Monday 28 February 2022

Great tunes ruined by lyrics - or not...

You know the problem. A lovely tune - but later somebody turned it into a song; and now, whenever you hear the tune you simply can't help but hear the words as well...

And when the words are sentimental tosh - well, that makes it even worse. 

It's a rare and difficult feat to write a lovely melody - so having it ruined thus must be exceptionally irksome. 

Example one is the Londonderry Air:


Gorgeous stuff; until some chap called Frederic Weatherly gave it some maudlin lyrics - and made it a staple of intoxicated bar singers on the Celtic Fringe. (For example.)  

Or Brahm's Lullaby - really beautiful: 


But not enhanced by the fact that I always sing-along with a jingle from a TV advert with a baby doll for little girls: Tiny Tears, Tiny Tears - You're my very own baby. Mother's here, Tiny Tears, singing you a lullaby.


One the other hand - sometimes the song is So Good; that it must be forgiven. The finale from Mozart's Horn Concerto K495 is certainly a joyous piece:


But the comic song devised by Flanders and Swann is so utterly brilliant that maybe it even adds to the enjoyment:


2 comments:

Wm Jas Tychonievich said...

Here is Taiwan, garbage trucks play "Für Elise" as they drive around, and someone has created lyrics about recycling to go with the tune.

easty said...

Tis why I listen to Japanese music. Have no clue what they're saying.