Harry Chapin's music may easily be thought of as AM radio fodder but he was a proficient story teller through song.... as we know with his big hit "Cat's in the Cradle." He started his musical career in the mid 60's while playing with his two brothers. In 1981, at the age of 38, he met his untimely death in a car accident. "W*O*L*D" was a hit single in 1974 from his album 'Short Stories.' It is about a radio DJ looking back at his career.. the highs of morning radio to the lows of night time talk shows around the country. The story is told through a phone call to his ex-wife and he reveals his sadness of the failed marriage as well as the despair of aging in an industry he loved.... all of this while trying to convince her, if not himself, how happy he was. A poignant tale of despair.
Lyrics
Hello Honey, it's me
What did you think when you heard me back on the radio?
What did the kids say when they knew it was their long lost daddy-o?
Remember how we listened to the radio
And I said `That's the place for me'
And how I got the job as an FM Jock the day you married me?
We were two kids and I was was into AM rock
But I just had to run around
It's been eight years since I left you babe
Let me tell you 'bout what's gone down
CHORUS
I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D
Playing all the hits for you wherever you may be
The bright good-morning voice who's heard but never seen
Feeling all of forty-five going on fifteen
The drinking I did on my last big gig made my voice go low
They said that they liked the younger sound when they let me go
So I drifted on down to Tulsa, Oklahoma to do me a late night talk show
Now I worked my way back home again, via Boise, Idhao
That's how this business goes
CHORUS
I've been making extra money playing high school sock hops
I'm a big time guest MC
You should hear me talking to the little children
And listen what they say to me
Got a spot on the top of my head, begging for a new toupee
And a tire on my gut from sitting on my
But they're never gonna go away
Sometimes I get this crazy dream
That I just drive off in my car
But you can travel on ten thousand miles and still stay where you are
I've been thinking that I should quit disk jockeying
And start that record store
Maybe I could settle down if you'ld take me back once more
OK Honey, I see
I guess he's better than me
Sure, Old Girl, I understand
You don't have to worry, I'm such a happy man
W*O*L*D, W*O*L*D, W*O*L, W*O*L, W*O*L*D*D*D
I am the morning DJ on K*H*J
Playing all the hits for you Playing them night and day
The bright good morning voice who's heard but never seen
Feeling all of forty-five, going on fifteen
I am the morning DJ on W*O*L*D
No comments:
Post a Comment