Saturday, May 16, 2009

Life Gets Away

I love words. Especially when they are wrapped in music. I've seen people bebopping down the street lost inside the ear buds that filter music thru their ears. But I've often wondered how many people dissect the lyrics and realize the power behind the words that were written. The poetry that came from the writers heart and soul. Back in my high school days, I had a great English teacher by the name of Mr. Haber. In order to get the class interested in the subject, he presented it to us in a way we could understand. And that was thru music. One of the songs we studied was David Bowie's, 'Space Oddity', looking for metaphors and trying to determine what the author was actually thinking about when the lyrics were written. If you don't know you would be surprised. Another reason I remember this teacher was because the poor bugger used to drive a British Racing Green TR6 which was stolen 3 times in the same school year. Poor guy!

Anyways, I'm drifting. I was going thru some papers and stuff tonight reading old things I had written. Wrote something new and read some beautiful if not haunting words by Michelle ; and realized the creativity that comes from pain, anguish, fear, uncertainty and a host of other feelings we mistakenly keep locked inside of us. Something else I realized is how many of those tunes that we listen to are often misunderstood because we get caught up in the beat or the chorus. But if your write down the words and read them in black and white, they take on a whole new meaning. Below is one of the songs that I was listening to earlier on my little walkabout. What do you feel when you only see the words and not hear the music? Would you feel the same way if you were listening to the song without seeing the worlds?

Life Gets Away

We're tied to our memories
They won't let us stray
We're not going to lose ones
We made yesterday
We look to our future
And we make all our plans
As if we control what is out of our hands

Chorus
The world keeps on turning
I'm learning to see
Right where I am is where I have to be
You can't count the pages
All ages hear the call
No matter how hard we try
Life gets away from us all

We start getting older
The moment we live
Look over your shoulder
There's hindsight to give
Come good days and bad days
The sun's gonna rise
So why look beyond what' s
In front of our eyes

No matter how hard we try
Life gets away from us all

(written by Clint Black, Hayden Nicholas and Tom Schuyler)

6 comments:

Chrisy said...

...tumbled in here via Michelle's blog...and have to agree with you re not hearin the lyrics because of the music...I'm often amazed to see that I've got it completely wrong when I see the lyrics of a song written down...it's funny how we instinctively put more emphasis on the music than on the words...

Nancy said...

Wonderful words and so true. Life gets away from us all...

Rosaria Williams said...

First, I like the poem you wrote in the previous post. You must be going through a renaissance of sorts. Good for you.

Today's post is remarkable as well, pointing out the relationship between sound and lyrics.

Natalie said...

To me, the lyrics are always foremost, melody second, then general rhythm next.......you still have to enjoy your air guitar or table drums you know!

Anonymous said...

That is interesting - I hadn't thought before about HOW I hear music. Your post made me reflect - I am pretty sure that I listen to melody first. If I like the melody, I start to pay more attention to the lyrics. After becoming aware of the lyrics, I then decide whether or not I actually like the song.

Bogey said...

No worries on how you got here Chrisy, the thing is you stopped by. I think we all get caught up in the beat sometimes and isn't that kind of paralleling life.

When it does get away from us, LOL, I think it is important to chase it down.

Thank you Lakeviewer; in a way I am I guess. It's been a roller coaster year and I guess I'm just taking stock.

Natalie, nothing beats a good pair of old fashioned wooden spoons. I've even broken a few in my time.

I guess that is how we overlook the poetry of the lyrics eh Audrey. Sometimes the beat is just too good! Notice the little Canadianism?