Piek
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D.S. is the shortest song title Michael Jackson ever wrote: just two letters. But it's a complex title nonetheless – with several ways to interpret it.
Let's start with the obvious. D.S. is an abbreviation for Dom Sheldon – the name used in the song. Or should I say: the name printed in the lyrics. It's not the name Michael is singing; we can clearly hear him sing 'Thom Sneddon' and 'Thomas Sneddon'. Then why change the name in print?
Probably, Michael got advise from his attorneys not to use the name 'Thomas Sneddon'. May be they considered this to be a risk for the album. Imagine Sneddon trying to get the album off the shelves because of slander. By printing a different name in the lyrics, they could have tried to prevent this from happening. Proof for this reasoning might be that the lyrics were printed in the HIStory booklet... whereas most songs didn't have their lyrics printed. Only Earth Song and Childhood had the same honour – two cornerstones of the album, both with a message that was crucial to Michael: Earth Song appealed to his humanitarian efforts, Childhood was a highly personal, highly autobiographical song. D.S. being the third and last song to get its lyrics printed, is curious. There must have been a special reason to do so.
But that's not where it stops. There is more to the title D.S.. Why is Michael using an abbreviation at all? That's an odd choice for a song title. The song could also be named Dom Sheldon or Cold Man. Why did he chose that abbreviation?
If D.S. just means 'Dom Sheldon', there is not really a reason to abbreviate it. Unless there is another meaning to it. So what does D.S. mean?
Remarkably, D.S. is an abbreviation in music notation. It stands for 'Dal segno'. D.S. appears in sheet music and instructs a musician to repeat a passage. Now look at the lyrics of D.S., especially the part after the bridge:
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Is someone repeating, or what? It's probably the most repetitive song Michael wrote. D.S., meaning 'Dal segno', is a perfect title.
But may be there is even more to these two letters. D.S. could also refer to D/s, which is an abbreviation for Dominance and submission – terms from the world of BDSM. It could make sense: Michael declaring himself Dominant, and dominating his tormenter. When I first heard the song, this reference came to mind, but then I discarded the connection – I thought it didn't fit Michael.
However, when I attended a HIStory concert, I was surprised to hear Michael perform D.S. – and I was even more surprised how he styled the performance. All dancers are wearing BDSM gear: leather masks, belts, chains, and so on. Michael is directing them physically, grabbing them and focussing their attention on something. Notice how the dancers deliberately stay low when they are next to Michael. Even the taller dancers bend their knees to keep lower than Michael. Michael is the dominant, they are the submissives. There is no other interpretation to this performance: D.S. also means D/s.
Isn't that impressive? D.S. is a song title with just two letters, but it tells a lot. Two letters are enough for Michael to tell over and over again that he dominates this character 'Dom Sheldon'. Two letters tell us that er is only one thing to repeat: Dom Sheldon is a sub.
You could also say: two letters are enough to tell about song structure, to tell about a theme of dominance and to safeguard song and album for legal implications. What a title!
Watch D.S. live:
[video=youtube;Bf5ntoOsiZ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5ntoOsiZ4[/video]
Let's start with the obvious. D.S. is an abbreviation for Dom Sheldon – the name used in the song. Or should I say: the name printed in the lyrics. It's not the name Michael is singing; we can clearly hear him sing 'Thom Sneddon' and 'Thomas Sneddon'. Then why change the name in print?
Probably, Michael got advise from his attorneys not to use the name 'Thomas Sneddon'. May be they considered this to be a risk for the album. Imagine Sneddon trying to get the album off the shelves because of slander. By printing a different name in the lyrics, they could have tried to prevent this from happening. Proof for this reasoning might be that the lyrics were printed in the HIStory booklet... whereas most songs didn't have their lyrics printed. Only Earth Song and Childhood had the same honour – two cornerstones of the album, both with a message that was crucial to Michael: Earth Song appealed to his humanitarian efforts, Childhood was a highly personal, highly autobiographical song. D.S. being the third and last song to get its lyrics printed, is curious. There must have been a special reason to do so.
But that's not where it stops. There is more to the title D.S.. Why is Michael using an abbreviation at all? That's an odd choice for a song title. The song could also be named Dom Sheldon or Cold Man. Why did he chose that abbreviation?
If D.S. just means 'Dom Sheldon', there is not really a reason to abbreviate it. Unless there is another meaning to it. So what does D.S. mean?
Remarkably, D.S. is an abbreviation in music notation. It stands for 'Dal segno'. D.S. appears in sheet music and instructs a musician to repeat a passage. Now look at the lyrics of D.S., especially the part after the bridge:
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom S. Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Is someone repeating, or what? It's probably the most repetitive song Michael wrote. D.S., meaning 'Dal segno', is a perfect title.
But may be there is even more to these two letters. D.S. could also refer to D/s, which is an abbreviation for Dominance and submission – terms from the world of BDSM. It could make sense: Michael declaring himself Dominant, and dominating his tormenter. When I first heard the song, this reference came to mind, but then I discarded the connection – I thought it didn't fit Michael.
However, when I attended a HIStory concert, I was surprised to hear Michael perform D.S. – and I was even more surprised how he styled the performance. All dancers are wearing BDSM gear: leather masks, belts, chains, and so on. Michael is directing them physically, grabbing them and focussing their attention on something. Notice how the dancers deliberately stay low when they are next to Michael. Even the taller dancers bend their knees to keep lower than Michael. Michael is the dominant, they are the submissives. There is no other interpretation to this performance: D.S. also means D/s.
Isn't that impressive? D.S. is a song title with just two letters, but it tells a lot. Two letters are enough for Michael to tell over and over again that he dominates this character 'Dom Sheldon'. Two letters tell us that er is only one thing to repeat: Dom Sheldon is a sub.
You could also say: two letters are enough to tell about song structure, to tell about a theme of dominance and to safeguard song and album for legal implications. What a title!
Watch D.S. live:
[video=youtube;Bf5ntoOsiZ4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5ntoOsiZ4[/video]
