Monthly Archives: March 2015

Reflection #8- Drugs

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When I first heard Ed Sheeran’s “A Team,” I was fifteen years old and a bit love drunk. I romanticized the words of the song, envisioning a woman in the clouds, “stuck in her daydream,” who had met her love and had “been this way since eighteen.” I along with many may have assumed her lover was a man, and were shocked to find that this love was actually crack cocaine.

Ed Sheeran is a lyrical genius, a master of subtleties and masking profound meanings behind upbeat tempos and ambiguous lyrics. I was a naive fifteen year old when I used to jam out to “A Team,” oblivious to the true meaning of lyrics such as “lately her face seems / slowly sinking, wasting / crumbling like pastries” and “sells her love to another man.” Instead I made this song my own, envisioning a woman losing interest in her lover rather than one crippled by addiction, forced to sell her body to keep her mind at bay. Lines such as “go mad for a couple grams” were completely lost to me.

I like to think of this song as a lyrical illusion, because like an optical illusion, once the true meaning was revealed, it became nearly impossible to perceive the song any other way. Ed Sheeran stated that his inspiration for “A Team” originated in what he saw after performing at a homeless shelter at eighteen years old. He chose to conceal the dark subject of the tune with a soft guitar and upbeat tempo, in the same way that the realities of addiction were hidden from him up until his experience at the shelter.

Maybe my relationship with “A Team” is illustrative of my resistance to growing up, but whenever I hear this song I wish I could reverse what I know about its meaning and still hear the lyrics as I did as a naive high schooler. Growing up and experiencing addiction through the eyes of a friend, however, has allowed me to appreciate this prime example of musical poetry in a completely different way.

Sony/ATV Music Publishing (Uk) Limited

lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/edsheeran/theateam.html

 

Reflection #7- Heartbreak

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Eli refused to let me write about “I Don’t Wanna Love Somebody Else,” so for our last reflection I have chosen “Already Home,” off of A Great Big World’s album Is There Anybody Out There? I’d recommend both of these songs, or any song off of Is Anybody Out There? not just because the songs themselves are great to listen to, but because writers Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino write most of their songs by themselves, which is particularly impressive.

This song describes a man who is struggling to keep a relationship, weakened by time and distance, alive. He describes the difficulties surrounding a long distance relationship, and trying to persuade his partner that these difficulties are worth it. Music is oftentimes ambiguous and difficult to interpret, but “Already Home” is a raw plea by a desperate lover, easily seen as a one sided conversation on why their relationship is worth it. “Already Home” begins with a quiet piano, slowly building with the entrances of singers Ian Axel and Chad Vaccarino. The intensity of the bridge, marked by the crescendo of the percussion, is the most touching to me, because the real power is not in the drums, but the vocals when he expresses “Sometimes we just don’t get to choose … Promise you’ll wait for me / Wait til I’m home.” The song revolves around the fact that the lover is “already home,” demonstrating that even though he is away, the man is with her in spirit.

Although “Say Something” is the most well known song off of this album, “Already Home” is without a doubt one of my favorite tunes by A Great Big World. I was first introduced to this song in the beginning of the fall semester, a few days after moving to Stony Brook. This song struck a particular chord with me, because although I don’t live too far from New York City (ahem), moving away certainly did put a strain on some of my relationships back in Jersey. At the time I was home sick and worried that I would lose the people I was once close to, so my favorite line was “When you’re scared and alone and alone / just know that I’m already home,” because I know that the people that matter the most will be there for me, regardless of the distance.

Ian Axel Music, Chad Vaccarino Publishing, Sweetrock

lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/greatbigworld/alreadyhome.html

Reflection #6- “Sugar” by Maroon 5

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My cousin Michelle is a self professed hopeless romantic, so when she told me that “Sugar” by Maroon 5 was her current personal anthem, I wasn’t entirely surprised. She had little to say about the instrumentation of the song, or even the meaning of the lyrics- to her, the infectious beat was enough to keep her hooked.

Another interesting aspect of “Sugar” is the story behind the music video. The band’s lead singer, Adam Levine, opens the video with “December 6, 2014- we’re going to drive across LA and hit every wedding we can- GO.” And they do just that. While the authenticity of the video is questionable, it is undoubtable that at least one of the reactions was genuine. Upon further inspection, we discovered that at least two of the wedding crashes are authentic, as the band’s appearance was described as the “ultimate surprise” by two wedding photographers.

This new presentation of facts led to my cousin describing how at her perfect wedding. She doesn’t necessarily need a world-renowned band to make her wedding special. In reality, she hopes to have someone “sweet as can be,” to keep being sweet towards her and her sons for the rest of their lives. Knowing that she is marrying that guy is blissful enough for her.

While “Sugar” isn’t one of Maroon 5’s most well known songs, it’s music video certainly makes it one of their most interesting feats. Michelle says that if you’re a hopeless romantic like her that giving it a listen can’t hurt!

Writer(s): Mike Posner, Jacob Kasher Hindlin
Copyright: Sony/ATV Tunes LLC, North Greenway Productions

lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/maroon5/sugar.html

 

Reflection #5: A Misleading Song

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When I first met Eli on move in day I thought he was a nice, quiet kid. By the third day I realized how wrong I was- he’s a quirky guy with a big personality. When he told me he liked to write songs, I asked him to send me a video of one of his performances, but admittedly I didn’t have any expectations for his writing abilities. I have friends from high school who are similarly interested in songwriting, but my interest in their songs was more for support rather than genuine enjoyment. When Eli sent me “You’re Too Old to Play with Dolls” I looked at the title and laughed, thinking this was another coming of age song in C Major. Within 30 seconds I realized how wrong I was, again.

Without listening to the lyrics, the strong piano coupled with the voice of the singer alone are enough to hook any listener. However, when you listen closer the lyrics reveal a deeper, more captivating story that describes a boy who hopes to help an unnamed friend struggling with depression.

My favorite part of “You’re Too Old” is that Eli describes the friend’s troubles very well, employing imagery to paint a picture of her struggles in our head- my favorite line is when he writes “Cause you’re going in circles like a merry-go-round/And there’s no way off, no turning around.” Additionally, although the song describes the friend’s painful reality, the song is overall very encouraging. The narrator acknowledges “the start’s the hardest part,” but insists that “something will change.” As the song progresses, the role of the narrator in his friend’s rehabilitation grows clearer as the first chorus changes from “you’ll find a way out someday” to “we’ll find our way out,” ending with “together we can make a new day.”

This song surprised me in multiple ways. I was initially taken aback by the fact that a goofy kid like Eli would write such a meaningful song. Additionally, after hearing the first verse I immediately jumped to the conclusion that this song would have a gloomy ending. However, the song closes with the extremely satisfying line “because together we can make a new day.” The lyrics are additionally adaptable to the listener’s preference- although the song’s message is straightforward, the ambiguity of who is telling the story and who the song is about allows the listener to determine if this is a love song or a song about two friends.This song taught me to never underestimate the talents of those around you, because those secret knacks can really blow you away.

When I asked Eli why he chose the title “You’re Too Old to Play With Dolls” I expected a profound answer, but once again I was misled: “I enjoy picking stupid titles because it makes the song in comparison that much better.”

lyrics:

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