One word in songs

[Mince]

It's amazing how just one word in a song can change the mood instantly. Take Seasons in the Sun.

We had joy, we had fun,
We had seasons in the sun,
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone.

Notice how the spirited first two lines have their mood changed almost instantly by the word But to one of melancholy, even loss. One might think the content - 'wine', 'song', 'all gone' - establishes the new mood, but no, it's entirely the work of that one word. And if you don't believe me, notice how the same thing happens in the school parody of the song:

We had joy, we had fun,
Flicking bogeys at the sun,
But the sun was too hot,
And our bogeys turned to snot.

It's remarkable how the But mood change works even with nasal mucus.

[Tarquin Thunderthighs lll]

Remarkable! The lengths you'll go to in order to find an excuse for posting an infantile parody featuring bogeys. Quite remarkable.

[Roger Kettle]

I used to have a book of poems by Rod McKuen, one of the people behind the writing of "Seasons in the Sun". For some reason, I always thought he was Canadian and would have bet my house on that. After a quick google, it turns out he was from a rather troubled background in California. The only poem I could remember of his was called "A Cat Named Sloopy" which I loved at the time. On looking at it again on YouTube, it's a bit more twee and maudlin than I recall from my romantic youth. Still, the words "Midnight Cowboy" were lifted from it and used for the title of a splendid film.

[Mince]

I have never heard of the guy, but I watched a YouTube video where he reads out the poem on the Mike Douglas Show, accompanied by awful piano music for those not able to determine for themselves the tone of the poem. People must have had longer attention spans back in 1969.