The Love Song (Part 2)

I wanted to keep the same theme as yesterday but try something a little different. I present another two examples, side by side, this time both sung by women. Many will probably recognise the first, "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen; the other is Andy Moor's "She Moves" with vocals by Carrie Skipper.

CALL ME MAYBE	SHE MOVES
I threw a wish in the well Don't ask me, I'll never tell I looked to you as it fell And now you're in my way I'd trade my soul for a wish Pennies and dimes for a kiss I wasn't looking for this But now you're in my way Your stare was holdin' Ripped jeans, skin was showin' Hot night, wind was blowin' Where you think you're going, baby?	Sometimes you’re lost You find you’re on your own When you look and see the life that you could lead She won’t let you down She’ll show you how to love And she’ll take away the world that you believed So take those fears away And live just for today Open up and let your love shine through She might never know If you don’t ever show her You’ve got to show her how good it feels

Jepsen's song falls into the category I mentioned yesterday of "chance/fated romance." This already turns me off because it's an oversimplification. Instead of being based on deep-rooted feelings, these songs are all about impulse. I realise a song about building a relationship might not always be interesting, and most people can make a connection to this "in the moment" feelings. But their love, like this music, is fleeting. These kinds of situations aren't about lasting feelings; they're now, they're quick, they're accessible.
The way Jepsen uses "you" is very specific, just like in "Boyfriend," and again it's catering to a listener. They want someone to hear the song and feel like they're being spoken to. "You" in the other song, however, is used in a completely different way. "You" is "me." Consider this:

• Jepsen is singing to a guy > guy listens to the song and falls in love. Two people.
• Skipper is singing to someone > I'm that someone > but I'm in love with someone. Two people, three voices.

This song is presented more as an inner conversation. This puts me in the song, rather than as a receiver. And I'm being asked to look deep within myself for answers. This isn't chance, I have to work for it, "you've got to show her how good it feels" because "she might never know." I'm an active participant in the song and I have a responsibility.

CALL ME MAYBE (chorus)	SHE MOVES (chorus)
Hey, I just met you And this is crazy But here's my number So call me, maybe? It's hard to look right At you baby But here's my number So call me, maybe? And all the other boys Try to chase me But here's my number So call me, maybe?	Don’t be shy Cause she looks to you And you’ll find She moves Don’t be shy Cause she looks to you And you’ll find She’s drawn to you

"She Moves" is a song about self-confidence and believing in your love enough to make it work. "Call Me Maybe" is flippant; supposedly she's absolutely taken by this guy, but off-handedly asks him to call her...but if you don't, whatever. That's leaving a lot to chance. Carrie Skipper is much more assertive in her tone. Jepsen relies on cheap tricks to draw her catch in, saying that boys are constantly after her, and that this guy should be lucky she's interested in him and needs to make his move fast. On the other hand, it feels like Skipper is that little push to take the first step forward and own the situation. One is playing mind games, the other gets in your mind and plants an idea.

CALL ME MAYBE	SHE MOVES
You took your time with the call I took no time with the fall You gave me nothing at all But still, you're in my way I beg, and borrow and steal Have foresight and it's real I didn't know I would feel it But it's in my way Before you came into my life I missed you so bad And you should know that I missed you so, so bad	Sometimes you’re torn And you are broken And it takes a lot to get back on your feet But in your heart She gives you that feeling And it pushes you to where you want to be So take those fears away And live just for today Open up and let your love shine through Cause she might never know If you don’t ever show her You’ve got to show her how good it feels

I'm really lost with the rest of "Call me Maybe." The first part of the song is so literal that this part just sounds really hokey. The steal/real/feel rhyming triplet feels incredibly forced, especially the word "foresight." And the part about missing someone before they came into her life isn't intrinsically bad, but again it's out of place. I get the sense that whoever wrote the song wanted to create this powerful feeling in the bridge to leave the listener with a sense that this chance encounter really is magical and the only way you can describe it is with this oxymoronic lyric.
I feel very empowered by "She Moves." There is still a sense of taking a chance (you might never know/if you don't ever show her) but it feels like there's a risk involved, or that there's more to it than impulse. There is a steady encouragement throughout the song that keeps the composer-listener grounded. It's like it's not all in your head, and the singer has your back.

This is just a brief look at what lyrically interests me in a so-called "love song." "Call Me Maybe" and "Boyfriend" were both chosen because they're on the radio a lot, so they were two of the first songs that came to mind when I wanted to illustrate my point. I'm not trying to say this music is bad just because it's on the radio, or even that it's bad period. My point is to demonstrate using a small sample that these are the kinds of songs about love that show up on the radio and this is typically how pop serenades are written. The other pieces were specifically chosen to represent my interests in lyrics and are not strictly meant to be "better." The idea was to pick similar but contrasting songs that (a) represent my taste in music and (b) show there is another angle to writing love songs than how is usually presented in popular music.

The Love Song (Part 1)

The radio has been on a lot at work lately. This has given me the opportunity to hear the latest hit songs several times a day. Rather than completely tune them out, I decided to figure out what exactly it is that I don't like about them. These "top of the pops" are usually described as being repetitive, unimaginative, vapid and stale. I agree that there are a lot of bad songs on the radio, but I knew there had to be something specifically that got to me. After all, I'll admit that a lot of the music is pretty catchy. Whoever is writing them knows how to get under your skin.

In the end it largely came down to lyrics. I can't blame them for being formulaic. Everyone writes songs verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus. Most of the songs written by my favourite bands do that and I won't discount their music on that alone. After all, it's what you do with the formula that is important.

I noticed most of the hit songs are, in one way or another, love songs. Not ballads, but certainly songs about romantic feelings. I don't have a problem with that. After all, most people fall in love, most people encounter strange feelings they don't know how to process, and most people are comforted by these songs because it helps them not feel alone. Writing about love is easy for musicians because it's a very relatable topic, and it's something that goes on all the time (love songs encompass both in love and out of love). I don't have a problem with that. HIM has been writing love songs for 15 years and I still listen to them.

I listened more closely and finally found the difference. The pop songs typically describe: love at first sight (ostensibly, though I would say lust is more accurate), fated love/chance encounters, serenading a woman. These songs can't appeal to me because I'm not the target. I can't get inside of these songs because they really don't describe their feelings, apart from superficial statements like "you make me feel so good" or "I'm crazy about you." I want to hear a love song that puts me in the composer's head. When I hear the lyrics I want to feel like that's me saying them. If the whole song is just describing a beautiful woman, or talking about meeting and dancing in the club, I'm missing out because the point is for a woman to hear the song and feel like someone is talking about her. If the lyrics actually detail what the lovestruck individual is feeling, that's the one for me.

Let's compare two songs to illustrate my point. Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" and "Right Here in My Arms" by HIM. Both have two verses and a chorus. Both talk about wanting to be with someone. Here are the first verses side by side

BOYFRIEND	RIGHT HERE IN MY ARMS
If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go I can take you places you ain't never been before Baby take a chance or you'll never ever ever know I got money in my hands that I'd really like to blow Swag swag swag, on you Chillin by the fire while we eatin' fondue I dunno about me but I know about you So say hello to falsetto in three two swag	She is smiling like heaven's down on earth Sun is shining so bright it hurts All her wishes have finally come true Her heart is weeping, happiness is killing her It's 'cause she's in love

Bieber's song has an audience, literally. He is singing to someone (possibly undefined, but there is for a person). This is meant for a girl to listen to the song and feel like Justin is singing to her. She can understand from this first verse that Justin not only wants to be her boyfriend, but will take care of her with his money and spend quality time with her. This doesn't really tell me anything about how he feels, though. I can't get inside his mind and find out what's going on. Why does he want to be with her? What is it about her that makes him want to decorate her with swag?
On the other hand, with HIM, I'm hit right away. The simple act of this woman smiling feels like heaven on earth. I can feel that. I can put myself in his shoes and see her smiling and know what it feels like. And not only that, but it's so magnificent it hurts. The rest of the verse is also less literal than Bieber's song. Instead of being the lowdown on their fondue activities, I have to insert myself into this situation and figure out in my head how this happiness could be killing her. What have I done? That it is not very specific allows me to replace myself with the singer and become a composer-listener.

BOYFRIEND (chorus)	RIGHT HERE IN MY ARMS (chorus)
I'd like to be everything you want Hey girl, let me talk to you If I was your boyfriend, never let you go Keep you on my arm girl, you'd never be alone I can be a gentleman, anything you want If I was your boyfriend, I'd never let you go	She'll be right here in my arms So in love She'll be right here in these arms She can't let go

The choruses are remarkably similar and dissimilar. Bieber says he'll "never let you go" but HIM says "she can't let go." The difference in tone is very telling. There is this overwhelming passion in HIM's chorus, that she is so in love that she couldn't possibly let go. I can picture her holding onto him for dear life. There's an implied commitment, an incredible bond between the two, whereas Bieber is trying to prove to her that she shouldn't be wary--this coming after his first verse where he tells her, "Baby, take a chance." Bieber uses a more possessive language, by "keep"ing her on his arm. HIM has a much simpler tone; he's not holding onto her, or keeping her; he's letting her come to him, right into his arms.

BOYFRIEND

RIGHT HERE IN MY ARMS

Tell me what you like yeah tell me what you don't I could be your Buzz Lightyear fly across the globe I don't never wanna fight yeah, you already know Imma make you shine bright like you're laying in the snow Burr Girlfriend, girlfriend, you could be my girlfriend You could be my girlfriend until the world ends Make you dance do a spin and a twirl and Voice goin crazy on this hook like a whirl wind

So hard she's trying But her heart won't turn to stone, oh no She keeps on crying But I won't leave her alone She'll never be alone

Again, Justin is really trying to appeal to this girl. But he's just describing things he would do. I don't get a sense of his feelings, or if she has any feelings for him. I'm not even sure he really knows her, since he asks her to "tell [him] what you like yeah tell [him] what you don't." He is still very much a child, and this is reflected in the puppy love he's talking about.
HIM's second verse is much more mysterious. There's power in succinctness. He doesn't have to make her promises to take her anywhere or buy her things or change himself. He just vows that he'll always be there for her. It also sounds like a much more complicated relationship than at first. She is apparently experiencing heartache and trying to numb herself to the pain. But again, it's left to me to fill in the blanks and recreate the situation for myself. And not to say that Bieber's feelings of attractions aren't real or valid, but for me, they oversimplify the situation. In HIM's song it feels like a much more mature and realistic depiction of a relationship, and it feels like it's mine because the way it's written it's passed through me.

I'll be back tomorrow with another two songs up for side-by-side comparison. Stay tuned!