SINEAD O’CONNOR

Mercurial and controversial, powerful and political singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor died on July 26

SINÉAD O’CONNOR

An incandescent star falls

In my musical universe the tragic deaths of Sinéad O’Connor last week and Amy Winehouse in 2011 loom large. The absence of these two incandescent stars leaves our world a little darker and silent. I’m filled with sadness.

Both women had fierce talent. They were major artists of their day and each channelled their experiences and raw emotion into potent expression. They made bold music with urgency and nuance, baring their hearts and souls while touching ours thanks to their innate musicality and preternaturally gifted voices.

Both suffered mightily from mental illness. It marred their careers. And it killed them. Being able to express themselves with insight and transcendent passion wasn’t enough. Their demons ruled.

Sinéad O’Connor in Performance

A screen grab from O’Connor’s 2014 video of banging rocker Take Me To Church from the album I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss.

Browsing through YouTube this week I was riveted and moved by a number of stirring O’Connor videos I’d never seen. While familiar with the music, her dramatic presence and jarring lyrics offered a look at how stunning and strong she is as a performer.

Today’s post and playlist offer a small snapshot of her work. First up are four of the videos I saw. (Note: available on YouTube only.) They’re followed by the 6-song Gospel Oak EP she issued in 1997. The calm and sensitive collection was named for the neighbourhood of her therapist’s office.

Pitchfork writer Sam Sodomsky wrote: “In June 1997, Sinéad O’Connor released Gospel Oak, a brief collection that stands among her finest work—and easily her most hopeful. “I’m finally on top of the hill, and I can see the other side,” she said upon its release, “whereas before I was right down the bottom.” The EP includes personal mantras that seemed to write themselves (“This Is to Mother You,” “I Am Enough for Myself”) and political messages that play like love songs (“This Is a Rebel Song,” “Petit Poulet”). The sense you got was an artist who, having used her art as an outlet for rage and sorrow and self-immolation for a decade at that point, had developed a more nourishing perspective that she wanted to share with her audience.”

Amy Winehouse

Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse duet on Body and Soul in March, 2011. It was her final recording.

Kurated No. 36 from 2019 wrote about Winehouse in a post that includes three different playlists of well known and rare songs and a Rolling Stone Magazine selection of her best.

There’s also an interview with Tony Bennett with whom Winehouse made her final recording. Their duet on Body and Soul was released a few months after her death from alcohol poisoning. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo or Group Performance in 2012.

Kurated is a music sharing project.
Tune in.

05 August 2023

(Wikimedia Commons photo)

Articles

Much has been written about O’Connor in the days following her death. Three articles worth your time include:

• Paste Magazine: The Redemption of Sinéad O’Connor
• Pitchfork: Sinéad O’Connor Was A Voice of Strength in the Darkness
• NPR: Her Songs Were Like a Bolt of Light

PLAYLISTS
On Spotify

On YouTube

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG-pRIXeCU7cVV_fFjFxozPAmT_ZphqMt

Take Me To Church Lyrics

I don’t wanna love the way I loved before
I don’t wanna love that way no more
What’ve I been writin’ love songs for?
I don’t wanna write ’em anymore

I don’t wanna sing from where I sang before
I don’t wanna sing that way no more
What’ve I’ve been singin’ love songs for?
I don’t wanna sing ’em anymore

I don’t wanna be that girl no more
I don’t wanna cry no more
I don’t wanna die no more

So cut me down from this here tree
Cut the rope from off of me
Set me on the floor
I’m the only one I should adore

Oh, take me to church
I’ve done so many bad things, it hurts
Yeah, take me to church
But not the ones that hurt
‘Cause that ain’t the truth
And that’s not what it’s worth

Yeah, take me to church
Oh, take me to church
I’ve done so many bad things, it hurts
Yeah, get me to church
But not the ones that hurt
‘Cause that ain’t the truth
And that’s not what it’s worth

I’m gonna sing songs of lovin’ and forgivin’
Songs of eatin’ and of drinkin’
Songs of livin’, songs of callin’ in the night
‘Cause songs are like a bolt of light
And love’s the only love you should invite

Songs of long and spiteful fails
Songs that won’t let you sit still
Songs that mend your broken bones
And don’t leave you alone

So get me down from this here tree
Take the rope from off of me
Set me on the floor
I’m the only one I should adore!

Oh, take me to church
I’ve done so many bad things, it hurts
Yeah, take me to church
But not the ones that hurt
‘Cause that ain’t the truth
And that’s not what it’s worth

Yeah, take me to church
Oh, take me to church
I’ve done so many bad things, it hurts
Yeah, get me to church
But not the ones that hurt
‘Cause that ain’t the truth
And that’s not what it’s worth

Source: MusixmatchSongwriters: John Reynolds / Graham Kearns / Sinead O Connor

Take Me to Church lyrics © Nettwerk Music Group Inc, Hipgnosis Sfh I Limited