Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I am so glad you're on my side Marc.

Yeah, the should listen to "Shadow" from her first album. She wrote it, and it basically sums up the thread.

Agreed. If anyone wants to hear it, mail me off the forum and I'll send it to them.

Could you simply quote some lyrics?

was six years old
When my parents ran away
I was stuck inside a broken life
I couldn't wish away
She was beautiful
She had everything and more
And my escape was hiding out and running for the door

Somebody listen please
It used to be so hard being me
Living in the shadow
Of someone else's dream
Trying to find a hand to hold but every touch felt cold to me
Living in a nightmare
A never-ending sleep
But now that I am wide awake
My chains are finally free
Don't feel sorry for me

All the days collided
One less perfect than the next
I was stuck inside someone else's life and always second best
Oh, I love you now 'cause now I realize
That it's safe outside to come alive in my identity

So if you're listening
There's so much more to me you haven't seen
Living in the shadow
Of someone else's dream
Trying to find a hand to hold but every touch felt cold to me
Living in a nightmare
A never-ending sleep
But now that I am wide awake
Then I can finally see
Don't feel sorry-

Mother, sister, father, sister, mother
Everything's cool now
Mother, sister, father, sister, mother
Everything's cool now
Oh, my life is good
I've got more than anyone should
Oh, my life is good
And the past in the past

I was living in the shadow
Of someone else's dream
Trying to find a hand to hold but every touch felt cold to me
I'm living in a new day
I'm living it for me
And now that I am wide awake
Then I can finally be
Don't feel sorry for me
Don't feel sorry, don't feel sorry for me(2x)

Living in, living in, living in the shadow
Living in, living in, living in a new day

Or you could do that...

Well, i cannot say that changed my life forever, but apart from "ran away/wish away" rhyme (which is quite a serious flop, imo), it's okay. Imho, of course.

To hijack the thread just a bit - Watching the John Lennon documentary - Imagine - There's a scene where John finds a homeless man hiding in his bushes. He calls the man over to ask what he's doing and the man responds something to the effect of "I get all your lyrics....I AM the walrus etc..." to which John responds - "My lyrics? nothing but jibberish" -I'm paraphrasing of course to the best of my memory, but you get the point.

Lyrics never meant much to me, it's all about the tune, and how it fits over the rest of the music. the "counterpoint" if you will.

PS - after the man reveals himself, John politely invites him inside for a meal. JL being too nice to a fan - became his downfall

Well, to me, lyrics always meant a lot. Maybe has something to do with Russian rock specific: here, in rock music, at least at the very beginning ("raise" and "blossoming"), lyrics were the main thing. And i've asked to quote the lyrics for a simple reason: when i'm listening to a song in a foreign language, like English or French, i am usually able to catch about 50 percent of words (depends on pronunciation, accent, etc.). That would not make much sense, making an opinion about something if one understands only about half of it... imho, of course.

Everybody gets something different from the music they love. Each of us interpret it in our own way.I guess that's why it's referred to as the universal language.

That brings up an interesting (imho) question: would a great lyric be able to make an average tune a masterpiece, or would an awful lyric ruin a great tune? Takes time to think...

There is definitely at least one band I don't listen to solely because of the lyrics & vocals.

I've long thought if one put another set of lyrics to Imagine, it'd be a pretty mediocre tune.

So I guess that means IMO the answer to your question, Sheena, is yes.

I guess it also depends on your definition of a great/awful lyric and a great/average tune. I'm sure we'd all have greatly differing opinions about both. Also, the whole can often be greater than the sum of the parts.

I tend to agree with Marc that generally lyrics mean much less to me than music, but of course there are many exceptions to that rule. Lyrics, just like music, are a personal thing, and what may appear a banal lyric to one person may really strike a chord with another.

Glenn, give a listen to Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler's version of "Imagine" from the Neck & Neck CD and see if you still feel that way. No words at all in their version.