Words and Music

Those of you who follow me on Facebook have already concluded that my status is almost always written as song lyrics. It started, as most things do, as a lark. Little did I know that it was turning into something of an ode to musical appreciation.

I've always been fascinated by song lyrics, ever since I first heard Bohemian Rhapsody. I was young, quite young, and yet I distinctly recall belting out the words "Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango" whilst soaring through the summer air on a swing-set at my local park. I had no clue what any of the lyrics meant, but who cared? It was, and is, an awesome piece of music.

I remember exactly when I started reading music lyrics. My brother had bought a copy of Elton John's Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy. Those were the days when vinyl LPs ruled the music scene. The 12" square album covers were an art form in-and-of themselves. Captain Fantastic was no exception. The artist, Alan Aldridge, had also created an album cover for The Who and an illustrated book of Beatles lyrics among other notable pieces. This cover was, in my mind, his masterpiece. Inside the album was a full set of lyrics and a booklet of photos. It was a struggle for a ten year-old boy to get his head around the masterful lyrics of Bernie Taupin, but I knew then-and-there that I was hooked.

I have no natural musical skills. I can barely hold a tune without attracting stray cats (and I don't mean Brian Setzer). The closest I came to mastering an instrument was a B-flat trumpet back in high school. That took a lot of patience, tolerance and perseverance from my music teacher. Even then, I was average at best. My lack of skills notwithstanding, I love great music. There is no genre of preference, I like virtually all of them: from jazz to heavy metal, from pop to alternative, from classical to hip hop. The only genre for which I have not developed an affinity is opera. Although, every fan of opera I've spoken to insists it must be heard live to be appreciated. This is something I have yet to try, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

There is an intangible quality to words when they are put to music. It is as if they come to life, communicating on a much deeper emotional level. Sometimes the clarity and meaning of these words seem to be amplified by song. Then there are those lyrics that simply confound us, even though we can barely resist singing along.

For the record it's:
"Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night"
And with all due respect to Manfred Mann, the music and lyrics were composed by Bruce Springsteen.

I've always wanted to write lyrics. It is perhaps the only way in which I could wedge my way into the music world. When I was a kid I distinctly recall penning the words to a couple of songs and painfully attempting to interpret them with my friends. To this day I can't recall what we wrote, but through the fog of time I think they were pretty good. Or maybe that's just rose coloured memories.

I've had the great fortune of knowing some very talented musicians over the years. I am in perpetual awe of their gifts and often wonder what goes on in their minds as they effortlessly interpret their craft. I have great admiration for them, as I too consider myself an artist, although in an entirely different field. If you were to browse some of the musician's pages on MySpace or find yourself in a Metro tunnel, you would discover and abundance of exceedingly talented and gifted performers. What we hear on the radio, or now YouTube and iTunes, is only a tiny sampling of the musical talent in this world.

All artists know that part of the integrity of their craft is accepting that they will likely never make it to the big time. In fact only a few and very fortunate ones ever do. My experience with musicians however, has taught me that this dream is not what pulls them out of bed each morning. It is the pursuit of that one lyric, that one riff, that one melody waiting to be interpreted. What I find most intriguing is the way in which musicians draw upon their creativity and imagination to capture the joys and pains of the human experience and transform them into something profound.

For me, there is no art form that touches our emotions quite like music. The lyrics in my Facebook status are in part a tribute to my love of musicians and composers, but also to recognize that there are few things with the power to express the complexity and passions of our lives as a song.

Support your local musicians, they are among the finest gifts a society can possess.


Olé, olé, olé, oléee. Oléee, oléee.
Go Habs, Go