I dismissed "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls right off the bat as even though the lyrics "Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, so tell me what you want, what you really really want ..." certainly do fit the requirements for the word of the day, I want to let you know right here and now that I really don't like that song or that group! I briefly toyed with the idea of using the song "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys as, if I'm being honest, I'll admit to having liked the group as I thought their vocalizations and harmony were fantastic, boy-band or not! Besides, the girls liked them for awhile (just don't remind Amanda of that!) and I was able to use them as an excuse for listening to their music. However, not wishing to incur the derision of fellow bloggers I dismissed that idea. Oh, and for the record I might as well admit that I liked N'Sync and 98 Degrees, too - so there!
Moving along I then thought about the song "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, a band that I saw at the very first big concert I ever attended at the Philadelphia Spectrum way back in 1978 when they opened for Foghat. Wow - that was 3o years ago, wasn't it?!? Okay, now I've made myself feel old ... Anyhow, I was actually going to use that song and write a bit about Cheap Trick but then I came across the following video and decided to use it instead -
"I Want Love" by Sir Elton John
"I Want Love" was released in 2001 and is off of Elton's 27th studio album, Songs From the West Coast. This single was hailed as Elton's finest in almost 20 years and, if you're an Elton John fan as I am, it's easy to see why this John Lennon-inspired ballad is certainly worthy of being called that. The video features actor Robert Downey, Jr. lip-syncing the lyrics in one continuous shot as he wanders around an empty mansion. When director Sam Taylor-Wood came up with the idea for the video, Downey was in drug rehab and he felt that the lyrics were pertinent to what he was going through; Elton thought it was the perfect choice and so they went with it.
Being the curious sort, I always like to try to find out what a song means but despite a rather exhaustive search, I wasn't able to find precisely what it was that Bernie Taupin meant when he wrote the lyrics to this song. I did, however, find a wide range of opinions as to what other people thought he meant. One person felt that, "While the singer may want something a little akin to a one-night stand rather than truly lasting love, it still speaks to any listener who has wanted some kind of affection, no matter what."
Another offered up the following, "The words are those of a man who is seeking a love that isn't the lighthearted, idealized, over-romantic type of the young, but rather, a love that is honest, without illusion. He is worn and beaten, and so is blunt as to what he expects. He might want us to believe he's been through so much that he has nothing to lose, but I think in just uttering all that he does, he is more vulnerable than he lets on. In the end, he wants a love that itself is blunt, real, raw, catastrophic, with feeling, it matters not, just so long as it is honest."
Yet another person felt the song referred to the fact that, "We've all been burned and it is hard to open up to someone again when you're afraid of being hurt but we all want love ... just a different kind ..." while another stated that, "It's about someone who wants to love, but they're unsure if it's now possible after so much emotional scarring they've endured." And, of course, there were a lot of others who mistakenly thought that the song was about Elton being gay as they seemed to have missed completely the fact that it was Bernie, who is not gay, who wrote the lyrics and not Elton, who had been out of the closet for quite a long time before this song was even released. " It is about his gayness and how he's always getting hurt in his gay relationships." Uhm, no ...
Whatever the song is about, and I think that all songs reach different people in different places, it's a very moving song and definitely one of Elton's finest - at least IMHO! We all do want love, even those of us who have been burned by it before. For those of us who have had, shall we say, difficulties with love the lyrics that speak the loudest in this song might just be -
"I want love on my own termsThe problem, of course, is finding it or - maybe even more difficult - letting it find you.
After everything I've ever learned..."
Now, having said that, I want to dedicate this post to two people who I know most definitely want and deserve love - Morgen, who recently experienced the heartbreaking end of his 15-year relationship to someone who neither deserved or appreciated him and is still trying piece his life back together bit by bit; and Mimi, who, if possible, is even more of a romantic than I am and who had one of the most special loves I've seen in awhile take place right here in the Blogosphere only to have it undermined and weighed down by the complexities of everyday life. I truly do want you both to be happy and in love. You both deserve it.
So, that's what I want but what do you want? What do other people want? Leave me a comment and tell me what you want, what you really, really want (erg!) and then click on over to Morgen's Manic Monday post at It's a Blog Eat Blog World to see what other Manic Monday minions want. Go on - you know you want to!
I remember a song when I was about 13 or 14 by a German Rock singer (a woman) she screamed "I don't want chocolate I want a man" ! At that time I couldn't understand that, lol !
ReplyDeleteI just want some folks to stop by my new blog and still visit my old blog and stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteIan
I DID post I Want You To Want Me, but a remake by another band with a female lead! Happy MM!
ReplyDeleteMine is here: http://blog.mysocalledsite.com/?p=270
Wannabe is a Spice girl song I believe.
ReplyDeleteIf the Pussy cat dolls have have covered it they shoud be ashamed.
I just want Robert Downey Jr.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you involve music in your posts, Linda! "I want love" is one of my favorite songs by Sir Elton John. I´ve been to his concert in Germany 2006 - and this song´s been one of the highlights.
ReplyDeleteI´ll keep my fingers crossed for Mo and Mimi - they both deserve to be happy and in love ♥
Very well done, as always Linda. :)
ReplyDeleteI secretly like boy bands as well. I LOVED Boyz 2 Men. I was also a huge New Kids On The Block fan in my younger days. *LOL* But, now I just laugh at that. :)
Happy MM.
What makes us human is that we all want love...and wouldn't it be wodnerful if it really was on our terms?
ReplyDeleteExcellent post for WANT! My favorite of the day.
ReplyDeleteRobert Downey Jr. is such a phenominal talent that I hope he wins the fight. As to the song, it's one you feel in your bones no matter where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteOH I love that Elton John Song, and Cheap trick.
ReplyDeleteGreat Monday Post " I just want your extra time and your kiss kiss" ( Prince). Come on over and check out what I want!
i love elton john! there is talk of him coming on the next bloggers cruise but that sounds a little far fetched to me...
ReplyDeletesmiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
elton rocks.
ReplyDeleteGreat background on the song. I didn't know the history. You did a lot of research on this. Nicely done as usual.
ReplyDeleteRomantic? Me?? Surely you jest. Very sweet post. Long distance...arggh. Complex.
I want..
ReplyDeleteAmazing love like that
That mansion
What a fantastic video. I had seen this some time ago and had forgotten what an amazing video it was. They really couldn't have picked a better person to do it and do it so perfectly. Powerful lyrics that gives me much to think about on this Monday.
Hope you have a great start to your week.
You put a lot of though into your want and made a good choice.
ReplyDeleteOops, the Freelance Guru is absolutely correct - it's the other band that I don't like that did "Wannabe"! I shall have to correct that right now! DUH!!!
ReplyDeleteCool Linda. Love the song and the dedication is to two people that I happen to love too. Excellent. Have a great MM. :)
ReplyDeleteLinda, what I want I can't have. I want to live forever, completely healthy with my hubby who remains completely healthy too.
ReplyDeleteWow! These posts take you on all sorts of interesting journeys, don't they! It's fun following you along on these little trips!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Linda. I love Elton John, we saw him in concert in Manchester and he was awesome!
ReplyDeleteI want - nothing really, I've got everything I want thankyou. x
I thought this was a really nice post.
ReplyDeleteONG, Elton John was one of the first names I saw in concert. Wonderful job of research! How kind of you to want for Morgen and Mimi
ReplyDeleteMy very first concert was in Boston to see The Monkees. I had a HUGE crush on Mike Nesmith and I screamed and screamed until I had nothing left. My voice was MIA for days! My SisterDears loved that I couldn't talk.
ReplyDeleteI want to revisit that time in my life when me and my 3 SisterDears were young, foolish and all still living in the same house!
Okay, now I WANT another song stuck in my head besides "I want you to want me..."
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd incidentally...I think we should want everything we want. We should want romance and honesty and stability and spontenaity and fun and silliness and everything else we can think of. Because finding any of those things starts with wanting them.
Happy MM!
well now, I'd forgotten this song...believe it or not.
ReplyDeletewhat I want seems to change by the hour these days......
You've been tagged
ReplyDeleteI love Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Robert Downy Jr. too! All excellent talents in their own right.
ReplyDeleteI want what I already have - a loving, caring, committed husband. I feel so blessed to have him in my life.
I do want to live in Disney World though ;)
Very good post....great songs too! Well except for that one......
ReplyDelete