I am the type of person who cannot like a song if I don't know what it's about or can't relate to the lyrics in some way. Other folks like a catchy tune and can get past the lyrics. My hubby is one of those- I will hear him singing or humming a song and say, "what's the song about" and he will have no clue. I have googled more song lyrics in my day than I probably needed to. Anyway- a great song transcends time and is such a thing of beauty. And I think they are going out of style. I used to count on certain genres of music to be there with some soul-touching lyrics and it has all gotten so trite. I really think that country music writers sit in a room and say "add some death, some grandpa, some rocking chair" on their slow songs and expect us to weep even if it is completely cheesy. On their fast songs they throw in a "beer, truck, little money in my pocket" and I'm supposed to tap my toe. Enough already. Please songwriters of the world- in all genres- step up your game and lose the cliches. That goes for you too MTV and Christian music writers. And to prove my point- I'm putting Southern Cross on the playlist. I heard this in the car the other day and just loved it. I knew (from past lyric googling) that it was written after a divorce when the singer took his boat "Music" on a long trip to recover and sailed by the Southern Cross, which I think is a constellation or something. See...a real story...a nice tune...something timeless.
On a related note- we need more love songs about "staying together" not just falling in love. I think it perpetuates the myth that love is a heart-skipping-a-beat enthrallment and leads folks to dissatisfaction in their relationships. Soapbox ended. :)
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7 comments:
Preach it, sista! I feel the same way (and incidentally, my hubby is the same as yours too)! I really like Caedmon's Call (at least their earlier stuff) for just that reason... lyrics you have to think about.
right there with you my friend. Especially the staying together songs. I have this same soap box about movies. Everyone loves the getting together part and all it's warm fuzzies but no one wants to see the hard work it requires to stay together and to experience the deeper warm fuzzies that come from all that hard work. End my soapbox now!!!
Lyrics w/ meaning? That's what folk music and the college-radio genres are for. Oh, and gangster rap.
Let's see,
"Let's Stay Together" - Al Green
"Still the One" - Orleans
"Don't Give Up On Us" - David Soul (aka "Hutch" from Starsky & Hutch)
yup, that's it for staying together songs.
(as for staying together movies, those are terrible. The Story of Us, I believe it was called, with Bruno Willis and Michelle Pfieffer - the worst movie ever made. It played twice on the flight to Kazakhstan in the summer of 2000. I wanted to shoot myself. Forget Paris was pretty bad too. I prefer to enjoy the warm fuzzies b/t Dana and Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters to the reality of their relationship in Ghostbusters II.)
Preach on from that soapbox. totally agree. And you forgot to add "about to die, fallin' in love and father- son time" to the list of things that country music lyrics throw in to make you cry.
well, I guess not everyone can be as wonderful as Doug Stone.
name this song (reliving the old days):
"if rhyme was a drug, I'd sell it by the gram"
now there's a quality lyric!!
i turned on the radio a few weeks ago at chip's parents' house. the only stations available there were country. one said, "i picked up dinner, a 99 cent heart attack in a sack..." i don't remember anything else but I have used that line since then. i affectionately refer to fast food now as heart-attack in a sack.
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