Speak To Me
Posted on January 1, 2012Not too long ago, I was sitting at my desk, typing away. Next to me was my iPhone, docked on a very sweet little player that my mommy bought me for Christmas so I could play music at work. I like having it in the background because it relaxes me and helps me work with a lot more focus. Truth. I have to have music playing a great deal of the time or I go a little nuts. It is at times like these that I am not really paying a whole lot of attention to the lyrics of the songs…just the music.
I don’t think there has to be a whole lot of meaning in the lyrics for it to be a good song. If this weren’t true, there nearly all pop songs would be deemed bad songs. I know, I know – many of you reading this are thinking, but most of them are bad, Diana. Quit being snobs. It’s called “Pop” for a reason, people. I will be the first to admit that a great many of the songs that I dig, don’t really have a whole lot going for them in the lyrics department. I mean, really, I like a lot of KISS songs. ‘Nuff said.
I realized that while I was working, and it made me stop and think – What songs have some of my favorite lyrics? That is-what songs really speak to me? Pffft…I could go on forever – literally forever – naming and discussing songs whose lyrics have some kind of an impact on me. Instead, I will showcase a few.
The first song the jumped immediately into my head was “We 3” by Soul Asylum. It is found on the band’s 1990 release And the Horse They Rode In On, as well as played during the closing credits of the 1997 Kevin Smith classic, Chasing Amy. “We 3” is an angsty song about the strain a new romantic relationship can put on a long-standing friendship. I love the song because we have all been there. We have all had a close friend that seemed to leave us in the dust when that new boyfriend or girlfriend entered the picture. We have all been the proverbial “3rd wheel”, and…it sucks. We 3 – Soul Aylum
I’ve known you forever, you two just met
So easily amused; how fast we forget
In my jealously, my self-righteous greed
She’s a bit like a book I’m too far sighted to read
And I wish you the best, I sometimes feel the need
To say remember me – “We 3” – Soul Asylum (Lyrics found at http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/chasingamy/we3.htm )
In 2011, Sixx: A.M. put out what I thought was one of the best albums of the year – This Is Gonna Hurt. There are a great many who cry “foul” and whine that Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is now a sellout. I really don’t understand that statement since I don’t get how you can sell out once you’ve been a part of Motley Crue. This however is a debate for another day. I, for one, can appreciate Sixx tapping into his inner artist and wanting people to take a tiny look into his head and see what he sees when he is taking pictures. If you haven’t taken a look at some of his photographs, you should. Ok, back to the song. One single that packs a lyrical punch from This Is Gonna Hurt is “Lies of the Beautiful People”. I suppose there isn’t anything terribly original about discussing inner beauty versus outer beauty, but the song, coupled with the powerful video really resonated with me. Don’t be too quick to judge, because there’s always something beautiful to see – even if it’s not all that pretty. SIXX: A.M. – Lies of the Beautiful People
Outside the velvet rope
Standing there all alone
Are the grotesque and ashamed…
Well if you think real beauty’s on the outside
Well that’s a far cry From the truth- “Lies of the Beautiful People” – Sixx: A.M. (Lyrics found at http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sixxam/liesofthebeautifulpeople.html )
The band Oh My God is a funky, kind of experimental band from Chicago. I’ve lived Chicagoesque my whole life, and I would not have ever heard of them had it not been for someone I know in New York. Weird. Anyway…although some of their tunes are a little too strange for my taste, the song “February 14th” from the album Interrogations and Confessions has got to be one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. This is one melancholy ode to love lost. The music is hunting and, although I am not usually one for “love songs”, the lyrics sound real. There’s really nothing too sappy or contrived about them. The lyrics sound like the despondent thoughts that bang around your head after it’s over. Oh My God – February 14th
Now I understand that life goes on
Still I wonder how I cross your thoughts
You improved me, even from a distance
You can move me when I’m heavier than Hell
You saw right through me when I wasn’t seeing well – “February 14th” – Oh My God (Lyrics not found online. This is what I made of them. If I’m wrong, let me know!)
Now I am definitely not a very political chick. I don’t like politics. I despise talking about politics. This means I normally do not like songs that strive to make a big political statement. They bore me almost as much as CNN. That being said, there are one or two tunes that I listened to and have found myself going Oh yeah…that is so totally the way it is! A personal favorite is The Offspring’s “Stuff Is Messed Up”, which is found on their 2008 album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. The real lyric of the song is “Shit is fucked up”, and when you listen to the angry, yet smirk-filled voice of vocalist Dexter Holland, you can’t help but agree…man, some shit really is fucked up. The Offspring – Stuff Is Messed Up
Now thank God for the media
For saving the day
Putting it all into perspective in a responsible way
With more celebrity news Typical bullshit views
I think we’re losing this fight sponsored by Bud Light…
And I don’t know much
I don’t know too much
But I know this
Shit is fucked up – “Stuff Is Messed Up” – The Offspring (lyrics found at http://www.elyricsworld.com/stuff_is_messed_up_lyrics_the_offspring.html)
The song whose lyrics that had the greatest effect on me for the longest time is “Cancer” from My Chemical Romance’s 2006 album The Black Parade. It’s a short song. It’s a simple song. It will always be able to make me cry. I lost my sister, my uncle and a dear friend to some form of that disease. The story of the song is told from the point of view of the victim, which makes it even harder to listen to at times. What else is someone going to say when he or she knows they are going to die? The most difficult lyric for me is short and bittersweet. My Chemical Romance – Cancer
The hardest part of this is leaving you. – “Cancer” – My Chemical Romance
There you have it. A sampling of songs whose lyrics mean a little something to me. They don’t need to be verbose, nor do they need to be musically complicated. They just need to reverberate in your mind and spark a memory or a belief. In many cases, what the song says leaves a much longer lasting impression on you that what it sounded like. I’d like to know what songs speak to you.
Tags: cancer, February 14th, Lies of the Beautiful People, lyrics, music, My Chemical Romance, Oh My God, sing, SIXX: A.M., songs, Soul Asylum, speak, Stuff Is Messed Up, The Offspring, We 3
Categories: Music News
For me, it’s always been Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. Lyrically that song has it going on. And Indian Summer, by the Doors. Both have some great lyrical lines in them.
09.01.2012 14:25