"Valentine"?

[Papillon]

I have a question: even on lyrics that you may not care for or don't understand, do you get a 'feel' of its meaning when you listen to her sing it? Like maybe just looking at the lyrics written on a sheet of paper and thinking 'Wtf?' But it seems to make perfect sense when you listen to the song? I do. Not 100% of the time, but maybe 85%.

[Papillon]

I LOVE Straight Back, but I've often wondered if Christine ever rolls her eyes when she sings with Stevie on these lyrics:
"Fingers find the ivory
Keys and a song
Begins to begin
Like a wolf on the run.."
I do understand "In the shadow of my shadow" but the "wolf on the run" lines I do not get.
I wonder if anyone here does & can enlighten me? And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I don't understand, but I want to.

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by Papillon

I LOVE Straight Back, but I've often wondered if Christine ever rolls her eyes when she sings with Stevie on these lyrics:
"Fingers find the ivory
Keys and a song
Begins to begin
Like a wolf on the run.."
I do understand "In the shadow of my shadow" but the "wolf on the run" lines I do not get.
I wonder if anyone here does & can enlighten me? And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I don't understand, but I want to.

Chris and Stevie's harmony on that line is haunting.

Stevie is a pure poet. She has a poetic license like all poets. I love the wolf on the run line. What do you picture in your head when you hear that? For me, I picture a lone wolf running in a dark forest with a full moon. A wolf is about independence. A wolf running is very aggressive, wild, and fast. A wolf running also would not go directly anywhere and can deviate its trail. A running wolf is also after something.
When writing a song.... Stevie is independent..... it happens fast...... and she deviates back and forth. She is definitely after something.... her fingers finding the ivory keys and a song is beginning....like a wolf on the run.
So to me, the line makes perfect sense. But this is only in my world. Each person has their own interpretation.
Many Stevie fans bond because we understand eachother. Her fans will never leave her because of this bond. Sometimes I can relate so much to her writing it feels like the song was written for me. One time on her 1989 tour a "journalist" wrote that Stevie's solo career was running out of steam and it used her lyrics from Rooms on Fire to make the point.
He wrote:
"Somewhere out in the back of your mind
comes your real life and the life that you know
it seemed like to be one of those same old things
it seemed to be the only thing left out in the light'
He wrote: What? That make no sense.
To me, those lines make perfect sense. I understand them completely.

[DauphineMarie]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Chris and Stevie's harmony on that line is haunting.

Stevie is a pure poet. She has a poetic license like all poets. I love the wolf on the run line. What do you picture in your head when you hear that? For me, I picture a lone wolf running in a dark forest with a full moon. A wolf is about independence. A wolf running is very aggressive, wild, and fast. A wolf running also would not go directly anywhere and can deviate its trail. A running wolf is also after something.
When writing a song.... Stevie is independent..... it happens fast...... and she deviates back and forth. She is definitely after something.... her fingers finding the ivory keys and a song is beginning....like a wolf on the run.
So to me, the line makes perfect sense. But this is only in my world. Each person has their own interpretation.
Many Stevie fans bond because we understand eachother. Her fans will never leave her because of this bond. Sometimes I can relate so much to her writing it feels like the song was written for me. One time on her 1989 tour a "journalist" wrote that Stevie's solo career was running out of steam and it used her lyrics from Rooms on Fire to make the point.
He wrote:
"Somewhere out in the back of your mind
comes your real life and the life that you know
it seemed like to be one of those same old things
it seemed to be the only thing left out in the light'
He wrote: What? That make no sense.
To me, those lines make perfect sense. I understand them completely.

That is exactly what I imagine about the "wolf on the run" line too. Straight Back, to me, is one of Stevie's most visually striking songs. I can see the whole story laid out, and with the lyrics and music combining together in a "shadow within a shadow" actually makes a lot of sense to me.

Having just heard "Valentine" for the first time just now, I can imagine Stevie singing this song, which is highly unfortunate in my opinion. If it was on OSOTM, it could easily have found itself among the cheesiest non-Stevie written songs EVER (Docklands, anyone.) There is no magic there, which is important to almost all Stevie fans, and part of the reason I think Rock a Little wasn't accepted as well as it could have been.

And regarding the Rock a Little demos, I personally think Running Through the Garden, Something Exquisite, All the Kings Horses (someone could make it work) and It's Not a Dream would all have been better off on RAL/Mirror Mirror. The super cheesy 80's sounds ruined what could have been a great rock and roll record (like Stevie originally wanted) but songs like Valentine would only have diminished her status as rock and roll singer.

[Papillon]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Chris and Stevie's harmony on that line is haunting.

Stevie is a pure poet. She has a poetic license like all poets. I love the wolf on the run line. What do you picture in your head when you hear that? For me, I picture a lone wolf running in a dark forest with a full moon. A wolf is about independence. A wolf running is very aggressive, wild, and fast. A wolf running also would not go directly anywhere and can deviate its trail. A running wolf is also after something.
When writing a song.... Stevie is independent..... it happens fast...... and she deviates back and forth. She is definitely after something.... her fingers finding the ivory keys and a song is beginning....like a wolf on the run.
So to me, the line makes perfect sense. But this is only in my world. Each person has their own interpretation.
Many Stevie fans bond because we understand eachother. Her fans will never leave her because of this bond. Sometimes I can relate so much to her writing it feels like the song was written for me. One time on her 1989 tour a "journalist" wrote that Stevie's solo career was running out of steam and it used her lyrics from Rooms on Fire to make the point.
He wrote:
"Somewhere out in the back of your mind
comes your real life and the life that you know
it seemed like to be one of those same old things
it seemed to be the only thing left out in the light'
He wrote: What? That make no sense.
To me, those lines make perfect sense. I understand them completely.

I don't think I'm doing this correctly, trying to quote & reply- but here goes!
You make perfect sense. I didn't really think of the meaning of a wolf running, but there is certainly an urgency to it. I know some ppl think Stevie's lyrics sound like Yoda-speak or something, and to say that a song "begins to begin" is not possible because the song is an object, not a subject. I beg to differ. I think her songs- and the writings of many artists- begin inside the author and flow out. So yeah- thank you! Your words totally make sense to me, and I really have tried to understand that line.
"Don't listen to her, listen through her"

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by Papillon

I have a question: even on lyrics that you may not care for or don't understand, do you get a 'feel' of its meaning when you listen to her sing it? Like maybe just looking at the lyrics written on a sheet of paper and thinking 'Wtf?' But it seems to make perfect sense when you listen to the song? I do. Not 100% of the time, but maybe 85%.

A very astute observation. Lyrics are sometimes arbitrary to many songs; you don't need a literal interpretation to get the general meaning. The "feel" of the song delivers the message/intention as much as the words.

Often, some lyrics are so opaque or hard to understand, the listener constructs their own personal interpretation. With some of the many artists I am a fan of and listen to, the vocals/words are, like the instruments, just another element of the song.
Then there are songs that need no interpretation; written very direct in intent and clear in objective.

Stevie writes in a very subjective manner. Her unbridled, emotional poetic style is unique, though somewhat limited in literary technique. Yet, it is just one of many aspects that have worked in her favor, and why she has become a living legend. You have to listen through her to really appreciate her art.

[PenguinHead]

Originally Posted by Papillon

I LOVE Straight Back, but I've often wondered if Christine ever rolls her eyes when she sings with Stevie on these lyrics:
"Fingers find the ivory
Keys and a song
Begins to begin
Like a wolf on the run.."
I do understand "In the shadow of my shadow" but the "wolf on the run" lines I do not get.
I wonder if anyone here does & can enlighten me? And no, I'm not being sarcastic. I don't understand, but I want to.

Fingers find the ivory keys
And a song begins to begin
Like a wolf on the run

It seems like she is describing her writing process.
She caught a spark of inspiration, and the creative process took off quickly -- like a wolf on the run.