Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wilco: The Whole Love
Charlie said: I normally wait until the last line to “surprise” with my rating. Not this time. It is a definite promote it, a big time promote it. In fact, it is my favorite CD this year.
I don’t think it would work if I just listed the songs I like because, I like them all! Really, all of them.
Because of that, I am going to try to interpret one song on this album.
“One Sunday Morning (For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)” is my favorite song on the album. Before I even started to try to interpret the lyric meaning, the simple melody caught me. It was so simple yet it seems as if Tweedy added one extra note thus making is at the same time complex. I can’t explain it, but I can’t even hum along without the song in the background.
Beyond the simple yet complex melody there are heartbreaking lyrics. Tweedy is talking about a contentious relationship between a son and his father. “My father said what I had become/No one should be.” exemplifies how bad the connection has become. The problem stems from religion: “I said it's your God I don't believe in/No, your Bible can't be true” and the son is even somewhat happy when the father is gone.
The song could have looked only at the failed bond, but instead it goes much deeper. It was not who was right and who was wrong, like the melody, it seemed simple but at the same time was complex.
The lyrics continue with the son seeing his relationship with his father for what it was, complex, and the song ends where it began.
Here are the last three stanza of the song:
I don’t think it would work if I just listed the songs I like because, I like them all! Really, all of them.
Because of that, I am going to try to interpret one song on this album.
“One Sunday Morning (For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)” is my favorite song on the album. Before I even started to try to interpret the lyric meaning, the simple melody caught me. It was so simple yet it seems as if Tweedy added one extra note thus making is at the same time complex. I can’t explain it, but I can’t even hum along without the song in the background.
Beyond the simple yet complex melody there are heartbreaking lyrics. Tweedy is talking about a contentious relationship between a son and his father. “My father said what I had become/No one should be.” exemplifies how bad the connection has become. The problem stems from religion: “I said it's your God I don't believe in/No, your Bible can't be true” and the son is even somewhat happy when the father is gone.
The song could have looked only at the failed bond, but instead it goes much deeper. It was not who was right and who was wrong, like the melody, it seemed simple but at the same time was complex.
The lyrics continue with the son seeing his relationship with his father for what it was, complex, and the song ends where it began.
Here are the last three stanza of the song:
Something sad keeps movingIt song will be with me a long time.
So I wandered around.
I fell in love with the burden
Holding me down.
Bless my mind, I miss
Being told how to live.
What I learned without knowing
How much more I owe than I can give
This is how I tell it
Oh, but it's long.
One Sunday morning
One son is gone.
