I am in awe of songwriters. While I need/take 80,000 words to tell my story, they need only a matter of lines to tell theirs. And when it’s done well…Oh, wow. That one song can make you cry, smile, reflect with all the intensity of any book. As a writer, I can think of no better tutorial than listening to the lyrics of the greats (and the up-and-coming greats) and hearing how they craft the “scenes” of their songs to tell their stories.
Songs like…
Paul Simon’s haunting tribute to the confusion of facing adulthood in “America”
Neil Young’s heartbreaking tale of love begrudgingly released in “Expecting to Fly”
Dolly Parton’s plea to her husband’s lover in “Jolene”
Joni Mitchell’s unabashed declaration of love in “A Case of You”
Carly Simon’s reminiscence of adolescent yearnings in “Boys in the Trees”
Bill Withers’ lonely lament in “Aint No Sunshine”
Bonnie Raitt’s bad day turned around in “All At Once”
Mary Chapin Carpenter’s touching account of sisters moving apart in “Only A Dream”
Dan Fogelberg’s perfect capturing of the angst, wonder and regret of reunited lovers in “Same Old Lang Syne”
and the list goes on and on and on…
Now it’s your turn:
What songs move you as deeply as any favorite book?
I heard once that a great song contains its entire meaning in one line. How cool would that be?
Here’s what I’m listening to this week.
Harry Nilsson “Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me”
Mary Chapin Carpenter “Stones in the Road”
Bob Dylan “Things Have Changed”
Simon and Garfunkel “Bookends”
Annie Lennox “Why”
The Eagles “Wasted Time”
Seals and Crofts “We May Never Pass This Way Again”
Dave Loggins “Please Come to Boston”
Oh, wow. How in the heck did I forget Please Come to Boston?–that song wrecks me, just wrecks me.
And “Why” was on the random play here about an hour ago–another beauty.
Great minds, I’m thinking, Teri…
The first year after moving to CA, I played Please Come to Boston every single day. No joke. That line, “A California life alone is just too hard to build …” killed me. Still does.
No joke, Teri–when I moved to Venice Beach, I ALWAYS, always recalled that line (that, and Neil Diamond’s “LA’s fine but it ain’t home, NY’s home but it ain’t mine no more”)
But yes, Loggins’ song always wins in the sit-in-a-puddle-of-my-own-tears department and always will.
I love “Stones in the Road”, and had forgotton how much until this very moment. Thank you.
Neil Young’s “Old Man” is an all-time favorite of mine. I cannot make it through that song without choking up, which means I definitely can’t sing along to it.
Led Zeppelin’s “10 Years Gone” is another one. Chills just thinking about it.
Fabulous post! Song writing is definitely an incredible skill.
Hi Maura–LOVE Old Man, too. Frankly there are so many Neil Young songs that get me–A Man Needs a Maid, The Needle and the Damage Done…the man can break your heart wide open in ten lines or less.
Oh my, where do I begin. I’ve mentioned this one elsewhere but KD Lang’s take on Neil Young’s Helpless – I get the biggest lump in my throat and it hurts , but in such an excellent way.
Everything But The Girl – Apron Strings
Jann Arden – Good Mother
Janis Ian – At Seventeen
And yes, Jolene – Dolly Parton’s pleading – gets me everytime.
Excuse me, I need to go put some music on!
Downith, Thanks for the reminder of Everything but the Girl…I miss them and need them back.
And I think At Seventeen gets more poignant as we age, maybe that’s the point, but it’s a gulper, too.
Ooooh, At Seventeen. Yes.
I like this game!
Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man
The Day Before the Day – Dido (This one’s breaking my heart right now.)
Scarborough Fair – Simon and Garfunkel
Like a Stone – Audioslave
Wounded – Third Eye Blind
Nothing Compares To You – Sinead O’Connor
Sniffle. That’s enough of that. Darn you, Erika!
Ah ha! I rescued your hostaged comment from the dastardly spammer–hooray!
Oh, Averil, have you heard Dido’s See the Sun (I think that’s the title)? Wow, THAT one rips me up.
Yes! Her voice is mesmerizing.
Different songs effect me all the time – my mood definitely plays a role in this!
But I wanted to pick up on something else, have you ever tried writing a song, or just poetry, or combining the both? – I love music, hate poetry, and cant write either. I just don’t ‘get’ it.
anyway, for my uni work i had to include poetry so I decided to cheat somewhat. I took a song that i enjoyed, and a friends awful childhood, and created something I am quite proud of.
You may not agree, but for me it was a major personal achievement in telling a story in such a short format. It also help me to think about descriptive language more. I have put in a link to my creation, why don’t you have a go yourself.
Hi Ellie–I definitely thought of the power of poetry along these lines too–the whittling down of immense feelings and experience into a few lines–that talent too leaves me in awe–I haven’t the gift for writing poetry but boy do I enjoy poetry.
I will visit your link–thanks for that.
[…] Erika Marks got me started on the song lyrics track this morning and … well … it’s almost 4:00 pm and I’m still here. Funny how that works. […]
love this post…and the songs.
when melancholy:
-amie by damien rice
-clementine by sarah jaffe
-til kingdom come by coldplay
driving alone:
-she’s so cold/emotional rescue by the stones
-shake that ass by eminem and nate dogg (who sadly just passed)
-violet by hole
jogging:
-florence and the machine
-beastie boys
-ludacris
-and bob dylan for some reason. once i hit my rhythm i like his voice. weird.
Where to being in that great list? I love that you have them broken down…and you know what you list makes me miss most of all, Amy? The glorious joy that was the MIX TAPE. Remember the good old days, when you had to do the math so you could record down to the last second? I had an ex-boyfriend who was amazing with that–he had notepaper with the song lengths and he’d compile based on mood AND time…
Erika, I love this. And mix tapes.
I remember sitting next to the radio with my big, honkin’ cassette player, finger at the ready to get a whole version of my favorite song.
Off the top of my head,
Melissa Etheridge- The Letting Go
Dave Matthews Band- #41
And from The Secret Garden, two Mandy Patinken (sp?) songs
-Lily’s Eyes
-Where in the World
And that country song…I can’t remember who sings it, or the name, but every time it comes on, I get all broken up. It starts, “I’m looking for something in blue”. It might be Reba. Oh, google…
Lyra! Oh, that would be Looking for Something in Red by Lorrie Morgan, I do believe–I used to belt that one out with teary eyes!
There are so many Dave songs–so many, I tried to get it down to one and ended up with about 20. Most of which choke me up, or gives me the chills, or make me want to dance it up, or all three. Those fellas just know.
Lorrie Morgan, yes, of course.
Just remembered another one, “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush. That song, wow.
That Kate Bush song was a mix tape STAPLE for this kid back in the day…and it was right up there when I was pulling songs together for this list…haunting and heartbreaking–it’s a beauty.
What a GREAT point about songwriters and the talent it takes to craft stories in such small spaces. I once dated a musician/songwriter and was always in awe of how MUCH feeling was evoked in so few words.
Some songs that move me, through their lyrical stories:
– Billy Joel’s “Always a Woman to Me”
– Johnny Rivers “Slow Dancin’, Swayin’ to the Music”
– Elton John’s “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word”
– ELO’s “Telephone Line”
– Orleans “Still the One”
Heck … put me in the 70s and I could go on and on and on forever! SO many great ones.
You and me and the 70’s, Melissa…The list goes on and on. Elton John’s “Sorry seems…” always, ALWAYS gets me!
Aww, my comment got eaten by the spammer.
Argh! Let me check the spam holder thingie–all may not be lost!
What a wonderful exercise! I wrote a post about a week ago about your all time favorite music that puts you in a writing mood. I agree, I’m sooo jealous of musicians. They can capture the mood so well, and with such simple words!
Recently, Mumford and Sons “The Cave” has been really moving for me. I love it.
Hi Ollin! Music inspires on so many levels, doesn’t it? Thanks for the recommendation–I will have to check that one out…(And your post too!)
there lots of good song writers … lots of good lines.
.
guy clark … texas guitar picker / song writer is the absolute best:
.
“standing on the gone side of leaving … ”
… re: a girl with suitcase in hand, having closed the door behind her.
.
… “old women holding hands with the clock, … like old cats walking close to the wall. … “
Tom, thank you for leaving these lines–now I’m compelled to go back and pick out my own favorites.
That last one is chilling, and exactly what we’re all talking about: the beauty (and skill) of condensing a whole life into a single line.
“Riders on the Storm” by The Doors
Good one, Dave. I can hear the thunder and raindrops as I write this.
That was my going back to Bates song. It captured my mood returning to the other LA, Maine’s, not Morrison’s.