Tuesday Tunes

I melted between the cars and the buildings. Last week we were in Brisbane for a baby shower, although my partner’s culture calls it a shrimant. Being from Auckland I expected an increase in temperature, but I didn’t expect how harsh the heat is there. Any time we had to move between the car and the houses was first-world-problem level torture. Thankfully, both the cars and the buildings were air conditioned, so I didn’t suffer too long. Now, where a baby shower might take an afternoon, this shrimant took several days, so there was much shaking of hands and meetings of extended family. But I felt very welcome. My partner also met the last of my brothers and his family, and she felt very welcome. The whole experience brought this song to mind, so I thought I’d share …

The Song(s)
Song: Bridal Train
Artist: The Waifs
Album: A Brief History - 2004 - Jarrah Records
Method of discovery: Spotify Radio

Research: Bridal Train was released as a single from the album, and it’s telling that the song is their second most popular on Spotify, only beneath a track from their latest outing (as of writing). The story that band member Vikki Thorn tells is based on the real event after the second world war, where the US navy organised a train to cross Australia picking up girls who had married American Soldiers. Ultimately, these women were put on a boat to America, a journey that Thorn’s own grandmother made. The song is recognised for being excellent, winning the 2006 USA Songwriting Competition. The Waifs owe a lot to Vikki (and Donna’s) grandmother, who in a way, also inadvertently named the band with an off-hand comment. I’m unsure if the grandmothers are the same, but the lesson stands, listen to your elders.

Theory: Let’s get these chords out of the way, I want to talk about a specific lyrical trick. There is a Verse and a Chorus section to this song, with the verse being used for the solo, too. The Verse goes through I-iii-IV-vi-V, with the last two chords speeding up to help create motion toward the end of the section. The Chorus is a little longer of a pattern, but doesn’t repeat in entirety: IV-V-I-vi-(IV)-vi-V-VI-V-I-vi-(IV)-V-I. The chords in brackets are held for longer than others.

Personal thoughts: I really like wordplay and puns and double-entendre. I fondly recall my family inspecting a zoo enclosure for a leopard, and once sighted, my eldest brother commenting “Well spotted.” Although puns are usually used for comedic effect, I think it’s the closest descriptor to the title of the song (although the Arabic device ‘Iham’ is a very close second). The double-meaning of the title, in that it was a Locomotive full of war brides, and that a traditional bridal train (or what others may call a wedding dress train) extends long into the distance, clashes in my brain. I picture a solitary woman holding a young baby in her arms, trailing this long piece of fabric across the lonesome Australian outback. I don’t know if this is what Thorn intended, but it’s what I see. It’s best summed up in the introduction to the live version on the same album: “… the difference between the love of a man and the love of a country”. It makes me think of family far away, and that sometimes embracing one thing, means letting others go.

Give it a go: If you’ve ever let anything go

Give it a miss: If you’re still holding on to everything

[links]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Bridal Train by The Waifs
The Waifs: Website
Wikipedia: Bridal Train, The Waifs, Vikki Thorn
Other: “Iham” on Wikipedia