Howard Jones, Dream into Action 9

In the 1980's, most young people, especially those who had a special attachment to more "alternative" music, would still think in terms of the "album" format. If you liked an artist enough and had the cash at hand to buy a new LP, it was therefore quite common for your friends to ask you to play it for them, or even (gasp!) to copy it onto a cassette. 

Unsurprisingly, I became known as the local "HoJo guy", and when Dream into Action first appeared, I was briefly popular because I had a copy of the record. If I placed it on a turntable, a small group might gather to hear what all the fuss was about. 

Some would wander off after the first few tracks, though a good number were curious enough to listen to songs they would likely never get to hear on the radio. Yet interestingly enough, as soon as we got to "Elegy", I can recall only one person who didn't make his excuses. Though I sadly didn't appreciate it at the time, it turned out that he was one of the most thoughtful and compassionate friends I would ever have. 

Now what was is it about this particular song that was unappealing to them? It is rather slow, mind you, and there is not a beat in sight. Is the cello too artsy, perhaps? If I pressed the point, I was told it was too "depressing", which is odd, given how the purpose of the song is to combat melancholy, and that most of the "New Wave" music my peers liked was usually quite dark and somber. 

I can only wonder if the lyrics had a way of making people feel uncomfortable; I know they certainly put me on the spot, helping me to recognize how easily I get caught up in pseudo-romantic self-pity. It's one thing for me wallow in it, an odd sort of comfort that comes from finding nobility in suffering, but what challenged me was the demand, loving yet firm, to just get over myself. Life is meant to be good, and all the artificial divisions need not get in the way of finding purpose and joy. 

Depeche Mode, or the Smiths, or Killing Joke also spoke of misery, though they didn't really offer you the option of finding some peace of mind through all the hardships, now did they? Once again, I am grateful to Mr. Jones for pointing to all that is true, good, and beautiful in our shared human condition. It's no surprise the critics didn't like him. 

—5/2007 

A few words of commentary from Howard Jones: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6alnaJMKoso&list=OLAK5uy_ksRpFrEL_onEROgkryRFr4rhIUu3vYyZc&index=17

And the song itself: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-dj_uk55sQ&list=OLAK5uy_ksRpFrEL_onEROgkryRFr4rhIUu3vYyZc&index=18

Howard Jones, "Elegy" from Dream into Action (1985) 

Please don't look at me this way 

I am from the same seed as you 
Take me back to the womb 
I am weary of this life 

Don't believe in my eyes 
Don't believe in my mind 
Don't believe in right or wrong 
Don't believe in cruel and kind 

But all this talk is only poetry 
Only as true as we would believe 
We must live to fight the negative 
Not to court the self in defeat oh oh oh oh
In defeat oh oh oh oh 

Oh the pain of life is sweet 
Is it wrong to long for death? 
Must I cling to the thrills of life? 
Ash to ash and dust to dust 

But all this talk is only poetry 
Only as true as we would believe 
We must live to fight the negative 
Not to court the self in defeat oh oh oh oh 
In defeat oh oh oh oh 

You have looked at me this way 
We are all from the same seed 
Take us forward through the tomb 
There's no finish to a life