Welcome to the Room...Sara: Discussion
 

Okee, this is one of Stevie's famous "no love" songs...meaning, it gets no love!! I like it! I mean, it's no Rhiannon, Gypsy or Silver Springs, but it ain't WISYA either (THANK GOD!! LOL). I couldn't do a thread on WISYA, because it's MY "no love" song...I can't stand it...it's the ONLY FM/SN song I can't stand...which is a pretty good batting average, huh? LOL Anywho...

WTTRS is a cool song...it's catchy, it's real because she's writing about her life at the moment in time and I love when Lindsey sings "first cut is the deepest one of all", "for Scarlett" and "welcome"!! I think it's a pretty song, I like the melody. If I didn't know about Stevie's drug problems, I would look like this
---> "confused" in regards to the song, but it's good to know her background, it helps to understand the lyrics better.

So, whaddayathink about WTTRS? No haters here please!! LOL Just people who love the song...or like it alot. :)

The lyrics are... intriguing to say the least, especially at the beginning, but they paint a nice picture ("did I come here on my own?" is a very revealing verse), and despite the "80's" package and Stevie's vocals (which I really don't like in the whole album -- but then again, I can only hear her in four songs), I like the song. It's quite catchy, as ironic as it gets.


Song of the moment - Smile At You

I've always liked Welcome to the Room...Sara. I always thought it was quite obvious what the song was about, and I like the fact that she wrote a song about rehab. I don't think that's a very easy thing to do. I also enjoy Lindsey's background vocals, I love the lyrics, especially "when you hang up that phone, well you cease to exist," which is actually the only line I'm not too sure about the meaning. I THINK I know the meaning, but I could be wrong. It's actually strange, because ever since I found out how many people don't like this song, for a while when I played I would kind of feel embarassed and get the feeling like, "Everyone says this song sucks, I shouldn't like it this much." But I really don't care anymore...I think it's good, and I would still like to hear it live.

I actually sort of like this song, too. It's certainly not a favorite, but I like the meaning, and Stevie's choked-up fractured voice from that era makes her seems so vulnerable.

Sorcerer, as far as the line about hanging up the phone and ceasing to exist, I was discussing this with some other fans over on the BN board, and we kind of traced it to a quote from Stevie regarding Joe Walsh. Stevie said that Joe had actually said something of that same effect to her, only I think it was, "If you walk out that door you cease to exist."

I guess she is referencing that, which would be just like her!

-Sharon

I agree completely :nod:! I love this song, though I'm not crazy about WISYA. I love what Lindsey and Chris add to it. Their harmonies and that little instrumental melody (you just know it's Lindseys!) are so awesome (I just love when Lindsey sings "welcoooooome")...little touches like those, I've always thought, would have really enhanced many Stevie solo songs where it seemed like the production/instrumentation was totally disconnected from Stevie's melody and lyrics. This song, I think, has a great connection between all its elements. It's so nice to hear Stevie in the 80s with that kind of flow to a song. In that sense, to me, it's very unique. Certainly not my fave song on Tango. I think right now my fave Tango song is Big Love. My least favorite, by far, is Mystified :rolleyes:. But overall, I think the album is way underrated.
-Sonia

it's not that i "like" or "love" this song. i adore it.
in my opinion it's one of FM's best songs ever, maybe even their best ever.
it took me long to dig this one, but eventually it came to be my favorite song from TITN, and that was the song which made me go to the record store and buy The Wild Heart and Rumours.
each time it amazes me how many ppl here antagonize this one and i have no idea why. to me this song is pure perfection in every way.
WELCOME TO THE ROOM...SARA DEFINES THE TERM "MASTERPIECE"!!!

A little history...
 

...everyone who already knows this, just skip my post:

Welcome to the Room...Sara, was written by Stevie to chronicle her journey through Rehab at Betty Ford, where she checked in under the name Sara Anderson. Her management company, Frontline was instrumental in an intervention. Stevie spent the 28-days in there, but was furious at Frontline and fired them soon after. (According to Mick's autobiography, which must be taken with a grain of salt.)

I love this song also. But then again, I actually like When I See You Again, so what do I know?

Randy

Yeah...it took a little while for me, but I came to love this song. I also like the line "This is a dream right?" I just think it's a nice song, I've never had any problem with it....pretty much that whole album had to come to my liking in time...so yeah...good song!

Well first off i am partial to any song with my name in it:) Really though...i have always liked this song..as much as some of her late 80's songs make me cringe..i think this is a beauty...and the fact that she wrote it about such a personal experience makes it even more so.

Ah, nowww I get it!
 

Thanks to everyone for explaining what the song is actually about! I thought - yeah, it's about her drug problem alright - this song is insane! lol, but now I see it's about the rehab!

Sonia - I agree about Mysitifed. It's not my least favourite...but something tells me we won't be seeing a thread about 'the deeper meaning of Mystified' anytime soon ;) lol

Though not one of Stevie's most accessible songs, I find Welcome To The Room...Sara, to be one her most intriguing songs...certainly one of her best on Tango. The chorus always troubled me...trying to make sense of what she was communicating...then one day it hit me...and I realized that Stevie's wry humor was being completely overlooked!

Take into consideration that her alias during her time at Betty Ford was Sara Anderson, and how she referenced the drama of Gone With The Wind (It's not Tara!).

A little mini movie...

"Welcome to the room...Sara"

This is what the doctor or other personnel say to Stevie when they first greet her in her room at Betty Ford.

"(for Scarlett) Welcome to the choir sir"

This is Stevie's wry retort, referencing the strength and attitude of Scarlett O' Hara, and the fact that she is a well-known singer in "the choir."

An obscure few lines of lyric made clear! Any opinions?

I alwyas liked this song too...
 

But then again, I like "When I See You Again" too!

I was always under the impression that "Welcome to the room" was something they said at AA and NA type meetings when new members entered the group...kinda like welcome to the group. :shrug:

I always liked her delivery of "Oh, I see..." at the end of the first stanza. Vulnerable, resigned, humbled, even embarassed...you can see her drop her eyes as she says it.

And "Of course, it was a problem..." so confessional...

I always thought of "Welcome to the choir, sir" as kind of tounge-in-cheek. I always thought she was picking at the preaching aspect of substance abuse centers.

IMHO this song is a real unique expression of the trials of going through a substance abuse center. It's a real photograph of the inside of the Betty Ford Center. It's bold, a little humourous, self-effacing, and candid. It doesn't have Top 40 written all over it, but man, no one says this stuff like Stevie!

After TITN came out, it was the first time I actually agreed with a Rollingstone Magazine review of Stevie's music in FM up to that point. TITN and WISYA ("baby...baby...baby..baby...baby....")were real dissapointments to me. :o

This song is great. My favorite line is:

"Well, you held her prisoner
And after all these years, well, as well as you knew her
In the never forgotten words of another one of your freinds..."

So true, so relevent to her life back then, all her dealings with Frontline Management

My interpretation (From Stevie's perspective):

~ So you forced me and stuck me in this place I don't want to be, even though we've been freinds for such a long, long time and you knew even before you forced me, you knew I would resent your betrayal. I knew this would happen- told me years ago not to get involved with you....

I know how she feels.....

This song is one of my favorites. I also love the part where she goes "this is a dream, right?.....Dejavu..." Does anyone have the alternate version of this song? The instrumentation isn't as good, but I like a lot the lyrics....like she goes "ohhhhhHHHHHHH missonary" and says "Welcome to the room Everyone" very clearly a few times at the end of the song. How she sings "frontline baby....." is also different. Overall, I like both versions of the song.....