Song Club #56: Unfolding

Writing songs that reveal new layers of meaning

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When I was thinking what to write for this week’s Song Club (belated), ‘Time (The Revelator)’ popped into my head, unbidden.

Its first verse punches me right in the throat.

Darling, remember
When you come to me
I’m the pretender
And not what I’m supposed to be
But who could know if I’m a traitor?
Time’s the revelator

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten through singing this verse without choking up a little. It’s simple. It’s raw. A part of me sees myself in the narrator, even though they’re describing themselves as a maybe not great person.

It’s masterful as a first verse; to my ear it has no less than four hooks:

• Emotional - Love, lies, and disappointment are all evoked. There is a palpable sense hurt might be imminent.

• Narrative - A questionable narrator tells a loved one bluntly that she might hurt them. Who can tell? Only time.

• Musical - The melody from ‘Who can tell …’ to the end of the verse is memorable and aching, a moment the listener wants to return to (and gets to) each verse.

• Lyrical - Welch ends the verse with a refrain that repeats throughout the song: ‘Time’s the revelator.’

As it transpires, we never really find out what happens to the characters in the first verse. Each verse is distinct enough to be telling a new story. Time is the central character¹, and in each verse we learn a little more about how it shapes life. The meaning unfolds with song.

The key to this is the repetition of the line ‘Time’s the revelator’ amid a new story or setting each verse. That repetition allows the line to take on new meaning.

This week’s ‘Entry Points’ are focused on different ways to achieve unfolding meaning from a lyrical perspective.

Keep going,
Lucy

‘Entry Points’