This blog is dedicated to the amateur or beginner musician with music written in a simple and easy to read Alpha Notes format and with Chords for the left hand. This is to assist those with little or hardly at all note reading skills. This is a blog that shows all the chords in Alpha Notes format too which you can find the notes for the chords in one of the blogs. Please feel free to leave a comment or any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" is a 1954 song commonly associated with the Christmas and holiday season. The lyrics detail the joys of being in your home community during the holidays and give examples of how some people will travel long distances to be with their loved ones. The music was composed by Robert Allen, with the lyrics written by Al Stillman.
The best-known recordings of "Home for the Holidays" were made by Perry Como, who recorded the song twice, both times accompanied by Mitchell Ayres' Orchestra and the Ray Charles Singers.
The first recording of "Home for the Holidays", arranged by Joe Reisman, was made on November 16, 1954. It was released as a single for Christmas that December by RCA Victor. The flip side was "Silk Stockings" (which scored in the Cash Box magazine top 50). In the United States, "Home for the Holidays" peaked at number eight on Billboard magazine's Most Played by Jockeys chart (in the issue dated January 8, 1955) and at number 18 on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart (in the issue dated January 1, 1955). The next Christmas the song was released again, with "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" as the flip side. The same recorded version was released in the United Kingdom by His Master's Voice, with the flip side "Tina Marie". This recording has appeared on many compilation albums over the years and remains a Christmas radio regular.
Como's second recording of "Home for the Holidays", in stereo and with a different musical arrangement by Joe Lipman, was made on July 15, 1959. It was released as a 33rpm single, with flip side "Winter Wonderland", by RCA Victor in the U.S. and as a 45rpm single by His Master's Voice in the UK. This 1959 version was also included on the album, Season's Greetings from Perry Como, and has appeared on many compilations, as well as being played on some radio stations during the holidays.
In 1968, Robert Goulet covered the song for his holiday album, Robert Goulet's Wonderful World Of Christmas.
Perhaps the most iconic version of the song, other than the original Perry Como version, is the Carpenters’ recording on their 1984 LP release, An Old Fashioned Christmas.
In 2010, Mandy Barnett recorded the song for her holiday album, Winter Wonderland.
On December 1, 2011, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directed about six singing and dancing mall performances of "Home for the Holidays" by Carly Foulkes and 100 Chicago-area women in magenta dresses at the Woodfield Mall. It was used in a television commercial for T-Mobile starting on December 12.
"There but for Fortune" is a song by American folk musicianPhil Ochs. Ochs wrote the song in 1963 and recorded it twice, for New Folks Volume 2 (Vanguard, 1964) and Phil Ochs in Concert (Elektra, 1966). Joan Baez also recorded "There but for Fortune" in 1964, and her version of the song became a chart hit.
"There but for Fortune" consists of four verses, each one of which ends with the line "there but for fortune may go you or I". The first verse is about a prisoner. The second verse describes a hobo. The third verse is about a drunk who stumbles out of a bar. The final verse describes a country that has been bombed.
One of Ochs' biographers wrote that, "of all the songs that Phil would ever write, none would show his humanity as brilliantly as the four brief verses of 'There but for Fortune'".
The song's title was used as the name of the 1989 compilation album There but for Fortune, which featured material taken from three albums Ochs recorded for Elektra Records between 1964 and 1966. Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune was also used as the title of Michael Schumacher's 1996 biography, as well as Kenneth Bowser's 2011 documentary on the singer's life.
Ochs recorded "There but for Fortune" twice. In 1964, he recorded it for the Vanguard compilationNew Folks Volume 2. The 1964 recording was reissued on the 2000 compact discThe Early Years.
In 1966, Ochs's concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall and Boston's Jordan Hall were recorded. They were released as Phil Ochs in Concert. One of the songs on In Concert was "There but for Fortune". Ochs introduces the song by sarcastically saying it was written for him by Joan Baez, since many assumed the song was written by the person who had the hit single.
In October 1964, Baez recorded "There but for Fortune" for Joan Baez/5. It was released in the U.S. as a single in June, 1965, with "Daddy, You Been on My Mind", a Bob Dylan song, as the B-side. In July, it was released as a single in the U.K., where its B-side was "Plaisir d'amour".
The single became a Top Ten hit in the U.K., reaching #8. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Folk Recording". In the U.S. it peaked at #50 on the Billboard chart — a good showing, but not a hit. In Canada the song reached #27.
By coincidence, Joan Baez in Concert, Part 2 became a #8 hit in the U.K. at the same time "There but for Fortune" did.
The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, and a "War Is Over" rally was held in New York's Central Park on May 11. At the rally, Ochs and Baez sang a duet of "There but for Fortune"
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Lyrics:
[Verse 1] Show me a prison, show me a jail Show me a prison man whose face is growing pale And I'll show you a young man with many reasons why And there but for fortune may go you or I
[Verse 2] Show me an alley, show me a train Show me a hobo who sleeps out in the rain And I'll show you a young man with many reasons why And there but for fortune may go you or I
[Verse 3] Show me the whiskey stains on the floor Show me a drunken man as he stumbles out the door And I'll show you a young man with many reasons why And there but for fortune may go you or I
[Verse 4] Show me the country where the bombs had to fall Show me the ruins of the buildings once so tall And I'll show you a young land with so many reasons why And there but for fortune may go you or I, or I
In 1942, Captain Yonoi is the commander of the POW camp in Lebak Sembada in Japanese-occupiedJava. A strict adherent to the bushido code, his only connection to the prisoners are the empathetic Lieutenant-Colonel John Lawrence, the only inmate fluent in Japanese, and the abrasive spokesman Group Captain Hicksley, who repeatedly resists Yonoi's attempts to find weapons experts among the prisoners. Lawrence has befriended Sergeant Gengo Hara but remains at odds with the rest of the staff. Summoned to the military trial of the recently captured Major Jack Celliers, Yonoi is fascinated by his resilience and has him interned at the camp. Yonoi confides in Lawrence that he is haunted with shame due to his absence during the February 26 Incident, believing he should have died alongside the rebels, implying his focus on honour stems from this. Sensing a kindred spirit in Celliers, Yonoi's fascination grows into a romantic obsession.
When the inmates are made to fast as punishment for insubordination during the forced seppuku of a guard, Celliers is caught sneaking them food. They discover a smuggled radio during the subsequent investigation, forcing Celliers and Lawrence to accept blame. Yonoi's batman, realizing the hold Celliers has on him, attempts to kill Celliers in his sleep that night, but fails after he wakes up and escapes, freeing Lawrence too. Yonoi catches Celliers and challenges him to a duel in exchange for his freedom, but Celliers refuses; the batman returns and kills himself for his failure, urging Yonoi to kill Celliers before his feelings overpower him.
At the funeral, Lawrence learns that he and Celliers will be executed for the radio to preserve order in the camp. Enraged, he trashes the funeral altar and is forced back into his cell. That night, Celliers reveals to Lawrence that as a teenager, he betrayed his younger brother, long bullied for his hunchback, by refusing to spare him a humiliating and traumatizing initiation ritual at their boarding school. He describes the lifelong shame it caused, paralleling Yonoi's predicament. The pair are released by a drunken Hara after another prisoner confesses to delivering the radio. As they leave, Hara calls out in English, "Merry Christmas, Lawrence!" Although angry at Hara for exceeding his authority, Yonoi only mildly reprimands him.
Realizing that Yonoi wants to replace him with Celliers as spokesman, Hicksley confronts him and they argue about withholding information from each other. Enraged, Yonoi orders the whole camp to form up outside the barracks, including the sick bay's ailing patients, resulting in one's death. Hicksley, who refused to bring out the patients, is to be executed on the spot for his insubordination but before he can be killed, Celliers breaks rank and kisses Yonoi on each cheek. Caught between a desire for vindication and his feelings for Celliers, a distraught Yonoi collapses and is relieved of duty. The guards beat Celliers and drag him away. His sterner replacement has Celliers buried in the sand up to his neck. Yonoi sneaks into his pen and cuts a lock from his hair, moments before his death.
Four years later, Lawrence visits Hara, now a prisoner of the Allies. Hara has learned English and reveals he'll be executed the following day for war crimes. Expressing confusion over the harshness of his sentence given how commonplace his actions were among both sides of the war, he and Lawrence conclude that while the Allies officially won, morally "we are all wrong." They reminisce about Celliers and Yonoi, the latter of whom was reported to have been killed after the war, before bidding each other goodbye. As he is leaving, Hara calls out, "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence!".
David Bowie was cast as Jack Celliers after director Nagisa Ōshima saw him in a production of The Elephant Man on Broadway. He felt that Bowie had "an inner spirit that is indestructible". While shooting the film, Bowie was amazed that Ōshima had a two- to three-acre camp built on the remote Polynesian island of Rarotonga, but most of the camp was never shot on film. He said Ōshima "only shot little bits at the corners. I kind of thought it was a waste, but when I saw the movie, it was just so potent – you could feel the camp there, quite definitely." Bowie noted how Ōshima would give an incredible amount of direction to his Japanese actors ("down to the minutest detail"), but when directing him or fellow Westerner Tom Conti, he would say "Please do whatever it is you people do." Bowie thought his performance in the film was "the most credible performance" he had done in a film up to that point in his career.
It was an early international role for Jack Thompson.
The boarding school sequence was shot on location at King's College, a private high school in Auckland, New Zealand. In a shot of two students playing billiards, another boy in the room can be seen wearing a King's blazer. Other scenes were filmed in various locations around Auckland including Auckland Railway Station.
Ōshima chose Ryuichi Sakamoto after seeing his photographs in a photo book Fifty Representative Figures of Today, and without even meeting him. The film was Sakamoto's debut soundtrack just as it was his inaugural acting role. It was also Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano's debut movie acting role, having only been known up to that point as a comedian on TV variety shows in Japan.
Contrary to usual cinematic practice, Ōshima shot the film without rushes and shipped the film off the island with no safety prints. "It was all going out of the camera and down to the post office and being wrapped up in brown paper and sent off to Japan", said Bowie. Ōshima's editor in Japan cut the movie into a rough print within four days of Ōshima returning to Japan.
On set, David Bowie made a bond with his on-screen brother, James Malcolm, whom he later called his “New Zealand brother”. For one pivotal scene, Malcolm had to sing for Bowie. The next year, Bowie invited Malcolm to join him on stage at Western Springs in Auckland for the Serious Moonlight Tour, where they released a dove together as a sign of peace.
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is the soundtrack from the film of the same name, released on 1 May 1983 in Japan and towards the end of August 1983 in the UK. It was composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, who also starred in the film. It was Sakamoto's first film score, though it was released several weeks after the film Daijōbu, My Friend, for which he also composed the music.
Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film has since become a cult classic, largely due to its soundtrack. For the film's soundtrack, Sakamoto won the 1984 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music as well as the 1984 Mainichi Film Award for Best Film Score. David Sylvian contributed lyrics and vocals on "Forbidden Colours", a vocal version of the main theme, "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence", both of which were released as singles. A special 30th anniversary edition, which included a second CD of tracks, was released in November 2013 in Japan.
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"Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is an American folk song written byPeter YarrowofPeter, Paul and Maryfrom a poem byLeonard Lipton. It was made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary in a 1962 recording released in January 1963.
Lipton wrote a poem about a dragon in 1959, and, when Yarrow found it, he wrote the lyrics to "Puff" based on the poem. After the song was released, Yarrow searched for Lipton to give him credit for the song.
The lyrics for "Puff, the Magic Dragon" are based on a 1959 poem by Leonard Lipton, then a 19-year-old Cornell University student. Lipton drew inspiration from Ogden Nash's poem "The Tale of Custard the Dragon". The song tells the story of an immortal dragon named Puff and his playmate, Jackie Paper, as they embark on adventures in the fictional county of Honalee. As time passes, Jackie matures and abandons his childhood games, leaving Puff sad and alone.
Lipton, who was acquainted with Peter Yarrow through a mutual friend at Cornell, used Yarrow's typewriter to commit his poem to paper. He forgot about it until years later, when a friend informed him that Yarrow was seeking him out to properly credit him for the lyrics. Upon reconnecting, Yarrow shared half of the songwriting credit with Lipton, who received royalties for the song until his death in 2022. Yarrow later died in 2025.
In later performances, Yarrow changed the line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" to the more inclusive "A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys". The original poem included a stanza about Puff finding a new playmate, but this was not incorporated into the song.
Cash Box described it as "a charming folk tune, about a magic dragon, right-up-the-vocal-alley of the remarkably successful folksters."
After the song's initial success, speculation arose—as early as a 1964 article in Newsweek—that the song contained veiled references to smoking marijuana. The word "paper" in the name of Puff's human friend Jackie Paper was said to be a reference to rolling papers, the words "by the sea" were interpreted as "by the C" (as in cannabis), the word "mist" stood for "smoke", the land of "Honahlee" stood for hashish, and "dragon" was interpreted as "draggin'" (i.e., inhaling smoke). Similarly, the name "Puff" was alleged to be a reference to taking a "puff" on a joint. The supposition was claimed to be common knowledge in a letter by a member of the public to The New York Times in 1984.
The authors of the song repeatedly rejected this interpretation and have strongly and consistently denied that they intended any references to drug use. Both Lipton and Yarrow had stated, "'Puff, the Magic Dragon' is not about drugs." Yarrow frequently explained that the song is about the hardships of growing older and has no relationship to drug-taking. He also said that the song has "never had any meaning other than the obvious one" and is about the "loss of innocence in children." He dismissed the suggestion of it being associated with drugs as "sloppy research".
In 1973, Peter Yarrow's bandmate, Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary, also defended the song's innocence in a novel way. He recorded a version of the song at the Sydney Opera House in March 1973 where he set up a fictitious trial scene. The prosecutor of the trial claimed the song was about marijuana, but Puff and Jackie protested. The judge finally left the case to the "jury" (the Opera House audience) and said if they would sing along, the song would be acquitted. The audience joined in with Stookey and at the end of their sing-along, the judge declared the "case dismissed."
Up to his death in January 2025, Yarrow maintained that the song did not reference marijuana.
In 1961, Peter Yarrow joined Paul Stookey and Mary Travers to form Peter, Paul and Mary. The group incorporated the song into their live performances before recording it in 1962. The trio's 1962 recording of "Puff the Magic Dragon" entered the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts on March 30, 1963, and peaked at number two, kept out of the top spot by "I Will Follow Him" by Little Peggy March. It topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached number ten on Billboard's R&B chart.[23] In Canada, the song reached number five in April 1963.
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