Songs About Boys
I was struck by a song off Camera Obscura’s latest album My Maudlin Career . (I’ll take any excuse to talk about this record. It is my favorite so far of 2009 and worth picking up.) The song is simply entitled James. I didn’t realize at first why my ears pricked up, but then I noticed something about it. The lead singer is a woman singing directly to a man and calling him out by name. That sort of bold assertion from a female singer surprised me. Intrigued, I started polling my friends. My poor MNA cohort were the first to suffer through this High Fidelity-esque navel gazing. I asked them if they could think of any others. The only solid answer I got was Me and Bobby McGee. This turned out to be a repeating pattern. I had this conversation with others on-line and in person. That Janis Joplin song was always the first to come up. After that the pickings get pretty slim. Some people even start naming songs by men directed toward men.
Camera Obscura - James
Janis Joplin - Me and Bobby McGee
Now I do not claim by any stretch of the imagination to be an encyclopedia of pop music. I am a living example that a large record collection does not make one an expert. But I do think the difficulty I had with this quest says something. I’m sure these songs are out there. I did remember one excellent example in my stacks. PJ Harvey sings directly to her ex-lover in C’mon Billy. But that’s PJ Harvey, right? She’s an exceptional woman with a very unique, bold writing style. There’s also Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks. But now we are verging on “winking” songs. It’s a great song, but more of a kiss-off song. Plus it is written in 3rd person which adds a certain distance between author and subject. Still, hats off to the DCs for bucking the trend. I’m not their number one fan but I love the fact they wrote this song.
PJ Harvey - C’mon Billy
The Dixie Chicks - Goodbye Earl
Now for comparison I give you exhibit A. In a recent episode of Family Guy, Brian delivers the inverse proposition better than I ever could so I’ll let him have at it:
Now women have been writing and performing songs all this time, right? And it’s not like they don’t sing love songs right? So this takes me to the other interesting trend I noticed. Women do write songs to men, but they almost always refer to them obliquely. The first example that jumps to mind is Leader of the Pack, written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and George Morton. The singer refers to the subject as him, he, and of course with the moniker Leader of the Pack. Barry and Greenwich collaborated on other girl group hits that seem to following this pattern; Be My Baby, Baby I Love You, Then He Kissed Me and Da Doo Ron Ron (at least Bill gets a shoutout in the last one). Fast forward about 16 years to Sheena Easton singing “My Baby takes the morning train…” in a song written by Susan Bridget Inskip. Lots of songs where the men are referred to as “Baby,” Hrmmm… interesting. And somewhere along the line we have Carley telling someone (we think it’s Mick Jagger, right) about their vanity. These are just examples, but it was much easier to find songs like this that it was to find songs with the fellahs name in the title.
The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack
Sheena Easton - Morning Train (AKA 9 to 5)
Carley Simon - You’re So Vain
Now what the heck is going on, right? I have a few theories, but of course I’d like to hear yours. There is of course something here about the way boys use pop songs to get girls. There’s a certain boldness in calling a woman directly in the expectation that she will come hither. Now why no reciprocal arrangement? I know, I know, some men do not like assertive women. It’s not very girly I guess. I’ve never understood this, being a sucker for strong women myself. I guess if a woman is writing for demographics they need to soften their approach. One interesting trend is women writing songs in which they are to speaking to other women about a guy. Even the women are writing to a female audience.
When you say something directly to someone using their name you are demanding their attention. The classic example is the use of full names by parents upset with their children. “Warren Gamaliel Harding I want you to come here right this instant!” At work when someone assigns an action to you by name you are compelled to respond. In a way when someone uses your name they are claiming some ownership over you. You are forced to accept or reject the control they have over you at that moment. Pop music is full of men hoping to posses women, seeing them as objects to achieve or conquests to win. Me Tarzan, you Jane. Maybe that’s why the softer approach is used by the women songwriters. Me Jane, you Tarzan would certainly put some men off.
Well, what do you think? And do you know any other songs that fit in this rare category? I’d be interested to hear your experience trolling through your records trying to find examples. For now I will just be happy that Camera Obscura exists and listen to My Maudlin Career one more time 
-e
Bonus Track! OK, this one is sort of cheating. The title is a reference to Lloyd Cole, but what the heck it’s an awesome song so listen to it anyway!
Camera Obscura - Hey Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken
