"All of This and Nothing" is a series of weekly posts, each about one song I really love, by an artist I haven't featured in the previous This Year, Portions For Foxes, or Better Things series. It alternates between Obscure and Famous songs; feel free to argue either way if you're so inclined. See the introduction for more.
Nothing particularly fancy this week - no deep personal meaning, no lyrics that mean something entirely different than they seem. Just a straightforward rock song, loud and strong and wonderful, by a band with twenty years of history when they hit this point and more than that since then.
It charted; I think it was decently known at the time. But, fifteen years later, I'm comfortable counting it on the Obscure side of the list for this year.
This week's song is Deny All by the Dutch band Bettie Serveert. It's in English, and the singer was originally American, but the lyrics have that odd obscure quality that makes me think that they can understand and speak English but maybe don't think in English, that metaphors and turns of phrase and ideas are being subtly translated as they go.
You've got to make a choice, that's your life
How many times did it pass you by?
Grab it by the throat, grab it while you can
Don't say that you don't understand
I'll admit I'm not entirely sure what's being denied here - well, all of it, of course, but what does that mean? But I don't care: this song rocks, it's evocative and powerful, and that's more than enough.
Deny all (if you cut it like that)
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