There is a small handful of songs that I absolutely cannot listen to, for various reasons.
"You Are My Sunshine" tops the list. It so incredibly sad... even thinking about it to type this comment is really difficult. Like, hide-the-razor-because-the-cutting-will-start-again difficult. I have no idea why.
I was engaged at one point to a lady who sang that to me more than once and I was seriously freaked out because I was fairly certain she actually meant the lyrics (and looking at the full lyrics now, she didn't even go through all the verses). That and generally stuff in that vein gave me enough pause in planning the wedding that she finally had enough and broke things off, which I was relieved by because in hindsight I knew on some level something was seriously off but didn't have the maturity/confidence to break it off myself.
For me it's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I heard it for the first time as a kid while reading a book that was talking about AIDS and the people that died from it, no joke. It's taken me 30 years to forget the association between the two things.
Me, too, but in my case I do know why - when my son was born (2 months premature), we had a lot of health scares with him and my wife insisted on singing that song to him over and over again.
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping,
I dreamed I held you in my arms,
but when I woke dear, I was mistaken,
and I hung my head and cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
you make me happy when skies are gray
you’ll never know dear, how much I love you,
please don’t take my sunshine away.
I’ll always love you and make you happy
if you will only say the same
but if you leave me to love another
you’ll regret it all some day
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
you make me happy, when skies are gray,
you’ll never know dear, how much I love you,
please don’t take my sunshine away.
You told me once dear you really loved me
that no one else could come between
but now you’ve left me and love another
you have shattered all my dreams.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
you make me happy, when skies are gray,
you’ll never know dear, how much I love you,
please don’t take my sunshine away.
Fortunate Son is a perfectly good song to for draft dodgers:
Yeah, some folks inherit star-spangled eyes
They send you down to war
And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"
They only answer, "More, more, more"
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no military son, son
It ain't me, it ain't me
I ain't no fortunate one, one
He said that the “inspiration for the song” was the disparity in those who were drafted and those who were getting deferments. “Back in those days we still had a draft, and something I was very upset about was the fact that people of privilege, in other words rich people or people of position, could use that to avoid the draft and not be taken into the military,” Fogerty said.
People interpreting Fortunate Son as a celebration of military service (it seems to me these are mostly the same people who also use Born in the USA as if it were a celebration of the US) are the ones in the wrong here.
Yeah, I think Fortunate Sun is pretty explicitly an anti-war protest song. If anything, I think it's weird when it gets used in military montages in movies and TV, although presumably some of them are aware of its meaning and are picking it for ironic effect.
Part of me suspects that hearing some sad songs as a child gives you a greater appreciation for life at a young age, and helps you to see the world while taking fewer things for granted. "Please don't take my sunshine away" sort of implies that it can be taken, its presence isn't granted, so be thankful that you have it.
News: Everything you took for granted and/or thought was ok, is bad and you should feel bad about it, and you will once we analyze it, part #54,272,343
"You Are My Sunshine" tops the list. It so incredibly sad... even thinking about it to type this comment is really difficult. Like, hide-the-razor-because-the-cutting-will-start-again difficult. I have no idea why.