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Thursday, September 14, 2006

Names, Tags, Numbers and Labels

Names
I know a man
Who drowns his sorrows in the cheapest booze
He knows he hasn't got that much to lose
Wino

Names
I know a man
Who speaks the language of another class
He sees nothin' in the looking glass
Phony

Names, tags, numbers, labels
Other people teach you what you are
You believe them as a rule
While my name for you is beautiful
Your name for me is fool

Tags
I know a kid
Somehow the ball game doesn't interest him
Isn't this where it all begins?
Sissy

Tags
She's twenty-five
She wants a family and a house to run
Her sister always was the pretty one
Lonely

Names, tags, numbers, labels
Other people teach you what you are
You believe them as a rule
While my name for you is beautiful
Your name for me is fool

Numbers
There's no escape
'cause time will do a number on us all
Your age is scrawled across the office wall
Old man

Labels
You gave me mine
At the time I took it casually
Is that all you really thought of me?
Sucker

Names, tags, numbers, labels
Other people teach you what you are
You believe them as a rule
While my name for you is beautiful
Your name for me is fool

Hm-hm-hm
Names, tags, numbers, hm, labels

~ Names, Tags, Numbers and Labels
by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood ~


Labels - I go to work every day with all another kind of label screaming at me - Dior, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Christian Dior, Prada, Chanel, Bulgari, Chloe, Dunhill, Armani. The building where I work is surrounded by high-end retail opportunities.

Yes, I like the pretty things in life. Yes, I've looked in Tiffany's windows more than once and thought how wonderful to possess one or two of their trinkets. And yes, my spectacle frames are Prada, though I didn't know this until after the lenses were set as the identification is, unusually for Prada, very discreet. When I chose them they met my criteria of: bronze in colour, rectangular in shape and light in weight.

But to spend like some people do on items emblazoned with names that are supposed to represent some sort of exclusivity and indulgence in a world where there are still so many with so little, to me is obscene and more than a little disturbing. Especially when the purchase is made solely in order to display the labels of 'wealth'.

4 comments:

Sunny Delight said...

You have described my mother-in-law, and one of her daughters....my children have such a hard time understanding her sometimes...I finally had to tell them, that granny shows her love with things--expensive things--and money--she just doesn't seem to know any other way. It somehow makes her feel validated I suppose..so sad I think.

Fiona said...

I tend to gift, and gift very generously, but always to complement my love, never to take the place of it. A lot of thought will go into a gift, and a lot of listening too. But labels, no, I do tend to stay away from those. Quality ahead of prestige for me :)

Too many people are like that Sunny, replacing affection with material objects, especially expensive ones. Almost equating the level of affection with the price tag. Makes me shiver just thinking about it.

Great big bustygurlsrulehugs

Anonymous said...

We both know someone like that now dont we! I have never been a label person. I much prefer something from the heart, a handwritten card or something that someone wants me to have because they know I cannot afford it nor would I ever buy it. I love silly cute things that no one would buy for themselves but only someone who has a sense of humor could shop for! My knock off brand walmart shoes serve me just as well as the prestigious brand that costs 5 times as much! I dont know what people are thinking by being material about anything. It's not like having something name brand makes you a better person or gives you some kinda super power!

Fiona said...

Hairy coo toffee!!!!!!

 

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