‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me’

This poetic song gradually builds into a mixture of complex harmonies. It was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin in 1974. In 1985 Elton John and George Michael sang this as a duet to huge acclaim at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium and, in 2023 at the Glastonbury Festival, Elton John dedicated the song to George Michael, who had died in 2016.

It is generally understood that the lyrics refer to the loneliness and despair that might follow a failed relationship, the going down of the sun representing the end of something precious.

Play Charlie Macdonald’s rendition of this classic by clicking/tapping the play button beneath the image.

‘Jack’s Lament’

Jack’s Lament is the hit song from Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-motion musical film The Nightmare Before Christmas. The notional singer, Jack Skellington, is the nasty king of Halloween Town who longs for a less empty life and plots to take over the Christmas holiday. The song was written by Danny Elfman, who also provided the singing voice of Jack in the film.

Click/tap on the play button above to hear Charlie Macdonald’s rendition of this sinister yet sad song.

‘Go the Distance’

This song is from Disney’s 1997 animated feature film Hercules. It was written by Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel. It is the only song in the film that made the final cut. American singer Michael Bolton released a pop version which was generally considered to be a much better production than the film soundtrack. In 1998 it was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, but lost out both times to the song My Heart Will Go On from the film Titanic.

The song expresses the young Hercules’ increasing difficulty in fitting in with his peers. He prays to the gods to help him find where he truly belongs. He is told that he must become true hero in order to be able to join his father Zeus on Mount Olympus. Go the Distance is seen as a motivational song to inspire greater achievement.

Here it is sung by Charlie Macdonald.

‘Easy’

The slow bluesy ballad Easy with its distinctive guitar glides was written by Lionel Richie and released by the Commodores in 1977. The song expresses relief as a relationship ends. Instead of feeling depressed, Richie declares he is “easy like Sunday morning”, evoking, he said, the atmosphere in small southern towns “that die at 11:30pm” on a Saturday night. Easy reached #9 in the UK charts.

Richie himself hailed from Tuskegee in Macon County, Alabama, with a population of less than 10,000. Tuskegee was originally Creek Indian land until President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830 had most of the natives removed to west of the Mississippi River. The town then grew on the strength of slave-owning cotton plantations.

Listen now to Charlie Macdonald singing this great bluesy ballad by clicking/tapping the play button just below the image above.