The exercise I’m about to propose may assume that you agree with my premise, that the accumulated wisdom expressed in the songs of some long-running, beloved artists boils down to one Key Message. Of course, as I roll out this idea, you are most welcome to disagree with my premise or any of the particular examples that I pose. First let me make sure you understand what I’m getting at.
Whereas we probably agree that many rock artists we love regularly express a reasonable range of human emotions and experiences, we probably agree on a few who work within narrower confines. George Thorogood and KISS, for instance. Love ’em or hate ’em, we’re all pretty cool with that, right? Similarly, there are artists perhaps all but one of us might agree regularly do express a range of human emotions and experiences, such as Bob Dylan and John Lennon.
This week I’ve been listening to the Mudcrutch reunion album, the band Tom Petty and some of his Heartbreakers were in prior to his signing as a solo artist. I’m sure we’ll be discussing that album in the coming days, but for now let’s stick this Key Message concept. Hearing Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and their old bandmates who did not make the grade for eventual stardom got me thinking about the sole Key Message that I’ve ever gotten from Tom Petty. Then I quickly thought of a couple other major rock artists whose lyrics also have added up to one Key Message, at least as I’ve heard them: Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison. I felt compelled to throw these names out to you and gauge your following responses:
- Do you agree with the premise that the lyrics of all or any of these three artists boil down to one Key Message?
- If so, for any of these artists, using only 1 sentence, song lyric, or song title, how would you characterize that Key Message?
- Is there an artist I have not thought of that you like for whom this premise applies, and if so, how would you characterize that artist’s Key Message?
It should go without saying that if you disagree with this premise regarding any of theses artists I hope you disagree strongly and feel compelled to argue against the application of my premise right here, in the Halls of Rock.
I look forward to your thoughts.
Springsteen, yes. Morrison’s been around too long, and has too many albums, to have stuck to one Key Message. Of course, I’ve not heard many of those albums. I’m not sure Petty is a strong (or consistent) enough lyricist to concoct a Key Message.
For Springsteen — whom I’m actually listening to right now — I actually think of a Queen song: “I Want to Break Free.”
“I Want to Break Free” sums up the Key Message of The Kinks pretty well too.
Wow, Oats, you’re suggesting a sole Key Message for The Kinks? I hadn’t considered them in this light, but I – as well as other Townspeople – surely will. Good stuff. You got what I was looking for. May others follow your lead!
He may have shifted up and down in tone sometimes, but there’s a pretty solid through-line in many of Lennon’s songs about dealing with emotional damage. He obviously vocalized it a little more directly in his solo years when therapy came into play, but I think it stretches back as subtext in a lot of his Beatles songs, too.
Trying to sum it up as a Key Message in one of his lyrics, the one I keep coming back to is from “Isolation” on Plastic Ono Band:
“I don’t expect you to understand
After you’ve caused so much pain
But then again, you’re not to blame
You’re just a human, a victim of the insane”
He was carrying that “I don’t expect you to understand/After you’ve caused so much pain” line around with him, too, as it turns up in one of the demos for “Free As A Bird”. I don’t know, I think if you go back and look at what he was singing about, the theme of trying or failing to deal with emotional trauma it is a pretty prominent theme for him, sometimes dealt with more healthily than others.
Interesting, Alexmagic. I’ll have to think about what you say here, but off the bat, I’m most encouraged by your challenging one of what I thought was an example we could all agree on. Keep it coming, Townspeople. There are many ways you can approach this thread.
• Do you agree with the premise that the lyrics of all or any of these three artists boil down to one Key Message?
Springsteen definitely. Petty, no. Van, maybe
• If so, for any of these artists, using only 1 sentence, song lyric, or song title, how would you characterize that Key Message?
Springsteen – The common man’s row is a hard one, and he is often beset by institutional and systemic indifference to the challenges that he faces, but he can rise above what some might consider to be his destiny by seeking out and appreciating the beauty in everyday things and in the thrill of a shot at something better.
“So youre scared and you’re thinking
That maybe we aint that young anymore
Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night
You ain’t a beauty, but hey you’re alright
And that’s alright with me”
• Is there an artist I have not thought of that you like for whom this premise applies, and if so, how would you characterize that artist’s Key Message?
CCR – Country life is a simple, yet generally pleasurable life, except for that goddamn war.
As an aside, did you ever notice how Fogerty never writes love songs? I can’t think of anyone else who’s that consistent about not having a given topic as his Key Message.
Good stuff, CDM, and how true about Fogerty. You are aware, aren’t you, of the Fogerty Syndrome glossary term:
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/index.php/2007/08/20/john_fogerty_syndrome
What you say adds to our understanding of this syndrome. Thanks.
Enlightening.
I’ve noticed this for years and feel better now knowing that this has been formally diagnosed and that it’s not just in my head.
Thanks.
The key question is the definition of ‘key.’ I’m a fan of all three artists, and all of them have written so many songs that you could easily find a song that would not fit into any overarching theme you could pick.
I might say Petty’s statement is “I won’t back down,” and I could find songs that don’t fit that theme (The Waiting for example), but I could still claim that not backing down was his key statement. That wouldn’t necessarily mean it was the only thing he writes about. (Btw I’m loving the Mudcrutch album much more than I thought I would, and I’m surprised how little it sounds like the Heartbreakers.)
For Van “it’s a marvelous night for a moondance” would be a good start — mysticism, nature, and music.
But in “The Waiting”, isn’t he just telling her that it was all worth it because they didn’t Back Down?
You’re right. “Don’t let ’em kill you, babe, don’t let ’em get to you.”
Ok then, King’s Road.
To get “meta” a moment, if you accept the notion that Tom Waits is always putting on a Tom Waits Character, a la Pee Wee, then he certainly has a key message. Maybe even without that, his message is always, “The world is an ugly, painful place, and being an appreciating and astute observer and connoisseur of ugliness and pain, I am sad, and able to love certain people with all the more deepness. Even if those people are imaginary.”
Add to that the meta-key message, “I am Tom Waits,” and you really have consistency. A similar structure may apply to people like Nick Cave, who does something less specific, but similar.
Also there is the laudably consistent message, “Get out on the dance floor, feel your body groove to the music,” which is espoused by so many artists – Madonna, for one. Like Mao’s little red book as far as catchiness, but without all those extra pages.
You’ve got it re: Petty, BigSteve. That’s EXACTLY the song title that I would use to illustrate Petty’s sole KEY MESSAGE. And like CDM said, the waiting is the hardest part of not backing down. We’re thinking along the same lines for Van the Man.
General, I trust I’m not alone in accepting your meta-analysis of Waits. Well done!
“The world is an ugly, painful place, and being an appreciating and astute observer and connoisseur of ugliness and pain, I am sad, and able to love certain people with all the more deepness. Even if those people are imaginary.”
General, that was beautiful.