Song Lyric Sunday – Witchy Woman and One-Trick Pony

This week Jim Adams has given us some Halloween prompts for Song Lyric Sunday. They are Ghost, Pumpkin, Trick, Treat and Witch. I have gone with a couple of my favorites, “Witchy Woman” by the Eagles and “One Trick Pony” by Paul Simon. I like both of these songs very much and couldn’t decide with one to go with. In all likelihood both songs could be chosen multiple times! We will have to see.

Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon started writing this song when he was a member of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Once Bernie joined the Eagles, he and Don Henley finished the song in Eagles fashion. It was one of the first songs Henley wrote.

Leadon and Henley wrote this about a number of women they had met. It is not meant to portray the woman as devilish, but as more of a seductress.

“The Eagles” was the group’s first album. It was produced by Glyn Johns, an Englishman who had previously worked with The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. They recorded it at Olympic Studios in London in just three weeks; the group became far less efficient over time – their 1979 album The Long Run took more than two years to make.

According to the liner notes for “The Very Best of the Eagles”, the song originated with guitarist Bernie Leadon playing a “strange, minor-key riff that sounded sort of like a Hollywood movie version of Indian music.” The song’s lyrics didn’t develop until Henley went down with a flu and high fever while he was reading a book about Zelda Fitzgerald. “I think that figured into the mix somehow – along with amorphous images of girls I had met at the Whisky and the Troubadour,” he recalled.

Lyrics

Raven hair and ruby lips
Sparks fly from her fingertips
Echoed voices in the night
She's a restless spirit on an endless flight

Woo hoo, witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo hoo, witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye

She held me spellbound in the night
Dancing shadows and firelight
Crazy laughter in another room
And she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon

Woo hoo, witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo hoo, witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye

Well, I know you want a lover
Let me tell you, brother
She's been sleeping in the devil's bed
And there's some rumours going round, someone's underground
She can rock you in the night-time 'til your skin turns red

Woo hoo, witchy woman
See how high she flies
Woo hoo, witchy woman
She got the moon in her eye
Writer/s: Don Henley, Bernie Leadon 
Publisher: Warner Chappell Music, Inc.,
Cass County Music/Wisteria Music/Privet Music,
Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The song was on the album One-Trick Pony, Paul Simon’s fifth solo studio album, was released in 1980. It was Simon’s first album for Warner Brothers’ Records, and his first new studio album since 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years.  His back catalog from Columbia Records would also move to Warner Bros. as a result of his signing with the label.

The album was released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred. Despite their similarities, the album and film are musically distinct: each features different versions of the same songs, as well as certain songs that appear exclusively on either the film or the album. The album is best known for the Grammy-nominated track “Late In The Evening” which was a hit for Simon in 1980, peaking at No. 6 in the United States. The title track was also released as a single and became a U.S. Top 40 hit. Both songs were also Top 20 hits on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. Two of the tracks (the title song and “Ace in the Hole”) were recorded live at the Agora Theater and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio in September 1979. The rest are studio cuts.

Several session musicians appearing on the album also appeared in the movie as the character Jonah’s backing band: Eric Gale on lead guitar, Richard Tee on piano, Ronny Levin on bass, and Steve Gadd on drums. Simon toured Europe and America in 1980 with this band in support of the album, with one concert from Philadelphia recorded on video and released on VHS under the title “Paul Simon In Concert”, then subsequently on DVD under 2 different titles for the same concert footage (“Live at the Tower Theatre” and “Live from Philadelphia”).

In 2004, One-Trick Pony was remastered and re-released by Warner Bros. Records. This reissue contains four bonus tracks, including “Soft Parachutes” and “Spiral Highway” (an early version of “How the Heart Approaches What It Yearns”) both of which were featured in the film but were missing from the original album release. Also included in the re-release were the outtake of “All Because of You” (an early version of “Oh Marion” that would also spawn “God Bless the Absentee”) and “Stranded in a Limousine”, which originally appeared on the 1977 compilation Greatest Hits, Etc.

Lyrics

He's a one-trick pony
One trick is all that horse can do
He does, one trick only
It's the principal source of his revenue
But when he steps into the spotlight
You can feel the heat of his heart
Come rising through

See how he dances
See how he loops from side to side
See how he prances
The way his hooves just seem to glide
He's just a one-trick pony, that's all he is,
But he turn that trick with pride

He makes it
Look so easy, it looks so clean
He moves like God's immaculate machine
He makes me
Think about, all these extra moves I've made
And all this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day
One-trick pony

He's a one-trick pony
He either fails or he succeeds
He gives his, testimony
Then he relaxes in the weeds
He's got one trick to last a lifetime
But that's all a pony needs

UYeah, that's all he needs
Looks so easy, it looks so clean
He moves like God's immaculate machine
He makes me
Think about, all these extra moves I make
And all this herky-jerky motion
And the bag of tricks it takes
To get me through my working day
One-trick pony
One-trick pony
One-trick pony
One-trick pony
One-trick pony

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Paul Simon
One Trick Pony ('Live') lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group


  18 comments for “Song Lyric Sunday – Witchy Woman and One-Trick Pony

  1. October 27, 2020 at 4:34 pm

    Love the Eagles song!
    The next one I’d never heard before. Really good. 🙂

  2. October 25, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    Great choices, Christine. I haven’t heard Witchy Woman in quite awhile. Interesting back story for sure! Good choice with Paulc Simon as well.

    • Christine Bolton
      October 25, 2020 at 10:22 pm

      Thanks so much! I’m happy you liked them ☺️💕

  3. October 25, 2020 at 11:39 am

    I almost picked this song too! I was listening to the Eagles on my Echo Dot yesterday while I was painting a shelf for my supplies for my Etsy shop. Just like everything they have done, it is GREAT!!! As Tony the Tiger would say. LOL! 🙂 Good one with One Trick Pony too. I didn’t think of that one. 🙂

    • Christine Bolton
      October 25, 2020 at 12:54 pm

      I know a couple of us did. It is such a great song. The lyrics and that Native American sound of the music make it timeless. What kind of Etsy shop do you have Lisa?

      • October 25, 2020 at 6:10 pm

        Sure does. That’s why I chose “Spirit in the Sky”. Another good one for Native American feel. I have that blood in me. Could be why I love music so much. I can feel it! My etsy shop is custom products and some not custom. Address stamps, coffee mugs, vinyl decals, Christmas ornaments and other gift things. Product development is slow because I’m the only one! If you want to check it out, here is the link. Let me know what you think.
        https://www.etsy.com/shop/OurEyesOpenDesigns

      • Christine Bolton
        October 27, 2020 at 9:18 am

        I will Lisa, sounds great! Fingers crossed for tonight’s game 🤞 I hope the Rays can win.

      • October 29, 2020 at 8:04 am

        I’m behind on my responses. I’m happy they won the ALCS, but dang it I wanted a World Series victory for once! 🙂

      • Christine Bolton
        October 29, 2020 at 10:01 am

        I know. If only they’d left Snell in the game. Why not? He was amazing and it was the WS! We will never know now 😢

      • October 29, 2020 at 11:37 am

        That is correct! I thought that was the wrong decision. I understand that is how he has done everything this year, but Anderson has struggled in the play offs.

      • Christine Bolton
        October 27, 2020 at 1:22 pm

        Very nice Etsy site Lisa. Congratulations! I wish you every success

      • October 29, 2020 at 8:41 am

        Thanks Christine! 🙂

  4. October 25, 2020 at 9:20 am

    I wonder what particular trick does the one trick pony do, anyway nice music Christine.

    • Christine Bolton
      October 25, 2020 at 11:35 am

      Thanks Jim ☺️

  5. October 25, 2020 at 2:22 am

    I chose “Witchy Woman” too, but it’s not scheduled to post for another four hours. Bu i obviously think it’s a great song choice.

    • Christine Bolton
      October 25, 2020 at 7:20 am

      Great! I probably knew that as you’re an Eagles fan too. It’ll be a popular one today. What’s not to like about it? ☺️

    • October 25, 2020 at 1:19 pm

      I do like both your choices, absolutely excellent 💜💜

      • Christine Bolton
        October 25, 2020 at 2:17 pm

        Thanks Willow! ☺️

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