Song of the Week (3)

[wondergirl9847]

Oops...I'm kinda late here...LOL

I'm gonna just think of a song instead of randomly pick one from the list like I did before.

Tango in the Night

Listen to the wind on the water
Listen to the waves upon the shore
Try to sleep, sleep won't come
Just as I begin to fade

Then I remember
When the moon was full and bright
I would take you in the darkness
And do the tango in the night
Tango...

Keep the dream in my pocket
Never let it fade away
Inside, outside
No loneliness in this dream

Then I remember
When the moon was full and bright
I would take you in the darkness
And do the tango in the night
Tango...

This song is GORGEOUS. I love how it starts off softly, almost breathy, then the chorus hits and BAM....and he screams TANGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for like 18 seconds!!!!! AWESOME!! I love the melody of the song too...and don't even get me STARTED on how sexy that guitar solo is!!

Lindsey likes to use dancing as a metaphor for you-know.

I love the line "Just as I begin to fade" because there are moments right as I'm about to fall asleep when my body relaxes and I feel like I'm falling and wake up suddenly....I associate that line with that for some odd reason. LOL

WHY can't he do this one in concert?! WHY!!!!!????

[DownOnRodeo]

Then I remember...

I was just listening to this before! It's very cool and rainy here at the moment, so it fitted in nicely! The song for me is very 'subtropical' ... like Queensland, Cali or Carribbean. Night-time, palm trees, moonlit surf...


Listen to the wind on the water...

I love this line. And then The Chain has 'Listen to the wind blow...' - which apparently is a Stevie line? So... make what you will of that cross-over ...

[seteca]

This is a song about the very, very, broken heart of a man whose deepest emotions are driving him insane. The music compliments the lyrics perfectly in the sense that the verses are associated with perfectly peaceful things and times, and the reverb-drenched vocals are sung over very quiet, tropical sounds, while the chorus is associated with sadness and anger mixed together, and the much more clear and forward vocals are sung over loud drums and distorted guitar.

Listen to the wind on the water,
Listen to the waves upon the shore,

These lyrics, coupled with the opening music, immediately set the scene. I wouldn't be surprised if Lindsey was actually next to the ocean when he wrote these words. Deep down he's very hurt, but he's trying to surrender himself to the beauty of Nature in the hope that the sound of the wind and waves will soothe him and for a short while make him forget the past.

Try to sleep, sleep won't come,

Despite the calming and relaxing sounds of the sea at night, he can't fall asleep, which makes us realise that there is obviously something very heavy on his heart and mind.

Just as I begin to fade,
Then I remember,

Eventually the tranquility of the environment he's placed himself in begins to take effect in inducing sleep upon his troubled mind, but he is emotionally at such disrest that the calm can only win him over for a very brief period before the irresistable power of his memories of what was (at least in his mind) a perfect relationship come flooding back to haunt him. The music dramatically changes, with loud drums underlining those infinite memories rushing back to him.

When the moon was full and bright,

Here is the first of many references to the idea of a "perfect time". A full and bright moon signifies a perfect romantic night. LB and SN's relationship ended some 11 years before this song was written, and during that long period of time Lindsey (who had not wanted the relationship to end) had almost constantly thought about those years that he and Stevie were a couple, and each time made the memories better than what they were both actually feeling at the time that they were boyfriend/girlfriend, to the point where now he's convinced himself that the relationship was perfect.

And I would take you in the darkness,
And do the tango in the night,

There is of course the obvious sexual idea behind this, and it's important to note that the image he sets is not one of "having sex", but rather "making love". The tango is one of the most intimate dances, so its use here coupled with the very specific use of "subject, verb, object" of the first line (i.e. "I [Lindsey is the subject of the line] would take you [Stevie is the object of the line],") clearly shows just how much passion is involved here. I also think there is perhaps some connection between Lindsey and Stevie that involves the Tango (i.e. the dance), simply because it's such a strange (yet brilliant) metaphor to use. Perhaps they use to enjoy dancing the tango. It makes me think back to the Gypsy video.

Tango.............

While the rest of the lyircs are thoughts, this is the only spoken word in the whole song. By screaming "tango" at the top of his lungs non-stop in one note and tone for the whole bar, Lindsey is releasing all that immeasurable pain, sadness, and anger caused by the break-up and his undying will to have her again, into one giant explosive scream. The heavy, distorted and dark sounding guitar shows his state of mind.

I keep the dream in my pocket,

Here is the second example of the image of a perfect time. He's using the word "dream" here in the sense that dreams are thoughts involving total happiness. It's not clear though whether he means that he "dreams of getting back together with her again", or if he is referring to that perfectly happy time in the past when they used to be together. There is a strong possibility he is referring to both of those situations at the same time. The things we put in our pockets are our personal items and only we know the contents of our pockets. In saying that he keeps the dream in his "pocket", he is explaining how he has hidden (or at least tried to hide) his thoughts and feelings about the past and future from everybody. He is secretly still emotionally attached to her in a very great way and is afraid of anybody finding out, especially her.

Never let it fade away,

He has not been able to forget any of that very magical time, and he doesn't want to forget either. Even though the memories only bring him heartache and sorrow, he refuses to even try to permanently let go of the past (unlike the beginning of the song where he wants to stop thinking about it just so he can get some sleep), as it's too special for him. At first glance, this seems to verge on masochism, but is actually the actions of an emotionally trapped and helpless man.

Inside, outside,
No loneliness in this dream,

The final, and greatest example of Lindsey referring to his relationship with Stevie as a perfect time for him. We are still with the imagery of the dream being an actual object inside his pocket, and he is saying that whether you look at that solid object from the outside or if you open it and look inside, there is "no loneliness" present. Saying "No loneliness in this dream" implies that there is (much) loneliness outside of "the dream", in other words, his actual life. The fact that he'd (relatively) recently broken up with C-AH after a very long and troubled relationship makes that sentiment even stronger and more understandable.

Lindsey once said "Music is a means of expression that rings truer and is more connected to things inside than speech", and the outro guitar solo really does speak for itself. It represents the deepest, and most extreme emotions of anger, pain, and sadness, which he couldn't possibly put into words.

[wondergirl9847]

Wow.

[Cammie]

Seteca...my favorite Romantic Lindsey Lyrics!
You gave me chills and goosebumps! Cammie

[DownOnRodeo]

Seteca - I'll have what you're having!

But it's interesting how we can interpreet so differnetly - if not in the general meaning of the song, but the depth of meaning. Because of the somewhat 'tinny' 80s sound and the very sparse arrangement (compared with it's lush older brother This Is The Time), I always considered it moody yet in a light-weight, dreamy sort of way ... not actual real passion and anger. But as you say, it's like he's thinking as he falls into sleep, then sort of wakes up screaming - lol. You say it's abour anger - especially the solo. For me it's not so much anger as just a sort of loneliness. Again, so intriguing how we all have different takes on the songs.

[clooney]

Anyone have any thoughts on why he doesn't play Tango in concert?

Chris

[BlueGrass]

Originally posted by clooney
Anyone have any thoughts on why he doesn't play Tango in concert?

Chris

I think Lindsey shys away from playing Tango sets because the songs don't stir up any great memories. I mean this was a period when he felt it could of been a great healing time but instead we know what happened. The only time they have ever performed a song from Tango with Lindsey was when they did "Everywhere" for The Dance. We know Lindsey does Big Love, and he talked about how he was a different man then, so he is doing the song differently then he did then etc etc.

It is too bad because they could of done a revamped version of "Seven Wonders" for this tour and I think fans would get a kick out of it. Also I think the reason he doesn't do TITN is cause he alread yhas power ballads like So Afraid and Come. We wouldn't want him to pass out on stage!

[seteca]

Originally posted by DownOnRodeo
Seteca - I'll have what you're having!

lmao!

(Have a double JD & coke on me, Joe!)

[4Buck]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wondergirl9847
[B]

This song is GORGEOUS. I love how it starts off softly, almost breathy, then the chorus hits and BAM....and he screams TANGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for like 18 seconds!!!!! AWESOME!! I love the melody of the song too...and don't even get me STARTED on how sexy that guitar solo is!! - wondergirl

AGREED!!! And nice analyzation, Seteca!!! This number would be AWESOME live!!!

[Cammie]

My very bright idea!!! Why can't Lindsey
sing and play a...sensual... passionate TITN
like he did on G Baby to help out Stevie!!!
Like Christy points out his voice is...GORGEOUS!!!