Lyrics: Take them with a huge grain of salt

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by 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.

I’d rather read those lyrics on a page than hear Kris sing them. That’s for sure. Nor is the tune very good.

It’s not easy to have great lyrics and a great tune at the same time.

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by Bluenose

Helter Skelter and Number Nine are two of my favorites off the Beatles White Album. Would somebody that's not Charles Manson please tell me what the lyrics are all about.

Might as well throw “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” in there…

[BoneDigger]

I like to write songs that have a story, so I lean heavily on the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, John Prine, Guy Clark, and similar such folks. If a song means nothing lyrically, it can still be a great song. In fact, I have been listening to some Irish music in Gaelic recently. I have no idea what they mean, but based on the emotions, I assume something important! And then there are others who listen to something as simple as a lullaby and still get it wrong.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by 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......

Dave Barry wrote a column years ago, talking about his youth, that said something like "We'd listen to 'I am the egg man, I am the egg man, I am the walrus, koo koo kachoo!' and knew EXACTLY what it meant!"

[Bluenose]

Jerry Garcia and Robert hunter wrote some cool lyrics. The story goes they wrote Dire Wolf together one night after watching the old Hounds of Baskerville movie.

Verse
In the timbers of Finareo the wolves run around
The winter was so hard and cold, froze ten feet beneath the ground
I sat down to my supper t'was a bottle of red whiskey
I said my prayers, I went to bed, that's the last they heard of me

Chorus
Don't murder me, oh please don't murder me
I beg you please, don't murder me

Verse
When I awoke the Dire Wolf, six hundred pounds of sin
Was grinnin' at my window all I said was come on in

Chorus
Verse
The wolf came in, I got my deck
we sat down for a game, I cut the deck to the queen of spades
But the cards were all the same

Chorus

Verse
in the backwash of Finario,
in the black and bloody mire
the Dire Wolf collects his dues while the boys sing round the fire
Chorus
End

I always suspected the wanted to use Ontario instead of Finario but decided not to offend anyone. As the story goes Garcia put chords to the lyrics the next day. My kind of music Lol.

[aK_bAsh7]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

Might as well throw “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” in there…

Supposedly doing it in the road is a term for shooting up...

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by darkcloud

Might as well throw “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” in there…

And Wild Honey Pie. Lots of filler on the White Album.

[DetroitDave]

I've always had the impression that a lot of songs just got whatever lyrics fit in and rhymed.
Here's Dana Carvey's take on songwriting from his SNL days: "Choppin' Broccoli". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mXIL_LKvvI
I also recall a press conference with Dylan in which some reporter insisted Dylan was the voice of his generation, and that his songs were meant as messages, and ....
Dylan cut him off with a simple retort [IIRC]: "No; they're just songs, man. They're just songs. "

[Joe Beamish]

Originally Posted by DetroitDave

I've always had the impression that a lot of songs just got whatever lyrics fit in and rhymed.
Here's Dana Carvey's take on songwriting from his SNL days: "Choppin' Broccoli". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mXIL_LKvvI
I also recall a press conference with Dylan in which some reporter insisted Dylan was the voice of his generation, and that his songs were meant as messages, and ....
Dylan cut him off with a simple retort [IIRC]: "No; they're just songs, man. They're just songs. "

Dylan liked to have it both ways.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I like to write songs that have a story, so I lean heavily on the likes of Gordon Lightfoot, John Prine, Guy Clark, and similar such folks. If a song means nothing lyrically, it can still be a great song. In fact, I have been listening to some Irish music in Gaelic recently. I have no idea what they mean, but based on the emotions, I assume something important! And then there are others who listen to something as simple as a lullaby and still get it wrong.

I agree and also like the stuff that comes out of the Coke Studio India

[Kinda Old]

I think when all is said and done, you just have to throw up your hands and not let it bring you down. After all, it's only castles burning. Just find someone who's turning and you will come around.

[rmp]

blinded by the light
wrapped up like a duece
you know, the rumor in the night


Yep,, pretty prophetic stuff right there.

[Burstbucker]

I remember when I started getting into the band Yes back in the late 70s trying to make sense of the lyrics and I was totally puzzled.

I figured that I was just too thick to follow along but a few years ago I read something where Jon Anderson said that he just strung random bits of sentences and words together, just going by how they felt being jammed together and went with that, even his band mates weren’t really sure what he was supposed to be singing about but it just sounded right for some reason.

I had to laugh at that, I had no clue back in the day that it was mostly nonsensical stuff that I was listening to.

[RussellHawaii]

Originally Posted by aK_bAsh7

Supposedly doing it in the road is a term for shooting up...

Paul explains the inspiration for this song in ‘Many Years From Now,’ and, thankfully, that’s not it. He saw a couple monkeys coupling while in India, and they showed him it does not have to be a big deal.
Great book, BTW.

[RussellHawaii]

Originally Posted by Bluenose

Jerry Garcia and Robert hunter wrote some cool lyrics…

In the timbers of Finareo the wolves run around

The winter was so hard and cold, froze ten feet beneath the ground

I sat down to my supper t'was a bottle of red whiskey

I said my prayers, I went to bed, that's the last they heard of me….

Since you broke the ice on Hunter/Garcia songs, how about:

‘Dark star crashes pouring its light into ashes.
Reason tatters, the forces break loose from the axis.
Searchlight casting for faults in the clouds of illusion…
Shall we go, you and I while we can, through the transitive nightfall of diamonds?’

Ok I’ll stop now. I know just what he meant tho.