Songs of Generations

My wife and I spend endless hours analyzing song lyrics. We are weird that way. Ravi Zacharias said if we really want to understand the thoughts and feelings of a generation, we turn to its poets not its philosophers. He is right of course. And the poets of our times are all in Spotify.

Way back in the 90's we had our alternative rock, and our bands saved us from the emotional self-flagellation of adolescence. Or maybe they provided the flagellum? Personally, it was all about Incubus. Even now when I hear the harrowing intro to Wish You Were Here, I still feel the dull pain of my lashes. I also turn into an insufferable person who uses phrase like "dull pain of my lashes".

Then there was the steady stream of boy bands and girl bands and divas. They all blend into one mushy testosterone-estrogen slushie ready to quench your most lusty thirst. They all preached sex, and MTV was their pulpit. We were an eager congregation, and we lapped down whatever they offered -- "Oops, I did it again", "I'll make love to you, like I always do", "Can I sex you up? Yeah.. yeah.." When I first heard Blue's Fly By , I felt like I could conquer the city. It didn't matter then that I couldn't "drive by in the low ride, hands high when we fly by".

This generation's old it girl seems to be Taylor Swift. She is cheesy, obvious, sappy, but oh so honest. I've long ago been fascinated by Love Story, and I am convinced she was having a religious experience when she wrote this song. She begs for salvation from her Romeo, expresses faith and doubt in him, and ultimately gets rewarded by getting to choose a white dress. Taylor Swift could very well be the high priestess to our modern day temple to Aphrodite.

The it girl title seems to now have been bestowed upon one Ellie Goulding. She is English, blonde, and has a nice textured voice. I am absolutely dig her song Lights. However, as in many songs approaching the EDM genre, I could not hear the lyrics. Nothing like a quick Google search couldn't fix. Here's the chorus:

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

I'd love to spend hours, nay days, with my wife analyzing these words. But the truth is, I don't think it means anything. The rest of the song also does not lend clues to its meaning. The singer just seemed to be bothered by a lot of memories, voices in her head and yes, lights. It has a fun upbeat tempo but with words that are absolutely meaningless.

Much like this generation, I suppose.