Write Back Weekend "All We Are Saying"
To offset the multitude of silly songs out there, last week's TITMT asked you to make mention of those songs with a stronger message. I realize I painted with broad strokes on this one as a meaningful message could take on many different incarnations. It's ok though, because y'all handled it like champs. Here are a few of my choices...
1. Abraham, Martin and John- Dion- Released during the anti-war era, this song is now mostly associated with love and loss. The Abraham in this song is Lincoln, Martin is Martin Luther King Jr. and John is John F. Kennedy Jr. The sentiment is all about great men who were taken from us too soon.
2. Positively 4th Street- Bob Dylan- Somehow I'm sure hardcore Dylan fans would find a song of his that was even more hard hitting than this. Then again, I've never been a real Dylan fan. I just remember hearing this song back in middle school and having a "Oh no he didn't!" moment when he says, "When you know as well as me, you'd rather see me paralyzed. Why don't you just come out once and scream it?"
It wasn't until a few years later, once the shock period, followed by the incessant laughter period died down that I understood what he was trying to say. Basically this is a song all about superficiality and saying what you mean in the moment.
3. No Such Thing- John Mayer- No Such Thing is a song about expectations and growing up....sometimes against your better judgment. Staying in the lines is what we are told to do, and what are parents were told to do. We spend years trying to fight this mentality before most of us cave and end up pushing in on the next generation who think they too, will beat the system.
My favorite line has always been, "So the good boys and girls take the so-called right track, faded white hats grabbing the credits and making transfers. They read all the books but they can't find the answers. And all of our parents, they're getting older. I wonder if they've wished for anything better. While in their memories, tiny tragedies."
Runners-up in the angst of growing up category: Dogs In The Yard- Paul McCrane and Still Fighting It- Ben Folds.
4. Mmm Bop- Hanson- Go ahead. Rub the sleepies out of your eyes. It's not a typo. So many people love to knock Hanson. Say what you will about the mop-topped trio, but these underage brothers actually accomplished the impossible. They penned a silly song to appeal to preteen girls, that really wasn't so silly after all. In fact, not only did they fool them, the probably fooled you, too.
Mmm Bop is all about how quickly things could change so appreciate what (and who) you've got when you've got it cause in an "mmm bop", they're gone.
Runners-up in this category: The Living Years- Mike & The Mechanics, Cats In The Cradle- Harry Chapin.
5. Dear Mr. President- Pink- Probably the newest song on the list, Pink deserves props for her timely message against politically related public relations. In this open letter to the president, Pink pontificates about an imaginary conversation with the president. My favorite line has already been featured on this blog as a past 'Catch of the Day' quote.
"What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away? And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay? I can only imagine what the first lady has to say. You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine."
6. Praying For Time- George Michael- When this song first came out, George Michael was the "oh my God, he can do now wrong", bomb. Some of us were still reeling that the guy who sang Wake Me Up Before You Go Go could take part in anything serious, but he did it.
In Praying For Time, George Michael talks about a sad society of haves and have nots. In a morose way, it contemplates the after life and what will happen to us all when our time is up. There was always one lyric, more than any other, that resonated with me:
"So you scream from behind your door. Say what's mine is mine and not yours. I may have too much but I'll take my chances 'cause God stopped keeping score. And you cling to the things they sold you. Did you cover your eyes when they told you. That he can't come back because he has no children to come back for."
7. In My Life- The Beatles- I always thought this song was a great way to summarize life and all of its ups and downs. It values the importance of memories and how those memories, when added up, are what make our lives unique. At it's very core, it also works as a love song.
8. Just A Girl- No Doubt- This song is a surprisingly pop take on feminism for women who really aren't feminists. Sarcastically, Gwen Stefani refers to herself over and over as "just a girl" who really doesn't (or shouldn't have any rights). In one breath, she's playng innocent, in the next, she wants more. What woman hasn't felt the push and pull of these emotions in her lifetime?
9. We Didn't Start The Fire- Billy Joel- Since this song was popular at the time (again, in middle school), I remember there being a social studies teacher who assigned students different parts of the lyrics to research. The kids were into it, if only because the song was a hit on the radio at the time. The historical events in each stanza aren't necessarily intertwined, but his onslaught style delivery reminds us that everything old is new again when history repeats itself.
10. Dear. Mr Jesus- Powersource I'd say the year I was ten or so was right around the time I started becoming aware of world events. At the time, there was a major news story about a little girl named Lisa Steinberg who had been a victim of child abuse at the hands of her "adoptive" parents, Joel Steinberg and Hedda Nussbaum. Since she was only four years younger than I, I felt a connection to the story.
Back then, the story was all over the news. Around Christmas time, I heard this song on the radio. Apparently it was dedicated to the memory of Lisa. I spent years trying to get this song, not so much because it was the greatest song ever, but because of it's anti-child abuse sentiment. It's an open letter from a little girl to Jesus, praying that abuse would stop. This one line still gives me chills.
"Dear Mr. Jesus, please tell me what to do. And please don't tell my daddy, but my mommy hits me, too."
11. A Better Son/Daughter- Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley is a newer band with a decent amount of songs with serious messages. A Better Son/Daughter is all about trying to live up to expectations that seem so hard to live up to. Usually these expectations are of the parental kind.
Runners-up in the parental strife category: Father and Son- Cat Stevens, Perfect- Alanis and My Father's Chair- Rick Springfield
There you have it. Those are some of the songs that move me, more than words can say.
1. Abraham, Martin and John- Dion- Released during the anti-war era, this song is now mostly associated with love and loss. The Abraham in this song is Lincoln, Martin is Martin Luther King Jr. and John is John F. Kennedy Jr. The sentiment is all about great men who were taken from us too soon.
2. Positively 4th Street- Bob Dylan- Somehow I'm sure hardcore Dylan fans would find a song of his that was even more hard hitting than this. Then again, I've never been a real Dylan fan. I just remember hearing this song back in middle school and having a "Oh no he didn't!" moment when he says, "When you know as well as me, you'd rather see me paralyzed. Why don't you just come out once and scream it?"
It wasn't until a few years later, once the shock period, followed by the incessant laughter period died down that I understood what he was trying to say. Basically this is a song all about superficiality and saying what you mean in the moment.
3. No Such Thing- John Mayer- No Such Thing is a song about expectations and growing up....sometimes against your better judgment. Staying in the lines is what we are told to do, and what are parents were told to do. We spend years trying to fight this mentality before most of us cave and end up pushing in on the next generation who think they too, will beat the system.
My favorite line has always been, "So the good boys and girls take the so-called right track, faded white hats grabbing the credits and making transfers. They read all the books but they can't find the answers. And all of our parents, they're getting older. I wonder if they've wished for anything better. While in their memories, tiny tragedies."
Runners-up in the angst of growing up category: Dogs In The Yard- Paul McCrane and Still Fighting It- Ben Folds.
4. Mmm Bop- Hanson- Go ahead. Rub the sleepies out of your eyes. It's not a typo. So many people love to knock Hanson. Say what you will about the mop-topped trio, but these underage brothers actually accomplished the impossible. They penned a silly song to appeal to preteen girls, that really wasn't so silly after all. In fact, not only did they fool them, the probably fooled you, too.
Mmm Bop is all about how quickly things could change so appreciate what (and who) you've got when you've got it cause in an "mmm bop", they're gone.
Runners-up in this category: The Living Years- Mike & The Mechanics, Cats In The Cradle- Harry Chapin.
5. Dear Mr. President- Pink- Probably the newest song on the list, Pink deserves props for her timely message against politically related public relations. In this open letter to the president, Pink pontificates about an imaginary conversation with the president. My favorite line has already been featured on this blog as a past 'Catch of the Day' quote.
"What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away? And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay? I can only imagine what the first lady has to say. You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine."
6. Praying For Time- George Michael- When this song first came out, George Michael was the "oh my God, he can do now wrong", bomb. Some of us were still reeling that the guy who sang Wake Me Up Before You Go Go could take part in anything serious, but he did it.
In Praying For Time, George Michael talks about a sad society of haves and have nots. In a morose way, it contemplates the after life and what will happen to us all when our time is up. There was always one lyric, more than any other, that resonated with me:
"So you scream from behind your door. Say what's mine is mine and not yours. I may have too much but I'll take my chances 'cause God stopped keeping score. And you cling to the things they sold you. Did you cover your eyes when they told you. That he can't come back because he has no children to come back for."
7. In My Life- The Beatles- I always thought this song was a great way to summarize life and all of its ups and downs. It values the importance of memories and how those memories, when added up, are what make our lives unique. At it's very core, it also works as a love song.
8. Just A Girl- No Doubt- This song is a surprisingly pop take on feminism for women who really aren't feminists. Sarcastically, Gwen Stefani refers to herself over and over as "just a girl" who really doesn't (or shouldn't have any rights). In one breath, she's playng innocent, in the next, she wants more. What woman hasn't felt the push and pull of these emotions in her lifetime?
9. We Didn't Start The Fire- Billy Joel- Since this song was popular at the time (again, in middle school), I remember there being a social studies teacher who assigned students different parts of the lyrics to research. The kids were into it, if only because the song was a hit on the radio at the time. The historical events in each stanza aren't necessarily intertwined, but his onslaught style delivery reminds us that everything old is new again when history repeats itself.
10. Dear. Mr Jesus- Powersource I'd say the year I was ten or so was right around the time I started becoming aware of world events. At the time, there was a major news story about a little girl named Lisa Steinberg who had been a victim of child abuse at the hands of her "adoptive" parents, Joel Steinberg and Hedda Nussbaum. Since she was only four years younger than I, I felt a connection to the story.
Back then, the story was all over the news. Around Christmas time, I heard this song on the radio. Apparently it was dedicated to the memory of Lisa. I spent years trying to get this song, not so much because it was the greatest song ever, but because of it's anti-child abuse sentiment. It's an open letter from a little girl to Jesus, praying that abuse would stop. This one line still gives me chills.
"Dear Mr. Jesus, please tell me what to do. And please don't tell my daddy, but my mommy hits me, too."
11. A Better Son/Daughter- Rilo Kiley
Rilo Kiley is a newer band with a decent amount of songs with serious messages. A Better Son/Daughter is all about trying to live up to expectations that seem so hard to live up to. Usually these expectations are of the parental kind.
Runners-up in the parental strife category: Father and Son- Cat Stevens, Perfect- Alanis and My Father's Chair- Rick Springfield
There you have it. Those are some of the songs that move me, more than words can say.
<< Home