you’re Wanted Dead Or Alive, but it’s not Black And White or Night & Day – could be Up Down!

Monday has arrived, and it’s still hot everywhere. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but according to the 10-day forecast, it’s going to continue to get hotter later in the week. I’m ready for fall! No wonder it’s my favorite time of year!

Meanwhile, Monday means music! This week’s Monday’s Music Moves Me theme is to “Feature song titles with opposites i.e. black/white, night/day, etc. Get creative, don’t stress it, just have fun! Idea lifted from Debbie at The Dog Lady’s Den.” Let’s get this creative party started!

Let’s start with a song that uses Old West cowboy imagery to describe the lonely life of a rock star. At the time (1984), this band played about 300 shows a year, using the remaining time to work on albums. When it came time to write for their third album, they wrote this song about what they knew: performing to lots of people who all blended together after a while.

This song actually kickstarted the “Unplugged” craze – these guys performed this song at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards with just their acoustic guitars, giving the network the idea for the “Unplugged” series. The video was shot in black-and-white (they didn’t have color TV in the Old West), the band is shown not just performing, but going through the process of traveling from city to city.

Here’s Bon Jovi with “Wanted Dead Or Alive”:

Next up is an up-tempo pop song about a teenage love finds this artist assuring his girlfriend they’ll be together for eternity.

There’ll never be another / I promise that I’ll love you for the rest of my life

He imagines a wedding scenario where he’s wearing a black suit and his girl is in a white dress:

Yeah, I see us in black and white / Crystal clear on a starlit night

The artist had the title for a while and was wondering what he could do with it. He said:

“That’s it, me and you are getting married. I’ve seen it in the movies it looks exactly like this. So I just thought black and white would be like the black suit and white dress and it would become a bit of a wedding song.”

Get ready for some goosebumps, here’s Niall Horan with “Black And White”:

Next up, this group went on hiatus after releasing their 2004 album, but returned in 2014. They specialize in up-tempo party music, and this song fits the bill with Caribbean rhythms and lyrics about having a good time – something that isn’t hard to do in their native Bahamas. The video was shot in the Bahamas with a cast and crew that are all native to the islands. The lead singer said:

“That was one of the songs that compelled us to do the whole album. We re-wrote that track at least three times, and I said, “This just doesn’t feel right.” I took a break from the studio with Dyson [Knight], who’s also a member of the group. We came back and came up with this hook, and I was like, ‘That’s it right there.'”

Get ready to dance, here’s Baha Men with “Night & Day”:

Last, but certainly not least, this song was written by three talented songwriters, one of the songwriters is best friends with the artist who recorded it. He fell in love with the demo’s subject matter about having a good time – seeking advice on whether or not he should record his best buddy’s song, he reached out to the Florida Georgia Line duo to get their advice on whether or not he should record it. He never considered they’d want to add their voices to the tune. He said:

“He was like, ‘Man why don’t we just go ‘head and hop on there, would you be OK with that?’ I said ‘Uh, yeah.’ Kinda in the same light that Luke Bryan did a song with them early in their careers, they said they wanted to pay it forward.”

The chorus’ opening line includes the abbreviation BFE, meaning the middle of nowhere. It originated in the early 1970s as army slang standing for Bumf–k, Egypt, a mythical town that was the epitome of remoteness.

Being from Sneedville, Tennessee, the artist knows all about living in a remote small town and the FGL pair had similar experiences during their upbringing.

“I’m proud I’m from Sneedville, and I definitely consider it BFE. I still have a lot of family over there, so no matter where I go in life I’m always gonna remember those times growing up over there and be proud of that. I know Tyler and [Brian] feel the same way.”

It was the artist’s best buddy songwriter friend who suggested ending the chorus with “we live it up down here”. He said:

“I feel like we put that little twist on there and every time you hear that hook, it means a little something more just because we brought it to a new place. It’s almost a whole lifestyle embodiment of this redneck, good timing guy. We wanted to have a fun song that people would be on a boat drinking beer and want to put this song on.”

Time to ‘live it up down here’, here’s Morgan Wallen featuring Florida Georgia Line with “Up Down”:

That’s a wrap for this week – see you on the dance floor!

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:  

For this new year, the 4M crew is operating a bit differently. If you have a theme idea, submit your request by email. Each person’s suggestion(s) will be credited accordingly – unless someone wants to volunteer for the monthly co-host spot, then we won’t be looking for anyone to fill it in 2023. It’s tough to commit for 4-weeks. The object is to keep things fun!

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and Alana of Ramblin’ with AM!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!

Debbie of The Dog Lady’s Den