I have just had a few days of re-listening to the glorious Siouxsie and the Banshees after several years of putting them to one side. What was I thinking?
Aside from the majestic back catalogue of fine, fine tunes – I find myself even more impressed by the way she can mangle words to unimaginable flexibility. Take this song here – Cities in Dust – the chorus goes “your city lies in dust” but she turns it into “yowuh siyteah lies in duurwoohoost”. And it works.
I am not looking for a funny accent – I am wondering if there is anyone as good as her at doing this kind of thing?
I’d say, off the top of my head, that Andy Partridge used to do a lot of this kind of thing.
Listen to Science Friction with a lyric sheet beside you and marvel and the whole word-mangling splendosity.
James Dean Bradfield
Tori Amos, most songs, but especially ‘Welcome to England’.
Do a dance for me, baby, it is late still you pour me, A tall one, go on,
=
Do a deyance, for me, baby it is lights, to ‘ell you pour me, Ah don’ wann, go-ah on,
I still love it.
Yoooove binnnn takinnnn yawn tahmmm un yoooooove bin livinnnn on zahliddd airrrrr.
John Martyn.
Alison Goldfrapp – Tales Of Us.
Oh, I love that record, but there’s breathy, slightly woozy vocals Alison, and there’s what? what?
As in “i’mdrowftingindeepursin’ What? What? Oh, I’m drifting in, deeper still.
Into the valley…..”This disease is cat’s skin”…it actually made more sense than the original lyrics.
“Juicy men embalmed her”
all time word mangling champion.
All together now ‘Europe has a language problem’ Jim kerr no stranger to the mangled sentence.
With a master mangler it can be difficult to know what language they are singing in.
Which, if your lyrics are crap, can be a great asset.