"Come On Eileen" - Dexy's Midnight Runners (1983)
Okay, I promise this blog will be more than one hit wonders. But you won't prove it by this entry. This song has been described as a fusion of "ramalama rock & roll, soul delivery, and Celtic/country flavor." Whatever you call it, it was perfect. For an all too brief period Kevin Rowland's Dexy's Midnight Runners exploded with this single and it's video.
Expertly treading a fine line between innocence and sensuality with lyrics like, "Come on Eileen, I swear, at this moment, you mean everything. You in that dress, my thoughts I confess, verge on dirty." It also bears the distinction of being one of my wife's favorite songs. (I can tell because she will slap my hand if I try to turn the radio down while it's on!)
Tom Ewing at Freaky Trigger does an excellent job expounding on the enduring (eternal?) charm and appeal of "Come On Eileen".
Some excerpts:
"It's at once a chantalong, fiddle-fuelled novelty; an enduring public pop landmark and the biggest hit of a band whose integrity was dearer to them than fame or sales or, well, anything. It is also, of course, partly a pop record about loving pop records, whose beautiful opening lyrics are some of the most evocative I know."
"[It] still stands alone - a perfect marriage of subject and effect, ... I find it tireless, moving, almost awe-inspiring, and its survival and popularity only adds to that awe."
Please click and read the rest of Ewing's paean to this classic chunk of 80's pop joy.
Expertly treading a fine line between innocence and sensuality with lyrics like, "Come on Eileen, I swear, at this moment, you mean everything. You in that dress, my thoughts I confess, verge on dirty." It also bears the distinction of being one of my wife's favorite songs. (I can tell because she will slap my hand if I try to turn the radio down while it's on!)
Tom Ewing at Freaky Trigger does an excellent job expounding on the enduring (eternal?) charm and appeal of "Come On Eileen".
Some excerpts:
"It's at once a chantalong, fiddle-fuelled novelty; an enduring public pop landmark and the biggest hit of a band whose integrity was dearer to them than fame or sales or, well, anything. It is also, of course, partly a pop record about loving pop records, whose beautiful opening lyrics are some of the most evocative I know."
"[It] still stands alone - a perfect marriage of subject and effect, ... I find it tireless, moving, almost awe-inspiring, and its survival and popularity only adds to that awe."
Please click and read the rest of Ewing's paean to this classic chunk of 80's pop joy.
posted by James
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