Miscellaneous - Songfacts

  by Fiona Hutchings

published: 18 / 5 / 2011

intro

Our Website of the Month this month is Songfacts, a website of song meanings and information

So I'm back, from outer space to paraphrase Gladys Knight - did you miss me? Thanks to John and my fellow PennyBlackers for keeping the column going in my absence, and thanks to all of you that checked out www.headway.org.uk. I am recovering pretty well for someone who had their actual brain poked around in by an actual person, and most importantly I haven't forgotten the ukulele chords I learned before the haemorrhage. So that plan to learn it properly is still on. We might just have to delay booking The Royal Albert Hall just yet. All agreed? Yes? Good. Right and so down to business..... This month's website is a treasure trove of information. Everything you ever wanted to know about music (or did know but forgot if you are me) can be found on http://www.songfacts.com. The clue to the content is in the name, and I knew I was on to a winner because the top 10 tracks on the main page were all on my iPod. I use a very sophisticated method to pick these sites you know. 'Songfacts' provides a wealth of searchable song facts, trivia, anecdotes and lyrical meanings as it meanders along. For example the fact that the a-ha song 'The Blood That Moves The Body' was apparently written about kamikaze suicide leads to more facts about the origin of kamikaze than a-ha. Interviews with songwriters are here in abundance. They could virtually dedicate a whole website to this section alone. The interviews are well written and engaging, not borrowed soundbites repackaged and as featured on some other sites. Reading them does seem to give you some insight into artists as diverse as John Oates and Jaret Reddick. The obligatory message board seems both well used and to offer comprehensive range of topics, and the site encourages its users to contribute facts and song meanings. If you want to while a way a few hours learning 'stuff', swot up on the band that boy/girl you fancy likes, or just find a deep and meaningful lyric to post on your Facebook status you'll find ample material here. Now admit it, you missed me, didn't you?