Ever since I was a kid I have been into superheroes and the idea of having superpowers; what it would feel like, how it would change my life. As I grew older, I liked to see the stories depicting superheroes with real-world problems. They were fallible and troubled souls like the rest of us mere mortals. Now, that really intrigued me.
When the group Five for Fighting came out with the song Superman (It's Not Easy) I could just sit and listen repeatedly. Other than the fact that I like the song, the sadness evoked from the most powerful man on Earth was very powerful to me. _The Ballad of Barry Allen_ is much less known but possibly even more touching. Imagine being the fastest man on Earth. Incredible power, yet in this depiction, his mind moves so fast that he can not step down to deal with other human beings; we are tortuously slow. Imagine the worst business meeting or boring conversation. For us, they end in a few minutes or, at worst, hours. To The Flash those minutes or hours may feel like years.
Do a double-header of It's Not Easy and Ballad of Barry Allen sometime. If you are like me and intrigued by the torturous side of superpowers, you'll enjoy it. If you know of any similar songs, please send them my way!
Some of the more poignant lyrics:
"I'd like to get to know you… but you're talking much too slowly."
"And do you think you can imagine anything so lonely? I know you'd really like me but I never stick around, because time keeps dragging on."
"And I want to be there when you laugh or cry but it takes too long. It seems so slow to me."
Full Lyrics:
I've got time to think about the beauty of a thousand variations
Of the beating of a wing
Of a hummingbird suspended in the aspic of the world
Moving slower than molasses
As I’m off to catch the girl
Who is falling off the bridge
And I'm there before she knows it
I'll be gone before she sees me
Got my hand around her waste
I pull her back to safety
By the time she knows what happens
There will be someone else who needs me
Because time keeps dragging on
And on, And on, And on
Time keeps dragging on
Time keeps dragging on
I've got time to think about my past as I dodge Between the bullets how my life was so exciting Before I got this way and how long ago it was Now I never can explain by the clock that's on the Tower or the one that's in my brain
And I'm there before you know it
I'll be gone before you see me
And I'd like to get to know you
But you're talking much too slowly
And I know you wanna tank me
But I never stick around
Because time keeps dragging on
And on, And on
And you say the time goes rushing by
But it seems so slow to me
And you see a blur around you fly
But it takes too long
It seems so slow to me
Time keeps dragging on
How I wish I'd never gone into my lab to
Experiment that night before lightning flashed Around me
And time changed speed
Now I try to be so patient and wait for Calamity to strike
Because when things change in an instant
It's almost fast enough for me
And I'll be there before you know it
I'll be gone before you see me
And do you think you can imagine
Anything so lonely
And I know you'd really like me
But I never stick around
Because time keeps dragging on
And on…
And you say the time goes rushing by
But it seems so slow to me
And you see a blur around you fly
But it takes too long
It seems so slow
And you say the time goes rushing by
But it seems so slow to me
And you complain I'm gone before you blink your eye
But it takes too long
It seems so slow to me
And you say the time goes rushing by
But it seems so slow to me
And I want to be there when you laugh or cry
But it takes too long
It seems so slow to me
Time keeps dragging on
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+Andrew Clifton-Brown 🙂
I may have actually posted this before quite a while back, but well worth putting out into the universe again.
I think it is brilliant, also a very well written analysis, Scott. Well done.
I need to get to the couch before the back pain sets in but I did that whole novel thing about tortured real-world superheroes…
I did a soundtrack and there are a few songs along that theme on the list (including the It's not Easy one): http://findinggaia.com/book/fgsoundtrack.html They're more towards the end of the list.
Thanks +Kimberly Chapman. Will take a listen later! +Dustin Cochran is DJ'ing at the office now. 😉
Don't forget Superman's Song by Crash Test Dummies. Not a fan of their stuff normally but I liked this one for kind of humanising Kal-El.
http://youtu.be/ihUIPlLw2ZE
….Very Goooood!!!!
Just brilliant! The Flash is my favourite DC hero. Right from the get go as a kid to when he died in crisis, and when Grant Morrison brought him back (the Barry Allen Flash that is). Love it!
+Andrew Clifton-Brown 🙂