Winter Song

Winter is approaching and this beautiful song has begun a heavy rotation in my music library. Listen, relax, and be moved...

Covers

One of the most important qualities of a great song is its relatability. For song to truly be great, it has to transcend differences and be able to touch and move the listener. Most great songs therefore have been covered by artists who are not the original author. These covers often are different in style and approach as well as portraying a different meaning according to the performers experience. Here are some of my favorite covers.

What are some of your favorite covers?

Forever Young

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I figured I would pick a song that rings true to me around this time of year. The song that came to mind is Forever Young by Bob Dylan. The song is not only the theme song on one of my favorite shows Parenthood, but it is also a great example of a set of lyrics that is about family and friends. The song is simply a list of wishes that a person has for another person. All of these wishes are hopes that another person will live up to their greatest potential in life. I have posted the lyrics below.

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

Television Opening Sequences

I've been watching a lot of the terrific television dramedy Parenthood lately. The show has one of the best opening credit sequences on television which never fails to excite me for the hour to come. Here are some of my favorite opening credits and the great songs/lyrics that help make them so great. 

Singer-Songwriters

Throughout the last couple of years I have come to the realization that singer-songwriters create the most thoroughly moving and effective live performances. Due to their complete devotion to the material, a singer-songwriter is able to bring out the core meaning of the song. No matter how great a song is, it is never more greatly communicated than when performed by it's author. Songs are created out of personal need and no matter how great the interpreter, I argue that the author nine times out of ten will put forward the most emotional truth in the song. Here are some examples of great songs performed by their authors (they all happen to be women but I will post men at a later date).

Heartbreak in Song

Because of the crazy October snow that is currently reeking havoc in the northeast, I've been forced to spend this Saturday at home relaxing (poor me). Because of the extra time that I have on my hands, I decided to go through my Itunes and listen to some of my favorite songs. As I browsed through my music library, I began to realize that many of my favorite songs have to do with heartbreak. Why do many of the best songs ever written have to do with heartbreak? It is because it is such a strong emotional feeling? Because humans feel the most artistic when they are vulnerable? I'm not sure but I just thought it was nice food for thought.  

The Trapeze Swinger

I recently came across the nine and a half minute epic song The Trapeze Swinger by Iron & Wine at home during a rainy day. I had been told by a friend that in terms of the use of poetry in a song, this modern day classic was perfection. I trust this friend and his taste in music immensely so I opened up Spotify and took a listen.

On first listen, The Trapeze Swinger left me completely cold. The song simply came off as a long winded musical piece with an incredibly repetitive melodic structure. I knew however that there was something great that was hidden in the lyrics. As I listened to the verses (there is no chorus), I realized that the piece was simply too long and poetic to truly comprehend on first listen. This is when the idea of pulling up the lyrics on my computer came to me. I had a hunch that if I looked at the song as a poem, I could find the true beauty in it.

My suspicions turned out to be true and I can now say that I find The Trapeze Swinger to be one of the most moving and haunting songs I have ever heard. Though the song is nearly impossibly to truly grasp, my interpretation is that it tells the story of a man who is dying. He is on his death bed and is recounting a relationship he had with a woman in his past. This woman was the love of his life but for whatever reason, the relationship did not last. Each stanza beings with the phrase “Please, remember me” followed by a story from the past or a statement on the present/future.

While I believe that this song should be read as a poem, here are two of my favorite lines...

But please, remember me fondly
I heard from someone you're still pretty
And then they went on to say
That the pearly gates
Had some eloquent graffiti

My dear, but if I make the pearly gates
I'll do my best to make a drawing
Of God and Lucifer, a boy and girl
An angel kissing on a sinner

The full lyrics are below followed as always by a performance of the song.

Lyrics

Performance

Songwriting!

I've always had a great amount of respect for songwriters. The fact that a person can sit down and put a story or feelings to music and then have it be remembered for years to come is an astonishing feat. Unfortunately, I do not have the skills required for writing a great song (though I would love to try one day). That however does not mean that I cannot research and learn from some of the best in the business. This week I went on the video researchers dream website (youtube) and watched various clips from professional singer/songwriters. What I learned from watching this clips is that songwriting is very personal, different process from person to person. Below I have posted some of my favorite songwriting videos.

Elton John, Sheryl Crow, and Others

James Taylor

Mariah Carey

Florence + the Machine

Till Kingdom Come

I created this blog so that I could explore song lyrics that are both powerful and subjective. When I first heard the Coldplay song “Till Kingdom Come”, I was sure that the song was about unrequited love. I was a teenager and had fallen pretty hard for a girl who did not share my feelings. When I listened to this song, I was sure that Chris Martin was saying that whether this girl loved him or not, he would wait for her. To me at the time, it was a perfect song with a perfect meaning.

Recently when I started listening to the song again, years later, I found that while the song does lend itself to being about unrequited love, it also lends itself to being about faith. Faith is a touchy subject for many and I won't really delve into it but the phrase “Till Kingdom Come” to me, now directly has a connotation with heaven and the after life.

My favorite phrases are below:

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

The full lyrics are below along with a link to Coldplay performing “Till Kingdom Come” and “Ring of Fire” at Austin City Limits.

Lyrics

Performance

Ignore this link...

<a href="http://www.blogcatalog.com">BlogCatalog</a>

The Piano Man

My favorite musical artist of all time would have to be Billy Joel. Billy is first and foremost, a storyteller.As I was listening to his song book, I decided that the best way to really show his true genius was to post some of his best lyrics with no explanation....

“So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break”

“They say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
Sinners are much more fun...
And only the good die young”

“I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take till you believe in me
The way that I believe in you.”

“Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away”

Billy explains and plays Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)

What are your favorite Billy Lyrics?

After The Storm

There is probably no song in the last couple of years that has left me as dumbfounded and moved as “After The Storm” by Mumford & Sons. The song by the British folk rock band conjures up different emotions from almost every person I talk to. I have listened to the song in every mood and something new always strikes me.

To me, “After The Storm” is a song of new beginnings. The lyrics paint a picture of extreme hardship and hurt after heartbreak, followed by a reexamination of one's situation. The most resonant phrase for me would be :

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

To me, this is a statement by a man who has been hurt but will no longer let heartbreak and pain control his life. He will start over and keep searching for true happiness.

Links...

Lyrics

Performance of After The Storm

Please feel free to comment since this song seems to mean something different to each person...

The Sound of Silence

When I chose to write a blog about music, and more specificity about deconstructing a song's meaning, I had many ideas of songs I wanted to write about. The song that I decided to start this blog with however, was not on that list.

Only days ago, this country mourned the 10^th anniversary of the terrible events of September 11^th, 2001. Memorial services and tributes filled the air but for whatever reason, I chose to not fully engross myself in one. However, when I was browsing the internet I came upon a link that led me to a performance that folk legend Paul Simon gave at Ground Zero to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of September 11^th. As I sat and watched him perform the classic Simon and Garfunkel song, “The Sound of Silence”, as sudden grief and shock came over me. Never have I been so moved by a single moment having to do with the September 11^th attacks. There was one stanza that really struck a chord with me; it reminded me of the reaction of the whole city after the initial attacks.

And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

Throughout the noise and chaos that was everywhere on that day, there was also a deep silence. A silence of sadness, grief, disbelief, and shock.

I do not want to write anymore about this song simply for the fact that I think it is best for people to listen to the performance and take out of it what they can. Analyzing it any further would be a disservice to the relevance it has to this historic event and the people who lost love ones in the catastrophe. I have posted two links below. One link will bring you to the Paul Simon's performance and the other to the lyrics.

Lyrics

Performance

A Beginning

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."

-Plato

This quote by one of the greatest minds ever, expresses better than I ever will, the power of music. Millions of people across the world find pleasure, redemption, and peace in music. It has been said that music is the language of the masses.

I find that lately I have found myself pondering the meaning of song lyrics and their relevance to my life. I listen to music everyday and believe that music has the power to change lives in many different ways.

Every person listens to music but what each individual gets out of it is never the same. Everyone takes their personal journey and applies it to the meaning of a song. Therefore, I have created this blog to take song lyrics that I find particularly compelling, and examine them. I hope that this space will become an open forum where we can share some of our favorite songs and what they mean to us.

I cannot wait to begin this experiment.