A Song Answering a Song
I recently heard two songs that were in a conversation with earlier songs. There are plenty of self-referential songs. Many love songs lament the fact that despite the deeply felt emotion of the singer, which feels original and new, the singer is aware of how difficult it is to say, "I love you," in an original way. But I'm taking about something different. I'm talking about a song that puts new words to an older version to directly answer that version. I think the first one I was aware of was "I can buy myself flowers" riposte to the breakup song in which the dude regrets not buying his lady love more shrubbery, which clearly would have had a deciding weight in their relationship's length. In the new version, the lady insists on doing her own gardening. Then there is another "yes, but have you heard my side of the story," song, in which a male lead replies, point for point, to Taylor Swift's ten minute version of "ALL TOO WELL....