Growing up, Cat Stevens was always playing in the background of my chaotic household. It wasn't until I got a bit older, however, that I was able to appreciate Stevens' songs for their poetic lyrics and incredible meaning rather than the gentle nature of Stevens' voice.
Who is Cat Stevens?
Stevens was born on July 21st, 1948 in London. He was raised Greek Orthodox and sent to a Roman Catholic school. Stevens became an incredibly popular folksinger and songwriter in the 1970's but, when his stresses of his new found life and extreme partying landed him in the hospital for three months, he terminated his career for a period of time to convert to Islam. In 1990 he returned to writing and performing Islamic-themed music and in 2004 began, again, to release his more popular non-religious based songs.
Just a little of historical background.
Anyway, one particular song that had, and continues to have, sentimental value to me is Stevens' song If You Want To Sing Out
The song is, on one hand, incredibly simplistic. The lyrics are, vocabulary wise, easy to understand and the song as a whole is short and repetitive.
According to Perrine, poetry is an experience to remember. Poetry should, in general, make you feel something even if it's not what everyone else seems to be feeling.
In that sense, Stevens has created a poetic song whose simplicity creates, for me, a unique experience close to my heart. The song itself states that one should create his or her own ways of life; that there is no one way to indiscriminately follow. Stevens illuminates the fact that life, in itself, is about taking personal opportunities and doing what one feels is right for him or for her in any given moment. He also writes, essentially, that everyone branches off in their own, unique way and that they should, too, be respected for their decisions on how they choose to live.
Stevens uses the short lines structure help communicate with everyone.
For example, Stevens writes:
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out,
and if you want to be free, be free.
There's a million things to be, you know that there are.
And if you want to live high, live high,
and if you want to live low, live low.
There's a million ways to go, you know that there are.
The fact that his lines are so short and their structure so simple helps the listener look deeper into the the actual spiritual meaning of song as a whole rather than contemplating on the vocabulary meaning or taking apart the sentences to figure out what the meaning of the lyrics are, at all.
The tone of the song is happy and free. The rhythm of the song and the structure of the lyrics creates an upbeat tone that makes the listener feel positive and optimistic. Although the vocabulary is simple, it is obvious, when listening and merely reading the lyrics, that the song was written to create a happy feeling rather than a feeling of darkness or depression. I have a feeling of "floatiness" while listening to this song as its freedom generates a hidden happiness because of its tempo and obvious casualness.
I think this song could be overlooked by many people because its older and seems incredibly straightforward. However, I like it for those reasons in particular because it gives me the experience of being able to appreciate something that can be easily taken advantage of; freedom.
I think, in general, there is complete clarity to the meaning of the song. Some songs mean different things based on different interpretations. However, I feel as though Cat Stevens has done an incredibly good job of creating a song which has such a simplistic and poetic structure to it that it is interpreted the same by every listener or reader. The song creates a sense of togetherness as it pushes people to accept who they are and to accept other for who they are.
One a different note, the song can be seen as having an extremely existentialist point of view. Breaking down the lyrics, it is obvious that it basically states that one should go with his or her own desires, not the desires of the community. Along with that, I think it is incredibly interesting how often i notice when certain things come off as existentialist thanks to AP College English-- not complaining though... it gives me a whole different perspective.
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