| Elliott Smith – Between the Bars Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I’m impressed at the fervor involved in the debate here, but there is a lot of faulty analysis going on. Here are a couple of mistakes being made: 1) Do not assume that this song is addressing a female. The song’s only reference to its central figure is ‘baby,’ which is a gender-neutral term of affection. 2) Just because this song was written by Elliot Smith, do not assume that it was meant to be addressed to or from him directly. The sentiments of the lyrics are those of the song’s narrator, not its author. 3) Elliot Smith has said that he liked to write songs while watching tv. Perhaps it was partially a defense mechanism used to deflect serious analysis, but he never made any apologies for this casual, take-it-or-leave-it approach to his career. I don’t imagine that many of his songs were conceptually planned out beforehand; that wasn’t his style. Before writing this song, I’d doubt that Elliot said, ‘I think I’ll write a dark romantic metaphor about alcoholism, and it’s going to have two distinctly different interpretations.’ His style was much more visceral and subtle. Elliot loved to pour his guts out, but I don’t think he cared much about our interpretation of their composition. He wasn’t really a ‘songmeanings.net’ kind of guy. That being said, of course ‘Between the Bars’ is about the effects of alcohol, and of course it revisits Smith’s favorite themes: emotional deficiencies and the corrupted capability for love. Alcohol makes promises to cure the emotional ailments of the song’s central character (say what you will about Smith’s inside knowledge about the lure of drug use; you’d probably be right). As usual, this central character is addressed with the second person pronoun, so the song is addressing/accusing the listener: ‘you.’ ‘Between the Bars’ addresses a character who is fundamentally guilty: “there with your hands in the air waiting to finally be caught.” But guilty of what? The implication is that this character lacks the strength to cope with an inability to accept or change his/her own flaws. ‘People you’ve been before’ are your previous impressions of yourself, they are the ‘images stuck in your head.’ Clearly, this character does not like those old ideas of self, and he/she is trying to drown them in alcohol because they ‘push and shove and won’t bend to your will.’ Alcohol promises to keep them still. |
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| Linkin Park – Crawling Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Oh, also, Faith No More is the best band in the history of music for all time, ever. Period. Ever. | |
| Linkin Park – Crawling Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Boo hoo, my mom grounded me, I'm confused and crawling in my skin, some he-said she-said bullshit, etc. This band writes vague, whiny songs that are all generic teen angst. | |
| Faith No More – Epic Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| The biggest mistake that any Faith No More fan can make is to demand that any of their songs be 'about' anything. Patton has said that he often chooses words based on the way they sound, not what they mean. The result is an enigmatic song like this one. It functions as an enigmatic pastiche of images, ideas, dialogue, and satire. It's supposed to be fun. If you want a band with clear 'meanings,' listen to a band like Linkin Park: every song is about how the guy's mom grounded him, he's trapped and confused, life sucks, etc. Faith No More is so much more subtle and playful, which is why they are the best band of all time, ever, period, end of argument. | |
| Faith No More – Stripsearch Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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First of all, 'F for Fake' is a reference to an Orson Welles film called 'F is for Fake'. What an unusual FNM song! It deviates from the aggressive recklessness that permeated their career. And of course, like all of their songs, it's not 'about' anything. It's an enigmatic pastiche of emotions, accusals, and imagery. |
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| Faith No More – Caffeine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| The biggest mistake that any Faith No More fan can make is to demand that any of their songs be 'about' anything. Patton has said that he often chooses words based on the way they sound, not what they mean. The result is an enigmatic song like this one. It functions as an enigmatic pastiche of images, ideas, dialogue, and satire. If you want a band with clear 'meanings,' listen to a band like Linkin Park: every song is about how the guy's mom grounded him, he's trapped and confused, life sucks, etc. Faith No More is so much more subtle and playful, which is why they are the best band of all time, ever, period, end of argument. | |
| Elliott Smith – Alameda Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This song is a perfect example of Smith's trademark bittersweet style. The song is gorgeous and ethereal in delivery, but the lyrics are brutal and scathing. Elliot adresses the listener by writing in the second person perspective - all of his accusations are directed at 'you.' This line is probably cruelest: "how you maintain all (your friends) in a constant state of suspense / for your own protection over their affection." It implies that an entire personality could be nothing more than a gimmick. It suggests that someone might be so insecure that they would utilize friendship as a scam. Elliot was very good at finding our worst flaws and exaggerating them. It must have been an awfully heavy cross to bear. "If you can't get rid of the skeletons in your closet, you'd best teach them to dance." -George Bernard Shaw |
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