MayIt's only words.
May 20th 2008 09:49
And so said the Bee Gees. Apparently, words were all they had, and I think they were on to something.
I've said before that you do not need to understand the lyrics to a song in order to enjoy it. However, in some instances, lyrics catch your attention and (memory permitting) leave a more indelible mark on you than music can.
Diane Warren may be associated with bland soppy love ballads, but some of her lyrics do stand out for me personally. All her well known contributions such as Because you loved me, Un-break my heart and How do I live are all well written love songs that portray different scenarios in a relationship so well that most people would be able to relate to them at one point or another.
Don Mclean has an excellent song entitled Vincent (Starry starry night). Forget American Pie, this is the song for me as far as Don Mclean is concerned. He wrote it after the discovering life and work of Vincent Van Gogh.
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.
Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.
For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.
Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...
The lyrics so simply express the connection between the art, the man himself and how people have come to admire Van Gogh posthumously. It is accompanied predominantly by a guitar during most of the song. No flashy effects, no heavy production. It's all about the lyrics.
Word up.
I've said before that you do not need to understand the lyrics to a song in order to enjoy it. However, in some instances, lyrics catch your attention and (memory permitting) leave a more indelible mark on you than music can.
Diane Warren may be associated with bland soppy love ballads, but some of her lyrics do stand out for me personally. All her well known contributions such as Because you loved me, Un-break my heart and How do I live are all well written love songs that portray different scenarios in a relationship so well that most people would be able to relate to them at one point or another.
Don Mclean has an excellent song entitled Vincent (Starry starry night). Forget American Pie, this is the song for me as far as Don Mclean is concerned. He wrote it after the discovering life and work of Vincent Van Gogh.
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.
Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.
Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.
For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.
Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...
The lyrics so simply express the connection between the art, the man himself and how people have come to admire Van Gogh posthumously. It is accompanied predominantly by a guitar during most of the song. No flashy effects, no heavy production. It's all about the lyrics.
Word up.
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