By Noodsy
When the Landlord offered me a choice of topics, I wavered before selecting Everything. “Why not?” I thought. As Tegan and Sara (featuring The Lonely Island) sing, Everything is Awesome.
An ironic pop song about blithely living in a dream should have given me pause. The recommenders gave it their all: they threw in the lot, the whole kit and caboodle; they gave the world and, if that was not enough, the universe. After nearly three hundred nominations, I was down to a longlist of over fifty. I must admit I began to conclude that, maybe, Everything is too much. Perhaps The Decemberists are right: Everything is Awful.
Let us survey the evidence. The object of your affection may be Everything. In that case, you are either too scared to even ask them out, as The Police describe in Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, or you feel so inadequate that you accept “just a taste of love”, as The Real Thing experience in You To Me Are Everything.
Once you are in a committed relationship, Everything does not necessarily get any better. I Can Only Give You Everything, as Them attest, but what happens if that is not enough? In Everything She Wants by Wham!, the gulf in a marriage between what can be given and what is needed is unbridgeable.
Everything Happens to Me sings Samara Joy. That has to be a good thing, does it not? In reality, it is a catalogue of mishaps and misfortunes. According to Gillian Welch, Everything is Free. Presumably, that’s a positive? No, it just means artists cannot afford to make a living. Billie Eilish gets Everything I Wanted. That must be wonderful? No, it is “a nightmare”. Lole y Manuel in Todo es de Color capture it well when they recount that Everything is coloured by sorrow and by suffering.
But they do not leave it at that. “Que grite la flor / Y que se calle el cardo” - “Let the flower scream / And the thistle shut up” is their prayer. Perhaps, that is through accepting, like Teenage Fanclub do, that Everything Flows. Perhaps you live in the moment and experience Everything, like Underworld appear to in Cowgirl, or maybe, as Bebel Gilberto does in Tudo, you both forget Everything and enjoy “Nosso tudo qualquer hora” -“Our everything at any time”.
The Aggregated A-List:
Everything is Awesome - Tegan and Sara feat The Lonely Island (Marconius7)
Everything is Awful - The Decemberists (Fred Erikson)
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - The Police (amylee)
You to Me are Everything - The Real Thing (Loud Atlas)
I Can Only Give You Everything - Them (Nicko)
Everything She Wants - Wham! (amylee)
Everything Happens to Me - Samara Joy (untergunther)
Everything is Free - Gillian Welch (Uncleben)
Everything I Wanted - Billie Eilish (Loud Atlas)
Todo es de Color - Lole y Manuel (Maki)
Everything Flows - Teenage Fanclub (ParaMhor)
Cowgirl - Underworld (swawilg)
Tudo - Bebel Gilberto (pejepeine)
The Be One with Everything B-List:
Everything Must Go - Manic Street Preachers (Suzi)
Lick My Decals Off, Baby - Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band (George Boyland)
Everything I Own - Ken Boothe (Nicko)
You've Got Everything Now - The Smiths (amylee)
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything - Bauhaus (vanwolf2)
My First, My Last, My Everything - Barry White (amylee)
ELT - Wilco (happyclapper)
Everything's Been Leading to This - Panda Bear and Sonic Boom (Mussolini Headkick)
Everything You Say Will Destroy You - The Auteurs (Uncleben)
She's Got Everything - The Kinks (Nicko)
The Whole Shebang - Grant Lee Buffalo (Nicko)
Tout Oublier - Angèle ft Roméo Elvis (Uncleben)
Everything Must Change - Quincy Jones (pejepeine)
Plus The Kitchen Sink Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
Everything’s Alright When You’re Down – The Jesus and Mary Chain
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations in response to last week's topic: Nothing? No, it's only ... songs about 'everything'. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Fancy a turn behind the pumps at The Song Bar? Care to choose a playlist from songs nominated and write something about it? Then feel free to contact The Song Bar here, or try the usual email address. Also please follow us social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: