I think one of the interesting and reflective things about music is how we interpret what’s there, or how we sometimes use it as an slightly warped theme song. REM’s The One I Love has been used in countless weddings, as has the Police’s Every Breath You Take. Did they ever bother to read the lyrics? One is about people as reusable things to take advantage of, whereas the latter is basically THE stalker song of all time.
In between, there are the songs where the lyrics were simply misunderstood. Elton John’s Tiny Dancer has often been interpreted as “hold me closer, Tony Danza,” by scores of 80’s teens, and then there is the legendary Indagoddadavita, aka In the Garden of Eden by Iron Butterfly. Those just fall in the category of hilariously unfortunate choices of vowel and consonant sounds, yet definitely something that you remember when you hear or read the actual lyrics and have that “ah ha!” moment.
Most importantly, there are those songs that speak to you with heartfelt and unmistakable poetry. For me those include REM’s “At Your Most Beautiful,” U2’s “All I Want Is You,” Marc Cohen’s “True Companion,” and Tracy Chapman’s “The Promise.”
I don’t think it’s coincidence that all of these are about love. I’ve been lucky in my life to know a few people who have stirred those emotions in me. They are the ones where when I see them walk in the room I light up with joy to have them near. The ones that at some point in my life I eventually have to admit, no matter how long or short of a time I’ve known them, that I love them wholly and that I always will. And I will always miss them when they pass out of my life, one way or another.
I don’t believe in the dogma that we have one true love. Love can take many shapes, forms, and iterations over the course of a lifetime, and believing that there are only one of these is short-changing ourselves. To bring it back to the original conceit, it’s like saying that what someone interprets in a song is absolutely correct or mistaken. Maybe there are shades of grey in how you hear it. Maybe that’s not a bad thing, but can actually be a reason to keep going on the hope of another love, or confirmation that the one you love is the right one for now but that there are always possibilities. I hope to find mine again and again, and some where things can work out for us.
For those future loves I have to rely on life, not music, but I’m sure there will be other songs that come along to remind me things aren't over.
In between, there are the songs where the lyrics were simply misunderstood. Elton John’s Tiny Dancer has often been interpreted as “hold me closer, Tony Danza,” by scores of 80’s teens, and then there is the legendary Indagoddadavita, aka In the Garden of Eden by Iron Butterfly. Those just fall in the category of hilariously unfortunate choices of vowel and consonant sounds, yet definitely something that you remember when you hear or read the actual lyrics and have that “ah ha!” moment.
Most importantly, there are those songs that speak to you with heartfelt and unmistakable poetry. For me those include REM’s “At Your Most Beautiful,” U2’s “All I Want Is You,” Marc Cohen’s “True Companion,” and Tracy Chapman’s “The Promise.”
I don’t think it’s coincidence that all of these are about love. I’ve been lucky in my life to know a few people who have stirred those emotions in me. They are the ones where when I see them walk in the room I light up with joy to have them near. The ones that at some point in my life I eventually have to admit, no matter how long or short of a time I’ve known them, that I love them wholly and that I always will. And I will always miss them when they pass out of my life, one way or another.
I don’t believe in the dogma that we have one true love. Love can take many shapes, forms, and iterations over the course of a lifetime, and believing that there are only one of these is short-changing ourselves. To bring it back to the original conceit, it’s like saying that what someone interprets in a song is absolutely correct or mistaken. Maybe there are shades of grey in how you hear it. Maybe that’s not a bad thing, but can actually be a reason to keep going on the hope of another love, or confirmation that the one you love is the right one for now but that there are always possibilities. I hope to find mine again and again, and some where things can work out for us.
For those future loves I have to rely on life, not music, but I’m sure there will be other songs that come along to remind me things aren't over.
posted by AnonymousX at 6:55 PM
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