Happy April Fool’s Day. Today, we consider the prank played by Train’s song, “Hey, Soul Sister,” where upon hearing the title you expect the song to be some type of soul song. Train’s joke is revealed from the moment you hear the strumming of the ukelele and you soon realize instead that “Hey, Soul Sister” is a boy band song. And a darn good one at that.
I liked Train since they released their first self-titled album in 1998. And when they later released “Drops of Jupiter” in 2001 on the album of the same name, I loved the song even as it was played endlessly on the radio. But then I did not hear about them for years, and suddenly there was this big hit I saw referenced several times before I actually heard it, “Hey, Soul Sister” from Save Me, San Francisco (2009).
According to Wikipedia, “it is the 8th most downloaded song in history, the most downloaded song of all time for Columbia Records, the top-selling song on iTunes in 2010.” Eighth in history? And I realize that it may not be fair to compare songs that were not released for the first time in the age of the Internet, but if it is the most downloaded song of all time for Columbia, it has been downloaded more times than Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” It was huge.
While “Hey, Soul Sister” is a good song, I must admit I never understood why it became such a gigantic hit for Train. According to Train lead singer Patrick Monahan, who co-wrote the song, he was inspired by imagining what it would be like to attend Burning Man, a party in the desert with naked people running around. But for some reason, I doubt they listen to “Mr. Mister” at Burning Man, so I do not know what he was thinking. Here’s the acoustic ukelele-only version.
Monahan has an excellent voice, and you cannot help but sing along, but it seems odd that a man of Monahan’s age (40 the year the song was released) sings the cheesy line, “You’re so gangsta, I’m so thug.” Yet, the line works when someone young sings the song, as a young man might be so naive — and sincere — to make such a silly claim to the object of his affection. The rest of the lyrics fit better for a naive young singer too.
You gave my life direction, a game show love connection we can’t deny;
I’m so obsessed, my heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest;
I believe in you, like a virgin, you’re Madonna, and I’m always gonna wanna blow your mind.
“My untrimmed chest”?
That is why the song works so much better as a boy band song, and why I never particularly “got” the song until I heard it performed by singers on Glee on one of the few episodes of the TV show I have seen. While I am not a fan of of the boy band era of music, I am not so snooty that I can resist a good pop song. And if you are going to do a boy band song, it should be left to the boy bands. And the song works much better for Darren Criss and the Warblers, who make the hit song their own on Glee.
Which version do you like? Is there any soul in “Hey, Soul Sister”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
And who are these people listening to Mr. Mister?
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)
I liked Train a lot in their early years, especially their first three albums. They started to get too poppy and hook-based after that, and I haven’t been too interested in them since. That said, they are still better than 99% of the other current acts that get play on the radio these days, and I don’t switch stations when they come on. Soul in “Hey, Soul Sister”? Nope. Catchy? Yes indeed.
I first discovered Train through “Meet Virginia” on their first album, and then, like you, I was a little surprised they ended up more poppy when for their early albums it seemed like they could have gone in a different direction. Of course, there is nothing wrong in itself with going in the pop direction, and like you I agree they are better than a lot of other acts and they have produced some catchy songs. Thanks for the comment.
This song is definitely a guilty pleasure for me and I absolutely love the Glee version of the song. To me the song is so good b/c the guy is so unguarded–not just about how he feels about the person, but with the way he talks (like this ridiculous line about being gansta) or the things he likes (like listening to Mr. Mister)–and that, I think, is always appealing in a cynical and hostile world. Maybe it’s the anthem of the geek revolution. (there is a geek revolution going on, right?)
As for who is listening to Mr. Mister? I’d say anyone who was between ages 14-18 in 1985, which would be exactly the range of the person who wrote the son. And now I have to go see “Kyrie” on youtube.