Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Harmless wrote:
But then, I also think the chorus of 'MFC' falls flat after the verses.
So what do I know, eh?
well, it does.
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Psychologically, I've always found both of these songs somewhat deficient--though I get what the singer is trying to do, the sense of triumph he's trying to reflect, I've always struggled with the notion that what he's essentially advocating is running away from your problems, something which, as a student of psychology and believer in direct confrontation of one's issues, I can't endorse.
You make a good point about the lack of introduction we get to the character and his situation before they leave the situation. I am imagine Ed is a fan of the Bruce Springsteen car songs, but Bruce is much better at setting context than Ed.
Compare:
Quote:
Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night now they blew up his house too Down on the boardwalk they're gettin' ready for a fight gonna see what them racket boys can do
Now there's trouble busin' in from outta state and the D.A. can't get no relief Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade and the gamblin' commissions hangin' on by the skin of its teeth
Quote:
The screen door slams Marys dress sways Like a vision she dances across the porch As the radio plays Roy orbison singing for the lonely Hey that's me and I want you only Don't turn me home again I just can't face myself alone again Don't run back inside Darling you know just what Im here for So you're scared and you're thinking That maybe we aint that young anymore Show a little faith, there's magic in the night You aint a beauty, but hey you're alright Oh and that's alright with me
To:
Quote:
No more upset mornings No more trying evenings This American Dream I am disbelieving When the gas in my tank feels like money in the bank Gonna blow it all this time, take me one last ride For the lights of this city, they only look good when I'm speeding I wanna leave em all behind me cause this time I'm gone
Quote:
Sliding out of reverse into drive, this Wheel will be turning right, then straight Off in the sunset she'll ride She can remember a time denied Stood by the side of the road, spilled like wine now She's out on her own and I'm high
Quote:
I took a drive today Time to emancipate I guess it was the beatings made me wise But I'm not about to give thanks, or apologize I couldn't breathe, holdin' me down Hand on my face, pushed to the ground Empty Gaze, united by fear Forced to endure what I could not forgive...
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
well in fairness you are comparing two of Springsteen's very best songs to two average (or below average) PH songs.
The tricky thing with Gone is that, more than the other songs, it seems to want to have a narrative. Eddie doesn't really tell stories. The songs are almost always about what is going on inside the character's head. He doesn't have the eye for detail that Springsteen does (and Springsteen writes lots of sub par songs, but when he's on he's an amazing storyteller). That's why the details in a song like Unemployable can feel condescending even though I suspect that's not the intention
_________________ "Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR
Ed is not a stickler for narrative detail at all, and when he tries for that style (like on S/T) it often feels like boring reportage. There was a time when he was brilliant at metaphor, wordplay and devastatingly sarcastic phrase (most of Vitalogy, some of No Code). "Don't need a bandage, got a hard hard head; don't need a raincoat, I'm already wet." 'Last Exit', StBC, Satan's Bed. Now... I don't know what he's good at lyrically, I don't expect good lyrics anymore. I don't consider RVM a subpar song at all, but a great one in the context of a band which was always spotty lyrically.
Those Springsteen lyrics look extremely good written down.
Now that you mention it, Eddie Vedder is a huge proponent of running away from your problems.
It's no crime to escape.
It's so much worse than that, though. If only it were limited to the occasional blatant phrase or lyric...
Quote:
Yes, but escape is never the safest bath.
Humorous spelling slip aside, isn't this song basically an empathetic nod toward a person who tries to do something they feel is right, becomes overwhelmed by it, and then subsequently runs away from their problems? And isn't this dissident who is the embodiment of that problem, by hiding in this otherwise innocent person's home, also running away from their problems?
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:55 am Posts: 1776 Location: New York, NY
I don't think Gone's problem is necessarily the lyrics, although the chorus certainly leaves something to be desired. But such a simplistic chorus would be fine if the song itself wasn't boring. The whole thing just plods. Over time, I've felt that that song along with Inside Job are S/T's two biggest stumbling blocks.
i never interpreted these songs as just running away from your problems. I take them fairly literally, especially since escaping my hometown southeastern shitberg (by car) is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I dont see dropping everything and leaving a destructive or stifling environment to be a bad thing, so i generally love these songs (Gone excluded).
i never interpreted these songs as just running away from your problems. I take them fairly literally, especially since escaping my hometown southeastern shitberg (by car) is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I dont see dropping everything and leaving a destructive or stifling environment to be a bad thing, so i generally love these songs (Gone excluded).
I've always been a big fan of MFC.
Same here. When I first heard 'Gone', I was going through a divorce, waiting for her to leave the house and leave me stranded in a shitty town I never meant to live in in the first place. So these songs meant a lot to me. There's nothing inherently wrong with the impulse to escape; it's not society's favourite value because they can't make money from it. It's about self-preservation, and that's considered 'selfish' by those on top.
i never interpreted these songs as just running away from your problems. I take them fairly literally, especially since escaping my hometown southeastern shitberg (by car) is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
This conspiracy goes way beyond car songs, friend.
Are there some very real problems that probably need addressing? Sure, but instead of dealing with them just let me continue to blame you. That's all I really need, anyway. And don't ask me to come home...my problems are at home, so why go there? Just release me. I'd rather be with an animal anyway. And you know how animals get away? Because someone dropped their leash.
The kid in Given to Fly tunes out and runs hundreds of miles because of one locked door, and is rewarded for this avoidance with supernatural powers. Later on he's beaten by some undefinable individuals, and responds by flying away yet again to go bang chicks and probably get so high he gets back his innocence (that's how you get innocence back...by getting really fucking far away from things). Off He Goes Guy is a shitty friend, knows it, and deals with that fact by just not being around very often. Have you seen the way that tree bends? Well get the fuck away from that thing, because you should live in the present tense and eschew all efforts to address the past. Believe in lies to get by (it's divine). Yeah, the past is thick and heavy, but jesus christ stop talking about it already. I could be new. Maybe he's only making his getaway with thoughts of the girl right now, but he's always wondering about wandering. And why not? She's already drifting away. He might as well, too.
What? You just realized that by not confronting your problems all this time, you've actually been wasting your life? Well, just promise yourself never to go back again and all will be well. Leave your lady on the cement floor (uh...), pop some magic medicine, and go off to a preternatural other plane where none of your fucking shitty life can reach you I guess.
Even when this guy tries to sing about actually DOING something, he has to qualify it. I mean, I want to fight to get it back again, you know? We need to fill the air up with love. How? Uh...hey, here's a path for us to walk on. Where are we off to? Distant shores. They're awaiting our arrival. And when we get to the edge of that ocean, we're going to, like, stand there. Hopefully someone else will take it from there. If not? Well, we'll just leave. The end.
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