September 18, 2007
The Writer’s Rule
Written by Margo Maguire in Jaunty PostShow, don’t tell. How many times do writers hear this Golden Rule?
You know how certain books will strike you … and stick with you for days? These books have writers who manage to get everything just right. They put all of the “rules” into play in ways that touch us, haunt us, resonate with us.
Sometimes a song will hit you the same way. I happened to hear the following song recently, an enormously popular piece from years ago. Listen to the lyrics. Just these few stanzas tell a whole lot, but oh so subtly. Bobbie Gentry evokes a mood without spelling anything out. She merely recounts a casual discussion at a family supper. Can you believe she recorded this song when she was 23!
Gentry only hints at the underlying story, which makes it powerful and haunting. Yesterday, Anne asked you about movies that moved you … What songs or books that have stuck with you long after reading or listening to them?
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Rainy Says:
And what the heck did they throw off of Choctaw Ridge?
That song is a good case in point that says so much so casually.
I love the song recorded by Kathy Mattea (”Where have you been?” I think) that tells the love story of two soulmates who are never separated until they end up in a nursing home on separate floors, now quite elderly and confused. One day they are reunited and his wife, not spoken for years asks again, “Where have you been? You know I am not myself when you are gone?”
Always brings tears to my eyes.
A recent book I read called “Sister of My Heart” by Chitra Divakaruni is a beautiful story with such powerful characters and a storyline that evokes a feeling of harsh reality with a fairy tale quality. I felt part of the book long after I read the last word.
Margo Maguire Says:
Rainy - I know that Kathy Mattea song! It definitely gives a feeling, doesn’t it? Lots of country songs do that … So does opera. Puccini’s Nessun Dorma and O Mio babbino caro come to mind (even though I don’t understand the words!)
RobynDeHart Says:
I love story songs, probably why I always tend to prefer Country music. Martina McBride does great story songs like God’s Will (about a little boy named Will who is disabled), it pretty much brings tears to my eyes every time. George Jones’ classic, He Stopped Loving Her Today, is the greatest country song ever, IMHO. Music from Les Miz makes me cry as does Memory when sung by the amazing Betty Buckley. Music is really the easiest way to access my emotions and while I tend to steer clear of angsty movies and books, I LOVE angsty songs. Tim McGraw’s Angry All the Time and Brad Paisley’s Whiskey Lullaby. Yeah, see, I love Country.
Clarisse Says:
Years ago I fell in love with the song Angel from Montgomery by John Prine. Bonnie Raitt had the most famous version of it on her Road Tested album (with Jackson Brown and Bryan Adams singing backup). I recently found a much earlier version of this song by Bonnie Raitt on YouTube and it totally blew my mind. Check it out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=b6XwuZYGJBQ
Karen H in NC Says:
Of all of the songs that most deeply touched me, I’d have to say that ‘Ode to Billy Joe’ ranks first. It has always puzzled me as to what did they throw off that bridge and why did Billy Joe have to kill himself because of it?
There are so many great songs such as: “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by Willie Nelson, “Independence Day” (especially the chorus) by Martina McBride , and “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses” by Kathy Mattea just to name a few of my favorites.
And then there is early Elvis with ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’. That song really shows off his voice like no other song he ever sang.