ANALYZING A SONG

        Those of you that know me know that I have two loves; telling a story and singing a song.

        Some songs have no message worth telling. The Beatles once had a song called She Loves You.

        If you just concentrated on the title, you would think there would be somewhat of a story in the            song. However, the song consisted of the words She Loves you yeah yeah yeah and the next 

        line was She loves you yeah yeah yeah and so on. Even a non-musical genius could remember

        the words yeah yeah yeah. 

 Country Music is a mix of happy songs and tearjerker songs. Now Roger Miller had a string of              songs that were happy and carefree. Walking in the Sunshine is one of my favorites. Put a                  smile upon your face as if there's nothing wrong. Sing a little sunshine song. Happy and sometimes         comical like his song "Hang Me" or Doo Wakka Do or King of the Road. He was magical with lyrics     but like so  many before him , he left us, he got involved with drugs and died too soon.  He  could   have become a musical genius with his ability to put words together with insightful  songs such  as  Husbands and Wives. England Swings put a smile on many faces. You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd which I would not have tried even with a few drinks in me.  Daddy used to sit on the back porch and sing : Keep on the Sunny Side. Cheer up My Brother, Walk in the Sunshine.

    A while back, I wrote a story about how a song affected me. Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

    sang "Sylvia's Mother".  Most love affairs have a mother involved. Even the song, "You never

    even called me by my name (A good beer drinking song) Steve Goodman, John Prine and David 

    Allen Cole all mixed together. Steve Goodman died way to young but from cancer instead of 

   drugs.  City of New Orleans is a classic. 

  Anyway, I have always liked Gene Watson. Just a plain old country boy who loved to sing. Who

  has not heard his song Farewell Party? One of his songs that touched me lately was a song called

 Full Time Fool. I would like to share my feelings about the song which reminded me of another song

called "Ruby don't take your love to town or Johnny Cash's Sun Records side B of a Young Cowboy named  Billy Joe who did not listen to his Mama and took his guns to town which reminded me of 

some Merle Haggard songs such as Lonesome Fugitive and Mama Tried.

Anyway, I digress as I usually do. So, here goes my analysis of the story in the Gene Watson song

Full Time Fool which goes as follows:

 [Verse 1]

Where are you going tonight, Mary Ann?
What time are you coming home?
You sure look pretty in your new satin dress
I'll miss you the minute you're gone
Don't worry 'bout me 'cause I'll be on my knees
The moment I turn out the lights
And I'll pray that the dreams I'll be dreaming of you
Don't turn into nightmares tonight

[Chorus]
I love you come hell or high water
I know you can't help what you do
I wonder if I'm part-time crazy
Or am I a full-time fool?

[Verse 2]
Where are you going tonight, Mary Ann?
I'll keep a light in the hall
It's better to know that you're mine now and then
Then never to have you at all
I'll keep on living my life just for you
So love me whenever you can
You're not a one man's woman
But I'm just a one woman's man

My Analysis

Where are you going tonight, Mary Ann?

1. (This is a little twist on Country Music. Usually, it is the man who goes out and leaves the wife at home. Like Jerry Lee Lewis' song: "What Made Milwaukie Famous. It's late and Babies waiting and I know I should go home." Of course there is Ruby who took her love to town.)

What time are you coming home?

What a question! You know she does not have a certain time she is going to return.

You sure look pretty in your new satin dress

(She is not wearing that hip hugging dress for him and it is easy to see that he is sucking up and trying to ignore that she is going out to meet a lover or to get picked up in some bar) Complimenting her dress is not going to keep her from taking her love to town.)

I'll miss you the minute you're gone

(He is speaking from experience and you can almost physically feel his pain. This has to be a real life experience not just some made up lines to make a song)

Don't worry 'bout me 'cause I'll be on my knees

(He is actually praying for her to change. Figure the odds. God is too busy to get involved. )

The moment I turn out the lights

( He is gonna lay there in the dark. He is not going to sleep)

And I'll pray that the dreams I'll be dreaming of you

(His love is not enough to change her behavior. But in his dreams, she is different.)

Don't turn into nightmares tonight

( the nightmare is just reality no matter how much he hopes that her behavior is just a dream)

 I love you come hell or high water

(A pretty old time expression that says a lot in a few words. He is hopelessly lost)

I know you can't help what you do

(He is making excuses for her to ease his feeling of helplessness)

I wonder if I'm part-time crazy

(No, he is not)

Or am I a full-time fool?

(Yes, and he knows the answer)

 
Where are you going tonight, Mary Ann?

(He don't want to hear an answer from her, it would be a lie)

I'll keep a light in the hall

(Not necessary. She won't be returning until morning light)

It's better to know that you're mine now and then

(He is reduced to being grateful for just a little attention. He is pitiful)

Then never to have you at all

(This reminds me of a song my first cousin Eddie Dean loved to sing:  If you were mine to lose I'd gladly let you go just to know that you were mine to lose)

I'll keep on living my life just for you

(Therein lies the problem. He is not living his own life and she is the most important part of his existence. He has no life to call his own. Born to lose)

So love me whenever you can

(Sad, he is satisfied with just a crumb. He has zero self esteem.)

You're not a one man's woman

(Hope it did not take him a long time to figure that out)

But I'm just a one woman's man

(Totally)

The next song I intend to analyze is an old Conway Twitty song: "Darling, You Know I Wouldn't Lie" That song is just about the opposite of Gene Watsons' song "Full Time Fool.

Hope you all enjoyed my take on Full Time Fool.