Month: May 2009
Lyrical Philsophy
Several years ago, I used to date a musician. We’ll call those “the dark years.” He was the real deal, taught himself to play, had the “gift,” was making a living (such that it was) playing music.
We would often have debates. He was a true music guy. I, on the other hand, am a fan of words.
He often told me that it was the music that mattered. The words were just something that floated on top. It didn’t matter if they were there.
Obviously, this ticked me off.
Over time, I learned to appreciate more of the nuances to music. How a driving drumbeat could make an otherwise dull song into a moving tune. How one hamfisted musician could ruin a whole piece. How the sounds tell a story that the musician weaves together.
He never, however, learned to appreciate the words.
I used to say that even the cheesiest song in the world could offer up some value, some deeply meaningful bit of emotion or philosophy or declaration. I even gave examples. He would reluctantly agree that the words I’d quoted had meaning, but not in the context of a song.
I got to thinking about this again today while listening to my iPod. Thinking about how seemingly throwaway songs can actually yield something meaningful tucked away in the lyrics.
The song that got me going was The Spinners classic “Working My Way Back to You” (originally a Frankie Valli song).
The lyric that “gets me” is this:
“I used to love to make you cry/It made me feel like a man inside/
But if I’d been a man in reality/You’d still be here, baby, lovin me”
No doubt The Spinners knew how to lay down an amazing groove, but this pop-y hit song speaks of redemption. The guy had a great girl, he “ran around like I was free”, then was *shocked* when she got self-respect and left him. He realized he’d blown it BIG time.
Those words, that lyric I quoted, is a really great turn of phrase. It shows a depth of self-awareness rarely seen in top 40 hits.
Those words, to me, make the song. I listen to the funky beat line, but I *wait* for those lyrics. They make me feel something.
I’ve got plenty more examples. Watch me work!
Here we go, the most bubblegum of pop tunes, Britney Spears’, “Baby One More Time.” Not the most musically interesting song, but well produced.
Don’t think about the song, the bouncy music, just read:
“My loneliness is killing me/And I must confess/I still believe/
When I’m not with you lose my mind”
Once again, a song of “didn’t know what I got until it was gone.” Earlier the song talks about “I shouldn’t have let you go” and now the narrator is alone and missing the one they took for granted.
In reading the words, I can feel the regret. Who among us hasn’t left someone behind only to find themselves all alone and losing their mind a little bit about “what might have been?”
See what I’m saying? The words have meaning!
Ok, I went to Billboard’s Top 100. Number one song right now is “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas.
Pfew…this one might be tough. Not all songs have a redeeming lyric, but most do. Let me think on this….
To be fair, this song IS a lot about the sounds. About the tones that Will.i.am can put together so well.
But there is a message there…go with me on this.
“I like that boom boom pow/Them chickens jackin’ my style/They try copy my swagger/I’m on that next shit now”
Sure, it’s a brag, but it’s also true. Since the success of the Black Eyed Peas, there are a TON of imposters trying to work Will.i.am’s style. He’s reminding us that while people are mimicking the last thing he did, he’s onto the next thing. He’s a trendsetter, not a follower. He’s ahead of the curve and a not so subtle reminder to people to remember the original.
It makes me feel like he’s frustrated trying to be an original while everyone falls in behind trying to take what he made. As an artist, I completely get that.
Whew, ok, that one was tough. But I got there.
I could go on with examples all day. I guess that music matters to me so much, but everyone enjoys music for different reasons. I think that anyone who can write lyrics is, in their own way, a poet and a philosopher. The meaning shouldn’t be discounted just because a song is viewed as too pop or too cheesy or too whatever.
I think both the words and the music matter, but as a writer, I can zoom in on a well-turned bit of phrase and feel like I’m in the flow.
When an artist can make someone feel, feel something, anything, whatever emotion, then I believe they have succeeded.
The very heart of creating.
I rest my case.
The funny thing about family is…
…that even if they make you mad, or you don’t see them for a while, or you don’t even know some of them, they are still yours. And they tell you a little about yourself.
I had the chance to take my still freshly minted husband to visit with the folks from my dad’s side of the family tree.
Unfortunately, my dad passed before The Good Man got the chance to meet him. TGM has heard all of my stories and I thought it was important for him to hear the stories that others had to tell.
I think you can learn to know a person by their stories.
This trip was also a lesson for me in asking for what you want.
I asked my aunts and uncles, surviving siblings of my father, to be willing to tell us stories about my dad.
They were only too happy to respond. And oh did they deliver.
The first day of my visit, my wish was not just fulfilled, my expectations were far exceeded.
Two aunts and two uncles, siblings of my dad, along with an aunt and an uncle by marriage, my mom, my husband and I all met for lunch.
Our orders were barely placed when the story telling began. Oh does my family love to tell a good story. My grandparents were real characters, like something out of fiction, and there is quite a bit of fodder there for stories.
I haven’t laughed that hard in a very, very long time. In fact, had I not been laughing, I probably would have cried my eyes out for all the gratitude I felt.
In two hours of lunch, I got a pretty deep glimpse into my dad’s life growing up. I didn’t know my dad’s side of the family that well since we were in New Mexico and they were in Indiana. Since my dad’s passing, I’ve been developing relationships with these folks and feel sad on the years I missed, but happy for the love and friendship and family bond I am earning as an adult.
I know a little bit more about my dad now. I know a little bit more about me, too.
And maybe the timing on this visit couldn’t have been more perfect now that I face the next decade of my crazy, mixed up, perfect life.
The funny thing about my family is…we may be a little strange, but the roots of our raisin’ run deep.
I wouldn’t have us any other way.
Blogging from the road
Here I am in the Midwest, donchaknow?
Indiana….saaaaaalute!
Had a fabulous lunch today with three aunts, two uncles, my mom and my husband. Two of the aunts and both uncles are surviving siblings of my father.
We managed to get the four of them telling stories about growing up. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long, long time. I even heard some new stories today and a few I’ve heard before but still crack me up.
Also got the line on a couple family disputes I didn’t know about. Oooh, family gossip!
All in all…a good day.
Also have eaten twice at a Steak N Shake and may be in love. For West Coasters…take the passion many people (not me) feel for In-n-Out burger, and that’s how rabid folks are about Steak N Shake.
A lot of food, a lot of laughing, a LOT of family.
So okay! And The Good Man has met my relatives and hasn’t run off screaming into the night. That’s a *good* sign!
