What makes a good song?

[Dub]

Yes, I know the subject question is a lot like asking what makes a woman attractive. I've been thinking about 'Flake's song, Madman's Song, and how the poetry fits together and it got me thinking of a song our band does called You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive. Our rendition is based on the Patty Loveless version. In case you haven't heard it, here are the lyrics. They aren't exactly what Darrell Scott originally wrote but everyone seems to change them a little.

In the deep dark hills of Eastern Kentucky
That's the place where I trace my bloodline
It was there I read on a hillside gravestone
"You'll never leave Harlan alive."

My grandfather's dad crossed the Cumberland mountains
Where he took a pretty girl to be his bride
(he) Said won't you walk with me out of the mouth of this holler
Or we'll never leave Harlan alive.

Where the sun comes up around ten in the morning
And the sun goes down around three in the day
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
And you spend your life just tryin' to get away.

No one ever knew there was coal in them mountains
'Til a man from the Northeast arrived
Wavin' hundred dollar bills (he) said I'll pay for your minerals
But he never left Harlan alive.

Grandma sold out cheap and they moved out west to Pineville
To a farm where Big Richland River winds
I'll bet they danced them a jig and laughed and sang a little song
"Who said we'll never leave Harlan alive?"

But the times they got hard and tobacco wasn't sellin'
And old grandad knew what he'd do to survive
He went and dug for Harlan coal, sent the money back to Grandma
But he never left Harlan alive.

Where the sun comes up around ten in the morning
And the sun goes down around three in the day
And you fill your cup with whatever bitter brew you're drinkin'
And you spend your life diggin' coal from the bottom of your grave.

For a biographical song, I thought "Harlan" was as good as I'd heard but 'Flake's may come up pretty high as well.

Anyway, what are the elements of a good song?

- Dub

[Cornflake]

I haven't heard that one but I like it.

As for what makes a good song, I don' t think there's one answer, Dub. One friend of mine cares only about the overall sound; the lyrics could be gibberish and it wouldn't matter to him. Other people want a story.

I'll have to revisit this question when I'm not in the office.

[Cornflake]

Well, I'm not in the office and I've thought about it some, and I still think there's no objective answer. To me, a good song usually has to say something worth saying, and in an interesting way. Not necessarily a pretty way. Very few songs pass that test.

But then I think "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone was a good song, and the lyrics were utter junk. It was music for the hips, not for the head. There's room for that, too.

"Planxty George Brabazon" and "The Look of Love" are good songs because they're pretty. One had nothing to say at all and the other had only cliches to recycle.

It's a mystery, like transubstantiation or Spam.

[Marshall]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

You can only answer for yo-self.

For me-self, it's what I call the "total expression." Where the music, the lyrics, and the presentation all work together to express/communicate an idea or thought. Could be happy, or sad, or fancy, or simple, or deep, or inane. (Though inane is gotta have something going on under the surface like tongue-in-cheek.)