Musical Musings

"You liked Tony Orlando and Dawn, I bet you watched them on one of those musical variety shows," opined Mr. Ginley.

©Columbia Record Company

Then he started singing Knock Three Times.

I was immediately transported back to December 31, 1970. My sister and I always listened to the WIXY-1260 Top 100 Countdown. They played the #1 song at the stroke of midnight. That year, we both groaned when Knock Three Times was chosen at the song of the year.

Really??? Those insipid lyrics. The silly melody. And the stupid sound effect of a wrench hitting the water pipes.

Yikes.

"But I liked that song," protested my purported better half.

I started singing Tie a Yellow Ribbon. He does NOT like that particular Tony Orlando tune. It got a lot of play, and became an anthem a number of years later for the Iranian hostages. This in spite of the fact the ribbon in the song was being tied for a guy who was getting out of hoosegow, not for an American being held in a foreign prison.

In fact, many times, anthems have been created from songs whose original intention was quite different. Usually it's because the refrain is so persistent, folks forget the rest of the lyrics.

Born in the USA is a good example. People who haven't listened to all the words think it's a flag-waving tribute that is a rah-rah, let's go get 'em for the good old United States.

Nope.

This Land is Your Land, seemingly custom-made for car commercials, was also a protest song back in the day, written as a counterpoint to Irving Berlin's God Bless America, which was a flag-waver.

You Are My Sunshine, an old country tune, is really about a woman who left her man high and dry, and at some point in the lyrics, he says "she'll regret it some day." I guess if you stick to the first stanza, it's all good. A lot of folks think so, as it's one of the most enduring American classics.

Last Train to Clarksville, the upbeat Monkees tune, was about a guy leaving on a train, his ultimate destination Viet Nam. ("And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.") As was Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Of course, sometimes performers in the same band don't agree on the meaning of the lyrics. American Woman was either a protest song about the Viet Nam war or a slam on American ladies in general. Either way, it was certainly not an anthem for the power of American women.

A catchy tune goes a long way to carrying a song whose lyrics are not what you want them to be. It's easy to overlook the words when the music is so good.

I have to say, although I'm a big Beatles fan, and I do like the music of Paul McCartney, his lyrics are not among my favorites. Maybe that's part of the reason why he and John Lennon made such a good team. John's acerbic wit and Paul's optimism blended into something bordering on magic, as far as I'm concerned.

Ya, ya, ya.