Synthoid Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I've been thinking about song lyrics recently... some are quite meaningful, while others just leave you scratching your head. Paul Simon's Kodachrome came to mind yesterday and as I "sang the song" over in my head, I realized that the verses and chorus have very little to do with each other. Other than the last words of verse two, "Everything looks worse in black and white," there's not much about this song that fits together. I wonder if anyone else knows of a similar mismatch in the wild world of song lyrics. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markay Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 'There is no truth. There is only perception.' â Gustave Flaubert Quote A misguided plumber attempting to entertain | MainStage 3 | Axiom 61 2nd Gen | Pianoteq | B5 | XK3c | EV ZLX 12P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marczellm Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 For me, the most annoying are those lyrics where none of the individual sentences seem to be connected in any way, and the music is bad too. Some of these songs deserve analysing the lyrics like a poem to find hidden meaning, but most of them are fake and the result of some drug trip of the writer. Very common in Hungarian pop. Quote Life is subtractive.Genres: Jazz, funk, pop, Christian worship, BebHop Wishlist: 80s-ish (synth)pop, symph pop, prog rock, fusion, musical theatre Gear: NS2 + JUNO-G. KingKORG. SP6 at church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 "Feed The Tree" by Belly.... I love the song but its always made me laugh by its silliness and especially how she mixes up the lyrics after the guitar solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadslayer Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I Paul Simon's Kodachrome came to mind yesterday and as I "sang the song" over in my head, I realized that the verses and chorus have very little to do with each other. Other than the last words of verse two, "Everything looks worse in black and white," there's not much about this song that fits together. Huh. That song always made total sense to me. Of course I'm biased in that I think Paul Simon is a brilliant lyricist, plus I grew up in the Kodachrome era where all my childhood memories are captured and viewed through the lens of Kodachrome snapshots. Quote Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. -Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted July 23, 2019 Author Share Posted July 23, 2019 It's actually just a commercial for Kodak and Nikon. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Gehrig Charles Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 It's actually just a commercial for Kodak and Nikon. I know I bought my share of both over the years! No Canon in this household... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Of course I'm biased in that I think Paul Simon is a brilliant lyricist, plus I grew up in the Kodachrome era where all my childhood memories are captured and viewed through the lens of Kodachrome snapshots. That's what it means to me also. It's about how the life you live can be messy and the life you photograph is neat (and fake). A similar juxtaposition which can be jarring at first is in Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. At first you might think she's talking about the environment, then about a relationship, then (perhaps) you realize it's about the regret you feel if you lose either one. Also a great song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 To me, Kodachrome is a lament that the (or his) world is changing from a youthful, hopeful masquerade (of nice bright colors, greens of summer, all the world's a sunny day) to the realization that it's bound to change. Joni Mitchell is one of the greatest poetic lyricists of the 20th Century. She used metaphor with such sophistication that you could dissect so many of her lyrics and find layers of interconnections and intertwined meanings... Circle Game, Coyote, Just Like This Train, A Case Of You... Quote ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Beck has some pretty random lyrics. I read an interview where he said when he wrote Loser, he was basically just standing in his kitchen writing in all the objects he could see.... In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey Butane in my veins so I'm out to cut the junkie With the plastic eyeballs, spray paint the vegetables Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose Kill the headlights and put it in neutral Stock car flamin' with a loser and the cruise control Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D Got a couple of couches sleep on the love seat Someone keeps sayin' I'm insane to complain About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt Don't believe everything that you read You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve So shave your face with some mace in the dark Savin' all your food stamps and burnin' down the trailer park Yo, cut it Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (double barrel buckshot) Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me? The forces of evil in a bozo nightmare Ban all the music with a phony gas chamber 'Cause one's got a weasel and the other's got a flag One's got on the pole shove the other in a bag With the rerun shows and the cocaine nose job The daytime crap with the folksinger slop He hung himself with a guitar string A slab of turkey neck and it's hangin' from a pigeon wing You can't get it right if you can't relate Trade the cash for the beef for the body for the hate And my time is a piece of wax fallin' on a termite That's chokin' on the splinters Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (Get crazy with the Cheeze Whiz) Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (Drive-by body pierce) Soy Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (I can't believe you) Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (Sprechen Sie Deutche, baby) Soy un perdedor I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me? (Know what I'm sayin'?) Quote Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 The Look (Roxette, 1989) Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer she's a juvenile scam. Never was a quitter, tasty like a rain-drop, she's got the look. Heavenly bound cause Heaven's got a number when she's spinning me around, Kissing is a co-lour her loving is a wild dog, she's got the look. According to the Interwebs, The first two verses are composed of guide lyrics, with [Guitarist Per] Gessle explaining (...) that they were "words just scribbled down to have something to sing. Couldn't come up with anything better, so we kept them." Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountFosco Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Maybe not lyrically, but musically, how about My Sharona? It starts out with that great bouncy riff - kind of 60s surf slash pre 80s new wave, then peters out into that wishy washy 70s gormless wandering guitar wibble wibble. I just relistened and realise they do come back to the opening riff at the end - maybe I've never made it that far before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Song80s Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I've been thinking about song lyrics recently... some are quite meaningful, while others just leave you scratching your head. Paul Simon's Kodachrome came to mind yesterday and as I "sang the song" over in my head, I realized that the verses and chorus have very little to do with each other. Other than the last words of verse two, "Everything looks worse in black and white," there's not much about this song that fits together. I wonder if anyone else knows of a similar mismatch in the wild world of song lyrics. I will stick with your Paul Simon song. I get his creativity musically and lyrically. I like and use metaphors all the time. Highly subjective. Here is what Rolling Stone has to say: https://groovyhistory.com/paul-simons-kodachrome I hear his education or high school days were borrrrring,, or unfulfilling,,,or black and white . He did not enjoy it. Then he had a realization later, possibly as an adult, and saw life in brighter colors. Maybe its about having girl friends in his 20's and having relationships. Women have that effect on the male ego. It might be called ' coming of age ' type epiphany. He looked back and chronicled his personal experience. Only Paul Simon can best explain. If he chooses to. Quote Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ? My Soundcloud with many originals: [70's Songwriter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George88 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Working For The Weekend by Loverboy, complete disconnect to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 Here is what Rolling Stone has to say: https://groovyhistory.com/paul-simons-kodachrome Several interpretations... who's to say? :idk Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spider76 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 What about most of the discography of the greatest band ever? I play and sing in a Beatles tribute, and some lyrics are just embarrassing. When they don't talk about the "boy loves girl but girl loves other boy" cliche, they are often just random words, not even adding up to a single coherent sentence. John especially loved to sing complete nonsense to make fun of the audience, and of how fans would idolize literally every piece of **** that came from them. Come together is probably their most famous jumble of nonsense words, but many other songs are equal-or worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted July 24, 2019 Author Share Posted July 24, 2019 I agree some of the Beatles songs were bizarre, however, as this song's title is Kodachrome, one would expect both verse and chorus to reflect that. But hey... You want a weird song, check out Tin Man by America. Quote When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richforman Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 A little different but I am less impressed by a song's lyrics when all the verses just basically saying the same thing or making the same point again and again, instead of adding up to something bigger where each verse adds a new facet - Billy Joel is the writer where this has jumped out to me most often - examples that come to mind are "Honesty," "Second Wind," "Just the Way You Are," again in each of those, each verse just keeps saying the same things over and over again in slightly different ways. To give a counter-example, I think an example of the kind of better craftsmanship I'm thinking about is the oldie, a big favorite of mine, Mary Well's "My Guy." Each verse adds a different side to the story she's telling overall about how happy she is with her man. The first verse states her general thesis that she loves her man and is going to be sticking with him. The second verse more specifically talks about her commitment to be true to him and that you're not going to tempt her into infidelity with sweet talk or gifts. The third verse is about how looks aren't the point, another guy's muscles or movie-star face won't steal her away either. So the whole thing tells a story and each verse adds a little more to it. It's well thought-out and I think genuinely affecting/romantic. (There's a flaw though that bugs me and prevents the song from being quite perfect! - the repetition of the word "opinion" in the bridge.) I love the arrangement and the recording too, have always admired the record. Quote Rich Forman Yamaha MOXF8, Korg Kronos 2-61, Roland Fantom X7, Ferrofish B4000+ organ module, Roland VR-09, EV ZLX12P, K&M Spider Pro stand, Yamaha S80, Korg Trinity Plus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.