By Severin
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” – William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” – George Orwell
Well then, there are some of the classic quotations on the subject of trust. For some reason (that entirely escapes me) the songs I have chosen this week seem to give a mostly negative account of the topic. Not entirely, I’m glad to say. The beginning and end are quite positive. Some wholesome bread on either side of a dire warnings sandwich.
The songs in the A-list go back to 1937 and up to 2006. The basic issues don’t seem to have changed that much in seventy-odd years. We just find new ways of stating them. Rock, blues, ska, folk, electronic. You either want to be trusted or you suspect that other people can’t be. Or you’re quite keen on dust. Maybe that one should have been the theme music for His Dark Materials. Anyway…
Here is the abbreviated message for those who are pushed for time right now.
“Do you doubt my adoration? Have no fear. Have the faith I have in you.”
“You don’t believe a word I say. We can’t go on much longer with suspicious minds.”
“You didn’t want love, you wanted money.“
“I put my faith in God and my trust in you. Now there’s nothing more fucked up I can do. I wish there was something real, wish there was something true.”
“I know you'll only say a thing you believe to be true, but there are people in this world who don't think like you do.”
“Don’t tell me I’m your man, I will only let you down.”
“I trust you to kill me.”
“Slowly and surely, your senses will cease to resist.”
“Man to man is unjust.”
“Or you could trust yourself and trust others too. The truth shall set you free is what I hear them say and to my sweet surprise it does work out that way.”
“Just trust in me like I trust in you. As long as we’ve been together it should be so easy to do.”
“In dust we trust.”
I trust this makes things clear.
Almost double length B-list (again) I’m afraid. Sorry Marco. I’m just no good at throwing things out. All nominations were welcomed. My attempts to name the nominators are subject to correction if anyone feels they have been cheated. I won’t have done it on purpose. Trust me. No, really, you can…….
Assurance A-List Playlist:
Mildred Bailey – Trust In me (Nicko)
Fine Young Cannibals – Suspicious Minds (attwilightlarks)
Lotte Lenya – Surabaya Johnny (Marconius7)
Nine Inch Nails – Wish (HappyClapper)
Karine Polwart – Daisy (Suzi)
Inspiral Carpets (ft John Cooper Clarke) – Let You Down (Shoegazer)
Rocco DeLuca and the Burden – I Trust You to Kill Me (Uncleben)
Susheela Raman – Trust in Me (Pop Off!)
Jimmy Cliff – Trust No Man (Nicko)
Blues Traveler – Trust in Trust (Nicko)
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes – If You Don’t Know Me By Now (DiscoMonster)
Chemical Brothers – In Dust We Trust (MussoliniHeadkick)
You’d Better Believe It B-List Playlist:
Etta James – Trust in Me (George Boyland)
John Lee Hooker – I Put My Trust in You (phillipphillip99)
Billy Bragg – The Myth of Trust (Maki)
Barbara West – Anyone but You (attwilightlarks)
Murray Head – Say it Ain’t So Joe (Maki)
The Wedding Present – Brassneck (megadom)
Little Feat – Dixie Chicken (BanazirGalbasi
The Versatiles – Trust the Book (Uncleben)
Suzi Quatro – Can’t Trust Love (Pop Off!)
The Tymes – You Little Trustmaker (Pop Off!)
Steve Forbert – Breaking Through (BanazirGalbasi)
Culture – Trust Me (Nicko)
Susanne Sundfor – Trust Me (ajostu)
Neil Young – I Believe in You (amylee)
Richie Havens – Won’t Get Fooled Again (florian7)
Billy Joel – A Matter of Trust (amylee)
James Taylor – You’ve Got a Friend (Ravi)
Anti Establishment – No Trust (Carpgate)
Postmodern Jukebox (ft Caroline Baran) – Nothing Else Matters (DiscoMonster)
Ann Peebles – I Pity the Fool (9Hairs9Knots)
Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite – Love and Trust (Nicko)
J.S. Bach - Cantata 24 BWV 139 Chorale- Wohl dem, der Sich auf Seinen Gott (ajostu)
Guru’s Wildcard Picks:
One shoehorn – this is really more faith than trust, but I think we need it.
Sam Cooke – Change is Gonna Come
And one song by an artist who was nominated for another song (which I have included in the B-List):
“Don't trust the ones who love you, ‘cause if you love them back
They'll always disappoint you, it's just a matter of fact
Don't love the ones who trust you, it's just not in your heart
You're a teasing little twister and they're dancers in the dark..”
Susanne Sundfor – Undercover
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Vote on what lies beneath: songs about trust. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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