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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Drew MacDonald" <drewmacdonald@comcast.net> |
| Subject | I know not if it's dark outside or light (was: Re: hey y'all) |
| Date | Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:12:02 -0800 |
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Joceyn, back among us, asking about "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters:"
> what does this song mean to you? what is it about? are
> there any 'official' explications of it?
Not that I've ever read, and even if Taupin were to spell out what he was
trying to say, HIS intended meaning shouldn't dictate what YOU get out of
the song. Smart songwriters quickly learn that listeners' interpretations of
their work can be every bit as valid as the artists' original intent. (The
same goes for writers for the stage and screen. In my first scripts, I
naively tried to make the dialogue "actor-proof;" that is, I attempted to
craft the lines so they would have only one obvious line reading and
inflection. Silly boy! From the very first rehearsals, when I heard my words
coming out of actors' mouths, I was astounded at how different -- and yet
EQUALLY VALID -- meanings and emotions could be derived from lines I had
considered "locked in.")
For me, "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" (one of my favorite Elton songs from my
favorite Elton album) is a gentle lament of class and cultural consciousness
in a certain time and neighborhood of NYC, from the point of view of a young
bohemian newcomer, working the late shfit, who has made a friend or just
fallen in love. You can't break it down too much, since songs are not poems
(and Taupin's lyrics can look pretty blunt and clumsy on the page anyway).
It's pretty and haunting and particularly well-sung by Elton. His voice has
a warmth and depth that became less and less evident as time wore on.
BTW, while Googling this title to review the lyrics, I learned that both
Mandy Moore and Branford Marsalis have covered this song. Has anyone heard
those versions?
Drew
np: silence (sleeping girlfriend, broken headphones)
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