Comments on: When The Words And Music DON’T Match… Sometimes It’s Great https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/ Songwriter, Producer, and Coach, based in New York City. Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:40:26 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Shane Michael Allan LeRoy Lorenz https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6601 Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:40:26 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6601 Its funny I cant find no song of any kind that when you read the lyrics they match what is song.Or missing words that are song but not contained in the lyrics.Many will come in my name,becareful and test all the spirits.

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6600 Tue, 07 Aug 2018 18:59:53 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6600 In reply to Chris West.

Right!
Thanks,
Tony

]]> By: Chris West https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6599 Sun, 14 Aug 2016 01:49:44 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6599 Suzanne Vega’s “Luka” has this wonderful bouncy feel… and “They only hit until you cry”.

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6598 Fri, 20 Mar 2015 04:03:03 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6598 In reply to Matt D.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Matt!
I love Alone Again… You’re right; it’s not a total contrast. The music always felt very melancholy to me, even before I noticed the words. But the lyric is goes a lot darker than the music. It was a bit of a shock for such a big hit. Also, it feels very ‘ballady’ but isn’t really that slow – another contrast/paradox.
Best wishes,
Tony

]]> By: Matt D https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6597 Thu, 12 Mar 2015 16:16:25 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6597 Hey Ya is a good example, I think. The initial verses are quite sad. (The second half of the song, not so much.)

I recall Aimee Mann talked about this once. She specifically mentioned Alone Again Naturally as opening her eyes to the idea of using lighter music with heavy lyrics. Like that song I don’t think she goes for a 100% contrast between the two but she does have a lot of catchy songs that happen to be about codependency, despair, or addiction.

Enjoying your blog!

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6595 Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:37:53 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6595 In reply to Christopher Gansky.

Chris,
You’re right; WZ was definitely a practitioner of this – it was part of his style.
I will look into the Yo La Tengo version!
Best wishes,
Tony

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6594 Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:35:21 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6594 In reply to Michael Paumgardhen.

Michael,
Thanks for your thoughts. Similarly to what I mentioned to Rob above, ‘Saving All My Love’ seems like it may have more of a lyric switch-up/surprise than a dichotomy between music and words.
Great to hear from you,
TC

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6593 Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:32:54 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6593 In reply to Rob Mounsey.

Thanks, Rob.
I’m familiar with the Sinatra ballad version which, though it has the twist of the lyric starting out sounding like a positive love song and turning out to be one of loss, seems to me to be more ‘sad music/sad lyric’ than ‘happy music/sad lyric’. Maybe there are uptempo versions which have a different effect?
Thanks for reading and commenting!
TC

]]> By: Michael Paumgardhen https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6592 Mon, 02 Mar 2015 22:27:30 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6592 “Saving all my love for you”. A beautiful love song; but the one she is saving all her love for is married to another!

]]> By: Rob Mounsey https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6591 Mon, 02 Mar 2015 15:56:26 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6591 “This Love of Mine”

]]> By: Christopher Gansky https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6590 Sat, 28 Feb 2015 00:48:17 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6590 I think Warren Zevon specialized in this kind of song, with “Werewolves of London” being the biggest hit. I also like “Excitable Boy.” On “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” the Beatles went from ‘I wanna hold your hand’ to ‘I wanna bash your skull in’.

In case you haven’t heard it, Yo La Tengo did a nice remake of “Here Comes My Baby” on their “Fakebook” album.

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6589 Fri, 27 Feb 2015 14:08:50 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6589 In reply to Tres Jordan.

Tres,
Annie, great singer and writer that she is, is good at having more than one layer going on. Thanks for pointing this out.
Best wishes,
Tony

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6588 Fri, 27 Feb 2015 14:07:20 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6588 In reply to Ken Dow.

Ken,
Much as I love Alone Again – and I do – to me the music also feels melancholy… though nowhere near as dark as the lyric. Great song!
Thanks for writing,
Tony

]]> By: Tony Conniff https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6587 Fri, 27 Feb 2015 14:05:48 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6587 In reply to Galen Brandt.

Thanks, Galen. Good examples!
Love,
TC

]]> By: Tres Jordan https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6586 Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:47:04 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6586 My fave is ” Bitter ” by Annie Lennox … It a funky dance tune yet she is singing about hate and vengance and to top it off there is a coda in the middle where she keeps going up in register and then comes down again.
There are a couple more on ” Bare” like that as she recorded it after her divorce. Lol

]]> By: Ken Dow https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6585 Thu, 26 Feb 2015 01:27:15 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6585 To me, the ultimate example of this type of song is Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)”.

]]> By: Galen Brandt https://tonyconniff.com/when-the-words-and-music-dont-match-sometimes-its-great/#comment-6584 Wed, 25 Feb 2015 17:08:05 +0000 http://tonyconniff.com/?p=2195#comment-6584 The great classic “More Than You Know” springs immediately to mind (one of the reasons I’ve always loved singing it). Yes, it’s wistful, but major — she loves him more than he knows, and then: “Oh how I’d cry/Oh how I’d sigh/If you got tired and said goodbye/More than I’d show/More than you’ll ever know.” Also “Tears of a Clown” — that jaunty little figure — though of course the title says it all….

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