Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Music is art, lyrics are art, painting is art, sculpting is art, etc, art is open to interpretation. I like this, you hate this, There really is no such thing as good art and bad art, that is a matter of personal opinion, we don't all agree on what's good and what's bad, it's pretty subjective although I think there are a few writers who are generally accepted as being great or genius such as Dylan and Lennon. Ray Davies was another very good one. The beauty of art is to experience it is to have a unique personal experience. To be able to meaningfully criticize art as being good and bad has to go beyond our own likes and dislikes, this is critical thinking which takes time and effort to develop, even then it is still only our own opinion.

To follow that to its conclusion, it would make ALL opinions equally valid, and that is false on its face.

If a Native American Indian writes a song about the plight of the Native American, does my opinion of the quality of those lyrics, carry as much weight as the opinion of a fellow Native American, who can better relate to what the writer was feeling or the feeling he was trying to convey? Talk about a run on sentence!

PS - I am trying to keep the focus narrow (on lyrics), instead of the music is art debate.

All opinions are equally valid of course, you don't have to agree with them though such as with this one. I was talking about lyrics also which are art as much as anything thing else.

Water of Love, deep in the ground

That hits me to the core, Bob. Truth is, I've spent the entirety of my creative span trying to write songs in the same vein as Lennon, Dylan and Davies.

You know. The law firm.

You guys may think this a bit trite, but over the last few days, I have been setting up my last comment. A few days ago, I changed my tag line to "But there ain't no water here to be found." On its own, it means little. In the context of the song, the meaning is crystal clear. Avid Dire Straits fans may pick up on the line, as it is a great tune, but no one seemed to notice. When you add the line before it, "Water of love, deep in the ground". you see that he is really saying, where's the love?

So maybe I should have asked folks to interpret my sig before putting it in context. Or maybe it was a big waste of time. My point is that anything but that interpretation would be stretching it, and therefore not equally valid.

Dewey, Cheatum and How were also a great law firm.

We all need to share the love, for sure, Charly.

But when someone says "Water of love, deep in the ground" I don't take it to mean "Where's the love?"...I was just told where it is: it's deep in the ground!

Seriously though, I don't really know that lyric, but it could also mean that the roots of love run deeper than we know.

It's also good to remember, when contemplating that feeling of Where Is The Love--and we all feel that from time to time--that it resides within ourselves, not Out There somewhere...so when we get sad or annoyed or angry that we're not seeing enough of the love, it's a call to ourselves to simply give out a little more of our own.

If you don't hear any music, why not sing?

It is the two lines together. He is saying where is the love where I am(at this moment)? He is not where the love is, but he knows it exists.It is to be found, for sure, but not always easily discernible(found).

Here's the whole song:

High and dry in the long hot day
Lost and lonely in every way
Got the flats all around me sky up above
I need a little water of love

I've been too long lonely and my heart feels pain
Crying out for some soothing rain
I believe I have taken enough
I need a little water of love

Water of love deep in the ground
No water here to be found
Some day baby when the river runs free
It'll carry that water of love to me

There's a bird up in a tree sitting up high
Waiting for me to die
If I don't get some water soon
I'll be dead and gone in the afternoon

Once I had a woman I could call my own
Once I had a woman now my woman is gone
Once there was a river now there's a stone
You know it's evil when you're living alone

Singing (loudly and badly):
Water of love, deep in the ground,
But there ain't no water here to be found.
Someday, baby, when the river runs free,
It's gonna carry that water of love to me.
One of my personal favourites. But lyrically, the following one hits me even deeper. Wish i could write like that...

Baby I see this world has made you sad
Some people can be bad
The things they do, the things they say
But baby I'll wipe away those bitter tears
I'll chase away those restless fears
That turn your blue skies into grey

Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now

Baby when I get down I turn to you
And you make sense of what I do
I know it isn't hard to say
But baby just when this world seems mean and cold
Our love comes shining red and gold
And all the rest is by the way

Why worry, there should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now

lyle_from_minneapolis wrote:It's also good to remember, when contemplating that feeling of Where Is The Love--and we all feel that from time to time--that it resides within ourselves, not Out There somewhere...so when we get sad or annoyed or angry that we're not seeing enough of the love, it's a call to ourselves to simply give out a little more of our own.
If you don't hear any music, why not sing?

Whoa, Mark. Great words. Couldn't have put it better.

lyle_from_minneapolis wrote:What was the Douglas Adams take....

Q: How many roads must a man walk down?
A: 43.

Actually the number was 42

Dang it!!! I knew I didn't have to walk down that last one!

Thank you Sheena.