GMVW # 11: "Mulla Mulla Mulla!"

Gem Music Video of the Week #11: Mulla Mulla Mulla!

Song: It’s Money That Matters by Randy Newman

(Songwriter: Randy Newman)

March 20, 2008

At the core of every great song is some angle on truth.  I feel that way about all the 'Gems' I've rolled out thus far. 

.... and then there's the songs of Randy Newman.

Many Randy Newman songs bring an entirely different twist to the truth table.  Often, to get a point across, Newman will sing from the narrative of the...well, let's just say the alternate point of view.  There's 'Short People' (the racist); 'Sail Away' (the 18th century slave trader); 'Political Science' (the extremist); 'Cuyahoga River' (the industrial polluter) and many others.

Gem Music Video of the Week 'It's Money That Matters', from the phenomenal 1988 album 'Land of Dreams', is one of these songs.  I never knew this music video existed until recently and its a great video because it reflects the songs lyrics perfectly (as in the rare event when a movie captures the essence of a books story line).  There's also a lot of subtleties I did not pick up on until a few replays (like some of those old MAD Magazines you had to leaf thru several times to pick up on all the graphic detail).  That's Mark Knopfler doing the guitar bits.  The VH1 site that the video link sends you too occasionally previews it's songs with a commercial (which actually fits in nicely with the song title), so bear with the possibility of a 20 second lead in.  Most of the extras in the video are Bear Stearns employees (sorry, bad joke).

To show that there is also some straight-truth coming out of the music of Randy Newman, I've including another Gem Light video (with a third less calories than your regular gem) from the same 'Land of Dreams' album.

Below the links to the videos are the lyrics to 'It's Money That Matters' for your sing-along/clap along pleasure....

Have a Happy Easter

Pete

Gem Music Video: It’s Money That Matters (This VH1 video link has been temporarily lost *Dec 09*)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x29cln_randy-newman-it-s-money-that-matter_creation

Gem Light:  Falling in Love

http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?artist=13260&vid=33611

Lyrics: It's Money that Matters:

Of all of the people that I used to know

Most never adjusted to the great big world

I see them lurking in book stores

Working for the Public Radio

Carrying their babies around in a sack on their back

Moving careful and slow

(Chorus)

It's money that matters

Hear what I say

It's money that matters

In the USA

All of these people are much brighter than I

In any fair system they would flourish and thrive

But they barely survive

They eke out a living and they barely survive

When I was a young boy, maybe thirteen

I took a hard look around me and asked what does it mean?

So I talked to my father, and he didn't know

And I talked to my friend and he didn't know

And I talked to my brother and he didn't know

And I talked to everybody that I knew

(Chorus)

It's money that matters

Now you know that it's true

It's money that matters

Whatever you do

Then I talked to a man lived up on the county line

I was washing his car with a friend of mine

He was a little fat guy in a red jumpsuit

I said "You look kind of funny"

He said "I know that I do"

"But I got a great big house on the hill here

And a great big blonde wife inside it

And a great big pool in my backyard

and another great big pool beside it

Sonny it's money that matters, hear what I say

It's money that matters in the USA

It's money that matters

Now you know that it's true

It's money that matters whatever you do"

 

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About the video: Both Gem and Gem Light are made for MTV videos