FEATURE:
More Than a Muse
PHOTO CREDIT: Valeria Ushakova/Pexels
Recognising and Exploring the Women in Classic Tracks
_________
WHILST attending…
PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels
an event where Sophie Haydock was discussing her debut novel, The Flames, it got me thinking about songs and the women references. I don’t think there are enough books out there that celebrate women and their influence. There are essential books like This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music (and a few others). Really, there could be more out there that recognises the impact and influence of women in music! If you do not know what The Flames is about, here are some more details:
“Vienna, 1912. Behind every painting, there is a story...
A new century is dawning. Vienna is at its zenith, an opulent, extravagant city teeming with art, music and radical ideas. It is a place where anything seems possible...
Edith and Adele are sisters, the daughters of a wealthy bourgeois family. They are expected to follow the rules, to marry well, and produce children. Gertrude is in thrall to her flamboyant older brother. Marked by a traumatic childhood, she envies the freedom he so readily commands. Vally was born into poverty but is making her way in the world as a model for the eminent artist Gustav Klimt.
Fierce, passionate and determined, none of these women is quite what they seem. But their lives are set on a collision course when they become entangled with the controversial young artist Egon Schiele whose work - and private life - are sending shockwaves through Viennese society. All it will take is a single act of betrayal to set their world on fire…”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sophie Haydock
It was really interesting hearing Haydock speak about the process of writing The Flames. The fact that these women in the book were largely written out of history. Now, thanks to her, we know more about some incredible subjects who inspired one of the great artists of the twentieth century. She is writing another book about a household artist this time. It is interesting that we see art and the women painted, but we rarely ask who they were and what their stories are. It is a real shame that there is this legion of uncredited women who are seen as ‘muses’ or ‘inspirations’ – but that is all they ever are! I guess the same could be said for music. Whether fictionalised or real, there are countless women in music’s cannon that are idolised, lionised and occasionally victimised. Whether an adoring love song, a song or admiration and curiosity or even a put-down, how many of these women are fleshed out and discussed?! Of course, songwriters will talk about songs featuring women and reveal who those people are. I was thinking that it would be interesting knowing more about the women in classic tracks. I don’t think there is a book out there that, like Sophie Haydock’s The Flames, details the women behind the lyrics. Whether it is from The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Björk or any other artist you can name where they mention women or name a song after a woman, what about their legacy and importance?! Of course, I know there is that clash and contrast between the fictional and real-life. Even those wonderful imagined women. I think it would be great if their stories were told. Rather than women being seen as ‘muses’ – which I find seems rather reductive or dismissive -, they deserves pages written about their lives and importance!
PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels
It is always wonderful hearing women mentioned in music. Some of the greatest tracks ever have been written for or about a woman. Of course, given the sheer number of women mentioned in classic songs, you would be given quite a task to find and recall them all. That said, there is ample supply of incredible women that we do know about. When we play and sing these songs back, do our minds think of the women? I wonder how many people are intrigued to imagine who this particular woman is. It is not just male artists that sing about women. Whether a female artists is a member of the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community or they are referring to a fictional woman, a friend, or merely telling a woman’s story, there is ample scope to explore and investigate. I think women get written out of music. Whether it is great artists who have to fight to be heard, or the lack of documentaries and books talking about women’s importance and influence, we need to all do more. I was interested by Sophie Haydock’s acknowledgement and celebration of the women who sat for Egon Schiele. Rather than celebrate the artist for his work and not think about the women he painted and sketched, this book is one that gives life and biography to the women – though there were many more whose stories we might never know. Music is full of these brilliant and diverse women who have been responsible for some of the greatest lyrics ever written. I guess we all have our favourite fictional and real-life women in songs. I especially love The Beatles’ Something. That was written about Pattie Boyd. Many people know about Boyd, but it would be great to have her recognised as the woman who inspired one of the greatest love songs ever. And it goes on and on. So many incredible women who are inside these magnificent tracks!
IN THIS PHOTO: Pattie Boyd and George Harrison in an embrace on their wedding day on 21st January, 1966/PHOTO CREDIT: Bettmann/Getty Images
In terms of going forward, I hope that someone someday takes up the challenges and commits to documenting ‘the women behind the lyrics’. I have always hated the word ‘muse’. It seems to belittle somewhat. Not give full credit to a woman! The women who are seen as muses and inspirations are written into songs, but they are very rarely discussed beyond that. In fact, there are many songs where the women are anonymous or there is some mystery. Of course, on the other side of the romantic coin are the songs that are a little more acidic and derogatory. Whether this is earned scorned, or a male artist raging and moaning because they have been spurned or cast aside, they definitely deserve their pages! It would require a lot of research and planning, but a book could be put together. Featuring sketches or paintings of these women inside of the songs, I think it would not only give agency and recognition to their role; it would also allow us greater context when we think of these classic tracks. Rather than singing their names and wondering who they were, let’s have them brought to life and sitting alongside one another. For, without them, we would not have some of the greatest songs ever written! These amazing women have words written about them. They are moulded, directed and defined by male (and sometimes female) writers. I think that it is time that we allow these women to…
TELL their stories.