Well, let me tell you, I heard some folks talkin’ ’bout songs with names about art. Ain’t that somethin’? Makes me think of old Bessie down the road, always paintin’ them pictures of her chickens. Never thought there’d be songs about that kinda thing, but I guess there’s songs about everything these days.
Now, I ain’t no expert on this kinda stuff, but I heard some of these songs. One of ’em, they call it “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel.” Sounds fancy, don’t it? They say this fella, Franz somethin’, wrote it. And the piano, it goes ’round and ’round like one of them old spinnin’ wheels. My grandma used to have one of those. Hard work, that was. This Gretchen, she’s just dreamin’ about her fella, I reckon. Love makes you do silly things, don’t it?
Then there’s these other fellas, always shoutin’ their names in the songs. Started back in the 90s, they say. Hip-hop, they call it. Loud and noisy, if you ask me. But you know, young folks like that kinda stuff. They used to call it somethin’ else, ad-libbin’. Sounds like gibberish to me, but hey, what do I know? I am just an old lady who likes the old songs. Makes me think of them barn dances we used to have. Good times, good times. Now, this Kool DJ Red Alert, he was a big shot, I hear.
These art songs, they’re different, you see. They take a poem, a real nice one, and they put music to it. Like that song about the little bird, remember that one? They sing ’em at them fancy concerts, all dressed up and proper. Not like them barn dances, that’s for sure. Those were fun, but not much art in them, I suppose. It is so popular, people always sing it, even in the shower.
- There is a song, they say it is called “Painter Man.”
- Some folks, they call ’em Boney-M, they sang it too.
- Must be a good one if everyone’s singin’ it, right?
If you is looking for songs about art and artists, you should just listen to the radio. They are always playing new songs, there must be one about art. I heard people saying there is 25 best songs about art and artists. I don’t know if it is true. But young people know everything. So it must be true.
I heard some of these new songs too. One’s called “Green Light,” by someone named Lorde. Sounds like somethin’ from a fairy tale. And then there’s this other one, “Picasso’s Baby” by Jay-Z. Now, I know Picasso. He’s that fella who painted them funny pictures, all squares and whatnot. Don’t really get it, but it’s art, I guess. They say these songs are about beauty and power. Well, I guess there’s beauty in everything, even them old, crooked trees out back. Even I can see that.
You know, back in my day, we didn’t have all these fancy songs about art. We just sang about life, about work, about love. Simple things. But I guess times change. These young folks, they got all these new ideas. It is a good thing that they have their own songs. And who am I to say what’s art and what ain’t? If it makes you feel somethin’, then it’s art, I reckon. Just like them old quilts my mama used to make. Each one told a story. Maybe that’s what these songs are doin’, tellin’ stories in their own way. Maybe these songs about art are just new kind of quilt.
This whole songs with names about art thing got me thinkin’. Maybe I should try to write a song myself. Maybe about my old dog, Blue. He was a good boy. Or maybe about my garden. Lots of pretty flowers in there. Or maybe about that time I chased that rooster all over the yard. That was a sight, I tell ya! It would be fun to write a song about these things.
Anyway, I gotta go now. Got chores to do. But you young folks, you keep listenin’ to your music. And don’t forget about the old folks like me. We got some good stories too, even if they ain’t in them fancy art songs. You know, maybe we do have the art in our life. It is just a different style of art. We just don’t know it yet.
