Teaching the Meaning of Lyrics
Vedder has produced some powerful lyrics in his time
So what makes the lyrics so good? I’ll save the interpretation for another post because the question I want to ask is, are we aware of what we are listening to? As a teacher/parent, are we aware of the lyrics our kids might be singing along to?
If you think this doesn’t matter and you “just like the tune” ask yourself if you would be okay if your ten year old was singing along to the latest Bruno Mars single being overplayed on the radio.
Ooh I got a body full of liquor
With a cocaine kicker
And I’m feeling like I’m thirty feet tall
So lay it down, lay it downYou got your legs up in the sky
With the devil in your eyes
Let me hear you say you want it all
Say it now, say it nowOoh, yeah
You and me baby making love like gorillas
Maybe he’s making some deep commentary on an overly sexualized culture but one thing this guy does well is write a catchy tune. The point is we need to take a moment to listen to what musicians are trying to say. If we listen without reflection we are being passive the same as if we watch mindless tv reality shows or most other main network shows for that matter.
You might now think that kids can really engage with what they are listening to but last year I did a project with Grade 8s that had them choose a music video, analyze the lyrics and present to the class. I was amazed at what they came up with. I expected quite a few One Direction/Justin Bieber songs with shallow lyrics set to catchy music but what I got was a variety of deep, meaningful songs that kids wrestled with even if they did not fully understand them. This is now a staple exercise in class throughout the year. I love it when a plan comes together and exceeds expectations.
So listen to what your kids listen to. Be an active audience and teach your kids to do the same.
Here’s a new Coldplay song to chew on
The text is quite faint. Hard to read.
Good topic though. I always had an affinity to poetry because I grew up with REM as my favourite band. Michael Stipe’s abstract, poetic imagery stayed with me always, and thus drove me to poems, and the outskirts of the mainstream. I was just listening to Pearl Jam’s “Thumbing my Way,” the other day and have always loved those lyrics.
“I can’t see what’s next, from this lonely overpass
Hang my head and count my steps, as another car goes past
All the rusted signs we ignore throughout our lives
Choosing the shiny ones instead
I turned my back, now there’s no turning back
No matter how cold the winter, there’s a springtime ahead
I smile, but who am i kidding?
I’m just walking the miles, every once in a while i’ll get a ride
I’m thumbing my way back to heaven”