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Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

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Dee
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by Dee »

Thank you so much for your insightful post, siblis.
"A last will and testament"...I hadn't thought of this song in that way, and I agree with you.

Thinking back on Randy's post ("first of all he says I love my wife and my kids, and all my loved ones, and that is most important to me") and now your post and others' posts here, this song seems to be a perfect summary for what Glen has possibly found to be most important in his life after years of "compromising on the road to my horizon."

Also, there is truth in what Shelia and Mike hit on about the line, they never defined who I am in terms of his music genre. His music couldn't be easily categorized. Glen often described a song that he recorded as simply "a Glen Campbell song".


siblis
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by siblis »

Dee.....According to James Keach & Kim, Glen was in stages 2-4 while filming "I'll be me" Documentary, I am thinking that he was in Stage 5 when he recorded "I'm not gonna miss you" & to me it's Glen's last will & testament in that song & he knew it.......he left us with a GREAT song full of what the man is......L.I.F.E.


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Dee
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by Dee »

Thanks everyone for your posts. I really enjoyed this discussion, too.
I just don't have the words to explain how I feel about this last song.
In the doc, "I'll Be Me", Bruce Springsteen describes Glen's voice as "pure tone"; "simple on the surface but a world of emotion underneath".
That's how I feel about this song....it's very simple on the surface.
But, underneath the simple lyrics sung with Glen's careful phrasing, clear enunciation, and seasoned, somewhat strained voice, I feel it has a world of emotion underlying it.
It seems that Julian and Glen have made the seemingly simple expression of "I'm not gonna miss you" into something extraordinary that makes one think about what is important in life, love and memories, and also the effects of Alzheimer's--its bittersweet salvation in terms of memories lost.
It's a most unusual love song.
I'm Not Gonna Miss You might be Glen's most "true" song in his songbook. What do you think?
There's something, too, that is expressed by the steady, repetitive sounds of the chord progressions on the piano; it gives me a feeling of the inevitable: time moving forward until its conclusion.


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Cowpoke
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by Cowpoke »

Thanks Siblis, Shelia, Randy and Mike for your comments. Actually, all your explanations of that line "they (or it) never defined who I am" make sense to me. So now, listening to the song again, it doesn't seem out of place at all to me. In a way, that line relates to the title of the documentary as well. I'll Be Me indicates that Glen and his family wanted him to be himself, despite of this disease that robs you exactly of that, your own identity. So the song is also saying, even though I don't play my guitar anymore or sing my songs, I still am who I am. But you're right, Shelia and Mike, long before Glen became sick, he was impossible to define, because he was so versatile and never limited himself to a certain musical style. Which I think also caused music critics to take him less seriously than they should have. They always like to pigeonhole artists. Thanks again for your comments. Who will come up with a new Discussion of the Week topic? Any ideas?


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Mike Joyce
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by Mike Joyce »

I think I would have to agree with you Cowpoke. I wasn't too impressed with the song on first listen, but with the images and after a a few more listens it does grow on you. Perhaps we are out of step with what younger people are listening too and enjoy. Still I am glad to have this track and it has a lot of poignancy and will be a great way for Glen to finish if it goes high in the charts. I must say I did enjoy Ashley's home again and in a way it feels like the baton was being passed to the next generation and this was in some way a comfort that at least the talent Glen possessed hasn't been totally silenced.
My take on the line "They never defined who I am " on initial hearing was that Glen was never fully appreciated for his versatility. It struck me that when people delve into his history,they always seemed amazed to learn about his work with the Wrecking crew, Beach Boys etc. Glen even mentioned in his book the he was pleased to include "The impossible dream" on his album as this showed his versatility( perhaps even then felt that some were trying to keep him in the Country music pigeon hole). I also remember Glen talking to the audience on the Festival Hall broadcast about the Conductor asking if his show was going to be just country music. I guess many still have this perception even now.


Randy
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by Randy »

Seems odd but yet......I think that that first of all he says I love my wife and my kids, and all my loved ones, and that is most important to me.


shelia6673
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by shelia6673 »

I think never defined who I am relates to how multi talented he is. No one can ever say he's a country preformer, no one can say he's
a pop, rock n roller he's just so multi facated performer. I remember back early on someone ask Glen what kind of music does he
perform and he said "people music" I do music that people enjoy and I think that sums it up pretty well. When an entertainer can perform
all over the world and enjoy each one as Glen h :) :) as enjoyed this for so many years that is an entertainer with his "people music"


siblis
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Re: Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by siblis »

What does he mean with "They never defined who I am"? And why is that line in this song? It seems out of place. Guess I'm dumb... ....................I think what Glen is trying to say is that there was more to him than being a great singer/Guitar player.......perhaps his Faith & strong, strong belief in Jesus Christ is what defind him.


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Cowpoke
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Discussion of the Week: I'm Not Gonna Miss You

Post by Cowpoke »

Hi everybody,

I am curious to hear your thoughts about Glen's I'm Not Gonna Miss You. We have been reading many reviews from others, but what do YOU think about it?
I can tell you that the first time I heard the song I was .... disappointed. To me the song sounded like an outtake of Ghost on the Canvas. Sonically, it's very similar to "The Rest Is Silence/There's No Me Without You". The slow rhythm, the Brian Wilson-like backing vocals, the prominent Beatles-like drum sound, Glen's vocals processed through some filters (I much rather hear Glen's pure voice). Julian's melodies for Glen were always pretty basic, but in this case, the melody sounded just plain boring. And I had been hoping for some Wrecking Crew feel, because in the movie Glen recorded this with his old Wrecking Crew pals. But I didn't hear anything like that. Was this really Hal Blaine on drums? It sounded like the drumming on Ghost. (It turned that the released version of the song was indeed not the one recorded with Hal Blaine, Joe Osborne and Don Randi; will it ever be released?). I thought the whole song was a coda to a coda. It was Ghost on the Canvas all over again, but just not as good. I also thought it could never become a hit.

Well... I was wrong at least about one thing. It did become a hit! I must also add that I listened to the song before the video came out. Now, when I watch the video, of course I am moved by the images, they are heartbreaking. And the THOUGHT that this is Glen's last recorded song is heartbreaking too. But what about the song itself? I must admit I have grown to appreciate a few things about it.

First of all, there is Glen's voice. His phrasing is still very much intact, he sings the song perfectly. Glen, even when he was firmly in the grip of that dreadful disease, was still able to give you goosebumps with his voice.

Then the lyrics. They are simple too, but so effective. Musically, it's not a country song, but in the lyrical approach, it is. Making a personal experience become a universal one.

There is one thing I don't understand though. When Glen sings...

I don't play guitar or sing my songs.
They never defined who I am
The man that loves you till the end

What does he mean with "They never defined who I am"? And why is that line in this song? It seems out of place. Guess I'm dumb... :)

But the music itself? I still have my doubts. So.... I am hoping that the full soundtrack album, if it gets released, will at least contain one more song from Glen, pure and simple, like Ashley's version of Home Again.


I'm a carefree, range ridin', driftin' cowpoke...
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