Now I Wonder Why

by chrome3d

I have never seen much in Now I Wonder Why. It has always been there towards the end of the album and I have felt it´s not one of the highlights of the album. Pleasant and average. Like always starting point can be anything but after 5-6 new listens I might think in another way.

Acoustic guitar picking, lovely just lovely intro. Harmonica, wait there was harmonica? It fits nicely as all the instruments join in on the song. Drums come in and that bass is the icing on the cake. Dum-dum-du-dum. Is it fretless? As Steve is the songwriter he does sometimes put the bass out there almost as a solo instrument. The bouncy bass gives a nice counter balance to the more than usually whispery vocals. All the instruments are crisp and clear. It sounds so clear to me, there is nothing of the muddiness that I had in mind before listening to this. Drums have lost most of their boxy shotgun effect in this song and those harder drums wouldn´t have fitted in to this kind of song. Plim plom keys here and there. There is really playful and sunny atmosphere in this song. I don´t know if I can say this but it feels almost a song for kids. Harmonica paints a sad but funny stripes to the horizon. The voices mix in the end to create a bit eerie atmosphere like in some other songs of this period. I like this song more than I did before, as usual, but it´s not the most memorable tune. It works well in the album cycle before the last two goth-y tunes.

And during my drifting, I found that I was too deep

I always look for some key lines here and there. That one above sums quite a lot. Not just for the man of the song or this album but for the whole band. Like so many other lyrics by SK it can be taken in many ways. Is it happiness or sorrow? He just wonders why and has gotten to the point where sadness and happiness are irrelevant. I know that feeling. To wonder for days and thinking was something in the past any good or not, but in the end having no big opinions or passion about it. I choose to see this song painted mostly with happy colours as that bouncy bass and sweeping harmonica lead me to Dropping Names.