People Say

@brkn Good works, John! I'm a Portugal. The Man admirer for these past 10 years or so, as introduction, and I particularly enjoyed your Edgefield show with GroupLove a few years back (even though it was like 102 degrees!). I was psyched to find your old 2009 comment here on this site (to which I now reply).

After learning some of the band's (and your personal) history related to Alaska, I often listen to the newer albums with that in mind. But I can't read "People Say" lyrics without thinking the main theme encompasses the subtle divides between different elements of 21st century American society. The "people" represented in the song seem to under-appreciate the "soldiers" in a foolishly optimistic, insulated way. They feel safe from the simple public presentation of victory: "what a lovely day, yeah, we won the war"; yet they fail to afford proper dignity in recognition of the costs: "may have lost a million men, but we got a million more."

I see that as representative of dangerous ignorance within America. And I think many other intelligent people would support my sentiments, whether you acknowledge that intent in your message or not. Regardless, "People Say" was one of the first 3 or 4 Portugal. The Man songs I was exposed to and, thus, it contributed to turning me into a collector of your albums.

I also wanted to specifically respond that those "bookend" lines/phrases you cite are the kind that can convey broad meaning to listeners when not recognized in the context you have provided. That's one of the things I like about P-The Man songs: I can generally keep my original interpretations in mind without major conflict even after I hear explanatory comments from the author (i.e., you, John Gourmley). David Bowie was pretty good at presenting poignant poetry without demanding some tunnel-vision interpretation of meaning. As a philosopher, I tend to take a broad view, so it's nice when artists don't take offense if I imbue meaning periphery to the true inspiration. I also consider myself a poet and sometimes my friends tell me things about my own work that I had not consciously considered. So I hope that you will be more pleased than annoyed should I ever suggest an interpretation of any of your songs that you did not specifically have in mind.

3/25/2018 - expect to see more comments from me, as I look up other of my favorite songs -- P.S. sorry I couldn't make the Pioneer Square gig you had yesterday, too