My dad, Wallace Berman, played music on his portable turntable in his studio, and The Fortunes' "You've Got Your Troubles" is one of the songs that he played over and over again. When he played a record and loved it, that means it can be played 10 or 12 times in one sitting. My job, as a child, was to make sure to pick up the needle at the end of the song and start it over again. At the time, it was a song that seemed sad to me. The melody always caught me in a very reflective state of mind. As a child and one who tends to play by himself, I often had time for quiet meditation, which was always backed by a record.
The trumpet played in such a manner, like in this song, always seems like someone is crying. The singer lost his love that day. Nothing is good. Here the singer wants sympathy, but he comes across another one in the dumps. Misery loves company. The brilliant part is the reframe where another voice comes in and sings over the vocal of the one who is suffering, and comments "And so forgive me if I seem unkind/I ain't got no pity for you." As a grown-up, I realize that this song is about self-pity, and is making a humorous statement of sorts.
The beauty of this song, written by Greenaway and Cook, is that it is both a song of romantic despair as well as making fun of one who allows themselves to be in such a state, and not imagines anyone else feeling that similar type of romantic angst. The duality, now as an adult, appeals to my sensibility. As a child or teenager, the song always spoke to me as being in the bottom of a well, and just hearing my voice echoing among the walls. "You've Got Your Troubles" is an amazing song and a superb recording by The Fortunes. Not sure if it meant to be ironic, but the very name of the band seems to mock the song's sentiment as well.
