But alas, it was all too much for me to wrap my head around...because - I think - it was just so fucking awesome...actual poetry, as opposed to merely overwrought and heavily cliched imagery. Or maybe it's just complete nonsense. Honestly, that would be okay too.
And I definitely wasn't mature then enough to appreciate the artistry of America's collective musicianship. Dewey Bunnell wrote "Tin Man", but like many of America's songs, it's the other two members, Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley, joining in that helps create the unforgettable sound that, as I've said in the past, is on one hand helplessly dated to the 1970s, yet beautifully timeless at the same time.
Now as a full-fledged adult, I still don't know what the hell the song is saying, I just love it. Love me some America, man. I feel like there's important stuff - heady and just a little horrifying - going on in their music, both lyrically and melodically, and yet, nothing at all at the same time. Maybe more than any other band or artist, America should be brought along on a cross-country road trip.
"But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't, didn't already have..."
#275) "A Horse With No Name" by America - See above.
"The ocean is a desert with its life underground and a perfect disguise above..."
#276) "Lonely People" by America - And again. Although the lyrics are more straightforward in this one, it's still just pleasant to listen to.
"Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup / you never know until you try..."
