Readers recommend: songs to the power of two

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jan/29/readers-recommend-songs-about-number-two

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“Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.”

“Is that right?” replied the king of funk himself, James Brown, to the deep-voiced legend in black. “Well, man. For me hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he’s got it all.”

Brown had a lot more than great hair and teeth, and nobody would argue with that. But hey, two good points. Then, joining in, the American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein picked up the baton to put in his educated tuppence: “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” the others nodded, and then, joining in to complete a lively one-two, one-two in the Readers Recommend bar, came an elevated summary from the artist Paul Cezanne: “There are two things in the painter, the eye and the mind; each of them should aid the other.” Too true, they all agreed. Two truths.

Life is co-ordinated effort. Two hands, two hemispheres of the brain, two eyes or ears, two good feet, a problem and a solution, a good and a bad side, all of these things so often come into play in the creative process, resolving conflicts, placing effort against time, ability against barriers, the potent clashing of opposing elements. And the creation of songs are so often a fusion of two minds, whether that be between two songwriters, or resolving issues within an torn individual.

So this week our theme touches on songs that centre around the theme of two, very much like the previous theme of three, only, I feel, likely to be so much bigger. Firstly this can feature the word itself or similar ones in titles or lyrics, but two has so many other associations. Two, in nature, and in everything we say and do is all around us. Two is the biggest number in the world.

One great example that of is the rice/wheat and chessboard problem where a grain is placed on the first square, two on the second, four on the third and so on, as an illustration of economic or population growth and its practical limits. The result would be 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains of rice, weighing 461,168,602,000 metric tonnes, which would be a heap of rice larger than Mount Everest. That’s a powerful number.

But applications of two are mostly non-mathematical. Saying something twice is something all humans do. We think it’s all about emphasis. Here’s a fun example at the beginning of Martin Scorsese’s superb film Casino (1995).

Ever used the two-finger gesture? It has a rich cultural heritage. It is generally believed the cruder, reverse hand version of the victory V-sign derives from the much-feared English longbowmen who fought the the French during the Hundred Years War (1337–1453). Captured Englishmen would have their crucial middle and index finger chopped off to disable their skill, so from those who could still shoot, it was a gesture to show the enemy they still had it. One of the funniest moments of my schooldays was when a 13-year-old, I think he was called Richard, decided to do a series of double two-fingered salutes behind the back of a particularly surly and strict teacher, Mr Farquar, as he walked down the corridor. Richard added to the theatre by doing this whilst sliding across the corridor’s very shiny lino floor. Unfortunately, he slid too far and too fast, his flailing salutes and sliding knees going a good 20ft too far, knocking the teacher over with him like a pinball in an alley. “Er ... sorry, sir, I slipped.” Two weeks’ suspension!

Two-based song references might be seen to come in two categories – those that mention the word and those that don’t. So that may including, two-timing, two stools, not caring two hoots, two cents, two-fisted, two-faced, two playing at that game, two of a kind, two-bit, two-timer, the old one-two (football striking partnerships), two pennies to rub together, two left feet, two birds with one stone, bird in hand better than two in the bush, lesser of two evils, two shakes of a lamb’s tail, two sheets to the wind and so on. Other references may include songs about dichotomies - in other words divisions or contrast between two apparently opposing things - two rivals that define each other. Or you could have pairs, doppelgangers, parallels, doubles, dualities, binary numbers, or any other associations.

The number two is also omnipresent in the physical world, not just in us having two limbs, two eyes and so, but when finely balanced, also in associations of glamour. Such was seen and exploited, for example, in the form of one of the great original girl groups of the 60s - comprising two lots of sisters (two of whom being identical twins) - the Shangri-Las.

Two has an even greater and all-pervasive associations with patterns of beauty, not only in the natural world, but it can also in the one we look to build for ourselves. There is something very pleasing when we see symmetry in everything from a fine-featured face to the wings of a butterfly, or, for example, as this beautiful building in India. Something to reflect on:

One caveat. In the distant past we have previously covered the topic of duets, which doesn’t necessarily negate new suggestions, but this topic is really about every other association of the number two rather than being about two performers.

So then, this is a special edition of RR, because, unfortunately there will be no further RR topics in February - meaning there will be an unavoidable short break until March. I am afraid this is beyond my control and so apologies for that. Therefore, for this special double issue, to keep this hallowed haven of music alive and well, you will have more than two weeks to put in your nominations (deadline date to be confirmed shortly) and we have not one but TWO revered gurus who will created two separate A-lists and blogs for your entertainment and comparison. These will be by the brilliant Barbryn and the marvellous Mnemonic. Barbryn is due to start guru duty on 5 February and Mnemnic on 12 February but I will be present in comments for all queries before and after these dates. Comments will be open for the entire month of February too, with a long run in for puns and other items. Two separate results blogs will be published in early March - date to be confirmed nearer the time.

To increase the likelihood of your nomination being considered, please:

• Tell us why it’s a worthy contender.• Quote lyrics if helpful, but for copyright reasons no more than a third of a song’s words.• Provide a link to the song. We prefer Muzu or YouTube, but Spotify, SoundCloud or Grooveshark are fine.• Listen to others people’s suggestions and add yours to a collaborative Spotify playlist.• If you have a good theme for Readers recommend, or if you’d like to volunteer to compile a playlist, please email peter.kimpton@theguardian.com• There’s a wealth of data on RR, including the songs that are “zedded”, at theMarconium. It also tells you the meaning of “zedded”, “donds” and otherstrange words used by RR regulars.• Many RR regulars also congregate at the ‘Spill blog.