Song Lyric Sunday: Picture/Photograph

Good morning Blogsville, how are we all today? Well I hope and enjoying your Sunday; wow! it’s come round fast this week hasn’t it? I can’t believe it’s time to dig around in our mental music vaults again but here we all are, thanks to the lovely Helen who had the brilliant idea of bringing bloggers together, each and every Sunday, with music.

You can play along too if you’d like, it’s a great way of meeting new friends and finding out a little bit about them so why not have a go? Here are the rules for you:

• Post the lyrics to the song of your choice, whether it fits the theme or not
• Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due and it’s honestly just a simple Google search
• Make sure you also credit the singer/band and provide a link to where you found the lyrics
• Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song
• Ping back to this post or my own Song Lyric Sunday post
• Read at least one other person’s blog so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process

This one was tricky and I had to work hard to drag my mind away from Photograph of you by Flock of Seagulls but I managed and consequently I am able to share one of my favourite songs with you:

The working man’s day, we just piss it away
We sit out in the weather
Familiar he said, time soon breeds contempt
Wash your hands of it forever

Violence it ripped through the old dogwood fence
See the hope, see it unravel
The drunk brother said he could reason with them

While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied
While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied

The picture was left on the front porch
The back said I love you, don’t you ever think of me?
If my body goes then to hell with my soul
We don’t even know the difference

The dead folks in the clouds, for crying out loud

While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied
While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied

And why
Did we live so long?
Long
Long…

The house is not the same since we left it that day
Old friends seem to wander
Our parents’ hands
Cigarettes, wedding bands

While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied
While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied

And why
Did we live so long?
Long
Long…

While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied
While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied

While they lied at night, they lied at night
While they lied

Written by: Ben Bridwell, Rob Hampton, and Creighton Barrett

This song opens with a blast on the guitar and then, almost immediately, settles back into a slower and surprisingly sad melody. The lyrics speak of the break-up of a family and the bitterness and regret can be almost felt in both the music and the singer’s voice. The line that brought this track to mind:

“The picture was left on the front porch The back said I love you, don’t you ever think of me?”

is delivered with such sadness that, for me, it sets the tone for the whole song. I feel that the lyrics are written from the perspective of an older child who was aware that his parents marriage was coming to an end as the result of an affair (hence the picture left on the front porch). He speaks of loss and lies and the pain of living for far too long with a couple whose love has died.

I really love this group and, for me, this is one of their best songs so I really hope that you like it

Lisa

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