'Got brass in pocket' is the first line of the third single by the Pretenders that tooped the charts in January 1980 and was their first real success. Quite what the line is doing there is not immediately clear. Apparently co-writer Chrissie Hynde overheard someone use the phrase at a concert they did in Wakefield. The song seems to be describing that burst of confidence some get when they want to impress someone they themselves are drawn to. Indeed, Hynde has said that it is about cockiness. It is as likely to be about impressiing someone of the opposite sex as impressing an audience at a concert. Hynde has stated it s nithing to with feminism. It apparently began as a guitar progression from the late Honeyman-Scott to which Hynde added the lyrics. She thought it was trying to be MoTown but failing. Many of the lyrics are not immediately clear. Brass is northern slang for money. 'Got bottle, I'm gonna use it' is using the word bottle as in Cockney rhyming slang (bottle and glass ie ass or more appropriately here sass). 'Detroit leaning' is American slang for driving a vehicle with one hand. New skank is cannabis and reet is a nod to a trope by comic artist Robert Crumb. Hynde tends to sing a little off key and she particularly did not like her voice on this song at first but came round. The bouncing tune fits the lyrics well. The persona could offend if it was more aggressive but one is willing to accept that the singer really is special somehow and deserves some attention. She is going to use, she says, her arms, her legs, her style, he sidestep, her fingers and (and this is the give away) her imagination. The fact she's winking at us should not be missed either. Showing off is a sin but maybe ina song one can be forgiven for it.
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A thousand years - Christina Perri
"A Thousand Years" is a 2011 pop song written for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 that somehow wormed its way into my psyche many years later. Perri, an American singer and songwriter wrote it with her producer David Hodges. It became her second single on Atlantic Records, again from the film's official soundtrack.
The song was apparently what they call a sleeper hit, eventually reaching its peak position of number 11 in the UK and 31 in the US only after the release of the film sequel The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 in 2012. Perri re-recorded the song, again produced by Hodges, for the sequel, this time with added vocals from Steve Kazee. It was very successful round the world.
The song is about the love affair between Edward and Bella in the novel and subsequent film series and plays in the credits. However, you don't need to know that to enjoy the song. Every true love affair has its own version of "I have died every day waiting for you Darling, don't be afraid. I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more." A beautiful tune, a clear voice, good but vague lyrics, nice piano chords guitar and orchestration, a romantic feel - no wonder it hooked me in. Also that final "And all along I believed I would find you, Time has brought your heart to me."
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