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Author Topic: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman  (Read 20135 times)

Offline southendmd

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2013, 08:52:19 pm »
A particularly melancholy version by Norwegian jazz singer Radka Toneff in 1977:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQnVUDQvm2Y[/youtube]
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Offline southendmd

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #11 on: October 02, 2013, 09:02:24 pm »
A modern arrangement, this time sung by a man, Kurt Elling:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51hJq5fvrRI[/youtube]
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Offline southendmd

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #12 on: October 02, 2013, 09:12:01 pm »
"I keep saying, my words, coming out of somebody else's mouth, is [hehehe] the most erotic, sexy, pleasurable experience you can possibly imagine."

~~from "Almost a legend:  the Life and Lyrics of Fran Landesman"

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzDV8vTy-QM[/youtube]
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Offline x-man

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men"
« Reply #13 on: October 03, 2013, 12:56:46 am »
Quote from: southendmd on October 02, 2013, 08:10:01 pm
A lovely version by Roberta Flack: 

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JksP1Kc6fjo[/youtube]

Re Ballad of the Sad Young Men:

I bought First Take when it first came out.  This song did not pop out at me.  Now that I am older, it does.  And it is a little hard to listen to--there's not much you want to say after hearing it

Thanks for posting it.
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Happiness is the lasting pleasure of the mind grasping the intelligible order of reality.      --Leibniz

Offline CellarDweller

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #14 on: October 03, 2013, 07:53:21 pm »
Never heard this before!  Thanks for sharing it!
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Offline milomorris

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #15 on: October 04, 2013, 08:18:42 am »
Quote from: southendmd on October 02, 2013, 08:02:01 pm
Listen to the words.
Are they about sad, young gay men? Many think so.  

And many think not. Such victimization theory can be self-serving.

Not all homosexual men have the same experience.
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Offline southendmd

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #16 on: October 04, 2013, 10:00:20 am »
Quote from: milomorris on October 04, 2013, 08:18:42 am
And many think not. Such victimization theory can be self-serving.

Not all homosexual men have the same experience.

The comments on youtube differ quite a bit:  some  believe the song is about gay men, others about returning Vietnam vets, others believe it refers to all men.  Another Rorschach test, perhaps.

I found the lyrics to be sufficiently ambiguous, so I wanted to do a little research into the context.  The show "The Nervous Set" has been described as a jazz musical, a cynical, intellectual satire about the beat generation, written in 1959.  The context of the song in the show is about a female character's reaction to "wasted lives" of the men she sees around her.  
« Last Edit: October 04, 2013, 09:17:47 pm by southendmd »
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Offline Sason

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #17 on: October 04, 2013, 08:18:01 pm »
I never heard that song before, Paul, but I like it.

Thanks for posting it. It's nice to hear so many different versions too, they all have their own characteristics.
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Offline x-man

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #18 on: October 21, 2013, 09:15:04 am »
Thank you for this posting site, southendmd.  I had never heard of the song before, and stumbled in here almost by accident.  Those lyrics!  I was sitting at my computer at 7 in the morning, crying.  You only remember when it is too late.

I checked out YouTube, and there are, indeed, many versions available.  The best is Roberta Flack's--simply done, instrumentals restrained, and the emphasis on the words, as it should be.  Another version to try is Renato Russo's, performed at the Stonewall Celebration.  You know who he is singing to, and who he is singing about.

I hope you were not hurt by the one negative posting to this site.  Our experiences do vary widely, but this song captures a certain reality and regret in many of us.  Thanks again.
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Happiness is the lasting pleasure of the mind grasping the intelligible order of reality.      --Leibniz

Offline southendmd

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Re: "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" by Fran Landesman
« Reply #19 on: October 21, 2013, 09:27:48 am »
You're very welcome, x-man. 

No, I was not hurt in the least. 

It's my belief that works of art, either this song, or our beloved BBM, belong to the world, and can be interpreted by the beholder in any way they desire. 
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