More Songs Reflection

Highly recommended for those who like romantic lyrics with whimsy and creativity:
Thomas Rhett wrote a very romantic love song for his wife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2CELiObPeQ
by Thomas Rhett / Sean Douglas / Jon London

Die a Happy Man

Baby, last night was hands down
One of the best nights
That I've had no doubt
Between the bottle of wine
And the look in your eyes and the Marvin Gaye
Then we danced in the dark under September stars in the pourin' rain

And I know that I can't ever tell you enough
That all I need in this life is your crazy love
If I never get to see the Northern lights
Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby, I could die a happy man

Happy man, baby
Mmm

Baby, that red dress brings me to my knees
Oh, but that black dress makes it hard to breathe
You're a saint, you're a Goddess,
The cutest, the hottest,
A masterpiece
It's too good to be true,
Nothing better than you
In my wildest dreams

And I know that I can't ever tell you enough
That all I need in this life is your crazy love

If I never get to see the Northern lights
Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby, I could die a happy man, yeah

I don't need no vacation,
No fancy destination
Baby, you're my great escape
We could stay at home,
Listen to the radio
Or dance around the fireplace

And if I never get to build my mansion in Georgia
Or drive a sports car up the coast of California
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby, I could die a happy man

Baby, I could die a happy man
Oh, I could die a happy man
You know I could girl
I could die, I could die a happy man
--

I especially like the verses,
"If I never get to see the Northern lights
Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby, I could die a happy man"

There are a few concerns such as calling his wife a 'girl." Yes, I know that is a traditional characteristic of popular music (like the never ending "baby,") but one wonders if songwriters will ever get around to writing about a "woman" instead of the ever-sung 'girl' as if every relationship is about junior high infatuation.

And, while my youthful inner self still personally likes vivid visual
images such as "Baby, that red dress brings me to my knees
Oh, but that black dress makes it hard to breathe
You're a saint, you're a Goddess...,"
it would be good to sometimes see references in song lyrics to a woman's personality, accomplishments, and spiritual-ethical concerns.
--

HOWEVER, several of the other songs Rhett sings lack in creativity and ethics. Sadly, like many popular ones, some of the lyrics are negligent, unethical, and almost gross:

from "Craving You"

When it comes to you, no, I ain't got no patience
There's something 'bout you girl I just can't fight
You're like that cigarette
That shot of 100 proof
No matter how much I get
I'm always craving
That feeling when we kiss
The way your body moves
No matter how much I get
I'm always craving you
Craving you...

A girl that the guy 'loves' is like a "cigarette," like nicotine....Good grief!

Well, at least Thomas Rhett didn't write those rather ethically sick lyrics. While he sang them--bad enough--it was the strange songwriters, Julian Bunetta / Dave Barnes, who wrote the cigarette simile.

Then there is "Get Me Some of That":

You're shakin' that money maker,
Like a heart breaker, like your college major was
Twistin' and tearin' up Friday nights
Love the way you're wearin' those jeans so tight (so tight)
I bet your kiss is a soul saver,
My favorite flavor, want it now and later
I never seen nothin' that I wanted so bad
Girl, I gotta get me, gotta get me some of that
I gotta get me some of that
Yeah, I gotta get me some of that
Oh girl, I gotta get me some of that

by Akins Rhett / Cole Swindell / Michael Carter who wrote--"gotta get me some of that" and "want it"--and compares her to a 'pay-cash-for-butt' stripper.

Back when I taught poetry for years, I let students bring in their favorite song lyrics on posters to put up on the walls of the classroom. Some of them were amazingly creative, at times deeply moral, even spiritual.

But like these last two losers, a few lyrics just crossed the line into the sewer. Tragic that so many young people and adults memorize such lyrics, singing them over and over.

For instance, one girl student said she loved this one rap song which crowed about the rapper hitting his girlfriend without regret!

Thankfully, there is plenty of contrary music which brings beauty, understanding, care, and joy to humans.

What song lyrics do you especially like and why?


Despite the Darkness, the Light Still Shines,

Daniel Wilcox

Great Romantic Love Songs for Friday Night

Glass

Trying to live and love,
With a heart that can't be broken,
Is like trying to see the light with eyes that can't be opened.
Yeah, we both carry baggage,
We picked up on our way, so if you love me do it gently,
And I will do the same.

We may shine, we may shatter,
We may be picking up the pieces here on after,
We are fragile, we are human,
We are shaped by the light we let through us,
We break fast, cause we are glass.
Cause we are glass.

I'll let you look inside me, through the stains and through the cracks,
And in the darkness of this moment,
You see the good and bad.
But try not to judge me, 'cause we've walked down different paths,
But it brought us here together, so I won't take that back.

We may shine, we may shatter,
We may be picking up the pieces here on after,
We are fragile, we are human,
We are shaped by the light we let through us,
We break fast, cause we are glass.

We might be oil and water, this could be a big mistake,
We might burn like gasoline and fire,
It's a chance we'll have to take.

We may shine, we may shatter,
We may be picking up the pieces here on after,
We are fragile, we are human,
And we are shaped by the light we let through us,
We break fast, cause we are glass.
We are glass.

Written by Jon Nite, Ross Copperman
Copyright © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Such a beautiful, insightful song with great lyrics,
beautiful vocals, and fine instrumentation.

A great song for Friday night sharing.

In the Light of Romantic Love,

Daniel Wilcox

Lyric Journey of 240 Years of Seeking

"America" by Simon and Garfunkel

Let us be lovers,
We'll marry...
And walk.. off
To look for America.
"Kathy", I said,
As we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh,
Michigan seems like a dream to me now.

It took me four days
To hitch-hike from Saginaw.
"I've come to look for America"...

So I looked at the scenery,
She read her magazine;
And the moon rose over an open field.
"Kathy, I'm lost", I said...

Counting the cars
On the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come
To look for America,
All come to look for America,
All come to look for America.

-

"Money" by Pink Floyd, from Dark Side of the Moon

Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and you're O.K.
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream...

Money, get back
...
Money, it's a hit
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet...

-

Yeah, yeah,
Alright,
Alright.

I'm a wheeler, a dealer, the man who's in control,
Don't talk about my feelings, don't talk abut my soul,
Well, you know my time is money, so I've got no time to spend,
But when you got some business, won't you come on by again.

I'm the winner and I made it to the top,
And I took it all, just like I planned,
I'm the man who holds the high card in his hand.

I'm an owner, a loaner, a master at the game,
And I've got that golden Midas touch; people know my name,
There were times I held the low cards, baby, well, I knew they weren't enough,
So I just kept my poker face and won it on the bluff.
...
I'm the man who holds the high card in his hand.

Hey, hey,
I'm the winner,
Hey yeah,

"The Winner" by Randy Stonehill
-

"Richard Corey" By S.& G.

They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town,
With political connections to spread his wealth around.
Born into society, a banker's only child,
He had everything a man could want: power, grace, and style.

But I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be
Richard Cory.

The papers print his picture almost everywhere he goes:
Richard Cory at the opera, Richard Cory at a show.
And the rumor of his parties and the orgies on his yacht!
Oh, he surely must be happy with everything he's got.

But I work in his factory
And I curse the life I'm living
And I curse my poverty
And I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be,
Oh, I wish that I could be
Richard Cory.

He freely gave to charity, he had the common touch,
And they were grateful for his patronage and thanked him very much,
So my mind was filled with wonder when the evening headlines read:
"Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head."

-

There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking' their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly saying, "hooray for our side"

It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

"For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield

-

The laws to abide
And the land that I live in
Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh the country was young
With God on its side.

The Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
...
With guns on their hands
And God on their side.

The First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side.
...
[More wars have come]
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side.

But now we got weapons...
Then fire them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side.

"With God on Our Side" by Bob Dylan

-

Oh, you rush to and fro to attain
Though you dwell upon the shore of history
The voice you should have heard in is the letter of the word
Come with me, dear friends, and you'll see

See my life, as it was yesterday
See my life, as it was today
Take my hand and I will show you
Within the moment lies the mystery

Oh, you seek here and yon in your quest
And arrive at the hour of regret
Come fly without distress to the shelter of the nest
Close your eyes, your ears, and forget

Forget life, as it was yesterday
Forget life, as it was today
Take my hand and I will show you
Within the moment lies the mystery

"See My Life" by Seals and Croft

--

I used to dream of being famous
Well, my name would be a household word
...
Now it strikes me as a little absurd

I used to dream of being Don Juan
Of having all these pretty girls on my mind
It made shambles of my mind, so I found myself a wife
Who's a lover and a friend of mine

As the world, keeps turning 'round
You either learn to bend with the wind or it knocks you down
Turn your back on the gods of men
...

I used to dream of being a rich man
Yeah, I swore I'd have it all someday
Once you chase it you will find that it isn't worth a dime
Until you're free enough to give it away

And I used to dream of chasing vengeance
All my enemies would crawl and sweat
Well my happiness was drained from reliving all the pain
Now I'm learning to forgive and forget
...

Turn your back on the gods of men
And the Lord, who is true, will give life back to you again

"The Gods of Men" by Randy Stonehill

-

If I had a hammer,
I'd hammer in the morning,
I'd hammer in the evening,
All over this land,
I'd hammer out danger,
I'd hammer out a warning,
I'd hammer out love between,
My brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.

If I had a bell,
I'd ring it in the morning,
I'd ring it in the evening,
All over this land,
I'd ring out danger,
I'd ring out a warning,
I'd ring out love between,
My brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.
...

Well, I've got a hammer
and I've got a bell
and I've got a song to sing
all over this land
It's the hammer of justice
It's the bell of freedom
It's a song about love between my
brothers and my sisters
all over this land

"If I Had a Hammer" by Peter, Paul, and Mary


If we follow the versed lyrics of songs from the 1600's to today, we hear what a lyrical, but tragic, often absurd journey we humans traverse.

May we heed the call and the warning, the failing and the rising of these musicians.

In the Light,

Daniel Wilcox