sailboat song lyrics

"Sailboat" lyrics

Cody fry & ben rector lyrics.

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Sailboat Lyrics as written by Benjamin Rector

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“But I'm not giving up (oh) I'm gonna move on forward I'm gonna raise my sail God knows what I'm headed towards”

As we go through changes in our lives, there are times when you have to simply sit and wait. I am thankful I have an unfaltering faith knowing God will use my circumstances and make a way. It is difficult to wait for the wind and times… But I know without a shadow of a doubt; One day I will sail on.

Until then,

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Sailing, Sailing (Over The Bounding Main)

Maritime-themed Song

Godfrey Marks (1880)

Y’heave ho! My lads, the wind blows free, A pleasant gale is on our lee, And soon across the ocean clear Our gallant bark shall bravely steer. But ere we part from freedom’s shore tonight, A song we’ll sing for home and beauty bright. Then here’s to the sailor, And here’s to the soldier, too, Hearts will beat for him upon the waters blue.

Sailing, sailing, Over the bounding main, For many a stormy wind shall blow Ere Jack comes home again, Sailing, sailing, Over the bounding main, For many a stormy wind shall blow Ere Jack comes home again!

The sailor’s life is bold and free, His home is on the rolling sea, And never heart more true or brave Than he who launches on the wave. Afar he speeds in distant climes to roam, With jovial song he rides the sparkling foam. Then here’s to the sailor, And here’s to the soldier, too, Hearts will beat for him upon the waters blue. (Chorus)

The tide is flowing with the gale, Y’heave ho! My lads, set every sail! The harbor bar we soon shall clear, Farewell once more to home so dear; For when the tempest rages wide and far, That home shall be the sailor’s guiding star. Then here’s to the sailor, And here’s to the soldier, too, Hearts will beat for him upon the waters blue. (Chorus)

Godfrey Marks is the pseudonym of James Frederick Swift.  This song was first published in 1880 by Reid Brothers of Oxford St., London. The song was also freely “borrowed” and adapted by Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert & Sullivan) for use in his operettas, and so is sometimes incorrectly attributed to him.

Of course, I added this song to our potential repertoire since we selected the name “Bounding Main” from a choice of about 50 possibilities in 2003 when we first formed our group.  We have never actually worked on learning or memorizing this song, but I hope that we will soon!  — Dean Calin 5/6/2020.

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Sailing by Christopher Cross

Songfacts®:

• This tranquil classic evokes sailing on the open sea, leaving any troubles on the shore. In a Songfacts interview with Christopher Cross , he told the story of the song: "I was just at home sitting in this cheap apartment, sitting at the table. I remember coming up with the verse and chorus, and the lyrics to the first verse of the chorus all came out. These tunings, like Joni [Mitchell] used to say, they get you in this sort of trance, so all that came out at once: 'It's not far down to paradise...' The chorus just sort of came out. So I got up and wandered around the apartment just thinking, 'Wow, that's pretty f--kin' great.' I just thought, 'That's really cool.' So then I sat down and had to try to come up with other stuff to make the rest of the song, but I thought I had something there. Then it took about two years before I had a bridge to that song, because the modality of the modal tuning thing, it gets pretty linear, and you've got to be careful. There are writers - I won't mention who - whose songs can get kind of boring because everything's this modality. So I knew I needed to lift the song out of that modality in the bridge and make key changes. It took about two years before I came up with the bridge that changes all the keys to where it lifts, but it was a pretty special moment."
• Cross wrote this song about his memories sailing every summer with a friend in Texas. It became the paragon of "Yacht Rock," a term used to define a form of easy listening music favored by the rich. And what defines yacht music better than a song about sailing? Eventually, Yacht Rock caught on with the proletariat, and even spawned a cover band, the Yacht Rock Revue, made up of seven members who do it as a full-time job. "Sailing" is pretty much their " Free Bird ," and it has a powerful impact on the crowd. "That song is exceptionally smooth," Nicholas Niespodziani of the band told Songfacts . "Everything we do is pretty smooth, but then there's like, a next level of smooth, that's just so vibed out. A lot of times, you can create excitement by being not excited, and that song is the perfect example of that: It's so chilled out that it gets people pretty amped up."
• On the Howard Stern radio show, Cross explained that sailing with his friend got him away from the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. Cross said that if the guy had taken him bowling and he enjoyed it, the song could have become "Bowling."
• Michael Omartian, who was Cross' producer, also contributed keyboards and background vocals to the album. Omartian has worked on many hit songs - he co-wrote " She Works Hard For The Money " and produced " We Are The World " with Quincy Jones. Jay Graydon, who is also a hit songwriter and producer, played guitar on the Christopher Cross album. He singles out Omartian and David Foster as guys who are great to have in sessions. "These guys are just incredible musicians," he told Songfacts . "I'm pretty good at doing string stuff and synth overdubs, and of course guitar overdubs and stuff, but you bring good guys in, then it gets really masterful."
• Christopher Cross won three Grammy Awards for this song: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist. The following year he won an Oscar for Best Song with his " Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) " from the Dudley Moore movie Arthur . His second album Another Page was released in 1983. That album contained " Think Of Laura ," which was his last Top 40 hit. >> Suggestion credit : Bertrand - Paris, France
• This was Christopher Cross' second single, following his #2 charting " Ride Like The Wind ." Cross considers "Sailing" a "complete" song and one of the best he's written, but he never thought it would be a hit. "I thought the song was way too introspective," he said in his Songfacts interview.
• It was anything but smooth sailing for Cross in 2020 after he became one of the first celebrities to get coronavirus, which he picked up in Mexico after performing in Mexico City on March 7, shortly before North America went into lockdown. Cross revealed his diagnosis on April 3, calling it "the worst illness I have ever had." In October, he said he contracted a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which affects his speech, memory, and movement, likely as a result of the virus.
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Comments: 35

• Jenny from Nowhere, Ok I came here looking for any information about the long intro that precedes this song. It sounds just like the song, but it's also a classical sounding melodic drone of symphonic strings. Far as I know it is NOT on the original album but I heard a scrap of it on TikTok recently, and remembered how I used to listen to that long intro when "Sailing" the song was originally popular. It is honestly some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. I can't find it on Spotify or in a google search either. If you know anything about it please message me over Instagram at ["at" symbol]cat_ladys_represent. Thanks!
• Dave E. from Thorndale, Pa I too remember when Christopher Cross was interviewed on the Howard Stern Show. It was several years after “Sailing” and “Arthur” were released, but it was one of the best interviews Howard ever did. Howard said afterward that when he saw Christopher Cross in the lineup he thought, “Oh man, what am I going to do with this guy?” but then Cross came on and killed! Cross mentioned that he did not stay in touch with the neighbor who took him sailing and was so kind to him as a teenager, so Howard, always alert to a terrific story, tracked down the neighbor and invited Cross back for next day’s show. They surprised Cross by reuniting him with his neighbor via phone live on the air. The neighbor was aware that “Sailing” was Christopher Cross’ memories of their weekend trips, and Cross of course remembered his neighbor fondly, but hearing them speak about it for the first time years later was one of the most compelling interviews I’ve ever heard. I’ve searched for that Stern Show but never found it.
• Peter "Bowling" It's not far to never never land, No reason to pretend, And if the oil is right you can find the joy, of a perfect game, oh the boards they can do miracles, just you wait and see, believe me - Bowling, takes me away.....
• Susan from Usa Jay, you are so right! I swore I heard him tell Howard Stern something about those sailing trips that I can’t find written anywhere now.
• Jay The song sailing has nothing to do with sailing. If you don’t believe me ask @itsmrcross on Twitter.
• Dan from Beebe Arkansas 30 Mi From Lr Hadn’t heard ‘ Sailing ‘ in years! Just did, and wow what a great song!! STILL! Liked the whole article.
• Rabbi Meyer from Central Wisconsin So many comments about memories generated by this song, so here's another one (well, two) - takes me back to late afternoons in the fall playing practice rounds with Jaro the Wise on golf team our senior year (HS) - while the song was a hit. And after winning their Grammys someone in the band said, "we went out and got drunk; we thought it was our duty." So Geo and I fulfilled that duty the night he'd won the HS band award - Wisconsin drinking age was 18 at that time.
• Jim from Plymouth Uk I was 23 years old when this beautiful song was released, l had just moved down to Cornwall to windsurf and surf the big Atlantic waves. This song perfectly captured my love of the sea and the vibe of Cornwall and still has the same effect. It is a love song to the wind. I still surf and windsurf and when finances allow I intend to sail my yacht around the Pacific until I die, Sailing will go on the odyssey with me.
• Agnello Noel from Mumbai Who is Carter Burwell?
• Frank from Okc, Ok The guitar part was done by Eric Johnson, and drums were done by Tommy Taylor- Eric Johnson's drummer. I sat at a bar in South Carolina drinking with Eric, and I said to him, so your guitar style was stolen on this song. Eric had a moment of silence, and he said "lets just say that now we have similar styles." He was young at the time, so he was paid for his style with little recognition. I have heard that the song was written by a local man who cleaned boats after they were out at sea, and he said his thought, while cleaning, was that he would rather be out to sea, sailing. He said that he sold the rights to Christopher Cross. He hid the money from the sale of the song on his property and later died with no one ever finding it. This story was told to me by my brother who knew him.
• Joey from London Uk When I heard this song it had just been released and I was visiting the US for the first time. I had picked up a car from the airport and was driving along and turned the radio on and this song started playing. I was immediately hooked and it defined the whole vibe of the US at the time. That was my first impression in America and I'll never forget it.
• Camille from Toronto, Oh You know how listening to some songs can take you away to a where you always heard it to be? Well, the lyrics to this particular song speak of sailing as a way of beautiful escape. You can hear it and picture it in your mind; and with this song's lyrics, vocals and music, you can feel it. There is a touch of melancholy. That can be interpreted as sailing is an escape but you have to eventually get back to reality. Or it could mean that the person is only sailing in his mind and not actually physically sailing. It's one of the loveliest songs ever.
• Rodney from Cleveland, Tn I was 9 when this song came out. I remember how much I was impacted by it. Truly one of the best songs of the time and still is.
• Brandonh from Albuquerque, Nm I love this song, but I don't know if its just me but I'm pretty sure Chris Brown sampled it in his song "I Can't Let You Go".
• Bec from Ft. Laud, Fl I remember when I first heard this sound, I was leaving to start a new start , and on the plane this is what changed my world. Thanks Chris
• Matt from Santa Cruz, Ca I can still remember hearing this song as a little kid in the morning on my mom's clock radio after a thunderstom that apparently scared me out of my bed in the middle of the night. I just remember the extraordinarily peaceful and protected feeling I had when I heard Sailing, and this song always brings back those great feelings 20+ years later.
• En from Chicago, Il The name of the friend he would go sailing with is Al Glascock.
• Jesus from Heaven, Fl This song is about what the Soul feels, once it has arrived at the KINGDOM OF GOD, that resides WITHIN. Enlightenment, Nirvana, Cosmic Consciousness, Oneness, etc. "Its not far down to Paradise, atleast is not for me" "If the wind is right you can sail away, and find tranquility" "Ohh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see" "Believe Me"
• Chip from Stratford, Ct Wow frank, that's horrible. I have a female friend Lea that is pretty much your situation. We fooled around when we were younger. We both ended up marrying other people. I really miss her. Chip
• Brian from Cincinnati, Oh One word can describe this song,beautiful
• Billy from West Unity, Oh It's a pity that every song has to be slammed with "it's about drugs". God where do these people come from. I suppose Think of Laura refers to some kind of gross sexual encounter. George, you have waaaaaaaaaay too much time on your hands. This is the first and only time I've ever heard that Sailing had anything to do with smoking pot.
• Peter from Seoul, -- This song just makes you feel at peace, especially the piano solos. Cross also sounds the same as he did when the song first came out, and that's great!
• Jane from Austin, Tx 'Nsync did a nice cover of this song. and Mr. Cross even plays on it.
• Frank from Birmingham, Al I love this song. It reminds me of my first girlfriend. She was the first girl I dated after I got my drivers license. We both loved this song, I had it on 8 track. She and I only dated through the summer, we remained friends after we started dating other people. She married a friend of mine, they were married 26 years. She was killed in a automobile accident last month. I will always think of her when I hear this song. She was a wonderful person and will be missed.
• Lalah from Wasilla, Ak George, leave the weed behind and take a ride on a sailboat. If you had ever been sailing you'd know the feeling of a breeze moving your boat across the water. This song definitely conveys a sunny day on a lake with no motors in your ears or exhaust stinking up the air. Lake Travis sounds about right.
• Sara from Silver Spring, Md This ranked #1 on VH1's Soft-sational Rock Songs
• David from South Sf, Ca Beautiful song, both words and music. I'm impressed that he not only sang it so well but that he composed it too.
• Melissa from Windsor, Canada Regardless of what slang terms are used for smoking marijuana, this song is not about that. I think the nature of the song makes that clear.
• George from Somewhere, Ga This song is actually about smoking pot. Sailing is a euphemism or slang for smoking marijuana. When he says "wind" it is meaning smoke. And while he actually sings it as "canvas" so that it would not be so obvious and so it would receive radio play, insert the word "cannabis". Listen to all the words!!!
• Carlos from Brooklyn, Ny I interpret this song as being in a state of nirvana or "heaven".
• Pete from Nowra, Australia this is a fantastic song, one of those songs when you hear it first up , you know it's gonna be a hit....heard he didn't sound to good live,can anyone confirm????
• Rob Mcmahon from Woodbury, Nj While on the Howard Stern show years back, he commented on how he would go with this friend, who was an older guy. His Dad never spent any time with him and this song was sorta inspired by that.
• Chris from Denver, Co I used to live in Austin and heard the same thing, he wrote it about either Lake Travis or Canyon Lake. Chris, Littleton, CO
• Dimitri from Oklahoma, Ks Sailing is really tops - I love it lots
• Don from San Antonio, Tx People around Austin say it's about lake Travis.

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• Sailing Lyrics

Christopher Cross - Sailing Lyrics

Artist: Christopher Cross

Album: Christopher Cross

Genre: Rock

Well, it's not far down to Paradise At least it's not for me And if the wind is right you can sail away And find tranquility Oh, the canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see, believe me It's not far to never, never land No reason to pretend And if the wind is right you can find the joy Of innocence again Oh, the canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see, believe me Sailing takes me away To where I've always heard it could be Just a dream and the wind to carry me And soon I will be free Fantasy, it gets the best of me when I'm sailing All caught up in the reverie Every word is a symphony Won't you believe me? Sailing takes me away To where I've always heard it could be Just a dream and the wind to carry me And soon I will be free It's not far back to sanity At least it's not for me And if the wind is right you can sail away And find serenity Oh, the canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see, believe me Sailing takes me away To where I've always heard it could be Just a dream and the wind to carry me And soon I will be free

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The 10 Best Styx Songs (Critic’s Picks)

The band's greatest singles that hit the Billboard Hot 100.

By Gary Graff

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During its half century existence, Styx has logged 23 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, eight of which reached the top 10. It’s a wide array of music as well, from the prog leanings of “Come Sail Away” and “Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)” to the hard rock of “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” and “Renegade” to power ballads such as “Babe” and “The Best of Times.” Then there’s whatever you want to call “Mr. Roboto.”

There’s more than a greatest hits album worth of tunes in the Chicago-formed band’s Hot 100 canon. And it’s important to understand the range represented; because of Dennis DeYoung’s prominent keyboards, a few longer tracks, thematic works and album imagery, Styx has prog credentials, but the bulk of its repertoire falls into the more straightforward rock and, in some cases, pop categories. It is in many ways the epitome of classic ‘70s AOR, touching quite a few bases for a substantial and varied core audience.

Choosing the best of Styx’s Hot 100 oeuvre — running from a sole No. 1 (“Babe” for two weeks in 1979) to No. 88 (“You Need Love” four years earlier) — is tricky. There are iconic tracks such as “Mr. Roboto,” “Show Me the Way” and “Babe” that are more popular than they are amazing, and there are some songs at the lower end of the Hot 100 spectrum that have greater creative merit. A long history breeds plenty of choices, and to its credit Styx has never shied away from drifting into different lanes that surprised and even polarized its audience.

With the band readying for a summer Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour with Foreigner and special guest John Waite — starting June 11 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and introducing new bassist Terry Gowan (brother of singer-keyboardist Lawrence Gowan) — we give you these choices as Styx’s 10 finest Hot 100 entries. (Each song is listed with the album it hails from, the year it peaked on the Hot 100 and its Hot 100 peak in parenthesis.)

"You Need Love" ( Styx II , 1975, No. 88)

The opening track from Styx’s second album wasn’t a high climber and was ultimately superseded by “Lady,” but it presents a free-range ensemble not far removed from its bar-band days, still brimming with exuberance. The bah-bah-bah intro harmonies set up Dennis DeYoung’s “Welcome my friends!” salutation, and the group fires through the track with guitar solos by James “J.Y.” Young and John Curulewski and an organ ride from DeYoung; it would not sound out of place on Boston’s debut album a year later. Styx is having a ball here, and the exuberance is infectious. Listen here.

"Lorelei" ( Equinox , 1976, No. 27)

Styx mastered the sparse start that blasts off into rock arguably better than any other band of the era, and many of its best songs follow that format. Penned by DeYoung and Young, this urgent and earnest plea to a lover to live together (forever, of course) displayed a developing sense of dynamics. It flowed more than it ebbed and used its pomp for modest degrees of melodic invention. It would be usurped in the catalog by other anthems, but it holds up alongside any of ’em. Listen here.

"Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" ( Pieces of Eight , 1978, No. 21)

The motor on Tommy Shaw’s boat failed to start one day, and the ensuing sputter gave him the musical inspiration to launch this song. The result was a stomping rock anthem, with guitars and DeYoung’s organ moshing together in arena-sized glory. It all provided extra heft for the lyrics, which were drawn from a friend of Shaw’s struggling with unemployment. Listen here.

"Mademoiselle" ( Crystal Ball , 1976, No. 36)

Then-new member Tommy Shaw’s first single for Styx was a buoyant mélange of a boppy Merseybeat melody (the song even mentions London in its chorus) and twinned guitar patterns that straddled Britain and southern California. It has the harmonies that make anything sound like a Styx song, but it was clear that something fresh had been brought to the party which would help take the band up the charts in short order. Listen here.

"Don't Let It End" ( Kilroy Was Here , 1983, No. 6)

Styx’s seventh and penultimate top 10 hit fits the Kilroy narrative as a love ode to another person but also to music — specifically rock n’ roll. Of the many romantic ballads Styx (especially DeYoung) churned out, this was the best, with some of the sap mitigated by an edge from the guitars and a soaring solo by Shaw. It was even considered for the first single from Kilroy but, at the band’s insistence, swapped for “Mr. Roboto.” The irony here, of course, is that something did end for Styx here, as Shaw left the band after touring to support the album. Listen here.

"Lady" ( Styx II , 1975, No. 6)

Styx had to wait for its first top 10 hit. “Lady” was originally released as the first single from Styx II in September of 1973; it went largely unpromoted and stiffed, but a DJ on Chicago’s WLS-AM subsequently championed the track — DeYoung’s first love song to his wife Suzanne — and built enough of an audience for it to prompt a significantly more successful re-release, entering the Hot 100 in 1974 and peaking in 1975. Short and sweet at just under three minutes, it’s the prototype for that aforementioned quiet start/blast-off arrangement that became Styx’s stock in trade, and the martial-time shift into a dead finish was a strong distinguishing feature. Listen here.

"Renegade" ( Pieces of Eight , 1979, No. 16)

Oh mama, there was a world of hurt — and a hangman’s noose — waiting for the subject of this Shaw song. The wanted man’s story turned into a much-wanted tune in Styx’s canon. It catapults out of its foreboding opening into a ferocious rocker that’s become a trademark tune for Pittsburgh Steelers’ home games in the Iron City. And while Shaw usually played the guitar solos on his own songs, he turned to Young for this one, and his bandmate delivered like a seasoned and dependable gunslinger. Listen here.

"Too Much Time on My Hands" ( Paradise Theatre , 1981, No. 9)

Shaw again drew on the frustration of the unemployed for his only top 10 single for Styx, reflecting the angst of a guy who’s whiling away his days on a barstool and views a future in crime and insanity. That, of course, runs counter to a peppy track that starts with a popcorn synthesizer meter and drives with muscular guitar energy. And if you can’t nail the two handclaps during the opening line of the chorus by now, we can’t help you. Listen here .

"Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" ( The Grand Illusion , 1978, No. 29)

Shaw’s pop opus from Styx’s smash seventh album houses one of his sturdiest melodies and most heartfelt lyrics — an observation of DeYoung’s ennui at the time — inside a suite-like composition. A bombastic synthesizer opening gives way to an acoustic guitar pattern that steers the song into its verses, with get up! choruses and a building instrumental break straight out of Prog 101 (including bassist Chuck Panozzo’s simple but signature spotlight moment). You’re still humming it after all five and a half minutes, a testament to the tune’s abundant strength. Listen here.

"Come Sail Away" ( The Grand Illusion , 1978, No. 8)

An obvious choice, but if someone were to ask for the song that best exemplifies Styx, this is it. The six-minute epic — which was cut in half (!) for the AM radio single — boasts a proggy, quiet-to-bombastic structure and trippy, sci-fi lyrics to go with it (we’re pretty sure “a gathering of angels” appeared to Syd Barrett at some point, too). The chorus is a bona-fide arena roof-raiser, and the instrumental sections gave songwriter DeYoung space to twiddle on his synthesizer . South Park may have made fun of it, but you won’t find too many top 10 hits that work for Glee, The Virgin Suicides and My Little Pony . Listen here.

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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra , Rod Stewart

About Sailing

"Sailing" is a song composed by Gavin Sutherland of the Sutherland Brothers in 1972, best known as a 1975 international hit for Rod Stewart.

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Rod Stewart

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter, born and raised in North London, England, and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces influenced heavy metal genres. more »

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Written by: Gavin Maurice Sutherland

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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"Sailing Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 May 2024. < https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/36545366/Rod+Stewart/Sailing >.

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The Playlist

Esperanza Spalding’s Latest Surprise, and 10 More New Songs

Hear the jazz musician’s team-up with the Brazilian songwriter Milton Nascimento, plus tracks from Saweetie, Omar Apollo and others.

By Jon Pareles and Lindsay Zoladz

Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here , and sign up for The Amplifier , a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs.

Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding, ‘ Outubro ’

The ever-surprising bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding persuaded the mystical and ingeniously tuneful Brazilian songwriter Milton Nascimento, 81, to collaborate on a full album that was recorded in 2023 and is due in August. Its preview single is “Outubro” (“October”), a song that Nascimento originally wrote and recorded in the 1960s. Its asymmetrical melody carries lyrics that reflect on solitude, mortality and the possibility of joy. Nascimento no longer has the pure, otherworldly vocal tone of his youth, but Spalding bolsters him, singing in Portuguese alongside him and probing the harmonies with springy bass lines. Near the end, she comes up with a leaping, scat-singing line that he eventually joins, still enjoying what his composition can inspire. JON PARELES

Cassandra Jenkins, ‘ Delphinium Blue ’

The Brooklyn singer-songwriter Cassandra Jenkins delivers “Delphinium Blue,” the second single from her upcoming third album, “My Light, My Destroyer,” with a slow, cleareyed poise. Among glacially paced synthesizers and gentle percussion, she describes the sensory overload of working in a flower shop, and daydreaming about someone special when business is light. “I see your eyes in the delphinium, too,” she sings, as beauty blooms all around her. “I’ve become a servant to their blue.” LINDSAY ZOLADZ

Omar Apollo, ‘ Dispose of Me ’

“We got too much history, so don’t just dispose of me,” Omar Apollo — the bilingual, Indiana-born pop songwriter — begs, in English, in the slow-building but increasingly convincing “Dispose of Me.” At first the song seems to be just a lazy two-chord vamp, but Apollo pleads his case with rising desperation as instruments subtly chime in. “My body just won’t forget,” he moans, going on to insist, “It was real love.” His ex-partner might have a different opinion, but not in this song. PARELES

Luna Li, ‘ Confusion Song ’

The Korean-Canadian songwriter Luna Li — Hannah Bussiere Kim — ponders separation and reconciliation in “Confusion Song,” which faces a strained relationship with unanswered questions and ambiguous beats. “I thought we were taking space,” she sings over a drumbeat that can be parsed as a waltz or a march. The uncertainty is built into the structure of the music, even as she asks, “How do you see it?” PARELES

Lila Iké featuring H.E.R., ‘ He Loves Us Both ’

Polyamory gets complicated in this yearning reggae duet. “Don’t be too quick to judge,” the Jamaican singer Lila Iké urges; H.E.R. counters, “You just keep lying to yourself.” Neither of them wanted to “lose a good thing just because,” but that’s all they agree on. The man in question never states his case. PARELES

Rapsody featuring Erykah Badu,: ‘ 3:AM ’

Rapsody basks in longtime love and potential motherhood in “3:AM,” framed as a late-night phone call; it’s on her new album, “Please Don’t Cry.” Backed by cushy electric-piano chords and a cozy saxophone riff, Rapsody raps, “It’s different when you lovers and you best friends/I feel safe with you,” while in the choruses a kittenish Erykah Badu coos, “Baby you can do it, explore me.” But in the last verse, it turns out that she’s only reliving memories. “We grew with each other till we grew apart,” she reveals. PARELES

Saweetie, ‘ Nani ’

Saweetie’s latest single “Nani” is a blast of sing-songy, candy-coated pop that sounds tailor made for summer. “Two shows, one night, what’s that? A hundred-plus,” she boasts on the verse, but otherwise it’s a track more about leisurely strutting one’s stuff than hustling. “I’m bougie, moody, tanning in my Louis,” she raps. “It’s a privilege just to say you knew me.” ZOLADZ

Lido Pimienta, ‘ He Venido al Mar ’

“I still don’t know where I am going/But I have joy in my heart,” the Colombian-Canadian songwriter Lido Pimienta sings in “He Venido al Mar” (“I Have Come to the Sea”), from the soundtrack to “Calladita,” a film by Miguel Faus. She’s making a journey toward renewal, with her guileless soprano sailing above a track that begins with sparse electronic chords and gathers layers of percussion and voices, assembling a cumbia and a community out of thin air. PARELES

SML, ‘ Industry ’

SML, a Los Angeles quintet that laces jazz with electronics, bears down on a mechanized one-chord groove in “Industry” from its coming album, “Small Medium Large.” The track surrounds a blipping beat with fertile, relentless improvisation: synthesizer swoops, bass jabs, blotches of noisy guitar, fragments of saxophone melody, drum kit cross-rhythms. At the end, it ratchets down as if a switch was flipped. PARELES

Little Feat, ‘ Why People Like That ’

Little Feat, the Los Angeles band whose blues-rock-country-funk hybrid was Americana long before the category was named, takes a break from songwriting on its new album, “Sam’s Place.” It’s a collection of blues covers sung by its percussionist, Sam Clayton. The band dug out deep cuts like “Why Are People Like That” by the Louisiana swamp-rock songwriter Bobby Charles. The band lightens up Charles’s version , switching it from minor to major and summoning a New Orleans strut, underpinned by Bill Payne’s two-fisted piano. But Charles’s bitter complaint about greed is still all too relevant: “They take your house and your home/They take the flesh from your bones,” Clayton growls. “Why people like that?” PARELES

Los Campesinos!, ‘ Feast of Tongues ’

The largehearted Welch rockers Los Campesinos! will release their first album in seven years, “All Hell,” on July 19. The lead single “Feast of Tongues” gradually builds in intensity, stacking clever, wordy lyrics that reference a dizzying hodgepodge of modern cultural touchstones (Bessel van der Kolk and David Berman). “I want the trust of every animal,” the frontman Gareth Paisey sings on the chorus, before promising with nervy defiance, “We will feast on the tongues of the last bootlickers.” ZOLADZ

Jon Pareles has been The Times’s chief pop music critic since 1988. He studied music, played in rock, jazz and classical groups and was a college-radio disc jockey. He was previously an editor at Rolling Stone and the Village Voice. More about Jon Pareles

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