Wednesday 13 February 2008

lyrical

Oh that's right. I wanted to blog about lyrics, though I think I've written about a similar thing before, but anyway. The amount of new music I've been listening to lately has increased, thanks mainly to Guan and Karen who keep recommending wonderful things to me. Sometimes I can get into things right away and other times it will take a while.

But something I noticed with those albums that take a while to get me in, is when someone points out a particular lyric to me, it can make the song jump out. The song then becomes a hook on which to hang the rest of the album. Maybe it's because I'll be listening more intentionally. Maybe it's because the lyric connects me to the person who told me about it. Or maybe it's just because it's a damn good way of stringing words together and I want to hear whether it was a fluke or whether the writer really does have a gift. It raises my already high esteem for fine songwriters, and shows up the shabbiness of the lazier pop songwriters even more.

I think the thing that kicked me off on this was talking with G about Joni Mitchell, and the song Little Green in particular.
  • Just a little green
    Like the colour when the spring is born
    There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
    Just a little green
    Like the nights when the northern lights perform
    There'll be icicles and birthday clothes and sometimes there'll be sorrow
The whole song is gorgeous. It speaks of childhood and relationships and sadness and parenthood and it's simple and lovely. It reminds me of Kristen, my singing teacher from back in my early 20s, who taught me a lot and whose voice sounded "sweet as Tupelo honey".

What are some of your favourite lyrics? And why?

4 comments :

  1. She went over to his apartment,
    clutching her decision,
    and he said, “Did you come here
    to tell me goodbye?”
    So she built a skyscraper of
    procrastination
    then she leaned out the twenty-fifth floor window of her reply.

    (Ani Difranco, “School Night”, Revelling/Reckoning)

    Normally I don't pay much attention to lyrics but that one caught my attention.

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  2. oh yes. That's a heartbreaker, that one.

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  3. It will come as some surprise to you that I like these lyrics by M. Ward from 'Undertaker':

    'Oh love is so good when you're treated like you should be
    the sky goes on forever in a symphony of song.

    And how the water can flow
    like it's streaming out a fountains
    and all you got to do is find a sword and a stone.'

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  4. this was the first Sufjan song I fell in love with - To be alone with you from Seven Swans.

    I'd swim across Lake Michigan
    I'd sell my shoes
    I'd give my body to be back again
    In the rest of the room
    To be alone with you

    You gave your body to the lonely
    They took your clothes
    You gave up a wife and a family
    You gave your ghost
    To be alone with me
    You went up on a tree

    To be alone with me
    You went up on a tree

    I've never known a man who loved me

    ReplyDelete