analysis of music lyrics concerning paraplegia
DESCRIPTION
By Danny MerrittTRANSCRIPT
- 1. An Analysis of Music Lyrics Concerning Paraplegia
By Danny Merritt
2. By examining the similarities and differences in the ways in
which todays singer-songwriters approach the subject of paraplegia,
one can determine the current social outlook on the subject of
paraplegics.It is important to study this outlook from the lyrics
of both disabled and non-disabled musicians.
There is not a plethora of successful, disabled recording-artists,
and the few who exist tend to avoid their disabilities as subject
matter for their songs.The two disabled musicians discussed in this
project though, Vic Chesnutt and Sam Morris, do use their
disabilities as fodder for their writing, but both from very
different perspectives.
3. Vic Chesnutt
4. Vic Chesnutt was paralyzed from the waist down after a car
accident at the age of 18, and died last December, at the age of
45, due to an overdosing on muscle relaxants.
He released seventeen albums in his career, and his music has been
covered by Madonna, R.E.M., and Smashing Pumpkins.
5. In his song, Gluefoot, Mr. Chesnutt refers to himself as a rusty
mass of machinations still vying for the right vaccination.The
chorus of the song references his gluefoot, which is an old saying
for disabled feet.The chorus repeats that My gluefoot sticks, I
wrestle with it, I try to skedaddle but my gluefoot is fixed.
The audio and lyrics for this song are on the following two slides,
and upon analyzing them, one can see that Vic Chesnutt does not
favor his life as a paraplegic.His statement I want to be someone
separate from me, I want to have a sustained feeling thoroughly
eradicates any contrary argument.
It is also interesting that even though Mr. Chesnutt released a
total of seventeen albums in his lifetime, this song is one of the
very few where he ever approaches the subject of his
disability.
6. Song- Gluefoot
Cross my heart and cross my eyesStick a needle in my thighDrop kick
my unscrewed lidAnd fiddle fiddlefiddlefiddlefiddle with what's
insideA rusty mass of machinationsStill i'm vying for the right
vaccinationI make a masterful selection like Louis PasteurCertain
i've found at least a temporary cureIf there's one thing i've
learned in this chemical worldIt's very veryveryveryvery little is
pureMy gluefoot sticks, i wrestle with itI try to skedaddle but my
gluefoot is fixed
7. If they'd give me a shovel in this communication ageMaybe i'd
have kept my mouth shut and done something todayI want to blame
democracy and it's inherent liesI want to blame my heritage for my
leisurely demise
Everybody wants to wear the cleatsEverybody wants to be DominiqueI
want to be someone separate from meI want to have a sustained
feelingMy gluefoot sticks, i wrestle with itI try to skidaddle but
my gluefoot is fixed
8. Sam Morris
9. In 1999, Sam Morris became a paraplegic at the age of 24 because
of a car accident involving a drunk driver.He is now a successful
recording artist, whose music has been featured on TMZ and
Ellen.
His song Got A Reason approaches his disability in a very different
manner than Vic Chesnutt.The audio and select lyrics from the song
are on the next slide.These lyrics showcase Mr. Morris positive
mindset on the surprising benefits of his paraplegia.His lyrics
convey that even if his accident has disabled him physically, it
has strengthened him emotionally and mentally.
Upon researching many songs concerning paraplegia, one can see that
Sam Morris viewpoint is very rare.His glass half full approach to
the subject sadly is not equally shared by most of his fellow
singer-songwriters.
10. Song- Got A Reason
Lyrics-
As time went on I realized Id come back from the dead,
And now I got a reason, got a reason why
Now I got a reason, got a reason why
Finally a little peace of mind
Theres nothing like waking up when youre glad to be alive
11. Bob Schneider
12. Bob Schneider begins the non-disabled musicians part of this
analysis.With his song Paraplegic Blues, Mr. Schneider expresses
the standard outlook for most non-disabled songwriters when
discussing paraplegia.Though Sam Morris music approached this
subject with a hopeful outlook, it is rarely portrayed in such a
manner.The following few artists all negatively express the
reliance on wheelchairs, and stress the unwanted confinement in
such a lifestyle.
The next slide includes the audio and select lyrics conveying this
outlook in Bob Schneiders Paraplegic Blues.
13. Song- Paraplegic Blues
Lyrics-
For awhile it was a touch and go,
They didnt know for sure,
If the boy was gonna see the light of day no more.
Now Im rolling, rolling through these streets of Mississippi,
Trying to figure out what the hell Im gonna do.
14. Strozzini
15. Strozzinis song Wheelchair again emphasizes a negative outlook
on life in a wheelchair.None of the musicians in this band are
disabled, nor does this song seem to be referring to a particular
person they know.Instead, these lyrics use a metaphorical
wheelchair to showcase personal weakness and pain.This is the first
time in this project when paraplegia is used poetically as a symbol
for a lack of ability, rather than as a subject of personal
experience or to discuss the general disabled population.
The audio and select lyrics for this song are on the next
slide.This song provides another example of non-disabled musicians
today treating disability as a negative thing, rather than as a
simple fact of life.
16. Song- Wheelchair
Lyrics-
And I am lame, but my legs are still moving
And I am lame, but my legs are still moving
And I am lame, damn I wish theyd stop moving
So you can see, that something crippled me.
I guess I need a wheelchair for my crippled soul.
17. Sergeant Fu
Sergeant Fu again exemplifies the trend in non-disabled musicians
to create a joke out of paraplegia and to treat is as a repugnant
character trait.The audio and select lyrics for their song Social
Paraplegic are on the next slide.This band has tried to convey
humor through their use of the term paraplegic, but by doing so has
again indicated some proposed shame in suffering from
paraplegia.
18. Song- Social Paraplegic
Lyrics-
Make way for the social paraplegics,
Cause theres another on the dance floor again.
Another social casualty.
19. Jesse Ruben
20. Jesse Ruben is not disabled, but his childhood friend Zack
Weinstein is paralyzed from the waist down.This paralysis happened
when Zack was injured in a canoeing accident during high school,
and Jesse wrote the song Song for Zack about his recovery.People
may recognize Zack Weinstein from his guest appearance on the
television series Glee as the character Sean Fretthold.
This song is the closest thing that I have found to being an
uplifting ballad of hope for paraplegia from the words of a
non-disabled musician. Though it never truly celebrates the
lifestyle of a disabled person, it does encourage someone to
approach that life with a courageous and positive outlook.It never
emphasizes the use of a wheelchair as a preferred thing, but it
does stress the importance of viewing it as an obstacle rather than
as a defeat.
The audio and lyrics for the song are on the following two
slides.
21. Song- Song for Zack
Lyrics-
A little different, a little different still the same
Life feels distant, and out of focused nowadays
And it might take a little longer to get from Point B to Point
A,
Your wheels wont turn, but you will learn, that you can get there
anyway
And this is just to say that I believe in miracles
And in love, so bitter and so sweet
There are many ways to hold your head up high
There are many ways to stand on your own feet
And I want you to know, that you can always count on me
And when youre scared, and the questions dont connect
Ill be there, wear the proof around my neck
But when youre feeling burdened by the bad days that collect
You and I will kill old times so you can take an easy breath
And let these words reflect that I believe in miracles
And in love, so bitter and so sweet
22. There are many ways to keep you spirits strong,
There are many ways to overcome defeat
And I want you to know that you can always count on me
And youre searching for sensation, youre choosing your path
And you taught me how to fight again, by learning how to
laugh
Cause Im adding up the numbers, but I still cant do the math
And I wish that I had been there to save you Zack.
Cause I believe in miracles
And in love, so bitter and so sweet
There are many ways to hold your head up high
There are many ways to stand on your own feet
Cause I believe in miracles
Yes I believe in miracles
Yes I believe in miracles
Cause I believe in miracles.
And I want you to know, that you can always count on me.
23. In conclusion, when truly investigated and evaluated, music
lyrics for this subject matter tend to be fairly one-sided and not
politically correct.They fail to celebrate the uniqueness in
disabled persons, with the exception of specific cases when the
difficulty of a disabled life is proclaimed as a positive
challenge.Those exceptions though are far outweighed by the
tendency for both disabled and non-disabled musicians to express
contempt for paraplegia.
Non-disabled musicians who decide to use disability as a metaphor
are actually crippling the disabled population by socially
restricting them from potential growth by labeling them as
weak.
24. The fact that there is no music glorifying the paraplegic
community for its strength and for the barriers it must overcome is
disheartening. One must be hopeful that with the current growth in
communications, more disabled artists will be able to become
well-known and be a voice for their communities.The pro-paraplegic
voice needs to be heard by the world, and not only as a happy
acceptance of a challenge, but as a voice rejoicing in human
differences.