Laurie in Paul's music

[Wolfdog]

irene said:

Westerberg wrote "Born for Me"," Best Thing that Never Happened" & all of his greatest misses post Replacements, not Laurie Lindeen. Sheesh.

Actually, Laurie did write Best Thing. Around the time she put out her solo record.

[scoOter]

irene said:

Westerberg wrote "Born for Me"," Best Thing that Never Happened" & all of his greatest misses post Replacements, not Laurie Lindeen. Sheesh.

right. this is good information. i should bookmark this thread for future reference.

He has gone on, ahem, record to say most of his songs are composites of different people or pure fiction.

and some are about specific people. he has written a TON of songs, but i wouldn't call many of his songs "pure fiction". it's not like he's been writing rock operas or something. his life & relationships pretty clearly at the very minimum "color" nearly all of his songs. of course, this is just my opinion... i should mention that the degree of fiction or composites in his songs doesn't change what i said in my last post on this thread a bit. he still has the power to make me uncomfortable with his lyrics. a rare artist, because this is a VERY good thing.

He is, after all, Paul Westerberg. Give him some credit, 'kay?

i'm not sure what this even means, but ok. see above.

[Kathy]

irene said:

Westerberg wrote "Born for Me"," Best Thing that Never Happened" & all of his greatest misses post Replacements, not Laurie Lindeen. Sheesh. However, Lindeen did sing backup on 2 tracks from his first 2 solo records: 93's "Dice Behind Your Shades" & 96's "Aint Got Me". Yes, PW did credit Laurie for the title"What a Day(For A Night") in the liner notes of 05's "Besterberg". 99's "Whatever Makes You Happy" could easily be interpreted to be about her tho. He has gone on, ahem, record to say most of his songs are composites of different people or pure fiction. He is, after all, Paul Westerberg. Give him some credit, 'kay?

There was an article about Laurie several years ago that mistakenly credited her with writing one of Paul's songs (I'm pretty sure it was "Best Thing") which explains why someone might think that. After running the board for 3 1/2 years, I feel confident in saying that getting the people here to give Paul sufficient "credit" for his song-writing is not a big problem around these parts.

Bacon or fingernails, now that's a problem.

[irene]

All I'm saying is Page 1 of this thread is lousy w/ errors regarding songwriting credit due Westerberg, so I'll be the ombudsman & simply point it out is all.
"Give credit to the guy who actually wrote the song, & not someone who didn't" is what the above quote means, Scooter old chap.
Yep, he actually said most of his songs are composites of people, or simply conjured up in his head. Heck, I say why not give rock operas a whirl? I'd pay good money to see Paul reinvent The Who's "Tommy"! Now how would the lyric change go I wonder... Anybody wanna take it?

[nowwesayitoutloud]

"That deaf, dumb and blind boy ... sure cooks up a mean bacon and fingernails!"

[velvetgefiltefish]

I don't know where, but I'm positive that Paul gave an interview somewhere in which he was asked directly if the subject of "Things" was his first wife. And his repsonse was: no, it's actually about the first woman I was involved with after my marriage fell apart.

[BronxTeacher]

Listening to "Seein' Her" today, it dawned on me that the lyrics seem to reflect the initial circumstances of Paul's and Laurie's relationship. According to Laurie's book, she was dating another guy when Paul rolled around.

I had always loved the lyrics of this song, got the love triangle aspect of it, but had never worked out a satisfying interpretation. I remember I listened to it a lot after my divorce; it was a good one to hear after the umpteenth bad date. 14 Songs, together with "Seein' Her" and "Man Without Ties", is some of the best post-divorce listening material ever. The songs are mostly about rebirth, rejuvenation, re-entering life.

and

Paul's nickname for Laurie is "Roundie," as in "I was smoking a roundie" from "Someone I Once Knew"...?

[Stegman]

bronxteacher said:

Paul's nickname for Laurie is "Roundie," as in "I was smoking a roundie" from "Someone I Once Knew"...?

He was smoking his wife?

I always figured a roundie was his nickname for a cigar.

[paulie]

i always thought paul wrote "Things" for every relationship i was having at the time.

[A Regular]

how about pw in Laurie's music..

First song on her EP is called Lies. Maybe a foreshadow for Wonderful Lie?

[BronxTeacher]

He was smoking his wife?

I always figured a roundie was his nickname for a cigar. [/quote]

Yea, it is his nickname for a cigar or cigarette. The song, stoopid as it is, is about a new relationship, so I thought maybe the line was also a wink to Laurie.