When I was younger, I would listen to songs to find “the real meaning” of the lyrics. Back then, there wasn’t an internet search to instantly find every idea ever expressed. Specific examples could only be researched through encyclopedia entries (sometimes years out of date), or by whizzing through microfiche to find the magazine article with the details you wanted. I like microfiche in the library about as much as I like it on my pizza. (Anchovies – micro fish…?)
Anyway, if you were lucky, the lyrics would be printed in the liner notes of the album. At least then, you had a starting point. Other times, you had to listen to the song, over and over again, trying to hear the words.
Obviously, they don’t always make it easy for you.
But say, for a moment, that you DO actually have the lyrics in hand. There is still the problem of understanding the intent. Not every song follows the path of Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot; they don’t tell a straightforward story. There are rhymes, symbolism and analogy, and vague references that the casual listener may not know. (Spoiler alert: Don McLean’s American Pie shouldn’t only be taken at face value.)
It’s now generally accepted that The Police’s hit Every Breath You Take is less about true love, and more about unhealthy obsession; Sting once referred to is as “sinister and ugly.” Likewise, Eagles’ Hotel California has been explained as a story of disenchantment with fame and fortune: a sort of cautionary “be careful what you wish for” tale. Carly Simon released You’re So Vain in 1972, sparking a music fan debate over who the offending ex really is. That particular mystery fire has been fed by Carly herself through several hints and “no comment” responses in interviews over the years.
This brings me around to my observations. In recent years, Sting (songwriter of Every Breath You Take), has softened a bit regarding his intent when he wrote it. While he makes it clear that his thoughts were very dark and disturbing, he doesn’t mind that it gets played at weddings and proms. 🤔
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has spoken in various interviews about the story behind his band’s biggest hit, Under the Bridge. For him, it was about the lowest point in his life – in the depths of depression and addiction to heroin. In an interview aired on Sirius radio, he spoke of the hopefulness a fan found in the lyrics and melody. He hopes a hundred people hear something different, and that it becomes their song, whatever that means to them.
I liken it to the world of classical art. Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night can evoke a plethora of emotions. Which one is entirely from the viewer’s perspective, be it magical inspiration, or isolating uncertainty.
Music, much like poetry, art, literature, or any other creative endeavor, is highly personal to its creator. Once it is presented to the wide world, the “real meaning” is no longer solely the possession of that originator.
It belongs to everyone.
-Toph
