The holiday season music has brought my favorite holiday song into my stream.
Here’s Bob Rivers with “Walking Round in Women’s Underwear”, a light parody.
Tuesday’s Theme Music
Today’s song emerges from the country-rock genre (crock?) and the mists of 1973. 1973 was a good year and a bad year, a memorable year and a forgettable year, a year of tests and trials and learning, and a year of growing, wondering, coping with hormones, and passing days doin’ nothin’. I was seventeen for ’bout half of the year, and sixteen for the other half.
“Amie”, by Pure Prairie League, is a light melody with folkish overtones. The lyrics are easy to hear, learn, and remember. It’s a good song to sing to your floofs, should you feel a need to sing to them.
As always, the lyrics catch me. When hearing the song, you might think, this is about the singer trying to woe Amie. It’s not. This is about the man’s ambivalence about his relationship with Amie, and her decision to move on. Meanwhile, he laments that she’s taking so long to decide. The decision’s been made, dude.
Don’t you think the time is right for us to find
All the things we thought weren’t proper could be right in time?
And can you see which way we should turn, together or alone?
I can never see what’s right or what is wrong
Oh, you take too long
Read more: Pure Prairie League – Amie Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Most telling is at the end, as he sings, “I keep falling in and out of love with you.” Amie knows this, and she’s tired of it. That’s why he’s asking, “Aime, what you wanna do?” He’s in full denial and full of hope.
She is not.
NOTE: This analysis is my own. As with anything I say or write, it could be complete bullshit. Just think of it as Schrödinger’s bullshit.
Monday’s Theme Music
Well, it’s a typical lament, innit? “I wish I knew then what I know now, when I was younger.”
Seems like my mind is in a folk-rock (should that be called frock? No?) disposition from its recent streamings. Croce, Fogerty (and I’ve been streaming CCR), and now some Faces. Here’s a 1973 gem, “Ooh La La). Love the piano playing on this.
Sunday’s Theme Music
This one comes via another blog’s memory prompt. Jill Dennison posted “Photographs and Memories” the other day. It brought back a sharp memory of hearing that song. I was driving in my forest green 1965 Mercury Comet sedan. I’d graduated earlier that year, 1974, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and was waiting to leave for basic training. But that day, I was driving my girl friend home on a sunny fall day. Two years later, when I was stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, I married her. We remained married forty-three years later.
Funny what a song can bring to mind.
Saturday’s Theme Music
Walking along in damp and chilly sunlit air, my writing energies bubbled up. I was ready to write. From that streamed the phrases, “Put me in, coach, I’m ready to write today.” That’s a twist on the John Fogerty song, “Centerfield” from the album with the same name (1985). The song has become a baseball stadium mainstay in America. At least one major league player has complained about hearing it so often.
“Don’t say it ain’t so, you know the time is now.”
Black Friday’s Theme Music
Black Friday began a few weeks ago. I received word on a Tuesday when a mailer arrived announcing that every Friday was Black Friday was Black Friday. Others didn’t start Black Friday until Wednesday or Thursday, but many vowed to continue it until January 1, with one chain declaring that every day is Black Friday.
For some reason, all this Black Friday chatter delivered Steely Dan performing “Black Friday” (1975) to my theme song stream. Steely Dan’s version of the day is much different than the buying extravaganza of this year. Steely Dan’s song relates more to the Black Fridays of financial and social collapse.
Think of Black Friday as you will.
Thanksgiving Theme Music
A little humor, a little Arlo Guthrie, a little Thanksgiving Thursday throwback theme tune. Pretty good alliteration, doncha’ think?
“Alice’s Restaurant” (1967).
Wednesday’s Theme Music
This isn’t and wasn’t my preferred listening music. I blame it on the modern office environment where people listen to their own music. They generally need to keep the volume turned down or wear headphones because they’re working in cubicles. I was fortunate because I had an office, so my music was a bit louder. However, I’d walk out, and here is this song playing. Then, hearing it, I said, “What’s that?”
Responding, the music was turned up, and people began doing the dance. This was 1996 in America, people. The song is a little ditty called “Macarana” (Bayside Boys). The song was sweeping the world, even making it to the Democratic National Convention, where Al Gore joked about it.
These things sometimes happen. Nothing wrong with the song, but it’s not to my taste. But, it’s in my stream today, and I need to get it out.
Over to you.
Monday’s Theme Music
For no particular reason other than that I like this song, I was just streaming this and singing it aloud while I was doing things in the house the other day, and thought I’d put it up as today’s theme music.
Here’s Chris Rea’s “Road to Hell” (1989).
Friday’s Theme Music
Good morning. Welcome to the latest edition of Overthinking Song Lyrics.
Today’s show is about the Alicia Keys’ song, “Girl On Fire” (2012).
Alicia Keys is a remarkable talent, and we enjoy her many songs and skills here at the Overthinking Institute. To be fair, she’s one of three co-writers on the song, the others being Jeff Bhasker and Salaam Remi. We’d be remiss to not mention that Billy Squier has a writing credit on the song, as it’s based in some aspects on a previous song that he wrote.
The following verses trouble us at the Overthinking Institute:
She got both feet on the ground
And she’s burning it down
Ohhhh oh oh oh oh
She got her head in the clouds
And she’s not backing down
This girl is on fire
Read more: Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire Lyrics | MetroLyrics
To us, if she has both feet on the ground, what is she burning down? One would presume she’s burning down the ground that she stands upon. Indeed, if that’s the case, it’s no wonder she’s on fire. One must also ask, can you burn the ground down?
But to continue, having her head in the clouds brings to thought a person who’s not engaged with reality. It’s then disturbing that she’s not backing down, burning it down, and she’s on fire. I worry for her state of mind.
“Girl On Fire” achieved notable success and critical claim, and is a quite memorable ballad. Nevertheless, these seem like some troubling lyrics. Our colleagues over at the Just Get Over It Institute tell us to just get over it.
You tell us: are we making too much of this here at Overthinking?
Good day.
