Before beginning my official topic for today, I have to report that poor Lucy Lima Bean, our sweet Yellow Labrador, is suffering from IVDD. If one is a dog, this is much worse than H1N1. IVDD stands for Invertebral Disc Disease, a condition of the upper spine for which Labs have a genetic predisposition. The poor girl is on prednisone and pain pills, cries when she stands up, and generally breaks our hearts with the sad look on her sweet face. I swear, sometimes having a dog is like having another kid.
Now to the strange lyrics of the title. I have Sirius Radio in my car. It's great, and I particularly love station #6 which is all 60's music with DJ's like Cousin Brucie, who younger people reading this blog probably never heard of. This morning #6 had a tribute to Soupy Sales, another radio and tv icon of the past, who passed away yesterday.
Sorry, for sliding away from my point. Listening to 60's music reminded me of some of my favorite strange lyrics of that time. My first nomination for weirdness and ineffectiveness in words goes to that 60's masterpiece "Love Potion #9." Here's the lyric that bothers me: "I took my troubles down to Madame Rue/You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth/ She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine/ Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine." To this point, the words are great. It's the next line that gets me: "I told her that I was a flop with chicks/ I've been this way since 1956." Has a dumber line ever been written than "I've been this way since
1956?" Can't you see the lyricist sitting at his piano trying to get a rhyme for "chicks" and having to settle for "1956." I mean what happened in 1956? Was he successful with chicks in 1955? The lyricist needed to be more specific. Something like, "it's just that chicks and I don't work/perhaps 'cause I am such a jerk." That sets the reason right out there for the listener to understand and maybe identify with?
Even more thought provoking is the repeated chorus in the Lovin' Spoonful song "Darlin' Be Home Soon." The verse goes like this, "But darling be home soon/ I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled/My darling be home soon/It's not just these few hours but I've been waiting since I toddled." That's some bizarre lines. How many rock songs feature dawdled and toddled as a rhyme. But the chorus that follows, "For the great relief of having you to talk to," is the line I have always wondered about it. This guy adores this girl. He's adored her since he "toddled." And he can't wait for her to come home because he wants to talk!?! Just what does the line "for the great relief of having you to talk to" really mean!? And for that matter, just what is a "lovin' spoonful?"
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