Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

On the journey of life our hearts struggle with questions about our lives. We question our direction and our purpose in an attempt to understand the choices we make and the things that happen to us that are beyond our control. Along with these questions, we ask ourselves what it means to care about each other, to live with each other and at the heart of it all, what it means to be a friend.

When the duo, Simon and Garfunkel released “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in 1970 the relationship between the two artists Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel was strained. They could not agree on the final track of the album as well as who should sing the title track. Paul Simon felt that Garfunkel should sing it as a solo and had to convince Garfunkel to do so. However, Simon has repeatedly said that he regrets this decision as it centered attention on Garfunkel. Simon and Garfunkel broke up later that the same year they released “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and since had a rocky relationship included a failed attempts at recording together and numerous reunion concerts.

It seems ironic that Simon and Garfunkel recorded one of pop music’s greatest tributes to friendship as the duo was breaking up. Even though “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” is a song that has a life of its own, the circumstances of its creation informs our understanding of the work. Maybe during the recording this song Simon and Garfunkel realized that they did not feel for each other what Simon wrote about and Garfunkel sang. The history of the song does give it meaning but makes us look at it in a slightly different light giving us a perspective to work from which adds a layer of depth to our understanding.

The melody of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” is carefully crafted featuring mostly step-wise motion (moving between notes that are right next to each other) feature some well-placed leaps. The melody builds in the first stanza bring motion in the melody into to different parts of the line. In the line “when you’re weary, feeling small” there is a slight drop towards the end of the line. The next line, “when tears are in your eyes” the motion of the melody in the beginning, which builds into the next line which draws out the words with longer note values. There is a jump in the middle of this phrase bringing out the word “your” which foreshadows the wide leaps in the chorus. The last line of this stanza “I will dry them all” mirrors the first line coming to rest, reflecting the meaning of the lyrics.

The next two lines “I’m one your side, when times get rough,” has it’s own rise and fall resting for a moment before the dramatic leap in the next line. The chorus starts with heartfelt leap in the line “and pain is all around,” and then slowly rises. The words “like a bridge over troubled water” slowly descends, which is followed by a descending angular contour reflecting the darkness of“troubled waters.” The words “I will lay me down,” rise slowly with a the determination of a boxer who refuses to stay down.

In the first and second verse the narrator reassures his friend saying how he will help if bad things happens. The lines “when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all” and “like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down,” is actions we want to do for our friends. We want to be able to fix problems and actively help them when things are difficult. Laying down over troubled waters is a self-sacrificing act. You aren’t helping someone conquer something by themselves but rather giving up someone of yourself so that they can get through their tribulations.

There is a change to optimism in the bridge assuring that the future is bright and that good things will happen, “your time has come to shine, all your dreams are on their way.” He says that in good times he will be “sailing right behind” not leading, not making something happen but supporting. Instead, of promising, “I will lay me down,” he promises, “I will ease your mind.”

Friendship is born from wanting to fix problems and develops into powerful feeling, a force that connects us to the friends in our lives. “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” challenges us to support our friends, not lead them, help them with problems, not fix them for them and to always be there with our friends in each others heart.

I have many friends who live in different cities and they can’t come by in 5 minutes when something bad happens. We try to see each other as much as we can but it’s hard. As I've grown up, I've realized that friendship is not about what we do for each other. Actions are just a manifestation of what is really important, what truly defines friendship, the feelings that we share.

These feelings sustains us when we are scared, tired and alone. These feelings remind us that over distance and time there is always friendship in our hearts. And these feelings brings us together so that we never face the future alone and have the power to calm the troubled water in our lives.

November Rain by Guns N’ Roses

"November Rain" music video

"November Rain" live performance

What makes a song epic? Is it the length, the instrumentation or is it simply the way the feelings that are expressed? The definition of what is epic is not a technical or an objective idea but rather a term that is thrown around to describe a song that stands out capturing something extraordinary.

Throughout the history of rock music, there have been many songs that people consider “epic.” People often thing of epic songs as being long and containing multiple sections like Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. I’m not sure what song I would consider the most epic song but I do know the one song that introduced me to this potential in rock music and that was “November Rain.”

In 1992, when Guns N’ Roses released “November Rain” it blew my mind. At that time I was ten years old and wasn’t interested in rock music. The other songs by Guns N’ Roses seemed too “hard,” too much like “noise” (my opinion has since changed) and I ignored most of their music. However, “November Rain” was different. Maybe it was the piano, or the slow build but the song felt different. Some may have viewed the first section of this song as not rocking as hard as their other music but for me it was exactly that reason which was why it appealed to me.

Coming out of a time when rock stars seemed more concerned with how big they could tease out their hair, Guns N’ Roses rejuvenated the rock scene. Axl Rose’s raspy rock voices, the lead guitar player, Slash’s aggressive sound and mind-blowing technique along with the rest of band created some of the most interesting and refreshing music in rock. “November Rain” was featured on Guns N’ Roses’ third album Use Your Illusion I.

“November Rain” is an insightful and honest contemplation of the hope, doubt and reality of love. The song begins like the sun rising. Synthesized strings grow with the first chord of the electric guitar glistening in the light. Against the back drop of a synthesized flute, Axl’s voice enter which could not be more real.

When rock singers sing they often put a slight edge in their voice as they reach high notes. Axl has that edge in his voice throughout his entire range. There is a maturity in this voice like a man who has lived a life of pain and although the voice is ragged, it has a sort of elegance as it flows through the melody line.

In the first section main section of the song (the first 6 minutes and 45 seconds). Axl slowly builds with a deliberate and contemplative pace.

When I look into your eyes, I can see a love restrained,
But darling when I hold you, don't you know I feel the same.

'Cause nothing lasts forever and we both know hearts can change,
And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain.

The song opens with a request to love in the present. Axl expresses empathy throughout the song as he does in the second line. The theme of destiny are introduced with this idea of change. The words “November rain” appear for the first time symbolizing the inevitability of change and candle is the love that must fight against this. In this next section, Axl reflects on the relationship and elaborates on this idea of destiny.

We've been through this such a long, long time just trying to kill the pain.
But lovers always come and lovers always go
and no one's really sure who's letting go today, walking away.

If we could take the time to lay it on the line,
I could rest my head just knowing that you were mine all mine.
So if you want to love me then darling don't refrain,
Or I'll just end up walking in the cold November rain.

Axl asserts that if we embrace the future, the reality of the fact that things are uncertain and hard then people could love each other. If she doesn’t love him now, he’ll end up walking the November rain which changes from the broad idea of destiny to personal loneliness.

Then the song takes different turn, the song washes out into a mixture of harmonic colors as Axl asks if “you need some time alone.” He comforts his love saying that everyone needs some time alone. These lines have a sense of sadness as we often take it personally when someone we care about says they need to be alone because at these time we often don’t want to be alone. By washing out the sound, the song provides more contrast and drama as it builds into the next section. Guitars explode in broad strokes of musical color as Axl sings reassuring his love in a more assertive and aggressive way.

I know it's hard to keep an open heart, when even friends seem out to harm you.
But if you could heal a broken hear, wouldn't time be out to charm you?

After “harm you” a mourning guitar lick reflects the struggle in the lyrics which foreshadows the end of the song. The song builds to the first guitar solo of the song, which expresses the time alone that Axl previously sings about. Like the music that came before the solo doesn’t feel rushed or hurried. There is not of showing off in the solo and like great Jazz solos, Slash doesn’t try to fill every beat with something but instead sustains notes artfully developing simple melodic ideas.

Axl follows this going back to the “need some time” section flipping it from “you” to “I” which Slash immediately follows by another shorter guitar solo. The guitar is another voice in this song expressing the longing and solitude of the song. Both guitar solos act as subtext creating space for us to reflect on the song and contemplate the feelings within the song. The end of this section pulls together these feelings coming to a conclusion in a powerful statement of destiny.

And when your fears subside and shadows still remain
I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness we still can find a way
Nothing lasts forever even cold November rain

Axl assures us that we can move past fear in our lives but reminds us that it always leave shadow in our lives, the memory of that fear. He assures that through that darkness, they is a way to love. This section ends with the most powerful line of the song stating that nothing last forever. November rain first symbolizes the destiny of change and then reflects personal loneliness. Axl discounts these things in this section saying that these things don’t last forever. However, in this reassurance saying that “nothing” last forever he is also embracing the idea that their love will not last forever.

After the triumphant ending of the first section, a hurried and frantic piano enters followed by raw guitars and a demonic guitar melody. A distorted and angry voices growls “don't you think that you need somebody, everybody needs somebody
you're not the only one.” Instead of a comforting reassurance of these feeling an angry voice that violently tries to convince that loneliness is universal. Axl expresses a level of optimism in the first section and then shows us the other side, the pessimism, the darkness and the doubt. Does this symbolize the relationship that Axl sings about in the first section ending or is this what Axl believes about the destiny that we all have to face?

This song moves through time with a deliberate pace and feels like it’s long without feeling drawn out. The different sections of the songs seamlessly move into each other and the guitar solos come in the perfect place to give us a change in the sound and time to reflect. Even though the song feels epic, it doesn’t tell a grand story but instead is personal and reflective. In this way the epic nature in “November Rain” becomes a personal journey speaking to fears and question that we have in our own lives.

Nothing lasts forever but that is what gives things meanings and makes us cherish the times that we have. This realization may seem to limit us but when we accept it, it frees us from fear and doubt and in that, through our lives, through love that we find ourselves.

I’m Yours by Jason Mraz

As we meet here tonight, our men and women in uniform stand watch abroad and more are readying to deploy. To each and every one of them, and to the families who bear the quiet burden of their absence, Americans are united in sending one message: we honor your service, we are inspired by your sacrifice, and you have our unyielding support.
-Barack Obama

As one of my fellow teacher’s brother, a staff sergeant in the United States Army, answered questions from a group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, I saw what Barack Obama described as the “quiet burden” in her eyes.

Home from Afghanistan for two weeks, the staff sargeant visited a group of students to talk to them about his experiences in the army. I’ve never heard someone currently in the military talk about his or her experiences in person. I hear people talk about on television all the time but there was something very different about this presentation.

He talked apolitically and his intentions were simple, to serve his country. This was a job and as he referred to the clothing that the men wore in Afghanistan as “man-jammies,” he reminded me that behind the training and discipline there was a man, not that different than myself or any of my friends.

The staff sergeant opened his presentation by playing a movie montage of pictures and video footage that he and some of his friends had put together for a guy in their unit who got shot in the leg and sent home. The pictures showed the daily life of the soldiers including their living quarter, going out on patrol and the unit’s dog (which seemed to be the most fascinating part of the presentation to the students). The movie had different songs in the background and the first song of the montage was “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz.

Now, without asking Jason Mraz himself, it seems fairly clear by the lyrics of “I’m Yours” were not intended to be a song about soldier fighting in Afghanistan. However, combined with the images in the montage the song became connected in my mind with the thoughts and feelings I experienced watching the images of American soldiers in Afghanistan.

“I’m Your” is a fun bouncy love song. The narrator is telling his love how he will not hesitate any more and give himself completely to the person that he loves. Mraz contrasts the nice lilt in the verses with a contemplative chorus. The funny thing is that as I listened to this song and watching the images of soldiers, my ear pulled out certain lines in the song that seemed to apply to the soldier experience that stuck with me.

“I fell right through the cracks, now I’m trying to get back.”

“And nothing’s going to stop me but divine intervention, I reckon it’s again my turn to win some or learn some.”

“Well open up your mind and see like me.”

“We’re just on big family, and it’s our God-forsaken right to be loved.”

I found myself holding back tears as these lines jumped out of the song to me. I imagined people younger then me looking out at the desert sky trying to get back home. In “divine intervention” we find our purpose but so does the other side and as much as we do win some, I hope we don’t lose any more. I don’t really know if I can see like a soldier but I try to get perspective and well, it’s just too much to think of.

The staff sergeant described the people of Afghanistan as being similar to us but it just seems so much easier to divide. Yes, there is the God-forsaken right to be loved, but by who, and with our concerns, not only with ourselves and our family how far does that love extend out?

After the video, he took some questions and a third grader girl asked “Have you ever been scared?” and without hesitation he answered “yes, I have been.” At that moment, I realized that I was scared as well.

Look, I’m not from military family, and I don’t really understand what it means to have someone that you love overseas fighting. I’m not someone who has a great grasp on worldwide politics or an in depth understanding on world history. I can’t really argue if wars are inevitable or whether we should be spending the amount of money that we do on the military.

All I know is that I can’t imagine my friends, let alone myself running into battle with 90 pounds of gear armed with a rifle and pistol fighting in a land across the world from the people I love. I look at my students and hope that they never have to face the challenges of a war when they grow up. World War II defined the “greatest generation” but part of me can’t help but wonder how much greater that generation would have been with over 400,000 Americans who died fighting for our freedom and the total of over 70 million human lives who died in the conflict worldwide. This lose is too much to comprehend but so is the loss of the brave soldier that I had the honor of meeting.

“I’m Your” last verse ends with “our time is short, this is our fate, I’m yours.” I know on some levels that we don’t really have power over the destiny of worldwide conflicts. Our time is short and if our duty that we take on is our fate, than a soldier’s path is in his or her control.

What we can’t forget is that every person over there is ours, not in the patriotic sense but in the human sense. These are our sons and daughter over there and sometimes I think we need to ignore the politics and convolution of these conflicts and remember that.

As we go about our lives, go to work, love our friends, the silent burden is for all of us to bear and in that, we’re truly are one big family.

Umbrella by Rihanna

“Umbrella” music video
“Umbrella” acoustic version

In my book, it’s pretty simple. If Chris Brown is proved guilty and convicted of the charges of assault and making criminal threats against his girlfriend Rihanna, then he is less than a man and deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life.

You don’t hit someone you claim to love. This isn’t just a thing about men, it’s unacceptable for woman as well. We’re not talking about a playing slap or the occasional tickle-war, we’re talking violence born in anger and fed by rage. What Chris Brown is accused of doing is horrifying, shocking and disturbing. It seems so simple. Someone hits you in anger, abuses you, they are scum, you dump them, do everything you can to make sure they get the most severe punishment possible and then you move on with your life.

Well, right now Rihanna and Chris Brown are staying together at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ mansion in Miami Beach. That doesn’t seem right, does it?

It is known statistically that there is a substantial percentage of battered women who return to their partners (something like 1 in 4). Even if that statistic is grossly overstated the fact that any woman would stay with an abusive partner is mind-blowing to me. This is my knee-jerk reaction and after doing some research there are many reasons why a battered woman may stay, some of which are emotional but many of them economic. However, just because there are logical reasons those women to stay, doesn’t mean that it’s right.

Before all of this news broke about Chris and Rihanna there was only one thing that popped in my head when I heard the name Rihanna: Is the “-ella, -ella, -a, -a –a, under my umb-er-ell-a” one of the stupidest ways of playing around with lyrics or is it pure po song genius (and since when did “umbrella’ become a four-syllable word)? I still haven’t settled the merits of the use of “-ella” but since I first heard, “Umbrella” it has grown in my mind as a beautiful statement of devotion but with all that has happened there is something in the meaning of this song that has changed.

The version of this song that appeared on radio and the music video is a mid-tempo dance track. It features Jay-Z in the beginning adding some star power to the song. The background instrumentals are a throwback to 1980s synthesized music with an added sense of musical vitality. The drum track is more dynamic then the drum machine tracks in the 1980s and the variety of synthesized sounds and their arrangement give a level of depth song.



What is at the core of “Umbrella” comes through clearer on the acoustic version. Other sounds in the original version add to the overall texture but also pull the ear away from the melody and words, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. After listening to the acoustic version, it becomes clear that what is most important in this song is not the drums or the synthesized backgrounds of even Jay-Z’s rap but the melody and the words.

Alone with a guitar Rihanna’s voice seems intimate and almost delicate. She displays a range in her voice from the opening slightly breathy tone, expressive flourish of notes on “magazines” and slight aching on the word “because.” The guitar and strings in the background perfectly support Rihanns’s performance, bringing a sense of solitude and sadness to this song, almost like she is singing this to herself.

In the first verse, Rihanna sings that in the dark you can’t see shiny cars. She is saying that when things are dark and painful, when you need someone the most, material things will not be there and she states that she will be there and share in the darkness.

The chorus is a statement of commitment through all circumstances. The words are simple and direct. The metaphor of sharing the umbrella in the “rain” is immediate. Sometimes it’s the most clear and present imagery that is the most powerful. The “-ella, -a” thing is a sung echo. Rihanna deconstructs the word “umbrella” giving us pause to let us ponder what the “umbrella” symbolizes. Musically it sounds stilted and unexpressive but at the same time it captures the way that words sometimes stay in our minds and circle around our feelings.

As the song builds through the bridge to the chorus, something changes in the song. When Rihanna sings “I’ll be all you need and more because” the music builds becoming more desperate and after this line builds the chorus sounds different. Instead of reassuring, the chorus seems to try to convince. The voicing (the way the harmonic notes are arranged) are more tense and Rihanna’s voice has a sense of heartbreaking desperation.

I don’t think that end of “Umbrella” sounded like this to me before all of news broke out about Chris Brown and Rihanna. We don’t know if she was suffering from abuse when she recorded “Umbrella.” Regardless, the sadness in all that we know about Rihanna now has overshadowed any other meaning in the song “Umbrella” not in bad way but a challenging way, forcing us to reconsider how we feel about the way we treat the people we love.

I don’t know what I’d do if one of my friends told me that they abused their partner or if one of my friends told me that their partner abused them. Honestly my first thought, my first reaction is that I would cut any friend who abused their partner out of my life and I would want to beat up any person who abused someone that I love. I know the violent reaction isn’t right and I probably wouldn’t do that, I’m not a violent man and I’m not sure if I would really cut out a friend out who has sinned in such a grievous way. I don’t know if that’s right.

The future of the relationship of Rihanna and Chris Brown are in their hands. No one knows exactly what they’ve been through or how they feel about each other. I don’t know if a relationship can come back from something like this. It’s hard for me to imagine that it could but I’m not a expert on spousal abuse, I honestly don’t know. I hope that Chris is held accountable for whatever he actually did and that he can get help to keep him from every hurting anyone ever again.

Even more, I hope for Rihanna what I hope for all people that she always has someone in her life that shares the she love she sings about providing shelter from the storms in life.

Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Bonnie Tyler

In the film Old School, there is a wedding reception towards the beginning of the film which features a band playing “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” with some “colorful” language inserted in the song. This band is the Dan Band, a comedic rock band that covers songs by female singers.



I find this performance hilarious. I don’t know if its so much the swear words or the way that the lead singer commits to this song with such exuberant passion. He isn’t so much expressing the deeper meaning in the song but grooving in the awesome-ness of this epic ballad. Moreover, the Dan Band is rocking out to this song in the exactly same way that my friends and I do when we hear this song.

The question hear is for those of us who love all that is “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” is do we love this song to mock it or because it offers a significant musical experience.

“Total Eclipse Of The Heart” was written by Jim Steinman who is responsible for other epic pop songs like Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back To Me,” Air Supply’s “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” and any Meat Loaf song that you know including “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (I’ll save you the time of listening to all seven and a half minutes of this song, what he “won’t do” for love is sleep with someone else, i.e. cheat on his lover).

If you listen to these three songs you will have used up the greater part of an hour, but what is more significant is the kind of drama that Steinman brings to his music, expressing each emotion with a majestic and sweeping feeling. These songs feature themes of love, loss, desperation and devotion, romantic ideas that through Steinman’s music are pumped up on steroids.

The “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” sounds great, but what does it really mean? It’s one of the most memorable pop titles but within the songs internal logic it doesn’t really make all that much sense. The song starts with narrator doubting the future saying that sometimes she feels like she is falling apart. A haunting background voice beckons her to “turn around” which is later extended to “turn around bright eyes.”

As the chorus begins she describes what love means to her not in a romantic and loving way but in a desperate plea. What follows is where the internal logic of the songs breaks down. The narrator earlier in the chorus describes love like a “shadow.” So, is the eclipse of the heart the shadow of her lover? It clearly is not her love as she is now falling apart. Whose love is the “love in the dark”? Is it her own or her lovers. Maybe it’s the fact that she wants this person in her life, and that it’s a destructive relationship. She desperately begs for him and once she gets it, it tears her apart. Or maybe, just maybe, this song doesn’t really have any internal logic at all and that the lyrics do is serve the broad strokes of emotion and drama throughout the songs. I like this idea better, it makes my head hurt less and seems to fit more with what the composer was going for.

As nonsensical as the lyrics are Bonnie Taylor’s performance of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” makes perfect emotional sense. She commits completely to the drama in the song. She doesn’t sing with great singing technique but that doesn’t keep her from giving this song her all. This “Rudy-esque” performance (wow, I didn’t know that Samwise could play football) is inspiring not so much for the sound of her voice the expression she brings to the song.

“Total Eclipse Of The Heart.” feeds our innate need to feel alive through drama. Even though in life we feel the highs and the lows of the human experience and in art we can have a taste of this in a controlled way. As bad as the tragedy and the glory at the end of film, we can unplug from it, share in the emotion but not the consequences of the situation.

Yes, on some level “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” is a ridiculous song, but sometimes if we let ourselves get caught up in the drama, not the logic (I already tried that) we can go on a journey and it’s awesome. I don’t think when I sing along to this song, I’m really mocking it. It’s fun, it’s dramatic and like a good summer movie, it can be a great experience without having profound levels of emotional development.

On some level rocking out to this song is like looking forward to emotional wrenching scenes in a sad movie, which we do. We love to revel emotional peaks and hearing Bonnie Taylor hit that high note and scream “I really need you tonight.” She rocks out in such a melodramatic way that we can’t help but feel like we are part of the journey in this song.

Maybe we are mocking this song, maybe not but for me it’s a combination of both, but regardless this song brings a smile to my face.

Now the music video is a different issue. Alone in mansion, ok, ahh creepy guy with lights in his eyes! Ok, calm down there are students sitting in class, um now one of them has a dove and then someone just threw water on guys with goggles, dancing ninjas?!?! She’s running, um fencers, dinner table, wait a sec, the bright kids are choirboys? Now why is there an angel?!? No way, she’s a teacher in a boys school and it was dream, I get it.

OMG!! One of the students has bright eyes!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, how can you not love this song?

Piece Of My Heart by Erma Franklin/Janis Joplin/Melissa Etheridge

Erma Franklin, the older sister of the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin who never made it big.

Janis Joplin, whose one of the most influential singers in popular music who died tragically from a drug overdoes.

Melissa Etheridge, a powerful singer-songwriter who inspired the world through her music, her voice and her courage as a breast cancer survivor.

These three artists are linked together by one song, “Piece Of My Heart.” Written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, this first recording of this song was by Erma Franklin the older sister of Aretha Franklin, one of the most influential singer in American pop music and ranked number one as the greatest singer of all time. While Aretha had great critical and commercial success, Erma and her other sister Carolyn struggled in the music business. Erma had a darker and less vibrant voice than Aretha. She faced other misfortunes in her singing career and in the mid-1970s left the business. Erma passed away in 2002 from throat cancer, never fulfilling her dream of making it in the music business while her younger sisters legendary status as the Queen of Soul continues to grow.



Erma’s biggest success was with “Piece Of My Heart” in 1967 which peaked at number sixty-two on the billboard hot 100 list. “Piece Of My Heart” expresses a unique struggle in which the narrator feels that she is giving all that she can to the relationship but wants to stick it out, even though it is causing her pain. Erma sings soulfully pulling back on “didn’t I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly could?” and later effortlessly moving across the range of her voice in the second verse “and you never hear me when I cry at night.” The background is classic Atlantic Soul with a laid-back gospel feeling in the background instruments and vocalists. Erma’s expresses the pain and struggle in the song but there is a sense of restraint not fully acknowledging the innate conflict within the song. In contrast, Janis Joplin mercilessly expresses inner turmoil like few other singers have ever done before.



In 1968, Janis Joplin with her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company covered “Piece Of My Heart.” Janis Joplin proved to the world that “a woman can be tough” performing and partying just as hard as her male contemporaries. Her attitude and style stood out against conventions of not only how people thought a woman should look but also how a woman should act. Even in our day and age, her scraggly appearance and raw voice stand out as a unique challenge to the way that people view the woman in popular culture.

After listening to Erma’s recording of “Piece Of My Heart” almost everything about Janis Joplin’s seems different. Instead of a clean blues band introduction, a dirty, raunchy and aggressive guitar with the rest of the band builds to Janis entrance. Though the bands sound completely different they both share a sense of bluesy expression leaning hard on notes that color the chords and pulling the tempo back creating different but expressive grooves.

Janis takes the blues convention and blows it apart. Her voice is raspy, untrained and has a tone that is both undesirable somewhat painful to listen to, However there is something so open and desperate in her expression that it not only intrigues but also engages the listener.

Janis starts the verse gently is after screaming out “come on.” Her tone cleans up on the word “feel” and then later on the next high note on “yeah” she howls leading up to the chorus. She sings the course with a chorus with a combination of anger, frustration and exacerbation. When she sings “you know you got it, if it makes you feel good, there’s almost a sense of servitude.

In the second verse, she adds layers to the lyrics repeating the word “never.” When children can’t find ways to express themselves sometimes they just repeat a word “I really, really, really, REALLY want this toy” this same kind of desperation and fixations is expressed when Janis repeats “never.” This is followed by Janis sobbing through the word “crying” before pulling herself together: “each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain, but when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.”

When Janis sings the out the loud high note after “you know you got it” in the second to last iteration of the verse, she shows us the most raw of emotion. There is nothing holding her back. It’s concentrated emotion with all the impurities left in the mixture. The amazing thing is how good hearing Janis’ pain feels to us as listeners. Unfortunately Janis’ demons were all too real and she died at the age of 27, from a heroin overdoes.

Melissa Etheridge is one of those artists that even though you may not love her music, you still hope for her success. Working her way up thought he music business she rejected the images that people suggested that she adopt working as an uncompromising singer and songwriter. Her breakout hit was “Come To My Window” and has released a total of ten albums, three of which have gone multi-platinum. One of the greatest female rock singers she is thought of as being the female Bruce Springsteen matching him in her musicianship and uncompromising devotion to her fans.

In October 2004, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer and in the following month, she underwent chemotherapy. Etheridge did not perform the next year and was rarely seen in the public eye. Then in February of 2005, she performed with Joss Stone in a tribute to Janis Joplin. Joss started the performance singing another Janis Joplin song “Cry Baby” and then Melissa Etheridge came out on stage, head bald from the side effects of chemotherapy and showed the world that she was back.

When she first approached the microphone and sang “c’mon” with her energetic and powerful voice it was clear that this was a special moment in popular music. After the huge opening of the song, the whole band quieted down and Melissa drew the crowd in. With her eyes closed Melissa quietly sang “didn’t I make you feel” and then opened her eyes and flashed a joyous smile and her face with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Her voice, a unique blend of soul and rock, sensuously snaked around the notes of the melody. The camera panned back for a long view with Janis looking on from above the band approvingly when Melissa sang, “well, I’m going to show you.” When the camera came back to her face as Melissa sang “a woman can be tough.”

With this performance, this song became not only a tribute of Janis’ legacy but also a glorious celebration of the spirit in woman all over the world who have courageously faced breast cancer. If Melissa Etheridge’s scream at the end of the performance and her whole performance doesn’t prove that a woman can be tough, I don’t know what does.

The legacy of “Piece Of My Heart” lies in Erma Franklin’s dreams, Janis Joplin’s tragic life and Melissa Etheridge’s triumphant performance. With each artist, layers of expression are added to “Piece Of My Heart reminding us of the power of music to express the spirit and soul of its artists. Through the artists we understand not only what this songs means to the artist but what it means to ourselves pulling us closer to a piece of our hearts.

The Heart of the Matter by Don Henley/India.Arie

I would like to think that I’m a person who is above holding grudges however one person comes to mind that I have yet to forgive for something she did over four years ago.

Maybe it’s because of how she not only disrespected me but also my wife, and maybe it’s because she let me down as a friend. If forgiveness is not only an act of excusing mistakes but also an act of renouncing our anger than in forgiveness we are not only acting to change the way other people feel but also to effect our own feelings.

Our popular culture has thoroughly examined almost every facet of love including the first kiss, falling in love, the sexual expression of love and the circumstances and aftermath of break-ups. However, few songs examine forgiveness, the final step in the break-up that in many ways is the hardest. Don Henley’s “The Heart of the Matter” examines forgiveness in a personal and meaningful way that challenges us to reexamine the feelings in our hearts arguing that though it’s impossible to forget, forgiveness lies within ourselves.

Don Henley became popular as a member of the Eagles, the most successful recording artists of the 1970s maintaining two albums in the top 10 selling albums of all time. With their mix of rock, folk and country the Eagles reflected the joy of the American experience with songs like “Take It Easy” and darkness of the American soul with “Hotel California.” Henley with the momentum of the Eagles started a solo career and along with writing partners, Mike Campbell and J. D. Souther wrote “The Heart of the Matter” for Henley’s third solo album The End of the Innocence in 1989.

“The Heart of the Matter” is a monologue with Henley speaking to himself about his feelings about a love that he has lost. The first verse starts with a phone call from a friend that informs Henley that his passed love has found someone new. The lyrics unfold poetically describing the break-up.

And how I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?

Something inside of them made them look beyond each other’s contentment and “beg” for something more. He doesn’t know why they sought something more in other people and there isn’t a sense that this is one person’s fault.

The chorus starts with a rising line with long notes that draw strength to the words “I’m leaning to live with out you now,” but the words “I miss you sometimes” are sung closer to speaking, a honest statement through a tough facade. The next two lines speak to the idea the through the pursuit of knowledge we only gain more questions. It is from this perspective that Henley acknowledges how little he really understands and how he has to relearn what it means to love.

People use the phrase” the heart of the matter” to get to the truth of a situation. Don Henley utilizes this phrase to examine a relationship not only getting to the core of the situation but also the emotional truth. This requires strength and honesty and sometimes the will gives in. “Thoughts scatter” because we are trying to understand something that we can’t on a logical level, which is exactly what the depths of the human heart show us.

The rhythms of melody speed up through “and my thoughts seem to scatter but I think it’s about. . .” He’s working through this ideas in his head and what comes out is after a slight hesitation is that it’s about forgiveness. When Henley sings “even if you don’t love me anymore” he is recognizing that “forgiveness” isn’t going to get his love back, but is the key to understanding what happened and moving on with his life.

The second verse takes a broader look at love. Henley contemplates the harshness of the world and how love can exist despite all the harm, we do to each other. He follows stating that it is trust that leads to happiness and not pride. This not only speaks in a broader sense but also to Henley himself as forgiveness requires him to put aside his pride to trust himself and his own feelings.

Every word in this song is meaningful. Each turn in the melody pulls at feelings and speaks to a place deep within us. In popular music, men rarely express their feelings like in “The Heart of the Matter.” Through wise words and honestly, Henley reminds us that a man is not defined by acts of physicality strength but by his emotional maturity and character.



India.Arie covered “The Heart of the Matter” for her third solo album Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship in 2006. One of my high school students introduced me to this soulful interpretation. India.Arie rich tone across her entire range and elegant interpretation brings an optimistic sheen to this song with a level of strengths and resolves.

When we forgive people we no only excuse the mistakes of others but we renounce our anger and make a pledge to start anew. Forgiveness is one of the most powerful ideas in our morality. It allows penance for our sins and rehabilitation for our crimes. However, forgiveness is one of the most difficult things for us as humans.

In the bridge Henley states that even though people let us down and hurt our pride we need to out it aside because the anger we carry will eat us up inside. Yes, the anger I feel for this person is a dark place in my heart and I’m not ready to excuse her mistake because I don’t feel that she even thinks she did anything wrong. I’m not ready to renounce my anger because she’s never apologized to me.

Can I forgive her without her apologizing to me? I wish I could, and maybe it’s just going to take time. It is about forgiveness. Not about anything, I can get back from her or even her feelings. What angers us the most about people are exactly the things that we dislike and feel insecure about ourselves. Forgiving others is really more about forgiving ourselves, accepting our own mistakes and maybe that is what is at the heart of the matter.

“When you forgive you love and when you love, God's light shines upon you”
-dialogue from the film Into The Wild