The first thing you need to understand about me is that I have this obsession with what I consider to be "honest" songs. Honest songs are the ones that explain exactly how the writer is feeling when he or she pens the words onto paper. My obsession with them stems from the more obscure confessions that songs make.
For example, in the song "The Party Scene" by All Time Low, the third verse says;
"I know she hopes I choke on,
This last drink,
Drop dead,
Before my influence get's to her head
She said, "I'll love you forever,
Or find something better,
It's all just the same as when we sleep together,
We wake up with headaches,
And trouble remembering,
What went wrong....""
I consider this to be the first honest song I ever heard, because the words that everyone else hears, have never been what I hear. Looking at the words, it appears that he's speaking of a one night stand, possibly with someone he's relatively close too. That's not what I see. I see that he wants her, but knows that she doesn't really want him. And that while, yes, she cares about him, she's settling, and he knows it. She knows that he'll always come back to her because she owns him, but he know's that one day, she won't be going home with him. I hear his regret throughout that entire third verse, and third chorus. For the first two-thirds of the song he's telling the young version of himself to stay seventeen for as long as possible, and to live it up while he's still that young. For the last third of the son he stops focusing on the fun aspect of his younger years and starts, in a way, begging his younger self to stay young in order to keep that girl around. He didn't want to lose her, but she found something better, and he always knew she would. She blames those nights with him on the contents of the bottle she emptied without any help, he blames those nights on the crush he couldn't let go. He get's to her everytime she's weak from the booze she drank because wants what's easy. She's always hoping for the day that she goes after what she really wants, instead of caving to what he wants. But at the end of the night she's crawling into his bed once again. And in the morning, she leaves with regret on her lips, and he's left sitting there, regretting that he's hoping she'll be back.
It's also quite possible that I have completely and utterly over analyzed that song simply because it's one of my favorites. =]
The most recent "honest" song that I've fallen in love with, is the ever popular "Billionare" by Travie McCoy. I was told by a friend from work a couple months ago, that the song was not very good because it was quote-unquote "unbelievable."
He was right.
But he missed the aspect of the song that explains why that's okay.
It's a daydream.
Everyone has dreamed of being able to throw money in the air and spin in circles as it slowly drifts to the floor, or of owning a Lambourghini, or taking a dive into a gold plated, indoor swimming pool. There is not a single person on this planet who at some point in their lives, has not thought the words, "if only I had enough money..."
It's a daydream. Travie McCoy explains in detail what he would do with that money if he had it. He, of course, would treat himself to the finer points in life, but he would also make sure that everyone he loved was set for life, he would go down to where hurricane Katrina hit and help rebuild, he would hand out money to anyone he thought needed it, and he would adopt children who've never had anything. These are honorable intentions.
But it's only a daydream.
I love "Billionare," because it speaks the words that every teenager thinks when something bad happens in the world, and it appears that nothing is being done to fix it, or when that really obnoxious, rich bitch, chearleader shows up at school in the Mercedes Benz her daddy just bought her.
"Honest" songs are everywhere, some more obvious than others. If you can think of a really good one, feel free to leave the name in a comment and I'll try to figure out what you see in it. =]
Toodles.
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