Music is a universal thing. It is something that can be heard, felt, and even seen in certain circumstances. Music can be powerful, and it often comes with a message. In recent years, it would seem that one basic message has been placed on an indefinite repeat-relationships. Most mainstream music tells its listeners that they should be in a relationship. If they are already in a relationship-and it's bad- they should get out. Or, if they don't want a relationship, then sex is obviously the next step down from there. Musical meanings seem to have evolved over time, and then devolved just as rapidly.
One topic we often don't hear about on the radio anymore, is a simple song about friendship. A real balled you can belt out with your buddies, much to the annoyance of anyone within hearing distance. Jump back to the seventies and eighties, and we find songs that, while maybe not topping the charts, did very well for themselves. The year 1972 heralded the release of a song that has been remade time and again, for the timeless message of simply being there for someone. Bill Withers released the song "Lean On Me." It has seen no less than four remakes in its time. For those of us not inclined to jump back quite so far, look no farther than 1995's Toy Story. Randy Newman gives life to the melancholy "You've Got a Friend in Me." It almost makes you want to reach out and hug the toy closest to you. Friends don't necessarily need to come with benefits to be included in a song.
Another topic of songwriting that seems to have fallen out of favor, is simply talking (or complaining) about everyday things. Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" is just an entire song talking about how terrible and how deep in debt someone can become while working in the mines can be for people. The line "I owe my soul to the company store" was truer than most would think. Miners were often in debt until the day they died. Another famous song that is simply a man complaining about something is Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue." There is nothing like two minutes of a man complaining about the name his father gave him. It's actually a really funny song, if a tad bit violent.
Then there are those songs that are few in number, that really have no purpose other than being funny. Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" has no other reason to exist besides talking about someone wasting their time getting wasted. Don't do that. That is a very poor use of one's time-not to mention dangerous. Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" rambles on about how he stole himself a Cadillac by taking one piece every day, while working at a factory . What's happened to song content like that? ACDC even had a song that could fall under this bizarre category. Their song "Big Balls" has a vastly different meaning, depending on whether you're eight or eighteen.
Heartbreak is nice, but, for those of us that want a lighter topic to serenade our pets with while doing some spring cleaning, hopefully there will be a resurgence in songwriting of other topics. Take a listen to some of the songs mentioned here. You might be surprised.
