Bob James: Song Analysis

Every song tells its own unique story; however the stories they tell are often up to interpretation. Bob James, the creator of the song Orpheus, wrote the song based on his interpretation of the myth. The music of Bob James continued to evolve and captivate audiences thought the world. Discovered by Quincy Jones at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival in 1963, Bob recorded his first solo album, Bold Conceptions, that year for Mercury Records. 36 more solo albums would follow through four decades; that number is just to date and does not include his Grammy award winning collaboration projects (bobjames.com). In 1985 Bob moved to Warner Bros Records and began that association with another million sellers and Grammy winner, Double Vision, his collaboration with David Sanborn, produced by Tommy LiPuma. It was in 1990 while recording his Grand Piano Canyon album that Bob reunited with his old friend, drummer Harvey Mason, Jr. and worked for the first time with
Lee Ritenour on guitar and Nathan East on bass. The sessions for this project were the genesis of the group, Fourplay (bobjames.com). Some of his other albums are Explosions, Touchdown, and Rameau in 1984.
Orpheus was an extremely gifted minstrel born from one of the Muses and a Thracian prince.
A muse is any of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus. Thracians were known as the Indo-European people group. There is evidence that the Thracians are linked to the Swedes (osterholm). Orpheus married a young maiden, Eurydice; however on her wedding day, she steps on a snake. Sadly, the young maiden is bitten and she dies. Her husband, Orpheus, tries to save her by going to the underworld. He makes a bargain with the spirits of the underworld, asking them to return Eurydice to him. Eurydice is set free, but her husband, Orpheus may not look at her until she exits the cave. The couple walks up the long cave and into the upper world. Sadly, Eurydice doesn’t make it all the way out of the cave before Orpheus looks at her. She disappears before his eyes, leaving him upset and heart broken. He lives his life in grief, swearing to never marry again. Barbaric women tear his body into pieces and toss his many remains into the
river.
Using only instrumentals alone, Bob James recreates the Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Around the first thirty five seconds, the music seems very slow and peaceful. The song almost seems to represent the birth of Orpheus and the moment he was given his lyre at a young age. After the songs temp changes from the thirty second mark , the next minute represents Orpheus wooing the young maiden Eurydice into marrying him. Shortly his wife is bitten and she dies within the one minute and fourty seconds and one minute and fifty-four second marks. Around the two minute section, Orpheus tries to figure out how he’ll get his wife back. With my song
“I will charm Demeter's daughter, I will charm the Lord of the Dead, Moving their hearts with my melody.I will bear her away from Hades,” is the lines that he mentions before running to the underworld to save his wife. The next two minutes of the song symbolize his journey down the underworld chasm. He sings to everyone with his lyre, chanting that he’ll basically do whatever it takes to get his wife back. The creatures of the underworld allow him to take his wife back to the surface. They make a deal and both of them walk up the chasm for a little less than two minutes. At the seven minutes and five seconds mark, both Eurydice and Orpheus nearly make it to the surface. In less than ten seconds, Orpheus looks back to soon, and his wife disappears into thin air. The rest of the song symbolizes the depressed minstrel going through his life alone.
Bob James did a wonderful interpretation of the song; however I feel that a few points were left out. In the song, there didn’t seem to be a different tempo when Orpheus runs back to retrieve Eurydice again. I feel as though Orpheus accepted defeat, and lived his life in solitude. The song also seems to trail off into a peaceful silence. Perhaps Bob James imagines Orpheus living a somewhat peaceful life instead of being pulled apart by barbaric women. The rest of the song seemed accurate to my interpretation of the myth. Orpheus was born ad lived his life peacefully. He then married a young maiden. The maiden died and the music switched to portray the journey to the underworld. He returned to the surface, but Eurydice withered away, leaving he son very sad sounding to represent him living his life alone and in depression.
A song without a meaning is often seen as nonsensical. Have you ever tried listening to a sing that had no meaning? It often sounds like a sloppy mess that will never be a classic, or a top charts song. Myths are very similar to songs; both of them need meanings. Despite everyone’s different interpretation, I believe everyone can say that Bob James did a wonderful interpretation of the song.