Original_To:  ALLM
Original_cc:  OLIVOTTO
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 09:11:00 N
From:         "OUT,
              OUT - YOU'LL NOT FEEL THE FALL-OUT..." <OLIVOTTO@ITNCISCA.BITNET>
Subject:      Tim Buckley vs Laurie Freelove

Hi all,
     I  have a funny story to tell today...  and  quite  puzzling
too, IMHO.
     Shortly:  yesterday I was finally able to lay my hands on  a
CD I'd been looking for something like three years  ("Starsailor"
by  Tim  Buckley -- *smooches* to Rachel who nailed it  down  for
me!).  Having no time to listen to it at home, I played it in the
car   while  driving  up  the  mountain  to  see  my   girlfriend
(perennially on holiday! :) ).
     When the index reached no. 5, I had no problem recognising a
quite famous (well, relatively) song, namely "Song To The Siren",
which  I already knew in two versions (by _This Mortal Coil_  and
_Laurie Freelove_). I like that tune a lot, so I hit the skipback
button  twice.   At  the  3rd  pass  I  started  to  feel  a  bit
uncomfortable  with  it...  since my feelers are  always  up  for
lyrics,  and though I could not remember Freelove's words,  I had
the impression that they sounded -- well, different.
     When  I  got home I compared the written  versions  of  both
songs,  only to find out a very strange thing:  Laurie Freelove's
lyrics  *sound* similar to Buckley's,  but they *are*  definitely
different. I would like you to judge: here's a comparison of what
the  two  booklets report (and what the  artists  actually  sing,
too).  Please take a minute and read carefully.  On the left, the
original version by Buckley -- Freelove on the right. An '=' sign
on the right means the lines are identical:

Long afloat on shipless oceans     | On the floating shipless ocean
I did all my best to smile         | =
'Til your singing eyes and fingers | =
Drew me loving to your isle        | Drew me lovingly to your isles
And you sang                       | =
Sail to me, sail to me             | =
Let me enfold you                  | Come let me enfold you
Here I am, here I am               | =
Waiting to hold you                | =

Did I dream you dreamed about me?  | Did I dream, you dreamed about me
Were you hare when I was fox?      | Were you there when I was forced out?
Now my foolish boat is leaning     | =
Broken lovelorn on your rocks      | Broken love upon your rocks
For you sing                       | And you sang
Touch me not, touch me not         | =
Come back tomorrow                 | =
O my heart, o my heart             | All my heart, all my heart
Shies from the sorrow              | Shattered with sorrow

I'm as puzzled as the newborn child| =
I'm as riddled as the tide         | =
Should I stand amid the breakers?  | =
Should I lie with Death my bride?  | Or should I lie with death my bride
Hear me sing                       | =
Swim to me, swim to me             | Sail to me, sail to me
Let me enfold you                  | =
Here I am, here I am               | =
Waiting to hold you                | =

     Personally,  I find this incredible. Both songs are credited
to Tim Buckley and Larry Beckett,  but it's like Laurie  Freelove
has  tried to get the lyrics from the record and made some  quite
relevant mistakes.
     The  line "were you hare when I was fox" is  funnily  turned
into, ahem, something different :).
     As you know I'm neither English nor American,  so -- in your
opinion -- can a lyric be *so* difficult to catch that the  words
are all messed up?  I can't quite believe this,  since I was able
to "feel" there were differences between the two  versions.  And,
since  "hare"  turns into "there" and "fox"  into  "forced  out",
"swim" into "sail",  "long afloat on" into "on the floating" it's
an evident attempt to make the words sound like the original.
     Or  do I conclude that (heee heee!) my ear is  more  trained
than Laurie Freelove's? :) :)

     Ciao, Marco
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