Although we’ll always defend the ’80s as a monumental decade in music history, it’s fair to say that there are many hits from that era that don’t hold up well. Then there’s Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry,” which sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did when it was first released in 1985.
What is the song about? What inspired Aimee Mann, Til Tuesday’s lead singer and songwriter, to write it, and how did the song’s memorable video contribute to its success? Shut up, shut up, now, so we can tell you the story of “Voices Carry.” Shut up, shut up, now, so we can tell you the story of “Voices Carry.
Til Tuesday has a feeling
“Even Tuesday is always lumped in with other ’80s wonders that had one hit, but that was never fair. For example, they reached the Top 40 again with “What About Love,” the lead single from their second album (Welcome Home) in 1986. It also minimizes all that Aimee Mann did as a solo artist, becoming one of the most popular singer-songwriters of her time.
But the label still stands because “Voices Carry” was an interesting song when it arrived in 1985. “Until Tuesday was formed a few years ago in the Boston area.” They got a big break when they won a local battle of the bands on a radio station, which set the wheels in motion for them to sign with a major label (Epic Records).
Mann wrote the lyrics to all of Til Tuesday’s songs, while she and the rest of the band (Robert Holmes, Joey Pesci, and Michael Houseman) composed the music. Houseman and Mann ended their romance around the time they released their first album, which served as the source of many of Mann’s recorded lyrics. But not (at least not directly) the title track and the hack.
Hear “Voices”
Aimee Mann explained to Conan O’Brien the origins of “carrying voices”:
“I wrote it about a friend of mine – a male friend – who was talking about a relationship where the girl didn’t want to be affectionate with him in public, like, ‘Keep your voice down, don’t tell people that we’re ‘re-exiting. The reason I related to this story is because of my history.
Mann flipped the text around a bit, painting a picture of a girl held at arm’s length by her emotionally rigid boyfriend. She wonders if he’s hiding the reasons why he wants her to remain silent about her feelings.
The song’s iconic video added another layer of meaning. In this clip, Mann suffers verbal abuse at the hands of a rude person. She retaliates by singing at the top of her lungs at a show, shocking a high-society audience with her appearance and demeanor.
Behind the lyrics of “Voices of Endurance”
“Voices Carry” shows that even though she was just starting out as a recording artist, Mann’s ability to create a soundtrack was already there. The narrator finds herself caught between: I’m in the dark, I’d like to read his thoughts / But I’m afraid of the things I might find. Her efforts to approach him are rebuffed by constantly silencing her: Shut up, shut up, be quiet now / Voices carry.
Mann hints at a bad mood awaiting her character if she speaks: Because I know all the trouble I’m going to get into.. She can’t express herself: Oh, tell me tears are something to be hidden and something to be feared.. In the middle of the eight, she finally admitted to herself that he is only happy with her when he holds her back: He wants me, but only part of the time / He wants me if he can keep me in line.
In the final moments of the song (which the video heavily utilizes), this man’s advice becomes even more blunt: He said shut up, he said shut up / God, can’t you shut him up? “Voices Carry,” released on Tuesday, ended up being an anthem of empowerment by highlighting all the sinister ways some people might try to silence that power.
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Photo by Michael Ochs/Getty Images