Thursday, January 15, 2009

Booking Through Thursdays

Booking Through Thursday asks:

If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes.

So, today’s question?

* What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?
* Why?
* And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them?

You don’t have to restrict yourself to modern songsters, either … anyone who wants to pick Gilbert & Sullivan, for example, is just fine with me. Lerner & Loewe? Steven Sondheim? Barenaked Ladies? Fountains of Wayne? The Beatles? Anyone at all…

This is an excellent question! I love to sing, and songs with memorable lyrics tend to stay in my playlists much longer than songs with memorable melodies. There are songs that have been in my iPod Alphonse for years because I love to sing the lyrics.

Three songs come specifically to mind, and I can even pinpoint the lyrics that I love. These are:

Ryan Adams’s Let it Ride—this entire song is fantastic. Twangy, dirty country; Ryan Adams tends to polarize people, they either love ‘im or hate ‘im. I lean more towards loving him. How can you not when he croons songs like these:

27 years of nothing but failures and promises that I couldn't keep / Oh lord, I wasn't ready to go / I'm never ready to go

That line specifically (and others that follow in the same song) fall off the tongue so easily that it’s difficult not to sing along with him. I picture myself as a barmaid-cum-country-singer whenever that song rolls around and I get to singing.

Then there’s a newer song in my playlist. City & Colour is a one-man band by the name of Dallas Green of Alexisonfire fame. If you’re into Canrock, you’ll know him well, but if you’re not, then…you’re missing out! Beautiful voice often coupled by just a guitar, he’s a great mellow singer-songwriter. Perfect for when you’re chilling at home, or (like I was when I first listened to his second album) on a long cross-country driving trip.

This song hits write at home because it describes me so well. Observe:

At least I know I'll never sleep at night. (Sleep at night) / I'll always lie awake until the morning light. (Til the morning light) / This is something that I'll never control. /My nerves will be the death of me.
Good melody, and lyrics I can relate to. This will be in my playlist for years to come.

Finally, the last song that I could think of is by my all-time favourite band Nine Inch Nails. Only was released on the With Teeth album, and I can recite the following to you as a poem if I didn’t know how to sing it:

Well the tiniest little dot caught my eye / And it turned out to be a scab / I had this funny feeling / Like I just knew it’s something bad / I just couldn’t leave it alone, kept picking at that scab / Like it was a doorway / Trying to seal itself shut / But I climbed through

Oooh gruesome imagery, eh? I love it.

2 comments:

akawest said...

I don't think I have ever heard Ryan Adams sing. I will have to go listen to that song.

You're lucky that you can sing. I am so awful, that I won't even subject myself to my voice!

Anonymous said...

I didn't even know there was the term Canrock. CanLit, yes. Canrock, no.

Isn't Sarah McLachlan Canadian? Or am I grasping at straws?