Progarchives.com has always (since 2002) relied on banners ads to cover web hosting fees and all. Please consider supporting us by giving monthly PayPal donations and help keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
Joined: July 13 2005
Location: Essex, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 19942
Topic: Do you understand your favourite song? Posted: November 01 2017 at 05:13
condor wrote:
chopper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
understand how? lyrically or musically?
Seconded.
My favourite prog song is probably "And You And I" - do I understand it lyrically? Not really. Anderson has said his lyrics are written for the sound of the words rather than any deep meaning.
Musically. I can understand most lyrics because I'm a poet. Just don't ask me to explain them
OK, now I'm confused as to what you mean by understanding a song "musically".
Joined: May 24 2005
Location: Norwich
Status: Offline
Points: 1069
Posted: October 31 2017 at 15:16
chopper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
understand how? lyrically or musically?
Seconded.
My favourite prog song is probably "And You And I" - do I understand it lyrically? Not really. Anderson has said his lyrics are written for the sound of the words rather than any deep meaning.
Musically. I can understand most lyrics because I'm a poet. Just don't ask me to explain them
Joined: May 23 2013
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 2826
Posted: October 31 2017 at 07:12
"Understand" probably works if you're the original composer.
It's like novels. Novelists and poets, you'd presume, "understand" what they've written, but I'm reminded that Ted Hughes famously didn't understand his poetry. He just wrote what sounded right.
If you've not composed the music, well. Levels of understanding. You'll have an interpretation of it and that's fine, that's your interpretation. Works for you ? Good.
I play my music to people and they say wow, that bit reminds me of...... (insert unusual situation) and I think fine, if that's how you interpret it, great. Most of the time, I don't understand what I've played or composed. I just "grok" it, really.
Conclusion I've come to ? Music is subjective, not objective.
Joined: July 13 2005
Location: Essex, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 19942
Posted: October 31 2017 at 05:43
BaldJean wrote:
understand how? lyrically or musically?
Seconded.
My favourite prog song is probably "And You And I" - do I understand it lyrically? Not really. Anderson has said his lyrics are written for the sound of the words rather than any deep meaning.
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20451
Posted: October 30 2017 at 12:10
I can't say I have a favorite song....quite a few ring my bell...but I think I 'get' most of them.....might be a few that are bit cryptic.......the title track from ITCOTCK is one of my faves...not sure what the mythical and stately references are all about though.....observations on life in the court and realm of a mythical magical kingdom...?
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 26106
Posted: October 27 2017 at 02:37
I have a couple that are 'tied'
Solsbury Hill
Specifically about Gabriel leaving Genesis . Wider meaning - spiritual freedom
Wish You Were Here
Specifically Syd Barrett (of course the whole album is about him!) . Wider meaning - missing friends or loved ones not necessarily passed away but because they are just away of like Syd not themselves anymore.
Joined: January 18 2014
Location: Mar Vista, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 4807
Posted: October 26 2017 at 14:32
I'll tell you. I've seen a lot of them, and most of them were pictures on a wall... back at some place that... doesn't even exist anymore. Some of them are... right here in this room. And some of them are... they're still out there somewhere, doing what they always do. Going up each day in a hurtling piece of machinery... putting their hides out on the line... hanging it out over the edge... pushing back the outside of that envelope and hauling it back. But there was... one I once saw that I think truly did have the right... - Gordo Cooper
"It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno
Joined: April 27 2015
Location: Bridgend
Status: Offline
Points: 4481
Posted: October 26 2017 at 09:43
M27Barney wrote:
How do I 'know' that my interpretation matches any in any other consciousness. Clearly - there are people on this site that interpret their 'internal Representation' of 'More Fool me' as some monumental epic? How else can I comprehend that they actually think that track is better than their 'internal representation' of 'The Battle of Epping Forest' which is 'Soppy short love-song'......
How do I 'know' that my interpretation matches any in any other consciousness. Clearly - there are people on this site that interpret their 'internal Representation' of 'More Fool me' as some monumental epic? How else can I comprehend that they actually think that track is better than their 'internal representation' of 'The Battle of Epping Forest' which is 'Soppy short love-song'......
Joined: April 11 2014
Location: Kyiv In Spirit
Status: Offline
Points: 20469
Posted: October 24 2017 at 04:26
Not a fav, but I always liked Moonlight Shadow by Oldfield. Don't have a clue to what the lyrics are about but that adds to the song's mystique I believe.
This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State.
Joined: January 09 2013
Status: Offline
Points: 114
Posted: October 23 2017 at 23:07
Lewian wrote:
Understanding is overrated, I guess. Well I can sleep well believing that the singer doesn't understand what the lyrics say either. Neither do I understand how Jaki's drumming can make this song one of the best songs ever whereas 100% every other drummer in the world would totally ruin the magic.
I pretty much agree, especially with prog. But then Big Big Train wrote The Underfall Yard, an unlikely song about a civil engineer. My dad was dying at the time and he was a civil engineer too. How many songs about civil engineers do you know of? :) Anyway, since music kind of came between us when I was coming of age and adversly affected our relationship, I thought he might want to know that anyone that writes music about a civil engineer cant be all bad. So I sent him a link to the song. Predictably, it was thumbs up for the subject matter but not the music.
But I think its a great piece even not knowing what it was about. Knowing the lyrics in this case was like icing on the cake, and its still about the only prog songs that I can regularly choke up on a bit.
Joined: August 09 2015
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 14097
Posted: October 23 2017 at 19:48
Understanding is overrated, I guess. Well I can sleep well believing that the singer doesn't understand what the lyrics say either. Neither do I understand how Jaki's drumming can make this song one of the best songs ever whereas 100% every other drummer in the world would totally ruin the magic.
^ Close to the Edge is about Herman Hesse's Siddartha, a buddhist story of enlightenment.
"Larks' tongues. Wrens' livers. Chaffinch brains. Jaguars' earlobes. Wolf nipple chips. Get 'em while they're hot. They're lovely. Dromedary pretzels, only half a denar."
I have no idea what close to the edge is about and I don't think most fans do either. Suppers Ready seems to have some religious connotation but I don't really know what that one is about either.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
This page was generated in 0.102 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
/PAlogo_v2.gif "Progarchives.com Homepage")
Do you understand your favourite song?
Topic Options
condor wrote:
