Simple Living Songbook

[catherine]

I love simple living songs! Let's start a thread (include lyrics if possible) of your favorite simple living song.

I have a lot but I'll add them as we go along.

My starter song:

I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' from Porgy and Bess (George Gershwin)
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwmyJAEnz4s

Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin'
And nuttin's plenty for me
I got no car, got no mule
I got no misery
De folks wid plenty o' plenty
Got a lock on de door
'Fraid somebody's a-goin' to rob 'em
While dey's out a-makin' more
What for?
I got no lock on de door
Dat's no way to be
Dey kin steal de rug from de floor
Dat's okeh wid me
'Cause de things dat I prize
Like de stars in de skies
All are free

Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin'
And nuttin's plenty for me
I got a gal, got my song
Got Hebben the whole day long
No use complaining
Got my gal, got my Lawd
Got my song

Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin'
And nuttin's plenty for me
I got the sun, got the moon
Got the deep blue sea
De foks wid plenty o' plenty
Got to pray all de day
Seems wid plenty you sure got to worry
How to keep the debbel away
Away
I ain't frettin 'bout hell
'Till de time arrive
Never worry long as I'm well
Never one to strive
To be good, to be bad
What the hell
I is glad I's alive

Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin'
And nuttin's plenty for me
I got a gal, got my song
Got Hebben the whole day long
No use complaining
Got my gal, got my Lawd
Got my song

[Mrs-M]

Fun thread, Catherine!!! :)

Hank Williams (Sr) Everything's Okay.

Lyrics, (http://lyrics.rapidlibrary.com/song.php?id=714190&song=Everything%27s+Okay) video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOZ5B_swYhk)

[Mrs-M]

There's a Hole in My Bucket. (Harry Belafonte and Odetta).

Lyrics, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Hole_in_My_Bucket) video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElLpKewnxp4&feature=related)

[Rosemary]

Simple Gifts, of course!
My Favorite Things

[redfox]

The beautiful Shaker hymn, Tis a Gift to Be Simple. Check out the songbook Rise Up Singing. Lots of wonderful ones there!

[ApatheticNoMore]

I posted "How much is enough?" by the fixx (if anti-materialism needed an anthem, just pure DISGUST at materialism and that could convert people to feeling similar that is it IMO - how much is fricken enough already? :)).

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?3263-How-much-is-enough-(old-song)

Also Danny's Song always seems simple living-ish to me ("EVEN IF WE AIN'T GOT MONEY ....")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6fZIXDXQBA

Couldn't sing that low myself, but that is the fantastic alto voice of Anne Murray of course. Ah if only life were so simple, even if we ain't got money ... But unfortunately many are really suffering in this 'conomy without money.

And well nothing is going to sound good next to Anne Murray, she's just that good, but if you want a longing for free time anthem and yet really with surprisingly nuanced lyrics, how about John Gorka's "Land of the Bottom Line" ("give me time to wonder and to dream. I need the money, they'll take the time, down to the land of the bottom line"):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B_rWc_gCNc

[catherine]

Here's a good one that's not specifically simple living, but the imagery sure is:

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

I'll light the fire
You put the flowers in the vase
That you bought today

Staring at the fire
For hours and hours
While I listen to you
Play your love songs
All night long for me
Only for me

Come to me now
And rest your head for just five minutes
Everything is good
Such a cosy room
The windows are illuminated
By the sunshine through them
Fiery gems for you
Only for you

Our house is a very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And our la,la,la, la,la, la, la, la, la, la, la.....

Our house is a very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy
'Cause of you
And Our

I'll light the fire
And you place the flowers in the jar
That you bought today

[leslieann]

David Myles: Local boy-made-good, here in Eastern Canada.....I liked most of these lyrics when I first heard this little ditty...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY-E_aQQWFU



Drinking margaritas
Sitting in the sun
Counting up my worries
Can’t think of one

How’d I get so lucky
Lucky, lucky me
I’m a man of simple pleasures
I’ve got everything I need

Don’t wait for the weekend
To have a good time
Don’t need permission
To let myself unwind

How’d I get so lucky
Lucky, lucky me
I’m a man of simple pleasures
I’ve got everything I need

I don’t need a fancy car
I’ll take my bike around town, I’ll take a cab to the bar
I don’t need to live on the beach
I’ve got the sun right here, I’ve got a beer within reach
I don’t need that house on the hill
That’s never been my style and it probably never will
I don’t need to drink fine wine
I’d rather save up my money, spend it on free time
More free time, more free time

People think I’m crazy
Way outta whack
But I ain’t lazy
I’m just really laid back

How’d I get so lucky
Lucky, lucky me
I’m a man of simple pleasures
I’ve got everything I need

How’d I get so lucky
Lucky, lucky me
I’m a man of simple pleasures
I’ve got everything I need

[folkypoet]

This John Gorka song came to mind:

"When I Lost My Faith"

When I lost my faith in people
I put my trust in things
To avoid the disappointment
Trusting people brings

What trust in people brings
What I've brought myself
What I've brought to others
When they hoped for someone else

I tried to do it all myself then
Surrounded by my stuff
All I found were limitations
I could not rise above

There are gadgets and contraptions
Immaculate machines
There's a program you can download now
That will even dream your dreams

It'll even dream your dreams
For a monthly fee
Clear up your complexion
You get a hundred hours free

Possessions cannot save you
The way somebody can
When I learned to care for others
Then the boy became a man

When I lost my faith in people
I lost everything
Though I lose my independence
I am a freer man

[Mrs-M]

Lots of fun everybody!

[catherine]

Yes, I'm enjoying these picks! Especially because my picks are of another decade, and I like seeing the more current stuff! Here's one for today--also an oldie but goodie:

Heart of the Country
Paul and Linda McCartney

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DqMl0shEtw

I look high, i look low,
I'm lookin' ev'rywhere i go,
Lookin' for a home in the heart of the country.

I'm gonna move, i'm gonna go,
I'm gonna tell ev'ryone i know,
Lookin' for a home in the heart of the country.

Heart of the country where the holy people grow,
Heart of the country, smell the grass in the meadow,
Wo, wo, wo.

Want a horse, i want a sheep,
I wanna get me a good night's sleep,
Livin' in a home in the heart of the country.

[beckyliz]

Waylon Jennings - Luckenbach, Texas:

http://http://www.songlyrics.com/jennings-waylon/luckenbach-texas-lyrics/

[jennipurrr]

Waylon Jennings - Luckenbach, Texas:

http://http://www.songlyrics.com/jennings-waylon/luckenbach-texas-lyrics/

This song has been playing on repeat in my head today after a friend sent me a pic of a house she is going to put an offer on...with a four car garage! Not my style, to say the least, but more power to her I suppose.

My wedding was a mess...we had to move everything to my hometown, my parents church, at the last minute because of a hurricane. I hadn't planned any music except a flautist, so I told the organist just to pick whatever. I was really happy that she picked Simple Gifts as one of the songs. Its one of my favorites.

Ok, I'll add some...Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd, Take Me Home Country Roads - John Denver, Artifical Life - Operation Ivy (a punky song about commercialization of music and society in general), Breakdown - Jack Johnson

[catherine]

Cool! Thanks, all. Beckyliz, I couldn't connect to your link so I looked it up and listened--great song!

Here's my simple song for the day:

Kind of a spiritually-simple song: This is one of my top three favorite songs and it's one I'd want played at my funeral. I absolutely adore it. It used to be a hymn, but I'm so grateful to Cat Stevens for popularizing it (back in the 70s).

Morning Has Broken
As Sung by Cat Stevens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa-mWuBY-is

lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

[beckyliz]

Catherine - we had our guests sing Morning Has Broken at our wedding. Love that song.

[Gardenarian]

Morning has Broken is one of my favorites too.
How about The Garden Song:

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow.
Someone warm them from below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down.

Pulling weeds and pickin' stones
Man is made from dreams and bones.
I feel the need to grow my own
'Cause the time is near at hand.
Grain by grain, sun and rain
I find my way in nature's chain,
As I tune my body and my brain
To the music of the land.

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow.
Someone warm them from below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down.

Plant your rows straight and long
Temper them with prayer and song.
Mother Earth will make you strong
If you give her love and care.

An old crow watching hungrily
From his perch in yonder tree.
In my garden I'm as free
As that feathered thief up there

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow.
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground.
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless the seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down