Lyrically Speaking: For No One

   It almost feels like cheating to pick a Beatles song for this feature.  I mean, just because everyone knows every note, every lyric by heart -- does that mean I shouldn't be able to share my thoughts? I say no.
  Yes, I could have pretty much picked any song from their epic discography, but "For No One," off of arguably the best Beatles album ever, "Revolver," is an amazing song.
  What gets me the is the depths of the heartache in each stanza: "She wakes up/ she makes up/ she takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry/ she no longer needs you." The horrible emptiness of a guy whose lover has psychologically left him.
  And the chorus -- "And in her eyes you see nothing/ no sign of love behind the tears cried for no one/ A love that should have lasted years" -- is broken-hearted poetry.
  The music too is sparse and sad, just Paul and Ringo on this cut. Paul reportedly plays a clavichord (a medieval stringed keyboard), as well as piano and bass. A French horn takes the solo, adding to the mood.
  From Wikipedia: McCartney recalls writing "For No One" in the bathroom of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps while on holiday with his then girlfriend Jane Asher. He said, "I suspect it was about another argument." (To read the whole entry, click HERE)
  For some reason, when I think of the Beatles and how they broke up in 1969, this song always comes to mind...


For No One
Your day breaks,
your mind aches,
you find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.

She wakes up,
she makes up,
she takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry;
she no longer needs you.

And in her eyes you see nothing,
no sign of love behind the tears cried for no one.
A love that should have lasted years.

You want her
you need her,
and yet you don't believe her when she says her love is dead;
you think she needs you.

And in her eyes you see nothing,
no sign of love behind the tears cried for no one.
A love that should have lasted years.

You stay home,
she goes out,
she says that long ago she knew someone but now he's gone;
she doesn't need him.

Your day breaks,
your mind aches,
there will be times when all the things she said will fill your head;
you won't forget her.

And in her eyes you see nothing,
no sign of love behind the tears cried for no one.
A love that should have lasted years

News and videos

Some of this and a little of that before the big splash of the next issue of Modern Acoustic, which should be posted early next week (HERE).

A bunch of new albums from some of our favorite artists are slated for release right after the first of the year. Here is the list I have... feel free to send me others
The Decemberists "The King Is Dead," Jan. 18
Iron & Wine "Kiss Each Other Clean,"  Jan. 25
Lori McKenna "Lorraine," Jan. 25
Dala "Everyone Is Someone," Jan. 25
The Low Anthem "Smart Flesh," Feb. 22
Zoe Muth (album title to be announced), April 2011
Lucinda Williams, "Blessed," March 1

And now for some fun videos...
The curling scene from the Beatles' "Help"


Josh Ritter on the creative process and his responsibility to his audience

Across the Universe: the Beatles reign

My wife is a big fan of Julie Taymor and is working on the props for "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," so we spent this morning re-watching Taymor's movie "Across the Universe." For those who haven't seen it Taymor uses Beatles songs and characters from the songs to piece together a story about the history of the '60s. The movie itself is only partially successful: Some of the characters are a little wooden (hello, Evan Rachel Wood), and the movie really doesn't inspire much connection to the characters. But there are some great scenes -- including one in which soldiers in only their underwear are carrying the Statue of Liberty through the jungle while singing "She's So Heavy" (below). Taymor uses each Beatles song to help tell part of the story, and for the most part it works fine; in fact, sometimes surprisingly well. And there are some great cameos by Joe Cocker, Bono and Eddie Izzard that are fun as well.
What really stands out though, and not that this hasn't been said before, is how great the Beatles songs are. The film just drives home the point that there is no band or band's music that has influenced this country more than the Beatles. And please, let's put this Beatles vs. Stones argument to rest. I love the Stones, but there really is no comparison. Some might argue that Elvis in the '50s had a similar influence. I can't argue that since I wasn't there, and others might bring up Dylan. Both are individuals (I did say band), but I would also say that Dylan had a huge effect on a certain group of people and his music was a huge influence, but it does not come close to the cultural impact the Beatles had.
All this, I'm sure has been said, dissected and analyzed before. But in watching that film, and the way Taymor layed out the songs -- even in some of its wild artificiality -- it just made me appreciate the Beatles that much more.
Just my thought for the day.