Some Songs Considered

“The Waiting” – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
(Words/music: Tom Petty, available on Hard Promises, MCA 1981) 

One of my first dates with my girlfriend Jenny was to see the band Rilo Kiley in Providence.  I drove two hours to meet her there without knowing if I’d have to drive home that night or if I had a place to stay because it was so early on that assuming these kinds of things wasn’t an option.  Regardless, I got up to Providence early, in part because I over-compensate for long car trips and quite honestly I was excited to see her and got out of the house quickly that day.  Due to the erratic nature of public transportation, Jenny ran late, so I found myself parked in the coffee shop of a chain bookstore waiting for her to arrive.  This was, for several reasons, one of the few points in my life where I actively wrote in a journal, so I was in the habit of spending idle minutes writing.  So I started riffing on a napkin (my journal was elsewhere) using the title line from this song as a jumping off point.  The gist of it, from what I remember of it at least – it’s been a while, was that waiting can make the even that much better.  More specifically, I didn’t mind waiting a little longer if it meant time with Jenny.

It’s worth stressing that this line was out of context, as Petty’s song doesn’t focus on the dreadful wait.  Most of the song is on the ease of being with the person he loves.  Even if the complete spectrum of Petty’s narrator wasn’t on my brain that day, our brains were in the same place – specifically, that the eventual result made the anticipation even better.  Roughly two years after that date (and two years after our first one), it’s this ease of being with Jenny that marvels me the most.  Having her in my life makes any waiting period - whether the years I waited to meet her or just the time between seeing her again – worth it. 

It’s appropriate that Jenny gets post 501, as the first five hundred wouldn’t have happened without her constant encouragement and inspiration.  If everyone needs his or her own cheering section, Jenny’s love and support feels like a sellout crowd every night.  I hope I can return the favor for her. 

More on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

“I Won’t Back Down” - Tom Petty
(Words/music: Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, available on Full Moon Fever, MCA 1989)

A few years ago, I came across a book titled Lit Riffs.  The concept was simple – writers composing short pieces of fiction based on a song.  As with any anthology, some of the entries were good (specifically, I remember a dark one about a Vietnam veteran based on Pearl Jam’s “Why Go”) and some were disappointing.  Still, the one that stuck with me the most was based on “I Won’t Back Down,” turning the song’s plaintive declaration of perseverance into a story of schoolyard bullying.  The song seemed more like words of advise to the protagonist (I gave away my copy of the book, so I can’t reread the story, sorry) than a mantra, as the main character struggles with his quarrelsome peer.  It wasn’t a trailblazing work of fiction, but it made me think about Tom Petty’s song again.

“I Won’t Back Down” works so well because of what Tom Petty leaves out of the song.  It doesn’t reach the same vocally intense (read: emotional) moments that “Free Fallin’,” the previous song on Full Moon Fever reaches, nor does it have the same driving force as my personal favorite “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”  Instead, Petty calmly declares that he’s willing to stand up for his beliefs.  In a strange way, this reminds me of the calm and passive courage Atticus Finch displays in To Kill a Mockingbird – he doesn’t advertise that he’s a terrific attorney or a world-class sharpshooter – he only flexes his muscle when necessary.  Petty’s song lays itself out in a similar way – it sets a steady, constant tempo and refuses to fluctuate.  There’s some great slide guitar but no full blown solo, just a couple well-placed fills.  Even when Petty’s vocals climb up towards the top of his register, he’s just taking the high part of an ensemble vocal rather than showing off.  This isn’t our former President threatening to “smoke ‘em out,” but rather a firm yet calm statement of resolve and conviction.  It’s the kind of sentiment that more of us should take a cue from.

When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played last year’s Super Bowl halftime, I worried that the set would be kind of boring.  Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that his set contained two of my favorites - “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and “I Won’t Back Down.”  In particular, the latter seemed appropriate for the occasion, as the Giants refused to buckle against New England’s juggernaut.  After the game, I called Eli Manning’s performance the “physical manifestation” of this song, and a year later it seems fitting.  Manning didn’t win the game with a record statistical evening (in the same way that Petty’s song doesn’t overload on effects or gimmicks).  Instead, his steady, consistent play (and a moment of luck eluding the Pats’ defense on the Tyree miracle catch) provided the foundation for his team’s victory.  If nothing else, it gave me a great premise to write about the game the next day!

More on Tom Petty: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm