In one of the cooler cross-medium experiments that I’ve heard lately, Ballads of the Book brings together Scotland’s greatest poets with some of their finest songsmiths. Though there are arguably some better known pairs (Vashti Bunyan & Rodge Glass, Idlewild & Edwin Morgan), I have to go with Sons and Daughters. I love ‘em and this song is enough to actually make me consider reading the work of a Scottish poet.

MP3: Sons and Daughters – The War On Love Song
Lyrics by A. L. Kennedy
Don’t misread as I initially did: this is no war on love songs, those sappy staples of pop music. No, this is a song about the war on love. Over the course of the song, A. L. Kennedy, through the mouth of Sons and Daughters, tears apart everything that makes love worth having. In a manner that makes me thankful that I am not of her assumed mindset for this work, her lyrics assume an authoratative control over anything beautiful that might arise, and instead replaces it with barked orders: “I only need you to obey me, like you ought to do / And tell me all the things I tell you, like you know they’re true.”

The best (worst?) part about this is that is that as dark as the lyrics are, they’re completely understandable. Hating and wanting to control the uncertainty that stems from dating someone — something that will always produce surprises — isn’t too far off from being a kid with wrapped presents under the tree. Sometimes it feels overwhelming, but if you can learn to enjoy the chaos that comes from not knowing what to expect, you’ll find the reward all that much greater.

Bonus MP3: Sons and Daughters – Rama Lama

Sons and Daughters on Myspace
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