Who Is He
And What Is He To You
Bill Wither’s song has been swirling through my mind since last Thursday. So, it has to mean something. Who Is He (And What Is He To You). The song’s about a man seeing signs that his significant other could be cheating on him (but isn’t sure). He’s going on his “intuition.”
There are more than a few cover versions of the song. Some with genders changed (Who Is She, And What Is She to You).
A man we passed just tried to stare me down
And when I looked at you
You looked at the groundI don’t know who he is
But I think that you do
Dadgummit
Who is he, and what is he to you— Stan McKenney & Bill Withers
Here, adding photographs to the words. Having spent a lot of time in the streets of the city capturing the vibes, I wanted the lyrics to be a jumping off point for a reimagined story. I thought to present a less accusatory narrative using the photographs along with the lyrics. The lyrics are skillful in their accusation. With a magnanimous spirit, I set about this update to the story and a reworded title. Who Are They (And What Are They To You).
Something in my heart and in your eye
Tells me he’s not someone just passing by
And when you cleared your throat
Was that your cue
Dadgummit
Who is he, and what is he to you— Stan McKenney & Bill Withers
The lyrics are what they are. Without photographs, imagination is unfettered. Once added, the photographs offer a different dimension to the story. Rooting the story to a definitive place and time. A revised sensibility is created. Asking viewers to take time and consider who the people are, and what they mean to them. If the answer is they mean “nothing,” I beg to differ. Binary thinking dispenses with the righteous nuances needed to balance in the human condition. Critical thinking’s required. Seeing someone else as a valued emotional person (even in context of a song), brings about a rational voice that avoids stereotyping and effortless fictional categorizations.
Coincidentally, while drafting this article the song played on a live radio broadcast I was streaming.
Now when I add the sum of you and me
I get confused when I keep coming up with three
You’re too much for one man
But not enough for two
Dadgummit
Who is he and what is he to you— Stan McKenney & Bill Withers
The combination of fictional lyrics with the factual representation of photographs challenges our ways of drawing a conclusion without at least some of the facts. Hopefully all the facts. We’re literally in the middle of seeing how “alternative facts” are affecting our everyday lives. Realize and enjoy the fictional, fully live reality.
Well, you tell me men don’t have much intuition
Is that what you really thinking girl
Or are you wishing
Before you wreck your old home
And search for another newDadgummit
Who is he, and what is he to you— Stan McKenney & Bill Withers
Stories are told to take us to places we’ve not been. Though we may have gone through similar experiences, no two experiences are quite the same. Our approaches to believing stories will not necessarily be one size fits all. Pragmatism and nuance may be required to productively rationalize what it is we’re seeing. So, I guess this article is supposed to dispense with one’s lofty imagination, replace it with an objective kind of imaginative mindset that has room to spare for fun and thoughtful stories.
I’m going more from the heart than the brain in using these photographs. Part logic, part humorous references that made sense in my head as I was writing (using specific photos for particular verses). They may take on totally different meanings for each one of you. The relationships between the words and the photographs may not initially even make sense. Meditate. Give it time to creatively germinate in you.
↓ Two versions of the song. Original, and cover ↓
Gladys Knight & the Pips, Who is she (and what is she to you)
Wishing you well until next time…
I've often thought when looking at your 50+ years of photos that you and I are brothers from different mothers. This sentence proves it:
"So, I guess this article is supposed to dispense with one’s lofty imagination, replace it with an objective kind of imaginative mindset that has room to spare for fun and thoughtful stories."
Umbeknownst to you (I assume), I'm drafting a piece on this very subject: a call to photographers to stretch their right brains and "react" to their own photos with the fictional, imagined, poetic, lyrical. I'm trying it now, getting outside my own head long enough to reimagine what I captured. Aside from the dopamine hit it can give me, it stretches my vision, gives me a new perspective on an old capture.
I've noticed you getting philosophical at times with your sequences. We need to shake things up, don't we? Keep doing it, I say. You've got a million stories waiting to bec unveiled in those negative sleeves and right brain of yours.
Cheers to you too Kenneth and Happy Holiday. I totally agree with what you wrote. Just didn't think that deeply about what I've been photographing for many years. Good to take time to learn. It's one of the things I appreciate about Substack. And your approach