Bee Gees, I Started A joke - A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- #virginrock #beegees
This song feels tragically humorous, as if it could fit will within some theatrical production.
Here’s the link to the original song:
• THE BEE GEES "I START...
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by Bee Gees
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I am amazed that you laugh at a song about depression 🫥
I always thought the song lyrics were a joke. Hence the title of the song. The cheese words are brilliant only in the context of a joke. The I fell out of bed line is hilarious.
Song about jesus in some ways
i always thought it was about depression as well.
One of my favourite BeeGees songs that I keep returning to. Robin‘s voice is just so haunting
The Bee Gees have a 1970 song called LONELY DAYS that I fell in love with back then as an 8 year old.
It is a very serious song, hardly a joke.
It's a ridiculous song. I know exactly what she's talking about. It's *absurdly* melodramatic to the point of being funny.
That's right. Though it's a beautiful melody the strings and ah-ah background vocals make it a little hard to take the song seriously. Plus what can you say about a line like "I fell out of bed, hurting my head, from things that I said"?
@@redadamearth You got a rock you can crawl back under?
Very, VERY serious. SELF-serious, in fact. That’s what makes it amusing.
@@redadamearthWow that is the worst misreading of a song ever.
A very early BeeGees song that struck a chord with me was “I’ve just got to get a message to you”
I'm with you. Your song, or "Words" or "To Love Somebody" would have been a far better song for Amy to start with, imo.
Love that one!
Robin's plaintive voice and this wonderful song doesn't make me laugh; it certainly isn't a joke
bee gees too much heaven
Such a beautiful voice of an Angel.
Massachusetts may be a good next BG song.
This is one song Amy gets all wrong. The narrator of the song is at odds with the world. It is not a joke at all. The narrator does not fit into the world and is out of sorts with the world so thus a joke
This song is actually dead serious and intensely personal to the singer, Robin Gibb. I assume that's why he didn't want to discuss the meaning. He's regretting some hurtful words, feeling guilty, and thinks everyone would just be happier without him (if he were dead). This was his signature song, brought down the house at concerts, and was played at his funeral. Robin's voice sounds 'theatrical' here, but honestly, that's his voice: he was beloved for his distinctive & unique light quavering voice, which gave a heart-breaking vulnerability to his performances.
Exactly. This song is the furthest from funny that can be. I resented her reaction, to be honest.
I don't resent it. It's just an interpretation.
@@fidacuca I don't resent someone's opinion of a song. Amy did not have to like it, or to think it succeeded. But I expect more than this shallow surface level analysis from someone with her musical perspicacity. That is, after all, the point of this channel.
If we want someone to go "tee hee, this is a joke", we can go to plenty of normie reactors. Amy's supposed to be a cut above and look beneath the musical surface ;-)
Yup, I stoped the video because I couldn't stand finding it funny... I NEVER made any link with "Broadway" too... So OK, it's the contract, she's "virgin" in pop music and might mess up the "codes", but I didn't appreciate this react.
This song makes me cry, there's no "broadway" in it
And I love "broadway", I even practiced dance for years when I was young, so I'm really not "against" that style...
I was starting to have doubts about my understanding of the song (because I'm French), but you reassure me all, I understood it well the first time.
BTW, I love to sing it with my guitar, it's part of my "party song" I sometimes play to friends.
This is one reactor I will never have the displeasure of watching again.
I’m so in love with my Bee Gees! They didn’t do disco but were labeled part of the hated disco era! All their songs are timeless and still apply to everyday lives. So much respect and love for this entire family. Sadly we lost baby brother, Andy to drug addiction. Robin and Maurice are gone now but oldest brother, Barry still lives on creating music and reimagining their classics by singing duets with some of today’s most popular musicians. You’d be missing something very special not to watch their documentary…put together by Barry a few years ago. It’s available on HBO Max. Coming from that we all learned about the new album called Greenfields, referencing a place they used to play as young brothers. It’s magical…I promise you’ll never forget it 😘
When Andy died, he had been clean for a year. After a bout with alcohol, he died in the UK from myocarditis, when trying to make a comeback at Robin's while working on his new album.
I was not expecting a laughing reaction to this song!
Robin was 17 when he wrote and sang this song. Ask yourself, where were you at 17yrs. old.
He sings it better in later years especially the 1997 live Vegas show
Yes, so far, the best version I've ever heard or seen. It's amazing. The reaction might have been different if she had used that video.
listening to this song
I've always preferred watching them do it live.
Robin seems to express the angst real well. The arrangement and instrumentals are better.
It's an interesting song, but I wasn't crazy about this studio version.
Put your handbag down and stop clutching your pearls
To me this song is about living your life out of synch with the world. Never feeling that you quite fit in. I can relate.
I Started A Joke and Don McClean’s Vincent were my go-to teenage angst songs. So…yeah.
The Bee Gees family emigrated to Australia when the were little kids. The were appearing on Australian TV as a trio before their teens.
I knew a guy in college who had major depression issues. He played this constantly. We became friends and I tried to get him off dead center by introducing him to more upbeat stuff. He'd been blind since birth but I don't know whether that had much to do with it. I read books for him to make some extra money. I read some fantasy and science fiction, which seemed to help a bit. Eventually he got himself together and married a nice partly sighted girl and did well. But it was dicey at first.
"Too Much Heaven" is one of the finest vocal performances you'll ever hear in pop music.
"New York Mining Disaster 1941" was the first song I heard from the Bee Gees in 1967. It sounded beatles.
Wow I didn’t know The Bee Gees did that song or that they had 60s music of that style before. I only knew of Chumbawamba’s a capella cover of it on one of their albums. I went and listened to both versions and then came back here to reply.
@@drivers99 Thanks, I didn't know this band (which I read is a punk band - and I didn't know punk bands could sing melodies!). I listened to it and it's not bad at all. I also listened to the Herman's Hermit version which is closer to the original version; they too were in the air in 1967 with "No Milk Today"
The best band ever! Period..
This is one of the very few songs that can invoke an emotion in me chiefly due to the way Robin sings it. She certainly didn't hear Robin singing it being, apparently, somewhat obsessed with the Beatles.
Being longtime fans of the Bee Gees, Chris and Neil ( Pet Shop Boys ) decided to cover their 1968 classic "I Started a Joke" as a tribute to Robin Gibb, who succumbed to cancer in May 2012, and to release it as one of the bonus tracks with their single "Winner" the following August. It's an apt choice for such a tribute: "I Started a Joke" was, in fact, Robin's signature tune, written and sung primarily by him, inspiring a great vocal performance that almost invariably earned him tremendous ovations during the Bee Gees' live shows.
It amazes me that someone might so profoundly miss the desperately sad and serious lyrical and musical semiotics screaming from this song and just giggle as if it were a trivial scherzo. The heart-wrenching crying crescendo, the lyric that his dying allowed the world to live and so on
And Amy laughs at the end of it, as if she has just listened to "Shuddup Your Face" by Joe Dolce.
A peculiar shallowness.
Amy is usually spot on with her reactions and is full of empathy but when she started to laugh this became so hard to watch.
@@milosnikolic5140 Yes. It was as if she were possessed :-)
I've read similar types of reviews from music critics saying it sounded like a song about a bumbling would-be messianic person, and pointing out the line about falling out of bed and hurting their head being comical sounding. It was, unfortunately, misunderstood by a lot of people. The two stories I've heard *from the BeeGees* is that it was about Robin's struggles with depression and that it was also inspired by a movie he had seen about Hitler, for which the lyrics do make sense on the scale of the lyrics (the whole world), which is hardly a laughing matter. Humor could be a person's reflex to not wanting to consider the very dark ideas in the song.
@@smillstill What annoys me is that this sort of shallow, superficiality would not be accepted by Amy with regard to any classical piece's analysis. "Haha, Mahler's first Symphony is such a joke. It's just Frere Jaques in the minor key"
Again, I certainly don't expect someone to have to LIKE a piece. That is entirely subjective. But I expect someone who claims to have expertise in parsing and engaging with the full breadth and depth of musical possibility to go beyond "heehee, there's some unusual orchestration and the word joke, so I'm going to giggle and that's about it".
@@smillstill Thank you very much for this info, I did not know any of that. You are absolutely right about humour being used as some sort of defence mechanism, but personally I don't think she used it in that way, seems to me that she glanced over the song and delivered her reaction, which saddened me because usually she does much deeper interpretation of songs, or maybe I just imagined it all and she is spot on :D
Your reaction proves the premise of the song. It’s about a person reflecting upon their life experiences with pain and regret about being judged and misunderstood by the people in their life.
I'm not necessarily a profound thinker but I think I get the song, at least in my own way. Too me, its being out of step with the world and karma coming back to get him for his being insensitive to others and treating them badly. He seemingly saying the world is better off without me, I won't be missed and now they can move on. A form of self hate, I can identify with it.
"
Brothers Gibb = BeeGees😊
That is infact not correct. In 1958 when they had to come up with a name for the band it became BG's because there were so many B & G's around the group, Bill Gates (Not microsoft), Bill Goode, Barbara Gibb (Mother) and Barry Gibb, so that ended up as BG's later changed to Bee Gees. Barry later said that yes it could stand for Brothers Gibb but that is not how it started.
One of the prettiest songs ever written
Bee Gees became my favorite band of all time after I dove into thier full catalog. They were quite famous in the 60s, then went to mega stardom in the late 70s during thier disco era, but it is their extensive and diverse catalogue that won me over with decades of brilliant music across many genres. There is something to suit any taste and mood and you will never be bored with the Bee Gees. Try sampling a few different things across the years to get a sense of the variety they have to offer.
This is a serious song, and I certainly took it seriously as I certainly felt that way at times. After several decades of life, however, if I were to sing this song now, the meaning would be more like "nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat some wor-or-orms".
This is haunting and aching. This is not a funny song.
Must listen to ‘How do You Mend a Broken Heart’.
I am kind of surprised that you didn't mention the unique vibrato/tremolo on the lead vocal
Made me cry, always does.
I fell in love with the Bee Gees songs since listening to "I started a joke" in 1960s. I first watched the BGs performed which appeared in a Malaysian TV program back around 1970s (still in B & W).
I had an uncle who was about 5 years older than me who gave me his worn copy of Idea about 1970. This is the only song off the album that I can recall.
What a disappointing review. Not the best Bee Gees song to start with, but still much appreciated among their fans. I don't feel you did it justice. Hope you decide to listen to more. They were very talented and were important over several decades. Not to be easily brushed off , perhaps?
I agree. How someone with these musical chops could have the emotive sincerity of the piece pass them by is almost disturbing. How one reacts to music is, of course, largely subjective. Nobody is suggesting one must enjoy a particular work. But one should engage with its art, if one claims to be a serious musicologist.
My favourite bee gees song what do I know, this mix is typical of 1968 , the orchestra, also this was probably recorded on 4 track hence the stereo mix
I remember this song, older siblings had the 45, it's definitely of its time! . I liked it but wasn't crazy about the Bee Gees, but over time, I came to appreciate their songwriting craft, even if I didn't particularly like the genre. I also saw the documentary on them and was pretty moved at the end by the surviving brother Barry saying he'd trade it all in just to have his brothers back.
Everyone should be aware that the Bee Gees are second only to Lennon and McCartney as the most successful songwriting unit in British popular music.
- Music historian Paul Gambaccini -
I'd say they are better
They were one of the few Australian artists that had success out from Australia mainly in Europe and all America's continent
Barry's the second most successful songwriter in music history, after Paul McCartney.
@@jonathanbraga564 Only, they are not Australian, they are from Isle of Man, went to Manchester, then Australia approx 1958 and then back to UK in 1967
@@beegeesbuster1 i have watched their documentary but it isn't been said
This song is so good, I think I listen to it at least once or twice a month ❤ The BeeGees
Thanks, VR.. I have always loved Robin's voice the best.... he wrote this at 17.. sang it at 18.... oldest brother Barry was the "leader".. of the BG's... I wish you had enjoyed it more...
I think what you are missing is context of music of the time. Unusual voices were common- Bob Dylan, Melanie, Donovan, Leo Sayer. Also lyrics from those same artists were full of imagery which were not meant to be literal. There were some artists who tended toward the comical, but Bee Gees at this period were very young, and very earnest. Watch a video of this song
Make it the One for All tour version. 😀
Robin's vibrato is just one of the most unique voices. This is considered his signature song.
you should listen to their whole career, you'll be impressed
Incredibly sad song. My favorite of theirs.
Haven't even premiered yet and I gave it a like.lol My absolute favorite BeeGee's song.❤
honestly dunno how anyone can listen to this and think it's a joke
I know a lot of people are critical of the laughing reaction, which I suppose is fair enough, but I have to say that I have sometimes had the same reaction to this song myself. I think it's one of those songs where your response to it depends on the mood you are bringing to it. The juxtaposition of dramatic music & vocals with simple lyrics like "I fell out of bed, hurting my head..." can make it feel silly and melodramatic when I'm happy & playful, or melancholic enough to bring me to the brink of tears when I'm feeling blue. I'm guessing Amy must have been in the former mood today!
Amy, I think this is the first song I feel that maybe you missed the point of the song (your thoughts on other songs have been pretty amazing, actually). This song has always been emotional for me, and not funny at all.
I've always seen this as 'the world' being a metaphor for a loved one that the singer made a joke about which was hurtful and turned the other person from them. When that person turned their love from the singer, and he realized how cold and callous he'd been (the words I'd said), he 'died' emotionally. I guess maybe the point of the song could be that no matter how funny you think a comment may be, it can be equally or even more hurtful to the person it was directed at.
Also, it was the 60's, and British 'pop' music at that time had a lot of orchestral elements in it to add emotion (wistfulness), and some ear candy by using the harp and vibraphone.
I agree. However, I interpret it meaning the person says something they don't actual take seriously and yet by the time it gets back to them everyone believes it. Then when he tries to explain himself no one believes.
What an awesome singer. Miss my cuz.
I miss him too ❤
I love the early BGs...delicious melancholy!
"Holiday" is better, IMHO...
Their songs grew considerably more sophisticated...check out "How deep is your love?"
It's not about a joke, Amy. The title is ironic given the rest of the lyrics.
It's about whatever we think it's about, not specifically what you think it's about.
I've always thought that this was a very sad song. This era of the BeeGees always strikes me a sad. Massachusetts is a similar song. In the late 70s their sound was completely different and they were one of the biggest disco bands of the time.
She's smiling and laughing, but I'm dabbing my eyes.
The BeeGees , the Brothers Gibb. Strong melodies with vocal harmonies. Musical influences were late rock and roll ballads until their rebirth in the disco era. You obviously don't connect with their music but tens of millions did.
'New York mining disaster'
The song that the record company said 'you can't call a song that!' would be a great follow-up.
You hit the nail on the head. Every Bee Gees period is completely different. Australian TV from early 60s to UK hits from 67 to 70 then pre-disco 72-76 perhaps , then disco for 4-5 years top, then post disco with writing for other artists. The comeback was around the end of the 80s with You Win Again and For Whom the Bells Toll.
This became Robin’s signature solo spotlight song for concerts. WORD became Barry’s signature. Please react to Words, then react to the 1989 LIVE performances for a small idea of the talent of 2 of the 4 Gibb brothers individually. Please react to TOO MUCH HEAVEN featuring Barry’s iconic falsetto and a full orchestra.
I always like New York Mining Disaster, quite an interesting exploration of a tragic event.
All the people I have seen listen to this song, not one has laughed about it. I was shocked when you did as it was never meant to be humorous.
These reaction videos are what they are. She’s entitled to her own reaction to a song she’d never heard of. Clearly, she was not familiar with the Bee Gees and did not know the context of this song.
To be honest, I didn’t know the context until I read the comments right here. I didn’t know that Robin wrote this from his own experience of hurting someone and then wanting to die because of it. I wish I had known that a long time ago.
Hearing This song as a child, I thought the lyrics were kind of silly because they were opposite of what you would expect, “I started a joke that started the whole world crying”. I didn’t understand the deepness of it. I thought they were silly lyrics, but loved the song. Furthermore, as a teenager my sister’s Boyfriend used to do an impression of Robin Gibb holding his hand to his ear and singing this song with his head tilted up like he was singing into a microphone. It was a fun impression. Regardless of me not understanding the significance of the lyrics, listening to the song was always a pleasure, Which is why it’s still frequently played today. Frankly, I enjoyed this reaction video, because I learned what the lyrics meant to Robin Gibb and I do not mind that her reaction was somewhat awkward. Out of context, it is a confusing song that takes many listens to fully appreciate.
I like her.
I Started a Joke really brings me right back in time. A great song!
Other BG songs to look up: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, I've Gotta Get a Message to You, Lonely Days
Ty
Why are you laughing? This song is the furthest thing from funny that you can get.
I know, right!? It brings me to the edge of tears every time. 😢
Indeed. This was the most peculiar reaction I have ever seen her do. Her missing the musical point so vehemently is kind of shocking. Like seeing someone giggle during a performance of the Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem.
@@nickmailer1598I thought Amy would love this song and am stunned at her reaction. It is definitely in my all time top 10. I can't imagine anyone hearing this at a funeral and not crying.
I’ve never seen anyone laugh after hearing this song. Usually everyone has tears flowing. Sometimes you say something that you think is funny about someone and laugh then you realize that it was hurtful to that person and it made them cry and you regret what you said. It happens all of the time, to many people at least. I’ve always had a great sense of humor, or at least I thought, and people love that trait in people, but when in the early years of my marriage of 39 years, when out with friends, I tended to say silly jokes usually about my wife and everyone would laugh, except my wife of course. “The joke was on her”. Our laugh was at her expense. It hurt her feelings. I finally realized what I was doing. While I was just trying to be funny to get a laugh. She was most likely crying on the inside. I am crying today because on Friday, 8/16/2024, I buried her at the age of 58 after an unexpected catastrophic stroke which took her away from the people that loved her in the blink of an eye. Hearing this song this morning reminded me of those times and how I wished that I could have them back so that I could say all of the things that I truly LOVED about her to our friends instead of making her the butt of a joke. EVERYTHING that matters to me in life is because of her. And that is no joke. 😢❤💔✝️
Great lyrics!!!!!!!!!!!
I never taken if as a funny song at all, sadly tragic ,regretfull if anything,Cant wait for 1st of may listening, should be done with movie ,Melody , clip , so charming ,but always thought it was too short
I love that movie "Melody" and the Bee Gees soundtrack to it .. and the same Music Video you mention
What a great band, so many hits. "Massachusetts" is one of my favorite songs of theirs. Some of their greatest Disco hits can be heard on the 1977 movie soundtrack, "Saturday Night Fever" starring John Travolta. Their repertoire is very diverse, please listen to more songs of theirs, especially ones with Barry singing lead. Love your reactions and analysis, keep them coming!
First heard the song at 11 years old. Through the ears of a young male. Try hearing no one takes me serious. I'm better off dead. If the song was supposed to be humorous - the joke always escaped me. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to watch your review and think about this song again.
you're gonna love the beegees! 😂
I get your reaction, Amy. It's not unlike watching a 17-year-old performing the "To be or not to be" soliloquy in a high school play. Teenagers do have very real emotions, but there is an overwrought sensibility in the performance for such a young person. Not the best first Bee Gees song to start with - they're wonderful.
“How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” ❤
That would have been a much better choice to start the Bee Gees with! Although I still wouldn't classify any of their music as "rock."
They also had their share of challenges. Born into poverty and singing for tossed coins as kids, the Gibbs (who also had a fourth, younger brother, singer Andy Gibb) experienced humiliating setbacks, suffered battles with substances, fought with each other, and witnessed their biggest success become, for a while, a cultural joke. But they endured.
Robin and Maurice Gibb were twins. Barry Gibb is three years older. The trio had a younger brother, singer Andy Gibb, who they announced would become the fourth Bee Gees in 1988.
Loved your look when you heard the harp gliss. Priceless!
I don't want to be alone, is one of my favorites of their later work.
This is a fantastic song !! Thank you for reacting . 😀
I hope you do dive into the Bee Gees some more. They have an extensive back catalogue and were enormously influential through the strength of their songwriting and performances.
Yeah. I'm not getting 'funny' at all. Never did from this one
This is one of my favorite Bee Gees songs. Robin's voice here is absolutely incredible. Robin and Maurice were both stellar vocalists, and I think they were a lot better than Barry.
Thank you ... And Robin was so adorable 🥰 the twins are my fave.
@@princessmandy1757 he was adorable! 🥰
This song reminds me of my early childhood and brings in Robin's voice a feeling of purity, naivety from another era, which no longer exists. Robin has a vulnerability in her voice and a brittle rapid vibrato. The harmonic progression and descending melodic sequence in the backing vocals began a flurry of similar songs later, such as "Easy" by the Commodores, and others

@VirginRock
They also had a younger brother (Andy Gibb) who had a great solo career. He was too young to join his older brothers .
Please react to more! You will hear very different styles from the list below. On this song you did, Robin was basically the only one singing. Try some of the others and you probably wouldn’t even believe this was the same band!
Here’s a list with my interpretation of what genre I think they fall under:
Too Much Heaven (R&B) Went to #1
How Deep Is Your Love (R&B Ballard), went to #1
Staying Alive (disco), went to #1
Night Fever (disco), went to #1
You Should Be Dancing (R&B or disco), went to #1
Fanny be tender with my love (R&B). Quincy Jones said this was his favorite R&B song. It’s a favorite of mine too.
Jive Talking (R&B), went to #1
Nights on Broadway (R&B/Funk)..you’ll hear the brothers “natural” voices in this song.
Tragedy (Techno? Pop) It also went #1
More than a woman (Disco/R&B) One of the best love songs ever made!
Love you inside out (Funk/pop), went to #1
To love somebody (R&B) One of their earlier hits, from 1967!!! You’ll see how young they were.
Massachusetts (pop/country), went to #1
Wind of Change (funk/r&b), live 1975 from the Midnight Special or live from their 1979 Spirits tour. They sing in their natural voices on this song.
Alone (pop): One of the songs they made late in their career.
Love So Right (R&B), One of Barry’s best falsetto songs ever.
Words (pop, 1979 Spirits Tour). Barry pours his heart out on this song and they show his wife & son on screen some while he was performing it.
Lonely Days (pop). One of the first songs they wrote after they got back together when they briefly broke up in 1969 then got back together in 1970 to write this.
You Win Again (pop), If you want to hear some 80’s Bee Gees, this is a good one. Went #1 in the UK
Run to Me (pop)
How Can you mend a broken heart (R&B). The other song they wrote when they first got back together after a brief breakup. It was also their first #1 in the US
Kiss of Life (rock). Shows a diverse side of them.
One (pop), their last top 10 hit in the US
Wedding Day (pop), a single they wrote for their wives! All of them had been married for a while. Barry is will married to this day to Linda for over 53 years!
Rest Your Love on Me Awhile (country). Shows diversity!
Bodyguard (R&B), Robb really shines on this song that could have been played on any R&B radio station!
For Whom the Bell Tolls (pop), again, Robin shines on this one.
Blue Island - live (pop). This song shows the perfect blend & harmony the brothers have. Especially if you do the acoustic one. Just the 3 of them with 2 guitars!
Our Love, Don't Throw it all away-Bee Gee's or Andy's version (pop). After their brother Andy passed, they started performing this during shows in honor of him.
Secret Love (pop). I love the best to this song! Barry & Robin leads.
This is Where I Came in (live) (pop). From the very last CD they ever released. There is a live version out there from a tv show. That's a great one to see how they have evolved into the 2000's!
The 1989 One for all tour medley (excellent vocals & some humor). This is a little long (over 12 min), but they go through about 7-9 songs in this medley with just the 3 of them around 1 mic either Barry in the guitar.
This song is pure genius. Maybe its an age thing but I do not find this song funny or odd at all, very poignant.
Me either maybe a generational thing, I thought the orchestration was beautiful at the time , I think Amy is taking the p out of the bee gees
I am 23 and always took the song and sound serious. I think it depends on the type of person, some can feel the melancholy of a song, others try to find it ridiculous and over the top. Also this was the 60s style, if you aren't used to it, it may feel strange.
It's a "fuck the world" song. for those who were ignored, betrayed and left behind.
Faith No More made a fantastic cover of this song
3 words that stand out from this video that tell you everything you need to know about the song : Spiritual. Tragic. Joke.
Very disapointing. Was expecting a critique from a musical perspective. What I saw was a "Joke".
Listen to Gotta Get a Message to you.Bee Gees touched on different aspects of life not too commonly touched on by other artists. The 60's was very open to varied subjects for songs
The Bee Gees have a deep catalogue and a wide range of musical styles. All the music is really good. I like your observation that the tune is theatrical over a folk type underpinning (but you also have the orchestra). The surprise lyrics add to the idea of a "joke". The joke is on him, so the theme is reversal. It becomes bittersweet.
GREAT CRITIQUE QUEEN, THE BeeGee's are epic.
I always thought that the vocals sound a lot like "Herman's Hermits".
A rather amusing take & analysis by a Classical Musician on a famous operatic & spiritual-sounding song named “I Started A Joke” by the world renowned & highly successful Pop & Disco group named, the Bee Gees. I honestly felt she was trying her level best to do it & I rather enjoyed her being perplexed by the true meaning of it’s lyrics along with it’s strange out of the world experience & majestic sound. But I think it all came out quite well even though her perplexity remained. And I don’t blame her.
However I believe that for most people, the most striking feature of this amazing performance was actually that unique soulful & spiritual voice of none other than of Robin Gibb, truly a voice like no other!
Finally a fitting conclusion to the implications from the song, is that the real Essence of Life in this World is Entirely Spiritual because that is where all of Humanity will be heading to when we physically die.
And that I believe is the Joke for the Unwary ones amongst us.
Well, we can take it all as a warning for the wary ones & that’s no joke.
Take it or leave it.
Seems to me to be a song about a contrarian who regrets his attitude and how he treated others. Excellent song. Check our one of their disco songs, Stayin' Alive. They also wrote the Grease theme for Frankie Valli.
Interesting, I've never thought of this having having any happy vibes. Simple but very powerful lyrics and I love Robin's voice here, it's so emotional. This is their early music and it's very different from what comes later on. I would listen to "Too Much Heaven" next, with it's beautiful harmonies. They have a lot of great songs to explore!
This is my favorite song by Robin.
I'd suggest "Too Much Heaven" - all 3 voices falsetto and totally different in mood.
We were introduced to the BeeGees with New York Mining Disaster 1941. Everyone thought it was the Beatles at first listen, so, your Beatles comments were spot on.
Funny? Ok
I saw them live at Saratoga Springs NY.😊
It makes me cry. I think in the 60's, exploring all aspects of life, even the depths of sadness, was something open to be a subject of a song. Imagine the feeling of being at odds with everything and everyone in the world.
Wow. Maybe a language issue. This is a pretty serious song that deals with depression and feelings of worthlessness. Maybe it is better to laugh at it, I don’t know.
I usually like you reactions. Not so much this one. But it is subjective, so we can’t all like the same things.
This was definitely a song and vocal style in the 60s. Listen to Mama Cass sing "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and you'll find a similar sensibility. Frankie Valli, Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton, Barbara Streisand. Dionne Warwick and any vocalist performing Burt Bacharach songs (look those up!). It seems a natural progression from the 50 vocal styles. Vocalists then were largely standing alone no a stage on some variety show, maybe a band or orchestra at the back of the stage or off stage. Then along comes Joni Mitchell and Carole King to do something really different...with the vocal style, the musical arrangement. There are probably better and earlier examples of all of this. This song falls right into place with that strain of popular music in the 60s, at the same time Motown is going strong and rock is doing all sorts of stuff.
I like her reactions to her when she ahe hears the harp glissandos
This does have a very folk like feel in the beginning. I like it, not having heard it for many years and then only hearing it in passing on the radio or as background music. For me this is very different from their disco era sound in the late 70s which I wasn't into at the time, so I don't know a much about the Bee Gees or how typical this is of the pre-disco career. Yeah, you haven't heard the Supremes yet, also better known as "Diana Ross & the Supremes" when she is with them. They were a very popular 60s/70s R&B pop group, which appealed to a much wider audience than just rock. They are certainly worth hearing sometime since they were such a big part of the 60s/70s music scene. I really enjoyed your reaction.
One of my favorite Bee Gees songs. One of the few that Robin took lead on. This isn't your typical Bee Gees song if you care to try something more traditional, maybe Stayin' Alive or Too Much Heaven would be more in line with your tastes.