Annie Lennox : 100 BEAUTIFUL SONGS

Number 11 : Legend In My Living Room by Annie Lennox from Diva in 1992

Legend In My Living Room – Fans often believe Annie-penned songs are autobiographical, but Annie has said that that is rarely the case – at least in its entirety. But “Legend In My Living Room” definitely comes the closest, certainly in its opening refrain, “When I was just 17, I ran away from home …” Those long-discussed woeful days at the Royal Academy of Music for a young Annie Lennox always come to mind. Backed with superb lyrics, a driving musical track and a Marlene Dietrich-inspired video, “Legend In My Living Room” lands just outside the Top 10 of our poll.

Top 15 voters

Christopher Perrello2
Vincent Locard2
Eric Gustin3
Jan De Meulenaer3
Fabio Milani6
Ben Rawson-Jones8
Ian Renner8
Rob Dziubek8
Wolfgang Nomi8
Xaque Gruber8
Steve Gayler10
Jason Phelps11
Lynne Foster11
Mark Taylor11
Christopher Fayol12

When I was just seventeen I ran away from home
To be with all the pretty people
To be on my own
Bright lights and trains and bedsit stains
And pavements paved with gold
And I believed in everything that everybody told me

Have mercy
Have mercy upon me

I found myself in a lonely place with a suitcase full of dreams
and I soon grew up to realise what living in the doghouse means
But everyday I told myself good things would happen soon
‘Cause I knew that I was going to be a legend in my living room

Have mercy
Have mercy upon me

(Welcome to this perfect world)

Now everyday on a dead end street is where I spend my time
The dust has been collecting on the corners of my mind
But I’ve shed my tears in bitter drops until the thorn trees bloomed
To take the spiky fruit to crown myself the Queen of doom

Have mercy
Have mercy upon me

Our #11 rated song, right before we head into the Top 10, “Legend In My Living Room,” from 1992’s ‘Diva’ continues the thumping and soulfulness of ‘Precious,’ but now Annie flips the theme to a bit of an autobiography, as opposed a song about another. “When I was just 17, I ran away from home…to be with all the pretty people, to be on my own…” she reflects in the opening. Almost a coming home song, as ‘Diva,’ was indeed her first full length album she released on her “own.” The irony, however, as with the ‘Diva’ title, lay in that Annie Lennox is not just a legend in her living room, but a legendary artist, that earned her spot amongst the greatest artists to have ever created, performed, written, and sang.

She has secured her place in history as one of our greatest talents, a legend in our living rooms. That 17 year old worked her ass off, and it paid off. “But I shed my tears in bitter drops, until the thorn trees bloomed, to take the spiky fruit, to crown myself the queen of doom, yeah…” Irony again? Perhaps…as it is Annie’s unique world view, which often is darker than it is optimistic, at least in some layer. Yet, she has touched us all in some emotional way…almost as if her ‘doom’ becomes a comfort to us… knowing that another human being feels the same pain and sadness we feel. The human condition.

Well, what a way to head into the Top 10, in which we will reveal the biggest fan favorites…the legendary songs of Annie’s massive, diverse, and exciting catalogue.

Have Mercy!!!!

– Dan Mueller

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