Saturday, October 6, 2007

Who's Gonna Drive You Home Tonight?

The music group from some time ago named The Cars might have permanently disbanded. I'd like to think that some of those excellent musicians are now with another group or other groups. One of The Cars songs is called DRIVE. It's my favorite; it's most unusual. It is number 6 on my CD of their works. I've played it over and over. For years!


Here in brief is DRIVE's narrative (it is most unusual as it's totally devoid of swagger, bragging, self-promotion, criticism, judgment, seduction, dreaming, or energy purely for the sake of energy) which I will recount from the simple words of the song in order of delivery:


1. "Who's gonna tell you things aren't so great?"


2. "Who's gonna drive you home tonight?"


3. "Who's gonna hang it up....... when you call?"


4. "Who's gonna hold you down when you scream?


That last line is not delivered any stronger than the other lines; I've put it in red to help me make my main point which is that the young man deeply loves a young woman regardless of the fact she can feel nothing for him due to her obsession with 'staying out late,' living life as I imagine Brittany Spears has lived part of her life. 


Humility and self-abnegation seem almost entirely absent from present day pop music. You'd have to go back to Cole Porter to find such gentle humanity as present in DRIVE.


How I love that song. I suppose we all have, or have had, a very distant love unapproachable. If we had the habit of experiencing ONLY that form of love unattainable we'd need to check our priorities.


I'm a musical ignoramous, no kidding. For example, I can't remember if it was Cole Porter or Nat King Cole who wrote "I've got you..........under my skin."


So what song rockets YOU to the moon? Especially what 'odd' song does that for you?


Barry


http://journals.aol.com/bbartle3/Vengeance/


 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

 I always did and still do love that Byrds song, For Free,
I was standing on a noisy corner
Waiting for the walking green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet, for free

Everytime I see a street singer I hear this song.

              Julie

Anonymous said...

Sometimes you’re the tracks
Sometimes  you’re the train
Sometimes you’re the land
Sometimes you’re the grain
Sometimes you’re the roof
Sometimes you’re the rain
Sometimes the balm
Sometimes the pain

Ashes to Ashes
And dust to  dust
All men are made of the very same stuff
And it pleases me none
To tell you this truth
There’s never been a one
Who I loved as much as you

[If you want to hear the whole song, click on (or cut and paste)http://www.marcolmsted.com/blog/archives/00000456.php
and then click on "This Man True"

Anonymous said...

What an interesting question, I love music and there are songs that instantly take me back to some moment in my life. The "odd" song that really does it for me is "Building a Mystery" by Sarah McLachlan. If you want to listen to the song, just got to my journal; I've added it as background music.

You come out at night
That's when the energy comes
And the dark side's light
And the vampires roam
You strut your rasta wear
And your suicide poem
And a cross from a faith that died
Before Jesus came
You're building a mystery

You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls
You wear sandals in the snow
And a smile that won't wash away
Can you look out the window
Without your shadow getting in the way?

You're so beautiful
With an edge and charm
but so careful
When I'm in your arms

Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully

You woke up screaming aloud
A prayer from your secret god
You feed off our fears
And hold back your tears, oh
Give us a tantrum
And a know it all grin
Just when we need one
When the evening's thin

You're a beautiful
A beautiful fucked up man
You're setting up your
Razor wire shrine

Cause you're working
Building a mystery
Holding on and holding it in
Yeah you're working
Building a mystery
And choosing so carefully

You're building a mystery

I like your song choice. By the way, it's Cole Porter who wrote "I've got you under my skin." I believe that Nat King Cole recorded it at one time.--Sheria