Mayo 8, 2010

Things singers sing that they do that they actually never do.

I'm starting a list:
  1. Hop a train.
  2. ...
  3. ...
I need some help with this one. I don't want fantasies, but real things that are intended to make the singers sound gritty and deeply in touch with life, but you know damned well they don't do.

(Here's the song that was playing....)

80 komento:

Unknown ayon kay ...

your link is bad .. missing a 'w'

Trooper York ayon kay ...

In a Gadda Da Vita Baby!

Dr. Alice ayon kay ...

Going walkin' after midnight.

Unknown ayon kay ...

how about the contents of songs that we wish were not true but are .... there a lot of that these days ...

Unknown ayon kay ...

... but back to your subject -- i dont know Ricky Martin music, but I'm sure he sang about a lot of stuff he wasnt really doing.

Trooper York ayon kay ...

"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"

Opus One Media ayon kay ...

Sing(in') in the Rain
Fly away
Gather at the river (shall we?)

chickelit ayon kay ...

I seriously doubt whether Bob Dylan ever drifted down to New Orleans and worked on a fishing boat right outside of Delacroix.

cathy ayon kay ...

go to a church and pray
put a dime in the phone

chickelit ayon kay ...

I wonder if Arlo Guthrie ever rode The City Of New Orleans?

lemondog ayon kay ...

cry a river

catch a falling star

chickelit ayon kay ...

Did any of the Guess Who ever get laid in the US?

lemondog ayon kay ...

Drove my chevy to the levee,

Meade ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
Meade ayon kay ...

Nowadays, with email and all, I probably won't sit right down and write myself a letter. The postage stamp alone makes it cost-prohibitive.

stealth pundit ayon kay ...

How about "write(ing) a letter"? And how, exactly, does one let "their backbone slip". Sounds painful - or maybe I'm just getting old.

GMay ayon kay ...

"... but back to your subject -- i dont know Ricky Martin music, but I'm sure he sang about a lot of stuff he wasnt really doing."

I'll nominate that right there as thread winner.

Rialby ayon kay ...

From the same song...


Two hours of pushin' broom
I smoke old stogies I have found

LonewackoDotCom ayon kay ...

I'm willing to bet that this is not an accurate portrayal of events.

Hindi-nagpakilala ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
sierra ayon kay ...

Well, they probably don't fill up their shoes after rummaging through some screaming woman's drawers, for one.

Hindi-nagpakilala ayon kay ...

There's probably a database of Everest summiteers where I could look this up if I weren't so lazy, but has any singer ever climbed the highest mountain, either for the sake of his love object or any other reason?

Would the answer be any different if any singers actually knew which mountain was highest, instead of having to fall back on the generic "the highest mountain"?

Trooper York ayon kay ...

Pop that cootchie!

chickelit ayon kay ...

Didn't Terry Zwigoff pimp this in Ghost World in the scene where Steve Buscemi calls BS on a white blues band singing about pickin' cotton?

I just spent 10 min looking through Youtubes trying to find the scene but failed. :(

save_the_rustbelt ayon kay ...

..shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die..

ricpic ayon kay ...

Roger Miller was probably one of the few singers who did know the hardscrabble king of the road life firsthand. He came off a Texas farm with nothing in his pockets. Of course he put distance between himself and that life as fast as his wits could manage but he knew whereof he spoke.

DrSquid ayon kay ...

Lovin you eight days a week. Nice thought though.

traditionalguy ayon kay ...

Be Ruined at a House in New Orleans...this may be reserved for golfers and NFL stars.

sciencegirl ayon kay ...
Naalis ng may-ari ang komentong ito.
Trooper York ayon kay ...

"Young Girl Get Out of my Life" by Lawrence Taylor.

Wince ayon kay ...

The Who
I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still recieve your kiss


The Stones
I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain...
I was raised by o toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back...
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead
I fell down to my feet and saw they bleed
I frowned at the crumbs and a crust of bread
I was crowned with a spike right through my head...

Adam ayon kay ...

"If I had a hammer,...I'd hammer out love between,
My brothers and my sisters,
All over this land."

Bullshit, Woody. You could buy a fucking hammer for under ten bucks. Spare me the subjunctive-case promises.

Wince ayon kay ...

At least Simon and Garfunkel admit they're full of crap in the lyrics to the refrain.


Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Lie la lie ...

Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Lie la lie ...

ricpic ayon kay ...

Like all Obamoids who ever were
Blow is a smirk wrapped around a cur.

Meade ayon kay ...

I truly believe Johnny and June really did get married in a fever, hotter'n a pepper sprout. And although they went on talkin' 'bout Jackson, I'm a little skeptical about the part where they suggested that the fire went out.

I'm not calling them liars.

I just don't think it ever did go out.

Even though they sang that it did.

Kensington ayon kay ...

Is there a bigger poseur than Bruce Springsteen? I'm pretty confident he never ran for his life on back streets.

ricpic ayon kay ...

Just because I can't make a coherent comment about corporations and such doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talkin' 'bout when I tellya Roger Miller and Johnny Cash lived the life that sang about. I'm smart. Ain't no one gonna say I ain't smart. See?

Unknown ayon kay ...

"Sometimes, it's hard to be a woman, givin' all your love to just one man..."

After "The Crying Game", I could never hear Tammy Wynette the same way.

traditionalguy said...

Be Ruined at a House in New Orleans...this may be reserved for golfers and NFL stars

A ballad that predates the Civil War - with more than a grain of truth, no doubt.

ricpic ayon kay ...

life they sang about. darn.

Trooper York ayon kay ...

"Don't Let Your Son Go Down On Me" as sung by the late Michael Jackson.

The Dude ayon kay ...

"Paint it Black" - Mick would hire someone to do that.

Anything involving surfing - Brian Wilson was afraid of the water.

"Went down to the crossroads" - we can all picture Eric Clapton hitching a ride on the Mississippi Delta, right?

"Bringin' in a couple of ki's" - Arlo had people to do his smuggling for him.

Did any of the Who ride a bus, magic or otherwise?

Did Bobbie Gentry travel from Leflore county over to Carroll County just to go to the movies? Greenwood had a perfectly adequate movie house at that time. Or did she chop cotton, for that matter? Her mother had a good job at the power company, after all.

There you have it - not one song newer than 40 years old. Kids these days and that racket they call music - meh!

William T. Sherman ayon kay ...

**Is there a bigger poseur than Bruce Springsteen? I'm pretty confident he never ran for his life on back streets.**

And I'd bet he never drove a stolen car either, but then again that's why they're called metaphors.

Hindi-nagpakilala ayon kay ...

This isn't gritty, but there are lots of lame Christian songs that include references to twirling and spinning (not the exercise kind).

gbarto ayon kay ...

From Dancing in the Dark... speaking of Springsteen:

I'm sick of sitting 'round here
Trying to write this book

Every time I heard it, I had a niggling suspicion his agent made him change it from "read this book".

Ralph L ayon kay ...

"I'll love you forever", or equivalent, sung by just about anyone in the music business.

Triangle Man ayon kay ...

Standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona?

TheThinMan ayon kay ...

1) "I woke up this morning..." He went to bed this morning is more like it.
2) "Workin' in a coal mine, goin'' down, down, down"
3) "Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely,""It's a lonely ol' night," "I feel so lonely, wanna die" i. e., Only two chicks in my bed tonight.
4) "'Cause I don't care too much for money..." That's why I'm always suing everybody.
5) "I could never live without you." Whatever your name is.

BTW, If I Had a Hammer was written by Pete Seeger, not Woody Guthrie. Which reminds me of the Tim Harden song: "If I Were a Carpenter." If he were a Carpenter would be bulimic and kill himself.

chickelit ayon kay ...

Somehow, even after doubting the veracity of Dylan's, Guthrie's, and The Guess Who's lyrics, I still like the songs just as much.

Does it really matter?

William T. Sherman ayon kay ...

Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunder's rolling down the tracks
You don't know where you're goin'
But you know you won't be back
Darlin' if you're weary
Lay your head upon my chest
We'll take what we can carry
And we'll leave behind the rest

Big Wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

Now I will provide for you
And I'll stand by your side
You'll need a good companion
For this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there'll be sunshine
And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

This train
Carries saints and sinners
This train
Carries losers and winners
This Train
Carries whores and gamblers
This Train
Carries lost souls
This Train
Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train
Faith will be rewarded
This Train
Hear the steel wheels singing
This Train
Bells of freedom ringing
This Train
Carries broken-hearted
This Train
Thieves and sweet souls departed
This Train
Carries fools and kings
This Train
Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train
Faith will be rewarded
This Train
Hear the steel wheels singin'
This Train
Bells of Freedom Ringing


I was standing about thirty feet away from Bruce Springsteen when he debut this piece in March of '99 to packed gymnasium in Asbury Park, NJ. For the next six years this song of ultimate inclusion was the primary soundtrack to my life. But as Springsteen grew more politically active his music and his attitude grew less inclusive and more arrogant. He still sang this song most nights, and every time it felt like a slap at those of us who believed personal vision and integrity were more important than political expediency.

The last straw was the night in Ohio Bruce started talking about capital punishment, and mentioned some group opposing the death penalty that had a table in the lobby. He asked those in the audience who might disagree with him to keep an open mind, and pick up some literature in the lobby after the show just to hear what the other side had to say. When he'd finished his spiel somebody down front hollered "kill the killers"! loud enough for all to hear. Springsteen became angry and insulting, growling into the mic that the fan's opinion was "a kind of stupidity that gets us nowhere". I guess in Springsteen's world having an open mind is for other people.

The man who wrote "Land of Hope and Dreams" eleven years ago had enough insight and self control not to become an asshole just because somebody expressed a contrary opinion within his earshot. The guy who sings the song these days doesn't.

Hindi-nagpakilala ayon kay ...

Go walkin' after midnight

Palladian ayon kay ...

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train,
An' I's feelin' near as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained
That rode us all the way to New Orleans

David ayon kay ...

RE-RE-RE-SPECT (In the morning.)

Palladian ayon kay ...

It's been a hard day's night,
and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night,
I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright

Palladian ayon kay ...

I'm on the pavement, thinkin' 'bout the government.

John Burgess ayon kay ...

Give a damn about anything but their royalties.

Trooper York ayon kay ...

"We shall overcome"

Yeah right.

Hindi-nagpakilala ayon kay ...

Actually "been through the desert on a horse with no name."

Trooper York ayon kay ...

"I want to live in America" by some some Latin chick.

Oh wait a minute.....wrong thread...I have to go change my
T-shirt.

Unknown ayon kay ...

hitch a ride

Unknown ayon kay ...

I'm pretty sure the Beatles didn't actually live in a yellow submarine.

Trooper York ayon kay ...

Well I am pretty sure that it was your Sharona.

Blair ayon kay ...

How many people who use the word "baby" or "babe" in a song actually refer to their lover using those terms in real life? Probably not many.

Mark ayon kay ...

Go to the Love Shack
Feel Groovy
Bang a Gong
Drink the bullfrog's wine
Whip it good (okay, maybe that one...)

William ayon kay ...

Springsteen should write a heartfelt song about the rising cost of jet fuel and the prohibitive expense of owning your own private jet. Keep it real.

paul a'barge ayon kay ...

Robert Johnson: "beat my woman until I can be satisfied..."

Paul Kirchner ayon kay ...

"I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. . ."

I guess that's what Johnny Cash told the other guys in the pen.

Also, does anyone really like "Walking in the rain" like you're supposed to in songs? For how long, and how far, and how hard is it raining exactly, and is the temperature below 75 degrees?

From Inwood ayon kay ...

How many songwriters/singers does it take to change a lightbulb?

Deborah M. ayon kay ...

Did Paul or Art ever lie down on a bridge over trouble water?
Paul ever go to Graceland?
Ever ride on the Tulsa Queen?
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made? Driven the back roads so you wouldn't get weighed?
Found a new place to dwell, down at the end of lonely street at Heartbreak Hotel?

Dark Eden ayon kay ...

Care about "important issues" that don't involve snorting coke off of hookers' naked bodies?

too cynical?

Project Strength ayon kay ...

climb the highest mountain
swin the deepest sea
walk a mile in your shoes
go to kansas city

john ayon kay ...

Ride my see-saw.

Aggle ayon kay ...

Kill a man in Reno, just to watch him die

dbp ayon kay ...

These guys were honest about it:

Never Did No Wandering

billbejNJ ayon kay ...

I'd be inclined to say that singers who sing about things they actually do are usually pretty damn boring.

Michael Haz ayon kay ...

Leave on the midnight train to Georgia. Woo-woo!

Michael Haz ayon kay ...

She's a cheerleader and I'm on the bleachers.

Michael Haz ayon kay ...

I busted a chair right across his teeth

And we crashed through the wall and into the street

Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

Michael Haz ayon kay ...

To the best of my knowledge, the late Bob Marley never shot the sheriff.

Unknown ayon kay ...

There's a grave that holds Johnny Cash's body down. At least for now.

Also, Paul Simon did go to Graceland.

Hindi-nagpakilala ayon kay ...

1. put another dime in the jukebox baby
2. leaving on that midnight train to Georgia
3. grazing in the grass
4. count the headlights on the highway

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