reply to post by Mr Green
Hello
Ms Green.
It’s always a worthwhile exercise trying to decipher – or even understand – pop song lyrics. Sam Sparro’s “Black and Gold” is one to
ponder over endlessly, and it still
makes me listen to the radio when it’s being played as it can be interpreted so many ways, but more
importantly in a way that is specific to me (but that’s a different story). Lyric’s are often as straightforward as they read, with no pretence or
hidden meaning. Sometimes, they’re not and it should be remembered that lyricists are some of the most capable writers around. Think how hard it
would be if you were asked to evoke strong emotions, or make a total stranger stop and think, just by penning three minutes’ worth of seemingly
unconnected prose that would then be set to music. Not an easy task, and so close to
poetry it’s not true.
Besides, unless
chrisonabike decides to enlighten us as to what it means – which he has no need to do as that would negate each individual
take on it - then all we can do is speculate as to what “Bodies” means.
This song – in an early, and as then unpublished version - was used over two years ago as fuel for some extremely predatory and accusatory
speculation that Robbie had “found God”.
British pop star ROBBIE WILLIAMS has fuelled speculation he's found religion in a new video posting on his official website. In the footage, the
33-year-old is seen smoking a cigarette in a dark room, reciting lyrics from a new song called Bodies.
www.contactmusic.com...
The troubled rocker, who entered rehab to be treated for an addiction to prescription drugs earlier this year, declares his love for the Christian
faith by singing lyrics from what he claims is a new song…Robbie's recent behaviour has sparked concern among his family and friends.
www.monstersandcritics.com...
Robbie Williams has posted a video of himself professing his new found love for god…Er, sounds like a chart topper Robbie.
www.entertainmentwise.com...
You can almost
feel the glee in those journalist’s attitudes, can’t you, as they begin to circle around what they consider an easy target?
It makes me wonder if they ever stopped to think that they were being played by Mr. Williams, in the best possible sense. He comes from a long line of
pops stars that are capable of changing their professional personas, Bowie being the epitome of this chameleon-like skill, and I have no doubt that
Mr. Williams is any different.
When he stated – in regard to his new interest in aliens - to BBC Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans in 2006 - that:
"If L. Ron Hubbard can start a cult, then so can I. I'm not going to start it right now because I'm too busy. But I want to do it. I think the cult
will have to wait until next year. But it will be free and universal."
everyone and his dog believed that Mr. Williams was 1. mad, 2. being serious, and in the latter, to an extent, he may have been but not in a literal
sense. There’s no point doubting that he underwent strange experiences that changed his outlook on life. And more than likely – for him - this
happened at exactly the right time. The Universe works in mysterious ways…
But he’s a born survivor and a talent of incredible proportions. In my opinion there is no doubt that he would have seen a real creative opportunity
by utilizing his experiences positively, along with being able to openly expound on whatever form of “enlightenment” they gave him, all without
being overbearing or evangelical.
So, the lyrics aside, let’s speculate on the video (and this is from a purely personal viewpoint):
If you watch the entire video for “Bodies”:
vodpod.com...
then it immediately becomes apparent that he is telling us that he – and in a way all of us - is on a journey, one that can improve, and change, as
it nears completion. The starkness of the desert landscape enhances the isolation of his situation, an isolation that can only be escaped by
preparation (allegorized by shaving and checking the motorbike) and bringing the necessary fuel for the journey (inner strength).
The sheer passion with which he guns the motorbike can be seen as a release of pent up energy now unrestricted by previous constraints (the tin
lean-to it housed: a makeshift previous life), and his raised arms are a salute to a new found freedom of thought and belief.
But then, the fuel (confidence undermined by uncertainty caused by external criticism) runs out.
Once again he walks the wilderness, echoing the trauma of having to acknowledge that sometimes we are forced back into an previously unwanted life
that we still detest. As he walks, he eventually finds a road (his true path once again), but this time there is someone there who is willing to share
his journey (new and beguiling knowledge in the guise of a beautiful woman) and indeed lend help on it (the dune buggy). She is in the driving seat
but, after an exchange of words (receiving illumination and conformation that they are travelling the same path), he takes the wheel at her side (so
he may learn how to control his path).
Now able to travel even faster, a relationship develops between him and the woman, once a stranger now a partner (this a metaphor for the relationship
between man and enlightenment; the intimacy of realizing that owning a personal truth is possible). They embrace (self-explanatory) in the fire-light
(illumination).
As the sun rises (a new beginning), Mr. Williams is reborn. He strides confidently and altered (now capable of finishing the journey alone) dressed in
black (in mourning for his past life; even though it may have been troubled, he acknowledges that it was a stepping stone that lead him to his goal)
through a graveyard of aircraft (dead and useless concepts; paradigms now brought down to earth broken and discarded, shown for what they truly are as
rotting an worthless hulks).
A watch chain swings from his pocket, the sun glinting on its links (time is needed to capture illumination), and he gains the wing of a plane (old
concepts/personas/lives recycled into a stage from which a new beginning can be broadcast)and talks directly to the viewer.
The sun rises brilliantly above a wing now made ineffectual by its power source having been removed, never to rise again. A car, starkly sombre and
significantly clean against the washed-out and dusty background, approaches swiftly (a new stage of the journey beginning) and whisks Mr. Williams
away to horizons anew.
He stares into the sun, illustrating that accepting enlightenment can be accomplished and we should not be afraid.
Well, that’s my 2cent worth, for what it’s worth.
