Say It With Music!
The lyrics of today's so-called music sound like a string of obscenities linked by more of the same, but not long ago you could hear songs on the radio that expressed impressions of the "human condition" just as the best novels have done.
Here is my list of topics and what popular music of my lifetime had to say about them:
(Names of singers or songwriters follow the titles.)
1. One-sided Love
"You don't remember me, but I remember you,
T'was not so long ago, you broke my heart in two...."
"Tears on My Pillow" (The Platters, 1957)
"You'll never know the one who dreams of you at night,
Who longs to kiss your lips, who longs to hold you tight....."
"You Don't Know Me" (Ray Charles, 1956)
If you have ever loved someone who did not love you, these words say it all.
2. Insincerity
" She said Harry, we must together!
But I knew it would never be arranged......"
"When you coming home, son?
I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, Dad, you know we'll have a good time then!"
Harry Chapin in "2 Parkside Lane" and "Cat's in the Cradle." 1974
How many times have you been told someone would call you or wanted to see you again, and you knew it was all phony?
3. Social Exclusion
"Don't know what they're doing,
But they laugh a lot behind the Green Door,
Wish they'd let me in to join the happy crowd
Behind the Green Door!"
"Green Door", 1956
The Green Door is a metaphor for the barrier between you and the "right" clique, party, fraternity, sorority, or country club.
4. Divorce
"Walking through these empty rooms
Where children would play,
Now there's only silence there,
Nothing to say!"
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Abba), 1977
Within five years after recording this poignant description of the empty home of a divorcing couple, both couples that made up Abba divorced.
5. Mid-Life Crisis
"So, stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days!"
"Anticipation" (Carole King) c. 1982
"Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end...."
"Those Were the Days" (Mary Hopkins), 1976
"Enjoy yourself, its later than you think,
Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink,
The years go by much quicker than a wink,
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, its later than you think!"
"Enjoy Yourself", 1950
Once you are past about 40, you realize that half your life is over, it's already too late to realize your fondest dreams, and you can look forward to reminiscing about how good you have it right now. These songs tell it like is!
6. President Kennedy
"Let it not be forgot that there once was a spot
For one brief shining moment
That was known as Camelot!"
"Camelot" (Robert Goulet),, 1961
Author Theodore H White (1), writing shortly after the death of President Kennedy, identified the Kennedy presidency with the reign of King Arthur celebrated in the then-popular Broadway musical. To a generation of Americans the name Camelot became a metaphor for a dashing idealistic young president and his entourage who never had the time to realize their potential.
7. War
"Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, every one!"
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (Pete Seeger), 1960
"How many times will the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?"
"Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan), 1962
"Even Jordan River's got bodies a-floatin'"
"Eve of Destruction" (Barry McGuire), 1965
"Her Green Beret has met his fate,
He has died for those oppressed...."
"Ballad of the Green Berets" (Barry Sadler), 1966
Unlike the up-beat songs popular during previous wars (2), the music of the Vietnam era dwelled upon the tragedy and futility of war. Even the Green Berets song, which glorified the elite group, ended with the soldier dying in combat. These lyrics (plus a lot more) turned a generation of young Americans against the Vietnam War.
The line about Jordan River is a reminder that the Middle East was steeped in violence years before Israel had any "occupied territories".
8. Death
"Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky.
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind."
"Dust in the Wind" (Kansas), 1978
"Elinor Rigby died in a church and was buried along with her name,
Nobody came....."
"Elinor Rigby" (The Beatles), 1966
The lyrics of popular music have often dealt with death, not only in war (see Par. 7 above), but as the result of murder, auto crashes, suicide, and shipwreck (3). These two songs, in contrast, treat death as the the natural and inevitable conclusion of life, something only hinted at in Enjoy Yourself (Par. 5).
The chorus of Dust in the Wind is a paraphrase of a prayer said just before the Kedusha of Musaf on the Jewish High Holydays. (4)
Elinor Rigby reminds us that death is even more of a "bummer" when nobody even notices that you're gone, or cares.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) White wrote The Making of the President: 1960 about JFK' s election.
(2) For examples, Over There (WWI) and Strike Up the Band (WWII).
(3) Here is one of each: Stagger Lee, Teen Angel, Patches, and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald .
(4)"Man,whose origin is dust, and whose end is dust....is like dust that is blown away."
Here is my list of topics and what popular music of my lifetime had to say about them:
(Names of singers or songwriters follow the titles.)
1. One-sided Love
"You don't remember me, but I remember you,
T'was not so long ago, you broke my heart in two...."
"Tears on My Pillow" (The Platters, 1957)
"You'll never know the one who dreams of you at night,
Who longs to kiss your lips, who longs to hold you tight....."
"You Don't Know Me" (Ray Charles, 1956)
If you have ever loved someone who did not love you, these words say it all.
2. Insincerity
" She said Harry, we must together!
But I knew it would never be arranged......"
"When you coming home, son?
I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, Dad, you know we'll have a good time then!"
Harry Chapin in "2 Parkside Lane" and "Cat's in the Cradle." 1974
How many times have you been told someone would call you or wanted to see you again, and you knew it was all phony?
3. Social Exclusion
"Don't know what they're doing,
But they laugh a lot behind the Green Door,
Wish they'd let me in to join the happy crowd
Behind the Green Door!"
"Green Door", 1956
The Green Door is a metaphor for the barrier between you and the "right" clique, party, fraternity, sorority, or country club.
4. Divorce
"Walking through these empty rooms
Where children would play,
Now there's only silence there,
Nothing to say!"
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" (Abba), 1977
Within five years after recording this poignant description of the empty home of a divorcing couple, both couples that made up Abba divorced.
5. Mid-Life Crisis
"So, stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days!"
"Anticipation" (Carole King) c. 1982
"Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end...."
"Those Were the Days" (Mary Hopkins), 1976
"Enjoy yourself, its later than you think,
Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink,
The years go by much quicker than a wink,
Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, its later than you think!"
"Enjoy Yourself", 1950
Once you are past about 40, you realize that half your life is over, it's already too late to realize your fondest dreams, and you can look forward to reminiscing about how good you have it right now. These songs tell it like is!
6. President Kennedy
"Let it not be forgot that there once was a spot
For one brief shining moment
That was known as Camelot!"
"Camelot" (Robert Goulet),, 1961
Author Theodore H White (1), writing shortly after the death of President Kennedy, identified the Kennedy presidency with the reign of King Arthur celebrated in the then-popular Broadway musical. To a generation of Americans the name Camelot became a metaphor for a dashing idealistic young president and his entourage who never had the time to realize their potential.
7. War
"Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards, every one!"
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (Pete Seeger), 1960
"How many times will the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?"
"Blowin' in the Wind" (Bob Dylan), 1962
"Even Jordan River's got bodies a-floatin'"
"Eve of Destruction" (Barry McGuire), 1965
"Her Green Beret has met his fate,
He has died for those oppressed...."
"Ballad of the Green Berets" (Barry Sadler), 1966
Unlike the up-beat songs popular during previous wars (2), the music of the Vietnam era dwelled upon the tragedy and futility of war. Even the Green Berets song, which glorified the elite group, ended with the soldier dying in combat. These lyrics (plus a lot more) turned a generation of young Americans against the Vietnam War.
The line about Jordan River is a reminder that the Middle East was steeped in violence years before Israel had any "occupied territories".
8. Death
"Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky.
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.
Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind."
"Dust in the Wind" (Kansas), 1978
"Elinor Rigby died in a church and was buried along with her name,
Nobody came....."
"Elinor Rigby" (The Beatles), 1966
The lyrics of popular music have often dealt with death, not only in war (see Par. 7 above), but as the result of murder, auto crashes, suicide, and shipwreck (3). These two songs, in contrast, treat death as the the natural and inevitable conclusion of life, something only hinted at in Enjoy Yourself (Par. 5).
The chorus of Dust in the Wind is a paraphrase of a prayer said just before the Kedusha of Musaf on the Jewish High Holydays. (4)
Elinor Rigby reminds us that death is even more of a "bummer" when nobody even notices that you're gone, or cares.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) White wrote The Making of the President: 1960 about JFK' s election.
(2) For examples, Over There (WWI) and Strike Up the Band (WWII).
(3) Here is one of each: Stagger Lee, Teen Angel, Patches, and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald .
(4)"Man,whose origin is dust, and whose end is dust....is like dust that is blown away."
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 10:07 AM
2 Comments:
Eleanor Rigby
Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle" has always resonated with me, but I don't believe the song was about insincerity. I think the father was sincere in his wish to spend time with his son, but he was too self-absorbed to do so, and in the end, his self-centeredness is what he passed on to his son. And you don't get the impression that he is bitter upset with the outcome, just sad that he only realized what he was doing to his son when it was too late.
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