Lyrical Transparency

I've been having a few discussions with a couple of different people about lyrics, specifically about their transparency or lack thereof. In other words, can you name exactly what the song is about based on its lyrics? Most pop songs, even across genres, generally fall on the more transparent end of the spectrum (such as "I like this girl/guy" or "Life sucks/is really cool"). However, I have to make it clear that this isn't a value judgment because many songs with transparent lyrics are amazing. The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" has about as straightforward lyrics as you can get and its considered by some to be among the best pop songs ever written. Yes, I know "And when I touch you, I feel happy inside" was quite controversial for the time, but it's still very clear on its meaning.

Then, the next step along the spectrum would be those songs with seemingly simple lyrics that, in fact, have much deeper shades of meaning. For example, to keep with the Beatles' examples, let's take "Sexy Sadie." At first glance, it seems to be a song about a girl. However, the song (in my opinion) becomes that much more powerful when you realize that that John Lennon wrote it as a scathing attack on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles' former spiritual advisor, after he made a pass at a member of their female entourage (I heard it was Ava Gardner). Though, like I said, it's not a value judgment, I have a greater affinity for lyrics like these. I like hearing "Every Breath You Take" and knowing that Sting is singing about stalking someone rather than a sweet love song.

To continue along the path, the next songs to consider would be those with completely unclear lyrics. Again, let's stick to Beatles songs, because I mean, hell, it's the Beatles. Another John Lennon song has lines like "He wear no shoe shine, he got toe-jam football." I know that he was originally writing the song for Timothy Leary's failed gubernatorial campaign and there are references to drugs in the song ("He got monkey finger, he shoot coca-cola"), but overall, the songs is a confusing mish mash of words and imagery. BUT, it's still a kick ass song. Anthony Kiedis throws in stuff like "Sweetheart is bleeding in the snowcone/So smart she's leading me to ozone" (from Can't Stop). Again, you can possibly get a drug reference or something out of it, but it's hardly obvious.

I've always been drawn to the more obscure and referential lyrics because it's so cool to me when I do get it. It's usually songs I already really like and then to dig deeper and get a deeper meaning out of it than "that's a really cool sounding song" seems to make the song that much better for me. So, I've always tried to write lyrics with some sort of deeper meaning, whether its references to different scriptures, literature, or other mythologies, or even codes within the lyrics.

However, as I said, I've been talking about it with some people (notably Gary) who said that I should try to write more clear lyrics. At first I got defensive, but then I took it as kind of a challenge. I don't want to stray into the territory of the "Hey, stuff is bad" or "I like certain things" because that's really not how I express myself at all and I think I run into the danger of expressing things in black and white, but the point is well taken.

So, this whole convoluted explanation is to explain that during practice yesterday, we were working on a new song (that because it has one riff that sounded really vaguely like the riff from Black Sabbath's "Ironman" we call Ironman Song for right now). I had some lyrics written for it that were supposed to kind of lay out a narrative of a woman in rural someplace or other who was having a child and didn't know who the father was, but it was vague and I just went with it for the time being because I liked singing the words (in other words, they sounded all right). So, here are the lyrics for contrast:

And she goes walking down the road
Why won't she stop and say hello?
What manner bird just doesn't crow?
I'll have to smell her skin and then, don't you disagree

CHORUS
Tall peaks, bayou
Think the captain knows where to go
The church approves
If you really think she's telling the truth

However, as we were playing it in practice yesterday, it really seemed like it was a marching song. To tell the truth, it looked like Gary and Bert were kind of unconsciously marching to it and it just seemed really militant and driving, but wavering at the same time. Now, I've always wanted to write a blatantly political song and have actually made an attempt with "Protest Song" (see the video on Youtube), but (lyrically, at least) that song doesn't take too many strong stances and ends up almost being an anti-protest song in that my main point is that there is so much to consider when choosing sides on something and that "nothing's ever simple." Yet, the force of the Ironman song and the fact that so much is fucked with the world today compelled me to make another stab at a blatantly political song. Well, it's blatant for me. And without further ado, here is my attempt at the lyrics to something blatantly political (that falls on the spectrum towards obvious, transparent lyrics).

Miss Liberty rides down the road
Her torch, it sways way down low
Her chariot's back begins to bow
What good to win and lose our soul?

CHORUS
Tell me the truth,
Think the captain knows where to go?
The church approves,
If you really think they're telling the truth.
No hearts keep time
To the beat of bombs falling on their shrines
No minds will move
To the tune of bombs falling on their roof

And we go marching in the sand
We've lost the map, there is no plan
And no one's asking for our hand
Remember where this all began?

CHORUS

And that's what I have so far. Let me know what you think.

-Z