Time For A Conversation

Ah, the “conversation song”… when it’s done well, it can be amazing.

What am I calling a “conversation song”? It’s when there is more than one character in the song (you and me, or he and she, etc.) that literally converse in the lyrics. Probably one of the most well-known songs of this type is Meat Loaf’s extravagant opus, “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”. But there are plenty of other examples, like the folk song, “Jack And Lucy” by Hugh Moffatt. 

In some cases, two singers play the roles of the distinct characters. In other instances, the listener hears one voice that speaks for both characters. A great example of the latter type was written by Stan Rogers, a Canadian folk singer who tragically died in a plane crash in 1983. Stan’s song, “The Lock Keeper”, is seriously one of my favorite songs ever.

I’m most familiar with John Gorka’s stripped down, acoustic guitar-vocals arrangement of this song, and it’s magical. This is Stan Roger’s original recorded version of “The Lock Keeper”.

I have to admit that the first few times I heard this song, it took me a while to sort out which character (the lock keeper or the merchant sailor) was speaking at which time, but give it a few listens if you have a similar experience. It will eventually make sense. 

Still, the song floors me every time I hear it; Stan’s lyrics are astounding. He paints such a vivid picture, contrasting the lure of the open sea and international destinations with the lock keeper’s simple domestic happiness. And the melody rises and dips like the waters in the lock, like the waves on the ocean. Magnificent.

Personally, I find writing this type of song quite challenging. Making each character distinct sometimes results in awkward phrasing - lots of “he said” and “she said” stuff that gets in the way of the point I’m trying to make. A couple of years ago, I wrote a song about two dolphins having a conversation (hey, why not?), called “Until The Ocean Leaves The Bay” (unrecorded), and it’s still a work-in-progress until I figure out a better way to make their conversation clear and memorable.

I better get back to studying “The Lock Keeper”…