Blue nights of Valencia

I take a morning train
The sky is pouring rain
I dream of Spain and I remember you

The sun is shining there
And music everywhere
My Spanish harlem is here once again

Blue nights blue nights blue nights blue nights of Valencia
Nights of love and stars above
Blue nights blue nights blue nights blue nights of Valencia
I hear a song of love then my Spanish dream is here again

And you and me and you and me A thousand guitars in my ear

I’m back in my home town
And when I’m feeling down
I dream of you  got yourself far away

You’re lying  by the sea
Where I were loved to be
I’m coming back if you just wait for me

Blue nights blue nights blue nights blue nights of Valencia
Nights of love and stars above
Blue nights blue nights blue nights blue nights of Valencia
I hear a song of love then my Spanish dream is here again

And you and me and you and me A thousand guitars in my ear

Don’t think the texts above is a poem, because it’s a lyric from a song with the title above “Blue nights of Valencia”. It’s my one of favourite songs that I already knew since I was a kid.

Too bad I don’t have that song in any forms of audio records. So I keep searching it on internet for several years. But I can’t find it anyway. Even when I search it on Youtube. I still can’t find it. Until today when this posting I wrote. Finally I find it. It’s in a form of audio. But not on Youtube.

Too bad again when I try to find the lyrics on internet, I can’t find it. So i write this lyrics.

Writing the lyric of a certain song that I like is one of my old hobbies too.  I still remember when I tried to write while the song was playing. It’s difficult for me. First, that time I still began to learn English. And English is not my native language. Secondly, that time  the audio form of a song that is popular is still audio cassette. Not in mp3 or any digital records. When we play it and rewind it over and over, the audio cassette may broken.

Now when I try to write this lyrics, it’s more easier for me. First, I am already  familiar with English. Secondly, I can play it and pause it over and over with out having a risk that the song will be broken. Because it’s in the form of mp3.

Finally, I hope it’s useful especially for those who like this song.

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/0CKh63CX/isabel_-_blue_nights_of_valenc.html

Only Women Bleed

Man’s got his woman to take his seed
He’s got the power – oh
She’s got the need
She spends her life through pleasing up her man
She feeds him dinner or anything she can

She cries alone at night too often
He smokes and drinks and don’t come home at all
Only women bleed

Man makes your hair gray
He’s your life’s mistake
All you’re really lookin’ for is an even break

He lies right at you
You know you hate this game
He slaps you once in a while and you live and love in pain

She cries alone at night too often
He smokes and drinks and don’t come home at all
Only women bleed

Black eyes all of the time
Don’t spend a dime
Clean up this grime
And you there down on your knees begging me please come
Watch me bleed

Only women bleed

Once I read the lyric from this song, I feel touched. This song was written by Alice Cooper with someone else named Dick Wagner. For you know that Alice Cooper is a rock singer who also known with his horror performance. I don’t know about his life and personality.  But this song seems sympathetic to women.

It is a ballad about a woman in an abusive marriage. A very stereotyped view about a bad husband and a devoted wife. A husband needs a wife only to take his seed in relation to reproduction and continuation of his generation. He spends his nights outside of their home and without his wife or just smoking and getting drunk. Instead of making intimate relationship with his wife, he shows his power and plays rough. While his wife spends her life through pleasing  her husband,  feed him  and has to  live in  pain and lies with her marriage. In biology,  it’s like a relation that called as a parasitic  simbyosis. The one gets profit, but the other gets loss.

It’s a picture that the writer of this song told us. And the writer is an American. A country where  gender equality and women liberation come from. What about in Indonesia ?

These days around  April 21st we are celebrating the birth day of a heroine named RA Kartini. Someone who is famous with her letters “Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang”.  She is a heroine who is famous because of  her struggle for her  gender equality.

What about her own marriage ? Happy, although her husband was not her own choice. But it’s her parents’ choice. She had to face the reality between to obey her parents or to marry her own choice, someone she loves. Fortunately, her husband loves her.

What about her struggle ? Nowadays, women are getting appreciated her rights. In career, they can get a job or position where it’s used to be occupied only by a man. From a low job like driver until a high job like a government head even until the president.

But  with the situation like this,  whether such abusive marriage as told in the song is not exist anymore? We can only hope and pray, hopefully the situation  may no longer exists. The rest, maybe we need to educate ourselves.

Just the way you are

What’s on your mind if you read this posting title in relation to a song ? It may depends on your age. If you are  young and  from  MTV generation, you may be  remembered  a song of  Bruno Mars. But if you are born decades before,  you may be remembered a song of Billy Joel.

Yes, both songs are equally entitled “Just the way you are”. And both songs are equally sung by their composers who both play the same musical instrument, piano.

Although both songs equally told about love between 2 humans and told that the couple is perfect in natural way and also about the faithfulness. But both songs don’t  resemble each other. The older song which composed by Billy Joel can be said sounded more ballad, blues and jazzy.  While the newer song which composed by Bruno Mars can be said sounded more cheerful. Maybe it’s more suitable to dance.

So, is it just a coincident ? Or Bruno Mars tailed the popularity of Billy Joel by using the same title of a master hit of Billy Joel ?

Because Billy Joel’s song was  very popular a long time ago earlier before the song of Bruno Mars becomes popular. And not only that, but also sung by the other singers. Beside that, it becomes a must song for  jazz singers like  Diana Krall, Salena Jones and Susan Wong who ever sang it.

No Llores

This post is made in  sudden and incidentally. With fad I search a video of Gloria Estefan which sang a certain song of her Spanish album “90 Millas” and I find this video that is so interesting. So I post it.

What makes it so interesting ? According to me. First, the color of the video that is sepia or dark brown-gray color. Make it classic. Then the appearance of Gloria Estefan with white hat and white tuxedo that makes her masculine. Not to mention  the appearance of Carlos Santana, Jose Feliciano, Sheila E and Arturo Sandoval. After that, I also read this at Wikipedia” : ”No Llores” became Estefan’s 14th number-one on Billboard’s Latin Songs chart.

For you know that I like Gloria Estefan especially when she sang in Spanish language and traditional latin song like this song. Altough I can’t speak Spanish and don’t understand any words of it at all. But I like to imitate speaking in Spanish, after I try to find out the meaning of it.  In my opinion, Spanish language is a sexy language. Not only that, I like to imitate and pretending  playing percussion with knocking something during the song. I’m glad if I don’t make any mistakes when following the beat.

For you know as well that I collected her Spanish albums from her first Spanish language album ”Mi Tierra”, her second Spanish language album “Abriendo Puertas” until  her third Spanish language album “Alma Caribeña”.

So, what else ? Enjoy this song, sing if you like. I include the lyrics below. Or knock something if you like to follow the beat. Like the title of this song “No llores” which means “Don’t cry”. Be optimistic. Especially facing this new year.

No llores, no llores, no llores, no llores x 4

Si vas a entregar el alma
Hazlo libre de temores.
Si del amor mucho se aprende
Se aprende más de los errores, ¡ay!

Deja de llorar, deja de llorar, deja de llorar
¡Ay! no llores, no no no ¡qué va!
Deja de sufrir y suelta los temores
¡Ay! no llores

Si un día no me quisieras
Dilo de frente y sin traiciones.
Toda la dicha que vivimos
Se queda en nuestros corazones

¡Ay! no llores por mí mi amor
No llores por mí, no llores por mí, no llores más
¡Ah! no llores por mí
No, no llores

El día que yo me muera
No quiero que me manden flores.
Lo que me des, dámelo en vida
No habrá razón pa’ que me llores

¡Ay! no llores, no llores por mí
No hay razón para que llores así
No te preocupes, deja el llanto
Y escucha mi canto que dice así

No llores, no llores, no llores por mí, por mí

Si no disfrutas de la vida nunca podrás ser feliz.
¡Ay! no llores, no llores, no llores, no llores por mí
Que la vida es muy corta pa’ seguir sufriendo así

¡Ay! no llores, no llores, no llores más
¡Ay! la vida es pa’ gozarla na’a más
Oye mi amor lo que yo quiero es que tú me digas
Que a mí tú no me vas a llorar jamás

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry x 4

If you are going to surrender your soul
Do it free of fear.
If one learns much from love
One learns much more from mistakes, oh!

Stop crying, stop crying, stop crying
Oh! don’t cry, no no no no way!
Stop suffering and let go of your fears
Oh! don’t cry

If one day you should not love me
Say it up front and without deceit (lit: treachery).
All the happiness that we lived through
Remains in our hearts

Oh! don’t cry for me my love
Don’t cry for me, don’t cry for me, don’t cry any more
Oh! don’t cry for me
No, don’t cry

The day that I die
I do not want them to send me flowers.
What you would give, give me it in life
There will be no (lit: it will not have) reason for you to cry for me

Oh! don’t cry, don’t cry for me
There is no reason for you to cry so
Do not worry, stop your crying
And listen to my song that goes (lit: says) like this

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry for me, for me

If you do not enjoy life you will never be able to be happy.
Oh! don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry for me
Life is too short to keep suffering this way

Oh! don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry any more
Oh! life is for enjoying, nothing else
Listen (lit: hear), my love. What I want is for you to tell me
That you are never going to cry for me

Looking out my backdoor

G Em
Just got home from Illinois. Lock the front door oh boy.
C G D
Got to set down take a rest on the porch.
G Em
Imagination sets in, pretty soon I’m singin
C G D G
Doot doot doot lookin out my back door.

Giant doin cart wheels. A statue wearing high heels.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on and on.
Dinosaur victrola listenin to Buck Owens,
doot doot doot lookin out my back door

D C G
Tambourines and elephants are playin in the band.
Em D
Won’t you take a ride on the flyin spoon doot doo doo.

G Em
Wonderous apparition provided by magician,
C G D G
doot doot doot lookin out my back door

Smile with me tomorrow, today I’ll find no sorrow,
doot doot doot lookin out my back door.

{break}
G F# F E D A F#m E

A F#m
Forward troubles Illinois. Lock the front door oh boy.
D A E
Look at all the happy creatures dancin on and on.
A F#m
Bother me tomorrow, today I’ll find no sorrow.
D A E A
doot doot doot lookin out my back door.

Anda familar dengan lagu jadul ini ? Dimainkan oleh Creedence Clearwater Revival dengan penyanyinya John Fogerty yang juga pencipta lagu ini selain juga bermain gitar. Berirama mars  riang,  bernuansa country dengan sedikit paduan rock membuat lagu ini bisa menghibur pendengarnya.

Isinya seperti yang banyak dibahas di internet ada 2 pendapat,  pertama  khayalan murni anak-anak dan kedua adalah  akibat penggunaan narkoba. John Fogerty sendiri berkata bahwa ia mencipta lagu ini untuk anaknya yang waktu itu berumur 3 tahun. Pikirnya tentu anaknya akan senang dengan perkataan “doot, doot, doot lookin out my backdoor” . Seperti suara kereta api waktu sedang  main kereta-keretaan. Memang akibat penggunaan narkoba dan khayalan murni anak-anak nyaris sama. Persamaannya kedua-duanya bisa tidak masuk akal. Perbedaanya  khayalan anak kecil bisa menjadi pendorong atau motivasi untuk mewujudkan khayalan menjadi kenyataan atau menjadi cita-citanya. Sedangkan narkoba biasanya bersifat merusak, walaupun ada orang-orang tertentu yang baru bisa berkreasi ketika memakai narkoba. Khayalan juga  bisa menjadi awal dari penemuan-penemuan yang ada di dunia.

Saya sendiri setelah  meneliti syair lagu itu seperti merasakan  suasana karnaval atau sirkus yang berlangsung di atas  kereta api.  Seperti pada kalimat-kalimat :  Giant doin’ cartwheels. A statue wearing high heels.  Look at all the happy creatures dancing on and on. Tambourines and elephants are playin in the band. Wonderous apparition provided by magician.

Sedangkan kalimat-kalimat :  Smile with me tomorrow, today I’ll find no sorrow.  Bother me tomorrow,  today I’ll find no sorrow.  Seperti mengajak kita untuk melupakan segala kesusahan yang ada.

Sudah hampir 2 tahun saya membuat blog ini dan blog ini pun sudah berkembang. Awalnya hanya berisi crossdressing, sekarang telah bertambah dengan menu-menu cooking dan blogging. Sepanjang tahun 2012 ini blog saya begitu ramai dikunjungi, hingga mencapai 65.000 pengunjung. 10 kali lipat lebih bila dibandingkan dengan kunjungan blog saya di tahun 2011 sebelumnya yang hanya mencapai 6.400 pengunjung. Untuk itu saya mengucapkan terimakasih kepada semua pengunjung blog saya. Tahun 2012 pengunjung blog saya terbanyak berasal dari Indonesia, sedangkan tahun 2011 pengunjung terbanyak berasal dari Amerika Serikat. Ada satu hal yang saya ingat di tahun 2012 yaitu event Master Chef Indonesia yang berlangsung di Jakarta. Ternyata event itu membawa berkah bagi blog saya, karena selama event itu berlangsung dan saya secara reguler membuat posting tentang event itu pengunjung blog saya meningkat cukup signifikan. Tapi begitu event itu selesai dan saya berhenti membuat posting tentang event itu, maka pengunjung blog saya menurun secara signifikan pula.

Di akhir tahun ini seperti judul lagu ini yaitu melihat keluar lewat pintu belakang,  saya juga ingin mengajak anda untuk menengok ke belakang untuk melihat apa-apa yang telah berhasil kita capai dan apa-apa yang belum tercapai. Segala keberhasilan dan kegagalan di sepanjang tahun ini kiranya bisa membawa berkah dan menjadi pelajaran yang berharga untuk kita semua. Kita pantas mengucap syukur dan merayakan segala keberhasilan serta melupakan segala kegagalan yang ada. Sambil mengingat pepatah, kegagalan adalah kesuksesan yang tertunda. Mari kita maju terus, ever onward never retreat. Tetap semangat menjalani tahun yang akan datang. Tuhan beserta kita.

English

Familar with this old song ? Played by Creedence Clearwater Revival with their singer John Fogerty who  created this song beside  played guitar as well. Rhyme cheerful march,  country with a little blend of rock makes this song could entertain their listeners.

Its content as widely discussed on the internet there are two opinions, the first purely imagination of  kid and the second is due to drug use. John Fogerty himself said that he created this song to his son, who was 3 years old. He thought his son would be happy with the word “doot, doot, doot lookin out my backdoor”. Like the sound of a railroad train when playing train. Indeed, drug use, and pure child imagination are almost the same. The equation can be both unreasonable. The difference ie a kid fantasy could drive  or motivate to make a fantasy come true or ideals. While drugs usually are destructive, although there are certain people who can be creative when they use drugs. Fantasy also could be the beginning of the discoveries in the world.

I myself after examine the  lyric feel the atmosphere of a carnival or circus that took place on the train. As in the words: Giant doin ‘cartwheels. A statue wearing high heels. Look at all the happy creatures dancing on and on. Tambourines and elephants are playin in the band. Wonderous Apparition provided by magician.

While these sentences  :  Smile with me tomorrow, today I’ll find no sorrow.  Bother me tomorrow,  today I’ll find no sorrow.  Like invite us to forget all the troubles there.

It has been almost two years I have created this blog and this blog was already developed. At the beginning it only contains crossdressing, now it was added with cooking and blogging  menu. During the year 2012 this blog was so crowded, it reached  65,000 visitors. 10 times more when compared to  my blog visit  in 2011 which only reached 6400 visitors. For that I thank all my blog visitors. In 2012 most of my blog visitors are from Indonesia, while in 2011 the most visitors came from the United States. There is one thing I remember in 2012 the event Master Chef Indonesia  held in Jakarta. Apparently the event was a blessing for my blog, as long as the event took place  and I  posted regularly  about the event,  my blog visitors increased significantly. But when the event was over and I stopped to make a post about the event, then my blog visitors decreased significantly as well.

At the end of this year, like the title of this song that is looking out my back door, I would also like to invite you to look back to see anything that has been successfully accomplished and nothing that has not been achieved. All the successes and failures so far this year would be a blessing and a valuable lesson for us all. We deserve to give thanks and celebrate all the successes and forget  the existing failures. As remembering saying, failure is delayed success. Let us go forward, ever onward never retreat. Keep the spirit undergo years to come. God is with us.

Ravi Shankar

Ravi Shankar is a very famous sitar player. One of  his popular song is “I am missing you”.  This song is also sung by The Beatles. Beside that, George Harrison was one of his students who learnt to play sitar from him. Not only that, Ravi Shankar was also well known close to The Beatles. He also ever collaborated with a famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Ravi Shankar had a big contribution in  introducing Indian traditional music to the world especially by playing sitar. His two daughters followed his step becoming musicians. Anoushka and Norah Jones. Anoushka also plays sitar. But Norah Jones is a multi instrumentalist. At least she plays guitar,  piano and keyboard.

Ravi Shankar had a long life. He died in the age of 92 on 11th December 2012 in San Diego because of breathing problem.  So I, maybe  we may say “I am missing you” to him.