As some of you might have read, I was learning Johnny Cash's "Ive been everywhere" and was finding it imossible to remember the lyrics, as half the places I'd never heard of.
SO, on the advice of Dave Nukem (thanks mate!) I decided to go ahead and rewrite it using places in the UK.
For those who know the song, it would be great to hear what you think about the flow and the structure; does it work? are the rhymes a bit off?
I've been everywhere (in the UK)
I was dragging my suitcase along the rain-soaked East London roads
When along came a cabbie with a black cab and the “free†sign showed
If you're heading to East Victoria mate with me you can ride
And so I climbed into the cab and then I settled down inside
He asked me if I'd seen a road with so much trash and rain
And I said listen: I've travelled up and down this rain soaked plain
CHORUS:
I've been everywhere man I've been everywhere man
Crossed the borders, swear man, I breathed the mountain air man
Of travel I've had my share man I've been everywhere
I've been to:
Luton Oxford Dunstable Bedfordshire Liverpool Manchester Ormskirk Lancashire
Birmingham Brighton Overbury Skelmersdale
Krikby Shrewsbury St Helens Harbordale
Haywood Claverdon MoretonMarsh Knowle Village
Quentington North Oat's Lands End John O Groats
Chorus
I've been to:
Newbold TumbridgeWells Gatwick Ponteberym Edinburgh Gatwick Euston Pittenmeanum
Pickingham Walterslade Whitley Bay Downham Market
Southport northport eastport Lanholm Market
Lakenheath Barton Hills EatonHeath Woodenache
St Ives St Clives Isle of Ives all the times
Chorus
I've been to:
Isle of Man Ickston Ladybank Abersford Westminster Layenham Sanderseed Steeple Mord
Pickingham Earlswood BakerStreet Portsmouth
Harleston Oldenham Pontefract Exemouth
Peterlee Titchfield Backwoth Yettington
Watford Verwood Fleetward O my Lord
Chorus
I've been to:
Frampton Cotteral Jedaburgh EnfieldGreen Kingslynne Rexburg Redding DenhamGreen
Duxford Snowdon Dinington Dockalow
Shafsbry Aberdeen Oldham Oxenhope
Otterburn Urmston Ladbroke Herringbity
SouthShields Salisbury Sanderstead every City!
Chorus
I've been everywhere
Thanks in advance :D
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
Hi Pete
This is very kool , but are you sure that hasn't been before ?
I am only asking because there is a Australian version listing towns in OZ ..
I have only heard of about 1/8 of these places , but thats' kool as I have never been to your part of the world ..
Trevor :idea:
Here is to you as good as you are
And here is to me as bad as I am
As good as you are and as bad as I am
I'm as good as you are as bad as I am
Trev, this started on another thread - Chris C posted the original lyrics, and yes they were all Australian place names, and fun to read too....
Pete, I like the re-write - nice slant on the original - you could've mentioned Newton-le-Willows or Earlestown though (the names are virtually, though not quite interchangeable....) - exactly half-way between Liverpool and Manchester..... ah well at least you got St Helens in.....
Seriously, I like it - it's got a good rhythm to it.....
Only thing I'd have looked for would have been a few contrasts....
"I've been to East Ham West Ham Northampton Southampton...."
or "Newton, Oldbury, King's Cross, Queensferry".....
or a play on words...."Manchester, Colchester, Chesterfield and Winchester"
something along those lines?
Maybe we should suggest this to Bob for an SSG assignment.....?
Couple of typo's - bound to creep in with so many names ....
Krikby....Kirkby?
Tonbridge Wells
Exmouth
Fleetward? Fleetwood....?
You could have a lot of fun playing around with this for a long time.....
:D :D :D
Vic
Darn - now I've got to go and buy an atlas......
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
ah, yes there are a few typos in there Vic..well caught!
As for the SSG assignment, it would be interesting to see that people came up with...
Oh, and although I had the good intention of making the UK version so it was easier to remember, its proving to be no such thing.....maybe the problem is my memory, not the song! :lol:
Pete
ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"
What you need is a mnemonic - something like "Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain" for the colours of the rainbow....trouble is, with a song this long, you'd need another mnemonic to remember the original mnemonic.....
I notice you started with Luton and a couple of places close to home - easy enough - then Liverpool and Manchester, and Ormskirk is easy enough for YOU to remember.... then you've got to try to group places together in some kind of context....
For example - I've done a lot of research on Lancashire County Cricket Club - the number of Lancashire cricketers who share their names with Lancashire towns is pretty high, Atherton, Tyldesley, etc.....
What you need to do is find towns that are linked in some way - maybe 4 or 8 - that's one line - then another 4 or eight towns that mean something to you...and group them together....
When I was a teenager, I bet my dad I could remember the 92 football league clubs in alphabetical order - took me about a week,, then another week to learn their grounds....still refresh my knowledge from time to time to keep up to date, but I still remember when Barrow played at Holker Street, Sunderland played at Roker Park and I know Luton still play at Kenilworth Road.....
More recently, me and a mate used to go to a pub quiz - he's the same age as me, pushing 50 - we noticed every week there was a question on the phonetic alphabet, so Dave learned that - and morse code while he was at it....I learned the 50 states of the USA in Alphabetical order, plus State Capitals....that was another one that came up a lot....
You just have to find a way of linking them.....
I may just have a go at re-writing this song myself, just for fun....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
