A Plague of Songwriters?

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 12:25 PM

"What's that song about?" normally means "What's the story behind that song?", which is always a good question to ask and answer.

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: GUEST,Hugh Jampton
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 12:30 PM

The Shambles,
             You can bet your life on it!

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 12:55 PM

Hugh - you make a good point. I would still pose the question less directly and try to find out what the circumstances surrounding the creation for the song. That would probably open up the conversation more than a direct(and sometime rude) "what was that song about"?

I've had converstation I've told the songwriter what the song meant for me - images or feelings that it invoked.

On the other hand, if the songwriter was LOOKING for honest feedback, I would tell the truth - I had no clue as to what that song was about.

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: harvey andrews
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 01:03 PM

I think the need to ask what the song was about coincided with the ingestion before writing of certain substances...a scenario very common from the late sixties on. personally I've never touched the stuff...(when it was sex and drugs and folk n roll I passed on the drugs and did double sex)...therefore I'm rarely asked what my songs are about.
......Man.

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: GUEST,Rain Dog
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 01:05 PM

Take an old song , well I hope it is an old song

A Buxom Lass as sung on the latest cd by Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman.

Now is that a song about cutting grass or is it not ? And did anyone ask the writer what it meant or did they not ? And do those city dwellers who do not even have a garden know what it is about or not.

And as I said earlier, if he had stayed in instead of going out it would have been one less song for us all.

Songs with footnotes. Songs with sung footnotes. That is what is required methinks

Happy christmas to you all

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 02:21 PM

There are always the songs with double meanings to confuse the - inexperienced - listener. In my early folk days, still learning English language and culture, for some months I believed the Bonny Black Hare was about a long-eared creature...And the Game of Cards simply an innocuous story of a girl beating a young man at whist or something like that...
OK, I was also young and innocent those days. Still am, in certain ways...
Have a good Christmas everyone. Or Solstice. Or Hannukah. Or just a relaxing holiday.

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 08:03 PM

Whiter Shade of Pale
American Pie
MacArthue Park
et. al.

are all in the Category of "Abstract Art"... :-)

Robin

Subject: RE: A Plague of Songwriters?
From: Snuffy
Date: 25 Dec 03 - 05:22 AM

On BBC Radio 2 a few years ago:

Interviewer: What does American Pie mean, Don?

Don Maclean: It means I never have to work again.