Susan Boyle's debut album I Dreamed A Dream is released on November 23rd in the UK and the next day in the US. I assume it will be released on the 20th in Ireland as new albums come out here on a Friday.
The track list for I Dreamed A Dream was released recently and the list below is taken from the Digital Spy website.
The songs are:
- Wild Horses
- I Dreamed A Dream
- Cry Me A River
- How Great Thou Art
- You'll See
- Daydream Believer
- Up To The Mountain
- Amazing Grace
- Who I Was Born To Be
- Proud
- The End of The World
- Silent Night
I already love her version of Wild Horses. Cry Me A River is, I assume, that great song of long, long ago not Justin. You'll See is the Madonna song which could be very amazing indeed. You almost feel that Susan Boyle actually had some choice in the songs chosen as there are songs that you could imagine her loving and been singing for years.
This album is really aimed at a certain but also very wide market. The one song that stood out for me on the track list was How Great Thou Art. It instantly made me think of being a very young child and associating it with one of my grandparents. I think that song will 'get' people the most, more so than Amazing Grace which has been on so many pop and r'n'b albums over the years. I was born Catholic, like most of Ireland. As I grew up I have had less respect for the catholic church but as I grew older I almost have more respect for people's spiritually. If someone believes in someone up there then as long as that person is not racist, sexist, homophobic or just mean then that is fine by me. I think that is the difference from a fundamentalist belief. My own parents don't go to church as much as they used to but when they do I respect that. I'm a bit of a candle lighter and always light as many candles as possible when I'm in a church , on purpose but with good intent. It's not catholic it's just me. I think spirituality is a very personal thing. It is like something gay (or straight) people never really address but for me living your life is what being spiritual means.
Reading How Great Thou Art as a song included on an album that will be one of the biggest sellers in 2009 made me think about that tonight. Looking up who else sang the song I realised that it is the version by Elvis that many people will know the most. It reminds people of parents and grandparents. Looking further I found Carrie Underwood sing the song and her version is below. It does not matter if the song is religious or spiritual or whatever but the fact that the song is powerful in that it touches some emotion, some memory in us. It sort of comforts and makes you want to break down at the same time. Maybe it's just me, I had a bit of a cry listening to it this evening!
I had a few really lovely comments from friends, old and new, on recent blog posts so I've decided that I'm going to mix up the posts here again and write more from the heart.
I hope someone is minding Susan Boyle, that the next step in fame will be okay for her. I look forward to hearing her album and in the meantime here is my favourite American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood and her version of How Great Thou Art.
