What makes folk music, folk music? Is it its sound, or thematic and tonal origin? Well, like all music genres, there isn’t one thing that defines folk music. However, if one were trying to narrow down what makes folk music folk music to one thing, they would probably say that one thing is its lyrics.
Videos by American Songwriter
Whether a folk song is a telling the tale of a storied protest ballad or reiterating the importance of kinship, more often than not, the lyrics of folk music connect with someone for days, months, years, and even decades. That being said, here are three timeless folk music lyrics that still hit home to this day.
“One Too Many Mornings” by Bob Dylan
“As I’m one too many mornings / And a thousand miles behind”
Bob Dylan‘s use of epistrophe on “One Too Many Mornings” is not only lyrically catchy but also poetically cathartic. Concerning the latter reason, this Dylan line has remained timeless for decades, given the universal insightfulness residing within it.
Hopelessness is not often a positive sentiment, but it is a sentiment that provides one with clarity. And seemingly, that is what Dylan articulates in this line. In short, the speaker knows that no matter what they do, the love they wish to obtain will never come to be, thanks to the physical and ideological distance that separates the two lovers. In other words, Dylan’s lyric is a beautiful way to say, “It’s over, and we can now live the rest of our lives.”
“The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel
“Still a man hears what he wants to hear / And disregards the rest”
Simon & Garfunkel offered the world some of the best poetic deliveries of all time, but one of the many elements that make their music utterly timeless is its blunt honesty. In the first verse of the folk ballad, “The Boxer”, the duo delivers this line. A line that speaks literally instead of figuratively, and for that reason, there is no grappling with imagery or vehicles, only meaning.
Despite not including any poetic artistry, this line still holds tons and tons of metaphysical weight. To us, the line articulates how people create their own realities by disregarding the things that taint it. However, it could also merely be talking about a stubborn individual. Either or, there is a myriad of meanings one could pull from this bottomless line.
“That’s The Way The World Goes ‘Round” by John Prine
“That’s the way that the world goes ’round / You’re up one day, the next, you’re down / It’s half an inch of water and you think you’re gonna drown / That’s the way that the world goes ’round”
The chorus of John Prine‘s single “That’s The Way The World Goes ‘Round” doesn’t make any specific points above love, loss, joy, or hope. Rather, it makes a more general claim on all of them, a general claim that articulates the weirdness of the world, but not why it is weird.
It seems Prine is nudging the listener to accept the world as is, which is to accept the arbitrary ebbs and flows of both positive and negative energy. “It is what it is,” that is seemingly what Prine says with these simple yet limitless lines, and as a result, it has remained a staple amongst country and folk fans for years and years.
Simon & Garfunkel 1977.© Chris Walter.
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.