Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Post messages about Ellis Paul's music, CDs, lyrics, etc. here.

Moderator: Moderator

monicar
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:12 am
Location: Norwell, Massachusetts

Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby monicar » Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:00 am

Annalee

I heard this song on the website before the CD arrived in August. I think I listened to it about 7 times in a row, first with headphones on and then through the speakers very loudly! It immediately brought me back in time (as Ellis has a way of doing) and I happened to be in the exact same place as the time I was thinking about, which was sort of cool; remembering that summer before college, when our biggest worry was where we were going that night and just the innocence of being a kid and being in love. The line "come and stake your claim in my memory" gives me the chills every time I hear this song. I had heard this song so many times with just Ellis, usually in the audience, away from the mic, and it always had this effect on me, but I really love the way it's done on the CD. I find myself dancing around and singing on the top of my lungs when it comes on (and nobody's around to hear me)! It being the first song on the CD just draws you right in, in my opinion, filled with energy, leaving you wondering what's next and we all know what's next gets better and better.

My son instantly liked the song as well and since he'll be leaving for college this coming spring, I could see it's effect on him and we've even talked about the song a time or two.

Now the funny part ... my husband. He and I have gotten into some pretty heated arguments over song meanings. I've had my son back me up on a few of them and my son and I just look at him and think "where the heck did you come from." I know that many songs are left to the interpretation of the listener and there's no right or wrong, but if you could hear some of the stuff that comes out of my husband's mouth ..... well, let's just say you'd look at him funny too! Anyway, I told him he just had to hear this song and played it for him. His response "Isn't Ellis married?" I say yes. He says "then why is he writing a song about some other chick?" I know I laughed and said if he wrote all of his songs about his wife, something tells me they'd get kinda boring (don't mean any disrespect here, but I think ya'll know what I mean). When Ellis started posting the meaning of his songs, I sent Kevin his musings on Annalee and told him he was very perceptive. He was quite proud of himself!

Monica R.

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:02 am

Annalee (live at Canal Street Tavern)

Annalee lyrics and sample

I'll chime in more later once I've had coffee.... :|
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

User avatar
KarenZ
Site Admin
Posts: 4446
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby KarenZ » Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:52 am

Thanks Monicar for getting the Song of the Week off to a good start! Like Paddy, I will chime in later...after all, we have one whole week...or longer if we want! :)

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.

Patti
Posts: 1019
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:50 pm

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby Patti » Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:15 pm

This song starts off pretty subtle.. pretty soft like many of EP's songs but then it lets loose a bit pulls you in and yells SURPRISE!!

Great choice for the first song on the cd.. kind of lets you know you will be wowed and surprised by all the rest of the songs..

There is a great version of this song on youtube from the Beachland ballroom a year ago.. Ellis is off mike and tells a funny story to the audience about his first wife., whom this song is about. You can't really see Ellis in the video but you sure can hear him.. :D ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQBTsKNAMnM


thanks for sharing MonicaR

Paddy the version you posted had me thinking Ellis is looking a little like Robert DeNiro.. :wink: Its all good...
"Embrace what you have in common, celebrate what sets you apart" Ellis Paul

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:08 pm

Ellis would step offstage to sing Annalee unplugged and unmiked. He would tell the story of talking to his first wife, Emily, over the phone. There was humor in the story. Ellis went on to say the song was about Emily, but that Annalee flowed better. I've met Emily, once, merch at Mucky Duck, way back. I left feeling I didn't know her well at all, except maybe her presence in Paris in a Day. I'm sure there's other songs she's in ~ Last Call comes to mind. All these years, shows, and songs later it's nice to have her back if only for the few minutes here that has Ellis telling the tale of first, true love. It occured to me after looking closer at the lyrics this morning that this might be a dream song.....

On the Bobby DeNiro front Ellis seemed to be checkin out my goatee last week in Philly and now he's sportin one too, just sayin. Come to think of it Ellis had one on the cover of Stories where first we met.
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:17 am

"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

User avatar
KarenZ
Site Admin
Posts: 4446
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby KarenZ » Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:03 am

The almost-immediate vocals that grab the listener is a perfect way to start the album. I think we'd all like to re-live one near-perfect day when we were sixteen or seventeen. That's what "Annalee" does for me - helps me to re-live one of those days. Joyous. Hopeful. Invinceable. Time standing still. Great imagery.

Love the electric guitar and banjo....although I wonder why there's no mandolin on the mandolin jukebox. ;) Enjoy Kristian Bush's backing vocals....especially as they get stronger and stand out more towards the end. Seems a fitting turnabout since Ellis did the same on backing vocals on "Insomniac" back when Kristian recorded that song as half of the Billy Pilgrim duo. :)

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.

Richard + Jela
Posts: 1534
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:56 pm
Location: West Sussex, England

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby Richard + Jela » Tue Jan 19, 2010 3:10 pm

This is just the perfect song to start the CD. It's 'very Ellis' if you know what I mean and just leads you in beautifully to the rest of the CD.

Whenever I hear it I always think of Dean and Elaine - in Dec 2008 we went to the show in Portland, ME just before New Year and they had quite a running conversation with Mr Paul over the course of the following days about a particular lyric (which he'd changed) and I think that he sang 'their preferred version' at one of the subsequent Passim shows.

I'll let them chip in with the detail as it's their story BUT it just always makes me think of them.

Jela

PS also I just love the way he sings the word 'water' in 'it felt like I was walking on water'

User avatar
Sue Ellen
Posts: 572
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:09 pm
Location: maryland

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby Sue Ellen » Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:38 am

I agree that "Anna Lee" is VERY Ellis. What strikes me again is Ellis's ability to encode a moment, a scene that is personal to him AND is a common experience for many, in his brain, and then translate it into words that paint a clear and poignant picture.

Sue Ellen
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Fri Jan 22, 2010 9:46 am

Interestingly enough I watched a recent youtube of Ellis performing this song live. Besides being another great performance of the song, what struck me was the way in which he performed it. It's something, the only thing, that's bugged me about the recorded version, from the start. It's how there's not a long enough pause "just before" Annalee is sung for the very first time. It kinda JUMPS OUT ATCHA -- Songs tend to have a pace you can rely on, count on, singalong on, and for some reason, ANNALEE, jumps out atcha about a beat or two too soon. I think that's why the youtube caught my attention. The pacing is more to my liking.

Course, I simply adjusted my pacing and sang right along.... 8)
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

Patti
Posts: 1019
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:50 pm

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby Patti » Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:56 am

I know what you mean Paddy

In this recorded song I like the way the 2 words "lord almighty" are sung and it can be a little bit different live.. and those same 2 words spoken in a sentence would not have the same effect at all.. :?:

sort of puzzling to me... :wink:
"Embrace what you have in common, celebrate what sets you apart" Ellis Paul

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:11 pm

Thinkin about it a little more just now and it occurred to me that when tracks are recorded there's an awful lot of thought that goes into just how a song will flow once the final mix is agreed upon. I'd guess it was laid down a few different ways and this one worked best. Might just be the immediacy of the boy (Ellis) seeing the girl (Annalee) diving in (lord almighty in nothing but skin) warranted the excited exclamation of her name and thus, the quick start singing of her name worked best.

My guess is that when (insert big name country artist here) records the song, the pacing will change. It will slow just a little. I can just see the song, and the video, too, playing big as life.
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:28 pm

I'll let Ellis have the last word on my take on Annalee....

Ellis Paul Some Good Advice
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

paddyinthepub
Posts: 3768
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2006 9:44 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby paddyinthepub » Fri Jan 22, 2010 12:34 pm

I love that Ellis steps away from the mike at least once a show to perform songs in the way I only wish I could have been there to see back in the day when the bards held court in the back alleys of Boston.

Annalee live in Indianapolis
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

AndaleOrbea
Posts: 243
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 3:37 pm
Location: Indiana

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby AndaleOrbea » Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:47 pm

I'm not sure if Elaine will chime in or not, so I'll do my best Jela...

Okay, the first time we heard Annalee was in Traverse City, MI in 2008. It was a beautiful Solstice evening and Ellis said he was going to play a snipet of a new song. Of course we were excited to hear something new. We always are excited to hear what EP has to bring out new. He called it Annalee, but I was certain that he said Emily. How's that for misunderstanding? But I wasn't really, was I? I have notes in my log trying to write down exactly what he was saying. I wrote down Emily. It wasn't until Vermont that we got to hear it again. I think I got most of it in Traverse City, but it was the beginning that really got me. The imagery that relied so much on the water. I love the way he almost always talks about the water. And I know exactly where Ellis is when he talks about the doctors daughter diving right in - even though I've never been there. I know where it is and I'll know it when I see it in real life. And I will see it...

And we left the venue to walk along the water at Traverse Bay and it was a beautiful sight with a lovely, big, big moon...

And here it is Jela:

it's really the last verse that seems a bit different for me. Here it is:

I can't promise a lifetime of tomorrows
What tomorrow brings God only knows
I know this about tomorrow
We're filling it with sorrow
if we let tonight just end

We talked about how it should be delivered and "we" even talked to Ellis about it. A couple of times he obliged us in what we think is our version of how this verse should be, but it's been since NYE 2008 since we heard him sing it the way we think it should be sung. Don't you think it would be better if the rhyme carried through to the end of the verse?:

I can't promise a lifetime of tomorrows
What tomorrow brings God only knows
I know this about tomorrow
We're filling it with sorrow
if we let tonight just go

The end, the way he sings it, just sounds final, where "go" sounds like letting go, being in the moment, loving where you are and letting yourself live your life to the fullest. Just sayin'

Bottom line... I love it Ellis. Thanks for sharing it with us.

so that's it.

love you guys.

thanks for everything.
Dean [and Elaine]

User avatar
KarenZ
Site Admin
Posts: 4446
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:12 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Contact:

Re: Song of the Week - Jan. 18, 2010 - Annalee

Postby KarenZ » Fri Jan 22, 2010 11:34 pm

Dean, thanks for chiming in! So appreciate your thoughts and comments on the song....and agree about GO. :)

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.


Return to “Breakin' Through the Radio”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests