Songs with dual meanings (or even unknown meanings)

[SongwriterFan]

I recently wrote this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZLKwB-qiPs



To me, it clearly has two possible interpretations (until the bridge, which should make the correct interpretation obvious).

I recently sent this to quite possibly one of the BEST songwriters in the world (he has 15 #1 hits to his credit) for a song critique (he sells those on his website).

I was quite surprised that he didn't notice the second (correct) interpretation. He mentioned all the "clues" that were there: the bridge didn't seem to fit, the words "union" and "prevail" in the first verse, etc.

I "get" that a casual listener probably won't get the true meaning of the song. When I've played it out, I always give a back-story on it, even if it's just "this song has two possible interpretations . . . but the bridge will let you know which one is correct".

The standard advice I get from songwriters is that a song like this isn't effective. Which I can understand and even possibly agree with to a degree.

But then how does a song like "The Weight" become so popular? I don't think it's ever been adequately explained, and you sure as heck can't figure it out by JUST listening to the song.

BTW, here's a more complete back-story on this song. A friend of mine (Zane Williams) wrote a much more optimistic (and more straightforward) song about the "state of the union" several months ago, called "The Middle":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJiNZoYtGk4



His mom re-posted it on Facebook earlier this year, and I responded "seems like there isn't much middle ground left any more".

That gave me the idea to write a song about the apparent paradox of people being further apart, therefore with more "middle ground" that should be available, but is apparently lacking.

I couldn't figure out a way to make that work, so I decided to just write it about how there seems to be "no common ground" any more. But as I was writing it, I noticed that it seemed like I was writing more about a couple contemplating divorce. Enough so that I figured that's what the song should be about (so several lines were actually written with that in mind).

But then I thought of the chorus, and how I could make it obvious what the song was about . . . and provide a "left turn" for those who initially mis-interpret the song (which I find most do).

After that, I wrote the first verse, INTENTIONALLY using the word "union" for its double meaning (marriage, or the country).

I kinda think of my song as the "pessimist's rebuttal" to the "optimistic" song that Zane did.

My wife thinks it's the best thing I've ever written (I've only written six so far). I tend to agree, though I still might prefer this one (mainly because it's a very personal song to me, and was crucial in my healing after a friend of mine died):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pddXYHZe1Y



Songwriting is a strange thing . . . glad I have the luxury of just writing what I want/need to hear, and don't have to try to write to make a "hit" to make a living.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

I recently wrote this song:
To me, it clearly has two possible interpretations (until the bridge, which should make the correct interpretation obvious).

I recently sent this to quite possibly one of the BEST songwriters in the world (he has 15 #1 hits to his credit) for a song critique (he sells those on his website).

I was quite surprised that he didn't notice the second (correct) interpretation. He mentioned all the "clues" that were there: the bridge didn't seem to fit, the words "union" and "prevail" in the first verse, etc.

I "get" that a casual listener probably won't get the true meaning of the song. When I've played it out, I always give a back-story on it, even if it's just "this song has two possible interpretations . . . but the bridge will let you know which one is correct".

The standard advice I get from songwriters is that a song like this isn't effective. Which I can understand and even possibly agree with to a degree.

But then how does a song like "The Weight" become so popular? I don't think it's ever been adequately explained, and you sure as heck can't figure it out by JUST listening to the song.

BTW, here's a more complete back-story on this song. A friend of mine (Zane Williams) wrote a much more optimistic (and more straightforward) song about the "state of the union" several months ago, called "The Middle":
His mom re-posted it on Facebook earlier this year, and I responded "seems like there isn't much middle ground left any more".

That gave me the idea to write a song about the apparent paradox of people being further apart, therefore with more "middle ground" that should be available, but is apparently lacking.

I couldn't figure out a way to make that work, so I decided to just write it about how there seems to be "no common ground" any more. But as I was writing it, I noticed that it seemed like I was writing more about a couple contemplating divorce. Enough so that I figured that's what the song should be about (so several lines were actually written with that in mind).

But then I thought of the chorus, and how I could make it obvious what the song was about . . . and provide a "left turn" for those who initially mis-interpret the song (which I find most do).

After that, I wrote the first verse, INTENTIONALLY using the word "union" for its double meaning (marriage, or the country).

I kinda think of my song as the "pessimist's rebuttal" to the "optimistic" song that Zane did.

My wife thinks it's the best thing I've ever written (I've only written six so far). I tend to agree, though I still might prefer this one (mainly because it's a very personal song to me, and was crucial in my healing after a friend of mine died):


Songwriting is a strange thing . . . glad I have the luxury of just writing what I want/need to hear, and don't have to try to write to make a "hit" to make a living.

Song writing is indeed "A strange thing" arguably because like music it is both a craft and an art.
But observe that in a craft, the handling of human emotion plays no role, in art it is a major factor, and "therein lies the rub" as the Bard would say. Craft tends follow convention, art can ignore it and still work well.

As far as lyrical content.
In sum total there is a vast difference between universal appeal and uniform interpretation.

As far as the popularity of "The Weight" I would suggest it is the "universal appeal" of the brilliance of the total prosody (how the lyrics flow within the melody and harmony of chord progression and the relative timing ) which overshadows any lack of uniformity in interpretation of exact meaning in the lyrics . In other words it does not matter what the exact lyrical meaning is ,, because they just work within the total flow of music.

I wish I could comment on the lyrics in your songs but unfortunately (maybe just my age, hearing, and limited playback on laptop and earbuds) But I could not understand certain portions of the lines in your song like the bridge etc. .

Another thought for your consideration about production
Having spent a month and half in Nashville (where The Song is king) working with a professional engineer cutting some demo songs and learning the craft of production in making effective demo songs. I became particularly aware how important making the vocal come forward in the mix and intelligible is , whether full band demos or simple guitar/vocals .