A SONG INSPIRED BY JAZZ & FAMOUS FILMS / THE SEMANTICS OF REFERENCE
We all know the scene from ''A Streetcar Named Desire''
where Marlon Brando shouts ''Steeeellaaaaa'' repeatedly to no avail.
It's one of those scene you know even if you hadn't seen the film.
It's a great film and the atmosphere of the two main characters
inspired me to write a song that would reference other famous
films and legendary jazz albums that share a similar atmosphere.
The name of the song is ''Streetcar Named Desire'' and the lyrics
are a loose narrative about a guy in love with a woman who doesn't
want to engage in an intimate relationship with him.
It's a fairly common subject, approached to in a different way.
The next reference is Sunset Blvd., a film by Billy Wilder.
It's about a screenwriter who develops a dangerous relationship.
How fitting is that? Being in love with someone who doesn't want
you is a very dangerous relationship for the Self.
Then there's Hitchcock's ''North By Northwest''.
It's a film about a guy who was mistaken for a government agent and
pursued across the country, trying to survive. The main motive is
running away from someone. I used that motive and turned it around.
In the song, my main character isn't running away from someone,
he is running away from himself.
Then we have Stanley Kubrick and his famous film Dr. Strangelove.
The full name of the film is Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to
Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Now, the film is about an insane
general that tries to trigger a nuclear war and a bunch of politicians
are trying to stop him. It's not exactly about love but I used it as
a metaphor: strangelove/love is strange/it's strange to love
and the impossible relationship is the bomb. All you need to do
is stop worrying and learn how to embrace it.
A reference of a more recent date is ''The Silence of the Lambs''.
It's a great movie with a heavy subject - serial killers. There is this
one particular serial killer who skins his victims. A chance for another
love metaphor: we usually say that we are ''naked in the face of love'',
totally exposed and vulnerable. So being stripped of your own skin
is a literal way of being naked. If someone skins you, you're as naked as ever.
And now for the jazz thing. One of my all time favorite jazz artists is
John Coltrane and one of my favorite jazz albums is ''A Love Supreme''.
Not many people know this, but there is an official church called
The Church of Saint Coltrane where people worship his music
(particularly ''A Love Supreme'') instead of the Bible.
Churches are places of worship and the Church of Saint Coltrane
is a place where you worship Love instead of a deity. And there's
another thing: ''A Love Supreme'' deals with a break up.
The final reference is the Apocalypse.
It can be viewed in a biblical sense as the second coming of Jesus Christ,
it can also be viewed as a personal apocalypse, a time where you have to
deal with yourself in pursuit of your better self or as a film by F.F. Coppola
''Apocalypse Now''. You can choose whatever meaning you see fit.
Now that you know all this, read the lyrics below and listen to the song.
Please, tell me what you think and feel free to comment and discuss.
I'm looking forward to your reactions!
I stepped out as I step out
into the wild wild woods of the city
and a streetcar named Desire hit me
and believe me darling, I saw the stars.
My face looks like an accident
a car crash
and my body needs a car wash
not a shower
and the Moon just doesn't care
and doesn't move
and it's far from my place
on Sunset Blvd.
So I always move
North by Northwest
trying to forget her
and how to get her
I never had her
and since I met her
I see those clear blue eyes.
The stars are the birthmarks
on your back I used to connect with my fingers
oh, how it tingles
and then the shapes move.
I hear someone on the radio
talking about love
now, I'm no Dr. Strangelove
but it is strange to love
it's stranger than fiction.
And in my mind we are in bed
but it feels like going home
with a praying mantis
'cause I don't know where I'm headed
for you have beheaded me.
so I always move
silent like the lambs
trying to forget her
and how to get her
I never had her
and sice I met her
I see those clear blue eyes.
so the morning comes with suicidal roosters
that jump from the rooftops
screaming at the Sunrise
in the shape of a stained-glass window
I've seen those before
in the Church of Saint Coltrane
where I sought acknowledgment
a resolution
a pursuance
a psalm
for our Love Supreme
so I always move
in the direction of the Apocalypse
trying to forget her
and how to get her
I never had her
and since I met her
I see those clear blue eyes.