This song was written March 2012 by Tom Penick. It is about the idea that a person's name, if the name has a meaning, can influence the path that person takes through life through the power of suggestion. The concept is called nominative determinism. For example, our drummer's name is Jeff Pounds. Besides pounding the drums, he also pounds nails--he is a carpenter.
The person named Garnet, mentioned in the song, is someone I know but her favorite color is actually purple, not garnet. But those lyrics are what came into my head. Garnet (the person) actually does fit the idea of the song but it is her last name that fits the pattern, not her first name.
The passage "One name that is known, And another all his own" refers to the idea of giving a child a first name and a middle name, one of them being a common name and the other being a unique name. That way he or she has the choice of whether to blend in with a name that their peers won't make fun of or use the unique name if they want to stand apart from the crowd.
And if that name means something
Does it speak to you?
Does it offer you a clue
As to what you should think or do?
So is it any wonder that someone
Could find themselves under the spell
Of What's in a name?
Of What's in a name
The color garnet is her name
And the color that she loves
Garnet stones and garnet clothes
It's the color that she wears
Cast your eyes about the room
It's the color that she loves
A garnet pillow, a parasol
A touch of garnet everywhere
What's in a name
That can take us down the road of destiny
To what we may love and who we might be?
So here comes the babe
And the child will need a name
One name that is known
And another all his own
This time the time it's time
To take the time and make it count
From this day forward
It's the path that will be drawn
What's in a name, your name
Is it what you want to see
Or is it who you're gonna be?
What's in a name
What's in a name
What's in a name
What's in a name