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Lady Penelope


Lee Knight

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*Updated here as I go. I'm going to start work on this one...

V1
Little girl eyes, they seems to sympathize
Or is it scrutinize, the things I do
These tears of pride, you see the fear behind
And though you're not unkind, sometimes you're cruel

C
You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
It is a gift to love and live
So we'll beg, borrow and give
Our heroes are gone
Long gone, Lady Penelope

V2
There's a better place, a place for gentle hands
A place with bigger plans, for me and you
And when our world starts to crumble, logic turns to jumble
"I love you's" turn to mumble, I still love you

C
You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
It is a gift to love and live
So we'll beg, borrow and give
Our heroes are gone
Long gone, Lady Penelope

B
Remember the time spent driving in your car?
The desert was electric, the day to day, hectic
But still so far away

C
You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
It is a gift to love and live
When we beg, borrow and give
Our heroes are gone
Long gone, Lady Penelope


_________________




1st draft. Ideas?

V1
Little girl eyes, they seems to sympathize
Or is it scrutinize, the things I do
These tears of pride, you see the fear behind
And though you're not unkind, sometimes you're cruel

C
You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
The world's a better place to live
When we beg, borrow and give
Sad to say, our heroes are dead, Lady Penelope

V2
There's a better place, a place for gentle hands
A place with bigger plans, for me and you
And when our world starts to crumble, logic turns to jumble
"I love you's" turn to mumble, I still love you

C
You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
The world's a better place to live
When we beg, borrow and give
Sad to say, our heroes are dead, Lady Penelope

B
Remember the time spent driving in your car?
The desert was electric, the day to day hectic
Was so far away

C
But you're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
The world's a better place to live
When we beg, borrow and give
Sad to say, our heroes are dead, Lady Penelope
Our heroes are dead, Lady Penelope

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Not sure this is a great line coming out of the chorus, since you do the "better place" there:

There's a better place, a place for gentle hands

You'll have to forgive me, but I don't grasp the significance of "Lady Penelope". Must have missed that show.

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I think it's a great first draft. Very strong rhythmically. And that second verse is killer stuff.

I like the internal rhyme on "Lady Penelope."

One minor hitch: I don't fully understand the relationship b/w the singer and Penelope. By starting with "little girl eyes" you give us the impression that she's his daughter. Then you scotch that idea, but who is he now? Her uncle? We have to go even further to find out that it's a romantic (semi-romantic?) pairing.

Also, while I like the idea of using hectic as a noun, it's kind of a head-scratcher, esp, when sung.

How about "the desert was electric, the daily dialectic was so far away?"

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I don't know if it makes any sense at all but I'll share what it is. Lady Penelope is a character from the puppet kid's show Thunderbirds. She was the London spy with the Thunderbirds and the daughter of an aristocrat. She's high maintenance.

It is my wife's nickname. We had a fight and I realize I seem to be her surrogate father. Her dad was a scoundrel so she was raised by her mom alone.

Enter: Me. i.e. Superman. Daddy. It can suck.

So this was writing without restriction. Total purge city without refinement. I should nix the "little girl eyes". I like calling her Lady Penelope in the song. It sounds good. Kind of like the way Lady Godiva sounded to me as a kid before I understood who that figure was...

I hope, and I think it is clear that the narrator is under the strain of her expectations. These are shoes impossible to fit in.

So, there's the back story. How can I make it clear I can't/won't/not interested in filling the shoes of Superman in my wife's eyes? But I love her and want her to see that working hard without a sense of entitlement is a gift, not a burden.

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The problem I see is a mix of metaphoric fields... (although the reference to the puppet show sort of ties it together -- for people who get the reference)...

We've got Lady Penelope (it sounds high maintenance, so it's kind of shorthand). But then we've got Superman... British aristocracy and Depression era comic book superhero... they don't seem to overlap.

Without the foreknowledge that Lady Penelope was a character in the puppet show, I'm left with just the aristocracy and, being a flat-footed plodder, that would lead me to a tendency to keep the metaphoric field there, recasting Superman as, I dunno, some Prince Charming type. (Which might also give you as songwriter a chance to play some upstairs/downstairs with your metaphors.)

Anyhow, I definitely got the missing-father-fixation thing from the lyrics as they are, despite early confusion as to roles. The roles ARE confused, after all, in the intended telling of the song, so it's natural, I think. Also, I don't think the little girl eyes part is necessarily a problem. It's actually fairly evocative -- and somewhat economical, as well, because, after all, one is not necessarily inclined to point out that a little girl has little girl eyes... so the implication, if one is willing to stretch just a bit, is that the object of attention is a grown woman who is indulging in 'little girl eyes.'

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^^^ that's a great point. I need a synonym for hero there. Although I like the way the line echoes, "there is no Santa Clause". Sort of the big wake up and see reality moment. Hmmm. I like "There is no... " and then at least alluding to some mythical icon. Hmmm....

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Quote Originally Posted by grace_slick View Post
I felt the romantic vibe from the beginning.
+1. I think you're fine in that regard.

I'm not crazy about using 'hectic' as a noun, but I realize your rhyme choices are pretty limited.

This phrase confused me: These tears of pride

I get the second part of that line about seeing the fear behind the pride, but I can't figure out why being proud would make you cry.

The chorus seems a little complex just reading it, but I can't wait to hear how it sounds over a great Lee Knight melody. smile.gif
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Hmm...why would being proud make someone cry...

Often pride for a loved one can be so overwhelming, it can bring on tears. And in terms of self-pride, tears can come from a more complicated place. Guilt mixed with pride, regret mixed with pride, the pressure of expectation and the resulting relief from feeling pride...stuff like that maybe.

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Quote Originally Posted by grace_slick View Post
Hmm...why would being proud make someone cry...

Often pride for a loved one can be so overwhelming, it can bring on tears. And in terms of self-pride, tears can come from a more complicated place. Guilt mixed with pride, regret mixed with pride, the pressure of expectation and the resulting relief from feeling pride...stuff like that maybe.
That is exactly what I was thinking. I actually thought it was a great line, full of complex emotion in few words.
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Quote Originally Posted by Monkey Uncle View Post
I'm not crazy about using 'hectic' as a noun, but I realize your rhyme choices are pretty limited.

This phrase confused me: These tears of pride

I get the second part of that line about seeing the fear behind the pride, but I can't figure out why being proud would make you cry.

The chorus seems a little complex just reading it, but I can't wait to hear how it sounds over a great Lee Knight melody. smile.gif


Quote Originally Posted by grace_slick View Post
Hmm...why would being proud make someone cry...

Often pride for a loved one can be so overwhelming, it can bring on tears. And in terms of self-pride, tears can come from a more complicated place. Guilt mixed with pride, regret mixed with pride, the pressure of expectation and the resulting relief from feeling pride...stuff like that maybe.
Quote Originally Posted by Oswlek View Post
That is exactly what I was thinking. I actually thought it was a great line, full of complex emotion in few words.
Quote Originally Posted by stickboymusic View Post
I think the "heroes are dead" line is a bit out of place

How about

You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
The world's a better place to live
When we beg, borrow and give
Here's the deal, our heroes aren't real, Lady Penelope
hectic

tears of pride

our heroes are dead

Great stuff, guys. The use of hectic as a noun. smile.gif I don't know, I sorta like it. A modern language trend is to verbafy nouns. Journaling. Google it. The horrible "I God you". "Guilt me into it." So adjective as noun...


'The intelligent are not arrogant'
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took me a couple times to climb that hill. Then I went "Aha."

 

Truly love:

And when our world starts to crumble, logic turns to jumble

"I love you's" turn to mumble, I still love you

 

There's your boat anchor. Doesn't need to be in the chorus. But it needs to be in there like you got it. Well done.

 

I read your explanation. That's pretty much what I figured was going on, though I'm not familiar with the Thunderbirds and Lady Penelope. Don't need to be. the song speaks for itself.

 

Well done.

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Quote Originally Posted by Lee Knight View Post
. . . ,
our heroes are dead

It is a bit "God is dead-ish". Nietzsche said that, and then, "Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?" The murdering of God. I take "Our heroes are dead", to mean, ain't nobody gonna do it for you now. I'm not your dad, I'm not superman, if if either ever existed, they're gone now, leaving only the fact that you... must do what you... want and need done. Lady Penelope was a game, fun. This is real and there is no aristocrat waiting to take you to the next fashion show in Milan. . . . ,
Got that too. Nice explanation, though. But I figured that's what was behind it. Dead nuts on !
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Quote Originally Posted by Lee Knight View Post
You're not a little girl, I'm not your daddy
There is no Superman, Lady Penelope
The world's a better place to live
When we beg, borrow and give
Our heroes are long gone, wake up with the dawn, Lady Penelope
Hhhhmmmm. I'm not sue I would go with wake up with the dawn. Seems unecessary and degenerative. Our heroes are long gone already says that. Maybe I'm just familiar with the first read (and get it) and don't want to see stuff just stuck in there. I mean it works. Just seems redundant to a fault. (cliche like?)
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Quote Originally Posted by Lee Knight View Post
our heroes are dead

Stick says: Here's the deal, our heroes aren't real,
Hmm...heroes are dead or heroes aren't real...?

I like the flow of "aren't real", but...is it enough to have that specific meaning over the original meaning intended by "dead"? Cause dead, as has been said above, implies they were at some stage in existence and believed in and relied upon for whatever purpose. And so now they're dead, it's like a dream has been shattered, a comfort has been removed. The word "dead" is quite blunt. Like if someone's died and you're told about it, "(insert name)'s dead" is much harsher and more shocking than "(insert name) has died". So yeah, because of the bluntness of the word "dead", to me it's like ripping away the dreams of the person you're telling her heroes are not there. They're dead. Gone. You're on your own.

Whereas heroes aren't real...it doesn't have the same impact, and it doesn't have the same meaning. Yeah, your heroes aren't real, they never were, they never existed except within your mind.

I don't know what I'm blabbering about now. I shall go. lol
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Quote Originally Posted by grace_slick View Post
Hmm...heroes are dead or heroes aren't real...?

I like the flow of "aren't real", but...is it enough to have that specific meaning over the original meaning intended by "dead"? Cause dead, as has been said above, implies they were at some stage in existence and believed in and relied upon for whatever purpose. And so now they're dead, it's like a dream has been shattered, a comfort has been removed. The word "dead" is quite blunt. Like if someone's died and you're told about it, "(insert name)'s dead" is much harsher and more shocking than "(insert name) has died". So yeah, because of the bluntness of the word "dead", to me it's like ripping away the dreams of the person you're telling her heroes are not there. They're dead. Gone. You're on your own.

Whereas heroes aren't real...it doesn't have the same impact, and it doesn't have the same meaning. Yeah, your heroes aren't real, they never were, they never existed except within your mind.

I don't know what I'm blabbering about now. I shall go. lol
+1.
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Quote Originally Posted by grace_slick View Post
Hmm...heroes are dead or heroes aren't real...?

I like the flow of "aren't real", but...is it enough to have that specific meaning over the original meaning intended by "dead"? Cause dead, as has been said above, implies they were at some stage in existence and believed in and relied upon for whatever purpose. And so now they're dead, it's like a dream has been shattered, a comfort has been removed. The word "dead" is quite blunt. Like if someone's died and you're told about it, "(insert name)'s dead" is much harsher and more shocking than "(insert name) has died". So yeah, because of the bluntness of the word "dead", to me it's like ripping away the dreams of the person you're telling her heroes are not there. They're dead. Gone. You're on your own.

Whereas heroes aren't real...it doesn't have the same impact, and it doesn't have the same meaning. Yeah, your heroes aren't real, they never were, they never existed except within your mind.
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