Sophie Hearn (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} soph_omore) wrote,@ 2008-01-21 20:00:00 |
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Sing-a-Long with Sam Spade
Here we go...
So. . . to tell the truth, I hadn't heard any of these songs until I bought them on iTunes yesterday. Bear with me here.
One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
I think this song represents Spade's relationship with Brigid. He tells her in the song
The first few lines: "The deception with tact / Just what are you trying to say? / You got a blank face which irritates . . . / You see dimensions in two" falls in place with their first meetings. Spade quickly notices that she's lying about her sister, and it's hard for him to tell what she really wants from him. She's got a good poker face, because she covers every lie with another lie. That's probably frustrating for Spade, because even if he did want to help her, it's pretty difficult while she's lying the whole time. She sees only in two dimensions, because she only ever thinks about it from one angle: how to play her cards so that she benefits most in the situation. "But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth/You run for cover so discreet" She double-crosses all the people in the job to get the falcon, but when it starts to get violent, she gets scared and runs to Spade for help, trying to be discreet about the fact that it was all actually her fault.
"The impression that you sell/Passes in and out like a scent." Brigid gives the impression of a damsel in distress, but Spade sees through it quickly, and so she tries again with another lie.
"Then it's easy to believe/Somebody's been lying to me/But when the wrong word goes in the right ear/I know you've been lying to me/It's getting rough, off the cuff I've got to say enough's enough" I think this part corresponds to the end of the novel, when Spade is telling Brigid that he knows she killed Archer. All of the stories don't add up, so he knows that someone was lying. The wrong word in the right ear is her powers of deception. She can tell you a lie and make it look pretty, make you feel empathy for her, and use her. In the end he knows she did it so he says "enough's enough" and he gives her over to the police.
Spies Like Us - Paul McCartney
This song could be about any hardboiled detective, but since Spade is the archetypal hardboiled detective anyway, it fits. "Hey don't feel afraid/ Of an undercover aid /There's no need to fuss /There ain't nobody that spies like us" This could almost be the jingle of the commercial for Spade and Archer Investigations, or, currently, Spade Investigations. They reassure their clients that there's shouldn't be feared because they're the best spies around, and they'll get the job done. The next stanza starts, "We don't know the meaning of fear/We play every minute by ear" That's Spade and Archer trying to be tough. The song is portraying their toughest and most boastful side, but it is also showing a part that is true to Spade. He doesn't get afraid. He doesn't show it when he is. He sometimes has a plan, but mostly he follows clues until the answer reveals itself. It shows this again in another line: "We get there by hook or by crook / We don't do a thing by the book / Never needed special clothes /How we did it no one knows / I guess we must have had what it took." Here is more boasting of Spade. He doesn't need to do things the traditional "Sherlock" way. He just does what needs to be done, no matter what it takes, and in the end it all works out. He doesn't need fancy ninja gadgets and spy gear like James Bond.
Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper
This song, I'm sure, was originally written about a girl, but I think it describes the Maltese Falcon itself. The title, obviously, was what drew me to the song because under the black enamel the falcon is jewel-encrusted.
"I knew a girl/Her name was truth /She was a horrible liar."
I think this seems like the falcon everyone believes in the it, despite the fact that it's a fake. The statue is like a beacon of hope for all of these people who will go through so much to get it. Through all the deceit to acquire it, none of them suspected that the bird itself might be a deception. The bird that they had all been working to get was only made of lead.
"Make sure the fortune that you seek/Is the fortune that you need/Tell me why the first to ask/Is the last to give every time" This whole stanza seems like the falcon talking to the people that are after it, mainly to Brigid. It tells them that they don't need all that fortune. It isn't really worth it. The first to ask, probably Brigid, gives nothing in return. She has sex with Spade, but that is only to get something from him. She is a femme fatal and therefore she does not give anything to people out of the goodness of her heart. She only takes things from other people out of the goodness of their hearts. It also could be telling Brigid to stop lying. "What you say and do not mean/Follows you close behind" Brigid says a lot of things that she isn't planning on following through with. The falcon might be warning her that her lies will come back to haunt her.
Femme Fatale - Velvet Underground
I think everyone uses this song because of the name, and it fits the book Brigid because she's a femme fatale.
"Just look into her false colored eyes/She builds you up to just put you down, what a clown." Almost everything about Brigid is a lie. Eyes are supposed to be a window into someone's soul, and even Brigid's eyes are lying. She tells Spade these crazy lies, and builds him up by making him think she loves him, and in the end all she's really doing is using him. She probably does the same thing to lots of other guys too. "You're put down in her book/You're number 37, have a look." She really knows how to work Spade. She's probably done it before. The lyrics are speaking to Spade or to any other guy who's been exploited by this type of girl. "She's gonna play you for a fool, yes it's true/'Cause everybody knows she's a femme fatale." Brigid's only goal is to get the falcon and stay out of too much trouble for it. "Little boy, she's from the street/Before you start, you're already beat." Spade isn't dumb. He knows the ropes of the detective business. This line is what Brigid thinks before she meets Spade. She thinks he's some little boy who's going to be easy to trap and use. Sadly for her, it doesn't work, and he sees through all of her lies and tricks.
Here we go...
So. . . to tell the truth, I hadn't heard any of these songs until I bought them on iTunes yesterday. Bear with me here.
One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
I think this song represents Spade's relationship with Brigid. He tells her in the song
The first few lines: "The deception with tact / Just what are you trying to say? / You got a blank face which irritates . . . / You see dimensions in two" falls in place with their first meetings. Spade quickly notices that she's lying about her sister, and it's hard for him to tell what she really wants from him. She's got a good poker face, because she covers every lie with another lie. That's probably frustrating for Spade, because even if he did want to help her, it's pretty difficult while she's lying the whole time. She sees only in two dimensions, because she only ever thinks about it from one angle: how to play her cards so that she benefits most in the situation. "But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth/You run for cover so discreet" She double-crosses all the people in the job to get the falcon, but when it starts to get violent, she gets scared and runs to Spade for help, trying to be discreet about the fact that it was all actually her fault.
"The impression that you sell/Passes in and out like a scent." Brigid gives the impression of a damsel in distress, but Spade sees through it quickly, and so she tries again with another lie.
"Then it's easy to believe/Somebody's been lying to me/But when the wrong word goes in the right ear/I know you've been lying to me/It's getting rough, off the cuff I've got to say enough's enough" I think this part corresponds to the end of the novel, when Spade is telling Brigid that he knows she killed Archer. All of the stories don't add up, so he knows that someone was lying. The wrong word in the right ear is her powers of deception. She can tell you a lie and make it look pretty, make you feel empathy for her, and use her. In the end he knows she did it so he says "enough's enough" and he gives her over to the police.
Spies Like Us - Paul McCartney
This song could be about any hardboiled detective, but since Spade is the archetypal hardboiled detective anyway, it fits. "Hey don't feel afraid/ Of an undercover aid /There's no need to fuss /There ain't nobody that spies like us" This could almost be the jingle of the commercial for Spade and Archer Investigations, or, currently, Spade Investigations. They reassure their clients that there's shouldn't be feared because they're the best spies around, and they'll get the job done. The next stanza starts, "We don't know the meaning of fear/We play every minute by ear" That's Spade and Archer trying to be tough. The song is portraying their toughest and most boastful side, but it is also showing a part that is true to Spade. He doesn't get afraid. He doesn't show it when he is. He sometimes has a plan, but mostly he follows clues until the answer reveals itself. It shows this again in another line: "We get there by hook or by crook / We don't do a thing by the book / Never needed special clothes /How we did it no one knows / I guess we must have had what it took." Here is more boasting of Spade. He doesn't need to do things the traditional "Sherlock" way. He just does what needs to be done, no matter what it takes, and in the end it all works out. He doesn't need fancy ninja gadgets and spy gear like James Bond.
Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper
This song, I'm sure, was originally written about a girl, but I think it describes the Maltese Falcon itself. The title, obviously, was what drew me to the song because under the black enamel the falcon is jewel-encrusted.
"I knew a girl/Her name was truth /She was a horrible liar."
I think this seems like the falcon everyone believes in the it, despite the fact that it's a fake. The statue is like a beacon of hope for all of these people who will go through so much to get it. Through all the deceit to acquire it, none of them suspected that the bird itself might be a deception. The bird that they had all been working to get was only made of lead.
"Make sure the fortune that you seek/Is the fortune that you need/Tell me why the first to ask/Is the last to give every time" This whole stanza seems like the falcon talking to the people that are after it, mainly to Brigid. It tells them that they don't need all that fortune. It isn't really worth it. The first to ask, probably Brigid, gives nothing in return. She has sex with Spade, but that is only to get something from him. She is a femme fatal and therefore she does not give anything to people out of the goodness of her heart. She only takes things from other people out of the goodness of their hearts. It also could be telling Brigid to stop lying. "What you say and do not mean/Follows you close behind" Brigid says a lot of things that she isn't planning on following through with. The falcon might be warning her that her lies will come back to haunt her.
Femme Fatale - Velvet Underground
I think everyone uses this song because of the name, and it fits the book Brigid because she's a femme fatale.
"Just look into her false colored eyes/She builds you up to just put you down, what a clown." Almost everything about Brigid is a lie. Eyes are supposed to be a window into someone's soul, and even Brigid's eyes are lying. She tells Spade these crazy lies, and builds him up by making him think she loves him, and in the end all she's really doing is using him. She probably does the same thing to lots of other guys too. "You're put down in her book/You're number 37, have a look." She really knows how to work Spade. She's probably done it before. The lyrics are speaking to Spade or to any other guy who's been exploited by this type of girl. "She's gonna play you for a fool, yes it's true/'Cause everybody knows she's a femme fatale." Brigid's only goal is to get the falcon and stay out of too much trouble for it. "Little boy, she's from the street/Before you start, you're already beat." Spade isn't dumb. He knows the ropes of the detective business. This line is what Brigid thinks before she meets Spade. She thinks he's some little boy who's going to be easy to trap and use. Sadly for her, it doesn't work, and he sees through all of her lies and tricks.
