The strings & mandolin ~ the entire tune sounds like that bottle of wine in the morning, soothing my head 😎 The final song from "5" (1979). Enjoy the full album on my channel right here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGqwxbtX2PTaYVYYcwBKdqnZ I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics below)

Mona, she comes in the morning
She brings me a bottle of wine
She comes to my bed, soothes up my head
Makes me feel alright
Makes me feel alright

Mona, she comes on a Friday
She stays in to the night
Mona, she comes to my bedroom
To keep my spirits high
To keep my spirits high

Mona, she brings me no money
She brings me no food
All she brings is her sweet, sweet love
Makes my afternoon
Makes my afternoon

When daylight falls from my window
Another night's come and gone
I always know 'cause I'm feeling so low
Mona, you know she has gone
Mona, you know she has gone

When daylight falls from my window
Another night's come and gone
I always know 'cause I'm feeling so low
Mona, you know she has gone
Mona, you know she has gone

Songwriters: J. J. Cale
Mona lyrics © Audigram Songs Inc.

From their incredible debut album "Can't Buy A Thrill" (1972). This album, despite Aja & others, has remained as popular as ever. There's some dispute over whether the lyrics are tied into the Nixon era. And when they state that there's "no political significance" involved, it's Fagen & Becker, after all! 🤔 I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics & info below).

Now they lay, his body down
Sad old men, who run this town
I still recall the way he led the charge and saved the day
Blue blood and rain
I can hear, the bugle playin'

We've seen the last of good, King Richard
Ring out the past, his name lives on and on
Roll out the bones and raise up your pitcher
Raise up your glass to good King John (uh-huh)

While he plundered, far and wide
All his starving, children cried
And though we, sung his fame
We all went hungry, just the same
He meant to shine
To the end of the line

We've seen the last of good, King Richard
Ring out the past, his name lives on and on
Roll out the bones and raise up your pitcher
Raise up your glass to good King John

And though we, sung his fame
We all went hungry, just the same
He meant to shine
To the end of the line

We've seen the last of good, King Richard
Ring out the past, his name lives on and on
Roll out the bones and raise up your pitcher
Raise up your glass to good King John
Raise up your glass to good King John
Raise up your glass to good King John

Songwriters: Walter Carl Becker / Donald Jay Fagen
Kings lyrics © American Broadcasting Music, Inc., Red Giant Music Inc, Red Giant, Inc.

Guitar solo by Elliot Randall
Vocals by Donald Fagen

The band was originally a six-piece consisting of Fagen, Becker, David Palmer (vocals), Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar), Denny Dias (guitar) and Jim Hodder (drums), but by 1975, only Fagen and Becker remained.

I picked this one over "Kings' tonight. I love their debut album, but this one won for the musicianship & funkiness today. It's a guitar kind of day & this has it all. Pick your favourite solo. It's a song in which the lyrics are merely there to add atmosphere. "Cold, daring, no flies on me." That's enough to get things rolling. Enjoy the full album on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGrvWkpL8_85c3STuNv6d3Cz I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe, Thank you. (Lyrics & info below).

Cold, daring
No flies on me
Sorry, angel
I must take what I see

Green earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind

Greek medallion
Sparkles when you smile
Sorry, angel
I get hungry like a child

Green earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind
I don't mind

Green earrings
I remember
The rings of rare design
I remember
The look in your eyes
I don't mind
I don't mind

Songwriters: Walter Carl Becker / Donald Jay Fagen
Green Earrings lyrics © Mca Music Publishing, A.d.o. Universal S

Donald Fagen – vocals, synthesizer.
Elliot Randall – electric guitar.
Larry Carlton – electric guitar.
Chuck Rainey – bass.
Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals.
Paul Griffin – Clavinet.
Dan Grolnick – Fender Rhodes.
Bernard Purdie – drums.

[What is the difference between a Clavinet and a piano?
The clavinet is like a piano. It makes sounds like an electric guitar. A clavinet has hammers with rubber pads that hits strings to make sounds. Pianos have hammers with felt pads, and they have bigger strings.] ~ Wiki

Their first hit single from 1974 written by Hodgson when he was 19. The song that launched Supertramp & this amazing album. It's deep as well. I've been the kind of dreamer he's writing about here, and it made a heck of a mess! It's brilliantly crafted with the music backing the lyrics perfectly right down to the musical box sounding glockenspiel outro. The back & forth between Hodgson & Davies is another stroke of genius. I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. I'll put the lyrics & info in the description. This is one of Hodgson's fave top 10 songs that he wrote. I can understand why. So much expressed immaculately in three & a half minutes.

Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer
Well, can you put your hands in your head? Oh no!
I said, dreamer, you're nothing but a dreamer
Well, can you put your hands in your head? Oh no!

I said, "Far out, what a day, a year, a life it is!"
You know, well, you know you had it comin' to you
Now there's not a lot I can do

Dreamer, you stupid little dreamer
So, now you put your head in your hands, oh no!
Woo!

I said "Far out. What a day, a year, a life it is!"
You know, well, you know you had it comin' to you
Now there's not a lot I can do

Well, work it out someday
If I could see something
You can see anything you want, boy
If I could be someone
You can be anyone, celebrate, boy
Well, if I could do something
You can do something
If I could do anything
Can you do something out of this world?
Take a dream on a Sunday
Take a life, take a holiday
Take a lie, take a dreamer
Dream, dream, dream, dream
Dream along
Dreamer, come on and dream and dream along
Come on and dream and dream along (a little)
Dreamer, come on and dream and dream along
Come on and dream and dream along

Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer
Well, can you put your hands in your head? Oh no!
I said, dreamer, you're nothing but a dreamer
Well, can you put your hands in your head? Oh no!
Oh no!

Lyrics: Roger Hodgson

"This song is about a guy with big dreams who is incapable of acting on them, so they never come true. As was custom with Supertramp, it was credited to their founding members Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson, who wrote separately but shared composer credits. "Dreamer" was written by Hodgson, who also sang lead. When Songfacts asked Roger in 2012 if he was a dreamer, he replied: "I am, and I definitely was even more back then. I was a teenager, I had many dreams. And I feel very blessed that a lot of them came true. But that song flew out of me one day. We had just bought our first Wurlitzer piano, and it was the first time I'd been alone with a Wurlitzer piano back down in my mother's house. I set it up and I was so excited that that song just flew out of me."
The original demo for this song had the band banging cardboard boxes and electric fires and anything that clanged. Though there are some drums in the final mix, Supertramp wanted to duplicate the tempo of their demo, so there are also some cardboard boxes being struck somewhere in the mix." ~ Songfacts

The first single from Into "The Great Wide Open". It always reminds me of The Traveling Wilburys for pretty obvious reasons 🙂 He wrote fantastic deep cuts with The Heartbreakers, but had an uncanny ability to write hit songs that reached a very wide audience (this one's written with Jeff Lynne).
Enjoy his greatest hits album on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGpGNUNMdaFeRTRfSbb2EMGB I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics & song info below).

Well, I started out down a dirty road
Started out all alone
And the sun went down as I crossed the hill
And the town lit up, the world got still

I'm learning to fly but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

Well, the good old days may not return
And the rocks might melt and the sea may burn

I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly)
But I ain't got wings (Learning to fly)
Coming down (Learning to fly)
Is the hardest thing (Learning to fly)

Well, some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I've started out for God knows where
I guess I'll know when I get there

I'm learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up (Learning to fly)
Must come down

I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly)
But I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

I'm learning to fly (Learning to fly)
Around the clouds
But what goes up (learning to fly)
Must come down

I'm learning to fly (learning to fly, learning to fly)
I'm learning to fly (learning to fly, learning to fly)
(Learning to fly, learning to fly)

Songwriters: Tom Petty / Jeff Lynne
Learning to Fly lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Gone Gator Music.

["Learning to Fly" is a song by American rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. It was written in 1991 by Tom Petty and his writing partner Jeff Lynne for the band's eighth studio album, Into the Great Wide Open (1991). The entire song is based on four simple chords, (F, C, A minor, and G). Released in June 1991 by MCA, it became a top hit for Petty and the Heartbreakers, topping the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.] ~ Wiki

This is something of a fan favourite from "Grasshopper". A lot more tracks than usual to savor on this release. More polished & crisper production. The vocals are brighter. I like "City Girls", but many found it a tad commercial (JJ can hardly be accused of that!). Enjoy the full album on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGpGGrzZYGIDRNMN9WyCQhXg I am not paid by Youtube, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics below).

Looky here, we got a thing going on
Never fear, we got a thing going on
Ain't nothing to it
Got to get down and do it
I tell you the truth
Ain't jivin' you

Lord, Lord, we got a thing going on
Looky here, we got a thing going on

Something in this place
It's on every face
It's catching fever
You just can't leave her

Looky here, we got a thing going on
Never fear, we got a thing going on

What we gonna do?
We're gonna roll through
Do it right, keep it light

Lord, Lord, we got a thing going on
Looky here, we got a thing going on
Never fear, we got a thing going on

Massive Attack's 3rd album "Mezzanine" was created under duress, but sent them into the stratosphere. Is there a top 500 albums list without this on it? This song's lyrics are derived from Horace Andy's own song "She Is My Angel". I'll put a link to MA's own official page for this song & its development, etc., in the description. The image of "The Haserot Angel" from the Lakeview Cemetery (Cleveland, OH.) somehow felt right for the song. I am not paid by YouTube, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics & more info below).
https://massiveattack.ie/info/angel

You are my angel
Come from way above
To bring me love (To bring me love)
Her eyes
She's on the dark side
Neutralize
Every man in sight
Love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you...
You are my angel
Come from way above
Love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you...

Lyrics: Robert Del Naja ,Horace Hinds, Grantley Marshall, Andrew Vowles.

["Angel" is a song by English trip hop group Massive Attack, featuring the vocals and songwriting from Horace Andy, and is partially based on Andy's song "You Are My Angel". It was released as the third single from their third studio album, Mezzanine (1998), on 13 July 1998.[1] "Angel" peaked at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart.] ~ Wiki

[Mezzanine is the third studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 20 April 1998 by Circa and Virgin Records. For the album, the group began to explore a darker aesthetic, and focused on a more atmospheric style influenced by British post-punk, industrial music, hip hop and dub music.

Mezzanine topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, becoming the group's most commercially successful album to date. It has appeared on multiple "best albums" lists, and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. The album spawned four singles, "Risingson", "Teardrop", "Angel" and "Inertia Creeps", which also variously charted in the United Kingdom.] ~ Wiki

"CLEVELAND’S LAKEVIEW CEMETERY CONTAINS OVER 100,000 graves, including those of presidents and business moguls. However, its most striking grave marker may be the unsettling statue known as Haserot’s Angel.
Actually named “The Angel of Death Victorious,” the stoic angel is seated on the marble gravestone of canning entrepreneur Francis Haserot and his family. The life-size bronze holds an extinguished torch upside-down, a symbol of life extinguished. Her wings are outstretched and she gazes straight ahead." ~ https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-haserot-angel-cleveland-ohio

One that sort of slipped through the cracks due to confusion with "Katy Kool Lady" & its placement on later versions of "5". But this is just too sweet to be overlooked. It was also released on "Rewind" . Enjoy the complete "5" album on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGqwxbtX2PTaYVYYcwBKdqnZ I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe. Thank you 🙂 (Lyrics & info below)

I sure do miss you babe
You know it's been a while
Way too long since you been gone
I'm almost out of style

You treat me kind and gentle
You're always on my mind
A love that's true I keep for you
Until the end of time

Someday you've got to come back
Stay with me a while
I'll take some time to make you mine
And keep you out of style

Songwriters: Christine Lakeland / J. J. Cale
Katy Cool Lady lyrics © BMG Rights Management

[5 is the fifth studio album by J. J. Cale. Released in 1979, it was his first album in three years. When the album was re-issued on CD, "Katy Kool Lady" was replaced by a new song listed as "Out of Style," though it was still listed as the former on the CD. "Out of Style" is also included on the 2007 album Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings under its proper title.] ~ Wiki

I'm pretty sure that David Briggs plays the piano on "Out Of Style" although the track is not included on the musical credits for "5".

One might not want this as a dedication 😉. I love it as is, but a decent translation helped it along for me. The title is clearly derived from the ballad by John Keats except that she had no "Merci" ~ a far worse fate! Mercury Falling is my personal favourite by Sting. Enjoy it all on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGofWirE2tKJLRhVXEQncojB I am not paid by YouTube, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics & info, & a nice translation below).

Dansons tu dis
Et moi, je suis
Mes pas sont gauches
Mes pieds tu fauches
Je crains les sots
Je cherche en vain les mots
Pour m'expliquer ta vie, alors

Tu ments, ma Soeur
Tu brises mon coeur
Je pense, tu sais
Erreurs, jamais
J'ecoute, tu parles
Je ne comprends pas bien
La belle dame sans regrets [x2]

Je pleure, tu ris
Je chante, tu cries
Tu semes les graines
D'une mauvaise chaîne
Mon blé s'envole
Tu en a ras le bol
J'attends, toujours
Mes cris sont sourds

Songwriters: Dominic Miller / Gordon Sumner
La Belle Dame Sans Regrets lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

This translation is just one that I felt was a bit more flowing than many of the literal efforts that are out there. No one's "mowing" his feet, etc. If someone can provide a better one, that would be very welcome 🙂

You say "lets dance"
And I oblige
My moves are gauche
My feet you crush
I fear the fools
I search in vain for words
How to describe your life, and so
Oh sis', you lie
My heart - you break
I think you know
But, no mistakes
I listen, you speak
But I don't understand
This Beauty with no regrets

I cry - you laugh
I sing - you shout
Wrong tree will grow
From seeds you sow
Wind takes my wheat
You are fed up
Forever I wait
My cries are mute
Oh sis', you lie
My heart - you break
I think you know
But, no mistakes
I listen, you speak
But I don't understand
This Beauty with no regrets

[Author's comments:
Just a revision, really, to make it sound a bit more poetic, rather than just a dry translation.]

There is a beautiful instrumental cover by Chris Botti (trumpet) that's well worth a listen as well.

The intro & the raunchy bass have always made this a fave for me. The meaning is anyone's guess. Addiction within a relationship? I just like the term "Monkey In Your Soul". Another example of great musicianship coupled with intriguing lyrics that work together perfectly. Enjoy Pretzel Logic on my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGibfZATlGr4zeqz9JGdCBp6KWukdTOm I am not paid by YT, so please like & subscribe. Thank you. (Lyrics below).

I got one and you want four
It's so hard to help you
I can't keep up with you no more
And you treat me like it's a sin
But you can't lock me in
You want me here with you right to the end
No thank you my friend

I fear the monkey in your soul

Won't you turn that bebop down?
I can't hear my heart beat
Where's that fatback chord I found?
But honey don't you think it was wrong
To interrupt my song?
I'll pack my things and run so far from here
Goodbye dear

I fear the monkey in your soul

Songwriters: Donald Jay Fagen / Walter Carl Becker
Monkey in Your Soul lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group