Songs on my "I" pod Trivia Quiz

Answer: But for what you're not

This song was written by Bob Dylan in 1964, but not released by him until "Biograph" in 1985. It was, reportedly, intended for Nico, the German singer who worked with Andy Warhol - she released a version in 1967. To my mind, though, the cover by Fairport Convention for their 1969 album "What We Did on Our Holidays" is one of the most beautiful songs by anyone, ever. Go have a listen on YouTube, we'll wait...

Answer: fill up your glasses of brandy and wine

The version of this song on my iPod is by the Pogues. Jock Stewart, the canny gun man, has, in this version at any rate, a somewhat menacing air - it took me several years to figure out the words, the whole time thinking there'd be some terrible crime revealed. Turns out he only shoots his dog - in some versions of this traditional song, he doesn't even do that.

It's been covered by a wide variety of Celtic and Irish bands - the Pogues recorded it on "Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash" in 1985, with Cait O'Riordan doing the vocals.

Answer: Oh pardon me sir, it's the furthest from my mind

"...I'm just lookin' for a dear, dear friend of mine"

This Lou Reed song was first released on "The Velvet Underground and Nico" in 1967, though it was written a few years earlier. It's a really quite blatant account, for the time, of buying drugs. Great barrel house piano.

Answer: Rod Stewart

Amazing guitar on this - Beck makes his guitar walk and talk. Rolling Stone ranked it number 86 on their "Greatest Guitar Songs of all Time" list.

"Truth" was a very heavily blues-influenced hard rock album, and an inspiration for later artists such as Led Zeppelin. It's considered by music historians as an important influence on Heavy Metal.

Answer: I Can't Be Myself

Released in 1970 on the "Hag" album. It made it to number three on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.

Haggard was a founder of the Bakersfield Sound, a harder and edgier sound than what was coming out of Nashville in the 1960s.

Answer: Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for

"I Can See Clearly Now", from the album of the same name. This song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and did quite well in the UK, also. A 1994 version by Jimmy Cliff was also a hit, though not quite so big.

I love the Holly Cole Trio version of this song - it makes a surprisingly effective jazz song.

Answer: In the still and the chill of the night

"I cover the waterfront
I'm watching the sea
Will the one I love
Be coming back to me?"

This song, by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman, was based (more or less) on Max Miller's book of the same name which had come out the year before (1932). Miller was a journalist who had been covering the San Diego docks for years - his book was a loosely tied together collection of non fiction bits that captured the feel of the waterfront. The song, and the movie in which it featured, didn't really follow the book in terms of story, but they all caught the atmosphere. This song has been covered by dozens of artists, but to me, it's always belonged to Billie.

Answer: I Fall to Pieces

"I Fall to Pieces" was the first of many songs recorded by Patsy Cline to be written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard. It was originally offered to Roy Drusky, but he decided not to record it, saying it wasn't "a man's song". Patsy heard about this, and asked for the song.

This was one of the first songs Cline recorded in a more mainstream and less "Country" style, which her producer Owen Bradley had been pushing her to try. Reportedly, she was not too happy during recording, but came around once she heard the finished version. It became one of her biggest hits.

Answer: I Feel Fine

It was the first time feedback was used in a recording - a mostly accidental happening that worked very well.

"I Feel Fine" started the Beatles' run of six number one songs in a row on the US charts. It also has the minor distinction of being the first Beatles song I ever heard, way back then.

Answer: I Got You, Babe

This became Sonny and Cher's signature song; it was a Billboard Hot 100 Number One for three weeks.

The version on my iPod is the UB40 one, with Chrissie Hynde. It also reached Number One, this time in the UK.

Answer: Mazel tov

"I Gotta Feeling", from the album "The E.N.D.". It was a huge hit, and won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It's nice to see the tradition of mindless undemanding summer pop songs continue.

Answer: I never knew what I had

This song came from "Nashville Skyline", in 1969. It was released as a single, but never cracked the top forty in the US - it did a little better in the UK.

I've always liked this song, because Bob is in good voice for it, which, as any Dylan fan can tell you, is not always the case. Wikipedia tells me that it's one of the most popular songs on the album, but it was not included on the original "Greatest Hits Part 2" album, released in 1971. It's a pretty quiet, easy song - maybe it took some time to grow on people.

Answer: Imagine

"Imagine", from the album of the same name. Phil Spector co-produced this album, with John and Yoko.

John made it clear in several interviews that his message was the same in this song as in other more overtly bitter or political ones, but that the message was "sugar-coated" here, by the beautiful music.

Answer: In the midnight hour

"In the Midnight Hour", from "The Exciting Wilson Pickett". It was a crossover hit, making number one on Billboard's R&B chart, and number 21 on the pop chart.

The song was written by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the same Memphis hotel where Martin Luther King was killed a few years later.

Answer: He ropes the runaway mare

"So if you ever go out to the circus
Where the Wallendas walk on the wire
Remember that Indian Cowboy
When the white horses leap rings of fire"

In the song, an out of control mare was headed right for an open lantern. Fire was a deadly danger in the old-style Big Top, of course. An elephant broke from her chains in the excitement, and trampled the Indian cowboy to death.

Ely himself did work a season with the circus, as a llama wrangler. He quit after a real-life close shave with a stampeding elephant.

The version of this song on my iPod is from Tom Russell's 1991 album "Cowboy Real" - give it a listen if you're fond of cowboy songs.

Answer: It's up to you, yeah you

"Instant Karma", which was released as a single in February 1970, just before the Beatles officially announced their break-up.

Reportedly, author Stephen King took his title for the book "The Shining" from the line "we all shine on" from this song. This is borne out by the dedication to the book, which reads "This is for Joe Hill King, who shines on".

Answer: Into the Mystic

This heartbreakingly beautiful song from the "Moondance" album was not released as a single. Apparently, (according to a BBC survey) it's very popular for doctors to listen to while operating, but I find that hard to believe - I know that if it comes on while I'm driving, I have to pull over to the side of the road and listen, maybe cry a little.

Answer: And surely something's got to come to you

This song from 1963 reached number one on Billboard's R&B chart, and number four on the Hot 100. The Impressions were a "non Motown" R&B group, hailing from Chicago and signed with ABC-Paramount Records. Curtis Mayfield, the lead singer and songwriter through much of the 60s, left in 1970 for a solo career.

Answer: Willie P Bennett, a Canadian musician

"Willie says the ladies like it too
Willie used to travel with a board and an iron
Until his missus said 'you and me's through'"

A lighthearted song about how hard it is for a travelling musician to keep a white shirt clean.

Willie P was something of a legend in Canadian folk music circles, though he never really got a lot of mainstream success. He was an essential part of Fred Eaglesmith's band from 1994 until his heart attack on stage in 2007. Willie P Bennett died in February, 2008.

Answer: It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry

Released on "Highway 61 Revisited", in 1965. A more upbeat version than that on the album was part of the famous electric set Dylan played at the 1965 Newport Folk Fest, where he was heckled by the audience.