Move – Blackberry Way

First, I want to tell you the readers that I really appreciate you. No matter what curve I throw at you all (Pub rock, surf music, western swing, country, folk, Texas songwriters, etc)…you always respond and try songs you’ve never heard before. You don’t care if the song is popular or not; you just want good songs. I hope I fill that… some of the time anyway.

I’ve always been interested in The Move, especially Roy Wood. They could write a catchy pop song and still experiment without losing the melody. This one might be my favorite because it shows every side of the band at once. It’s psychedelic without being over the top, pop without being lightweight, and it has that Roy Wood touch. If you’ve only heard Electric Light Orchestra, do yourself a favor and spend some time with The Move. You’ll hear where so many of those great ideas began.

The Move formed in 1965 and was very successful until Roy Wood (lead singer and songwriter), Jeff Lynne (who joined in 1969), and Bev Bevan formed ELO in 1972. While most groups concentrated on albums, The Move seemed to have a gift for releasing one great single after another. During this period, Roy Wood became the band’s creative driving force, writing ambitious songs while experimenting with strings, layered harmonies, and unusual arrangements.

This was written by Roy Wood during a difficult period when he was reportedly frustrated with the music business and the direction of the band. Rather than writing another upbeat pop song, he came up with something moodier. The record blends melancholy lyrics with one of the catchiest melodies of the late 1960s. Its rich harmonies, cello, and piano gave it a sound unlike anything else on the radio.

It was released in late 1968; it became The Move’s only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart. Ironically, just as the band reached the top, they were already evolving toward a new chapter. Not long afterward, Jeff Lynne joined and then Lynne and Wood eventually launched Electric Light Orchestra. They carried many of the ideas first explored in The Move.

Blackberry Way

Blackberry Way
Absolutely pouring down with rain
It’s a terrible day

Up with a lark
Silly girl I don’t know what to say
She was running away

So now I’m standing on the corner
Lost, in the things that I said
What am I supposed to do now-w

Goodbye Blackberry Way
I can’t see you
I don’t need you
Goodbye Blackberry Way
Sure to want me back another day

Gone to the park
Overgrowing but the trees are bare
There’s a memory there

Boats on the lake
Unattended now, they’re all to drown
I’m incredibly down

Just like myself they are neglected
Turn, with my eyes to the wall
What am I supposed to do now-w

Goodbye Blackberry Way
I can’t see you
I don’t need you
Goodbye Blackberry Way
Sure to want me back another day

Ooo-black, Ooo-black, ooo-ooo
Ahhh-hhh-hhh
Ooo-black, Ooo-black, ooo-ooo
Ahhh-hhh-hhh

Run for the train
Look behind you for she may be there
Say I think you’re the girl

Blackberry Way
See the battlefields of care or sins
Cast to the winds

So full of emptiness without her
Lost in the words that I said
What am I supposed to do now-w

Goodbye Blackberry Way
I can’t see you
I don’t need you
Goodbye Blackberry Way
Sure to want me back another day