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Listening to a Song
Today I drove to Round Rock in evening rush hour traffic (about a 37-minute trip) and home at night (quicker). Even though traffic is annoying, I kind of like the time alone with music.
Today I really listened to the lyrics of a song I had only noticed the chorus of before. The chorus is basically, "I know what kind of love this is." That part is sung quite loud. Then all the quiet parts are clues about what kind of love it is. And the super quiet parts are additional clues. It's only barely enough clues. You're not allowed to know what it's about until you've listened carefully.
You can simulate my experience by reading only the easiest-to-read parts, then only the easiest- and second-to-easiest-to-read parts, etc.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
After all, I was there when we made it.
I know why I did what I did.
To end a lifetime of wallflower shame.1
With Buster Brown,
The big man in the town,
When no one was around.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
The man in black said, "You won't mind.
It'll be over before you know it.
You can pretend that you are mine2
If it will help you to get over it."
In my parents' bed,
Pretending I am dead,
Remember every word he said.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
And when I wake he will be gone
And I won't see him until the classroom.
It's just a tale of right and wrong
That they will whisper inside the bathroom.
How she lost the key.3
She'll never be the same.
He doesn't even know her name.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
1The real lyrics are supposedly "wallflower shade."
2Really: "You can pretend that you are blind."
3Really she "lost the game."
First I wonder what kind of love it is. Then I realize it is a sad love. Then I realize it's a rape, probably by her uncle or someone. Then I realize it's one of her schoolmates and remember that she took some initiative of some kind, too; she didn't want to be a virgin anymore, and people are talking, so he must be bragging, so maybe it's not quite rape. Then looking at the real lyrics, I guess it's really just about someone who took a chance with the wrong guy, who just used her as a one-night stand. I don't know.
I always hope these pretty songs will be nice, but they rarely are.
Today I really listened to the lyrics of a song I had only noticed the chorus of before. The chorus is basically, "I know what kind of love this is." That part is sung quite loud. Then all the quiet parts are clues about what kind of love it is. And the super quiet parts are additional clues. It's only barely enough clues. You're not allowed to know what it's about until you've listened carefully.
You can simulate my experience by reading only the easiest-to-read parts, then only the easiest- and second-to-easiest-to-read parts, etc.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
After all, I was there when we made it.
I know why I did what I did.
To end a lifetime of wallflower shame.1
With Buster Brown,
The big man in the town,
When no one was around.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
The man in black said, "You won't mind.
It'll be over before you know it.
You can pretend that you are mine2
If it will help you to get over it."
In my parents' bed,
Pretending I am dead,
Remember every word he said.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
And when I wake he will be gone
And I won't see him until the classroom.
It's just a tale of right and wrong
That they will whisper inside the bathroom.
How she lost the key.3
She'll never be the same.
He doesn't even know her name.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
I KNOW WHAT KIND OF LOVE THIS IS.
1The real lyrics are supposedly "wallflower shade."
2Really: "You can pretend that you are blind."
3Really she "lost the game."
First I wonder what kind of love it is. Then I realize it is a sad love. Then I realize it's a rape, probably by her uncle or someone. Then I realize it's one of her schoolmates and remember that she took some initiative of some kind, too; she didn't want to be a virgin anymore, and people are talking, so he must be bragging, so maybe it's not quite rape. Then looking at the real lyrics, I guess it's really just about someone who took a chance with the wrong guy, who just used her as a one-night stand. I don't know.
I always hope these pretty songs will be nice, but they rarely are.