#79 She’s Leaving Home- The Beatles

Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years/
She’s leaving home, bye, bye.

“She’s Leaving Home” is about a young woman who is thinking of moving out of her parent’s house and going to live with her boyfriend. We know how she feels. She is exited to start her new life. It is based on a true story. She leaves a note and leaves as the parents sleep.

Her parents believe she is making a big mistake. And they are hurt. Haven’t they done everything for her? Does she not see how hard have they struggled to provide? Everything they did for her and all they got was a note? They gave her everything money could buy!

She's Leaving Home Meaning
George Martin with The Beatles

She’s Leaving Home is so beautifully crafted. Specifically, Lennon gives voice to the parents’ concerns in the “Greek Chorus”.  The harp is the main instrument on this song. It sounds unique and the arrangement is perfect. The strings sound great too. You can hear the upright bass being bowed to create the deep sounds. McCartney sings verses and Lennon sings the choruses.

If there is such a thing as a hidden gem of a Beatles song, “She’s Leaving Home” is it. The song also makes a great case as George Martin as “The Fifth Beatle”–he produced the song. I don’t believe any Beatles contribute instrumental performances on this song, joining Eleanor Rigby as the other song in their catalog with that distinction.

She’s Leaving Home Lyrics
Wednesday morning at five o’clock
As the day begins,
Silently closing her bedroom door,
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more.

She goes downstairs to the kitchen
Clutching her handkerchief.
Quietly turning the backdoor key,
Stepping outside, she is free.

She(we gave her most of our lives).
Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives).
Home (we gave her everything money could buy).
She’s leaving home, after living alone, for so many years (bye bye).

Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown.
Picks up the letter that’s lying there.
Standing alone at the top of the stairs,
She breaks down and cries to her husband,
“Daddy, our baby’s gone.
“Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly?
How could she do this to me?”

She (we never thought of ourselves).
Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves).
Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by).
She’s leaving home, after living alone, for so many years.

Friday morning, at nine o’clock
She is far away.
Waiting to keep the appointment she made.
Meeting a man from the Motortrade.

She (what did we do that was wrong)?
Is Having (we didn’t know it was wrong).
Fun (fun is the one thing that money can’t buy).
Something inside, that was always denied, for so many years,
She’s leaving home, bye, bye.

songwriters lennon/mccartney

#78 At My Most Beautiful- R.E.M.

I’ve found a way/
A way to make you smile.

In R.E.M.s “At My Most Beautiful” Stipe talks about how he is happy he has found ways to make his lover smile. Just doing simple things, like reading bad poetry into her answering machine makes her smile; so that makes him happy. He notices things about her. He sees her. Like how she always says her name when leaving a message—like he couldn’t have guessed by her voice.

rem at my most beautiful
R.E.M.

He also notices the things she likes that he does: like when he whispers “I love you” while she is sleeping. These small things that they do for each other that they each enjoy is them at their most beautiful…or the best version of themselves. This is the best kind of love.

At My Most Beautiful Meaning
REM

These small, specific details make the song special and unique to a particular relationship. However, finding joy in treating your lover well is a universal theme. Taking the particular and making it universal is a way to make great art.

The melody of “At My Most Beautiful” is great, and we get to hear the band harmonize and they do it well. We hear an instrument combination that is hit or miss—the piano and organ combo. The key when combining the two is to go light on the organ or alternate them. REM is successful in this sense. The piano part is especially fun, and the playfulness of the piano part matches the theme of the song.

Other great R.E.M songs.

At My Most Beautiful Lyrics

I’ve found a way…to make you,
I’ve found a way,
A way…to make you smile.

I read bad poetry
Into your machine.
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkward rhymes.
You always say your name,
Like I wouldn’t know it’s you.
At your most beautiful.
I’ve found a way to make you,
I’ve found a way…
A way to make you smile.
At my most beautiful.

I count your eyelashes, secretly.
With every one, whisper, “I love you”.
I let you sleep.
I know your closed eye watching me
Listening,
I thought I saw a smile.
I’ve found a way to make you,
I’ve found a way,
A way to make you smile.

Written by R.E.M. (Michael Stipe, Michael Mills, Peter Buck)

#77 The Weakness in Me- Joan Armatrading

Make me lie, when I don’t want to/
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool.

“The Weakness in Me” by Joan Armatrading is a heartbreaking, personal song that you probably have not heard. Armatrading’s sound (in this song at least) is similar to Tracy Chapman, but she never got the airplay or the accolades that Chapman did. This song preceded Chapman’s and ranks higher than any of her songs, though Chapman’s catalog overall is better.

 

The Weakness in Me Meaning
Joan Armatrading

“The Weakness in Me” tells the story of a woman in a relationship who meets someone while she is currently in love. Her current lover loves her, why would she look twice at anyone else? But she begins to fall for the new lover. We hear her struggle to keep the new love at bay. It is so hard. The physical chemistry is undeniable. It begins to complicate her life. Is she weak? Does her new lover feel this way about her too?

By the end of the song we know what decision she will probably end up making, though she doesn’t outright say it. If this is at all autobiographical, I don’t think it would go well if she didn’t breakup with the old love and move to the new one. That would make for an awkward record-listening release party.

The song is kind of jazz-ish, in both her vocal, and the heavy use of bass and piano. The bass plays a big part in creating the sound of this song. Her vocal is amazing. Notice that she doesn’t belt out any notes in an attempt for emphasis. We already hear the emotion in her words right from the beginning of the song. The lyrics are great. The words she chooses can be unexpected at times and she is able to convey a lot of thoughts in a few words. (see above).

The Weakness In Me Lyrics

I’m not the sort of person who falls
In and quickly out of love.
But to you I gave my affection,
Right from the start.

I have a lover who loves me-
How could I break such a heart?
Yet still you gained my attention.

Why do you come here,
When you know I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me,
When you know I can’t answer the phone?

Make me lie, when I don’t want to,
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool.
You make me stare, when I should not,
Are you so strong or is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
And pretend to be just passing by?
But I need to see you,
And I mean to hold you
Tightly.

Feeling guilty, worried,
Waking from tormented sleep.
This old love has me bound,
But this new love cuts deep.

If I choose now, I’ll lose out;
One of you has to fall.
But I need you, and you…

Why do you come here,
When you know I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me,
When you know I can’t answer the phone?

Make me lie, when I don’t want to,
And make someone else some kind of an unknowin’ fool
You make me stare, when I should not,
Are you so strong or is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
And pretend to be just passing by?
But I need to see you,
And I mean to hold you
Tightly.

written by Joan Armatrading