Liars and Saints

 It's possible to forget that Tina Turner was a writer. But she was; she wrote books and lyrics. The first time she recorded a self-penned song, she memorialized her hometown: A church house, gin house.... A school house, outhouse... On Highway Number Nineteen.... The people keep the city clean. They call it Nutbush... Oh, Nutbush.... Nutbush city limits.... Turner needs very few brush strokes to paint a picture: Life is church, gin, school, toilet. Rinse and repeat. "City" is a grandiose term; this town is a few shacks and some fields. And "limits" seems to be both a noun and a verb: Nutbush severely "limits" the people who try to build a life in the church house, the school house. Twenty five was the speed limit. Motorcycle not allowed in it. You go to the store on Fridays.... You go to church on Sundays... They call it Nutbush... Having decided to play with the word "limit," Turner comments on your speed, and on the type of vehicle you mig...

  We might assume that "I Don't Wanna Fight" is an anatomy of the Ike/Tina years, but actually the song wasn't written for Tina. It was written for Sade. Tina just inherited the draft. There's a pale moon in the sky-- The kind you make your wishes on. Like the light in your eyes-- The one I built my dreams upon. It's not there any longer-- Something happened somewhere.... And we both know why.... The skilled writers start with one of the five senses; they start with sight. You spot a pale moon in the sky, and your thoughts drift to a transition--from day to night. The speaker is leaving one phase of life and entering something new. I hear a whisper in the air-- It simply doesn't bother me. Can't you see that I don't care? Or are you looking right through me? It seems to me that lately-- You look at me the wrong way, and I start to cry. Could it be that maybe-- This crazy situation is the reason why? A shift from sight to sound; the speaker hears so...