Influence
Always a favorite of rock critics, "Madame George" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and it was listed as No. 467 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes.
Madame George appears in the "Black Boys on Mopeds" lyrics of Sinéad O'Connor: "England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses" suggesting that she is a legendary figure. David Gray pays tribute to the song on the final track of his album White Ladder, with his cover version of the Soft Cell song, "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye", which ends similarly and even borrows lyrics "Through the rain, hail, sleet and snow, say goodbye. Get on the train, the train and say goodbye". In David A. Stewart and the Spiritual Cowboy's song "Out of Reach", from the album Honest, there is a line that goes: "Madame George got played today, she almost forgot she could feel that way". Although not a direct imitation, the riff that string quartet repeats at the end of the song is mimicked at the end of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" (which is an indicator that Morrison had great influence on Springsteen). The American rock band Hat On, Drinking Wine takes their name from a lyric from the song: "He's much older now/With hat on, drinking wine."
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Famous quotes containing the word influence:
“Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible aristocracy in every society, and, more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it; and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Somewhere along the line of development we discover who we really are, and then we make our real decision for which we are responsible. Make that decision primarily for yourself because you can never really live anyone else’s life not even your child’s. The influence you exert is through your own life and what you become yourself.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)