"Living in Hope" | |
---|---|
US picture sleeve | |
A-side |
|
Released |
6 August 1965 (UK) |
Recorded |
17 June 1965 |
Genre |
Country rock, rockabilly |
Label |
Capatol |
Songwriter(s) |
Nasty-McQuickly |
Producer(s) |
|
Last single |
Ouch! (1965) (US) |
Next single |
Gay Tripper (1965) (US) |
Living in Hope is a country song by The Rutles, written and sung by drummer Barry Wom. It is one of Barry's most recognizable songs, and would go down as a key moment in his life. The EP can be seen in the music video for "ENOUGH!," along with albums such as "Barry Cross The Mersey" and the general Rutles discography.
The song was performed live at Barry's wedding, in February 11, 1965. Later that day, he accidentally married the wrong girl and ended up seeing the right one in the arms of some Scotsmen from Hull--a memory that would later inspire his first solo album.
Background[]
Wom first played his song for the other Rutles soon after he joined the group in August 1962. During an interview, Wom commented on the songwriting process, saying: "I wrote Living in Hope when I was sitting round at home. I was fiddling with the piano – I just bang away – and then if a melody comes and some words, I just have to keep going. It was great to get my first song down, one that I had written. It was a very exciting time for me and everyone was really helpful, and recording that crazy violinist was a thrilling moment."
The earliest public mention of the track seems to have been in a BBC chatter session introducing "Between Us" on the radio show Top Gear in 1964. In the conversation, Wom was asked if he had written a song and Dirk McQuickly mocked him soon afterwards, singing the first line of the refrain, "I'm Living in Hope, Living in Hope, Living in Hope, Living in Hope".
The Rutles almost decided not to put this track on Ouch!, nearly releasing the album with another cover of Act Naturally, but agreed at the last minute to keep it.
Lyrics[]
I grew up in the country
Beside a chicken shack
So I left for the city
And I didn't look back
Now, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Yes, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope
Walkin' round the city
Feelin' all alone
Nobody told me
The streets are paved with stone
But, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Yes, I‘m livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
I'm livin' in hope
Can't find my feet, or a friendly face
In this God-forsaken town
Nobody stops to lend a hand
Unless they wanna put you down
No
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Got no woman
Or a steady job
Feelin' like a cowboy
And lookin' like a slob
But, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Yes, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
I'm livin' in hope
Nothin' in my pocket
Nowhere to go
Lookin' for a handout
But no one wants to know
Well, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Yes, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope
I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Yes, I'm livin' in hope (livin' in hope)
Livin' in hope
Releases and covers[]
- Originally released on Ouch!
- Re-released on The Rutles.
- Live recordings of the song appeared on The Rutles at Che Stadium and Budokan Tokyo 1966.
- Late poet Tuli Kupferberg recorded a cover of the song on the 1993 tribute album Rutles Highway Revisited.
- Reworked by Barry on his 2017 album Give More Haircuts
- The band Tonstartssbandht recorded a cover in 2018 for the album "A Decade Deeper" from Mexican Summer
External links[]
- Information on this topic is possible thanks to Rutle historian Micheal Livesley, whose website can be found here: [1]