Day 08 - A Song You Know All The Words To
A sad fact widely known
The most impassionate song
To a lonely soul
Is so easily outgrown
But don't forget the songs
That made you smile
And the songs that made you cry
When you lay in awe
On the bedroom floor
And said : "Oh, oh, smother me Mother..."
So sang Morrissey in his tribute to those long teenage hours spent studying lyrics. How many hours did I spend on my bedroom floor, lyrics sheet in hand - or, on those frustrating occasions when no lyrics sheet was provided, headphones on, writing them out myself, listening to that one line over and over again to work out... just what were they singing? Kids these days don't know how lucky they've got it, in a world where most songs give up their mystery at the click of a mouse. I'm glad I grew up when I did.
One of the songs I spent longest on as a teenager was Don McLean's American Pie. Ostensibly a song about the death of Buddy Holly, whole theses have been written about the many supposed references that pepper the song's 8.33 running time. Was Bob Dylan the Jester? Elvis the king? Was it Lennon or Lenin who read a book on Marx? Was that a reference to Altamont? Is Mick Jagger satan? Or are some people reading far too much into it?
When asked what American Pie really meant, Don McLean quipped, "it means I never have to work again". Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Being that he also gave us Vincent and Castles In The Air, his retirement is well-deserved.
