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Randy Newman Explains Every Song on His New Album, Dark Matter

By Ryan Dombal

Randy Newman has been confusing people with his songs for half a century. And it’s still happening. The hunched 73-year-old recently turned up in a segment on TMZ’s TV show , of all places, reporting on “Putin,” a track from his latest LP, Dark Matter . The song is a biting faux-anthem for the Russian president, with lines like, “When he takes his shirt off/Makes me wanna be a lady!” It’s a goof, but TMZ was stumped. “Is he puckering up—or poking fun?” asked the clip’s cartoonish narrator, after Newman affably tried to explain the song to a paparazzi cameraman in an airport. Then the gossip site’s newsroom launched into an argument about the song’s true meaning—as evidence, one diminutive TMZ staffer even attested to the bigotry of Newman’s 1977 hit “ Short People ,” a song that was written to expose the ills of baseless bigotry.

When I bring up this TMZ appearance to Newman, he sounds genuinely amused. “Yeah, there I was!” he drawls. “Actually, I’m probably the only person who likes that cameraman—it’s just that he’s got his camera with him.” That Newman is able to find some humanity in a guy who hounds celebrities and is generally considered a pariah is no surprise. He’s had a lot of practice.

Though he’s likely best known as the composer behind the music in the Toy Story movies, Newman’s most rewarding work lies in the 11 solo albums he’s released since 1968. In the past, he’s written songs from the perspective of slave traders, Alabama racists, California douchebags, and creepy stalkers—not exactly Pixar material—and on Dark Matter opener “The Great Debate,” he plays a slick-talking faith healer type bent on disproving scientists of all stripes. But the record also features less sinister Newman tropes: sentimental ballads that steer clear of easy emotions, sly historical gambits, paranoid dixieland vamps. In an effort to minimize the misunderstandings this time around, the songwriter delved into the backstories and inspirations behind each song from the new album.

1. “The Great Debate”

Randy Newman: Faith wins because it’s got Dorothy Love Coates , the Golden Gate Quartet , Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, everybody. I don’t know whether I am a music lover, strictly—it’s hard to say how I feel about it—but I love good gospel music. No doubt. My side, the agnostic, atheist side, has got nothing like that. There’s no great song that’s like, “Let’s all not believe and play our agnostic hymnals!” They got everything: the high ceilings, the confessions—man what a hit idea.

Oh yeah. When I listen to Beethoven’s “ Missa Solemnis ,” I don’t think about it. There’s a Bach mass that is sort of anti-Semitic— it’s not so nice . But it’s Bach. So it’s pretty good.

2. “Brothers”

… what the hell is this?!

What interested me about the song is that they’re brothers, irrespective of who they are. I like the dynamic of an older brother poking fun at the enthusiasms of the younger brother. I didn’t know I was interested in the period itself, but when I think of it now, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a time when you were looking up every time a plane went by—for a few days there, it was scary like it hasn’t been since. So there is something there. And I liked how the trivial the reasons were to support the Bay of Pigs, and that the guy wants to save Celia Cruz. Because the U.S. has done some invading of small countries for not much more than that.

Yeah. My wife just had appendicitis surgery yesterday, and when one of my boys found out she was in the hospital, he said, “Who’s feeding and watering Dad?” I wouldn’t have come up with something like that, but that’s sort of like how my father was, and like I am to an extent. It’s very funny.

All in all, the whole process of being part of a family is fantastically interesting to me. I’m very interested in behavior—how people speak and how what they say indicates what they think. That’s what I write about.

It could have been as much as three years ago. It was when all those pictures were appearing of him with his shirt off, and I couldn’t understand why. What did he want? I think it was just personal vanity of some kind, like he wanted to be Tom Cruise. It wasn’t enough to be the richest and most powerful. He wanted to be the most handsome and a superhero, throwing young people around and wrestling. It’s a strange thing.

Yup. Though this one is way less critical of Putin than I thought I would have been. As I’m doing it, I’m saying to myself, I’m not criticizing him enough . He’s a bad guy. But I was conscious of it being too easy. It’s like writing an anti-war song that goes, “War is bad.” Well yeah, of course it is!

4. “Lost Without You”

There is a real similarity between the two, though I didn’t do anything purposeful to do it. When you see people in your immediate family die, it’s usually not just sudden. It’s a longer process, and people behave in radically different ways, and some of that behavior has to be forgiven later.

My dad was a doctor and he took care of the practical care for his brothers when they were dying. Not easy. Anytime one of them died, he would fall out with somebody, or somebody would complain that he should have given them more rutabaga or something. So I saw that and I thought about how if my wife was gone, it would feel like this guy feels: lost.

When my mother was dying, my father was sort of taking care of her. But he was was taking too much of this medicine, so he was falling around a little bit. He didn’t seem like he was taking care of her right. So my brother and I went to her and said, “Jeez, we’re sorry that Dad’s not doing the job for you.” And she said, “Don’t you say anything bad about him. From the very beginning of this, he couldn’t have been better.” And it really shocked my brother and I, because we never saw her express her love for him ever.

5. “Sonny Boy”

Yeah it is! Though I didn’t really know who I loved. In retrospect, I fell for the stuff I heard [by Sonny Boy II] on the R&B station here in the late ’50s, when I was 13—a couple of songs called “ So Sad to Be Lonesome ” and “ The Goat .” And one day not too long ago I went to look for a record of “The Goat,” and there was the other guy! And his stuff was good too, like “ Good Morning School Girl ” and “ Jackson Blues .” I root for Sonny Boy I, of course, but the second guy was just as good, or better. I just think it’s shitty that that guy would do that.

6. “It’s a Jungle Out There (V2)”

I never liked saying “I’m only kidding with ya” in my songs, and when I play this song live now, I have been trying to leave that line out. But I think [the narrator] has to say it, actually. It’s a matter of getting the person in the song right. I’m a little confused myself about who the narrator of that one is. Personally, I don’t think it’s a jungle out there. I wouldn’t say that. Because that phrase has been used wrong. There’s something vaguely offensive about it, depending on whose saying it.

Talking about these songs, it seems like my stuff is so complicated, like, Why do I do it? But it shouldn’t sound complicated. It’s got to sound easy and be as easy to understand as I can make it. Because it’s not easy to pick up what I do. I listen to the radio sometimes and I don’t listen to the lyrics at all, I don’t know what they’re saying—I just sounded like my father there. But my own stuff can’t sound too cerebral. I try and make it sound as if it were simple.

7. “She Chose Me”

I got a letter from a fan saying, “This is a really good song.” I hadn’t thought of it in 30 years, but when I heard my demo of it, I thought it was doable to do it, so I did.

He’s waiting for the money to roll in.

It’s not that, but it’s misbegotten. As if people who watch cop shows were going to sit still for a cop singing . Bochco is a great guy, and very convincing. I turned it down the first time I talked to him, and when I left I said, [ sings ] “Good- bye !” But he got me back there, and I ended up trying to do it. I wanted to see if it was possible. And in some scenes it was possible.

I haven’t seen it in a long time, but that clip would be this supposedly ugly guy with an absolutely beautiful wife, and he was wondering how he could be so blessed to have this wonderful person loving him. And that’s not a bad idea. It’s kind of a big idea. It’s certainly worth a song or two.

I mean, if I can write a song like “She Chose Me” or “ Feels Like Home ,” I do it. It’s less interesting to me. Well, this one isn’t less interesting because it’s got some kind of an edge to it. “Feels Like Home” is going to end up as the most popular song I ever wrote possibly, outside of “ You’ve Got a Friend in Me ,” and to me it’s of less interest than “ The World Isn’t Fair ,” or “ Shame ,” or “ Korean Parents .” But I am not a typical listener.

Yeah, it’s like I’m poorly constituted for the medium. If you do write a straight love song, people know what to expect. They don’t have to listen. And when people listen to my music, I’d like them to relax. But I just can’t make myself do anything that you could just put on while eating a Baby Ruth and drinking a Coke. I can’t. I don’t want to write background music like that. I don’t mind it in a picture, because there is an orchestra and there’s something going on. But I don’t want to write a lyric, for the most part, that is worth anything. It’s a real problem.

I hear that what’s-his-name—Uncle John Misty, or whatever it is—writes things in character occasionally. I have heard a couple of his songs. I couldn’t hear me there, but he’s good. I heard the kid Lorde’s song about class, “Royals,” and it was remarkable. Lady Gaga had that one song, “Born This Way,” that’s a real good idea. And Katy Perry’s stuff is impressive—that ain’t easy, and she’s a hell of an actress, doing whatever part she’s playing there. My son told me about Vince Staples recently, but I haven’t heard him yet. Overall, though, I can’t even pretend to know what’s going on.

8. “On the Beach”

Yeah, this one is more experiential. I went to the beach every day for three or four years as a kid. And then I stopped. But there was a group of people that didn’t stop. They made it a way of life. One guy ended up there for good—but it’s not a happy thing when you’re 50 years old and you don’t have a roof.

9. “Wandering Boy”

I listened to this pianist give a talk about Charles Ives’ “Concord” Sonata, and he said it’s based on a tune from the early 1900s, “ Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight? ” He played it, and it’s fantastic—I liked it better than the “Concord” Sonata. So I just took the title and wrote this song.

As a family, we went to this Labor Day party in the neighborhood for years. I was there when I was 10 years old and when I was 50 years old. You would see a little kid at 5, and then you’d see him again 20 years later, for one day. There was one bright-eyed 11-year-old kid there, and my dad said, “He’s gonna be president some day.” But he had a tough time with heroin and a lot of other things; he was not president. It was about having that kind of promise—jumping off the high board, yelling, and being real happy—and then falling off the grid for some reason, into the big hole. There’s no net in this country. In Sweden, you can’t get down there to the gutter. But you can here.

So I tried to imagine what it would be like if one of those homeless guys that I see on the street a little ways away from here were one of my sons. And then I wrote the song. And it came hard. I was choking up when I was writing the thing. I would play it for someone, and I’d get to, “Where’s my wandering boy…”—anything that makes you cry must be something to do with yourself.

Meaning of Wand’rin’ Star by Lee Marvin

The song "Wand'rin' Star" by Lee Marvin explores the theme of an individual who feels a deep sense of restlessness and a yearning to constantly wander and explore. The lyrics convey a sense of being born with an innate inclination to wander, as the repeated line "I was born under a wandering star" suggests.

The song begins by emphasizing the individual's affinity for movement, highlighting how wheels are made for rolling and mules are made to pack. This wanderlust is further emphasized with the line "I've never seen a sight that didn't look better looking back," indicating a longing for past experiences and perhaps a dissatisfaction with staying in one place for too long.

The lyrics continue to contrast the hardships of life on the road with the limitations and emotional struggles of staying in one place. While mud can make one feel trapped and the plains can be unbearably dry, the true pain comes from human interactions. People have the ability to make one cry, suggesting that the emotional toll of relationships often outweighs the physical discomfort of constant movement.

The chorus repeats the idea of being born under a wandering star, further reinforcing the idea that this restlessness is an inherent part of the individual's nature. The lyrics then touch upon the notion of heaven and hell, positing that heaven is found in the freedom of parting ways ("goodbye forever"), while hell lies in the brevity and constraints of greetings ("hello").

The final verse speaks to the individual's longing for a sense of homecoming and the paradoxical nature of dreams. The lyrics suggest that home is a place to come from, rather than a static destination one arrives at, and dreams of going to new places often symbolize escapism rather than actual fulfillment. The repetition of the chorus closes the song, affirming once again that the narrator was born under a wandering star, destined to continue seeking new horizons.

Overall, "Wand'rin' Star" explores the inherent desire for freedom, the bittersweet nature of wanderlust, and the contrast between the hardships of a nomadic life and the emotional struggles of staying rooted in one place.

This meaning interpretation was written by AI. Help improve it with your feedback

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Wand'rin' Star by Lee Marvin

Songfacts®:

• The 1969 musical Paint Your Wagon cost an estimated $20 million to produce but grossed less than $32 million at the American box office. That may have been disappointing, but the song "Wand'rin' Star" was anything but. Performed by Lee Marvin in a deep, soporific voice, it topped the UK chart for 3 weeks in 1970, and was also #1 in Ireland. The song finds Marvin singing about his peripatetic lifestyle that takes him to California for the Gold Rush.
• The song appeared too in the 1951 Broadway version; it was composed by Frederick Loewe and written by Alan Jay Lerner. The Marvin single version - which was performed with a male chorus - was arranged and orchestrated by Nelson Riddle.
• The B-side was another song from the same film, " I Still See Elisa ," which was performed by Clint Eastwood. >> Suggestion credit : Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 3
• More songs from Lee Marvin
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Comments: 3

• Keith E Johnson from Olathe Ks My family and friends all absolutely loved the movie version of "Paint Your Wagon"!!
• Adrian Chan from Malaysia The spookiest song I've ever heard! Gives me goose pimples!
• Greg from Shelbyville, Ky Long one of my favorite movies. This song got a lot of airplay in the US, at least on what we would now call Adult Contemporary stations. Back then, they were Middle of the Road (MOR).

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The Song of Wandering Aengus Summary & Analysis by William Butler Yeats

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• Line-by-Line Explanations

First printed in 1897 and collected in The Wind Among the Reeds (1899), W. B. Yeats's "The Song of Wandering Aengus" is a dramatic monologue about burning and thwarted passion. Written in the voice of Aengus (a god of love and youth in Irish mythology), it tells the tale of a magical fish that turns into a beautiful girl and runs away. The infatuated Aengus wanders the earth in pursuit of this girl, growing old but never giving up his search. As a kind of miniature fable, the poem suggests how unrequited love—or any other unattainable dream—can both exhaust a person's energies and nourish a person's imagination.

• Read the full text of “The Song of Wandering Aengus”

The Full Text of “The Song of Wandering Aengus”

1 I went out to the hazel wood,

2 Because a fire was in my head,

3 And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

4 And hooked a berry to a thread;

5 And when white moths were on the wing,

6 And moth-like stars were flickering out,

7 I dropped the berry in a stream

8 And caught a little silver trout.

9 When I had laid it on the floor

10 I went to blow the fire a-flame,

11 But something rustled on the floor,

12 And someone called me by my name:

13 It had become a glimmering girl

14 With apple blossom in her hair

15 Who called me by my name and ran

16 And faded through the brightening air.

17 Though I am old with wandering

18 Through hollow lands and hilly lands,

19 I will find out where she has gone,

20 And kiss her lips and take her hands;

21 And walk among long dappled grass,

22 And pluck till time and times are done,

23 The silver apples of the moon,

24 The golden apples of the sun.

“The Song of Wandering Aengus” Summary

“the song of wandering aengus” themes.

Infatuation, Beauty, and Obsession

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Song of Wandering Aengus”

I went out to the hazel wood, Because a fire was in my head, And cut and peeled a hazel wand, And hooked a berry to a thread;

And when white moths were on the wing, And moth-like stars were flickering out, I dropped the berry in a stream And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor I went to blow the fire a-flame, But something rustled on the floor, And someone called me by my name:

Lines 13-16

It had become a glimmering girl With apple blossom in her hair Who called me by my name and ran And faded through the brightening air.

Lines 17-20

Though I am old with wandering Through hollow lands and hilly lands, I will find out where she has gone, And kiss her lips and take her hands;

Lines 21-24

And walk among long dappled grass, And pluck till time and times are done, The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun.

“The Song of Wandering Aengus” Symbols

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Silver Trout

“The Song of Wandering Aengus” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

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Parallelism

Alliteration, juxtaposition, “the song of wandering aengus” vocabulary.

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• On the wing
• Apple blossom
• See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Song of Wandering Aengus”

Rhyme scheme, “the song of wandering aengus” speaker, “the song of wandering aengus” setting, literary and historical context of “the song of wandering aengus”, more “the song of wandering aengus” resources, external resources.

The Poet's Life and Work — Read a short bio of Yeats, along with other Yeats poems, at Poets.org.

The Poem Read Aloud — Hear a reading of the poem by actor Michael Gambon.

"Aengus" in Song — Listen to a 1971 adaptation of the poem by folk singer Donovan.

Yeats, Nobel Laureate — Browse an exhibit on Yeats, winner of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature, at Nobel.org.

The Many Sides of Yeats — Read the Poetry Foundation's introduction to the various phases of Yeats's career.

Yeats Reads His Work — Listen to a rare recording of W. B. Yeats reading his poetry aloud.

LitCharts on Other Poems by William Butler Yeats

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An Irish Airman Foresees his Death

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When You Are Old

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Definition of wandering

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Definition of wandering  (Entry 2 of 2)

• digressional
• digressionary

Examples of wandering in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wandering.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing wandering

wandering albatross

• wandering dude
• wandering eye
• wandering Jew

Dictionary Entries Near wandering

Cite this entry.

“Wandering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wandering. Accessed 22 Apr. 2024.

Medical Definition

Medical definition of wandering.

Medical Definition of wandering  (Entry 2 of 2)

More from Merriam-Webster on wandering

Nglish: Translation of wandering for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of wandering for Arabic Speakers

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Wandering Star

53 comments.

Lyrics submitted by Ice

Wandering Star Lyrics as written by Charles William Miller Beth Gibbons

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

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I find that Biblical stuff quite interesting, cause it may well have been an influence on the lyrics. That's not the same as saying that the song has a Christian message. There's Biblical/Christian imagery in all sorts of non-religious works of art. (Not so keen on the actual preaching and stuff though. I can't think of a less appropriate place for it.)

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You know what this song is really about? Get out your family bible. (No I am not Joking.) Look up Jude 13 (Jude is the book right before Revelation- in the back.) It will read someting like this: "stars with no set course, for which the blackness of darkness stands reserved forever"

"Stars" in the bible often represent angels- Satan and his demons are called "falling stars" or "stars with no set course" ---Hmm, does this sound like another way of saying "wandering stars"?

Now-- check this out--- Their Judgment: "...for who it is reserved....the blackness... the darkness... forever." Lookup Revelation 20:1-3 in your bible. It explains that Satan and his demons will be cast into the abyss. (the blackness, the darkness....)

Interesting stuff huh?

Note that she writes from THEIR perspective:

"Please could you stay awhile to share my grief " I think I would be pretty grievous too if I knew I were going to be cast into the abyss.

The real question is, if BEFORE I wrote this; you didn't know this song had demonic influence, how many other songs that you listen to are influenced the same way.......?

It's very interesting to see your bible have modern uses, isn't it? If you are curious about WHEN Satan and his demons will finally be cast into the abyss-- I encourage you to read your bible. If you want a deeper knowledge of your bible, contact the Jehovah's Witnesses in your area. They offer free bible studies and will even travel to your home or other place of convenience. It helped me......

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Jude 1:13<br /> "wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever."<br /> <br /> Not sure why you're quoting Revelations, but ok.

i dont know why so many people is offended or dissapointed by the biblical references in thos song im nto religious but i have to admit that almost 70% of all the art of all the times has biblical references because is normal it deals with our inner passions guilts morals and all those things we struggle it is not necessary to be religious

you are correct !<br />

I agree with ReActor. Ravendaymon's suggestions are not only valid but intriguing. The idea that she is speaking from Satan's perspective is quite interesting. However, I would suggest that she is speaking from her own perspective. Perhaps she feels as if she, herself is damned, as she seems to be experiencing a living Hell. "please stay awhile to share my grief" this grief is in life. She also seems to desire death to escape: "and the time i will suffer less is when i never have to wake." Therefore, I would suggest that she desires death to escape Hell. I have read parts of the Bible, but read it as myth. And again, I agree with ReActor in that this is not the most appropriate venue to push religion.

Clearly the chorus was taken directly from the book of Jude. I'm surprised that Raven didn't mention the other Biblical allusion, in the line "those who have seen the needle's eye", a reference to Matthew 19:24. Beth seems to be twisting the imagery to fit in with a portrait of alienation from society combined with depression and drug abuse, which is ultimately what I believe this song is about.

(In the dim recesses of my mind, I seem to remember an interview or liner note when this album came out in which Beth credited the chorus to one of her friends who has an interest in biblical imagery.)

My favorite song on the whole album. Clearly the references are biblical. Although things in the bible can be interpreted so many ways...so I don't know that the meaning is locked into anything because of the reference.

I think it is about someone sad/depressed....so much so that the 'wandering stars' (perhaps, as someone said, demons) are ENVIABLE. She's so upset that even an existence like that is more desirable than hers.

"Like a husk, from which all that was, now has fled"

I think that is how she feels...a husk is them empty void that WAS a full, alive piece of corn. She feels empty, and ueseless....but she wants still to be emptier, like the wandering stars. she doesn't want to be.

God, this song is soooooooo beautiful, even though it's very fatalistic.

Wandering Star is what the ancients. Use to call the Planets in the sky. Which is what the Greek word for ante means: wandering star.

This song is absolutly beautiful. look at this

Please could you stay awhile to share my grief For its such a lovely day To have to always feel this way And the time that I will suffer less Is when I never have to wake

beautiful...

i mean wow! the lyrics are just incredible and then the beat. c'mon pplz! totally awesome! this is an awesome jam!

this song just reminds me of preditors taking advantage of young girls, little red riding hood, sigmund freud

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