A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
August 2, 2005
Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David
From Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls, Scepter Records,
1968 (Out of Print)
"I was born and raised in San Jose."
Dionne Warwick, via Hal David
My first memory of "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" (from the early 70s) is hearing it blare from my mother's stereo, and wondering how many girls were singing the background part: "Whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa-whoa, whoa, whoa.” My hope was that it was a bunch of cute girls in mini-skirts.
Dionne Warwick in Valley of the Dolls
Dionne Warwick
My second memory of this song is being acutely aware that Dionne Warwick was lying (well, acting) when she sang the line excerpted above. First of all, I'd been in San Jose my whole young life, and I'd never seen her around. Second, to my young mind, there was no way anyone could invest any sincerity in the lyrics to this song (especially anyone who was actually born and raised in San Jose). As a matter of fact, the idyllic 'small-town San Jose' the lyric described sounded so little like the San Jose I encountered every day as a kid, I had to ask my mom if the song was indeed about "our" San Jose. "Yes," she answered. "Because to people from a big city like LA, San Jose is a small town."
I could kind of understand that, but lines like:
"The only stars
That ever were...
Are parking cars,
And pumping gas..."
sounded so small-time. I mean, those are fine professions, but I hadn't witnessed anyone in San Jose become starstruck at the sight of their local Arco employee. And valet parking in San Jose in the 70s simply didn't exist. I thought the narrative in the song was a little embarassing. By the time Frankie Goes to Hollywood covered "Do You Know the Way.." in the 80s, I didn't want to hear the song at all.
In the early 90s, I began picking up vinyl copies of songs and albums which I remembered from my early childhood. I snatched up a Dionne Warwick collection during that time. With a lot more musical experience under my belt, I gained a fresh new appreciation for the Bacharach/David songs which launched Warwick's career. Bacharach has long been celebrated for his advanced melodic and harmonic gifts, but what I found especially engaging about those early Warwick recordings is the rhythm arrangements and drumming. Bacharach studied percussion (among other instruments) as a youth, and it shows in his orchestrations. Many of the songs that Bacharach co-wrote and arranged for Dionne Warwick have a unique, non-linear drum approach which combines pop, jazz, and classical sensibilities. As an older listener, I found that the distinctive kick-drum figures which appear throughout "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" are just as important as the perfectly placed organ parts and the distinctly Bacharach-ian string and brass charts.
The passing of time also gave me a fresh perspective on Hal David's lyric. I moved to San Francisco in 1986, and though I love it here, there are things about East and South San Jose which I still miss (Berryessa Flea Market, anyone?). Also, themes I couldn't possibly have fathomed as a little boy'the burden of failed dreams, the longing for a simpler life, the nostalgic yearning for "hometown"--were abundantly clear when I listened to "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" as an adult. A lot of Bacharach's music has an underlying melancholic vibe beneath the brisk pop tempos, and David's lyric here achieves an expressive balance between nostalgia and forward-looking hopefulness. The questioning title is itself a complex mix of emotions, evoking both desperation and an upbeat readiness for change.
With much respect to Hal David, I think it's clear that his question is now officially moot. I'm proud to say that these days, everyone knows the way to San Jose.
As for me, I always have. I was born and raised there.
pcm
Purchase:
Windows of the World/Valley of the Dolls Double CD
at Amazon.com
The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits
at Amazon.com
The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection
at Amazon.com