Gotye - Doggie Song

Hi!

Long time no talk!  Is this looong layoff a pattern?  Sheesh, shouldn't I have MORE time to blog now?  What the heck am I doing, if not bloggin', right?

Well, what do I say to that...? I'll tell you what I say!   Whatevs, I been busy!  I swear!  Doin' stuff!  And anyways, time flies, right?

Plus...Inspiration!  Despite trying to take the advice of my defacto writing instructor (Billy Crystal's character from "Throw Momma From the Train") advice into account: "a writer writes, always!" Everything I consider writing sounds stupid and lame and stupid.  Plus it sounds stupid.

But fuck it.  And what the fuck do I know, these ideas could be gold!

So...first..!



Do you guys know Gotye?  The "Somebody That I Used to Know" guy?  Of course you do.  You must!  That GD song is...ubiquitous...  And It's a good song!  The first gajillion times.  But the dude has other songs too!  And one on his big album caught my ear.  Liked it!  Sad!

It's called "Bronte"  Here's the video!

Now, I am not here to comment on the video.  It's fine.  Anime.  Coming of age.  Mystical beasts.  Whatever.  All good.

I wanna talk about the song.  Like, you know, lyric wise.  What are the lyrics, you ask?  Well here you go:

Now your bowl is empty

And your feet are cold

And your body cannot stop rocking

I know

It hurts to let go

Since the day we found you

You have been our friend

And your voice still

Echoes in the hallway of this house

But now

It's the end

We will be with you

When you're leaving

We will be with you

When you go

We will be with you

And hold you till you're quiet

It hurts to let you go

We will be with you

You will stay with us

Ok.  There you go.  It's about a dog.  Right?  And no fucking doubt!  Unless you are one of the folks on the internet who think it's about Emily Bronte.  Which...come on.  It's not about Emily Bronte.  In fact there is some interview, maybe, with Gotye, where he says its about his friend's dog dying.  I am not linking to it, but just trust me.  And besides, like "Now, Emily Bronte, your bowl is empty?" Really? I know that the mystery of lyrics is part of the charm but one can only stretch so far!

So...it's about a dog dying.  And even if it's not, which it is, I am going to proceed on that basis.  

When I discovered that that's what it was about, I was impressed!  It's brilliant! An untapped market!  Question: How much do people love their dogs?  Answer: Lots! I feel like with the advent of Facebook, you really see it!  People are crazy in love with their dogs.  And don't get me wrong, I have loved dogs in my day!  

Sidebar example!  The first dog my family got was a Beagle named "Pepi".  We got her when she was already an adult and fully trained.  Somehow from my sister's teacher.  I can't remember the details on that.  Either my brother does or that part of the tale is gone now.  Anyhoo, she was a great dog (as I recall, anyways, it was before I was 10 years old).  You could put treats on her nose and she would wait until you said "ok", to flip it into her mouth.  But...she got old.  And sick.  And eventually could no longer walk.   And I can still remember coming home one day, and my sister and brother being in the living room.  No dog.  No dad.  I made some joke I think about why everyone looked so serious (undoubtedly hilarious).  Well, to this day I still clearly remember my bro looking at me with murder in his eyes and coming for me.  Luckily for me, the presence of of my mom and sister allowed me to escape being beaten to a pulp.  And then it was explained to me what was happening.  Yep, my dad had taken Pepi to the vet for the last time.   

Years later my dad told me of how, because she could no longer walk, he had to carry her to the car and then from the car into the veterinarian office waiting room.  But when she realized she was in her most hated place (the vet! source of poking, prodding and needles!), she scrambled to her feet and tried to head for the door.   He said his resolve just about broke at that point.  Full disclosure, I am a bit of a crier, but I cannot even THINK of that story without tearing up.  Even now!  See the teardrops on my blog post?

I am sure many other people have similar stories, too!  Probably more than one!  Pepi was one of three dogs my family had.  Dogs only live like 15 years or so for Pete's sake!

So, on the one hand, you have this massive doggie love out there, but how many songs are there out there about dying puppies!?  Zippo that I can think of!  There's a song about a horse.  But I cannot think of any doggie songs. Even Old Yeller didn't get a song!  And that dog's death still traumatizes me!

That's why it's brilliant.  People like to listen to sad songs about lost love.  I know I do!  Bring on the Paul Simon! Feeling good about feeling bad!  Right?  So why not lost puppies?  But the only problem is...I don't think he gets it right.  Lyrically, I mean.  

Like, it's a song sung to the dog, as if the dog understands. Which is fine.  But then its like "it hurts to let you go."  Is that what you would say to a dying loved one?  Like, you want to make it about you, when they are the one dying?  How is that comforting?  "See how much your impending death is bothering me?"  And "I know it hurts to let go"?  Do you?  Are you dead?  Then how do you know?  It's not saying goodbye to a member of the family, it's like one level above a dude saying goodbye to a television set that he is leaving at the curb.

I guess what I am saying is that the lyrics sound like they are written by somebody who never owned a dog.  Because anyone who had a dog and loved a dog and had to say goodbye would never say those things.  

But for me Pandora's box has now been opened.  Now I want a doggie song that does get it completely right.  Maybe I am just too critical.  And who knows, maybe the song really is about Emily Bronte.    

JJ out.