I thought to myself as I watched the umpteenth Folk Rewind show on PBS last evening, that, yes, indeed, ’60s folk and folk-rock songs often rose to the level of literature and poetry, specifically.
I can remember catching a glimpse of a grade 11 high school English midterm exam back in ’66-’67, of the lyrics for Simon and Garfunkle’s “I Am a Rock”, which was used as a sight poem. Looking at the lyrics on the page, I thought, immediately, that the lines and images looked much the same as the more traditional poetry we were studying in textbooks back then.
I suspect the main reason for this likeness and similarity was that we lived in a literary/book culture in those glory days. And many of the songwriters, like Dylan or Simon were well-read, and were familiar with many of the modern poets (for instance, Dylan taking his last name from Dylan Thomas, and referencing writers like T.S. Eliot and F. Scott Fitzgerald).
The songs listed below had lyrics that read like poems. They had interesting imagery, stories, drama, and symbolism. They often had some wisdom about life or the times to pass on to listeners of the day, too. (And many of them told stories, as previously mentioned in another blog entry here recently).
I suspect we will never encounter such literary songs ever again now that we’ve become a digital culture and that high schools use fewer literary books, and that teachers seldom teach poetry as they once, more enthusiastically, did.
Below then are some of the most popular songs of all-time–each one a memorable gem of a more reflective, thoughtful nature. Many of these, of course, also contained messages that spoke to the listeners of that time, too. And, yes, many of them are beautiful, timeless and remain relevant today (e.g., The Sound of Silence”, “Eve of Destruction”, “Turn, Turn, Turn”).
The Sound of Silence
Homeward Bound
The Dangling Conversation
A Hazy Shade of Winter
He Was My Brother
Patterns
Scarborough Fair
April Come She Will
Turn, Turn, Turn
Mr. Tambourine Man
My Back Pages
Blowin’ in the Wind
The Times They Are-A-Changin’
Like a Rolling Stone
Positively 4th Street
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Desolation Row
Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
All Along the Watchtower
If I Had a Hammer
Lemon Tree
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Stewball
Last Thing on My Mind
The Great Mandela
If I Had a Hammer
Polly Von
Puff The Magic Dragon
Early Morning Rain
Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Song for a Winter’s Night
The Tijuana Jail
Reverend Mr. Black
Desert Pete
M.T.A.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
A Worried Man The Gypsy Rover
Suzanne
Bird on the Wire
Sisters of Mercy
So Long Marianne
Four Strong Winds
Someday Soon
You Were on My Mind
Lovin’ Sound
If I Were a Carpenter
Long Line Rider
Catch the Wind
Universal Soldier
Until It’s Time for You to Go
Changes
I Ain’t Marching Anymore
Outside a Small Circle of Friends
There But for Fortune
Both Sides Now
Big Yellow Taxi
Eve of Destruction
Greenfields
Green, Green
Elusive Butterfly
Everybody’s Talking
Daydream
Abraham, Martin, and John
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
A Well-Respected Man
A Dedicated Follower of Fashion
What Have They Done with the Rain?
Catch the Wind
Gentle on My Mind
California Dreaming
Monday, Monday
For What It’s Worth
Get Together
As Tears Go By
Solitary Man
Doesn’t Anybody Know My Name? Society’s Child
And some of these performers are still touring and releasing albums of songs with poetic lyrics:
On a personal note, very lucky born at the right time, I enjoyed playing many of these songs once upon a time in Winnipeg and Edmonton…
