Musical Tragedies of the 70s
Posted: August 4, 2006 12:10 pm
Another thread prompted me to think about the song TIMOTHY. SO I googled it... found my answer and then some. I never thought about tragic songs...but after reading this list.... I must agree. LOL
Can you think of any????????
"Timothy," The Buoys
Certainly the only top 40 (or top 100) record about cannibalism. Three guys go into a mine, it collapses, only two come out. Thing is, they can't find Timothy's body, and while the narrator can't remember exactly what happened, he knows they were really hungry. Where IS Timothy, anyway? Believe it or not, this was written by Rupert Holmes, who would later ask us if we liked pina coladas.
"Wildfire," Michael Martin Murphey
The quintessential horse song. Teenage (probably) girl loves horse, horse gets lost, girl goes looking for her, dies of exposure. We think. The narrator - whose relationship to the girl is unclear - is about to die, as well, following her and the horse to that great ranch in the sky. Bookended by a heartbreaking piano figure, this is probably the one song here not drowning in sap.
"Billy, Don't Be A Hero," Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
This monument of Seventies kitsch is one of the best written songs here - it's catchy and precise, even if the arrangement is beyond hokey. Billy wants to fight in the war (any war, really) but his young fiance warns him that it's pointless, and that he'll probably die. Billy does just that, and his fiance throws the death notice away. Stunningly anti-war, even for its time.
"Seasons In The Sun," Terry Jacks
This one's vague... we're not sure who's dying here, or why, just that it's irredeemably sad. Our subject is young, was "the black sheep of the family," and so probably died of misadventure. Either way, this mawkish little ballad is one of the finest examples of life-flashing-before-your-eyes lucidity.
"The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia," Vicki Lawrence
Most of the songs on this list are rather vague, indicating death rather than explaining it. This Grammy-winner, however, boasts a plot so intricate it's still confusing people. Vicki (star of the Carol Burnett Show) kills her philandering sister-in-law, but her brother's the one who takes it in the neck instead. Oops. Don't take the law into your own hands, Vicki - take them to court!
Can you think of any????????
"Timothy," The Buoys
Certainly the only top 40 (or top 100) record about cannibalism. Three guys go into a mine, it collapses, only two come out. Thing is, they can't find Timothy's body, and while the narrator can't remember exactly what happened, he knows they were really hungry. Where IS Timothy, anyway? Believe it or not, this was written by Rupert Holmes, who would later ask us if we liked pina coladas.
"Wildfire," Michael Martin Murphey
The quintessential horse song. Teenage (probably) girl loves horse, horse gets lost, girl goes looking for her, dies of exposure. We think. The narrator - whose relationship to the girl is unclear - is about to die, as well, following her and the horse to that great ranch in the sky. Bookended by a heartbreaking piano figure, this is probably the one song here not drowning in sap.
"Billy, Don't Be A Hero," Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
This monument of Seventies kitsch is one of the best written songs here - it's catchy and precise, even if the arrangement is beyond hokey. Billy wants to fight in the war (any war, really) but his young fiance warns him that it's pointless, and that he'll probably die. Billy does just that, and his fiance throws the death notice away. Stunningly anti-war, even for its time.
"Seasons In The Sun," Terry Jacks
This one's vague... we're not sure who's dying here, or why, just that it's irredeemably sad. Our subject is young, was "the black sheep of the family," and so probably died of misadventure. Either way, this mawkish little ballad is one of the finest examples of life-flashing-before-your-eyes lucidity.
"The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia," Vicki Lawrence
Most of the songs on this list are rather vague, indicating death rather than explaining it. This Grammy-winner, however, boasts a plot so intricate it's still confusing people. Vicki (star of the Carol Burnett Show) kills her philandering sister-in-law, but her brother's the one who takes it in the neck instead. Oops. Don't take the law into your own hands, Vicki - take them to court!
