Songs From The Road
Released 11/11/2014 on Ruf Records
… Read Full Bio ↴Dana Fuchs
Songs From The Road
Released 11/11/2014 on Ruf Records
The road has led Dana Fuchs everywhere. But when it came to choosing a
location for Songs From The Road, it had to be New York. The singer and the
city have history. Almost two decades have passed since Dana left her home
in rural Florida and beat a path to the Big Apple. Stepping onto the mean
streets of the Lower East Side aged 19, she was an unknown singer with a
voice and a dream, ready to slug it out on the city’s bearpit jam-circuit.
Since then, New York has been the backdrop to Dana’s meteoric rise.
There were the early buzz-sets in the city’s late-night sweatboxes. The off-
Broadway musical Love, Janis, which saw the multi-talented performer play
the iconic Janis Joplin. Followed by the endless shows and sessions all across
town. No wonder, then, that for Songs From The Road, the Highline Ballroom
on West 16th Street was the perfect fit – and the singer was received like a
local hero.
Released in 2014 on Ruf Records, Songs From The Road is the latest in
the German label’s famous series of live albums, with Dana following in the
hallowed footsteps of legends including Luther Allison, Jeff Healey and the
Royal Southern Brotherhood. As ever, the Songs From The Road concept isn’t
about overdubs, Auto-Tune or opulent production, but the honest bottling of
the two-way energy that only occurs when great artists go nose-to-nose with
their fans. It’s hard to imagine a performer who deserves the treatment more
than Dana: a vocalist who means every note, every night.
A live show by the Dana Fuchs Band is an assault on all the senses. As
such, comprised in Songs From The Road’s two-disc pack, you’ll find an audio
CD capturing the soul power of that classic set on March 14th, 2014, plus a
DVD, directed by Kevin Mackall. Prowling the stage, pouring her heart into
the microphone and owning every song on the setlist, you won’t question the
wisdom of the UK’s Classic Rock Magazine, who famously declared Dana’s
once-in-a-generation voice as “juke-joint dirty and illicit, evoking Janis Joplin,
Mick Jagger and a cigarette butt bobbing in a glass of bourbon…”
You won’t take your eyes/ears off her, but Songs From The Road is far
from a one-woman show. At the Highline Ballroom, Dana’s performance was
taken to even greater heights by her stellar cast of players. On guitar and
backing vocals, give a big hand to long-time wingman and co-songwriter, Jon
Diamond: the former session ace who gave the singer an engine-room shortly
after her arrival in New York. Matt Beck (guitars), Jack Daley (bass), Pete
Levin (keys) and Joe Daley (drums) provide the thrilling musical canvass,
while the so-called Screaming Sirens (aka. Elaine Caswell, Nicki Richards and
Bette Sussman) dovetail with Dana’s lead vocal to create a wall of sound that
rattles your speakers.
Yet it’s the songs that are the true stars on the night. By this point, three
studio albums into their writing partnership, Dana and Jon have amassed a
solid-gold back catalogue, and Songs From The Road mines some of their very
best nuggets. Long-term fans will be delighted to get reacquainted with Tell
Me I’m Not Drinking and Sad Salvation: formative songs that date back to the
Dana Fuchs’ Band’s 2003 debut album, Lonely For A Lifetime. Film nuts who
caught Dana’s feted turn as Sadie in Julie Taymor’s highly acclaimed Beatles
movie, Across The Universe, will adore the closing cover of Don’t Let Me Down.
Those who came onboard with 2011’s Love To Beg, meanwhile, will be
thrilled to find cuts from that album including Set It On Fire, Summersong and
a cover of Otis Redding’s I’ve Been Loving You Too Long. And of course, the
Highline setlist had to have a healthy smattering from 2013’s Bliss Avenue: the
career-best third album that Dana once noted “really purged my soul in a
starker, more naked way, both lyrically and musically”. You won’t dispute
that after hearing the band’s powerhouse live readings of those classic songs,
which include Livin’ On Sunday, Handful Too Many, So Hard To Move and
Vagabond Wind.
Since the noisy birth of rock ‘n’ roll, New York has hosted hundreds of
were-you-there concerts by a roll-call of favourite sons, from The Ramones at
CBGBs to The Velvet Underground at The Factory. Now, with Songs From The
Road, Dana Fuchs has chalked up another entry in the NYC annals and staked
her claim as the city’s most exciting adopted daughter. So start spreading the
news. You’ll want to be a part of it…
-Henry Yates
Classic Rock Magazine
External Links:
http://www.last.fm/music/Dana+Fuchs+Band
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Dana+Fuchs+Band
https://www.facebook.com/danafuchsverified
https://www.youtube.com/user/allmack
https://twitter.com/DanaFuchsTweet
Officlal Website:
http://www.danafuchs.com/
Helter Skelter
Dana Fuchs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again.
Do, don't you want me to love you
I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you
Tell me, tell me, tell me, come on tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer.
Helter skelter, helter skelter
Helter skelter.
Will you, won't you want me to make you
I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you
Tell me, tell me, tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer.
Look out
Helter skelter, helter skelter
Helter skelter.
Look out 'cause here she comes.
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again.
Well do you, don't you want me to love you
I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you
Tell me, tell me, tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer.
Look out
Helter skelter, helter skelter
Helter skelter.
Look out helter skelter
She's coming down fast.
Yes she is.
Yes she is
(I've got blisters on my fingers)
Dana Fuchs's song Helter Skelter begins with the lyrics "when I get to the bottom, I go back to the top of the slide". The song follows a theme of a spiraling descent into madness or obsession, with the metaphor of a slide used to signify being on a ride that cannot be stopped. The chorus of "helter skelter" repeats, evoking a sense of chaos and abandon.
The lyrics in the second verse ask "Do, don't you want me to love you?" and "You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer", indicating a struggle between two people who may have differing desires or expectations in their relationship. The repeated questioning of "tell me the answer" shows a desperate need for clarity in a confusing situation.
The final verse adds a sense of urgency to the song, with the line "look out 'cause here she comes" and the repetition of "helter skelter" becoming more frantic. The ending line of "I've got blisters on my fingers" could be seen as a reference to the intense emotions and physical strain of the situation described in the song.
Overall, the lyrics of Helter Skelter convey a sense of obsession and chaos, as well as a struggle for emotional clarity in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
I keep repeating the same thing over and over again even though it leads to the same undesirable outcome, like going down a slide over and over.
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
I deviate from my repetitive routine for a bit and take a chance, but ultimately end up back where I started.
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again.
I keep doing this routine until I see you again, even though I know it's not going to change anything.
Do, don't you want me to love you
Are you interested in being loved by me?
I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you
I'm moving quickly, but I feel like I'm in a better place than you.
Tell me, tell me, tell me, come on tell me the answer
I'm desperate for an answer, please tell me what you want from me.
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer.
You may have qualities that I'm attracted to, but you can't keep up with me.
Helter skelter, helter skelter
I'm going around in circles, things are getting crazy.
Will you, won't you want me to make you
Are you interested in being with me and having me take control?
I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you
I'm moving quickly, but I don't want to hurt you.
Look out
Be careful, something dangerous is happening.
Look out 'cause here she comes.
I'm about to do something surprising and exciting.
Well do you, don't you want me to love you
Do you want to be loved by me or not?
I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you
I'm moving quickly, but I don't want to cause you any harm or damage.
Look out
Something unexpected is about to happen.
Look out helter skelter
Be careful, things are getting chaotic and out of control.
She's coming down fast.
I'm moving quickly and with force.
Yes she is.
Confirming that I am indeed coming down fast and with intensity.
(I've got blisters on my fingers)
I've been working hard and now I have physical marks to show for it, like a guitar player with blisters on their fingers from playing for hours.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rob Walton
There have only ever been a handful of artists who have been able to perform with this level of intensity and talent. You, Dana Fuchs, are most definitely one of the few. We are not worthy.......
crazycowgirl
i NEVER get tired of hearing her sing this song. This is the best cover i've ever heard.
raymesquite
Her voice reminds me of Janis Joplin. Hit the notes so powerfully.
stilltainted922
the first time i ever saw her live, was playing her in Love, Janis
Luis Fer Alonzo
In the movie Across The Universe she's a reference to Janis Joplin.
TalladegaNightsLuver11 Lol!
i was just about to say that! c:
DMSProduktions
Yes, but SHE sings in TUNE!
ml-youtube
Check out
Sass Jordan, pissing down,,
Dianne Saavedra Lengele
Hands down, one of the best covers of this song. Ever.
Auntie Pea Sea
The Soroxas
I think you need to check your grammar, and your spelling.