1001 Songs Challenge #947: Dry Your Eyes (2004)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

 

The Streets – Dry Your Eyes (2004)

 

 

We bring an end to 2004. We’re leaving New York and the US behind, dear reader, and making our way back to the UK. Formed in 1994 The Streets were a rap project spearheaded by multi-talented singer and instrumentalist, Mike Skinner. However, we join The Streets in 2004 with their second album, A Grand Don’t Come for Free, and from there 1001 Songs have lifted the track – Dry Your Eyes. 

A Grand Don’t Come for Free is a concept album and rap opera from Mike Skinner so working on one track we have just one piece of a much larger story. Dry Your Eyes focuses on a painful breakup, each verse offering a heart-rending testament to the pain and heartache that comes with such a parting. The verses sound conversational while the choruses are sung with the narrator talking of the need to forget this fallen relationship and recover, that the girl they have lost has moved on and won’t be coming back. 

Dry Your Eyes is a moving piece with an orchestral opening and piano backing. The lyrics beautifully convey the suffering that comes with a difficult break-up. Released as a single, Dry Your Eyes remains The Streets’ biggest hit and climbed all the way to the top of the charts in the UK. The Streets became inactive after their fifth album was released in 2011 but Mike Skinner began releasing new material in 2017 and has continued with The Streets in the present day.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)

Snow Patrol – Run