What is the deal with Cracklin' Rose?
This is one of the worst songs I've EVER heard. It was on the radio today as I was driving home and I almost had to pull over and vomit in public for the first time since, like, second grade. Has anyone ever really listened to the lyrics?
Cracklin rosie,
get on board
Were gonna ride
till there aint no more to go
Taking it slow
Lord, dont you know
Have made me a time
with a poor mans lady
Hitchin on a twilight train
Aint nothing here that I care to take along
Maybe a song
To sing when I want
Dont need to say please
to no man for a happy tune
Oh, I love my rosie child
You got the way to make me happy
You and me, we go in style
Cracklin rose, youre a store bought woman
You make me sing like a guitar hummin
So hang on to me, girl
Our song keeps runnin on
Play it now
Play it now, my baby
Cracklin rosie, make me a smile
blah blah blah.
Cracklin' rose. What IS that? Do you know any woman on the face of the earth who would want to be referred to as cracklin ANYTHING??? Rumor has it (this is apocryphal and little-known) that the song is really about a cheap bottle of Canadian red wine. Okay. Maybe. That would help a little. But still...
Okay, my point -
Neil got PAID to write that song. And Neil got PAID a lot of money when he recorded it. He still gets PAID every time it plays on the radio. And admit it - you knew the chorus, right? The Oh I love my rosie child part. But did you ever really listen to the song?? Did you know it was about someone (or something) named Cracklin' Rose? And yet we sing along and support the madness. Some of you (you know who you are) even bought the record.
Another favorite of mine - both for its equally patronizing message about women (love that in a man) and its sheer inanity, is Someday Lady by Bob Seger. Check this out...
I've seen you smiling in the summer sun
I've seen your long hair flying when you run
I've made my mind up that it's meant to be
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Out where the rivers meet the sounding sea
You're high above me now, you're wild and free ah but
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
Someday lady you'll accomp'ny me
He sees her out there smiling, wild and free and makes up HIS mind (did anyone check with her?) that she's now lucky enough to stop her life and join his! Wow. What a treat. Sign me up.
Okay - back to the point.
Do you know how many GREAT songwriters there are out there? And how many amazing songs there are that you've never heard?? When is the last time you went to hear a local musician perform live? Admit it. You can't remember, can you?
Check your local entertainment guide and go out and hear some live music this weekend. Preferably at a small venue. Buy a CD at the show. And a T-shirt. And send the performer a drink. Support your local artists! You'll thank me in the morning.
Go to a GOOD CD store (the ones where the employees actually know something about music - not the ones in the back of a bookstore) and buy a new CD by someone you haven't heard of. Tell the person helping you who you like and they can suggest some alternatives. (Amazon and iTunes are also happy to make suggestions).
Find the GOOD songs! They're out there!
Some recommendations:
any of Trish's music, of course - (my personal fave songs: Concession Stand Song, Thelma and Louise - for obvious reasons - Relentless), Patty Griffin (1000 Kisses is one of my all time favorite records EVER), Bruce Robison (genius songwriter - check out the CD Wrapped), Johnny Goudie (Boy in a Box - beware: contains the F word), Lucinda Williams (Essence is just astonishing. Also contains the F-word. A theme, perhaps?)
Neil and Bob both have new records out, btw. I think they've made enough money, don't you?
Rock on - Louise
5 comments:
You left out 17 year old Maren Morris. She has some really good music out there and she is from TX. As for Cracklin' Rosie - It's a lame song. Seger's song, on the other hand, is just positive thinking. If you want a song that will make you pull of the road to puke try Seasons in the Sun. That song should be packaged with an airline barf-bag!
Seasons in the Sun... What a DEPRESSING song. I can't listen to that without thinking of all the disasters of 7th grade. No one should ever have to go there...
Unfortunately, my creative side has been buried under about 40 years of BS, but I do love the written word and appreciate the new blog. I'm a huge fan of Thelma's work...I'll have to get familiar with Louise's books.
Being creatively challenged has never stopped me from being a critic of course. Just becuase I can't turn a phrase myself, I'm perfectly comfortable dumping all over the attempts of those who can. And I'm with you completely on "Cracklin' Rose"...the lyrics are truly putrid (unless they are truly about wine...hadn't heard that theory before and it may give me cause to re-evaluate my opinion). The key to listening to this song for the average, no-talent music afficianado (like me), is to forget the lyrics altogether and just allow the familiar melody to transport you back in time. I was pretty easy yo please when I was 12 and a really happy kid. Singing along to Cracklin Rose didn't require any comprehension of the words...life was new and the tune made me feel good. When I hear the song these days, I simply disengage my frontal lobe and let emotion take me back to a simpler time.
Of course, that doesn't work for anything written after I was about 17, so thanks Trish for your inspiring lyrics...I'm able to enjoy your songs with both lobes!
Another problem with Seasons in the Sun is that it's like a cancer. Once you think of the tune you can't get that awful song out of your head without using a gun!!!
'cracklin' rose' is RED WINE. store-bought 'woman'? get it? he's a hobo drinking rose (rosay) or cheap red wine.
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