Context matters. There are other good versions of the song, and many of them by The Trio in its various incarnations. I wanted to choose one of them, just for variety. But it was different when it came out. Just a touch risque (especially for a pre-teen), by a hip, popular group, with lyrics that demanded you pay attention or you would lose the meaning entirely. It was something on the rise, coming into society.
Later versions are nostalgic instead. It becomes a different song. This is true of popular music in general, of course. "Let's Spend the Night Together" and "Born to Be Wild" are now comfortable granny-fare, not shocking or challenging. Yet it seems more true of the folkies. Perhaps that is only because it was my childhood, not another's.
4 comments:
My thanks for that. I seem to now remember I heard that yearrrrrrrrrrrs ago. But, as I frequently say, my memory isn't what it never was...
Some of them seem comfortable and benign enough--until you review the lyrics with your own children in view.
When I was a kid, my parents' record collection had a lot of Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Singalong with Mitch, and also some Lightnin' Hopkins and Leadbelly. Good stuff for the formative years. Of course once I discovered Rock & Roll everything changed. But eventually I tried to "make it" as a folk musician, one of my worst decisions, however one of my CD's made it to Spotify somehow, if you'd like to hear some look up Steve Schellenberg on Spotify. 15 years later it sounds pretty good to me...
I had that collection. the Trio was from my mother, but I acquired the Seeger and Leadbelly myself starting in the late 60s. Seeger was my hero (I now think he was terribly destructive) and I fancied I might make a career as a folk-rock CSN type myself. I am glad that never happened.
You might like this post from 2007. https://assistantvillageidiot.blogspot.com/2007/07/abba-history.html
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