Seasons of the Ukulele

A weekly song challenge for ukulele players - all welcome. Find out more here

SOTU 727 "OBSESSION"

Barbablanca

BTW - Don't worry about whether your song expresses enough of an obsession to qualify. There are lots of songs I would consider clear examples of OBSESSION.
To name but two:

The narrator is obviously obsessed in "Ruby, don't take your love to town"
The narrator is obsessed with freedom of the individual from "straight" norms in "Born to be Wild"

It also qualifies if obsessions are simply mentioned in a song.
eg: Joni's song (Let the Wind Carry Me) about her obsession with her road to fame, rather than settling down, kicks off with

Papa's faith is people
Mama she believes in cleaning
Papa's faith is in people
Mama she's always cleaning

If YOU think it deals with an obsession - then it does!

AlanDP

The story of a man who is obsessed with wooing a woman named Mabel; all night long he stands below her window singing and calling to her, regardless of the weather or time of year or the disapproval of her father, as told by the unfortunate neighbor who lives next door to Mabel. This song is from 1924, when a hat size joke is still considered the height of comedy.

Barbablanca

Day Four

John Poole brought a powerful take on Richard Thompson's "Galway to Graceland" - which I had done some weeks back and which inspired this Season's theme.

Canada Jim offered us a tale of guys obsessed with a lass who may or may not be a street walker.

Alan (the world's best living crooner) offered us a neat ditty about a Romeo figure obsessed with his Juliet - singing ballads up to the bedroom window of the object of his passion, who only wants to have a good night's sleep!

Threebird

Thanks for hosting and giving this Season a theme I can relate to!

I'm right with you on the first 2 obsessions, and I'll throw in needing to repeatedly check if I locked a door (sometimes at great inconvenience), and when I was younger if I bought one album from an artist (and liked it) I would have to buy all their releases or try to - I think online shopping cured me because it takes all the fun out of the hunt.

I'm posting an original song about obsession via the insatiable pursuit of something 'Stronger'. (Lyrics added below at the request of our host.)

Stronger (original song)

Within a bubble scratching for seams

Bar all the exits from inside

Paper the windows to filter the light

Endlessly glaring eve or day

When all we need is something stronger

How many cracks to count on the wall

With one coat of paint to cover them?

Ceaseless divining for meaning in truth

Constantly asking what's the use?

When all we need is something stronger

Stack the volume over street noise

Move in colours to the pounding

Sirens cut through the thin veneer

While one more cry falls on one more deaf ear

When all we need is something stronger

DelGriff

Thanks for hosting, Berni! 🙂

Here’s an original for the Season, though after listening to it back I realise that the chord progression does, in parts, bear a musical resemblance to at least one of my previous original songs. Hopefully I won’t get sued for self-plagiarism! 🤔😆

Baritone uke with synth additions, homemade drum pattern, and some vocal harmonies.

‘My Obsession’ - original song (SOTU 727)

Mezcalero

Thanks for hosting Berni, I hope you're doing well! I'm with you on obsession numeros uno y tres 🙂 When I saw your season, a lot of songs came to mind. I ended up going with this one since one of my students requested I put together a chart and teach it in our class and being a bit limited on time at the moment, I'm obsessed with knocking out multiple projects with one song 🙂 Cheers ~

CanadaJim

**THE OLD APARTMENT - *Barenaked Ladies ***

The Danforth is a street in Toronto with a number of places I like to visit. I bought a Goya guitar at a music store on The Danforth that is no longer there. I bought my Eastman 604 mandolin at The 12th Fret, one of my favourite music stores and a number of $10 used Hawaiian shirts at the Value Village store across the street.
I saw Doc Watson for the first time at the Danforth Music Hall. It was great to hear this street mentioned in the song.

A first take
Thanks for being our host Berni!

Barbablanca

Day Five

Threebird brought us something stronger. A poetic, dare I say Eliot-esque, rumination on Obsession, our unfulfilled needs and our search for meaning.

Del then brought us a super original of his whose lyrics hark back to the 60s and whose arrangement is classic (80s influenced) Del.

Kevin serenaded us with a gentle obsession tinged unrequited lover's complaints.

Canada Jim then offered us a song which starts off with a seemingly innocent obsession that over the rest of the song gets darker and darker and hints at psychopathic behaviour... the next step up from obsession, perhaps.

STOP PRESS - Thanks to Threebird's better knowledge of Shorts, than mine, I have now belatedly added his song to the playlist.

LimousinLil

Hello, Berni! I'm so sorry, but I am too sickened by what is currently occurring to work up any enthusiasm for playing the uke at the moment. Love to you, All!

(On reflection - in case it should be taken the wrong way - I'm not trying to suggest that I'm the only one on here with a social and political conscience - I know that's not the case; it's just the way that all this is affecting me, personally.)

Barbablanca

This might lift you a bit, Val. (You don't seem to be the only one. Quite an easy hosting this time round)

Here's my second and probably last submission for the week.
It's about Caligula (his nickname - acquired as a child - which meant "Little Boot" ) who was finally given the boot as his modern equivalent deserves to be.

potmo

Barbablanca I take issue with your Carmen's rather mean claim. I love your music AND your lyrics and your arrangements. And, even if she is right, all the more reason to have just the right instrument on hand to compensate for your handicap!

Barbablanca

potmo Thanks for the Testimonial 😁
The problem is she sees my music making as a hobby, whereas I see it as my raison-d'etre!
But I do love her madly and have done for 39 years!

Opposites, attract, maybe? So it goes…. 😉

potmo

Corrected "Talking to the Moon".

So sorry to put you through that abridged John Cage cover, Berni. I "fixed" it. No I didnt redo the song. We are stuck with that part i just trimmed off the first 40 seconds!

joo

Hi Berni,

Thanks for hosting!

Here is a homemade song, a very silly one. I think it qualifies because the person singing it is obviously obsessed with potatoes. Also, a certain Mr. Bean in the song has a tendency to stalk people.

OnlyUkeThatMatters

In 1983, Holly Knight and Michael Des Barres wrote and recorded "Obsession." Their recording appeared in a couple of R-rated movies. I didn't hear that version at age eleven or so.

Then in 1984, Animotion's version became a hit that twelve-or-so-year-old me heard on the radio quite a bit.

Then this week, in 2026, it was the only idea that came to my nearly fifty-four-year-old mind for this Season 😛

And I finally heard Knight and Des Barres' original version, which is really cool-sounding!

Barbablanca

Nearing the finish line! I am off walking in the hills but will listen to the latest offerings when I get back.

Thanks to everyone who contributed this Season!

Wrap to follow.

Remember FAWM starts next week. Songwriters, come join us for February Album Writing Month. The challenge? Write 14 songs in the 28 days of February! Great challenge, lots of ideas for songs and useful feedback. FAWM is my favourite month!

potmo

Every Breath You Take – The Police

I was hoping I could get this down in time but this is the best I could do.

potmo

Eleventh hour Double Twofer Mashup Special

Eurythmics "Love is a stranger" + Animotion "Obsession"

MsBean

An original song for you all, but especially for you, Berni.

I made a list earlier with different learning, health, musical, educational, reading etc goals. It was far too daunting to include them all, but I selected a representative sample of what's on my plate.

Whilst meditating in malasana and listening to Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in Cm for organ (BWV 582), I decided to write in the key of Cm, which I find a quite powerful, alpha male kind of key.

The lyrics are in the YouTube description.

Also, give the Bach a try. Don't you just want to learn how to navigate those keyboards, the pedals and registers?

Barbablanca

Day Six & Seven

Well after a very slow Saturday there was a sudden rush to the finish line.

Potmo cut the accidental opening silence on his original submission for which I give him thanks.

Joo gave us a vegetable-riddled fun piece with the hero being a potato, no less! Her picking on this needs listening to! It reminds me of those Paul Simon South African collaborations on "Graceland". Top notch!

Ralph offered us a song which was actually entitled Obsession! Great vocals on a song I had never heard before.

Potmo joined in again. This time with a Sting Classic (one of the many Sting has written in which "Obsession" is a main theme).

And then he polished off his week with a take on a Eurhythmics classic mashed up with another song about obsession. They fit together like a horse and carriage!

Finally, as she often does, Sabine brought the party to a close. This time with a fun ditty about self obsession and self improvement.
---------------------------------------
I will now ponder on which original deserves the prize... A task so difficult I might simply put the names in a hat and let chance provide me with a winner.

I will let you know with an interruption on 728 later this week.

THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO SUBMITTED MUSIC FOR THIS WEEK

Una abraçada,

Berni

I count 25 songs submitted to the Season. If I somehow missed addign one to the Playlsit, please let me know.

« Previous Page Next Page »