kjpepper | Angst in six

I woke up with a-ha's "Lamb to the Slaughter" stuck firmly in my head, which was both amusing and disturbing as I hadn't really heard it since the end of my seriously obsessive a-ha period in tenth and eleventh grade.

It's a crying shame that most of their stuff is out of print in the US. They evolved so dramatically as a band after they had their one actual charted hit with "Take On Me." And the lead singer is not only gorgeous, but his range is jaw dropping. I didn't think men could get that high without being castrati. But then again I'm discounting an entire decade of soul and disco. The Bee Gees come to mind... but anyway. East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Memorial Beach were such well-written, soulful albums. Shame on the American market for not realizing this. I was lucky enough to get Memorial Beach on CD while it was still out - the other, which is probably my favorite album by them, I had on tape, but am now hurting for the CD. Alas, again, out of print in the US. Sigh.

Anyway. "Lamb to the Slaughter." Probably one of the angstiest songs about love gone sour out there, and it's made especially interesting by being written in a waltzy six/eight meter. (Being the music geek, I have a big hardon for pop songs that deviate from the four/four or two/four norm.) I remember being sixteen, sprawled on my bed, ears plugged by my headphones, volume cranked too loud as always, staring at the ceiling, listening to this on repeat:

I went down to the water
Like a lamb to the slaughter
Didn't know what was waiting for me there
Nobody warned me
Nobody told me
My excuse is I wasn't prepared

I drank deep from the river
And sealed up my fate
I should have seen the trap, baby
Before it was too late
We go down
We go down
We go down, it's the only way out

Who is this fool
Who believed all the stories
I wish I could say it's not me
You polluted my head
With all the things you said
I became what you wanted to see

All of these years
I've built up this hate
I had my chance coming
But now it's too late
We go down
We go down
We go down, its the only way out