Song of the Day: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly — Main Theme (composed by Ennio Morricone)


Today’s song of the day is the main theme from Leone’s best-known film, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Ennio Morricone’s score is as much of a character in this film as the ones played by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef.  It perfectly sets the moods, telling us that we’re about to see something that is truly epic.  The opening notes, which have so often been parodied but which have never lost their power, truly capture the feel of Sergio Leone’s mythical vision of the old west.

Song of the Day: My Way, performed by Christopher Lee


A lot of people have sung this song, from Paul Anka to Frank Sinatra to Sid Viscous and Jay-Z.

Christopher Lee’s version remains my favorite.

… And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

… Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

… Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all, and I stood tall
And did it my way

… I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, oh, no, not me
I did it my way

… For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

… Yes, it was my way

Songwriters: Paul Anka / Gilles Thibaut / Claude Francois / Jacques Revaux

Song of the Day: Take California by The Propellerheads


“Take California.”

Today’s song of the day is a classic.  Released in 1996, the Propellerheads’s Take California is one of the essential big beat songs.  It was used to good effect in Any Given Sunday.  Was it the song playing when that football player lost his eye?  I really don’t remember.  It should have been, though.

The voices in this song belong to Richard Nixon and comedian (and Lyndon Johnson imitator) Earle Doud.

 

Song of the Day: Somebody Has To Pay by Susie Van Der Meer


Today’s song of the day comes from the soundtrack of 1998’s Run, Lola, Run.

Whisper my darling
I didn’t have the time to say goodbye to you
Flow into silence
My mouth is full of blood and my mind is too
And my mind is too

And you see me walking miles away
Somebody has to pay
And you see me walking miles away
I’m gonna take your pain with me

Golden reunion
I will always wait for you to be with me
Secrets in heaven
I’ll complete the mission if you want me to

And you see me walking miles away
Somebody has to pay
And you see me walking miles away
I’m gonna take your pain

And you see me walking miles away
Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay

Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay