Thursday, August 18, 2005
Huh! and that ain't cool
Pat the Chooks has presented the "ultimate cultural question": Hey Joe or Hey Jude? I've never really thought about it, but I think he's on to something here. Other than the similarity between the names, these two songs have nothing in common.
Hey Joe is a earthy song based on the most primal blues tradition -- a guy going to shoot his unfaithful lover and then run off to avoid being killed himself. Hendrix's slowhand action on guitar only contributes to the dark nature of the story -- you can actually feel the fatalism. This song is damn near Faulkneresque, and is, I believe, American to the core.
Hey Jude, on the other hand, is a slightly moppish pop song written to John Lennon's son. It is as optimistic as Hey Joe is realistic. It is a prime example of British songwriting during the 1960s, and, I contend, is popular for its hook and sing-along chorus.
I suppose you could divide humanity up into these two camps and it would tell you as much about them as any division. So which is it?
Hey Joe is a earthy song based on the most primal blues tradition -- a guy going to shoot his unfaithful lover and then run off to avoid being killed himself. Hendrix's slowhand action on guitar only contributes to the dark nature of the story -- you can actually feel the fatalism. This song is damn near Faulkneresque, and is, I believe, American to the core.
Hey Jude, on the other hand, is a slightly moppish pop song written to John Lennon's son. It is as optimistic as Hey Joe is realistic. It is a prime example of British songwriting during the 1960s, and, I contend, is popular for its hook and sing-along chorus.
I suppose you could divide humanity up into these two camps and it would tell you as much about them as any division. So which is it?
Centinel 4:18 PM #