean a thing
Unless you sing, sing, sing, sing
Colder, crying over your shoulder
Hold her, and tell her everything’s gonna be fine
Surely, you’ve been going too early
Hurry, ’cause no one’s gonna be stopped
Now, now, now, now, now
But if you sing, sing, sing, sing, sing
For the love you bring won’t mean a thing
Unless you sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing
Baby, there’s something going on today
But I say nothing, nothing, nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
So, now, now, now, now, now
Lepis is hosting Saturday Classics, you can add your own link here Saturday Classics
On Her page she writes: This blog is back with hosting the Classics after few years break. This time we’ll be playing on Saturdays and you can link straight here on this own page. Rules: There are no rules, as long as the song you play is a classic in your mind. Linking open 8 am and closes 12 pm.
An other take on sing, sing, sing
“Sing Sing Sing” : version Benny Goodman
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 