Joe Anselm is a singer-songwriter based in St. Louis, MO. While he is currently the lead singer of a popular 90’s cover band, Zero to Ninety, Joe is forming a band that will perform his original songs. Joe has written over 100 original songs that range from rock to folk. One of his original songs, soon to be released to iTunes, tackles a very emotional topic. The song is titled “My Last Cocktail”. However, the song can be interpreted multiple ways.
Some listeners may hear the lyrics and think about a dying friend with whom they are having a last drink together. Others may hear it as the voice of someone who has passed on, reminiscing about their last moments of earthly life. And yet others may listen to the lyrics and instantly think about euthanasia and assisting a dying friend or family member by way of a last “cocktail” to mercifully end their pain and suffering. However, it is sometimes a challenge to know exactly what the songwriter was thinking when they wrote the song, leaving it up to the listener to interpret it for themselves. Some people really want to understand what a song means.
In a March 7, 2022, online article called “Using Lyrical Interpretation to Discover the Meaning of a Song” by Andrew “The Real Musician” Muller. Muller discusses four strategies to help listeners find the meaning of a song:
- Context
- Word Definitions
- Getting the Opinion of People Around You
- Giving Yourself Some Time
These are great tactics to help with song interpretation, but lucky for us, we can talk to singer-songwriter, Joe Anselm, about “My Last Cocktail” to understand why he wrote the song and what it means.
Interview with Joe Anselm on His Upcoming Song “My Last Cocktail”
Interviewer: Joe Anselm, thank you for joining me for this interview. Can you start by sharing some of the meaning behind your new original song, “My Last Cocktail”?
Joe Anselm: “The meaning of My Last Cocktail is when…you want to be with the ones you love the most at the times you need them the most. And that could be any sort of situation. But as far as My Last Cocktail, it kind of literally means like, the last time I enjoy some sort of earthly pleasure I want it to be with someone I love.”
Interviewer: What inspired you to write “My Last Cocktail”, Joe?
Joe Anselm: So, at the risk of getting a little dark, it was a documentary that I watched a few years ago on Netflix regarding different cultures and the different rites of passage and how these cultures deal with death. One of the story lines was a family that knew that the patriarch, the father, was terminally ill. He decided to take this milky concoction, kind of like a last cocktail, and his wife made it for him, so that inspired me to write something. It was so sweet as she held him as he went under…he eventually passed away with all of his family around him and it was very touching. Next thing you know, I just grabbed my guitar, these chords came magically, and the lyrics came really soon after.
Interviewer: Who would you like to reach with this song, Joe?
Joe Anselm: Anybody who needs a sense of relief and needs to feel relief from something. I hope it can do that for anybody in a situation where they have pent up feelings and need a release as they contemplate a loved one’s meaning to them, whether alive or passed on, or even who is currently suffering.
Interviewer: Thanks, Joe. What else do you want people to know about your new original song, “My Last Cocktail”?
Joe Anselm: That it is a song that was meant to be played on repeat. So, you put it on repeat and let it go over and over. I almost feel like it’s a song meant to be played during the holidays, you know. A lot of people are drinking cocktails around that time of year. It has a somber, end-of-the-year vibe, and like a good cocktail it kind of makes you feel warm. Reminiscing about people they’ve loved and lost. It’s definitely a good song to think about the past, which we do a lot of at the end of the year.
Interviewer: Thank you for helping us interpret your new song, soon to be released on iTunes, Joe Anselm. As discussed in this article, song interpretation can be challenging, and it’s refreshing to hear directly from the singer-songwriter on how the song came to be and what it can mean. Good luck with your release of “My Last Cocktail” to iTunes this winter.
If listeners want to further delve into the topic of how to interpret song lyrics, another helpful resource is the online article “Using Lyrical Interpretation to Discover the Meaning of a Song” by Jennifer Bell, published on Oct 17, 2022. In the article, Jennifer discusses that Time, Place, Context and Observation are Key.
Singer-songwriter Joe Anselm’s interview with us definitely illustrates how important all four of these factors can be when interpreting a song.
Sources:
https://www.thesoundjunky.com/interpreting-song-lyrics/
https://oldtimemusic.com/using-lyrical-interpretation-to-discover-the-meaning-of-a-song/
