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-   -   Calumny (http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=22618)

GateandGarden 09-23-2005 09:39 AM
Calumny
 
Forgive me if y'all have already analyzed the hell out of this and I missed it. I'd be especially sorry about that because there's nothing I like more than analyzing the hell out of something.

I can't figure out why she uses this word in what sounds like a nice, sweet love song. I came across it while reading Hamlet, and it wasn't all that nice. According to dictionary.com, it means "A false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation" or "The utterance of maliciously false statements; slander" I believe the origin is Biblical, and a Catholic website I read said that in some cases, a calumny is a mortal sin. And if I understand what I'm reading, Calumny is also a character in the Bible. (?) It seems to be an allegorical thing like in Everyman--there's Calumny, Jealousy, etc. Someone correct me if I have that all wrong.

So, why the song? :shrug:

Gailh 09-23-2005 09:53 AM
I'm not so sure it is a nice, sweet love song.

It's got a gentle feel to it but the words sound quite harsh.

"My love sits like a curse"

"Testing out our love, proving that it's gone"

Although she didn't write it I think it returns to the theme of some of her older songs which sound (to me) like she's very needy. I don't care how you behave but please don't leave me.

Just my view.

Gail

GateandGarden 09-23-2005 10:00 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gailh
I'm not so sure it is a nice, sweet love song.

It's got a gentle feel to it but the words sound quite harsh.

"My love sits like a curse"

"Testing out our love, proving that it's gone"

Although she didn't write it I think it returns to the theme of some of her older songs which sound (to me) like she's very needy. I don't care how you behave but please don't leave me.

Just my view.

Gail
After I wrote that post, I was thinking of those same lyrics you posted like, Hmmmmm. You may be right. Maybe it's this kind of thing like she knows it's a sin (or a curse upon her) to love this person but she does it anyway because she can't help it. But when it comes to choice of sin-related words to use, I can't see why she would use this one because the definition doesn't really apply either way, IMO. Of course I know Dan wrote it, not her.

macfan 57 09-23-2005 10:24 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gailh
I'm not so sure it is a nice, sweet love song.
It's got a gentle feel to it but the words sound quite harsh.
Gail
I agree. :nod: I think it's a beautifully written song. What's interesting is that Dan didn't write this very recently. He wrote it back in the mid 1990's & he didn't write it specifically for her. But, it still fits on the album just perfectly. It's kind of funny. When I first saw the track listing for the album, I'd never even heard of the word "Calumny". Someone here on the Ledge looked it up. This song turned out to be my favorite song (of many) on the album.

Gailh 09-23-2005 10:37 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GateandGarden
After I wrote that post, I was thinking of those same lyrics you posted like, Hmmmmm. You may be right. Maybe it's this kind of thing like she knows it's a sin (or a curse upon her) to love this person but she does it anyway because she can't help it. But when it comes to choice of sin-related words to use, I can't see why she would use this one because the definition doesn't really apply either way, IMO. Of course I know Dan wrote it, not her.
On some radio interview she did she said the word meant deceit or treachery - I haven't got a dictionary with me because I'm at work but according to the Word Thesaurus some related words are: slander, lies, slur, smear, libel, denigration. So maybe its meaning in this context is to do with lying.

Gail

jbrownsjr 09-23-2005 11:25 AM
i heard her also say it's like little lies or deceits

GateandGarden 09-23-2005 01:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by macfan 57
...Someone here on the Ledge looked it up. This song turned out to be my favorite song (of many) on the album.
Oh, this has already been discussed? Do you know what thread and all? I looked but I couldn't find where it was discussed.

macfan 57 09-23-2005 03:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GateandGarden
Oh, this has already been discussed? Do you know what thread and all? I looked but I couldn't find where it was discussed.
It's somewhere on the Rumours forum about the time when the track listing became known. This was before there was a Christine forum. I'm not sure how much it was discussed. I know I asked what the word "Calumny" meant, since I'd never heard of it. Someone then posted the definition. That's about it, as I remember it. :)

GateandGarden 09-23-2005 03:29 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by macfan 57
It's somewhere on the Rumours forum about the time when the track listing became known. This was before there was a Christine forum. I'm not sure how much it was discussed. I know I asked what the word "Calumny" meant, since I'd never heard of it. Someone then posted the definition. That's about it, as I remember it. :)
Oh, okay. I hadn't even thought to look in the Rumours forum; I had forgotten that there was a time when there was no Christine forum. I'll go look for that just to see what it says. Thanks.

jbrownsjr 09-23-2005 11:39 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GateandGarden
Oh, okay. I hadn't even thought to look in the Rumours forum; I had forgotten that there was a time when there was no Christine forum. I'll go look for that just to see what it says. Thanks.
report back immediately! :blob1:

Johnny Stew 09-24-2005 11:45 AM
Great, great song. Terrific lyrics on Dan's part, terrific vocals on Christine's. One of my faves on 'In The Meantime.' :thumbsup:

DavidMn 09-24-2005 11:58 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Stew
Great, great song. Terrific lyrics on Dan's part, terrific vocals on Christine's. One of my faves on 'In The Meantime.' :thumbsup:
Right on there.

jbrownsjr 09-25-2005 02:38 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Stew
Great, great song. Terrific lyrics on Dan's part, terrific vocals on Christine's. One of my faves on 'In The Meantime.' :thumbsup:

i knew Johnny Stew had taste!!! :eek:

Hawkeye 10-16-2005 10:46 PM
I love Norhtern Star so much more then Calumny. Calumny's all right but Northern Star's a masterpiece.

GateandGarden 10-16-2005 10:47 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawkeye
I love Norhtern Star so much more then Calumny. Calumny's all right but Northern Star's a masterpiece.
I agree. I think "Northern Star" is a better song. It's fantastic.

No comment on your comment on "Everywhere." :laugh:

jwd 10-26-2005 11:24 PM
Love the song, but I have to admit that was one word I had to look up in the dictionary. I never heard it before! :laugh:


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