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What were those songs really about about....and do I really want to know?

melan8tr said:
melan8tr said:
I am surprised no one has brought up..the biggest mystery song of all-time..the most debated lyrics-and to this day the author won't divulge.....it's 10:30am. my time 6/24/2012...see who can figure this one out first, of course it's not that tuff...... I'll be back at 1:30pm

what song is it ????
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The author of you're so vain divulged it was about david Geffen, this is probably the second most mysterious song...also, maybe a little "Lucy In The Sky"

The song I am referring to is..........American Pie..there are websites devoted to deciphering this song and Don McClean still won't tell.
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I always Thought American Pie was about Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens plane crash and death. "The Day The Music Died"
 
I think it's biographical based on his life and his influences the time period of 1958 thru 1971 when it was released

he refers to 50's R&B
the day the music died - late 50's plane crash
unrequited love..well i know you're in love with him..i saw you dancing the gym, you both kicked off you shoes
his struggle with his religious beliefs --do you faith in god, the bible tells you so
moves into the 60's the jester played for the king and queen
the birds flew 8 miles high
Jumpin jack flash - stones
Sergents played a marching tune - beatles
helter skelter in a summer swelter - manson
a generation lost in space- man on the moon
i met a girl who sang the blues - she turned and went away--he moved in to the 70's the death of janis joplin

this is just my theory, it's biographical and if he divulged , he would have to name names...the websites that analyze the lyrics get too deep..looking back on his nostagia in 1971for the past 15 years
 
Is Steely Dan's Do it Again about gambling?
Is Steely Dan's Rikki Don't Lose That Number about a drug buy?
Is Debby Boone's You Light Up My Life about religion or was that just the way it was interpreted

I heard that Jim Lowe's Green Door was about a fraternity
 
>>Is Debby Boone's You Light Up My Life about religion or was that just the way it was interpreted>>

Debby Boone has said it was about god.
 
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Elton John's Crocodile Rock. "Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy..." Sounds like a statement mourning the gravitation of musical tastes away from status quo Rock 'n Roll to the more trendy sound of the so-called "British Invasion". But if I'm right, how do I reconcile the fact that Elton John is himself, a Brit? Mind boggling.
 
jfrancispastirchak said:
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Elton John's Crocodile Rock. "Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy..." Sounds like a statement mourning the gravitation of musical tastes away from status quo Rock 'n Roll to the more trendy sound of the so-called "British Invasion". But if I'm right, how do I reconcile the fact that Elton John is himself, a Brit? Mind boggling.
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Interesting point. But off the top of my head, I'd say that Elton John, as the singer/narrator of the story is "in character" and coming from an American perspective. The song has other American references, including "Chevy" which is a nameplate that's all but invisible in the UK. I've been going there regularly for over a dozen years and can't offhand remember ever seeing one. (Jeep Grand Cherokee is another story....you occasionally see one of those, along with a few Buicks, and plenty of Euro-version Fords).

Also, FWIW, my daughter has lived in London for ten years and is married to a Brit. He...my son-in-law...has pointed out to me that Brits in general don't exactly share Americans' fondness for 50s nostalgia. According to him, full recovery from World War II took a long time, and for many UK citizens viewed the 50s as a struggle, and were glad to see it end. The 60s, OTOH, were a happier time across the pond than here....not only with the fun of being "ground zero" for pop music, but also because they were relatively insulated from Vietnam, and the other social issues going on here.

So the point in this context is that "Crockodile Rock" pretty much had to be from an American point of view....regardless of who sang or wrote it. Perhaps the line about "Susie left for some foreign guy" was a little reference for the UK becoming the center of the pop music universe for a time after the first wave of the rock era ended.
 
cyberdad said:
jfrancispastirchak said:
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Elton John's Crocodile Rock. "Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy..." Sounds like a statement mourning the gravitation of musical tastes away from status quo Rock 'n Roll to the more trendy sound of the so-called "British Invasion". But if I'm right, how do I reconcile the fact that Elton John is himself, a Brit? Mind boggling.
Click to expand...

Interesting point. But off the top of my head, I'd say that Elton John, as the singer/narrator of the story is "in character" and coming from an American perspective. The song has other American references, including "Chevy" which is a nameplate that's all but invisible in the UK. I've been going there regularly for over a dozen years and can't offhand remember ever seeing one. (Jeep Grand Cherokee is another story....you occasionally see one of those, along with a few Buicks, and plenty of Euro-version Fords).

Also, FWIW, my daughter has lived in London for ten years and is married to a Brit. He...my son-in-law...has pointed out to me that Brits in general don't exactly share Americans' fondness for 50s nostalgia. According to him, full recovery from World War II took a long time, and for many UK citizens viewed the 50s as a struggle, and were glad to see it end. The 60s, OTOH, were a happier time across the pond than here....not only with the fun of being "ground zero" for pop music, but also because they were relatively insulated from Vietnam, and the other social issues going on here.

So the point in this context is that "Crockodile Rock" pretty much had to be from an American point of view....regardless of who sang or wrote it. Perhaps the line about "Susie left for some foreign guy" was a little reference for the UK becoming the center of the pop music universe for a time after the first wave of the rock era ended.
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Thanks for those intriguing insights! "Susie" must have been Elton's euphomism for the fickle "All American American girl". It all makes sense now; Elton John was indeed performing "in character".
 
jfrancispastirchak said:
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Elton John's Crocodile Rock. "Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy..." Sounds like a statement mourning the gravitation of musical tastes away from status quo Rock 'n Roll to the more trendy sound of the so-called "British Invasion". But if I'm right, how do I reconcile the fact that Elton John is himself, a Brit? Mind boggling.
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I was more curious about who is this "us"? Menage-a-trois? ;D
 
cyberdad said:
Also, FWIW, my daughter has lived in London for ten years and is married to a Brit. He...my son-in-law...has pointed out to me that Brits in general don't exactly share Americans' fondness for 50s nostalgia. According to him, full recovery from World War II took a long time, and for many UK citizens viewed the 50s as a struggle, and were glad to see it end. The 60s, OTOH, were a happier time across the pond than here....not only with the fun of being "ground zero" for pop music, but also because they were relatively insulated from Vietnam, and the other social issues going on here.
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Also worth noting: they didn't have "rock'n'roll" there. They only had "skiffle." ::)
 
firepoint525 said:
cyberdad said:
Also, FWIW, my daughter has lived in London for ten years and is married to a Brit. He...my son-in-law...has pointed out to me that Brits in general don't exactly share Americans' fondness for 50s nostalgia. According to him, full recovery from World War II took a long time, and for many UK citizens viewed the 50s as a struggle, and were glad to see it end. The 60s, OTOH, were a happier time across the pond than here....not only with the fun of being "ground zero" for pop music, but also because they were relatively insulated from Vietnam, and the other social issues going on here.
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Also worth noting: they didn't have "rock'n'roll" there. They only had "skiffle." ::)
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"Skiffle"? Leave it to the Brits! Thank goodness for American ingenuity and creativity!
Imagine the consequences had "skiffle" caught on here in the colonies-- "I Love Skiffle..." by Joan Jett? Or, "Skiffle is here to stay..."
 
firepoint525 said:
Or, "I just want to Skiffle all night, and party every day" by KISS! ;D
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And then there's Bob Seger, longing for "that Old Time Skiffle," and Mac Davis, who sang to country audiences in the early '80s, "Skiffle, I gave you all the best years of my life."
 
"Just Give Me Some of That Skiffle Music"-Chuck Berry
"Jailhouse Skiffle"-Elvis
"Skiffle Around the Clock"-Bill Haley

(Okay, I'll stop now.)
 
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