Songs That Deal With Autism/Aspergers
Pink Floyd - High Hopes...can relate to some, but not all of it
Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our troughts strayed constandly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begin
Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The night of wonder
Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unfuried
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world
Eneumbered forever by desire and ambition
Theres a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road weve been so many time
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river
Forever and ever
The Janis Ian song "At Seventeen" I'm a guy, but I can relate to it.
I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
In high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth
And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say come dance with me
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems
At seventeen
A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said, Pity please the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve
And the rich relationed hometown queen
Married into what she needs
A guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly
Remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
Indebentures of quality
And dubious integrity
Their small town eyes will gape at you
in dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received
At seventeen
To those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
The world was younger than today
And dreams were all they gave for free
To ugly duckling girls like me
We all play the game and when we dare
To cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say, come dance with me
And murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me
At seventeen
I think that "The Dark of the Matinee" by Franz Ferdinand does a pretty good job of describing life through the eyes of an Aspie. He seems to sing about feeling awkward in social situations...
You take your white finger
Slide the nail under the top and bottom buttons of my blazer
Relax the fraying wool, slacken ties
And I'm not to look at you in the shoe, but the eyes, find the eyes
Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files
You must follow, leave this academic factory
You will find me in the matinee
The dark of the matinee
It's better in the matinee
The dark of the matinee is mine
Yes it's mine
I time every journey to bump into you, accidentally
I charm you and tell you of the boys I hate
All the girls I hate
All the words I hate
All the clothes I hate
How I'll never be anything I hate
You smile, mention something that you like
How you'd have a happy life if you did the things you like
Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files
You must follow, leave this academic factory
You will find me in the matinee
The dark of the matinee
It's better in the matinee
The dark of the matinee is mine
Yes it's mine
So I'm on BBC2 now, telling Terry Wogan how I made it
What I made is unclear now, but his deference is and his laughter is
My words and smile are so easy now
Yes, It's easy now
Yes, It's easy now
Find me and follow me through corridors, refectories and files
You must follow, leave this academic factory
You will find me in the matinee
The dark of the matinee
It's better in the matinee
The dark of the matinee is mine
Yes it's mine
Oh, I definitely agree with you. (Even though I'm not a guy.)
I can't remember who sang the following, but this is an excerpt from a song called "Michael in the Garden."
And they in their wisdom say, Michael's a sign.
They're wrong, wrong, wrong with his mind.
They've seen the signs,
But they can't see
What Michael sees.
(And the last two lines change occasionally to, "But Michael feels fine / Inside the garden.")
Another example might be the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill".
They don't like him
But the Fool on the Hill
Sees the Sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round.
And my mum once suggested "Sad Lisa", by Cat Stevens.
She walks alone from wall to wall
Lost in a hall
She can't hear me
Though I know she likes to be near me
[...] Lisa, Lisa. Sad Lisa, Lisa.
(But I'm thinking that might equally be about depression. Or simply someone whose life has been very hard.
_________________
"We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune."
Although I doubt it was written with AS in mind, Tool "46&2" describes my mental state fairly well. In particular the obsessive tendencies, introspection, desire to analyze, and desire to change.
(From what I read it may have been written about some sort of Jungian psychology or the next step in the evolution of the human species, but the lyrics are vague enough to cover a wide variety of topics, including AS.)
sounds like a lot of the songs here aren't actually about AS, but they are about subjects that people with AS feel very strongly about, such as social isolation, seeing the world differently or simply loneliness. NTs certainly can feel those things too, its just that those aren't things that naturally come with being NT, they definitely come with having AS. So we of course can all relate whereas less NTs can relate, and we certainly feel stronger about those things.
(From what I read it may have been written about some sort of Jungian psychology or the next step in the evolution of the human species, but the lyrics are vague enough to cover a wide variety of topics, including AS.)
Dyspergian
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Age: 73
Gender: Male
Posts: 69
Location: Twickenham, London, England
I can't remember who sang the following, but this is an excerpt from a song called "Michael in the Garden."
And they in their wisdom say, Michael's a sign.
They're wrong, wrong, wrong with his mind.
They've seen the signs,
But they can't see
What Michael sees.
(And the last two lines change occasionally to, "But Michael feels fine / Inside the garden.")
Written and sung by Ralph McTell (1969) and inspired by his wife's brother. I heard it a few times when it first came out. It's haunted me ever since. For the best part of 40 years I never quite knew why. Now I do.
Complete lyrics:
Out in the garden, amongst the bushes, Michael is crying.
Caught in a spider's web, its broken wings beating, a butterfly dying.
Oh la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la
And they in their wisdom say
"Michael's got something wrong, wrong, wrong with his mind".
Well they must be blind, if they can't see what Michael sees.
Michael is silent, talking to no one of things that he sees.
But out in the garden, he talks in soft whispers, like the wind in the leaves.
Oh la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
And they in their wisdom say
"Michael's got something wrong, wrong, wrong with his mind".
They've seen the signs, but they can't see what Michael sees.
And inside the building someone is calling his name through the halls.
But he doesn't answer, though he easily hears each leaf as it falls.
Oh la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
And they in their wisdom say
"Michael's got something wrong, wrong, wrong with his mind".
Well they must be blind, for they can't see what Michael sees.
Michael where are you ?
Michael where are we,
We who see that there's something wrong with your mind?
And inside the garden Michael is smiling, at peace in his world.
At one with the insects, the flowers, and the trees, and the wind and the birds.
Oh la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
Oh Michael sees all
Behind the high walls
Surrounding his kingdom,
Whilst we in our wisdom
Still trapped in the spider's web
Far from the flow and ebb
Of life in the garden
But Michael has pardoned
Us for he sees
That really he's free
And there's nothing to mend
For his wings are not broken
And they in their wisdom say
"Michael's got something wrong, wrong, wrong with his mind".
They've seen the signs, but Michael feels fine inside the garden.
'At Seventeen' has also haunted me for the past 40 years. "...those whose names were never called when choosing sides for basketball" - that was me.
_________________
It's not just what you're given: it's what you do with what you've got
(Si Kahn)
Dyspergian
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Age: 73
Gender: Male
Posts: 69
Location: Twickenham, London, England
Another Paul Simon song from the 60s. I thought at the time it would be the story of my life. But I got lucky.
Schizoid Personality Disorder, I guess.
A Most Peculiar Man
He was a most peculiar man.
That's what Mrs. Riordan said and she should know;
She lived upstairs from him
She said he was a most peculiar man.
He was a most peculiar man.
He lived all alone within a house,
Within a room, within himself,
A most peculiar man.
He had no friends, he seldom spoke
And no one in turn ever spoke to him,
'Cause he wasn't friendly and he didn't care
And he wasn't like them.
Oh, no! he was a most peculiar man.
He died last Saturday.
He turned on the gas and he went to sleep
With the windows closed so he'd never wake up
To his silent world and his tiny room;
And Mrs. Riordan says he has a brother somewhere
Who should be notified soon.
And all the people said, "What a shame that he's dead,
But wasn't he a most peculiar man?"
_________________
It's not just what you're given: it's what you do with what you've got
(Si Kahn)
Dyspergian
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Age: 73
Gender: Male
Posts: 69
Location: Twickenham, London, England
Willard (John Stewart (1970))
Willard, he's a loner
Livin' by the railway
Livin' by the tracks aside his home.
Willard, he's a loner
If you're goin' his way
Say hello, he ain't got no one
To call his own.
Soldiers of glass
Standin' by the trash
Willard's colored bottles in a line.
Soldiers of glass
It's funny you should ask
But they're the only friends he has
To pass the time.
But they're the only friends he has
To pass the time.
And his mamma knows that he was once a child.
Mamma she was the first one
To hear us cry.
And my mamma knows
That I was once a child.
Could it be we're all just
Willard in disguise?
Could it be we're all just
Willard in disguise?
I hear they're tearin' down
All the buildings in his town
The house where Willard Jefferson has stayed.
But they can't tear him down
No, he will always be around
'Cause he's as hard as all that
Old black river clay.
Bottles in a line - autistic or what?
I almost regretted not using 'Willard in disguise' as my WP handle.
_________________
It's not just what you're given: it's what you do with what you've got
(Si Kahn)
Last edited by Dyspergian on 07 Dec 2007, 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Two songs I can relate to very much are "How Soon Is Now" and "Nowhere Man".
Lots of Pink Floyd - thinking now especially of "The Final Cut" and "Keep Talking".
Type O Negative's "Who Will Save the Sane?":
But who will save the sane?
Some beings just can't change -
Now crawl on by
With a fake tear in your eye,
And think,
"Isn't he strange?"
...or "World Coming Down"...
She thinks I'm Iron Man,
That I don't feel pain,
I don't understand
Why joy must be feigned,
I'm so fortunate
Yet filled with self-hate,
And the mirror shows
Me an ingrate...
_________________
Sodium is a metal that reacts explosively when exposed to water. Chlorine is a gas that'll kill you dead in moments. Together they make my fries taste good.
I enjoyed Gary Numan so much when I was younger. I really related to his lyrics (still do). Strangely enough, "Cars" was the only one I didn't have a fondness of-- and it's the only one that he's popular for!
Another band that has been mentioned on WP that I related to-- Sigur Ros. It's improvised Icelandic and very atmospheric, so although there wasn't an immediate lyrical fascination, the feeling of the music was beautiful and reminiscent of my own sort of spaced-out feeling.
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w8Z8tRy70dQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w8Z8tRy70dQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
your HTML doesn't work here
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
Autistic Love Songs |
20 Apr 2024, 12:19 am |
Songs, Anthems, and Music for Women |
Today, 1:15 pm |
Catchy Songs you heard years ago - you never knew |
15 Mar 2024, 6:53 am |
Songs for the Queens of Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, & Clubs |
29 Mar 2024, 8:33 pm |