"Only the Good Die Young."
― mime kampf (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:16 (six years ago) link
"Emma tried to run away" & "Laura's feeling just ideal"Belle and Sebastian - This is Just A Modern Rock Song
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:26 (six years ago) link
'There There My Dear' by Dexys
― woof, Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:29 (six years ago) link
hmmm, kinda feeling like it should be second-person or somehow more "directly addressed." like "This is a song about Susan" in Everclear's "So Much For The Afterglow" would count I'd say.
― Newb Sybok (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:30 (six years ago) link
xxpost I would specify that the idea here is songs which directly address a person rather than simply naming them. Like imagine if 'Sara Smile' was called 'A-Wontcha Smile a While for Me'.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:31 (six years ago) link
Yes, Dr. C gets it.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:32 (six years ago) link
"Annie are you OK?"
― coombespair gaz prices (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:32 (six years ago) link
"Now, Andy did you hear about this one?Tell me, are you locked in the punch?Andy are you goofing on Elvis, hey, baby?Are we losing touch?"
― coombespair gaz prices (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:34 (six years ago) link
Non-famous!
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:38 (six years ago) link
forgot that bit
Smooth Criminal still counts tho
― coombespair gaz prices (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:42 (six years ago) link
Yes, that's a good one.
It just struck me this morning what an odd authorial choice this is for a songwriter to make, addressing a song to someone specific but whose relationship to the singer is oblique or unspecified. It seems like a fairly rare phenomenon but I look forward to y'all proving me wrong.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:45 (six years ago) link
And I mean also the thing where the direct address is almost an afterthought and not part of the title. I'm overexplaining, and I apologize profusely.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:48 (six years ago) link
these feel like a cheat but...
Beautiful South – Song For Whoever
Paul Simon - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
― faust apes (NickB), Thursday, 11 January 2018 14:51 (six years ago) link
10,000 Maniacs - Gun Shy
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:21 (six years ago) link
Famous blue raincoat by Leonard cohen
― kolakube (Ross), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:37 (six years ago) link
Not sure if that counts, it's addressed to his brother but he mentions jane often
― kolakube (Ross), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:44 (six years ago) link
I stand by my initial choice of "Come out, Virginia, don't let me wait / You Catholic girls start much too late," as direct address.
Another one you may want to look at is "Thunder Road." "The screen door slams / Mary's dress waves... Don't run back inside / Darling you know just what I'm here for."
Sure, there is a gap between the non-title named character and the direct-address sections; does that disqualify it? If so you are definitely looking for a weirdly narrow category.
― mime kampf (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:46 (six years ago) link
*Starts to type "Empty Garden"*looks at "non-famous" in thread title* gets more covfefe
― Monster fatberg (Phil D.), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:48 (six years ago) link
The Who, "Baba O'Riley" ("Sally, take my hand...")
Grateful Dead, "Loser" ("Last fair deal in the country, sweet Susie")
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:51 (six years ago) link
I am definitely looking for a weirdly narrow category, YMP. It's what I do.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:51 (six years ago) link
Alrighty then. Rock on witcho bad self, OL.
― mime kampf (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:53 (six years ago) link
iirc half of springsteen's songs are addressed to mary
― mookieproof, Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:53 (six years ago) link
Actually if we're going Springsteen, "Born to Run" is a better example ("Wendy, let me in, I wanna be your friend, I wanna guard your dreams and visions" etc.)
― Monster fatberg (Phil D.), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:54 (six years ago) link
usually if a song is directed towards somebody, it's enough to get their name into the song title. right? "alison," "maggie may," "4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)," "Mandy," etc.
in these examples, the lyricist probably just could've penciled in "baby," but chose a name instead
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Thursday, 11 January 2018 15:54 (six years ago) link
Also Pixies' "Gigantic"
― Monster fatberg (Phil D.), Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:01 (six years ago) link
Disco 2000 by Pulp seems to meet all the criteria but feels against the spirit… maybe because the name is so foregrounded?
― woof, Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:05 (six years ago) link
was thinking earlier about the way Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" moves backwards and forwards between using the title word as a generic endearment and an actual name
which rules it out of this thread but made me think
― coombespair gaz prices (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:21 (six years ago) link
I suspect "So Like Candy" does the same thing, NV.
― mime kampf (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:28 (six years ago) link
"Death at One's Elbow" by the Smiths
― mahb, Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:34 (six years ago) link
The Kings, "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide"
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:38 (six years ago) link
Outkast, "Roses" is a confusing one since the opening "Caroline" turns out to be third-person but then we shift into direct address for most of the lyric.
― Newb Sybok (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:43 (six years ago) link
If only T. Swift had dropped a specific music writer's name into "Mean" we'd be getting somewhere.
― Monster fatberg (Phil D.), Thursday, 11 January 2018 16:59 (six years ago) link
Oh, per my original post and the mention of 'Caroline' I just remembered that Charlotte Hatherley also does this in 'Paragon'.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link
Actually if we're going Springsteen, "Born to Run" is a better example
or "meeting across the river" ("hey eddie...")
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 11 January 2018 17:46 (six years ago) link
not a second-person address, but seems to fit here:
the kinks "rock and roll fantasy" ("dan is a fan and he lives for our music / it's the only thing that gets him by / he's watched us grow and he's seen all our shows / he's seen us low and he's seen us high")
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 11 January 2018 17:50 (six years ago) link
billy joel "sleeping with the television on" ("i've been watching you waltz all night, diane...")
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 11 January 2018 17:53 (six years ago) link
So many Steely Dan songs. But those are like 90% fictional characters.
― flappy bird, Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:13 (six years ago) link
Fictional characters are total fair game.
― the smartest persin in the room (Old Lunch), Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:17 (six years ago) link
Todd Rundgren - We Gotta Get You A Woman
“Leroy boy, is that you?”
― faust apes (NickB), Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:20 (six years ago) link
"Get Back" - Jojo and Loretta are both given direct instructions.
― Newb Sybok (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:40 (six years ago) link
Interpol - "Evil"
"Rosemary / Heaven restores you in life" and "Sandy, why can't we look the other way?"
― flappy bird, Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:45 (six years ago) link
Kid Creole:
Oh Annie - I'm not your daddySee if I was in your blood then you wouldn't be so ugly
― new noise, Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:46 (six years ago) link
argh named in the title... sorry.
― new noise, Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:47 (six years ago) link
probably a ton of Madness songs fit this as they always sang about characters. without even thinking, off their debut album, In The Middle of the Night : "Nice Man George, newsagent on the corner. Dirty old George ... "
― mark e, Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:47 (six years ago) link
a whole bunch of Spoon songs do this ("Black Like Me," "Eddie's Ragga," "They Want My Soul" off the top of my head)
― Simon H., Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:51 (six years ago) link
"Eddie's Ragga" (which never mentions anyone named Eddie) takes the unusual step of invoking some's full name:
You can break my legs, you can kick me downstairsBut there ain't no getting over Joanie Hale-Maier
― Simon H., Thursday, 11 January 2018 19:55 (six years ago) link
"Venus in Furs" by VU
― Josefa, Thursday, 11 January 2018 20:05 (six years ago) link
this thread made me realize that 8 out of 11 songs on "music for big pink" are either entirely in the second person or have at least a verse / chorus in the second person.
the only one that might belong here is "the weight" for the "take a load of, fanny" lyric
― budo jeru, Thursday, 11 January 2018 20:06 (six years ago) link
Seasons in the Sun, but only in the last verse ("Goodbye Michelle...").
― gjoon1, Friday, 12 January 2018 01:36 (six years ago) link
Maybe Fire and Rain (Suzanne directly addressed in 1st verse).
― gjoon1, Friday, 12 January 2018 01:45 (six years ago) link
Bobby Conn "Angels" largely concerns someone named "Richard" who has a bad trip at a party. it's in third person but the chorus is pretty much addressed to them.
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 12 January 2018 01:59 (six years ago) link
"Ballad of a Thin Man"
― Newb Sybok (Doctor Casino), Friday, 12 January 2018 02:49 (six years ago) link
good one
― flappy bird, Friday, 12 January 2018 02:49 (six years ago) link
Mr. Marks in McCartney's "Temporary Secretary." I feel like Paul has soooo many of these but I'm spacing beyond that one and "Get Back" which was already mentioned.
― flappy bird, Friday, 12 January 2018 02:51 (six years ago) link
how about Laurie Anderson "O Superman"? is the military industrial complex a person? feel like 'o judge' counts. at the very least there's always mom (hi mom!)
― flappy bird, Friday, 12 January 2018 02:53 (six years ago) link
"Stacy's Mom" is just outside the ring, as the song is addressed to Stacy, not the mom, but her name is there nonetheless.
― Newb Sybok (Doctor Casino), Friday, 12 January 2018 02:56 (six years ago) link
The Cure - 'The Drowning Man': "Oh Fushia, you leave me breathing like the drowning man".
― LeRooLeRoo, Friday, 12 January 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link
Laura Nyro - "Wedding Bell Blues" is addressed to Bill
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Friday, 12 January 2018 16:54 (six years ago) link
Mansion - Stripper Vicar
“Dear Mavis, I'm compelled to write this letter...”
― faust apes (NickB), Friday, 12 January 2018 16:59 (six years ago) link
lol autocorrect, that should be Mansun obv
― faust apes (NickB), Friday, 12 January 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link
This is a song for Karen!
― JoeStork, Friday, 12 January 2018 17:13 (six years ago) link
Don't Look Back In Anger?
― Colonel Poo, Friday, 12 January 2018 17:17 (six years ago) link
or does that not count because it just mentions a random name?
― Colonel Poo, Friday, 12 January 2018 17:18 (six years ago) link
"This bottle, of Stephen's" - from Weezer's 'Say It Ain't So' (Rivers' Cuomo's stepfather)
― PaulTMA, Friday, 12 January 2018 17:18 (six years ago) link
yeah I think that's the same, doesn't really count because it's not addressed to Stephen?
― Colonel Poo, Friday, 12 January 2018 17:19 (six years ago) link
Kurt Cobain's father in 'Serve the Servants.' Although his name isn't mentioned: "I tried hard to have a father but instead I had a dad / I just want you to know that I don't hate you anymore / There is nothing I could say that I haven't thought before."
― flappy bird, Friday, 12 January 2018 18:45 (six years ago) link
on that note see "Grandma take me home" in Nirvana's "Silver".
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 12 January 2018 19:00 (six years ago) link
Future of the Left "Arming Eritrea" is directed, angrily, to someone named "Rick." I remember it getting hyped on ILM and me being totally baffled as it seemed to be the whiny screechings of a teenaged lout, grounded by his stepdad.
― Righteous wax chaperone, rotating Wingdings (Doctor Casino), Thursday, 18 January 2018 16:01 (six years ago) link