Lyrics: Take them with a huge grain of salt

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

I'm driving in my car
I turn on the radio
I'm pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don't like it
But girl I know you're a liar
Cause when we kiss
Ooooh, fire

The Elmer Fudd version of this one is especially cool!

When I started writing songs I pretty much drew exclusively from my life experiences and I still do that occasionally. In the past few years my writing has become a little more abstract in origin. Instead of describing an actual relationship or experience, now more often than not I'll find myself in a mood or frame of mind that I want to express then I'll write a story or scenario that illustrates what I'm feeling. So the song doesn't really describe something tangible but hopefully something that the listener can relate to on a personal level.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

I'm driving in my car
I turn on the radio
I'm pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don't like it
But girl I know you're a liar
Cause when we kiss
Ooooh, fire

Deep in the recesses of my brain, I recall someone did this song with an Elmer Fudd voice. Anyone recall who that was? Robin Williams?

Never could listen to Springsteen with a straight face after that.

Edit. Redundant. I see Mick had this recall before me.

[phcorrigan]

Redundant.

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by zmf

Deep in the recesses of my brain, I recall someone did this song with an Elmer Fudd voice. Anyone recall who that was? Robin Williams?

Never could listen to Springsteen with a straight face after that.

Edit. Redundant. I see Mick had this recall before me.

The date rape theme is interesting. Possibly a teeny bit misogynist.

[dspoel]

Originally Posted by Joe Beamish

I'm driving in my car
I turn on the radio
I'm pulling you close
You just say no
You say you don't like it
But girl I know you're a liar
Cause when we kiss
Ooooh, fire

Touché. I wasn't aware of that one...

[Tytlynz]

Down the windy halls of friendship
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip
The motel of lost companions
waits with heated pool and bar

But me I’m not stopping there
I have my own row left to hoe
Just another line
in the field of time

When the thrasher comes
I’ll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I’ll know it’s time
to give whats mine

May not be sensical but I knew exactly what he was feeling when he wrote those lyrics.

[ewalling]

For sheer nonsensical balderdash in lyrics, no one can touch Yes:

The time between the notes relates the color to the scenes
A constant vogue of triumphs dislocate man, it seems
And space between the focus shape ascend knowledge of love
As song and chance develop time, lost social temperance rules above
Ah, ah

The most meaningful part of that dazzling flourish must surely be the "Ah, ah" at the end!

I'm tempted to say, "I'll have what he's having!" except that what he was having was a vegan diet with prune juice, as far as I can remember ...

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by ewalling

For sheer nonsensical balderdash in lyrics, no one can touch Yes:

The time between the notes relates the color to the scenes
A constant vogue of triumphs dislocate man, it seems
And space between the focus shape ascend knowledge of love
As song and chance develop time, lost social temperance rules above
Ah, ah

The most meaningful part of that dazzling flourish must surely be the "Ah, ah" at the end!

I'm tempted to say, "I'll have what he's having!" except that what he was having was a vegan diet with prune juice, as far as I can remember ...

Well... the words sound nice together. And as for meaning anything, let's be nice and say,"They are open to interpretation."

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

Well... the words sound nice together. And as for meaning anything, let's be nice and say,"They are open to interpretation."

Open to interpretation? I'd be curious to hear someone's interpretation of this:

A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace,
And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace,
And achieve it all with music that came quickly from afar,
Then taste the fruit of man recorded losing all against the hour
And assessing points to nowhere, leading every single one
A dewdrop can exalt us like the music of the sun,
And take away the plain in which we move,
And choose the course you're running

It's the kind of stuff that cool 14 year olds would write in the early-to-mid 70s if asked to write a poem in English class. But even as a 14 year old, I found myself scratching my head over Yes lyrics. And if you listen to him, Jon Anderson doesn't even let the words hang for musical effect; he barks them out at speed as if urgently communicating something. It's bordering on parody.

[rstaight]

A story I remember reading involved John Lennon. Seems a teacher gave a class assignment to interpret the meaning behind a Beatles song.

Well, a young lady sees John Lennon on the street. She goes to speak to him and says she goes to the same school that he did. She then asks him the meaning of a particular song.

This made him a little upset. So, he set out to write a song that made absolutely no sense. The result?

I Am the Walrus. I have seen a few lines of the lyrics already posted.

I am he and you are he and you are me and we are all together......

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by ewalling

Open to interpretation? I'd be curious to hear someone's interpretation of this:

A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace,
And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace,
And achieve it all with music that came quickly from afar,
Then taste the fruit of man recorded losing all against the hour
And assessing points to nowhere, leading every single one
A dewdrop can exalt us like the music of the sun,
And take away the plain in which we move,
And choose the course you're running

It's the kind of stuff that cool 14 year olds would write in the early-to-mid 70s if asked to write a poem in English class. But even as a 14 year old, Yes lyrics had me scratching my head. And if you listen to him, Jon Anderson doesn't even let the words hang for musical effect; he barks them out at speed as if urgently communicating something. It's bordering on parody.

Agree those lyrics are a bit confuddeling

OTOH song writing lyrics are a pretty vast playing field
And who does not have an interpretation of say ::

"I am an old woman---- named after my mother. Old man's just another---- child that's grown old "

[peetar]

Originally Posted by Tytlynz

Down the windy halls of friendship
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip
The motel of lost companions
waits with heated pool and bar

But me I’m not stopping there
I have my own row left to hoe
Just another line
in the field of time

When the thrasher comes
I’ll be stuck in the sun
Like the dinosaurs in shrines
But I’ll know it’s time
to give whats mine

May not be sensical but I knew exactly what he was feeling when he wrote those lyrics.

I play this song constantly. Three cords and finding your truth makes for an awesome song.

[redir]

Lyrics and poetry are very different. Lyrics needs the music to connect the abstractions while poetry stays within the language to make connections. Reading lyrics on their own are typically lacking but when put together with the music it seems to make sense to everyone. If You have ever heard Syd Barretts 'Word Song' it's a perfect illustration of this. On it's own it's just a bunch of words randomly strung together in a sort of free association. But with it's catchy little tune you can sing right along with it.

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by redir

Lyrics and poetry are very different. Lyrics needs the music to connect the abstractions while poetry stays within the language to make connections. Reading lyrics on their own are typically lacking but when put together with the music it seems to make sense to everyone. If You have ever heard Syd Barretts 'Word Song' it's a perfect illustration of this. On it's own it's just a bunch of words randomly strung together in a sort of free association. But with it's catchy little tune you can sing right along with it.

Yes. I recall reading Beatles song lyrics in school, for example Eleanor Rigby, as though they were poetry. I don’t think it works.

[Br1ck]

You can listen to a song in a foreign language and get the gist of what it is about. Once something is written, it is about your relationship to it. It is like that with art. I remember seeing an exibition of Monet paintings when the Musee d'Orsay was being renovated. Some of his most famous paintings on display, yet there was one very monochrome painting of dry grasslands next to a river. Even the river was golden brown. It took me half an hour to drag myself away. To this day, only Van Gough has ever had the effect on me.

Songs can be like that. Some tell you everything, some nothing. Some put you in a place and time.

The scene was a roadside cafe
The waitress was sweeping the floor
Two truckers drinking their coffee
There were twp okie kids by the door

A better story seen was never written. Dylan writes extremes of the spectrum.