Irma Thomas, "Wish Someone Would Care"

I mentioned this unsettling soul ballad in an online discussion once along with my opinion that it might be the saddest song of all. I thought I'd write a little more about it, after I listened to it again several times as I travelled to work.

Irma Thomas (not to be confused with Carla Thomas, no relation) was a soul singer of the '60's and '70's who made a specialty of world-weariness and raw emotion. The original version of "Time Is On My Side," adopted by the Rolling Stones, is hers, as well as "Ruler Of My Heart," which Otis Redding rewrote slightly as "Pain In My Heart."

Thomas' lyrics for "Wish Someone Would Care" come from the point of view of someone who has "made it" - this is not "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out," it's more like, "Nobody Knows You, EVER." Even as she acknowledges her success, she gets no satisfaction from it: there is something profoundly missing - someone who would care. The song's form is disarmingly simple - short into, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, fade. The 6/8 soul ballad time is punctuated by bold, dynamic drum flourishes and deep, slugging rhythm from the electric bass. The sound is filled out by deep tolling bells, giving the backing an extra depth and subtly drawing on the line, "Time - time waits for no one" in the lyric.

But what makes this song go is Irma Thomas' penetrating vocal delivery. From the opening wordless wail, her suppleness and power soar above the rich backing track. The way she hits the word "smiles" - almost contemptuously, but still with longing and regret, as if she doubts she will ever smile again - is a great moment. Her breathless delivery of "all, all of your trials" wrings soul from a somewhat trite line. And her direct appeal during the fade - "Don't you think someone should care?" - is peevish, accusatory, heartbroken.

I watched a movie a while ago, "Family Man," whose premise is parallel to that of "Wish Someone Would Care." Jack Campbell (played by Nicolas Cage) has wealth and confidence, foxy girlfriends, and, as we meet him, he is on the verge of a huge business deal. In a sort of inside-out adaptation of "It's A Wonderful Life," he is sent into an alternate reality - where he has trouble paying his bills, but he has not forsaken the love of his life, Kate (Tea Leoni) in order to gain success. The film does a fair job of portraying the aggravation of a life with limited financial resources. The chemistry between Leoni and Cage lends believability to his excitement about restarting his life, this time with her.

But "Family Man" doesn't do two important things in my view - it never really convinces us that Jack's emotionally empty "real" life dissatisfies him. In fact, it is his profession of just how satisfied he is with it, which triggers his alternate-reality trip. Also missing is a full portrayal of the satisfaction Jack gets from his "alternate," family-based life. He looks like he is enjoying the hot flashes of his love life with Kate, but the attraction the rest of it holds for him is less clear.

I think "Wish Someone Would Care" could have punched this film up a bit, had it been on the soundtrack. The song's depth might have deepened the portrayal of success as empty without someone to share your success with, and could have deglamorized Jack's empty fun.

I think many people question what riches they have in the bank, and what they have in their hearts. This is an (the?) eternal question, of course. Certainly Irma Thomas' song and this film are part of a long tradition of art based on this question. I found "Wish Someone Would Care" deeply affecting when I first heard it, but now that I have been around the block a few times, thinking about such questions myself, it resonates much more.

The track "Wish Someone Would Care" is available on "Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Volume 3," several other Various Artists compilations, and on at least one Irma Thomas greatest hits collection, "Time Is On My Side Plus." The entire "Dave Godin's Deep Soul" series (4 CD's, on Ace) is highly recommended. Godin's rationale for showcasing the music he calls 'deep soul' is that this music is an evolution beyond pop music into mature themes, adult situations, real relationships, true moods. With "Wish Someone Would Care" he illustrates his point in full, and there are plenty more treasures on the four discs.