Lindsey: Master of the Memorable Muttering

CarneVaca · #1 08-16-2002, 09:00 AM

As I get ready to listen to Save Me a Place for the 1047th time, I paused to ponder why this is one my favorite songs ever. Is it the sense of raw melancholy that permeates right to the core of your innermost wistful longings? The simple melody that gets you swaying unwittingly along? The simple three-chord repetitiveness that is so key to conveying the sense of wistfulness? The elegant lyrics that in their simplicity create a much more powerful message than 1,000 words could?

I know, I know, it's all of the above.

But therein the genius of the song. Not only does Lindsey gives us a disarmingly simple melody that is impossible to dismiss. Not only does he give you that trademark repetitiveness. But he also conveys a universe of longing with a masterful stroke of lyrical economy. And just as you immerse yourself in the emotion, the utter desolation the song conveys, it's over.

I know Lindsey has been dismissed around here as not being great with lyrics. To be sure he's written a couple of stinkers, but I often find that he is a master with quick word phrases and especially choruses. So much is said in what he says and what he doesn't say, if you catch my drift. It's that elegance, brevity and ability to convey emotion that I found so appealing in his songwriting.

Of course, in the Gift of Screws songs, he seems to have gotten wordier. The elegance has become more intrisincally woven with ambiguity in the new stuff, but what he has to say still makes you think. And that is the mark of great songwriter.

I could go on about other Lindsey songs, but it's your turn...

DownOnRodeo · #2 08-16-2002, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CarneVaca
I often find that he is a master with quick word phrases and especially choruses. So much is said in what he says and what he doesn't say, if you catch my drift. It's that elegance, brevity and ability to convey emotion that I found so appealing in his songwriting.

Of course, in the Gift of Screws songs, he seems to have gotten wordier. The elegance has become more intrisincally woven with ambiguity in the new stuff, but what he has to say still makes you think. And that is the mark of great songwriter.

That is a great summary of my own (high) regards for LB's lyrics, past and present. Well said Carnevaca!

Les · #3 08-16-2002, 10:30 AM

I'm not gonna argue with you. I don't dismiss Lindsey's lyrics or lyrical style as easily as he himself does in his humility. I believe David described his style the other day as minimalist and exhuberant. I like that.

I babbled at some length the other day about why I like his style, so I won't repeat it all again. But I do also enjoy the quick emotional whallop he packs in economically. I enjoy his lyrical style because, while I'm sure he works very hard at the tone, it comes across to me like a more subconcious thing - a direct line from the heart to the page without a lot of intellectualizing in between. It feels very honest to me because of that. He doesn't rationalize in his songs, he doesn't worry that the emotion he's expressing with such zeal might make him look one way or another to the audience. He just throws it out there in a what feels like an unadulterated state to splash all over the song. It's that feeling that I like so much about the work on Tusk, Tango & Go Insane.

So much is said in what he says and what he doesn't say, if you catch my drift. It's that elegance, brevity and ability to convey emotion that I found so appealing in his songwriting.

I've long felt the same way. There's that theory in painting/drawing about negative space - that the places where you don't insert an image help to tell the story as much as the spaces where you do. For me, Lindsey's lyrical and even some of his musical style follows this theory to great ends.

Lindsey has mastered the "wistful longing" feeling in his work. Save Me A Place has always been a favorite song for just that reason. Cradle & a lot of GOS capture it so well too. It makes you cold and warm all at once.

Vianna · #4 08-16-2002, 10:42 AM

I know what you two (Les and Carnevaca)are talking about. For me the song that is so much like what you say is Street of Dreams-it is a haunting tribute to his lost father and anyone who lost a parent young (like Lindsey I was only in my 20's when my father died) can so relate to that song-you still need your parent who died so much-the lyrics are powerful..

"There’s a shadow on my daddy’s stone, where he was laid, laid to rest.
I ask him is this just a dream, or is it just another test?
I turn my back against the cold, I turn my face into the wind
And I wonder will I ever, ever make it home again?
Shadow on daddy’s stone, ten years gone, it seems
I ask him will I ever stop, ever stop dreaming dreams?!
He said never, never, never.."

Enough said..

CarneVaca · #5 08-16-2002, 07:10 PM

Ah, Street of Dreams: what a wonderful, haunting song. Everything is right about it. I especially love the bass part, but the real climax is that dreamy instrumental at the end. Just the way he intended it.

highpriestess53 · #6 08-16-2002, 07:53 PM

Save Me A Place is this....

I think it is Lindsey asking Stevie his dearly beloved to save him a seat at a table in the diner they were visiting only to realise that Stevie is about to give him the ol' heave ho.....or the elbow, the boot, saying I really don't need you in my life.... hence the melancholy tones of the song...

wondergirl9847 · #7 08-16-2002, 08:28 PM

I agree, Lindsey can say A LOT in very few words...just like in my favorite FM song, I'm So Afraid. That song hit me like a Mack truck last year when I was going through a rough time with my parents splitting (and eventually divorcing

). I may be 26, but it still hurts, ya know. Also, the line "I never change, I never will" seems to fit me like a glove. I hate to quote a "chick flick" (but it's such a good one, and I HATE chick flicks! LOL) "Me? I'm afraid of everything, of who I am, of what I did..." from Dirty Dancing. I'm afraid too...of lots of things but something I had feared since childhood (my parents divorcing) came true, but you know what, I survived it and have learned to deal....so, THANK YOU LINDSEY for writing about my life, even tho it was YOURS. Even tho, the song is really short, it packs a HUGE whallop and that guitar solo is like crying or screaming to get out all the pain that is still inside you because you are afraid. An emotional release...

LINDSEY RULES!

FiercestCalmSea · #8 08-16-2002, 08:33 PM

Save Me A Place is my fav Linds song off Tusk...i never really read that much into it though...or any of Linds songs...I am just drawn to his songs in some odd way...but now that you guys brought it up...i guess what realy draws me to them is the simplicity of the lyrics,that seem to say so much...anyhoo..just my two cents..

WhiteWingedOne · #9 08-17-2002, 01:27 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by highpriestess53
[B]Save Me A Place is this....

I think it is Lindsey asking Stevie his dearly beloved to save him a seat at a table in the diner they were visiting only to realise that Stevie is about to give him the ol' heave ho.....

____________

Weezie, why not post this over on the Stevie board where you belong!

(how does that feel??

highpriestess53 · #10 08-17-2002, 06:08 AM

you make me out to be,(weezie????mmmm), secondly I just wanted to see how you would all react to a ridiculous post........and just as I thought you all can't take trouble but are quite willing to dish it out..........

CarneVaca · #11 08-17-2002, 10:01 PM

A song that seems go get panned often around here is Eyes of The World. To me it is the most interesting song in a record that is on the verge of blandness as a Rumours lineup album could be. I get a huge kick out the unorthodox approach to the song, especially the "Bom bom bom" intro. The guitar riff is catchy as hell. And the solo at the end kicks butt. I get the feeling Lindsey was going for another Go Your Own Way here.

sodascouts · #12 08-17-2002, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CarneVaca

I know Lindsey has been dismissed around here as not being great with lyrics. To be sure he's written a couple of stinkers, but I often find that he is a master with quick word phrases and especially choruses.

I totally agree. I think Lindsey's got a bad rap over his lyrics because he's so repetitive on a lot of stuff - songs that are verse, chorus, 2nd verse, chorus, 1st verse, chorus, chorus, chorus....And while this doesn't work on, say, "I Must Go" (he says it over THIRTY times!) often it works just fine (My fave song, "Holiday Road"). That being said, I like Lindsey best when he DOES come up with a third verse. lol

But I also think he's got a way with words himself that is seperate from his minimalism. A few examples:

"Agony's torn at my heart too long" - Vivid personification of pain

"Memories like shadows scorched in the sand" - Effective image

"Time recedes with a fatal drop...dusty fury on the mountaintop" - Dusty fury. What a creative, evocative metaphor! I LOVE that.

"I'm a soul lifter, and it's out of my hands" - clever double meaning!

"Surrender the rein/Surrender the reign/Surrender the rain" - What word play! Each with its own poignant connotation in the song! Brilliant!

Just a few favorites. And there's more in GOS. I think, while he still is very effective when he's being direct, he knows how to work the more figurative lyrics, too.

wondergirl9847 · #13 08-17-2002, 10:32 PM

I have loved the Caroline lyrics ever since I FIRST heard them!! "dusty fury on the mountaintop"...LOVE IT!!

Lindsey wrote the breathtaking poem, Sardonic World, which shows his wordsmithsmanship. (Is that even a word? Well, I made it a word!!

) Anywho, sometimes, the simplest song or lyric can grab a hold of your soul and NEVER let go! Same with a vocal...with me, anyways...if Lindsey sings a certain way or hits a note or something a certain way, I melt. Same thing with his guitar work and music in general...it ALL just hits you in the gut. Stevie can do that too, but Lindsey...sigh...

Barbara · #14 08-18-2002, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CarneVaca
A song that seems go get panned often around here is Eyes of The World. To me it is the most interesting song in a record that is on the verge of blandness as a Rumours lineup album could be. I get a huge kick out the unorthodox approach to the song, especially the "Bom bom bom" intro. The guitar riff is catchy as hell. And the solo at the end kicks butt. I get the feeling Lindsey was going for another Go Your Own Way here.

I think this is one of Lindsey's best - it's one of my favorites, especially the live version - the way he blasts the vocal after the intro is genius. Lindsey's songs always have excellent dynamics.

Barbara

Johnny Stew · #15 08-18-2002, 02:55 PM

I'm surprised too that "Eyes Of The World" often seems to get panned.
It's definitely one of the highlights on 'Mirage,' and the live version on the 'Mirage Tour '82' video is incredible.

I've often wondered why they added it to the Dance setlist, only to drop it so rapidly.
We can only hope that they'll dust it off again for the 2003 tour.

Johnny Stew