Tag: Cleopatra

100 Best Songs of the 2010s – #85: “Cleopatra” by The Lumineers

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Favorite Songs6 Comments

The song at #85 on my list of 100 Best Songs of the 2010s is the beautiful “Cleopatra” by American folk rock band The Lumineers. The Denver, Colorado based trio, consisting of Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek, first made a splash in 2012 with their massive breakthrough single “Ho Hey”. (Pekarek has since left the band in 2018, so The Lumineers are currently a duo).

“Cleopatra” is the title track and second single from their sophomore album Cleopatra, and my personal favorite of all their songs. I love songs that tell a compelling story, and “Cleopatra” certainly fills the bill. Schultz explained his inspiration for the song in a 2017 Facebook post: “It’s inspired by a true story about a female taxi driver who, when she was younger, was proposed to. But her father had just passed away, so she didn’t give her boyfriend an answer. So he left the village broken-hearted and rejected and never returned again. He was her great love and she wouldn’t wash the footprints off the floor after he had left.”

The toe-tapping rhythms, jangly strummed guitars and rousing piano are really wonderful and upbeat, providing a contrast to the rather bittersweet lyrics:

I was Cleopatra, I was young and an actress
When you knelt by my mattress, and asked for my hand
But I was sad you asked it, as I laid in a black dress
With my father in a casket, I had no plans, yeah

And I left the footprints, the mud stained on the carpet
And it hardened like my heart did when you left town
But I must admit it, that I would marry you in an instant
Damn your wife, I’d be your mistress just to have you around

But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time

While the church discouraged, any lust that burned within me
Yes my flesh, it was my currency, but I held true
So I drive a taxi, and the traffic distracts me
From the strangers in my backseat, they remind me of you

But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time

And the only gifts from my Lord were a birth and a divorce
But I’ve read this script and the costume fits, so I’ll play my part

I was Cleopatra, I was taller than the rafters
But that’s all in the past love, gone with the wind
Now a nurse in white shoes leads me back to my guestroom
It’s a bed and a bathroom
And a place for the end

I won’t be late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life
And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time

Top 20 Songs for March 19-25, 2017

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30'sLeave a comment

1. HUMAN – Rag’n’Bone Man (2)
2. SHAPE OF YOU – Ed Sheeran (3)
3. SHINE – Mondo Cozmo (1)
4. ON HOLD – The xx (5)
5. HEAVYDIRTYSOUL – twenty øne piløts (8)
6. LOVE ON THE BRAIN – Rihanna (16)
7. I NEED A LIGHT – Run With It (7)
8. RUST TO GOLD – Council (9)
9. 7 – Catfish and the Bottlemen (13)
10. LOVE IS MYSTICAL – Cold War Kids (14)
11. STILL BREATHING – Green Day (4)
12. HOW DID YOU LOVE – Shinedown (17)
13. SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL – Alessia Cara (6)
14. I FEEL IT COMING – The Weeknd, Daft Punk (15)
15. WOLVES – Wide Eyed Boy (19)
16. CLEOPATRA – The Lumineers (10)
17. BELIEVER – Imagine Dragons (20)
18. WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE – Adele (11)
19. BLOOD IN THE CUT – K.Flay (12)
20. THAT’S WHAT I LIKE – Bruno Mars (N)

 

Top 20 Songs for March 5-11, 2017

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's1 Comment

1. SHINE – Mondo Cozmo (2)
2. HUMAN – Rag’n’Bone Man (3)
3. STILL BREATHING – Green Day (1)
4. SHAPE OF YOU – Ed Sheeran (6)
5. CLEOPATRA – The Lumineers (4)
6. BLOOD IN THE CUT – K.Flay (5)
7. SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL – Alessia Cara (8)
8. I NEED A LIGHT – Run With It (9)
9. HEAVYDIRTYSOUL – twenty øne piløts (11)
10. RUST TO GOLD – Council (12)
11. ON HOLD – The xx (13)
12. WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE – Adele (14)
13. ATLAS, RISE! – Metallica (7)
14. 7 – Catfish and the Bottlemen (16)
15. LOVE IS MYSTICAL – Cold War Kids (19)
16. I FEEL IT COMING – The Weeknd, Daft Punk (18)
17. DON’T WANNA KNOW – Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar (10)
18. SQUARE HAMMER – Ghost (15)
19. MY NAME IS HUMAN – Highly Suspect (20)
20. TAKE IT ALL BACK – Judah & the Lion (17)

Top 20 Songs for February 19-25, 2017

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's1 Comment

1. CLEOPATRA – The Lumineers (1)
2. ATLAS, RISE! – Metallica (3)
3. STILL BREATHING – Green Day (5)
4. SHINE – Mondo Cozmo (6)
5. BLOOD IN THE CUT – KFlay (8)
6. SHAPE OF YOU – Ed Sheeran (9)
7. HUMAN – Rag’n’Bone Man (13)
8. DON’T WANNA KNOW – Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar (2)
9. SQUARE HAMMER – Ghost (4)
10. I NEED A LIGHT – Run With It (11)
11. SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL – Alessia Cara (12)
12. TAKE IT ALL BACK – Judah & the Lion (7)
13. RUST TO GOLD – Council (14)
14. MY NAME IS HUMAN – Highly Suspect (10)
15. WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE – Adele (15)
16. HEAVYDIRTYSOUL – twenty øne piløts (16)
17. 7 – Catfish and the Bottlemen (18)
18. ON HOLD – The xx (19)
19. I FEEL IT COMING – The Weeknd, Daft Punk (N)
20. LOVE IS MYSTICAL – Cold War Kids (N)

Top 20 Songs January 22-28, 2017

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Weekly Top 30's4 Comments

https://youtu.be/ljvZ928YGrQ

1. MY NAME IS HUMAN – Highly Suspect (2)
2. CLEOPATRA – The Lumineers (3)
3. DON’T WANNA KNOW – Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar (5)
4. BLACK BEATLES – Rae Sremmurd, Gucci Mane (4)
5. 24K MAGIC – Bruno Mars (1)
6.  ATLAS, RISE! – Metallica (10)
7. SQUARE HAMMER – Ghost (12)
8. STILL BREATHING – Green Day (7)
9. OBSOLETE – Agony in the Garden (9)
10. TAKE IT ALL BACK – Judah & the Lion (11)
11. BLOOD IN THE CUT – K.Flay (13)
12. SHINE – Mondo Cozmo (20)
13. SHAPE OF YOU – Ed Sheeran (N)
14. STARBOY – The Weeknd (6)
15. I NEED A LIGHT – Run With It (16)
16. WASTE A MOMENT – Kings of Leon (8)
17. RUST TO GOLD – Council (19)
18. SURE AND CERTAIN – Jimmy Eat World (15)
19. SCARS TO YOUR BEAUTIFUL – Alessia Cara (N)
20. WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE – Adele (N)