Fourth Disappointing Blog Post

 The song that I picked for this week was mentioned briefly during class last week.  I picked the one called "Paper Doll,"  by The Mills Brothers.  This song immediately left an impression on me while listening for the first time.  Initially, I loved the rhythm, and melody of this piece.  It sounds like a song an old couple would dance to in the kitchen while making dinner, just a cute sounding, jazzy song.  From the start, the melody is fairly simple, just notes being played on some sort of bass/cello.  Along with the simple music in the background, there is only one voice singing.  Then, as we progress to the second verse, the instrumental tune in the background becomes more complex and upbeat in a way, adding more instruments and harmonies.  As well as this addition musically, background vocals add in with "oohs,"  adding dimension to the piece.  With a minute left, the rest of the quartet add in, singing a beautiful harmony on the line, "Say boy, whatcha gonna do?"  I absolutely LOVED that harmony, and it really kept me tied into the rest of the song.  The barbershop sounding harmonies continue throughout the rest of the song as well.  However, the part of  "Paper Doll"  that surprised me the most were the lyrics.  The song as a whole talks about how hard it is being alone (single), and how these men want a woman that the other men can not tempt or take away.  They want a trusting and true woman that will be waiting for their man, instead of leaving their guy for someone else.  It sounded to me like these guys had their hearts broken before, and so they use a paper doll as symbol for a girl that will stay with them and love them forever.  That because these "real girls"  broke their hearts, they would rather have a paper doll that won't hurt them instead.  I don't think these lyrics are necessarily controversial, but they are a little bit different.  I thought it was interesting that The Mills Brothers' song sounds like a cute love song, but the words are opposite, talking about heartbreak.  This song seems like it would be played for people to dance to, like in the swing era.  I would have loved to be in that time period, dancing to jazzy, swing songs like this one.  I really loved listening to "Paper Doll,"  by The Mills Brothers, even if the words seemed a little odd.  I will definitely keep listening to this song!