# Meaning of lyrics



## Rose Pink (Mar 4, 2009)

I don't know why this is eating at me, usually this stuff just goes in one ear and out the other--if I even listen to it in the first place.

I heard the song _Flightless Bird/ American Mouth_ by Iron & Wine.  It has such a pretty melody and reminded me of slow dance songs from the 1950s.  I got curious as to what the lyrics are and looked them up on line.  What a garbled mess of idiocy--or vanity it seemed to me.  I couldn't find any explanation on the band's website and the other websites I've read seem to indicate it reflects the lyricist's political bent.  Since the song was featured in the movie _Twilight_, many of the posters appear to be teenagers trying to force these lyrics to fit the movie's love story.  The tempo and melody do sound like a love song but the lyrics are definitely not--at least in my mind, they don't fit.

I know some of you tuggers are quite knowledgable regarding music and wondered if any of you could tell me what these lyrics mean as written by their author.  I am not interested in conjecture or what they mean to anyone other than the one who wrote them.  We can all twist any written word (or anything else for that matter) to fit the meanings we want to give them.  I just want to know what the lyrics meant to the one thinking them up in the first place.  Have any of you come across this?  Thanks.


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## wackymother (Mar 4, 2009)

I didn't know the song, but I went and listened to it. It is very pretty. I'm sure you know it's used in the movie Twilight? It wasn't written for the movie, but the actress who plays Bella suggested it for the prom scene. So there seem to be different interpretations of the lyrics--the "movie-based" version and the "non-movie-based" version. 

Now as to MY (non-movie-based) interpretation--the boy singing has an accident where he almost drowns, diving for coins at a fair. (I'm not seeing the "suicide" interpretation here.) While crowds are gathered around him, he sees the girl staring at him. As soon as he recovers from the accident, he gets his map and starts looking for her. (That's the first verse.) (Now it gets a lot hazier.) 

He finds her, and they're together, but he's not sure whether he's "won" or "lost" in finding her and being with her--is he the tamed, trapped protector of a helpless bird, or is he a victim of the American dream, Being forced to "swallow" the bitter pill of--what? Consumer excess?  

To be honest with you, I think the lyrics are purposely obscure and have no real meaning. The whole middle part is just like words strung together.


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## pjrose (Mar 4, 2009)

I just looked up the lyrics - definitely weird.  

Perhaps you could check if the group has a website or myspace and find their interpretation there?


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 4, 2009)

*Jabberwockey.*

Some tunes just have (on purpose) nonsense lyrics. 

_Oh ma cameo molesting 
Kee pa a poorer for tea 
Solar prestige a gammon 
Lantern or turbert paw kwee 

Solar prestige a gammon 
Kool kar kyrie kay salmon 
Hair ring molassis abounding 
Common lap kitch sardin a poor floundin 

Cod ee say oo pay a loto 
My zeta prestige toupay a floored 
Ray indee pako a gammon 
Solar prestige a pako can nord _​
Also *. . .* 

_Spring was never waiting for us, girl
It ran one step ahead
As we followed in the dance
Between the parted pages and were pressed,
In love's hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down...
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!

I recall the yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a wave
On the ground around your knees
The birds, like tender babies in your hands
And the old men playing checkers by the trees

There will be another song for me
For I will sing it
There will be another dream for me
Someone will bring it
I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
You'll still be the one.

I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers through the sky.
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you
And wondering why.

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down...
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
Oh, no
No, no
Oh NO!​_
Plus *. . . *

_Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla, brawla sooit,
Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla sooit.
Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla, brawla sooit,
Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla sooit.​_
And who could ever forget *. . . * 

_In-a-gadda-da-vida, honey,
Don't you know that I love you? 
In-a-gadda-da-vida, baby,
Don't you know that I'll always be true? 

Oh, won't you come with me
And take my hand? 

Oh, won't you come with me
And walk this land? 

Please take my hand!​_
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pjrose (Mar 4, 2009)

good examples.

I always thought innagadadavida meant "in the garden of eden"


There's another one, can't remember - female singer - something about a merry go round.....


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 4, 2009)

*The Garden Of Eden.*




pjrose said:


> I always thought innagadadavida meant "in the garden of eden"


Correct.  

The story goes that when the band showed up at the studio to record that track, they were so stoned that it came out _In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida._

True ? 

False ? 

Who knows ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pjrose (Mar 4, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> The story goes that when the band showed up at the studio to record that track, they were so stoned that it came out _In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida._
> 
> True ?
> 
> ...



Probably


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## Rose Pink (Mar 4, 2009)

The lyrics to MacArthur Park actually make sense to me unlike Flightless Bird/American Mouth--which seems to be so deliberatley obtuse as to be mere vanity on the part of the lyricist. _Hey, let's record a song that means nothing and see how much angst we can stir up with people fighting over the interpretation._

I've also considered that maybe the guy who wrote it was stoned and it made sense to him in his stoned state.

I mentioned in the OP that the song was in the movie Twilight. The movie version lyrics are no different than the original version as far as I can tell. That makes me wonder if the film makers didn't have some statement they were trying to make. Afterall, there are plenty of beautiful love songs with beautiful lyrics that would have fit the prom scene. (oooo... conspiracy theory.  )

I also mentioned in the OP that I had tried the band's website but could find nothing there regarding the meaning of these lyrics.  The only discussions I have found about the song were on other websites and were just posters' opinions.

I'm relived that tuggers so far have found it as odd as I have. Makes me feel better.


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 4, 2009)

pjrose said:


> good examples.
> 
> I always thought innagadadavida meant "in the garden of eden"
> 
> ...



PJ,

See this previous Tug thread for a discussion of mondegreens  & scroll down to see some hilarious replies


Richard


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## Rose Pink (Mar 4, 2009)

wackymother said:


> ...
> Now as to MY (non-movie-based) interpretation--the boy singing has an accident where he almost drowns, diving for coins at a fair. (I'm not seeing the "suicide" interpretation here.) While crowds are gathered around him, he sees the girl staring at him. As soon as he recovers from the accident, he gets his map and starts looking for her. (That's the first verse.) (Now it gets a lot hazier.)
> 
> He finds her, and they're together, but he's not sure whether he's "won" or "lost" in finding her and being with her--is he the tamed, trapped protector of a helpless bird, or is he a victim of the American dream, Being forced to "swallow" the bitter pill of--what? Consumer excess?
> ...


 
That sounds as good as any other interpretation of it as a love song.  But I still don't think it is a love song between two people.

The phrase "diving too deep for coins" has been interpreted as going after money--think of a bull market.  The cops closing the fair could be intrepreted as the current bear market and all of our other financial crises.

Every intrepretation I've read assumes that the flightless bird symbolizes weakness or helplessness of some sort and some say it is the American Eagle in the current worldview.  (Twilight posters liken the bird to Bella. But, when I think of a flightless bird I think of ostriches and emus and they are not powerless.  They can outrun and outkick most any human.  I'd not want to come up against one!  If you want to use the Twilight analogy this powerful, flightless bird would be Edward, not Bella.)

The second verse could be referring to the higher political positions (the house meaning houses of power such as the White House or Congress).  The warm, poison rats coming through the wide fence cracks could symbolize not being able to protect our borders or it could mean any of the other disasters/crises that are plaguing us such as the economy, healthcare, education, take your pick.  I don't know what the lyricist meant.  I'm just grasping like everyone else.  

The magazine photos could refer to making reality look appealing (think doctored photo shoots with fancy lighting and makeup)

The fishing lures in the cold, clear blood of Christ mountain stream could refer to America's predominate religion--as in many came to the new world in the first place to practice freedom of religion and the religion was usually based in some sort of Christ theology.

The 50's style melody and tempo could be an allusion to the idyllic American life (though I don't know that it was all that idyllic for everyone, it is usually the image that baby boomers refer to when they speak of the gold old days.)

SEE?!?!?!?  This song could mean anything.  Make up your own interpretation.  This is what is bugging me.  I don't want to make up my  own interpretation.  I want to know what was in the mind of the author of these bizarre lyrics.


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## pjrose (Mar 4, 2009)

MULTIZ321 said:


> PJ,
> 
> See this previous Tug thread for a discussion of mondegreens  & scroll down to see some hilarious replies
> 
> Richard



Love it, thanks!  My students' papers frequently include mondegreens (thanks for the new vocab word).  Perhaps we should just resuscitate that thread instead of hijacking this one...


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## Rose Pink (Mar 4, 2009)

MULTIZ321 said:


> PJ,
> 
> See this previous Tug thread for a discussion of mondegreens & scroll down to see some hilarious replies
> 
> ...


 
I loved that thread!  Lots of laughs there.  I'm glad you brought it up.  

I wish this song were a simple case of misheard lyrics rather than vague lyrics.


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## wackymother (Mar 4, 2009)

Rose Pink said:


> SEE?!?!?!?  This song could mean anything.  Make up your own interpretation.  This is what is bugging me.  I don't want to make up my  own interpretation.  I want to know what was in the mind of the author of these bizarre lyrics.



Right--I think it's whatever you think. And I suspect the guy who wrote it intended it to be cryptic. 

Did you try e-mailing the band at their website?


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## Rose Pink (Mar 4, 2009)

wackymother said:


> Did you try e-mailing the band at their website?


 
No, I haven't.  I'd hoped to hear from tuggers.  You guys seem to know everything.

I wonder if they _would_ tell me.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 4, 2009)

And after you figure out what those lyrics mean, perhaps you might also tell us what the lyrics mean for _Whiter Shade of Pale_??


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## Rose Pink (Mar 4, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> And after you figure out what those lyrics mean, perhaps you might also tell us what the lyrics mean for _Whiter Shade of Pale_??


 
That's _your_ assignment! :hysterical:  (love Willie Nelson's cover of that song)


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## wackymother (Mar 4, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> And after you figure out what those lyrics mean, perhaps you might also tell us what the lyrics mean for _Whiter Shade of Pale_??



Oh, yeah. There's a master's thesis waiting to happen! :whoopie:


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## easyrider (Mar 4, 2009)

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet said:
			
		

> Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla, brawla sooit,
> Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla sooit.
> Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla, brawla sooit,
> Hut-Sut Rawlson on the rillerah and a brawla sooit.​[/I]


Allan, What is the Hut Sut song?

I never knew that Donna Summers was singing about cake. The girls really liked this disco tune.


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 4, 2009)

*The Hut Sut Song.*




easyrider said:


> What is the Hut Sut song?


It's a 1941 popular novelty tune by Kash Killion & Ted McMichael & Jack Owens. 

Click here for the music video on U-Tube. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pjrose (Mar 4, 2009)

easyrider said:


> Allan, What is the Hut Sut song?
> 
> I never knew that Donna Summers was singing about cake. The girls really liked this disco tune.



Donna Summers?  Richard Harris!  And it wasn't REALLY about cake....or maybe I'm just tired and I missed something up above?


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## thomtaylor (Mar 5, 2009)

*Excellent Hut Song music video, thanks Alan!*

_Dr Demento fans (and Southern Californians) still get a laugh from:_

Pico And Sepulveda

Doheny.... Cahuenga.... La Brea.... Tar Pits!

La Jolla.... Sequoia.... La Brea.... Tar Pits!

You can keep Alvarado, Santa Monica, even Beverly Drive.

Vine may be fine, but for mine I want to feel alive and settle down in my

La Brea.... Tar Pits....

Pico And Sepulveda

Where nobody's dreams come true.

_(there's nothing much more than a lumber store at Pico & Sepulveda)_


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## Rose Pink (Mar 5, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> And after you figure out what those lyrics mean, perhaps you might also tell us what the lyrics mean for _Whiter Shade of Pale_??


 
Try this, Steve. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iKG4T175vU&feature=related 
and if you understand Swedish (or whatever the interviewer's language is) please let us know.  Gary Booker's part is in English and he says something to the effect that the lyrics weren't meant to be immediately understood and that is why we're still talking about them 35 years later.  He goes on to say that we all understand them anyway.  

Personally, I think it is about being stoned.


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## Dave011 (Mar 5, 2009)

thats cool! But I can't understand the lyrics too . . . what the language use?lol


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## wackymother (Mar 5, 2009)

MacArthur Park is just about my least favorite song EVER. Because in addition to being incomprehensible, it's so pompous. Sheesh. I just want to smack Richard Harris upside the head and say, "Get over yourself!"


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 5, 2009)

wackymother said:


> MacArthur Park is just about my least favorite song EVER. Because in addition to being incomprehensible, it's so pompous. Sheesh. I just want to smack Richard Harris upside the head and say, "Get over yourself!"



I like the bit in Airplane II where MacArthur Park is playing in the elevator, and everyone leaves the elevator holding their hands over their ears.

SCTV did a great parody one time with Dave Thomas playing Richard Harris as a guest star on Eugene Levy's "Mel's Rock Pile" dance show.  I found a clip on a Dutch web site: RICHARD HARRIS: MACARTHUR PARK: MEL'S ROCKPILE (SCTV: EUGENE LEVY). There's a commercial that plays first.  The woman sitting on the chair reading a book plays a key role at the end of the video.


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## wackymother (Mar 5, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I like the bit in Airplane II where MacArthur Park is playing in the elevator, and everyone leaves the elevator holding their hands over their ears.
> 
> SCTV did a great parody one time with Dave Thomas playing Richard Harris as a guest star on Eugene Levy's "Mel's Rock Pile" dance show.  I found a clip on a Dutch web site: RICHARD HARRIS: MACARTHUR PARK: MEL'S ROCKPILE (SCTV: EUGENE LEVY). There's a commercial that plays first.  The woman sitting on the chair reading a book plays a key role at the end of the video.



Thanks! That just about sums it up, doesn't it?


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 5, 2009)

*Silly Sounds Of Geography.*




thomtaylor said:


> Doheny.... Cahuenga.... La Brea.... Tar Pits!
> 
> La Jolla.... Sequoia.... La Brea.... Tar Pits!


What about Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga ? 

(Not that Virginia & West Virginia don't have some quaint place names too.) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink (Mar 5, 2009)

This morning I came to the conclusion that Flightless Bird/American Mouth is about Bill Gates.


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## Egret1986 (Mar 5, 2009)

*Funny, but now I've got those lyrics stuck in my head!*



T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I like the bit in Airplane II where MacArthur Park is playing in the elevator, and everyone leaves the elevator holding their hands over their ears.
> 
> SCTV did a great parody one time with Dave Thomas playing Richard Harris as a guest star on Eugene Levy's "Mel's Rock Pile" dance show.  I found a clip on a Dutch web site: RICHARD HARRIS: MACARTHUR PARK: MEL'S ROCKPILE (SCTV: EUGENE LEVY). There's a commercial that plays first.  The woman sitting on the chair reading a book plays a key role at the end of the video.



Dang, I hate it when that happens!  I hadn't thought about that song or its weird lyrics in years and years, and had totally forgotten about it.  Not any more!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 5, 2009)

Egret1986 said:


> Dang, I hate it when that happens!  I hadn't thought about that song or its weird lyrics in years and years, and had totally forgotten about it.  Not any more!



There is one song that to me is vastly more annoying than MacArthur Park - the godawful "Skyrockets in flight, afternoon delight" piece of putrid excrement. 

I were part of a panel deciding the world's ten worst songs, that one would be on my ballot in all ten positions.  And I would probably give it at least three write-in votes if there were room on the ballot.

*****

That's a song where one could only wish the meaning of the lyrics wasn't clear.  Anything would be an improvement.  They could have just droned _In-a-gadda-da-vida_ for three minutes and the song would have been vastly improved.


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 5, 2009)

*G. Z. P. Z., Troggy.  It's Not That Bad.*

Shux, I always thought it was a cute (if corny) tune *. . .* 

_Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight,
Gonna grab some afternoon delight.
My motto's always been when it's right, it's right.
Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night?
When everything's a little clearer in the light of day,
And you know the night is always gonna be there any way.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite,
Looking forward to a little afternoon delight.
Rubbin' sticks & stones together makes the sparks ingite,
And the thought of rubbin' you is getting so exciting.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Started out this morning feeling so polite.
I always though a fish could not be caught who wouldn't bite.
But you've got some bait a waitin' and I think I might 
Try nibbling a little afternoon delight.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.

Please be waiting for me baby when I come around.
We could make a lot of lovin' 'for the sun goes down.

Sky rockets in flight. Afternoon delight. Afternoon delight.​_
What was more annoying than the refrain's words was the down-zooming electric guitar or synth glissando accompanying the _Sky Rockets_ bit.  I mean, shouldn't that glissando have been zooming _up_ ? 

If I'm not mistaken, the same songwriters came up with another big hit, best known for its association with John Denver *. . . *

_Almost heaven, West Virginia,
Blue Ridge Mountains,
Shenandoah River. 
Life is old there,
Older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains,
Growin' like a breeze.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong.
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads.

All my memories gathered round her
Miners lady, stranger to blue water.
Dark & dusty, painted on the sky,
Misty taste of moonshine,
Teardrops in my eye

Country roads, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice
In the mornin hour she calls me.
The radio reminds me of my home far away.
And drivin' down the road I get a feelin
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday.

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home,
To the place I belong,
West Virginia, Mountain Mama,
Take me home, country roads.
Take me home, now country roads.
Take me home, now country roads.​_
For a hit tune with truly annoying lyrics, check out this 1 *. . .* 

_I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.

All around in my home town
They're trying to track me down.
They say they want to bring me in guilty
For the killing of a deputy,
For the life of a deputy.
But I say:

I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in self-defense.
I shot the sheriff, & they say it is a capital offense.

Sheriff John Brown always hated me;
For what I dont know.
Every time that I plant a seed
He said, kill it before it grows.
He said, kill it before it grows.
I say:

I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in self-defense.
I shot the sheriff, but I swear it was in self-defense.

Freedom came my way 1 day
And I started out of town.
All of a sudden I see Sheriff John Brown
Aiming to shoot me down.
So I shot, I shot him down.
I say:

I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy.

Reflexes got the better of me
And what is to be must be.
Every day the bucket goes to the well,
But one day the bottom will drop out,
Yes, one day the bottom will drop out.
But I say:

I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy, oh no.
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy, oh no._​
Lots & lots of copies of that disk were sold.  Big money maker. 

_Sh-e-e-e-e-e-e-sh. _

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## wackymother (Mar 5, 2009)

Oh, nooooo. I hate that Afternoon Delight song, too. Uggggh. It makes me think of the cheesiest moments of Love American Style. And now you have ANOTHER grakky song going through your head, Steve! "Love, American Style, truer than the red white and bloo-oo--ooo--ooo!"


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## sstamm (Mar 5, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> If I'm not mistaken, the same songwriters came up with another big hit, best known for its association with John Denver *. . . *
> 
> _Almost heaven, West Virginia,
> Blue Ridge Mountains,
> ...



Somewhere recently (can't remember where) I read about the origins of this song.  Apparently it was originally inspired by a drive through the Maryland countryside, not West Virginia, and was later shared with John Denver.  

As a West Virginia University alumna, I found that very interesting.  I was a WVU student in 1980 when John Denver appeared and performed the song at the opening of the new Mountaineer Field.  Not that I was a huge fan of the song, but it really was an amazing and moving experience.  To this day, that is what I think of when I hear the song.

Alan, collector of music knowledge that you are, maybe you already knew that information?  If you read it recently, maybe you can share where you read it, because it is bugging me that I can't remember.  It was an anecdote shared by the guy from Starland Vocal band that wrote the initial lyrics to the song.  Maybe the Washington Post magazine?


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 5, 2009)

sstamm said:


> Somewhere recently (can't remember where) I read about the origins of this song.  Apparently it was originally inspired by a drive through the Maryland countryside, not West Virginia, and was later shared with John Denver.



Brudda Iz effectively transposed it to Hawai'i:  

_Almost Heaven, West Makaha,
high-ridge mountain, crystal-clear blue water.
All my friends there hanging on da beach,
young and old among them,
feel the ocean breeze.

Country road, take me home,
to the place I belong,
West Makaha, Mount Ka'ala.
Oh, take me home, oh, country road.

I heard a voice,
in the morning calm, she calls me,
as though to remind me of my Home far away.

Driving down the road,
I feel the Spirit coming to me,
from yesterday, yesterday.

All my memories hold Heaven on high,
brown-skinned woman, clear blue island sky.
Daytime sunshine, oo-ooh so bright,
midnight moon a-glowing, stars up in the sky.

Country road, take me home,
to the place I belong,
West Makaha, Mount Ka'ala.
Take me home, take me home, country road.

I hear a voice, in the morning calm, she's calling,
as though to remind me of my Home far away.
We driving down the road, I feel the Spirits coming to me,
of yesterday, yesterday.

Almost Heaven, West Makaha,
high ridge mountain, crystal clear blue waters.
All my friends there sitting on the beach,
young and old among them,
eating fish straight from the sea.

Country road, take me home,
to the place I belong,
West Makaha, oh, Mount Ka'ala.
Take me home, oh country road.

Country road, take me home,
oh to the place I belong.
West Makaha, Mount Ka'ala,
take me home, oh country road.

Country road, oh take me home,
yes to the place, to the place, I belong,
West Makaha, Mount Ka'ala,
take me home country road.

Country road, take me home,
to the place I was born,
West Makaha, Mount Ka'ala.
Take me home, country road.......

Huuhuu. Huuu-tah.
Good fo' be back.
White san', clean watah.
Hô boy, the mountain...feel the makani...
whew, what a place.​_


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 5, 2009)

*West Virginia Song Inspired By Maryland Countryside?  Who Knew?*




sstamm said:


> Alan, collector of music knowledge that you are, maybe you already knew that information?  If you read it recently, maybe you can share where you read it, because it is bugging me that I can't remember.  It was an anecdote shared by the guy from Starland Vocal band that wrote the initial lyrics to the song.  Maybe the Washington Post magazine?


That tidbit escaped me. 

Not only that, I can't account for how come I knew the same songwriters who came up with _Take Me Home, Country Roads_ also wrote _Afternoon Delight_.  All sorts of odd knowledge clutters my mind, while some of the important stuff is just gone.  So it goes. 

BTW, I think the opening line _(Almost Heaven, West Virginia)_, was the state's tourism-inspired slogan before it got memorialized in the John Denver tune. 

Around here the _Starland Vocal Band_ was sometimes referred to as the _Starland Local Band,_ because Bill & Taffy Danoff are from the Washington DC area. 

_Starland Vocal Band_, at the time & still today, reminds me strongly of _The Captain & Tennille_, who also had 1 or 2 top-selling records out about the same time.  

Some features of 1970s popular entertainment that we look back on today & view as hokey were actually pretty good in their day & featured plenty of talent & professionalism.  Times change, however, & so do style preferences in popular music -- not that there's anything wrong with that. 

However that may be, I would rather spend the rest of my natural life listening to albums by _The Captain & Tennille_ & _Starland Local Band_ than having to endure any of that commercial rap or hippity-hop "music."  (But that's just me.)  Shux, I also still like & greatly admire the music of _The Carpenters_ -- outstanding musicianship & amazing talent, even if their tunes & style now seem dated or aren't your personal cup of tea. 

Shux, Benny Goodman & Glenn Miller are "dated" as far as that goes -- but their music is still outstanding.  Long may it reverberate. 

Toni Tenille, BTW, is an outstanding big-band singer even now.  For a while in the 1970s she sang with The Beach Boys, the only girl singer in the group.  Daryl Dragon is a son of the late Carmen Dragon, who conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra & created a wonderfully rich & powerful band & orchestra arrangement of _America The Beautiful_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## sstamm (Mar 5, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> That tidbit escaped me.
> 
> Not only that, I can't account for how come I knew the same songwriters who came up with _Take Me Home, Country Roads_ also wrote _Afternoon Delight_.  All sorts of odd knowledge clutters my mind, while some of the important stuff is just gone.  So it goes.
> 
> ...



It's just funny that I read about that somewhere, in the last couple weeks, and then it shows up here.  I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night sometime soon remembering where I read it.

It mentioned that they were playing in Georgetown, and that is where they met up with John Denver and shared the song with him.  That's why I was thinking it was a local publication.

At some point, way back, the motto of West Virginia was "Wild & Wonderful."  Not sure when they adopted "Almost Heaven."


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## wackymother (Mar 5, 2009)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Brudda Iz effectively transposed it to Hawai'i:



Ah, I loved him. He could have made even "Afternoon Delight" bearable.


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## wackymother (Mar 5, 2009)

sstamm said:


> It's just funny that I read about that somewhere, in the last couple weeks, and then it shows up here.  I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night sometime soon remembering where I read it.
> 
> It mentioned that they were playing in Georgetown, and that is where they met up with John Denver and shared the song with him.  That's why I was thinking it was a local publication.
> 
> At some point, way back, the motto of West Virginia was "Wild & Wonderful."  Not sure when they adopted "Almost Heaven."



Was this it? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Me_Home,_Country_Roads


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 5, 2009)

*Somewhere ?*




T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Brudda Iz


Is he the late lamented Hawaiian singer who recorded that fresh & captivating version of _Somewhere Over The Rainbow_ with simple ukulele accompaniment ? 

Great tune.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## wackymother (Mar 5, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> Is he the late lamented Hawaiian singer who recorded that fresh & captivating version of _Somewhere Over The Rainbow_ with simple ukulele accompaniment ?
> 
> Great tune.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Yes, that's him.


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## sstamm (Mar 5, 2009)

wackymother said:


> Was this it?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Me_Home,_Country_Roads



No, I'm quite sure I read it in a newspaper or magazine, but the story is nearly the same as it is related there.  The one I read mentioned the connection to the Starland Vocal Band, which I otherwise would not have known.  But that Wiki article was a help.  When I looked at the references at the bottom of the Wiki entry, it cites a radio interview where they talked about a specific road in the Maryland county where I live.  I remember that being talked about in the article I read.  So I must have read it in one of our local publications or the Washington Post.  Boy, my short-term memory is NOT what it used to be!!

Thanks for the help!!


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 5, 2009)

sstamm said:


> Somewhere recently (can't remember where) I read about the origins of this song.  Apparently it was originally inspired by a drive through the Maryland countryside, not West Virginia, and was later shared with John Denver.
> 
> As a West Virginia University alumna, I found that very interesting.  I was a WVU student in 1980 when John Denver appeared and performed the song at the opening of the new Mountaineer Field.  Not that I was a huge fan of the song, but it really was an amazing and moving experience.  To this day, that is what I think of when I hear the song.
> 
> Alan, collector of music knowledge that you are, maybe you already knew that information?  If you read it recently, maybe you can share where you read it, because it is bugging me that I can't remember.  It was an anecdote shared by the guy from Starland Vocal band that wrote the initial lyrics to the song.  Maybe the Washington Post magazine?



See this link for Reviews of Take Me Home, Country Roads

Scroll down and you'll find  this..."Although familiar with the Denver hit, he was unaware of the source as he drew. His artistic intuition compelled him to interpret the lyrics in this way. In actuality, "Country Roads" was inspired by a drive to a family gathering taken by friends of Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. They literally composed the beginnings of the piece as they traveled through the hills of Western Maryland. Later, the couple invited Denver to help finish the song, and soon it was done - and transported to West Virginia.

There can be no finer legacy than to have one's art shared with generations to come. That's exactly what this charming picture book accomplishes. Denver would be pleased. "

and see this link for more info about the origins of the song Take Me Home, Country Roads


Richard


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 6, 2009)

*West Virginia, Western Maryland -- Mox Nix.*




MULTIZ321 said:


> In actuality, "Country Roads" was inspired by a drive to a family gathering taken by friends of Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert. They literally composed the beginnings of the piece as they traveled through the hills of Western Maryland. Later, the couple invited Denver to help finish the song, and soon it was done - and transported to West Virginia.


Western Maryland is a slim sliver of geography narrowly perched in between Pennsylvania on the north & West Virginia on the south. Think Cumberland & Frostburg. 

The region has some spectacular eastern mountain vistas just like West Virginia's, so it's not that much of a stretch for the western Maryland panoramas to inspire a tune about West Virginia. 

It's not like Bill & Taffy Danoff were driving through scenic New Mexico when they were struck by the idea.

Culturally & geographically, it's a long way from Oakland MD to Berlin MD. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## easyrider (Mar 6, 2009)

pjrose said:


> Donna Summers?  Richard Harris!  And it wasn't REALLY about cake....or maybe I'm just tired and I missed something up above?



Donna Summers is the only version I remember. The girls really liked this record including my wife.  The record was a big hit in 1978 and played at all the discos. After reading the lyrics Im not sure what melting cake is or losing the recipe means but when played loud in a disco, its not so bad.

By the way... Disco Sucks.


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 6, 2009)

*For Sure.*




easyrider said:


> Disco Sucks.


 *. . .* canal water. 

Even so, a few tunes in that category were pretty good *. . .* 

_T. S. O. P._ by M. F. S. B. -- disco with a touch of Soul Train. 

_Spring Rain_ by Silvetti -- as disco as you can get. 

_Twilight Zone / Twilight Tone_ by Manhattan Transfer -- plenty disco. 

_Magic Bird Of Fire_ by The Salsoul Orchestra -- ripping off Igor Stravinsky, disco style. 

Plus, those disco-style novelty versions of _Star Wars,_ etc., by Meco were fun tunes as well. 

Meco Monardo, BTW, played trombone, attended Eastman School Of Music with Chuck Mangione, joined the army & was in the U.S. Military Academy Band, West Point NY.  If Wikipedia is to be believed, "According to Meco, 'When disco was new, it was fresh & exciting because it was different. But pretty soon it became too cookie-cutter & wore itself out.' He temporarily left the music industry in 1985. After 3 years of 'doing nothing but playing golf' he started to work as a commodity broker in Florida."  So it goes. 

Disco caught on so quick & spread so far & so fast that it burnt out fast from sheer overexposure.  So even though _Disco Sux Eggs_ for sure, it was fun while it lasted. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 6, 2009)

I track disco back to the mid-60's with James Brown.  I've got some of his albums from that era where he's vocalizing about disco. 

By the time disco hit big time it had changed quite a bit; wasn't nearly as "earthy", shall we say, as the Godfather did it.  Of course, the James Brown stuff is classic; still sounds great 40 years later.


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## easyrider (Mar 6, 2009)

*SUPER FREAK--- I still like it !!!*



T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I track disco back to the mid-60's with James Brown.  I've got some of his albums from that era where he's vocalizing about disco.
> 
> By the time disco hit big time it had changed quite a bit; wasn't nearly as "earthy", shall we say, as the Godfather did it.  Of course, the James Brown stuff is classic; still sounds great 40 years later.



James Brown -- SUPER FREAK -- Holy Cow...... Im going to have to listen to this one now. Have you ever seen Dave Chapel do James Brown ?


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## AwayWeGo (Mar 6, 2009)

*Right Tune.  Wrong Soul Singer.*




easyrider said:


> James Brown -- SUPER FREAK


Rick James -- not that there's anything wrong with James Brown. 

Click here for the U-Tube version of Super Freak. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## easyrider (Mar 6, 2009)

I get those guys mixed up some times. James Brown-- I feel Fine ??


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## wackymother (Mar 6, 2009)

easyrider said:


> I get those guys mixed up some times. James Brown-- I feel Fine ??



"I feel GOOD!" Good!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzlpTRNIAvc


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 8, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> Western Maryland is a slim sliver of geography narrowly perched in between Pennsylvania on the north & West Virginia on the south. Think Cumberland & Frostburg.
> 
> The region has some spectacular eastern mountain vistas just like West Virginia's, so it's not that much of a stretch for the western Maryland panoramas to inspire a tune about West Virginia.
> 
> ...



Alan,

Looks like Bill & Taffy tied the knot.

Thanks for the Oakland MD to Berlin MD reference.

I had never really paid attention to western Maryland on a map, so I had to check it out on Google Maps.

Best regards,

Richard


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## EAM (Mar 8, 2009)

*For those who want more of the debate about "MacArthur Park"*

This web site http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1875 has many different opinions about that song.  I don't remember the Donna Summer version, just the one by Richard Harris.  

I thought it was about a guy who got high on his wedding day and his bride dumped him.  The wedding was supposed to be at MacArthur Park, which started "melting" as he started hallucinating and mixing metaphors.


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## easyrider (Mar 8, 2009)

When the gals were girls it was really something to watch them all wiggle around with big hair, short skirts and high heels. Thats the only thing I ever liked about disco and the song McAuther Park.


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## Rose Pink (Mar 8, 2009)

easyrider said:


> When the gals were girls it was really something to watch them all wiggle around with big hair, short skirts and high heels. Thats the only thing I ever liked about disco and the song McAuther Park.


 
Do you remember the disco roller skating craze?  Now that's dancing!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 8, 2009)

easyrider said:


> When the gals were girls it was really something to watch them all wiggle around with big hair, short skirts and high heels. Thats the only thing I ever liked about disco and the song McAuther Park.



Hey, thanks for reminding me about Pacific Southwest Airlines!!!


























Danger, Will Robinson!  Threat of imminent thread hijack!.


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## easyrider (Mar 9, 2009)

Didn't some girl get kicked off a flight for dressing like the above flight attendants ? If the uniforms make a comeback I might stay awake on future flights.


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## Mosca (Mar 9, 2009)

I've always loved the Roxy Music song "Three and Nine", but I never knew what the lyrics meant. They seemed to make sense, but in an obtuse way, as if there was some key that I didn't have:


You might remember
How it used to be
3 and 9 could show you
Any fantasy
Parti-coloured pictures
Now and then 3D
No cheap nostalgia
Conjured up by me
Back to the old days
Close to home
Show me some new ways
I'll carry on
Whether making out or played out
Three and nine make twelve
I've a dozen reasons
Lying on the shelf
B feature back rows
Filed away
No point pretending
Change is here to stay
3 and 9 to 45
Decimal romance
If you've warmed to centigrade
You stand a sporting chance
I'm not so special
You're a misfit too
Why must they interfere
In everything we do'
Should we play safe now
Or go all the way'
Six and two threes now
More I cannot say

Finally, I found someone who explained it to me. It makes sense, and it also comfirms my sense that this has always been one of those perfectly crafted puzzle songs that meant so little, and so much, both at the same time. Quoting the explanation I received,


"First things first: the three and nine are shillings and pence, respectively - the price of a cinema ticket in Ferry's youth, pre-Decimal Day (February 15th, 1971). The other three calculations in the song are liable to cause confusion, even among Roxy bibliographers, but they're really rather simple:

"The first - "three and nine make twelve" - is, obviously, simple addition. 3 + 9 = 12.

"The second - "three and nine to forty-five" - is phrased as if the forty-five signifies post-decimalisation pence (45p/£0.45), and many have mistakenly assumed so. However, three shillings and nine pence became, roughly, just nine pence (9p/£0.09) on Decimal Day. The forty-five is, in fact, merely the reduction of three shillings and nine pence to all pence, while remaining pre-decimalisation - three shillings, being thirty-six pence (twelve pence in a shilling), plus the nine pence = forty-five pence.

"The third is the truly remarkable one; the one that ties it all together. "Six and two threes now" is Ferry's alternative and altogether more lyrical expression of the phrase "six of one, half a dozen of the other". A very working-class, and now somewhat antiquated idiom, it means a situation in which the two matters at hand/possible outcomes are the same. A Catch-22, of sorts (more numbers!).

"So, a reflection upon decimalisation and young love becomes a wistful surrender to the inevitability of change and fate. One of the band's finest and most quietly complex moments, I reckon."

And it was wonderful for me to finally understand one of my most favorite songs.


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