Dear listeners,
Early March is such a tease, occasionally giving us a fleeting preview of desperately desired springtime — only to snatch it away with yet another dreary, blustery, 30-something-degree day. You know the saying: “In like a lion, out like a lamb.” Since we’ve finally almost reached that fabled calendrical turning point in the middle of the month, I thought I’d put together a playlist that goes in like a lion and out like a lamb.
Given their potent and evocative symbolism, there is no shortage of music that references lions or lambs. Lions connote strength, fire and even potential danger; lambs, in keeping with their biblical association, often represent purity, gentleness and self-sacrifice. In today’s selections, you’ll hear these themes explored by artists like Genesis, Neko Case and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others.
May these songs bring warmer afternoons, longer days and much lighter jackets.
Momentum for the sake of momentum,
Listen along while you read.
1. The Tokens: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)”
Let’s begin with the most famous version of this oft-covered classic about a lion in peaceful repose. Most elements of what would eventually become “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” were written by the South African musician Solomon Linda, whose 1939 version of the song was titled “Mbube,” the Zulu word for “lion.” Pete Seeger’s folk group the Weavers released an influential version in 1951 (as Seeger, Edward Norton plays it onstage in “A Complete Unknown”), but the doo-wop group the Tokens took the song to new heights of popularity in 1961, with this rendition that featured English-language lyrics by the songwriter George David Weiss.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: “Gold Lion”
Following its raw, in-your-face 2003 debut LP, “Fever to Tell,” the New York rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs introduced a slightly more polished and subdued sound on this opening track from its second album, “Show Your Bones,” released in 2006. The title phrase is a nod to the two awards that Spike Jonze (then the boyfriend of the band’s frontwoman, Karen O) won at the 2005 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival for his surreal Adidas spot “Hello Tomorrow,” featuring a haunting lullaby sung by Karen.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. Lion Babe: “Treat Me Like Fire”
Lion Babe is an R&B duo consisting of the producer Lucas Goodman (a Leo) and the singer Jillian Hervey (a Gemini, but one known for her particularly leonine mane). This 2012 single exemplifies the collagelike texture of Goodman’s approach — the song actually sounds like it’s on fire — and the soulful cool of Hervey’s vocals.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Neko Case: “Lion’s Jaws”
Here’s a dreamy, beautifully sung ballad from the Amplifier favorite Neko Case. As I pointed out earlier this year in my profile of her, Case’s music draws inspiration from nature and frequently references animals; she’s written songs about sparrows, tigers, swans, whales and of course, on this track from the appropriately named 2006 album “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” lions.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. Judee Sill: “The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown”
Let’s begin to go out like a lamb with another beloved artist to whom I once dedicated an entire Amplifier: The singer-songwriter Judee Sill. This highlight from Sill’s 1971 self-titled debut sounds, at the start, like a rather unassuming folk tune. But as it progresses, it becomes a showcase for the rich, vivid imagery of Sill’s lyricism (“I sailed through the clouds on 10 crested cardinals / to guard my battleground”) and — especially in that layered, interlocking coda in the song’s final moments — her uncommonly brilliant ear as an arranger.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. Genesis: “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
This intricately composed opening title track of Genesis’s 1974 cult-classic prog-rock opus — the band’s final release to feature the original frontman Peter Gabriel — effectively sets the scene for the dreamlike tale of self-discovery that will unfold over the ensuing 94-minute concept double album.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
7. Buddy Guy: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
Leave it to the bluesman Buddy Guy to transform a children’s nursery rhyme into an electrifying rock ’n’ roll number — which is just what he did on this track from his 1968 album “A Man & the Blues” (to which Stevie Ray Vaughn would later pay homage). Guy’s lamb is an unrepentant rebel who “followed [Mary] to school one day, and broke the teacher’s rule.” But it sounds like it was totally worth it: “What a time they did have, that day at school.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
8. Paul McCartney & Wings: “Little Lamb Dragonfly”
Finally, Paul McCartney must have had lambs on the brain when he was writing Wings’ second album, “Red Rose Speedway,” since it features not only his own take on “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” but also this tender, multipart folk ballad. “My heart is breaking for you, little lamb,” he sings, his voice as gentle and warm as a late March afternoon.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
“In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb” track list
Track 1: The Tokens, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)”
Track 2: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Gold Lion”
Track 3: Lion Babe, “Treat Me Like Fire”
Track 4: Neko Case, “Lion’s Jaws”
Track 5: Judee Sill, “The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown”
Track 6: Genesis, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
Track 7: Buddy Guy, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
Track 8: Paul McCartney & Wings, “Little Lamb Dragonfly”
