Character Songs

Lately, I've been thinking about songs that prominently feature a certain character or point of view. It all started one day last week when I was driving around town, and the song "Copperhead Road" came on the radio.

I've always liked the tune and the guitar hook, but never really paid much attention to the lyrics...other than that line about doing two tours in Vietnam. I was vaguely aware that it was about someone with a vastly different life story than mine.

And then I starting thinking about other songs like it. Songs about a very specific character. About not just about a character -- you'll see that songs such as Billie Jean or Roxane did not make the list. Rather, I was inspired by songs that I listen to and feel I can actually inhabit that other character when a couple minutes:



Should I be concerned that a lot of the songs I've chosen are about anti-heroes at best and villains at worst? I know some folks who are into acting, and who have explained that when you play a character, you are not wearing the character like a costume or inhabiting a different person but you're bringing out aspects of yourself. Maybe it's the same for writing. When you write a villain, it's the villainous in yourself that you examine and write about.

So maybe I'm craving to write a story about an anti-hero. Maybe that's what I'm trying to tell myself...