The Songwriter, the Poet and Emotion
Paul Simon has said that he does not consider himself to be a poet. The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of poetry informs us that it is ‘A literary work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity using distinctive style and rhythm.’ He has said it is the music, and the overall complete product is what he tries to achieve. Irish language poet Doireann Ní Ghrfióa, when asked how she structured her writing replied, simply that she did not. She said that poetry had flooded her being and her world. She found herself getting up in the middle of the night and emailing a line to herself that had come into her head so as it would not be lost. Every form of art we know is an expression of emotion, and it is the complexity of emotion that people experience in their lives that ensures the survival of all forms of art and re-enforces the need we have for it. When an artist puts pen to paper, they are endeavouring to capture that moment, that visual image or the heartfelt feeling. The result we see or hear is a faithful reproduction of what the artist saw or felt as the line entered their head. L S. Lowry gazed across an industrial town in Lancashire and gave the world match stalk men and match stalk cats and dogs. There is no doubt their resemblance crossed his mind as he painted. It is impossible to separate the songwriter and the poet, the popularity of free verse in poetry and the move away from the rhyming couplets and iambic pen tabular of our schooldays have drawn the songwriter and the poet ever closer together and the lines between the two are forever blurred. The necessity for a song to move in a rhythm demands its writer to concentrate on the flow of words and how they work together, some may say keeps them more loyal to the craft. Either way both are intrinsically linked by the necessity to paint that picture, to create that image and to tell that story, to take the listener or the reader and transport them to where they want them to be, so they can stand unseen in the shadows or sit in the corner of the room and witness the story the poet or songwriter wants to tell them. Only the particularly good song writers and poets can do so. Shane McGowan brought us by the hand and left us standing beneath an overpass, where we could hear the drops echo against the concrete and sheets of rain fall on the street outside. He allowed us to be there when he rushed around the corner into the tunnel and bumped into the love of his life when ‘he took shelter from a shower and stepped into her arms’ in ‘A Rainy Night in Soho.’ What Paul Simon says cannot be true, he is a poet simply by the definition of what it is he does. His lyrics are descriptive, true, and heartfelt. It is any artists primary goal to speak the truth, whether in relation to an injustice witnessed or an emotion felt.
Our expression of emotion as humans can be both terrifying and liberating. The ability to express those emotions however can evade many and this inability can be a burden of unnecessary pain and loneliness. Our own unique situations create a panoply of emotive issues from love, loss, and the day-to-day act of living. The three are inextricably linked, we cannot experience one without having first experienced the other. Loss would have no effect if we have not loved. For those who sometimes struggle to express their emotions is where the songwriter and the poet can excel in going someway to alleviate a burden, to create an avenue of expression the listener can travel, even if it is in the quietness of a fireside chair that they make their journey. A line, a verse or a concept within a song or poem can create that beautiful and unburdening realisation that we are not alone. The heaviness of what we thought was ours and ours alone can be lifted and shared in an instance.
The human being is not designed for solitude, yes of course there are times it is craved, desired and even occasions when it is necessary, but not for a prolonged period. We thrive on banter and friendly drunken hugs, on shared words or bitter tears, on laughter and companionship. But even if we surround ourselves with all these things the human being can create an isolation for themselves based simply on an idea that there is an aspect of their being that makes them different, that makes them unacceptable to others and makes them stand alone amidst the crowd. Theories on emotion are numerous, from Darwin’s evolutionary theory to James & Lange, Cannon & Bard, however it is Richard Lazarus and his theory of cognitive appraisal in which he suggests that there is a sequence of events, ‘a stimulus followed by a thought’ is key to the complexity of what we feel. It is that ‘thought’ which can generate the complexity often not associated with our initial emotive response. The child who is bullied in the schoolyard may at first feel fear and anger, but this can quickly turn to feelings of isolation and loneliness. This is where the power of the songwriter, the poet, or the painter enters our lives to lift the burden. They draw their bow across us, empty their palate on to the canvas or tip their inkwell upon the page, and there is a word, a line, or an image that we can connect with and say ‘hey, that’s like me, that’s how I feel, if they can feel it too, well then, maybe I’m not alone.’ Therein, lies their power, their craft and for many, their calling. They endeavour to highlight emotional and societal issues for the benefit of others. Of course, it can be argued that success can give them the luxury to be able to fight a cause, but as pen is put to paper, we must give them the benefit of the doubt.
The whole concept is not in any way modern of course, bards and poets have done this since humans first began to communicate through these mediums. However, the direct link to the societal and even more so, the emotional is but a couple of centuries in vogue. In 1855 when Stephen Foster penned ‘Hard Times’ there was indications and some supporting documentation that he was seeking to create songs that addressed the situation in relation to African Americans and trying to arouse empathy for them. Others argued that it stemmed from his own sense of loss and hardship. In the previous two years, Foster had lost a close friend and both of his parents, had separated from his wife, and struggled with alcohol. Either way, the song is an emotive lament, calling for social justice or driven by his own personal anguish.