The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: It ain't an easy thing to do
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “Sent to meetings, hypnotized ” is from the song "Handle With Care”, performed by The Traveling Wilburys. Written by George Harrison, it was released as a single in 1988, and as Track 1 on the album “Traveling Wilburys Volume 1”, released in 1988. Produced by Jeff Lynne & George Harrison.
““Handle With Care” was written by George Harrison and originally intended as the B-side for his 1988 “This Is Love” single (yes, with four featured artists). But when the record label >deemed< (Ed. great link here) it “too good”, the Wilburys formed to record more songs for an album.
The song’s title was decided after initially coming up with a few lines, when Dylan asked “What’s the song called and what is about?” and Harrison saw a box with a “Handle With Care” sticker.
“Handle With Care” was the supergroup’s debut single, reaching the top 40 in seven countries including a #2 peak in Canada. In the US, it peaked at #45 in December 1988.”
Credit: Genius Link: >Handle With Care<
Also see: this much longer article on how the Traveling Wilburys formed and what a “Wilbury” is at Cheatsheet.com Link: >Wilburys< (Ed. Note this article has a different take on who thought the song was “too good”.)
This Week’s Documentary Film Recommendation:
On Plex, and elsewhere as well (may be fee-based): “Bowie: The Man Who Changed The World”.
Things I Found On Social Media:
Jack Bruce on Cream - (Ed. hilarious in a sort of sad, but true way…)
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
The Traveling Wilburys were just so cool. So much talent, such great musicians and they had fun without letting egos get in the way. Today’s song to play is one of the songs from the Street Music set I wrote about last week that I’d heard but never looked into playing because I naively assumed it would be a difficult song to learn. Not so!
One of George Harrison’s musical gifts to us was to write complex sounding songs that were sometimes fairly uncomplicated musically, easily within reach of most somewhat proficient beginners and intermediate players, but rich lyrically. “Handle With Care” is one of those and it’s today’s “A Song To Play”. Give it a try.
If you’re fairly new to the guitar, chords rooted on B can be a bit intimidating, but there are only a couple of BMaj chords in this song. Your guitar instructor will tell you to learn the chord properly, but I’m an admitted cheater when it comes to Bs. B minor? Not if I can get away with a Bminor7. BMaj as a barre? Sure. Take a look at the chord diagram I inserted just below the chord chart. I suppose you could try to fit all of your remaining fingers on the D, G, and B strings at the fourth fret. Mine just won’t fit so I just barre at the second fret with my index finger and barre at the fourth fret with my ring finger to the D string and stay off the high E. That might be a little easier for me because I play everything fingerpicked, but give it a shot. If it doesn’t work for you, your guitar instructor can always show you the way not to cheat. Still, my motto (which is largely driven by age) when it comes to the guitar is definitely “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t winnin’”. Just sayin…
In this chart (which admittedly is a “representation” of timing, but isn’t an actual score) the BMaj chords come as half-notes, and the sequence is 2 beats of GMaj, then 2 beats of BMaj, then 2 beats of CMaj. Could be worse and the tempo is 115 BPM so it’s not extraordinarily fast, but quick enough. Play it any way that’s comfortable for you.
…A Song To Play…
Lyrics
[Verse 1: George Harrison]
Been beat up and battered around
Been sent up, and I've been shot down
You're the best thing that I've ever found
Handle me with care
[Verse 2: George Harrison]
Reputation's changeable
Situation's tolerable
But, baby, you're adorable
Handle me with care
[Pre-Chorus: Roy Orbison]
I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care?
[Chorus: Bob Dylan and Tom Petty]
Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on
[Verse 3: George Harrison]
I've been fobbed off, and I've been fooled
I've been robbed and ridiculed
In daycare centers and night schools
Handle me with care
[Verse 4: George Harrison]
Been stuck in airports, terrorized
Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Overexposed, commercialized
Handle me with care
[Pre-Chorus: Roy Orbison]
I'm so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won't you show me that you really care?
[Chorus: Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison]
Everybody's got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on
[Verse 5: George Harrison]
I've been uptight and it made a mess
But I'll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care
Credit: Genius Link:
The “ME!” Section…..
What I’m Listening2: Spotify Link: >Ladies Night<
Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back”click on link for streaming options, then scroll down for links (or just click on these links) to Amazon, Apple, Pandora, iTunes and even Spotify
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This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI, things I link to might…
-Michael Acoustic
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Some Links For Today
ED. None of these result in compensation to me in any way, and I’m not endorsing any of them, but some of my readers may find them as interesting as I did…
From Carvin Audio:
Choosing A PA System - Playing small venues or on the street? Or larger venues that don’t have a house system? Find some solutions here - yes, they’re going to try to sell you something.
From Blues Guitar Unleashed:
Both of these articles from Mr. Hamlin have the word “simple” in them. Sorta things that make you say “hmmmmm” (as in: “Is it ACTUALLY simple?”), but worth a read…
From Acoustic Guitar Magazine:
Maing Music With Others - two musicians who’ve played together for a long time tell you how to do it. Good stuff here, and yes, the language of musicians is still basic music theory, and that’s just the way it is…
From American Songwriter Magazine:
Led Zepplin Scoop - “We weren’t friends…” uh, wut?
From Songtown:
Professional vs Aspirational Songwriters - Yeah, there’s a difference…
Better Songs Checklist - They make it sound so simple…..
From the Disc Makers Blog:
Suspended Chords - Ever wonder what that notation “sus2” or “sus4” means? We’ve talked about suspended chords and how they add to your playing, but this is a good overview. If you need a chord diagram to show you the fingering pattern for any particular suspended chord (or any other type of chord for that matter) go straight to this link: >Jguitar.com<. That’s where I get all of the chord diagrams I use in Michael Acoustic.
Thank You To Our New Subscribers and Followers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Me: “What are you doing?”
Mika: “There’s a string!”
Me: “And?”
Mika: “I got it….saved your life, man.”
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”
Set on you, 80s George Harrison. Is top post- Beatles George, and I will not be taking criticism on that statement at this time. Signed, a geriatric millennial.
I can just see the five Wilburys, surrounding the mics in the studio while recording "Handle With Care" ... Roy Orbison steps up for his vocals ... and the others drop their cans, mutter to themselves and walk away.