And Now, Some Music

It's been a very stressful time recently and we're not out of the woods yet - there's still a long way to go before the Communist's leg is healed.

But I'm allowing myself to be a little bit happy, because at least the operation's done and he's got through it and there are lots of other things to be happy about, too.

A little while ago I put the Saddest Song in the World - which is Sinead O'Connor singing Nothing Compares to You - on this blog.

And now, here's the Happiest Song in the World and it is Daydream Believer by the Monkees. The best and simplest version has them just singing next to a piano and you can find this here but Youtube won't let me embed that one. So here is a pirate video (and by that I mean a video with pirates in, not an illegal copy). It dates from the days before Johnny Depp, from the days before videos - hell, it's so old it probably dates from the days when there were such pirates.

What is it about it that does it for me? It's that Sixties optimistic jauntiness I think. The words don't make much sense at all, but who cares? The bits that get me every time are the chorus, and, for some reason which I can't ever fathom, the lines "You once thought of me as a white knight on a steed, Now you know how happy I can be." It makes my heart just lift and I usually cry.

Just an old pop song by a manufactured band - and it's one of my favourites ever.

"How potent cheap music is" as Noel Coward said.

And next, if you still feel like grumbling, here's the Helsinki Complaints Choir singing all their complaints. A glorious idea, splendidly executed - though, I have to say, there doesn't seem to be that much to complain about in Finland other than it's cold, it's dark and I've lost my reindeer.

I hope you enjoy it.