The Tallest Man, In Your Eyes Babe (The Why of the Y)

Song: The Gardner - The Tallest Man on Earth
Album: Shallow Graves (2008)
http://www.mediafire.com/?etvjqbb7xsi


Lyrics to The Gardner :

I sense a runner in the garden
Although my judgements known to fail
Once built a steamboat in a meadow
Cos I'd forgotten how to sail

I know the runner's going to tell you
There ain't no cowboy in my hair
So now he's buried by the daisies
So I could stay the tallest man in your eyes, babe

I sense a spy up in the chimney
From all the evidence I've burned
I guess he'll read it in the smoke now
And soon to ashes I'll return

I know the spy is going to tell you
It's not my flag up in the pole
So now he's buried by the lilies
So I could stay forever more in your eyes, babe

I sense a leak inside my phone now
From all the lies I have told
I know he has your private number
And soon he'll make that vicious call

I know the leak is going to tell you
There ain't now puppy in your leash
So now he'll fertilize the roses
So I could stay the king you see
In your eyes, babe (x2)

So now we're dancing through the garden
And what a garden I have made
And now that death will grow my jasmine
I find it soothing I'm afraid

Now there is no need for suspicion
There ain't no frog kissing your hand
I won't be lying when I tell you
That I'm a gardner I'm a man
In your eyes babe (x3)

http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/tallest_man_on_earth_the_lyrics_46166/other_lyrics_82681/the_gardner_lyrics_818435.html

After the Second World War, the world was in desperate need of repopulation, the economy was extremely prosperous, and many soldiers were returning home. This led to the largest baby boom in history. The boomer generation was immensely influential in bringing about social change, to suit every stage in their lifestyle, seeing as they had the numbers to demand it. More recently however, the baby boomers, also referred to as Generation X have moved on to having their own families, and their children have grown up to become Generation Y (also known as the cool generation). This means that I fit into the tail end of this echo boom generation (1977 -1994)

Music can be a very powerful tool for sociologists to gain valuable information on the background of different groups. After all the music is often recorded by members of the particular group, or otherwise for them. Music can be considered both art, for its beauty and ability to speak to the soul and literature for often deep meaning lyrical passages. For these reasons, it is clear that songs can be a strong tool for analysis. But which song speaks about the Y generation the most?

As the title page spoiled, that song would be The Gardner by the Tallest Man on Earth. Although he may not really be the tallest man on Earth, Kristian Matsson is a very talented Swedish Folk artist. His newest album, Shallow Graves just came out last year, so it fits in to present day very nicely. The Gardner tells the story of a man who constantly struggles to cover up the truth about lies he told to his girlfriend, for the purpose of making himself look more impressive. He buries all of the people / security leaks in his garden, where at the end the two are dancing. (On a side note, the deeper meanings of this song became clear to me after several listens during the Easter Break, when I was dieing of the Swine Flu) This story as well as the music behind it says a lot about my generation, in the following ways.

The second passage of the song is “I know the runner's going to tell you/ There ain't no cowboy in my hair/ So now he's buried by the daisies/ So I could stay the tallest man in your eyes, babe.” This section is one of several passages describing the ways in which he committed purgery or murder in order to keep the truth about himself from the woman he loves. I think this says a lot about our generation because we truly do take our image quite seriously. Its easy to see this through how we dress, always focussing on wearing designer names, which are often a lot more expensive and come from the United States. I know I feel a little bit bad for wearing “American” Eagle, but I guess our culture is really “Americanized” through the media, and our close proximity to the border. Being online all the time also plays a part in this. Our generation is in much closer contact to people all around the world then any other time. But this also brings dangers, like online predators, as almost anything can be found about us through social networks like “Facebook” or “Twitter” Cell phones also contribute to this, so getting back to the song "I sense a leak inside my phone now / From all the lies that I have told." I have noticed that things you say about people sometimes spread realllly quick, especially with texts. You never know who is overlooking what you read if you send something private, or if the receiving person then tells someone else about it then you have a problem. Our generation has always felt more connected to their friends or family, as there can be instant communication, no matter what each person is doing.

When I hear, "So now he's buried by the lilies/ So I could stay forever more in your eyes, babe", I continue to think about what would make him go so far to try and appear to be better. Again this ties in to the fact that our generation can be extremely vain. This is a reason why there are so many cases of eating disorders and other problems. I think this stems from the way the media of modern day portrays people. We always try and look more beautiful then we were meant to, and sometimes go to extremes. So for this reason, in the song, the character feels the need to cover up the truth and stay on top. I also think a reason for this is because we are living under the shadow of the baby boomer generation. They played such a significant social role, and now make up the majority of the population, but we have to one day take over their role, and become even better business people or entrepreneurs. Trying to find even better innovations can be very difficult or stressful.

The second last verse of the song says "And now that death will grow my jasmine /I find it soothing I'm afraid." I think this says that our generation is much more able to cope with death. So much time has passed since the second world war and the cold war, that we are more comfortable with the idea that nuclear destruction is a threat, but not a dire one. This is why on TV you can have shows where a nuclear explosion isn’t really an end game. Its a huge event, but not the most horrifying thing that perhaps wouldn’t have made it on the air before. For example the new Battlestar Galactica begins with the nuclear destruction of all 12 human planets, also 24 has a nuclear bomb going off in Los Angeles. We have also witnessed so many other terrible things such as genocides and 9-11 that we are more able to cope with violence in the media. We have been desensitized to a much greater extent then ever before, and it is easy to see the difference comparing movies or Tv shows of today with those of the 60’s or 70’s.

Finally, the last verse always stood out to me, it goes "Now there is no need for suspicion/There ain't no frog kissing your hand/I won't be lying when I tell you
/That I'm a Gardner I'm a man /In your eyes babe (x3)" He means that he has covered everything up so well, that he has become the prince instead of the frog, and that everything seems to have worked out in his own twisted garden. However he says that he is the “Gardner” not the Gardener, which is another reference to how he has guarded the real him and even though they are together, it is all fake. I think reasons like this are why our generation has had a huge amount of struggles with marriage and divorce. The divorce rates are incredibly high, and we often end up marrying several different partners over our lives. Sometimes we speed relationships up too fast, as the amount of time spent living at home has increased due to inflated education. Another important point is that we have a high rate of cohabilitation, however statistically (learned from old soc class) marriages after cohabilitating for a while are more likely to fail. Maybe we see things too short term, are always focussed on the now and not to the future. This is really bad though, as it plays an extremely negative role on the children of the future. The Z generation!

In conclusion, I think “The Gardner” says a lot about some of the negative aspects of the Y-Generation, who we are vs. who we want to be, why we sometimes lie or cheat, how we can deal with so much violence in the media, when we get married and then quickly down the line a divorce and what impact that has. That is a lot of W’s + an H!