Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Stew
You hit the nail on the head, as far as I see it.
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You the the nail on the head, too, Stew. Melodramatic Stevie speaks in hyperbole. It's sort of a campy hyperbole -- "It's faabulous" she often says. And we should all be used by now to taking what she says with a grain of salt & making the necessary interpretive adjustments. We're all Patrick Dennis & Stevie is Auntie Mame. We're patient & loyal & we sometimes roll our eyes at our batty old aunt, but we love that aspect of her style, too.
But here's the nail whose head you hit for me, Stew. You've made me able to verbalize my indifference to her songwriting: I don't believe the tropes in her songs any more than I believe the rhetorical embellishments in her speech.
In my distress
I wanted someone to blame me
In my devastation
I wanted so to change
In my way
Disaster was the only thing I could depend on
_____
The promise has been broken
As you walk through the shadow of death
You try to see no evil
But you are heartbroken
You say, "Dear God, make it stop"
_____
The tragedy of one's own soul
_____
There is no fire burning
It's just a soul crying
All these sentiments seem like bunk to me. I don't believe the writer means any of this deeply. I think it's all dressing things up in narcissistic & phony drama. Most of Stevie's songs -- lyrically -- strike me as hooey. I still like them (I like the horse**** Stevie speaks, too). I just can't consider her a great songwriter & liken her to other great writers.