mark (04/24/83)
I'm getting tired of songs that I like the rhythm to, but that I can't understand any of the lyrics. I spent forever figuring out that Billy Jean is about a girl claiming the singer is the father of her baby, but I still haven't decided if the most repeated phrase in the song is "The child is not my son" or "The kid is not my son". For a while I thought the word was "jealous". Anybody think they know for sure? Now my pet peeve is "Come on Eileen". Those are the only consecutive words in the whole song I can understand, except for "Too ra loo ra", and this is NO Irish lullaby! Can someone tell me what this song is about? Anyone know the words? I remember way back, there was a song called "Killing me softly" which has become almost a classic. (I still hear it every once in a while.) Nobody could decide what he was strumming - "Strumming my ______ with his fingers; singing my life with his words" - her "pain", her "fate", I heard people claim it was her "face", even her "bed" (that's a bit hard to see). I finally settled on "fate" but was never 100% sure. There ought to be a law requiring the written words to be available somewhere, preferably with the record when you buy it.
eli (04/24/83)
Where oh were would classic songs like "Louie, Louie" be if you actually knew what the lyrics were? (Watch out for the Rhino collection, "The Best of Louie, Louie"! Also, those of you in the SF-Bay Area should check out KUSF/KALX and their battle of the "Louie, Louie" versions. Last year KALX did 12 hours, and this year KUSF is threatening 24!)
floyd (04/25/83)
Remember "Louie, Louie" ? The words were intentionally garbled: "... tonight, at ten, I'll get her again..." ????? But, as in many cases, the garbled words don't hamper the song much. The rythm and melody of the vocals is often more important than the actual words. Not to mention the mystique of a song whose lyrics are open to individual interpretation and it also helps fight what is known as "listener fatigue".
rs55611 (04/26/83)
Someone commented that the lyrics printed on album covers sometimes differs slightly from what is on the record. It makes you wonder, did the person who wrote the tune mess it up when recording, or did the record company flunky assigned to copy down the lyrics blow it? In a similar vein, and even harder to understand: On Rolling Stones records, I've seen Keith Richards'name spelled Richards, and also Richard, with no s. I assume Richards is correct, but wonder how a mistake like this could slip by. I can't recall which album covers this occurs on, and I'm not near my records, but it happened more than once.
benson (04/27/83)
I have heard, and who am I to prejudge the veracity of unfounded rumors, that "Killing me softly" is bout Don McLean's song, "The day the music died", which, I am lead to believe is about the plane crash which killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. I guess, but do not know that "You so vain" is either about me or James Taylor. Peter Benson decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!benson
warren (04/27/83)
A complicating feature in recognizing lyrics is that they are not always the same. I seem to be blessed(?) with an ear that can pick up lyrics reasonably clearly, as long as there is only one vocalist. I have several times been amazed to hear one or two words dubbed in a song. I have heard this on several recent popular songs, and each time the recording appeared to be identical (within the fidelity of a car radio) to the original, except for the change of one or two words. It would seem that the change is motivated by a desire to clean up the song, however I don't really see why, since both versions get played on the public airwaves. -- Warren Montgomery ihnss!warren IH x2494
rls (04/27/83)
"Killing Me Softly" was written about Don McLean; "You're So Vain" was written about Warren Beautty(sp?).
glaser (04/28/83)
I heard that "You're So Vain" was written about Mick Jagger, not Warren Beatty or Mick Jagger (as other net people have claimed). I wouldn't vouch 100% for the veracity of this, although I DID go to the same high school as Carly Simon. I do know for sure that Mick was the target of Joe Jackson's song "Don't wanna be like that." The givaway is the line "Some guys think they know about Some Girls. . ." Rob Glaser
grunwald (04/28/83)
#R:cbosgd:-345400:uiucdcs:10600099:000:413 uiucdcs!grunwald Apr 27 10:58:00 1983 re: artists "messing up the lyrics" Most artists do not strictly go by either the lyrics or the "sheet music" for a song. The ability to improvise is highly desireable in any performing art. Machines can play back verbatim. Machines are dull to watch. People have the ability to go beyond the conventional and improve upon what has been done before. That is where true art/music separates from technology.
stevea (04/28/83)
#R:cbosgd:-345400:uiucdcs:10600100:000:444 uiucdcs!stevea Apr 27 12:30:00 1983 The reason that many album inserts do not match the recording, is because the album covers are often printed up before the album has been finished. In the meantime the artist decides to make a change in the song. Neil Young's latest "TRANS" had about 30,000 album covers and lyric sheets printed up, when Neil decided to cut a song from the album. Needless to say, that caused quite a mess. Steve (..!pur-ee!uiucdcs!stevea)
wombat (04/28/83)
#R:cbosgd:-345400:uicsl:7500020:000:559 uicsl!wombat Apr 27 11:21:00 1983 As for lyrics on sheet music/liner notes differing from those recorded, it could be that people don't sing songs the same way twice, or (as happened with "Blinded By the Light" or whatever) a second group covered a song by ear, not by written music, and didn't have good ears. Re: "Killing Me Softly", if you listen to the whole song, "pain" makes more sense than any other word that's been suggested, and I've seen it printed that way in several places. (Doesn't all of this belong in net.music, anyway?) Wombat decvax!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uicsl!wombat
hxe (04/28/83)
You're so vain was NOT, as is the common assumption, written about Mick Jagger (who sings on the cut), but about Warren Beatty. Carly Simon finally revealed this in a brief Rolling Stone interview about a year after the song came out. "Killing Me Softly" was written about a fairly 'new' folk singer. I also read this in Rolling stone, but I forget exactly who it was at the moment; maybe it was Steve Forbert. Rolling Stone, by the way, purports NOT to be a gossip magazine, but that's where I get all my irrelevent info from!
death (04/28/83)
I thought that unintelligible lyrics when played backwards caused one to give up all one's moral standards to follow mmbgglbmw mmmgph mmbn. -=- death -=-
ss (04/28/83)
Mick Jagger sings the backup on "You're so Vain". He would have to be pretty broadminded to sing such a song about himself..... --Sid--
pugsly (04/29/83)
or it could be "The girl is not my son". Naaaaaaaaa. David (decvax!pur-ee!iuvax!isrnix!pugsly)
ignatz (04/29/83)
I've noticed that there are often the following versions of a single hit song: - The album version. Usually longest, with any "dirty" words intact. - The FM version; shortened to fit their time slot. Some "dirty" words cut. - The AM version; still shorter, and fully laundered. - The juke box version of any of the above; usually, tho, the FM version. Did I miss any variants? Dave Ihnat ihuxx!ignatz
jwb (04/30/83)
I seem to recall a Rolling Stone article which said "You're So Vain" was written about Joe Namath.
jlw (04/30/83)
Don't forget that Ritchie 'La Bamba' Valens also died on the February 1958 morning. Joe Wood ariel!jlw
mcewan (04/30/83)
#R:dcdwest:-20000:uiucdcs:10600103:000:538 uiucdcs!mcewan Apr 30 00:02:00 1983 I have heard, and who am I to prejudge the veracity of unfounded rumors, that "Killing me softly" is bout Don McLean's song, "The day the music died", which, I am lead to believe is about the plane crash which killed Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper. ---------- It was my understanding that "Killing me softly" was written about an entire performance given by Don McLean and not any particular song. By the way, when you say "The day the music died" could you possibly be thinking of an obscure little song called "American Pie"?
plw (05/01/83)
I always thought that "You're So Vain" was about James Taylor, who had either just broken off with Carly or was about to.
wa146 (05/07/83)
I have the original recording of Old Man Mose. The words spoken are 'Old Man Mose, he kicked the bucket -- buck, buck, buck -- buck, buck, fuckit.' No wonder the words published aren't identical. Brian Sutin philabs!sdcsvax!sdcattb!wa146
anton (05/18/83)
When I was younger (I was going to say small, but most people who meet me are convinced it is not possible to be any smaller. eat your heart out Harlan) and listened avidly to Rock, my parents and other adults told me it was rubbish and they couldn't understand the words. Now I am older I find I cannot understand the words to the modern music. MAYBE, just maybe its my hearing, but Zep, Elp and the like are still perfectly intelligible. I personally think it is the generation gap. I know there are people younger than me on the net, but what do the rest of the over 30's think on this matter ? /anton
mabgarstin (05/19/83)
I'm only 27 and I have never been able to understand words to music, any
kind of music. I think the left side of my brain is not talking to the right
side of my brain so when ever I hear singing the left Wernicke area just says
"Oh, this is music, this you're stuff right side of brain." and then shuts up.
Since the right side of my brain is totally illiterate it just sits there and
humms along totally oblivious to what's being sung.
MAB
(Music Attacks my Brain)