There’s no such thing as a true story. As soon as you start telling a story, making it relevant and interesting to me, hooking it into my worldviews and generating emotions and memories, it ceases to be true, at least if we define true as the whole truth, every possible fact, non-localized and regardless of culture.
Think of how this relates to songwriting. If you’re writing a song about something that happened, you might find there are some good reasons to stray from the ‘truth’. Sometimes rearranging or omitting some details can make the song flow better musically. Sometimes enhancing or embellishing the story can strengthen the emotional impact. Sometimes exaggeration is exactly what the song needs.
Don’t get hung up on the facts – leave the facts to journalists. The role of music (and other art) is to communicate emotions.
Are you an artist or a journalist?
-Kim.
To true Kim. People get so hung up on the meaning behind a song, who it is exactly referencing and the sub plot behind. I frankly just don’t care. All I care about is did the song move me, did it cause the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up and did it have a transcending effect on me for the moments I was listening to it. If the answer is a yes then bloody good because that’s what it’s all about to me. The rest, the who’s the what’s the where’s, pfft, care, I’ll leave that to the anoraks.
Great post Kim. It’s made my Twitter RT list for the day.
Cheers
Mike
“Did the song move me?” – that’s probably the most important question of all.
-Kim.