BETTER THAN REVENGE

TAYLOR SWIFT

SONGWRITER: TAYLOR SWIFT

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: SPEAK NOW

LABEL: BIG MACHINE

GENRE: COUNTRY POP

YEAR: 2010

 

          Taylor Alison Swift(born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her narrative songwriting, which is often inspired by her personal experiences, has received widespread media coverage and critical praise.

          Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Swift signed with Sony/ATV Tree Publishing in 2004 to become a songwriter and with Big Machine Records in 2005 to become a country music singer. Her eponymous debut studio album(2006) included the Hot Country Songs number-one singles "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" and the pop radio crossover "Teardrops on My Guitar". Swift rose to mainstream prominence with her country pop second studio album, Fearless(2008), which was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) and featured the top-five singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me". Her third studio album, Speak Now(2010), blended country pop with rock elements and furthered her crossover success with the top-ten singles "Mine" and "Back to December".

   Swift's fourth studio album, Red(2012), experimented beyond country, incorporating pop, rock, and electronic genres. She completely transitioned to pop with her synth-pop fifth studio album, 1989(2014); its successor, Reputation(2017), expanded on the electropop sound with urban influences. Swift released her next studio album, Lover, in 2019, while she was in a dispute over the ownership of her back catalog after her Big Machine contract expired. She explored indie folk and alternative rock on her 2020 studio albums, Folklore and Evermore. These six albums spawned a string of international top-ten singles, including "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "I Knew You Were Trouble", "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Look What You Made Me Do", "Me!", "You Need to Calm Down", "Cardigan", and "Willow". She also released the acclaimed documentaries Miss Americana and Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions in 2020.(…)

          Speak Now is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 25, 2010, by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely by herself, and co-produced all tracks with longtime collaborator Nathan Chapman. She described the album as a loose concept album consisting of confessional songs.

          Exuding rock sensibility, the music of Speak Now combines country pop with pop rock and power pop styles, incorporating bluegrass, pop punk, and soft rock elements. The lyrics revolve around Swift's recurring romantic themes of love, heartbreak and forgiveness, but transcends the fairytale-inspired theme of its predecessor, Fearless (2008), to explore Swift's maturing perspectives in adulthood. Six songs were released as singles to support Speak Now. Four songs from the album reached the top-10 on the Billboard Hot 100: the first two singles—"Mine" and "Back to December", the promotional single "Speak Now", and the deluxe bonus track "If This Was a Movie". Three singles peaked within the top 20: "Mean", "Sparks Fly", and "Ours". The other single, "The Story of Us", was released to US mainstream pop radio only. Swift promoted the album with the Speak Now World Tour, which ran from February 2011 to March 2012.

          Contemporary critics received Speak Now with generally positive reviews, with praise centered on Swift's songwriting craftsmanship and matured perspectives. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of over one million copies, claiming the biggest one-week sales tally ever for an album by a female country artist. The album spent six weeks at number one and has sold over 4.71million copies in the United States. It also peaked atop the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. At the 54th Grammy Awards, Speak Now was nominated for Best Country Album, while "Mean" won Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Rolling Stone featured Speak Now in their 2012 list of the "50 Best Female Albums of All Time".

Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did

Ha, time for a little revenge

 

The story starts when it was hot and it was summer

And, I had it all I had him right there where I wanted him

She came along, got him alone, and let's hear the applause

She took him faster than you could say sabotage

I never saw it coming, nor would I have suspected it

I underestimated just who I was dealing with

She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum

She underestimated just who she was stealing from

 

She's not a saint and she's not what you think

She's an actress, whoa

She's better known for the things that she does

On the mattress, whoa

Soon she's gonna find

Stealing other people's toys on the playground

Won't make you many friends

She should keep in mind,

She should keep in mind

There is nothing I do better than revenge, ha

 

She looks at life like it's a party and she's on the list

She looks at me like I'm a trend and she's so over it

I think her ever present frown is a little troubling

And, she thinks I'm psycho

'Cause I like to rhyme her name with things, but

Sophistication isn't what you wear, or who you know

Or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go

Oh they didn't teach you that in prep school

So it's up to me

But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity

(Think about what you did)

 

She's not a saint and she's not what you think

She's an actress, whoa

She's better known for the things that she does

On the mattress, whoa

Soon she's gonna find

Stealing other people's toys on the playground

Won't make you many friends

She should keep in mind,

She should keep in mind

There is nothing I do better than revenge, ha

 

I'm just another thing for you to roll your eyes at honey

You might have him, but haven't you heard

I'm just another thing for you to roll your eyes at honey

You might have him, but I'll always get the last word

Whoa

 

She's not a saint and she's not what you think

She's an actress, whoa

She's better known for the things that she does

On the mattress, whoa

Soon she's gonna find

Stealing other people's toys on the playground

Won't make you many friends

She should keep in mind,

She should keep in mind

There is nothing I do better than revenge, ha

 

And do you still feel like you know what you're doing,

'Cause I don't think you do, oh

Do you still feel like you know what you're doing

I don't think you do, I don't think you do

Let's hear the applause

C'mon show me how much better you are

See you deserve some applause

'Cause you're so much better

She took him faster than you could say sabotage.

THE MUSIC STOPPED

FRANK SINATRA

SONGWRITERS: HAROLD ADAMSON & JIMMY MCHUGH

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: THE MUSIC STOPPED

LABEL: V-DISC

GENRE: POP

YEAR: 1944

 

           Francis Albert Sinatra(/sɪˈnɑːtrə/; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally perceived as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate easy listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers".

             Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his professional career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, with his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours(1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers!(1956), Come Fly with Me(1958), Only the Lonely(1958), No One Cares(1959), and Nice 'n' Easy(1960).

          Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective álbum September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.

The music stopped

But we were still dancing

Which goes to show

That music has charm

The lights were low

So we kept on dancing

I felt the glow

Of you in my arms

 

The band had left the stand

And we were in heaven

Dancing on a cloud

Way off in the blue

 

The music stopped

And people were glancing

But we went on dancing

For we didn't know

Because the lights were low

And we were in love

 

The band had left the stand

And we were in heaven

Dancing on a cloud

Way off in the blue

 

The music stopped

And people were glancing

But we went on dancing

For we didn't know

Because the lights were low

And we were in love.

YELLOW LEDBETTER

BAND PEARL JAM

SONGWRITERS: VEDDER EDDIE JEROME; MC CREADY MICHAEL DAVIS & AMENT JEFFREY ALLEN

COUNTRY: u. s. a.

ALBUM: YELLOW LEDBETTER

LABEL: EPIC RECORDS

GENRE: GRUNGE

YEAR: 1992

 

          "Yellow Ledbetter" is a song by the American grunge band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Mike McCready, "Yellow Ledbetter" was an outtake from the band's debut album, Ten(1991). "Yellow Ledbetter" was selected by the band to be on the B-side of the 1992 single "Jeremy", where it was first released. The song eventually found its way onto radio, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was also included on Pearl Jam's 2003 B-sides and rarities album Lost Dogs, and on their 2004 greatest hits album Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).

Unsealed on a porch a letter sat

Then you said I wanna leave it again

Once I saw her on a beach of weathered sand

And on the sand I wanna leave it again, yeah

 

On a weekend wanna wish it all away

And they called and I said that I want what I said

And then I call out again

And the reason oughtta leave her calm, I know

I said I don't know whether I'm the boxer or the bag

 

Oh yeah, can you see them

Out on the porch

Yeah but they don't wave

I see them

'Round the front way, yeah

And I know and I know I don't want to stay

Make me cry

 

I see

I don't know, there's something else

I wanna drum it all away

Oh, I said I don't, I don't know whether I'm the boxer or the bag

 

Oh yeah, can you see them

Out on the porch

Yeah but they don't wave

I see them

'Round the front way, yeah

And I know and I know I don't want to stay

I don't wanna stay

I don't wanna stay

I don't wanna stay, oh no

Yeah

 

Oh!, oh!

Oh!, oh!

BLINDED BY LOVE

THE ROLLING STONES

SONGWRITERS: KEITH RICHARDS & MICK JAGGER

COUNTRY: U. K.

ALBUM: STEEL WHELES

LABEL: ROLLING STONES

GENRE: HARD ROCK

YEAR: 1989

 

      The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Diverging from the pop rock of the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, heavier-driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up was vocalist Mick Jagger, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts, and bassist Bill Wyman. During their formative years Jones was the primary leader: he assembled the band, named it, and drove their sound and image. After Andrew Loog Oldham became the group's manager in 1963, he encouraged them to write their own songs. Jagger and Richards became the primary creative force behind the band, alienating Jones, who developed a drug addiction that interfered with his ability to contribute meaningfully.

       Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing covers and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, also being identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They then found greater success with their own material as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Get Off of My Cloud" (1965) and "Paint It Black" (1966) became international No. 1 hits. Aftermath (1966) – their first entirely original album – is considered the most important of their formative records. In 1967, they had the double-sided hit "Ruby Tuesday"/"Let's Spend the Night Together" and experimented with psychedelic rock on Their Satanic Majesties Request. They went back to their roots with such hits as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) and "Honky Tonk Women" (1969), and albums such as Beggars Banquet (1968), featuring "Sympathy for the Devil", and Let It Bleed(1969), featuring "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter". Let It Bleed was the first of five consecutive Nº 1 albums in the UK.

     Steel Wheels is the 19th British (and 21st American) studio album by British rock band the Rolling Stones. Released on 29 August 1989, it was the final album of new material that the band would record for Columbia Records.

          Heralded as a major comeback upon its release, Steel Wheels is notable for the patching up of the working relationship between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a reversion to a more classic style of music and the launching of the band's biggest world tour to date. It is also the final full-length studio album to involve long-time bassist Bill Wyman, preceding the announcement of his departure in January 1993. Wyman's final tenure with the band would be on two studio tracks for the 1991 album Flashpoint. Steel Wheels was also the first album not to feature former member and frequent contributor on piano Ian Stewart, who died shortly before the release of their previous album Dirty Work. It was produced by Richards and Jagger, along with Chris Kimsey, who had previously produced the Stones' 1983 Undercover.

        After the relative disappointment of their prior two albums, Steel Wheels was a hit, reaching multi-platinum status in the United States, Top 5 status in numerous markets around the world, and spawning two hit singles: "Mixed Emotions," which peaked at No. 1 in Canada and Nº 5 in the United States, and "Rock and a Hard Place", the band's last Top-40 hit in the US. Critics were generally lukewarm towards the album, exemplified by Stephen Thomas Erlewine: 'It doesn't make for a great Stones album, but it's not bad, and it feels like a comeback.'

 The queen of the Nile

She laid on her throne

And she was drifting downstream

On a barge that was burnished with gold

Royal purple the sails

So sweetly perfumed

And poor Mark Antony's

Senses were drowned

And his future was doomed

 

He was blinded by love

The Philistines paid

For Samson's blind rage

The secrets that two lovers share

Should never have been betrayed

 

He was blinded by love

He was blinded by love

 

Now it's no use crying or weeping

You better lock up your soul for safe keeping

Promise me

The poor Prince of Wales

He gave up his crown

All for the trivial pursuit of

A parvenu second-hand lady

So lovers beware

If you lose your heart

Careful now, don't lose your mind

Don't mortgage your soul to a stranger

 

Don't be blinded by love

Don't be blinded by love

 

Blinded by love

Blinded by love.