Richard Marx & Luther Vandross vs. Theodore Roethke
The final piece of the exercise from the original post Songs & Poetry: Cross the Great Divide! (Part 1) when we began a discussion of the elements of poetry used in Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz" and a Richard Marx / Luther Vandross song entitled "Dance With My Father". The following addresses items #3 & #4 in the post:(#3) How are the the poem and song different/the same?
(#4) How do the poetic devices influence those things?
For this one I thought I would use a tip Jimmy Webb gives in his book Tunesmith for understanding your song concept, and finding the idea. He suggests writing a letter. This is similar to Pat Pattison's process of object writing (Chapter 1 of his book Writing Better Lyrics). The goal of both is to be in the moment. If you're going to find images and a title to bring your concept full circle, these are the two best and easiest ways to accomplish that goal.
So - let's write a letter for both the poem and the song.
"My Papa's Waltz"
Dear Dad,
I remember when I was small and you'd come home from work at the mill. I could tell you'd been drinking, but I wanted to spend time with you, to be held by you, I never really cared. You would dance with me - probably not the best dancing - it was more of a pounding romp than a dance, but it was with you, so I was happy. When we'd get tired (probably more you than me since you had been working all day), you would carry me upstairs to bed, clinging to your shirt - I was always happy to dance just to be held. We never shared much, and now, as I look back, I know you were trying to connect with me the only way you knew how: showing me you cared, but being uncomfortable I might see too much.
"Dance With My Father"
Dear Heavenly Father,
One of my most precious moments as a child was when my father would cradle me in his arms, hold my mother close, and we would spin around the room. We danced together until I was tired, and then, he would carry me up the stairs to my bed. That was a moment I'll cherish forever now that he's gone. But the hardest loss isn't mine - it's my mother's. He was the only man she ever loved, and I remember how sad she was when he died. She would cry in her room so I wouldn't see, but I knew. I just want her to be happy again - he was taken too soon. I know you can't bring him back, but can you do something for her - to let her dance with him again?
Clearly - very different!
- When you write a letter you have to decide who is being addressed. The song and poem speak to a very different audience. The poem is talking to the speaker's father, while the song is speaking to a higher power - a prayer if you will.
- One is a reflection on a moment and the realization of the father/son relationship (poem), and the other is a prayer for the mother (song). The beauty of "Dance With My Father" is the song itself: it answers the question in the letter, which is why it resonates so well with an audience.
- While these two ideas may have started out in a very similar way, i.e., I remember when my father would dance with me then carry me to bed. Neither are ideas - they're general concepts around an event - and I would argue a common one. The ideas are brought to their individual focus (or angle) by staying in the moment, and the speaker understanding it from their perspective.
- Another thing worth noting in terms of similarity is neither is sentimental. Oscar Wilde once wrote, "A sentimentalist is one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it." Yeats wrote, "Rhetoric is fooling others. Sentimentality is fooling yourself." Despite each being a tender moment, neither tries to use the sweetness of tucking an infant into bed, or in the case of the song, the death moment of the father, to bring heightened, unearned emotional response to the work.
More Songwriting Tips:
- Songs & Poetry: Cross The Great Divide (Pt 1) Richard Marx vs. Theodore Roethke
- Songs & Poetry: Cross The Great Divide (Pt 2) Richard Marx vs. Theodore Roethke
