Siobhan Songs and Siobhan Sings
I am covering the top 20 Billboard hits of any given year. I have done 1989, 1990 and am now working on 1991.
Top Songs of 1991: #14: "High Enough" by Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees were one of the first hard-rock super groups. Before Velvet Revolver and Audioslave, there were Damn Yankees! D.Y. included Ted Nugent and Tommy Shaw from Styx.
"High Enough" was their biggest hit and it went "high enough" in the Billboard charts....it was #14 for the year of 1991. The song was written by Nugent, Shaw and Jack Blades (formerly of the bands Rubicon and Night Ranger).
I gotta say, I find this song structure a little...strange....the pre-chorus kind of doesn't fit into the song. The verses and chorus to me sound like they are from the same era, the same idea, but then there is this crazy pre-chorus that has a totally different energy from the rest of the song. It stands out. It's like you are strolling in a quiet, serene forest. Then you are yanked out of the path by a hungry bear,who drags you over craggy rocks by your hair. And then he decides against eating you and calmly, carefully puts you back on the same serene path. It's like--what the hell just happened?
"High Enough" is saturated with power chords--it is a power chord haven! I do believe except for the first two chords of the verse, every single other chord in the song is a power chord.
The lyrics beg some questions:
1. "I just made one mistake--I didn't know what to say when you called me baby"
That qualifies as a mistake? I mean, it's not like the lady called him "Horse Breath". 'Baby" isn't that shocking. But I get the feeling the songwriter was nonplussed by the use of "baby".
2. By the second verse, being called "baby" doesn't seem like such a shocker....at that point the lyric turns to "I know just what to do when you call me 'baby'". Thank goodness you figured it out!
3. "fly me over yesterday"
I will take two doses of 'fly me over yesterday', please. Thank you.
Gotta say, I kind of love the bridge to this song--it'd kind of killer heavy-metal scorcher!
Posted by Siobhan O'Malley at 2:43 PM
Labels: "High Enough", 1991, Damn Yankees, Styx, super group, Ted Nugent, Tommy Shaw
Siobhan O'Malley
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