An Appreciation Of The Songwriting And Music Of John Arthur Martinez - Page 4

In sum, in the arts, a difference of degree does become a difference of kind, and what separates a John Arthur Martinez from an Andre Bouvier, or hundreds of other singer-songwriters out there, is the excellence of his craft for, in truth, Martinez is just a good capable singer. What sets him apart is his lyric ability, as well as a willingness to not hem himself in musically- something Bouvier did in a mere handful of songs, which were generally indistinguishable from each other, musically, technically (via his guitar playing), and lyrically.

As someone not trained in musical composition, I will let the musical daring and excellence of his compositions be tackled by someone who is. But, I will tackle some of his lyrics, to demonstrate why Martinez is amongst the better singer-songwriters I’ve ever heard- and this goes for not only his country genre, or those folk alive, but I would argue that his songs hold their own against the best songwriters of the rock era- such as Neil Diamond, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, or The Doors’ Jim Morrison, pop music- like Burt Bacharach, Barry Manilow, or Neil Sedaka, or even the composers of Broadway- from Tin Pan Alley through Andrew Lloyd Webber or Jonathan Larson.

For example, in The Man Who Holds The Bow, Martinez (who was a poet as a child) shows a good grasp of original metaphor. The refrain is: "If I’ve learned a little /my Granddad told me so / It ain’t so much the fiddle; / It’s the man who holds the bow."

Now, on a plain level, there is a good rhyme scheme going on. But, look at the very metaphor. A person who plays a fiddle (or violin) is called a fiddler (or violinist), because that is the instrument. The bow is just a larger version of a guitar pick. But, it is the bow that allows the fiddle to be the fiddle.

In other words, this refrain states that what one possesses (materially or immaterially) is not as important as how one puts that in to service of others. The playing of the musical instrument thus becomes more important than the instrument. But, Martinez frames this in a catchy hook lyric that makes it very easy for a listener to get the deeper meaning the words explicate. Thus, the meaning sticks like a bur in the mind that only in thinking about it, as one hums the tune and words, does the average listener get that ‘Aha’ moment that keys one into the song’s  deeper meaning, one simply beyond Martinez’s filial feelings for his kin.

Article Author: Dan Schneider

Dan Schneider is the founder and webmaster of Cosmoetica: the best in poetica.

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