Entertainment For Lively Minds
From The Sublime To The Ridiculous.
I was driving around today when Cat Stevens came on the radio.
The song was "[Remember the days of the] Old School Yard"
I've never cared much for it and was again reminded of one of the truly dreadful lyrics in popular song -
"When we had simplicity
And we had warm toast for tea"
Ouch!!
This is from the same person who wrote
"Taking time to check the dial
And the Lillywhite
I never knew her name
But she'll be passing my way sometime again.
I raise my hand and touch the wheel
Of change
Taking time to check the dial
Thank the Lillywhite
I never knew her name
But she'll be passing my way sometime again.
But she'll be passing my way sometime again."
Now, I accept that sometimes lyrics can seem at best simple and at worst down right bad, but sometimes a little insight can transform an apparently average lyric into something more substantial. The lyric to Lillywhite is a good example of a lyric that can be elevated by a little background info from the writer but, no amount of insight is going to save "When we had simplicity And we had warm toast for tea" - It's just bad.
So we get to the point of the post.
There have to be other examples of otherwise respected lyricists who have strayed from the path into the equivalent of rhyming 'simplicity' with '..toast for tea'. Or conversely, an otherwise average lyricist who managed to surpass themselves and transcend the ordinary.
Anyone?
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As usual, the answer is...
...The Flaming Lips.
In the hugely over-praised 'Do You Realize?', we have the majestic clunker that is:
"You realise the sun don't go down - it's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round."
I could also give you Laughing Lou's remarkable couplet:
"Just like poison in a vial
She was often very vile"
But I think I'll stick with The Lips.
Martin Fry & ABC
Martin Fry generally walked the fine line of sublime/ridiculous with some style, managing to actually create an entire persona for himself by knowingly re-engineering dodgy platitudes and greeting card whimsy into something more evocative (I dread to use the word post-modern, but that's what he was doing). However, he tripped over into truly empty gestures with That Was Then, This Is Now. Don't get me wrong, I still like the track; the whole thing, like so many song lyrics works via his delivery. All until you get to the line about "can't complain, mustn't grumble...", which he even emphasizes (or smudges) by warbling the final rhyming word - you know the one I'm talking about.
I cannot for one second believe that no-one in the studio that day tittered, or asked whether it was a wise move, given that they were commercially still flying. Either that, or they wrote it with two-minutes to spare before mastering began...
Why make the past your sacred cow?
I guess you've
changed, you've changed and how
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Fruit's grown rotten on the bough
Reap what you sow,
with a counterfeit plough
Yeah, yeah, yeah
That
was then but this is now
More sacrifices than an
Aztec priest
Standing here straining at that leash
All
fall down
Can't complain, mustn't grumble
Help yourself to another peace of apple crumble
And
consequently:
Hearts of oak are charged and blistered
Russians should be baby-sitted
Americans enlisted
That was then but this is now
That was then but
this is now
That was then but this is now
REM - Mr Richards
This song is a phenomenal clunker in every sense, but this lyric will never be beaten for rubbishness:
Mr Richards your position
Is a messenger pidgeon
Left behind when the cat moved on