Ed Explains English Exuberantly : I Had No Idea The Song Was About That

Sunday, July 25, 2021

I Had No Idea The Song Was About That

The following is dedicated to Todd Schindler. A man who taught me the importance of lyrics in songs and dialogue in movies by frequently shushing a distracted version of me while we were watching movies. We also watched several memorable concerts together including Randy Newman and Joe Jackson.

Many of us love music. The reason being that music gives us so many things to love. You can fall in the love with the melody, the harmony, the production, the musicianship , the mood. One more thing you can fall in love with are the words. At least in my case , I can love a song for decades and even see it performed in concert by the original artist and still not see what the lyrics really mean.

Keep in mind that music like any art form is in the eye or ear of the beholder. You can make it mean what you want it to mean but some song writers pack a bit more to their songs than others. One thing I have noticed with "deeper " songs is I try to figure out is from whose point of view is the song coming from. Just because you see the pronoun "I" all the time it does not mean the song is from the first person perspective. A good example of that is Barry Manilow's I Write The Songs.

The songs I chose below have been out many years. Some of them are simple stories. Some of them look like simple stories but are indicative of a deeper theme. It will really enhance your vocabulary and your comprehension if you can find that deeper theme or themes which are usually not found in the words of the song. Read between the lines. The mood or atmosphere of the song may or may not correlate with the overall theme of the song. In other words, do not assume a bright , lively beat is a happy song.

See if you can appreciate the melody, the voices and the instruments, then scrutinize the words and try to mine them for meaning. Enjoy !!

The Dance (medium)