Shadow

[loraline]

Shadow

You were the green light that I saw that first made me try
You were the spark in my eye,
You were the thorn in my side

I took you to somewhere new
That somewhere was always in you
I led you there it is true
But all that came after was you

You the picture, me the frame
Me all the rules, you the game
Me the way up, you the fame
You the excuse, me the blame

Legendary tales thick and fast
Each more extreme than the last
Where to go next was a task
Only one outcome, a crash

Here comes the day once again
But this is the last time my friend
You must have known this would end
The damage left I had to mend

I say goodbye, walk away for the final time

[Jade]

Those lyrics are just gorgeous yet so very sad… and the words would already tug at my heartstrings if it was "only" a poem… but married to this absolutely beautiful melody and with his vocals and the arrangement it is an unbelievably moving song.

During the time I was waiting for Above The Cosmos to arrive and listening to the snippets of the songs on John's website each and every day for two weeks, this song has been my favourite track (later it would change when I heard "Happy Hour" in its entirety and it revealed all its brilliance). What I truly love about "Shadow" (apart from the lyrics and all the above) and what really connects with me is the so splendidly embedded musical reference to Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto, as he is one of my favourite composers since I first heard his music at the age of 6. IMO, his Symphony No.2 in E minor, especially the 3rd movement, is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written (though I'm probably a bit biased as it holds a lot of fond memories. Although I have it on CD I still prefer listening to the worn-out Vinyl which I know so well from my childhood-days and which my Dad gave to me shortly before he died in 2004).

To begin with (when I only heard the snippet) I thought "Shadow" was a song John wrote for a woman after a lost love, though by now I'm not quite so sure about this anymore… maybe it's the "this is the last time my friend" line that gave me a different impression. Knowing that it is the most personal song on ATC I would never dare to ask John what made him write this song and he most likely wouldn't answer anyway (which I'd completely understand). The same goes for "Public Apology".

I have to admit that sometimes I find it kind of interesting to get to know a bit about the story behind a song. For example, when I first heard U2's "Sometimes you can't make it on your own" I also thought it was sung from a man to a lover. Then Bono was talking about it and said that it was a song he had written about the relationship to his father and since then I hear this song completely different and am loving it even more.

Okay, since I'm already a 'wee bit' off topic (again) , another thing:

As for the meaning of song-lyrics in general, I once came across a statement by Matthew Fisher (one of the former band members of (still existing?) Procol Harum, concerning the meaning of the lyrical content of the very old but really great song "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", who allegedly said in an interview on BBC some years ago: "It's never bothered me that I don't know what these lyrics mean. This is what I find rather hard, that, especially in America, people are terribly hung up about lyrics and they've got to know what they mean, and they say: 'I know, I've figured out what these lyrics mean.' I don't give a d@mn what they mean. You know, they sound great...that's all they have to do."

Well, not really my point of view, but an interesting approach nonetheless...

Back to topic: THANK YOU John for writing "Shadow"… it’s such a beautiful song. Much to my own amazement, many of your 'songs', such as "Shadow", "Ongoing" or "Dreamstealers" do have an equally deep emotional impact on me like classical music, and that's great.