“Perhaps Love” is a song that John Denver wrote and recorded as a duet with Plácido Domingo. The song appeared on Domingo’s 1981 album of the same title. “Perhaps Love” is the only song on the album with Denver’s vocals alongside Domingo’s. Denver also appears on the album’s cover version of his composition “Annie’s Song”, where he accompanies Domingo on guitar. Released as a single with “Annie’s Song” on the B side, “Perhaps Love” peaked at #22 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart and #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982.  Remaining in print, the song sold almost four million copies by 2008.

“Perhaps Love” was addressed to Denver’s wife Annie Martell (the eponym of his #1 hit “Annie’s Song“) while they were separated and moving towards a divorce. In an interview the day after Denver’s death in 1997, Annie said that this was her favorite song of his, rather than “Annie’s Song” (which she also said she enjoyed).

Have a great week!

“Believe in Me” is the title of a popular song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg.  The song appears on Fogelberg’s eighth studio album Windows and Walls (1984).

When “Believe in Me” was recorded in May 1983, Fogelberg handled most of the musical creation himself, playing guitar and bass as well as recording his vocals; musician Mike Hanna (who played acoustic guitar on the track) was the only other performer in the studio.  Fogelberg later described the song in the liner notes to a retrospective album: “One of my best love songs. Written at my old house in Nederland, Colorado, while building the ranch. Obviously, all was not well.”

A serious oldie!

“The House of the Rising Sun” is a traditional folk song (), sometimes called “Rising Sun Blues”. It tells of a person’s life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans ( (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans))). Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band the Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart ( (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Animals (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Singles_Chart))) and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the “first folk rock (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_of_the_Rising_Sun#cite_note-the_age-1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_rock)))

The song was first collected in Appalachia () in the 1930s, but probably has its roots in traditional English folk song ( (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_folk_music))). It is listed as number 6393 () in the Roud Folk Song Index

The photographs have faded now

Those memories from my past

But the love remains within them still

And that shall forever last

These beloved treasures packed away

In a box upon the shelf

To be opened on a pensive day

When I want to find myself

When I wish to remember who I am

And how I came to be

Those faces come to life once more

They are a truth that I can see

As I hold each image in my hand

And I will them back to me

My heart is filled with a silent ache

For I know that can never be

So back into that wooden coffin

With brass hinges lock and key

I gently replace my memories

Laid to rest for eternity

SCW 03/19

New take on an old song…

It wouldn’t be Christmas without…

Apparently, I haven’t quite gotten into the holiday spirit, yet…maybe next week…