When Lyrics Work Overtime

A few weeks ago, I shared the song "New Soul," that you may have heard first in a Macintosh commercial. That song and its creative music video help us understand that well-written lyrics reach beyond the page (and even beyond the lyre, the ancient musical instrument at the right from which we get the word lyric). Throughout most of the 20th Century, advertisers relied on getting "jingles" in our head to help their advertising dollars work overtime for free.

Jingles not only make lyrics work overtime... they also work over time. Many of them have become unforgettable classics in their own right. Most of them follow the same simple formula: state the name and claim of the product. "Brylcream: a little dab-l-do ya" (name and claim) Or "My dog's better 'cause he eats Ken-L-Ration." (claim and name). [Note: I could easily get side-tracked on this topic. For more see the P.S. at the bottom of this post.]

Back in the 70's, Coke found that advertisers could borrow a song that had nothing to do with a product and if it caught on, if the song made people feel good or appealed to "our better angels," it would enhance the way consumers felt about a product. The song Coke introduced was "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" (which did add their name and claim at the very end: "Coke: It's the real thing"), but it was the song itself that became a hit for my generation for years--including millions of non-Coke drinkers like me.

As long as there are radios and products to peddle on the air waves, there will be jingles, but in this 21st Century we are seeing more and more use of unfamiliar, inspiring songs draped around a product. Take the one from CVS Pharmacy, for instance. That song was also used in the enchanting film Charlotte's Web. Another great song in a commercial is the haunting question sung by Hem: "Is this the part where you let go?" used in the Liberty Mutual commercial. It shows ordinary people doing the right thing for others.

This song kept playing through my head those days we were in hospice with my mom (after returning early from Thailand). So it's no surprise that it came back to me when I was editing the video and saw the footage of an Akah man dying in his hut (it was a large "family hut" with three related families sharing it). Dr. Mary was holding the man's hand as we prayed because there was nothing else the doctors could do. One week to the day after taking those pictures, I was holding my mom's hand under similar circumstances.

The video project is practically complete. I used the following clip at the end of a longer presentation put on DVD along with the portions you may have watched on POI Youtube.

"Is This the Part Where You Let Go?"


If you watch this montage a second time, you may want to play "I Spy" with the clips. Here's a guide of what to look for.

Clip #1: It did not rain a drop the week I was in Thailand so I had to use a brook in the opening clip. A few days after I returned home, they had a rare downpour in the dry season. Clip #2: Look closely—-there is an old sandal embedded in the hardened clay, leftover from the rainy season. (A foot probably got stuck in the thick mud and the sandal just hardened there as the path dried.) Clip #3: I thought it was interesting that the boys demonstrated that in their culture a vehicle's primary worth is in carrying loads of beams or bamboo. Clip #6: The small children sometimes play "sidewalk soccer" with stones. Clip #7: Look closely at the upper edge of the clip when the boy is running in slomo. You'll see a satellite dish. In the past few years, nearly every village has installed one. Clip #8: The man is wearing a "U.S. Army" shirt. Needless to say, he wasn't a GI, but the hill tribes often get cast-offs from the "irregular" bins of the many Thailand textile companies that supply "name brands" and familiar logos for the rest of the world. Clip #10: Holding this dying man's hand during prayer was all the doctors could do. Little did I know when I took that shot, that I'd be holding my mother's hand under similar circumstance exactly one week later. Clip #11: Akah woman with cataracts.
Clip #12: Behind the sad boy hugging the post is an old man smoking opium from a PVC pipe. Clip #14: Girl with soccer ball and baby. The team gave away two new soccer balls to each village. Clip #16: Detail of Akah vest on young girl. These colors and patterns are unique to the Akah tribe and they sell many handmade items like this at the markets. Clip #17: Lady in purple walked all the way up the hill by herself. It took 20 minutes. She had severe arthritis. Clip #18: Booted women coming in from the rice fields for the clinic. Clip #21: Small Boy crying after tooth extraction. He had a hard time. Afterwards, I wanted to give him something. All I had in my pocket was a penny, so I gave it to his father to give to him. They had never seen one and were very grateful. I hope they don't someday misunderstand the gesture when they find out a penny is our least valued coin.
Clip #22: I have used this girl in the window three times. I call the video file "Eyes." Clip #23: At the end of the clinic in the very far village (where they were making brooms), these girls brought us plates of fresh fruit.
Clip #24: This is the wife of our Akah translator, John. Her name is "Nut," and in that language it has only positive connotations. She and John are a remarkable couple. Clip #25: I call this clip "Number 97" because I have a photo of this Lahu woman proudly holding up her "take a number" ticket. She was thrilled to get the ticket but did not know that 97 meant there was nearly a hundred in front of her. After a few hours, she was sitting against a wall (#97 still in her hand...look closely). Her countenance went from bright-eyed to pensive. I did not notice it was the same lady until weeks later when I began editing. Her face and eyes show the wisdom and weariness that comes from shared life.

(Here are the lyrics of "Is this the part where you let go?")

P.S. I wanted to add some more examples of classic "name-claim" jingles, but as I googled the topic, I found some great related links that you can just explore for yourself if you share this interest. First was this fun post about jingles by a fellow blogger. Then was this great link to a page of nearly all the famous ad jingles through the years in WAV form for free downloads. (Once you're at that site, use the index to search other categories of jingles.) I also found this "80's" page that provides video clips of some classic ads. If you want to see a funny video clip about how jingles are a part of our culture, watch this "short." (Be sure to watch the surprise ending.) And finally, if you're really into old jingles and ad slogans... test your knowledge here. Now do you see why I put this at the end--it's practically a whole different post, but I just put up the one I wrote for the weekend. =)