In an ongoing series of music critiques, I am seeking out the “best songs involving animals as central characters”. The criterion? The animal must not be used purely as metaphor or simile such as in Duran Duran’s Hungry Like a Wolf, Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog or Raffi’s Baby Beluga (that song is clearly about drug use). The animal must act (or contribute heavily) as the focal point of the tune, and the song can’t suck. Got the rules straight? Good. I’ll roll them out one at a time. Here we go:
The Weakerthans: Canada's reigning poet-punk princes
1. Plea from a Cat Named Virtue, The Weakerthans – The modern “pet song” benchmark (if such a thing exists), Cat Named Virtue stands as a lyrical tribute to the uniquely-feline dichotomy of apathy and loyalty. Singer John K. Samson sings from a cat’s no-bullshit point of view, confronting his owner’s pessimistic attitude while providing unflinching support for the man he loves so much. With a lesser lyricist, the attempt would fall flat. Samson, however, lands on his feet—anthropomorphizing a cat’s affection into gentle poetic dedication.
Choice Lyric:
I don’t know who you’re talking to
I made a search through every room,
but all I found was dust that moved
in shadows of the afternoon.
And listen,
about those bitter songs you sing?
They’re not helping anything.
They won’t make you strong.
And I’ll cater
with all the birds that I can kill.
Let their tiny feathers fill
disappointment.
LISTEN to Plea from a Cat named Virtue.
Weeping Tile a.k.a. Sarah Harmer's First Band
2. Dogs and Thunder, Weeping Tile – The lifespan of the average romantic relationship is rarely longer than that of a healthy dog—there’s a poignant thought imbedded somewhere in that statement but damned if I can extract it. Lead singer and songwriter Sarah Harmer‘s lyrics in Dogs and Thunder share poignant moments that are difficult to digest. The intertwined memories of a failed relationship and a euthanized pet are laid bare in a lucidly sketched timeline that contrasts the undying love of a dog against the slowly-wilting affection of a human lover.
Choice Lyric:
A rifle sits behind her sleeping ear
An echo on the cold wall, closest neighbor couldn’t hear
We dug a hole in the fall
So now its a frozen burial
And she’s gone
Just before the new year
Well, I’m gonna build a cross for the spot between the trees
And stick it in firm so it won’t sway in their breeze
Well you and i have trouble making up our half-assed minds
But she’d seen 16 years of our kind
And what’s it like when your memories start to freeze
LISTEN to Dogs and Thunder. ed note – Apologies for the strange video.
Do you think the bird endlessly whines about lost love too?
3. Talking Bird, Death Cab for Cutie – It’s a shame the namesake of this song has so few words to share with Ben Gibbard, the melancholy Death Cab for Cutie singer…but then again, should the talkative bird be more verbose, this song might not be so eloquently simple. Gibbard is the master of digging deep to use unexplained processes and inanimate objects to convey deeply emotional themes; from his legendary lyrical craftsmanship as the frontman of DCFC to catchy-as-Chylamydia melodies in side project The Postal Service, Gibbard can make the simplest task double as a heartbreaking metaphor for lost love. In this tune, Gibbard fixates on the bird’s inability to leave due to a need for love so desperate it leaves feathers “tattered and furled”. Is it metaphor? Or simply a story of a bird too afraid to flee the confines of an open cage? Who knows? And with a song this beautiful, who cares?
Choice Lyric:
It’s hard to see your way out
When you live in a house in a house
‘Cause you don’t realize
That the windows were open the whole time
But oh, my talking bird
Though your feathers are tattered and furled
I’ll love you all your days
‘Til the breath leaves your delicate frame
It’s all here for you
As long as you choose to stay
It’s all here for you
As long as you don’t fly away
LISTEN to Death Cab for Cutie play Talking Bird live.
Full disclosure: This writer admits to harbouring a serious crush on Ms. Case.
4. The Tigers Have Spoken, Neko Case – At first listen, this song seems literally to be about a tiger locked on a chain. He eventually goes mad, so he gets shot. Then, after closer listenings, you realize something profound. It is exactly about that. There is no parallel story, no metaphor, no vague attempt at making this impossibly sad animal story into a human experience. Unlike the rest of the songs on this list, The Tigers Have Spoken is purely about the plight of a poorly-treated animal. This approach is proof of singer/songwriter Neko Case‘s intelligence. As in the rest of her alt-country, crooner-licious tunes, it reveals a quality in Case that is rare in popular music: a selfless focus. The result is a song and an artist not only admired for craftsmanship, well-written lyrics and stunning beauty, but a refreshing perspective beyond the inward-looking art of the current musical landscape. Maturity is realizing that, sometimes, it’s just not about you. Sometimes, it’s about the tiger.
ed note – The backing band on this tune is Canada’s celebrated indie-wizards The Sadies.
Choice Lyric:
They shot the tiger on his chain
In a field behind the cages
He walked in circles ’til he was crazy
And he lived that way forever
And he lived that way forever
Just as long as he could remember
If he’d wanted to remember
It was the last time he had felt alive
When he saw that brown-haired lady
She fed him with a bottle as a baby
And he recalled her face and smile
They shot that tiger on his chain
LISTEN to Neko Case play The Tigers Have Spoken live, complete with pre-song banter where she endorses feeding children to tigers. Awesome.
Modest Mouse, full of smiles as usual.
5. Wild Pack of Family Dogs, Modest Mouse. It makes sense that this band is named after an animal; lead singer Isaac Brock shows an affinity for his fellow creatures in everything Modest Mouse does. From the the lyrics of his songs (I came as a Rat, Birds vs Worms, Doin’ the Cockroach) to the imagery on the albums and in the videos, animals abound. Modest Mouse has always been a band familiar with using rich imagery in song and the use here, as in all their tunes, employs animals to do so. Brock uses his a mastery of the contradictory statement to turn Wild Pack of Family Dogs from what initially seems to be a pretty innocent song. He gradually paints an image of surreal violence from what should be friendly puppies (after all, ‘family dogs’ should not be vicious, wild or not). Each member of the family experiences tragedy one by one as the scene degrades into depression. By the end of the brief tune, your narrator waits with anticipation for death, grateful for the inevitable end the dogs will bring. And they shall recieve their reward. This catchy song with curious lyrics, once deconstructed, turns out to be some pretty some twisted shit. Such is the savageness of nature, I suppose.*
* I am not ignorant enough to try and claim that I know what the song is about. The complexities of Modest Mouse’s songs challenge me, both musically and lyrically. If you have theories about the songs lyrics, make sure to comment. I’d love to hear them.
Choice Lyric:
A wild pack of family dogs came running through the yard one day
My father got his gun, shot it up they ran away, OK
A wild pack of family dogs came running through the yard
And as my own dog ran away with them I didn’t say much of anything at all
A wild pack of family dogs came running through the yard
As my little sister played the dogs took her away
And I guess she was eaten up OK yeah
My mothers crying blood dust now
My daddy quit his job today
I guess he was fired but that’s ok
And I’m sitting outside by my mud lake
Waiting for the pack to take me away
Right after I die, the dogs start running up towards the glowing sky
They will receive their rewards
LISTEN to Modest Mouse play Wild Pack of Family Dogs live.
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