sunny war, “hopeless,”
from: Anarchist gospel, 2023 w/allison russell & chris pierce
“Hello morning, now when does the fun begin?
Goodbye morning, sorry it had to end
But see I cried just a little too long
Now it’s time for me to be strong
Hello morning, I sure missed you last night
Goodbye morning, you just won’t do me right
I stayed just a little too long
Now it’s time for me to move on
They say I’m hopeless
As a penny with a hole in it (Penny with a, penny with a hole in it)
They say I’m no less (No less, no less, no less, no less)
Than up to my head in it
Bah, bah bah, bah bah, bah bah, bah bah
Bah bah, bah bah, bah bah, bah bah
Hello yesterday, I sure need you now
Goodbye yesterday, I just can’t stay around
But I stayed just a little too long
Now it’s time for me to move on
Hello yesterday, remember how it used to be
Goodbye yesterday, I can’t take you with me
You see I stayed just a little too long
And now it’s time for me to move on
They say I’m hopeless (Hopeless, hopeless, yeah)
As a penny with a hole in it (Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh)
They say I’m no less (No less, no less, no less, no less, no less)
Than up to my head in it (Oh yeah, yeah, they say I’m hopeless)
They say I’m hopeless
(Hopeless, yeah yeah, yeah yeah)
As a penny with a hole in it
(Penny, penny, penny with a hole in it, hole in it)
They say I’m no less (No less, no less, no less, no less)
Than up to my head in it
They say I’m hopeless
As a penny with a hole in it
(Penny with a hole in it)
They say I’m no less (No less, no less, no less, no less)
Than up to my head in it
Bah, bah bah, bah bah, bah bah, bah bah
Bah bah, bah bah, bah bah, bah bah”
This song, with its infectious instrumental hook and plaintiff hopeful refrains, is easily my favorite of the young year. Not that I have my finger on the pulse of anything in our current musical time. It dips its toes in Nina Simone, joan Armatrading, Tracy Chapman and even Traffic’s “Can’t Find My Way Home.” Interestingly, her career is tethered between her recent life, finding herself “unhoused,” then transitioning through her musical talents into the realm of becoming the “next big thing.” A perhaps uneasy crown to wear, but juggling desperation never sounded so good.
