Lady Sheherazahde's Journal

Gloria Gaynor "I Am What I Am"
(Written by Jerry Herman)

I am what I am.
I am my own special creation.
So, come take a look,
Give me the hook, Or the ovation.
It's my world, that I want to have a little pride in.
My world, and it's not a place I have to hide in.
Life's not worth a damn
Till I can say "I am what I am"

I am what I am.
I don't want praise. I don't want pity.
I bang my own drum.
Some think it's noise. I think it's pretty.
And so what if I love each sparkle and each bangle?
Why not try to see things from a different angle?
Your life is a sham
Till you can shout out "I am what I am"

I am what I am.
And what I am needs no excuses.
I deal my own deck.
Sometimes the ace, sometimes the deuces.
It's one life and there's no return and no deposit.
One life, so it's time to open up your closet.
Life's not worth a damn.
Till you can shout out "I am what I am"

I am I am I am good
I am I am I am strong
I am I am I am worthy
I am I am I belong

I am I am I am useful
I am I am I am true
I am I am somebody
I am as good as you

It takes a lifetime
To become the best that we can be.
We have not the time or the right
To judge each other.
Its one life and there's no return and no deposit
One life, so make sure you like what's in your closet

The Dyslexic Speedreaders performing "My Dick" by Mickey Avalon on Tom Green Live (big surprize there)



( Lyrics to *My Dick* )

Which inspired "My Puss" performed by Maureen and Angela, lyrics by Margaret Cho, Diana Yanez and Kurt Hall.
Music by Kurt Hall. Directed by Margaret Cho. Shot on location by Lorene Machado. Featuring Margaret Cho and Diana Yanez as Maureen and Angela, also starring Kurt Hall, Princess Farhana, Ian Harvie, Nancy Kissam, Vivian Marie Varela, and Kara Stephens, cameo by Gudrun (Margaret Cho's dog)



I think this is yet another example of how derivative work can be superior to the source material.

Lyrics to "My Puss"
( Read more... )

"Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen

I heard this song recently on "Criminal Minds" and had to find it. It appears that the version I heard was by Jeff Buckley. Other popular versions are by Rufus Wainwright and John Cale. I don't like the timbre of John Cale's voice. I prefer the Jeff Buckley version. It "plucks my heart strings". I literally feel a vibration in my torso when I listen to it.

Rufus Wainwright pronounces "you" like "you" and not "ya" which means that in his version "do you" does not rhyme (or resonate) with "Hallelujah". The resonance between the lines is big part of the power of the song. (The aabccb rhyme scheme is consistent throughout the song) Some of the cover artists don't seem to understand the power of "the minor fall" and "the major lift" either.

I had never heard of Leonard Cohen until the NPR interview with him Songwriter Leonard Cohen Discusses Fame, Poetry and Getting Older NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Originally Aired: June 28, 2006

When someone says "Canadian poet and singer-songwriter" I think Bruce Cockburn

feathered's List of Cover Versions
List of many versions of this song
Hallelujah (song) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah": what does it mean

They say that there are 15 verses But I have only found ( Seven )

1. Take the lyrics to a favorite song.
2. Go to Google Language Tools and translate the lyrics into German; then from German to French; and finally from French back into English.
3. Post the results verbatim.
4. Invite your friends to guess the song based on the newly mangled lyrics.

( My song, both translation and original )