At 9:42 AM -0700 7/17/05, Chuck Israels wrote:
Using slang often has drawbacks. You can identify yourself as in a momentarily "in" group, only to find your expression hopelessly out of date in a short time. None of this is news to most of you, but it strikes me as most unfortunate that the otherwise beautiful, lyrically and musically literate, Fran Landesman/Tommy Wolf song, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," is rendered a period piece because of its title line, which only appears after all the rest of the sensitive, sophisticated, and expressive song, lyrics and all, have made a different and more durable impression. There's a lesson there.
True, but in this case the song is so well established that I don't even think of the title as being archaic. It says what it says, and everybody knows what it means. (Or maybe not; maybe we should try it on Crystal's teenagers!)
Now where you have a problem with shifting meanings rather than with archaic slang is with the pre-WW 2 songs that use "gay" simply to mean "happy," like "Glitter and Be Gay" and a ton of others. "Don we now our gay apparel?" Not cool! Or to be more realistic, not the originally-intended meaning.
John -- John & Susie Howell Virginia Tech Department of Music Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240 Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034 (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
