“Hound Dog” was originally a Big mama Thornton song and the lyrics were more explicitly about a man trying to get into a woman’s pants. The original lyrics for the chorus were:
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog
snoopin’ around my door.
You can wag your tail,
but I ain’t gonna feed you no more
The lyrics were changed to be “more radio friendly” by a band called the Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, who more or less made it more literally about a dog. Elvis saw their own performance of the song in Vegas, liked it and asked them if he could do their version himself. He thought of that version as basically a goof on the original.
Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” is about a guy who loves his woman because she is co-dependent and supports his alcoholism and drug abuse.
The entire album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is pretty much a compendium of Clapton obsessing over Pattie Boyd (who was at the time married to Clapton’s friend George Harrison). “Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad?” and “Thorn Tree in the Garden” are particularly twisted. It’s a great album musically–perhaps the best composed album in all of rock music–but it has a twisted view of romance and love.
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train]
Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” is about a guy who loves his woman because she is co-dependent and supports his alcoholism and drug abuse.
[/QUOTE]
The only thing I can think of is that in the last verse, Clapton mentions his SO helping him home after he’s had too much to drink at a party. When the song came out around 1978, I doubt that reference gave anyone pause but now people are more likely to assume it’s a sign of a serious drinking problem.
“A Heart Needs A Home” by Richard Thompson is about two people who get together because they’re lonely and when the relationship goes bad, they won’t breakup because they’re afraid of being alone again.
But if we’re going to include JoCo in this he may need his own category; he’s written more than a few songs with somewhat unhealthy ideas about love.
Just off the top of my head:
[ul]
[li]Better[/li][li]Make You Cry (although arguably a stalker song).[/li][li]Not About You (errm… another stalker song).[/li][li]Shop Vac[/li][li]Soft rocked by Me (although arguably creepy).[/li][li]Someone is Crazy[/li][li]Take Care of Me[/li][li]The Future Soon[/li][li]Till the Money Comes[/li][/ul]
… Betty and Me… Millionaire Girlfriend… Blue Sunny Day…
You know, it might be easier to go through his discography and name the ones that aren’t unhealthy love songs.
It’s still kind of a big leap from “I had a little too much fun at a party, and I had my wife/partner drive me home” to “I’m an alcoholic, thank goodness I have my wife/partner to help me when I go on a binge”. I know plenty of people who have had too much on a couple of occasions and AREN’T alcoholics. I do know a couple of people who have had DUIs, at least Eric had the sense not to try and drive, right?
And where on Earth does the “drug abuse” reference come up? Unless that’s supposed to be some vague illusion to something Eric Clapton himself might have done, but I don’t see it in the song.
Really, all he says is that he has an aching head, so he gives his girlfriend/wife the car keys, and she helps him to bed. It’s a huge stretch to alcoholism and drug abuse.
I’ve always interpreted the song as a breakup that the singer hasn’t gotten over. However, I agree that the song fits the category no matter what interpretation is put on the lyrics.
You want me to find someone else to love
Someone who loves me too
The way you used to do
But each time I go out
With someone new
You walk by and I fall to pieces.
Or for that matter, most of Patsy Cline’s catalog. Or a good sized hunk of country music in general.
In bluegrass / mountain / English-Scottish-Irish ballads, there are a whole slew of guys killing their girlfriends for various reasons. I guess when the country genre evolved, the dysfunction remained, but the remedies weren’t quite so extreme.
How dare you say that my behavior is unacceptable
So condescending unnecessarily critical
I have the tendency of getting very physical
So watch your step cause if I do you’ll need a miracle
Interpreted as a rant by a band to the record company it makes sense.
Interpreted as a guy mouthing off to his (ex)girlfriend- creepy and unhealthy.
Tracey Chapman’s For My Lover Two weeks in a Virginia jail
For my lover, for my lover
Twenty thousand dollar bail
For my lover, for my lover
And everybody thinks
That I’m the fool
But they don’t get
Any love from you
But at least the protaganist wonders Is this love worth the sacrifices I make?
What you’re forgetting is the most obnoxious part about that song, which is that it’s “If I WAS Invisible”. The grammar bothers me even more than the sentiment.
Yeah, the song is supposed to be a joke. When the guy says, “saw your wife the other day… she’s uglyyyyyyyyy!” it was like Eddie Murphy telling his friend, Gus, that he married a bigfoot. So every time the song gets to that part “She’s uglyyyyyyyyyyy…” I mentally add: “Goonie-goo-goo!”
