The Payola$: Where is this Love?
Reflection and Song Analysis
TRIGGER WARNING: The song analyzed deals with the topic of child abuse.
Before my family moved to Canada from the US, I loved popular music. The weekly countdown show American Top 40 was my religion and Casey Kasem my high priest. He would run through each of the top songs and tell feel-good stories about the artists. In the late 70s and early 80s, light rock, disco, sweet soul, and country love songs dominated the charts. At the end of the show, after the “Number 1 Hit in the Land” was played, Casey Kasem would always remind me to, “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.” I was a believer.
When I arrived in Canada, my cousin opened my eyes to new wave music by introducing me to bands like XTC, The Clash, Split Enz, U2, Simple Minds, Big Country, The Jam, Adam and the Ants, and their precursors like The Kinks and The Ramones. Before I knew it, I was addicted to this new sound and I’d left my Casey Kasem and the Top 40 behind me. I liked all the bands but did not feel like a fan of any of them. Then, along came a band called the Payola$.
The Payola$ started off as a Vancouver-based punk band. The founding members were Paul Hyde and Bob Rock. They’d attended high school together in Victoria, British Columbia and spent all their money and free time collecting records and playing in local bands. As the years passed, Bob Rock got a job working at Little Mountain Studio in Vancouver and was part of the production team that produced Loverboy’s self-titled debut album, which became a huge global hit. Later Rock went on to produce classic albums like Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet, Metallica’s The Black Album, and most of Michael Bublé’s recordings. Rock used his studio knowledge to create a demo tape for the Payola$, and they got signed.
In Canada, radio stations were required to play a certain percentage of Canadian music on their stations. To many young people, the Canadian Content laws were an example of too much state intervention, and they complained of having to listen to Canadian music when they could just be listening to American pop music like everyone else. However, as the years progressed, more Canadian musical acts started to appear and more interest in Canadian music blossomed. Canadian musical acts started to enter, and at times, dominate the global stage, including: Bryan Adams, Rush, Sarah McLaughan, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne. Although The Payola$ were only popular in Canada, they benefitted from CanCon regulations. And as a music fan, so did I.
Not long after I arrived, I heard the song Romance and my ears were piqued. But it wasn’t until I heard the song Where is this Love? (Hammer on a Drum) that I realized how legit The Payola$ were.
Where is this Love was not like any other song I’d ever heard on the radio because it dealt squarely with the topic of child abuse, painting a brutal portrait of what it is really like to be an abused child.
In the song, Paul Hyde introduces us to a young man who is trying to escape domestic violence caused by his alcoholic father. When the boy is at home, he and is brothers and sisters get beaten each time their father returns home from a night out. Taking his personal safety into his own hands, the boy moves onto the streets to shiver in the cold and driving rain and fight for survival.
Where is this Love (Hammar on a Drum), The Payola$
He could run like a tiger anywhere when he felt like everything was alright
Walk tall like a roman emperor like a cockatoo on his own
Away from the lights of homeIn the room with his brothers and sisters
He didn’t sleep at night kept his ears open for a key in the front doorHe’s home again, he’s drunk again he’s bouncing off the walls again
A fist comes down like a hammer on a drum
A hammer on a drum(Chorus)
Where is this love that will open the doors?
Where is this love to make me cry out for more?
Where is this love that comes from above?
Where is this love?He’d fight like a soldier with the kids on the street
When he knew he couldn’t talk it outWalk proud like a man in space like a king
When he dreamed of living in a different placeHe’d soar like an eagle on the hill
Where he went when he ran from the raging stormHe couldn’t think at school couldn’t take the pain
He cried out for love but no one cameJust the sound of thunder like a hammer on a drum
Chorus
He’d shiver like a runaway in the wind when the day turned grey
With the fear of night
He just keeps on running through the driving rainHe’s home again, he’s drunk again
A fist falls down like a hammer on a drum
A hammer on a drumChorus
Paul Hyde says he got the inspiration to write this song after meeting a young fan backstage at a concert in Los Angeles. Vancouver, however, has no shortage of homeless people because it is the city where everyone who is jobless, lost, or searching for something better eventually makes their way. Since housing prices are extremely high, many of these searchers remain homeless. Throughout his career, Paul Hyde has written many songs that give humanity to working poor and homeless people.
The Payola$ and Paul Hyde aided me in my understanding of social issues and for this I feel indebted.
Copyright ©2024 Paul Davidson. All Rights Reserved.