About a song: Tiny Toon (2)

February 20, 2008

Lyrical Excerpt:

Took all this time to grow up
Is it a time to weave a cocoon?
Dreaming about my white night mare
Of turning into a tiny toon

I thought I kept walking
When did I leave my feet behind?
I cared about what I’d become
Or did I seek out to be your kind?

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Being one of the older songs, Tiny Toon shows some juvenile sounding lyrics, particularly in the second verse. But considering how old it is (12 years or so) I’m amazed by how it stays relevant after all these years.

I don’t recall much about how the song or the lyrics came about, but this one has stayed the same except for a word here or there through all this time.

I think the reason for its longevity or timelessness is because it’s somewhat vague and open-ended. I detect the same themes that appear through many of my songs: confused identity, frustration toward larger institutions or mass media, and yearning for change.

Unlike music, I think lyrical styles are harder to change or evolve. People generally stick to same themes, vocabulary and tone. Some of the great writers in rock — Bono, Michael Stipe, Tori Amos — as brilliant as they are, I don’t hear them changing lyrically all that drastically.

Similarly, I think my evolution as a lyricist is subtle though hopefully noticeable. My recent songs feature a lot more word play and less concern for coherence. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t early gems. Tiny Toon is one of them.

All that said, if I am writing a completely different genre of music — whether it’s folk, blues or children’s songs — I can adapt a lyrical style more appropriate for that genre. Though art rock is my main muse, I do hope to branch out and release my material in those other areas some time in the future.

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