This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Well the dawn was coming
Heard him ringing on my bell
He said, my name's the teacher
Oh that is what I call myself
And I have a lesson
That I must impart to you
It's an old expression
But I must insist it's true
Jump up, look around
Find yourself some fun
No sense in sitting there hating everyone
No man's an island and his castle isn't home
The nest is for nothing when the bird has flown
So I took a journey
Threw my world into the sea
With me went the teacher
Who found fun instead of me
Hey man, what's the plan, what was that you said?
Sun-tanned, drink in hand, lying there in bed
I try to socialize but I can't seem to find
What I was looking for, got something on my mind
Then the teacher told me
It had been a lot of fun
Thanked me for his ticket
And all that I had done
Hey man, what's the plan, what was that you said?
Sun-tanned, drink in hand, lying there in bed
I try to socialize but I can't seem to find
What I was looking for, got something on my mind
Heard him ringing on my bell
He said, my name's the teacher
Oh that is what I call myself
And I have a lesson
That I must impart to you
It's an old expression
But I must insist it's true
Jump up, look around
Find yourself some fun
No sense in sitting there hating everyone
No man's an island and his castle isn't home
The nest is for nothing when the bird has flown
So I took a journey
Threw my world into the sea
With me went the teacher
Who found fun instead of me
Hey man, what's the plan, what was that you said?
Sun-tanned, drink in hand, lying there in bed
I try to socialize but I can't seem to find
What I was looking for, got something on my mind
Then the teacher told me
It had been a lot of fun
Thanked me for his ticket
And all that I had done
Hey man, what's the plan, what was that you said?
Sun-tanned, drink in hand, lying there in bed
I try to socialize but I can't seem to find
What I was looking for, got something on my mind
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I honestly don't mean to be rude, but it's interesting how some fairly obvious meanings can get right past people.
Mycroft is the only person who got this tune. I mean, okay, some songs are truly ambiguous and there isn't one meaning to "get." Not this one.
This song is an amused, yet angry statement about people with shallow lives who want you to drop what you're working on, go out on the town with them, or the beach, or wherever, and tell you to "lighten up" about everything, until of course they need you for something.
I don't think it begins with the speaker "in a major funk." He is alone, and "the dawn was coming." There is the a word omitted from the next line in this copy of the lyrics -- the full line is "Or that is what I call myself," as in, a self-proclaimed expert on life.
"Heard him ringing on my bell" -- this is clearly a reference to the phone ringing and someone unfortunately being on the other end. The scene of a writer contemplating a creative work or trying to find peace in solitude & being interrupted by a rude telephone call from a jackass party-guy type is deliciously painted in Allen Ginsberg's "Victim of Telephone" poem, which may or may not have informed Ian A's lyrics here. Look it up.
Then the speaker finds nothing of the good times this "teacher" promises him -- he feels maladjusted, adrift "threw my world into the sea" while his friend makes merry on the speaker's dollar -- probably a typical nightmare for frustrated rock stars. "He thanked me for his ticket," i.e. for funding the road trip or party, is lying in bed (possibly in the speaker's house) and finding no more enlightenment than having gotten a tan.
This makes the questioning, cynical chorus so satisfying to the audient, and the guitars & drums reflect it by picking up the backbeat and playing a faster, keyed up version of the opening line. "What was that you said?" is an angry phrase, almost cinematic -- you can picture the typically meek, subdued artist suddenly jumping up & challenging his loser friend that never had a helpful agenda or actual encouraging word. In this context, "Something on my mind..." is a very dynamic phrase. It could mean what he was working on before the phone rang, could mean his skepticism about social gatherings, could mean what he's about to confront the guy ("saying what's on my mind") or all three.
My favorite part about that last line is that it paints a picture of an antisocial person stuck in a social-graces situation and still feeling contemplative & not letting go of his thoughts and inner searching. In context with the frowning, thoughtful flute/keyboard motif that the line leads into, it is just a beautiful and charming musical statement about a thoughtful person who takes himself seriously & his resident "lighten up" chiseling buddy.
How anyone could interpret this song as the teacher being a good guy & really teaching Ian all about the finer things in life and to relax etc. is absolutely beyond me. Words mean stuff in songs. Pay attention to them.
I wanted to make a meta-comment re Shadowgbq's closing comment:<br /> <br /> "How anyone could interpret this song as the teacher being a good guy & really teaching Ian all about the finer things in life and to relax etc. is absolutely beyond me. Words mean stuff in songs. Pay attention to them."<br /> <br /> Actually, this is really good advice, and it's a nice comment to put in these boards.<br /> <br /> I think there's a tendency in pop music for a person to pick up a few key words and then project their own passions (or issues) onto the song. Later, when they look at the words, they're surprised. Frankly, I think this might be a dirty little secret of the pop music industry; that, at times, difficult to discern (shouted, slurred) lyrics were cultivated on purpose to maximize this "projecting" effect and increase sales.<br /> <br /> I can easily see lots of folks hearing the upbeat opening chords of "Teacher" and then the layered-in underlying arpeggiation, then hearing the opening lyrics, which really are easily interpretable as a muse coming to impart wisdom. What happens subsequently in the lyrics and B-section change in feel, however, sort of shatters that rosy picture. But I think a lot of folks don't pick up on that.<br /> <br /> Not that I don't blame them; that opening feeling is truly nice, and it's hard to let it go.<br /> <br /> It reminds me of the one of the underlying themes from the movie "That Thing You Do." The plotline revolves around a boppy, happy little teen anthem that started out as a slow, broken-hearted ballad. One day, the drummer picked a sprightly tempo, people tuned out the downer import of the words, and the rest is (fictional) history. That story says a lot about mass responses to popular art.
What Mycroft put plainly, you elaborated most eloquently. Fine job.