His week we are going to take a trip into the world of hard core rock. The band is Foreigner and the song is “I want To Know What Love is”. The song was written by band members Mick Jones and Lou Gramm.
As a musician, I have always been fascinated by emotion. A song is nothing more than a collection of sound frequencies of variable duration. Why do certain collections of frequencies impact a person so strongly and so deeply that it is like getting hit over the head by a 2×4. Every musician who has ever existed has tried to figure out that formula. Adding lyrics to a song is just adding to the emotion of the underlying sound frequencies.
Some collections of sound frequencies make us happy, some make us sad and reflective and some, like the song featured this week are the equivalent of a Primal Scream – a plea that comes from the very core of one’s being. Here are some of the lyrics to the song:
I’ve gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I’m older
Now this mountain I must climb
Feels like the world upon my shoulders
But through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder
In my life, there’s been heartache and pain
I don’t know if I can face it again
Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far
To change this lonely life
I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me (Ooh)
There are times in everyone’s life when it feels like we are just wandering in the wilderness. Just like Lou Gramm is singing, finding the light of Love is the way out of the wilderness. I think you will agree that listening to Lou Gramm’s plea, or primal scream for Love is something we can all identify with.
The particular version of the song by Foreigner was held at a Farm Aid concert in Illinois. This was just one of 34 Farm Aid Concerts held around the country to benefit farmers who were being crushed by mortgage interest rates in the high teens. Willie Nelson was the driving force behind these concerts. See if you can identify with Foreigner’s Primal scream for Love:
I Want To Know What Love Is