Red Rover?

[Karen]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
That's a perfect example, Karen. In that line, she emphasizes all the wrong syllables: wash-ES you CLEAN...

But, hey, that's part of the charm of the song.

Yeah, I can't even imagine what the chorus would have been like without this part.

It adds charm, and a bit of mystery. For a long time, I couldn't figure out what she was saying in this verse. I thought it was "when the rain won't dance" (which doesn't make any sense... ). It was always a mystery until I bought the album and discovered the words.

[CarneVaca]

For a long time, Karen, I thought she was saying, "When the rain washes, you'll clean, you know." And that's because of the emphasis on clean. Of course, it doesn't make much sense.

Had she sung the line with the right emphasis:

When the rain WAshes you clean, YOU'll KNOW.

Of course, the allure would be gone, and it wouldn't have as much charm. A lot of the fun of those early Stevie songs was trying to figure out just what the hell she was saying.

Red Rover is the same deal. Lindsey puts unconventional emphasis on certain syllables and makes the meaning that much more mysterious. It's almost impossible to get the lyrics without reading them.

[BlueGrass]

I asked what this song was about on the website, hopefully Lindsey will answer my question.

The only things I know for sure is someone is dying, that's it.

[Karen]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
Of course, the allure would be gone, and it wouldn't have as much charm. A lot of the fun of those early Stevie songs was trying to figure out just what the hell she was saying.

Red Rover is the same deal. Lindsey puts unconventional emphasis on certain syllables and makes the meaning that much more mysterious. It's almost impossible to get the lyrics without reading them.

LOL!

Anyway, I guess that's one of the reasons why Red Rover has me intrigued. I'm still not quite sure what to think after reading all the various interpretations and reactions to this song. All I know is that I'm starting to like it more and more each time I play it.

[sodascouts]

Originally posted by CarneVaca

Had she sung the line with the right emphasis:

When the rain WAshes you clean, YOU'll KNOW.

I disagree - the emphasis on clean is semantically appropriate considering its importance in the sentence. However, "washes" is indeed done uncorrectly - strangely, it sounded very natural to me, however, when I heard the song. At I do believe it was a heck of a lot more comprehensible than Red Rover.

I LOVE Red Rover, but I have to say, it really annoys me how indiscernable some of the lyrics are. That's really the only thing I don't like about the song - these lyrics are so beautiful, why doesn't he enunciate them clearly?!

Same is true for Murrow and Come. I was astonished when I realized that the uncomprehensible vocals from the "demos" were actually the final cuts. And, honestly, when I listen to "Come" and have the lyrics right in front of me, I STILL cannot hear "Then the band played on." If he says that, he is saying it in some kind of savant language that is beyond me! We're not talking unnatural stresses, we're talking slurred syllables! That's just WRONG!

Ironically, these are two of my favorite songs (admittedly, Murrow is down on the list.) I can buy it was necessary for RR, but it definitely wasn't for "Come," IMO. I think he could have made the song even better simply by redoing the vocal so that we could understand him. Is that too much to ask? Doesn't he want us to know what he's saying to us? Reminds me of some of John Stewart's songs, where what he's saying is almost impossible to figure out.

As for Murrow - I still can't get over the fact that "NSCEA" is NONSENSE! What the... ?! Come on! And I had to listen to that chorus on DVD-A before I could barely manage to pick out something that sounded remotely like "Murrow had a child, the damn thing went wild."

[wondergirl9847]

Yep, his underenunciation of words makes him wierd...that's my Lindsey...hehe. He DOES NOT say "and the band played on", those were probably the ORIGINAL lyrics for the song, but he decided to go "and, yeah, oohhhhhh..." instead. Whatever....the song STILL kicks BUTT!!

It doesn't bother me about enunciation. You know what? On American Idol, one of the frontrunners, Clay Aiken OVER enunciates his words sometimes and it bugs the CRAP outta people!! LOL They say " he sings too Broadway for a pop star"..he shouldn't win. WHAT?!?! His voice is beautiful, WHY does that enunciation bother you?!?! I don't get it.

Lindsey is KNOWN for underenunciating words...listen to his demos for Given Thing for a SUPERB example of this. LOL He's not a lyric whore anyways (LMAO!!), he hears the music in his head/heart and THEN comes up with lyrics. I just recently noticed him HUMMING in Miranda...along with the guitar. LOL

GEEZ, I LOVE THIS MAN!!!!!!!

[Les]

Originally posted by CarneVaca
--Lindsey wrote more than one song from the Greek gods' perspective. That would seem unlikely, but then again, why not?

It would seem so --

Philadelphia Inquirer (4/15):

"There are a few songs of mine on the record that imagine if there were gods, in the Greek sense, looking down on the human race, wondering when to pull the plug. 'Peace Keeper' is one of those, and 'Murrow' is another. To me it's strange because 'Peace Keeper' is a very ironic song, but I guess it's one of those songs where [because] you hit the right reference points, it seems to get attached to very specific events. In my mind, it could be applied to a nation and also a love relationship."

I'm still not sure if this applies to Red Rover or not, but the possibility is there.

[wondergirl9847]

HE IS DOING IT IN CONCERT!!!!!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO happy about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't think he would since it's very complicated musically, but he said it's TRIPPY live!!!!!! OMG, I AM DYING HERE YA'LL!!!!!!!!!!

[sodascouts]

Originally posted by Les


Philadelphia Inquirer (4/15):

"There are a few songs of mine on the record that imagine if there were gods, in the Greek sense, looking down on the human race, wondering when to pull the plug. 'Peace Keeper' is one of those, and 'Murrow' is another. To me it's strange because 'Peace Keeper' is a very ironic song, but I guess it's one of those songs where [because] you hit the right reference points, it seems to get attached to very specific events. In my mind, it could be applied to a nation and also a love relationship."

I'm still not sure if this applies to Red Rover or not, but the possibility is there.

I have just stopped listening to the bizarre answers Lindsey gives for song meanings nowadays. Peacekeeper is about desensitization to violence, or a brutalized love relationship, or FRIGGIN' GREEK GODS. And I have to say, I'm a little tired of this stock answer being applied to pretty much EVERY LB SONG ON THE ALBUM. Perhaps Lindsey has decided to take on the persona of Zeus to write all of his lyrics from now on.

You know I love him, though, and I will be THRILLED TO DEATH if they do Red Rover live! That song is STUPENDOUS!!

[wondergirl9847]

Originally posted by sodascouts
I have just stopped listening to the bizarre answers Lindsey gives for song meanings nowadays. Peacekeeper is about desensitization to violence, or a brutalized love relationship, or FRIGGIN' GREEK GODS. And I have to say, I'm a little tired of this stock answer being applied to pretty much EVERY LB SONG ON THE ALBUM. Perhaps Lindsey has decided to take on the persona of Zeus to write all of his lyrics from now on.

HA!!! You know what? Maybe this is his way of being ambiguous so that we won't say "Okay, he said it's about THIS, so that's what it's about...case closed." He wants you to draw your own conclusion as to what the songs mean, BUT, I think he meant that Greek god thing in general to the songs on SYW..not so much for Red Rover specifically, but it could apply. His brother said on his BTM that Lindsey has a hard time speaking what he's feeling, so that's why music is his release, his way of saying what he can't say in words. I have a hard time explaining myself too, I stutter sometimes and can't really find the right words, so I understand Lindsey in that sense. He stutters and always has a hard time talking when he's interviewed....I feel his pain.

[Gazza]

On the subject of Dreams... Wouldn't Lindsey, as producer, have a lot of say in how Stevie sings certain words? So maybe it's down to him.

Never really noticed myself. But thinking about it, I prefer it when people sing things differently to how you'd expect.