Anyone who knows me closely knows: I never cry.However, for some reason, this song ("Back On The Chain Gang," by The Pretenders) makes me cry every time I hear it.
It's not a slow ballad; it's not a tear-jerker. It's a straightforward, mid-tempo rocker. It shouldn't make me feel sad.But somehow, whenever I hear that opening wash of Telecaster chords, my eyes moisten. By the end of the song, I'm a wreck.
This video proves that Chrissie Hynde (maybe the most unexpectedly sexy woman in rock and roll) knew it was sad song. Watch her performance from the middle of the bridge, at the 2:16 mark, until the end. She's almost weeping. Her vocals are transplendent - plaintive, raw, orgasmic... It's clear – this song is very special to her.
It's special to me, too, but I'm still not sure why. I think I'll watch it again and cry some more.
[Ohio native Chrissie Hynde was attending Kent State during the tragic shootings. She moved to London, started a band, fell in love with Kinks frontman Ray Davies, but eventually divorced. She's now considered one of the hippest, most important female voices in rock history, and is clearly a major influence for Karen O., lead singer of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, among others.]
3 comments:
I've always loved her. Her voice is enough to make one weep. Plus, she's always been a no-bullshit kind of person. Didn't she lose her lover/bandmate to drugs early on? Maybe the song reminds her of that loss.
Didn't she and Ray Davies have a child?
"DON'T HARASS ME, CAN'T YOU TELL
I'M GOING HOME, I'M TIRED AS HELL
I'M NOT THE CAT I USED TO BE
I GOT A KID, I'M THIRTY-THREE"
Have you listened to any of her latest CD, Break Up the Concrete?
A band with a guitarist who wears a Monty Python "hanky-hat"...I'll have to listen to them more carefully.
I believe the song is about James Honemyan-Scott, the guitarist, who overdosed.
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