THEMES IN THE LYRICS OF RON MAEL
Part Two ~ Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it.
In Part One we looked at Ron Mael's quirky views on the sexual dynamic between men and women.
I thought I'd take a closer look at the theme of God and Heaven. with the release of Hippopotamus we have a new song to add to the growing lexicon of Ron Mael songs that poke gentle fun at the divinity or highlight the more prosaic aspects of having to live in heaven. The history of Sparks songs featuring the godly realms has a broken, but quite distinguished, lineage.
On Kimono My House from 1974, is the track Here in Heaven. Its sung from the point of view of a 'romeo' who has deliberately killed himself, whilst his lover Juliet, who hasn't gone through with their joint suicide pact, is still alive and not here in heaven with him. An odd subject for a song you might think but it contains one of Ron Maels's most smart and wittiest lyrics.
Here, there are lots of things to do
And a panoramic view
Of the universe completely surrounding you
And here you cannot buy souvenirs
You're never going back, never, never
Basically, I guess it could be worse
Yes, I do suppose it could be worse
Here, there are many, many sheep
And the people only sleep
And awake to tell how gory and gruesome was their end
And I don't have many friends
And it's really very clean and I'm thinking
Juliet, you broke our little pact
Juliet, I'm never coming back
Chorus
Up here in Heaven without you
I'm here in Heaven without you
Up here in Heaven without you
It is Hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here
For many many years
Dear, do you often think of me
As you overlook the sea
Do I qualify as dearly departed or am I
That sucker in the sky
The fall guy for the first and the last time
Juliet, I thought we had agreed
Now I know why you let me take the lead
Chorus
Second thoughts, is that what you had?
Second thoughts, first I broke my back
Second thoughts, as I hit the sea
Second thoughts, for eternity, for eternity, for eternity
Indiscreet, from 1976, is full of a very eclectic mix of songs that shows their growing confidence in the range of styles they could successfully master. However, the wider public didn't quite get it, and it marked the end of the first phase of their popularity, only for them to emerge re-energised and electro three years later. It did none the less contain two hits, Looks Looks Looks, a parody of fashionistas, that paradoxically got readily adopted as catwalk music, and Get In The Swing, whose tune thumps along accompanied by what sounds like an American football brass band. Towards the end there is a brief interlude where the divinity completely breaks the entire flow of the song to raise a complaint. There is no rhyme or reason for it at all, its just an excuse to lampoon, its completely unnecessary but a delightful intervention.
Hello down there
This is your creator with a questionnaire
Hello up there
I don't have the time to fill out questionnaires
No 1 Song In Heaven, produced by Giorgio Moroder in 1979 and here we have probably their best known heavenly themed song. Always looking for that slightly askew angle, Ron Mael imagines that heaven is as prone to an addictive pop tune that everyone hums as we are on earth, except that in heaven all the very best tunes are written by god. The full song has two parts, first, a slow ballad with a wistful elegiac air, which then breaks into a fast paced romp, that proceeds at such a pace its almost too brisk to be danced too.
The album Balls from 2000, is their 18th album, and it fell to earth in what was creatively a somewhat flat and directionless bardo between the wacky coherence, and commercial success, of the concept like album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins and the equally bizarre. yet groundbreaking album Lil Beethoven that was to reinvent them, yet again, in 2002. Nonetheless, its an album I'm still quite fond of, if only for the balls of the title track Balls and speed of Bullet Train. But it also had this sweet little love song called The Angels, where the titular angels are both overwhelmed and green with envy at how stunning this man's girlfriend looks.
I heard the angels call your name
So we come to their most recent heaven themed song What The Hell Is It This Time? from the Hippopotamus album. It's like a more extensive rap on that short coda from Get In The Swing. God is getting so pissed off with the number, type and frequency of the requests for helpful intervention he's receiving.
* all lyrics are by Ron Mael.
Part Two ~ Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it.
In Part One we looked at Ron Mael's quirky views on the sexual dynamic between men and women.
I thought I'd take a closer look at the theme of God and Heaven. with the release of Hippopotamus we have a new song to add to the growing lexicon of Ron Mael songs that poke gentle fun at the divinity or highlight the more prosaic aspects of having to live in heaven. The history of Sparks songs featuring the godly realms has a broken, but quite distinguished, lineage.
Here, there are lots of things to do
And a panoramic view
Of the universe completely surrounding you
And here you cannot buy souvenirs
You're never going back, never, never
Basically, I guess it could be worse
Yes, I do suppose it could be worse
Here, there are many, many sheep
And the people only sleep
And awake to tell how gory and gruesome was their end
And I don't have many friends
And it's really very clean and I'm thinking
Juliet, you broke our little pact
Juliet, I'm never coming back
Chorus
Up here in Heaven without you
I'm here in Heaven without you
Up here in Heaven without you
It is Hell knowing that your health will keep you out of here
For many many years
Dear, do you often think of me
As you overlook the sea
Do I qualify as dearly departed or am I
That sucker in the sky
The fall guy for the first and the last time
Juliet, I thought we had agreed
Now I know why you let me take the lead
Chorus
Second thoughts, is that what you had?
Second thoughts, first I broke my back
Second thoughts, as I hit the sea
Second thoughts, for eternity, for eternity, for eternity
Hello down there
This is your creator with a questionnaire
Hello up there
I don't have the time to fill out questionnaires
This is the number one song in heaven
Written, of course, by the mightiest hand
All of the angels are sheep in the fold of their master
They always follow the Master and his plan
This is the number one song in heaven
Why are you hearing it now, you ask
Maybe you're closer to here than you imagine
Maybe you're closer to here than you care to be
Written, of course, by the mightiest hand
All of the angels are sheep in the fold of their master
They always follow the Master and his plan
This is the number one song in heaven
Why are you hearing it now, you ask
Maybe you're closer to here than you imagine
Maybe you're closer to here than you care to be
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
The number one song all over heaven
If you should die before you wake
If you should die while crossing the street
The song that you'll hear, I guarantee
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
The number one song all over heaven
The one that's the rage up here in the clouds
Loud as a crowd or soft as a doubt
Lyrically weak, but the music's the thing
Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it
Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it
Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it
Gabriel plays it, let's hear him play it
The song filters down, down through the clouds
It reaches the earth and winds all around
And then it breaks up in millions of ways
It goes la, la, la......
In cars it becomes a hit
In your homes it becomes advertisements
And in the streets it becomes the children singing.
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
The number one song all over heaven
If you should die before you wake
If you should die while crossing the street
The song that you'll hear, I guarantee
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
It's number one, all over heaven
The number one song all over heaven
The one that's the rage up here in the clouds
Loud as a crowd or soft as a doubt
Lyrically weak, but the music's the thing
Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it
Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it
Gabriel plays it, God how he plays it
Gabriel plays it, let's hear him play it
The song filters down, down through the clouds
It reaches the earth and winds all around
And then it breaks up in millions of ways
It goes la, la, la......
In cars it becomes a hit
In your homes it becomes advertisements
And in the streets it becomes the children singing.
I heard the angels call your name
They feel ashamed. They feel ashamed
Because you look so fucking good
I saw the angels glaring down
I saw the angels glaring down
They feel inane,They feel in pain
Because you're oh so fucking cool
Me, I take it in stride
Me, I know I'm on the right side this time
I see the angels disappear, I see the angels disappear
They feel confused, They feel bemused
They are a pale picture of you
Me, I take it in stride
Me, I know I'm on the right side this time
They've felt the heat, And felt defeat
Because you look so fucking good
They've felt the heat, And felt defeat
Because you look so fucking good
Historically, Historically we make and appeal
To something greater then we are when we need to heal
But don't concern Him with your little bad day affair
His temper will flare, he'll rise from His chair
What the hell is it this time
My god is great, my god is good, he loves every man
But show consideration when you pray in demands
His plate is filled with famine and clean wholesome air
If Arsenal wins he really don't care
What the hell is it this time
You've asked Him for attention twenty times in the past
But twenty times is granted you and again you have asked
But twenty is the limit and he's now getting peeved
And when he gets peeved It's not to be believed
What the hell is it this time
My god is great, my god is good, he loves every man
He loves every man, he loves every man
My god is great, my god is good
But show some restraint if you're feeling faint
Appeal to a saint
What the hell is it this time
It's you again it's you again, you get on my nerves
What the hell is it this time
I've millions to serve, you get on my nerves
What the hell is it this time
My girl has left, my dog has left, I've cracked up my car
The only one who listens to me stands in the bar
He turns his back and walks away
And I say for you I ain't hardly through
He says "Yeah you're through"
Our god is great,our god is good, he loves every man
But there's a limit to what even He can withstand
So be selective in what you slip under His door
It it isn't war, It may be ignored
What the hell is it this time
My god is great, my god is good, but don't waste his time
He's dealing with crime, so don't waste his time
Historically historically he has carte blanche
He don't take carte blanche
He don't take carte blanche
What the hell is it this time
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