| Robert Palmer – Johnny And Mary Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Actually, Robert Palmer himself said that he wrote it about a specific sector of political people he knew personally, political people in the Bahamas, I believe. This song was about the shallowness & neediness of the policians themselves (all male, in this case) & the wives of those said men. Wives who were tired of the political game-playing, the jockeying for attention, the endless social obligations. But those same wives were not about to leave the life of privilege given to them, essentially making them into powerless shadows behind their men. Hence, the ennui, the boredom, the self-esteem issues written into the lines. How many politicians do we see "always running around, acting like he's being discovered"? Brillant but subtle writing, this one. So it's still about marriage to an extent, but there's a deeper meaning behind this song than that. Not surprised it wasn't a hit in America, as they weren't & still in general aren't able to appreciate a darker song like this on the whole. And yes, I'm an American, and no, I don't hate my country. From what I've read, this song is still the most-respected in RP's catalogue in Britain to this day. |
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