Morning All!
Words . . . where would we be without them? I like to think I have a reasonably good vocabulary. I learned to talk before I could walk.
I wanted to talk about words today because I read an interesting article in the New York Times regarding song lyrics. It stated that three songs in the top ten had the . . . "f" word in them. Yes - THAT word. The word that gets everyone in a lather. Begins with f, ends in ck and has a u in there!
When we were on the radio we were very vigilaint to listen to the songs we picked, because we didn't want to have a song played on OUR show that contained any naughty words. You see, any mishap on those lines that gets reported to the FCC and is found to be correct results in a $25,000 fine per utterance not just for the station but for the presenter. Scary stuff indeed.
Now we have come a long way since The Rolling Stones had to change their lyrics to "Let's Spend The Night Together" whilst appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" to "Let's Spend Some Time Together" . . .deary me, how puritanical . . . people DO spend time together - none of us would be here otherwise!
Here's the band performing the same song on "Top of The Pops" in England that same year . . . the year I was born!
One thing we prided ourselves on when we did "The Nightclub featuring The Late English Breakfast" was our choice of songs. Quite simply our songs were for the more discerning listener. One such act, one whose lyrics, if you listen to them closely, told a story, were those of Billy Joel. He's someone who Linda got me into in quite a big way. I always enjoyed it when we played his music. Listen to them closely and they tell such wonderful stories. Take this song, "Allentown" -
Well we're living here in Allentown
And they're closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they're killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line.
Well our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers at the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow
And we're living here in Allentown.
But the restlessness was handed down
And it's getting very hard to stay
Well we're waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved.
So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron or coke,
Chromium steel.
And we're waiting here in Allentown.
But they've taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people crawled away
Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got.
If something happened on the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our face
Well I'm living here in Allentown
And it's hard to keep a good man down.
But I won't be getting up today
And it's getting very hard to stay.
And we're living here in Allentown."
My message today - you don't have to swear! You swear in songs for no real reason other than cheap publicity. If you use words well you'll create just as memorable a song . . .just like Billy Joel has done for many years.
Enjoy your music,
Eddie
