I noticed something the other day while listening to music: a lot of my favourite songs have oddly specific lyrics. I’m talking lyrics that make the average listener go ‘huh?’, ‘you had to be there’ lyrics. I love a cheesy, generic pop song as much as the next person – ‘Fame is a Gun’ is probably my most played song at the moment – but there’s something special about these songs that aren’t made for everyone. They’re endearing, really. Like reading someone’s journal. Sometimes the entries are funny, sometimes sweet, sometimes sad. But always they remind me of my own humanity. Somehow I feel seen in their uniqueness. How many strange, serendipitous things happen to me on a daily basis that I’d like to put into a song? Alas, I am no lyricist, so I keep these tunes on repeat instead.
Wednesday – Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)
The song that inspired me to write this post – Wednesday’s ‘Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)’ is a perfect example of a song with oddly specific lyrics. Take, ‘They hung his dirty jersey up in a trophy case / Next to his girlfriend in a picture with a varsity face’, or my personal favourite, ‘Weeds grew into the springs of the trampoline / You saw a pitbull puppy pissin’ off a balcony‘ – there’s something about the way Karly Hartzman spits the p’s in the second sentence that scratches something in my brain. The lyrics in this are bitter and cutting and I just know they were cathartic to write.
Samia – Charm You
I have been a fan of Samia’s since she only had a few songs on Spotify (‘The Night Josh Tillman Listened to My Song’ is still one my favourite songs of hers, vocally speaking). The thing I love about Samia, even more than her raw and passionate vocals, is her ability to turn ordinary events into poetry. Her literary influences – for example, Raymond Carver with her third studio album Bovine Excision – are evident, and yet, her songs are still so uniquely her. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but if we’re talking oddly-specific lyrics, ‘Couldn’t we believe it was the hand of God / Making water boogie to a Kesha song‘ is my favourite. It took someone explaining it to me to realise she’s talking about a water fountain.
Big Thief – Mythological Beauty
Speaking of singers with insane songwriting abilities… Adrienne Lenker, everybody. Nobody does it quite like Big Thief’s frontwoman, and I mean nobody. Lenker could take a shopping list and turn it into a piece of music so beautiful it will have you in tears. She is acutely perceptive and vulnerable, to the point that listening to one of her songs feels like an invasion of privacy. Take my favourite lyrics from ‘Mythological Beauty’: ‘You held me in the backseat with a dish rag soaking up blood with your eyes‘ and ‘You gave Andrew a family who you thought would love and take better care / I have an older brother I don’t know, he could be anywhere‘.
Taylor Swift – Invisible String
Anyone who has listened to the album Folklore will know what Taylor Swift is capable of. This album is widely regarded as her best for its masterful storytelling, and it holds a special place in my heart. Though I love the fictional story in ‘Last Great American Dynasty’, ‘Invisible String’, which is arguably the most personal and sappy song on the album, holds the top spot for me. I love love! Favourite lyrics include: ‘Teal was the colour of your shirt when you were 16 at the yogurt shop / You used to work at just to make a little money‘ and ‘Bold was the waitress on our three-year trip getting lunch down by the lakes / She said I look like an American singer‘. The cheeky self-referential nod in the second example gives me the biggest lump in my throat and I can’t explain why!
Joni Mitchell – California
The confessional songs of Joni Mitchell stand the test of time. Though my favourite Mitchell song is probably ‘Cary’, written about Cary Radditz, a hippie she met while living in the caves of Matala, Crete (as you do), ‘California’ has my favourite lyrics. The entire second verse about a loveable thief is just eggcellent: ‘I met a redneck on a Grecian isle / Who did the goat dance very well / He gave me back my smile / But he kept my camera to sell / Oh the rogue, the red red rogue / He cooked good omelettes and stews / And I might’ve stayed on with him there / But my heart cried out for you‘. Everyone sing it now… ‘California, ohhhhhhhhh, Californiaaaaa…‘.
Feature photo: Graham Tolbert.
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