|
Ukulele Wednesdays A motley crew of assorted beginners from the Wednesday night ukulele jam sessions at The Royal George, Charing Cross Rd (7 to 10:30pm): Brian, Alberto, Cari, Quincy, Colin, Krissie, Fred, Fiona, Dylan, Becky and Lorraine. Brian W tonight performs the intro to ‘Living on a Prayer’ on the Greek Ukulele: the Baglamas. After a UOGB beginners session in April, Lorraine Hardman organised the regular evening informal jam sessions which have given us all impetus to practice and enjoy. We play all types of music but stadium thompers and Top 10s from all decades predominate - as our set this evening demonstrates. Many people new to the ukulele have joined in and the group goes from strength to strength, helped along by Rufus, Nick and Matthew. Living on a Prayer (1986, Bon Jovi). Perhaps their best known song. Jon did not like the original recording, but Richie Sambora convinced him the song was good, and they reworked it and included it on their Slippery When Wet album. This is the first time that Sambora used the talk box as a lead instrument. The song is about a fictional working class couple, Tommy and Gina, who struggle to make ends meet and maintain their relationship. Verse 1 of the song appears to be about their younger days; Tommy "used to work on the docks" but the "union's been on strike, he's down on his luck". Gina works at a diner, "'workin' for her man". Verse 2 appears to be set much later. Gina "dreams of running away" implying that they have once again fallen on hard times. Some have interpreted the lyrics to be anti-union, as the strike seems to be the catalyst for the troubled chain of events for Tommy and Gina. However, others have pointed out that the song does not clarify the circumstances behind the strike, and that the rest of the song doesn’t appear to have a political message. "I wrote that song during the Reagan era and the trickle-down economics are really inspirational to writing songs..." - JBJ. 500 Miles. (1988, The Proclaimers). The song is popular in Ireland and Scotland, where, at Hampden Park, every time the national football team scores, the song is played and sung along to by Scotland fans. It is the unofficial anthem of Edinburgh's Hibernian F.C., the Proclaimers being fans of the team. |
