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I have to suspect so, unless of course there was an intent in the song that was never brought forth. Listening to music today, just as I had downloaded them and then partially ordered them, a particular song began to play. The first time I remember hearing this song was in Navy bootcamp. Some of the men really liked it, others didn't, and some of us had never heard it. The cool guys seemed to think it was about a misguided woman, who was headed for doom, or simply lost and alone in a world of faery tales. I never could get that sensation, no matter how sadly it was sung or how many times I heard it. And yet I could not quite figure out why the song didn't bother me, or at least not in the manner it seemed to be intended to disturb. That changed today.
As I listened, playing cards in the foreground, my mind started... dissolving the notions, rearranging, looking for patterns, accessing memory, and cutting and pasting things into various patterns. Before the song was half way finished, my mind sent out the signal not unlike the microwave beep when it has run it's cycle, that the notion was ready to review. Some notions need tweaking. My mind can run too deeply into theory, theology, or even be purely practicum, so I have to clean up the edges from time to time. Some notions don't make conscious consideration. Not so much this time, as the notions seemed rather solid, as is, mostly.
The idea that the woman is doomed, a fool, or lost is only possible if God is not true. But, as the tale goes, the woman's faith is quite grand. Such a true faith will undo even the most learned or wise. The faith of a child, or in a child like way, is a penultimately powerful thing. Further, I am quite sure when she gets to heaven, if the stores are all closed, she will most certainly get what she needs with just a word. The angel offering her the object with a deep and honest bow, perhaps even prostrating in honor to one so faithful. Buying the stairway heaven is quite easy, it is as inexpensive as seeing everything that glitters as gold. Mayhap there is more to it. But as far as the story goes, I can easily see her pardoning her way past others to get to the store there. As it turns out, my sadness is for the disbelief of the singer/songwriter. Now I get it, after decades it finally makes sense. Sadness indeed. And joy too.
A few things going on, a load of wash in the washer and probably about ready to switch out. Hmm, lunch of some sort, I think. I'm really hungry, still. Later.
To be honest I could happily go through the rest of my life and never hear "Stairway to Heaven" ever again (except, possibly, the Elvis/reggae version by Dread Zeppelin). Easily one of the most overrated and overplayed songs in the history of rock (without thinking too hard I can easily come up with a handful of Led Zeppelin songs I feel deserve greater airplay than "Stairway").
ReplyDelete(And no, "Kashmir" and "Immigrant Song" aren't on that list, being two more overplayed LZ tracks.)
As for trying to determine the meaning of the lyrics, I'm willing to bet that even Jimmy Page doesn't know why there's a bustle in the hedgerow.
I don't listen to the radio almost at all, save the Catholic channel sometimes, and they NEVER play it! It was probably the first media I backed away from, choosing CDs almost exclusively, and cassettes before those, and now YouTube. But, yeah, I sort of remember. Radio has never been good at getting the better songs out there. Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water has become almost hated while I love the group for many other songs. Jump, by Van Halen, and about a dozen other songs and groups.
ReplyDeleteNo problem here. But that wasn't the point. It was just nice to finally clear that itch, to make sense of what bothered me.
As for any singer, unless he wrote the song, or any songwriter who is heavily into... alternative living... I have some doubt about rational understanding at all for most of what I hear. That, really, is usually left to the listener. Although most listeners are no better than the singers at knowing. I don't claim to know, on this song really, just... that's what conclusion my mind came up with.
Though I think there is, often, at least something that is commonly construed from a song, or schools of thought. And what is taken away intellectually might well be quite different from what is taken away emotionally. Here, my two aspects finally linked up, for my part.
I can't listen to the radio at all here. According to the local market, their idea of alternative music is The Archies. If it wasn't for YouTube and Pandora I'd never hear anything worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteYes, I usually find songs I prefer to what the stations push as "the hits". You mentioned Van Halen. I prefer "Jamie's Crying" and "Panama" to their more well known tunes.
It was no less a worthy than Paul McCartney who pointed out that rock music isn't poetry. As a rule the lyrics of songs don't usually interest me unless someone's managed something I would consider nicely clever (which doesn't happen all that often).
I can't say that I fully agree with McCartney, in fact, albeit true on principle. What I mean is, not many poets are... well... poets. As for looking for good, clever, or direct but slightly hidden meanings... I think you might be surprised, just don't go with the mainstream singers. There is, sometimes, meaning there. But it is the same "meaning" you get from broadcast news and academia.
ReplyDeleteThe 'indie' stuff, there you might see some interesting stuff, if often it is much rougher, or courses. Still, even in those circles, you will often find that it is only a one-off of mainstream. They don't travel too far off the beaten path or they will be blackballed from their profession and from recording studios. Uhrm, and they might find it hard to find dealers. *shrug*