“Bye Corona”

Phew, what a last couple of months it has been: Corona pandemic, “shelter in place”, social distancing, stock market crash and chaos, business shutdowns, huge layoffs. And for me and my family: (1) I had a car accident which totaled my car in mid-February and resulting in a concussion and back injuries which I am still very slowly recovering from.(2) left alone in her NYC apartment my daughter smartly drove to Columbus three weeks ago and seems to have escaped contagion. (3) but we now have my daughter’s cat, our new puppy and the three of us. So much for empty nesters!

When the Knack had a hit in 1979 with “My Charona” (which had surprisingly dirty lyrics for a # 1 pop hit) , did they ever imagine that some 40 years later it would become my designated upbeat song entitled “Bye Corona” about the dreaded Corona Virus . Here are the new lyrics. (Play the song and sing along!):

Come a little closer, huh, a-will ya, huh?
Close enough, see its in my eyes, Corona
Wheezing is a mystery, it gets to me
Coughing down the length of my spine, Corona

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I am trying to convince Maryanne to learn to play and sing this song ( a la her recent hit version of “Ninety-Five”). PLEASE VOTE TO ENCOURAGE HER TO DO SO! (Who knows, her version might go viral on You Tube! ) See poll at end of this post.

So in that spirit , herewith a list of rock songs (along with pertinent original lyrics) predominantly from my favorite music era (1960s-1980s) on the topic of Corona virus and recovery,  social distancing, isolation and shelter in place. Because these may a bit depressing to some, I have limited myself to 20 in the first two categories and added a final group which are the most upbeat about recovery and eventual reintegration of society and the world at large. Admittedly I’ve seen some of these appear on other FB sites and of course this is not an exhaustive list, just some that I thought of:

Corona Virus– First News, Infection, Fighting the Disease and Recovery

1. “American Pie” – Don McClean – “And February made me shiver with every paper I deliver, bad news on the doorstep…”
2. “In the Air Tonight” – Phil Collins – “I can feel it coming in the air tonight, hold on”
3. “Good Lovin”- Young Rascals  –  “I said doctor, Mr. MD, can you tell me what’s ailing me?”
4. “Hot Blooded” Foreigner  – “Check it and see. I’ve got a fever of 103”
5. “Urgent” – Foreigner  – “Got fire in your veins, burnin’ hot …You say it’s urgent, so urgent..”
6. Fever -McCoys – “You give me fever….Fever in the morning. Fever all thru the night”
7. “Take My Breath Away” -Berlin
8. “You’ve Got Your Troubles” – Fortunes – “I see that worried look upon your face. You’ve got your troubles; I’ve got mine”
9. “Welcome to My Nightmare”- Alice Cooper  – “Welcome to my breakdown”
10. “Livin’ On the Edge”- Aerosmith   – “There’s something wrong with the world today….There’s meltdown in the sky. Livin’ on the edge, can’t help yourself from falling”
11. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” – Four Seasons
12. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” – Dylan
13. “Don’t Fear the Reaper”- Blue Oyster Cult
14. “Hold On”- Wilson Phillips – “Don’t you know things can change…if you hold one for one more day”
15. “Somebody Help Me”- Spencer Davis Group  “Somebody  help me now!”
16. “Shake Me Wake Me”- Four Tops – “when its over”
17. “I’m So Tired”- Beatles – “I haven’t slept a wink”

Social Distancing and Sheltering in Place/Isolation

1. “Don’t Stand So close to Me “- Police
2. “Don’t Come Around Here No More”- Tom Petty
3. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”- Georgia Satellites
4. “Another Saturday Night”- Sam Cooke   ” Another Saturday night and I ain’t got nobody…and how I wish I could have someone to talk to”
5. “I Can’t See Nobody”- BeeGees  “I walk the lonely streets…I can’t see nobody” 
6. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”- Green Day “I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams…. and I’m the only one. And I walk alone”
7. “All By Myself” – Eric Carmen – “Don’t want to be all by myself anymore”
8. “Dancing With Myself”- Billy Idol
9. “Rocket Man” – Elton John  “And I think its gonna be a long long time; and I think its gonna be a long, long time; And I think its gonna be a long, long time; and I think its gonna be a long long time….(Repeat forever)”
10. “Alone Again Naturally” – Gilbert O’Sullivan
11. “Lonely Days” – BeeGees “Lonely days, lonely nights where would I be without my woman”
12. “Lonely Too Long” -Young Rascals  “I’ve been lonely too long….I feel like I can’t go on”
13. “Day after Day” – Badfinger  “looking out from my lonely room, day after day”
14. “One” – Three Dog Night- “One is the loneliest number you’ll ever do. Two can be as bad as one. It’s the loneliest number since the number one.
15. “Nowhere Man”- Beatles ” He’s a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody”
16. “I Think We’re Alone Now” – Tommy James and the Shondells –  “I think we’re alone now, there doesn’t seem to be anyone around”
17. “Isolation” – John Lennon  – “We’re afraid to be alone. Everybody got to have a home. Isolation.”
18. “We’re All Alone” – Rita Coolidge 
19. “Lonely People” – America – “This is for all the lonely people”
20. “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – B.J. Thomas 

RECOVERY, REUNIFICATION AND REINTEGRATION OF SOCIETY (YAY!)–(Play these songs if you are looking for inspiration!)

1. “I Won’t Back Down”- Tom Petty   “You can take me to the gates of hell, but I won’t back down”  (ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS BY PETTY, I CONTINUE TO USE FOR INSPIRATION)
2. “We Gotta Get Out of this Place”- Animals –  “If it’s the last thing we ever do, girl there’s a better life for me and you”
3. “98.6” – Keith  – “Hey 98.6 its good to have you back again”
4. “Getting Better”- Beatles – “It’s getting better all the time. Can’t get no worse”
5. “Lean on Me” – Bill Withers – “Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friend”
6. “I Feel Fine”- Beatles
7. “We Are Family” – Sister Sledge
8. “We Are the World” -USA for Africa
9. “What the World Needs Now is Love” – Jackie DeShannon
10. “Get Together”- Youngbloods   – “Everybody get together, try and love one another right now.” (SUNG AT OUR WEDDING ALMOST 34 Years ago today). 
11. “All You Need is Love”- The Beatles
12. “Time for Livin” – Association
13. “Rockin’ in the Free World” –  Neil Young
14. “Back in the High Life”- Steve Winwood – “I’ll be back in the high life again. All the doors I closed one time will open up again. All the eyes that watched me once will smile and take me in again”
15. “Going Mobile”- The Who – “Going Mobile…. I can stop in any street and talk to people we meet. …when I’m driving free the world’s my home, when I’m mobile…”
16. “Joy to the World”- Three Dog Night
17. “Back in My Arms Again”- Supremes “I got him back in my arms again. So satisfied”
18. “Rock Show” – McCartney and Wings  “…rock show at the Concertgebow. You’ve got long hair at the Madison Square. You’ve got rock n’ roll at the Hollywood Bowl”
19. “Groovin” – Rascals– “Groovin down a crowded avenue. Doin’ anything we like to do”
20. “Shiny Happy People” – REM – “Shiny happy people holding hands. Shiny happy people laughing.”

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Of course there are many other songs but I’ve simply run out of steam. Be sure to vote in my poll below as to whether you would want to see Maryanne (my daughter) make a song video for “Bye Corona”. And of course stay safe and careful!