| Antje Duvekot – Pearls Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
This is a really interesting song - it's upbeat, and yet it addresses some pretty weighty issues. From what I gather, it seems to be about the singer's questions about faith and religion. The chorus is clearly a direct question to God as to where He is when the singer has been looking for Him for so long. She expresses her dissatisfaction with organized religion, saying that even when she tried to use religion as a way to get to God, they tried to make her feel bad about herself ("they tried to nail me on Original Sin"). This is clearly an implication of Christianity, suggesting that those who seek answers may be turned off by the suggestion that they are inherently bad. Still, this song has what I consider to be one of Antje's funniest lines: "With all the sand that gets inside this world // We should all be motherfucking pearls" Here she refers laughingly to all the knocks and hard times that everyone faces as part of their life, and likens it to the process of an oyster making a pearl. Oysters produce pearls because an irritant (sand) enters into their shell and, over time, builds up layers which can (under the right conditions) become a pearl. Antje, then, suggests that there is so much bad stuff that happens in our world, that the world should be absolutely full of pearls. It's a wry take on the issue of there being Evil in the world, and whether there is too much evil for a reasonable person to believe in God. What a great song for a freethinker! |
|
| Antje Duvekot – Dandelion Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
I think the "Julia Roberts" line is a figurative reference to someone who is stereotypically "irresistible," at least in a physical attraction sense. Perhaps she is suggesting that the failed relationship that the song describes began as a result of physical attraction, or at least that was a part of it. Also, in concert, Antje has said that she bases most of her songs on her life, so it could be a sly reference to something that actually happened to her. She looks vaguely like Julia Roberts (y'know, not a *lot* but at least a little bit) so it could be something that some boyfriend said about her at some point, so she incorporated it into a song about him. |
|
| Günther & The Sunshine Girls – Ding Dong Song Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
I think everyone so far has overlooked the deeply philosophical meaning of this song. It really has to do with a man who is afraid of intimacy, but craves it at the same time. When he talks about how he wants these things "deep in the night" he refers to the deep, dark nights of his soul when he wishes he could achieve a soulful bond with a woman. Also, when the female voice comes in, it is just a figment of his imagination. That is why she says: "Come near me Don't fear me I just can't get enough of you, boy." The "don't fear me" is his subconscious telling him not to be afraid to seek out what he wants - a meaningful relationship with someone of the opposite sex. ... ... ... Either that or it's a meaningless techno song about a guy who wants to have people touch his little sailor. One or the other. |
|
| Teddy Thompson – Shine So Bright Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
I heard Teddy Thompson do this song live in Central Park and it was great. It's an easy song to misinterpret, though. Some might see it only as a longing for fame and fortune, but its message obviously goes deeper than that to reveal the uglier side of fame. * * * * "I wanna be a huge star That hangs out in hotel bars" // These are just about the only lines that can be seen as positive or neutral about fame. Obviously the person narrating the song is referring to becoming famous enough so that s/he can just hang out anywhere and have people recognize him/her, and have them be drawn to him/her. // I wanna wake up at noon In somebody else's room // This is a more neutral reference to fame - the ability to sleep with anybody one wants to, without having any idea who they are (hence the anonymous "somebody else's room" rather than giving a specific person's name, or even a gender ... this song is meant to be all-inclusive). Waking up at noon suggests the life of a rock star - uncaring and disconnected from the "real world," but also suggests laziness and possibly the undue unfluence of drugs or alcohol. // I wanna shine so bright it hurts // This is probably the best line in the song, because it has two meanings. In one sense, he suggests that he wants to be such a big "star" that the "light" he creates will hurt people to look at him ... this suggests that he wants to be so famous that people will practically be blinded by his persona. However, as we see in the rest of the song, fame is not free from negativity. One can also read this as suggesting that he wants to be famous so badly that he is willing to things that will hurt himself, the way that famous people so often do (drinking, drugs, failed relationships, money problems, etc.). // I wanna be death bed thin Never realize the state I’m in With my head in the clouds And be followed around by crowds // Here he refers to the obviously unhealthy lifestyles that some of the "rich and famous" live - to be "deathbed thin" but without realizing it suggests that one simply cannot perceive that the things that one is doing are harmful. This line doesn't refer only to actually being thin, it refers to all of the things that famous people do which cause them to be unhealthy, even to the point of risking their own deaths. It is unclear whether this is being done in order to be famous (in the case of a rail-thin model or actress who thinks she has to be that way in order to be attractive) or whether it is merely a by-product of fame. Probably either interpretation is valid. "With my head in the clouds" could be a reference to drugs and alcohol, since people who are under the influence are often said to be "in a fog" and unable to perceive things as they normally would. It could also be a reference to the inability to perceive how things actually are for regular people (those who are not famous) since his fame has transformed him so completely that he cannot even remember what it was like to be "normal." "Followed around by crowds" suggests the obvious throngs that famous people attract, but in a very impersonal sense. Note that they're not "fans" or "friends" - they're just a "crowd." This is a very negative, but realistic, way to look at it. // // I wanna be high strung Make people wonder what they've done No one will talk back Cause you'll never know When it might snap // The lyrics don't properly capture the way Teddy sings the first line of this verse, drawing out the word "high", almost certainly to highight the association between drugs and alcohol and fame. However, on a purely textual level, these lines suggest a person who is getting closer and closer to the edge. S/he is snapping at people, making them "wonder what they've done" to deserve the star's wrath. This suggests that the star doesn't even know his/her friends anymore. In fact, the "snap" suggests more than just a person snapping vocally - it implies that the star is on the verge of "snapping" mentally as well, from the substance abuse, and the stress s/he has put on his/her body and mind. // This song is very melancholy, but it provides an interesting counterpoint to many of today's songs which promote a lifestyle of fame-at-all-costs. |
|
| Indigo Girls – Become You Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
"I heard you sing a rebel song Sung it loud and all alone We can't afford the things you say We can't afford the warranty Well I see you walking in the glare Down the county road we share Our southern blood my heresy Damn that old confederacy" // This part of the song seems to take place in the present day, with the singer speaking to someone whom she has encountered promoting the Civil War. (It suggests that the person was singing "a rebel song" but this understanding could obviously be expanded to include the display of the Confederate flag or any numer of other gestures of sympathy. The singer upbraids the person for celebrating a shameful past which she herself shares ("our heresy"). She feels that society can't afford to have the divisions that making such distinctions would cause. // "It took a Long time to Become the thing I am to you And you won't Tear it apart Without a fight Without a heart" // This almost sounds as if it is the voice of the nation speaking both in the present and the past to those who feel similarly to the person described above. Essentially, the argument is that the nation has taken pains to get to where it is today and it won't allow itself to be torn apart -- either in the past, by Civil War or in the present by racial conflicts -- because that would defeat everything that history has been leading to. // "I'm sorry for what you've learned When you feel the tables turned To run so hard in your race Now you found who set the pace The landed aristocracy Exploiting all your enmity All your Daddies fought in vain Leave you with the mark of Cain" // This is a reference to the Civil War itself and the nature of how it was fought. The singer argues the view that it was the wealthy plantation owners who got the poor citizens to fight their war for them, and that it was these poor soldiers who both bore the brunt of the violence and also took the shame of the affair once it was over ("the mark of Cain"). She acknowledges that they did desire to fight the war, but that this desire was cultivated by those in power ("exploiting all your enmity"). // "[chorus] It took a Long time to Become you Become you" // This slight change in the ending of the chorus signals that, although they have been separated out for the purposes of the song, everyone who is a part of the American nation also makes up that nation. The singer acknowledges that it has taken a long time for the nation to become what it is -- to, in a sense, *become* the person being described. // "The center holds so they say It never held too well for me I won't stop short of common ground That vilifies the trodden down I won't stop. The center held the bonded slave For the sake of industry The center held the bloody hand Of the execution man." // The singer implicates not only those who physically fought in the Civil War, but also the nation's insatiable desire for labor which brought slavery to its peak and caused "the execution man" to bring war to the United States. Essentially this is a song of contrition for the Civil War, and the continued passion which many Southerners feel for it, despite the often necessarily racist overtones of such situations. However, it also seeks to find a broader base for why slavery arose at all and spreads the blame not to a geographically unique group of people, or even the descendents of those who fought on the "wrong" side of the Civil War, but instead on those who place the desire for profit above the value of human life and dignity. // |
|
| Pearl Jam – Wishlist Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off // A neutron bomb is a type of nuclear weapon intended primarily to affect human targets ... here he refers to "going off" in the sense of making a big deal and finally being able to show his feelings after a long time of hiding them // I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on // He wants to be associated with the deep, meaningful feelings of allowing oneself to be sacrificed (perhaps for the sake of a loved one) but somehow be allowed to live on and reap the benefits of that sacrifice ... this could also be a reference to Christ, who was said to have sacrificed himself, but have lived on ... perhaps the singer is suggesting that his love is as eternal and everlasting as that of a god // I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on The Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top // He wants to form both the figurehead and the meaningful interior elements in his relationship with the person to whom the song is directed. He doesn't want to be just a flashy lover whose commitment burns out, or just the slow-and-steady admirer whose love fades into the background -- he wants to be everything, whether that is deemed traditionally possible or not. // I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky // This is odd... he seems to use legal/judicial terms "grounds" and "evidence," but then switches to a very concrete image of humanity banding together for a single cause. Perhaps he just intends to create an image of unity, suggesting that his love is so strong that it would be enough to unite millions of people. // I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me // Contrary to what an earlier poster suggested, this is most likely an instance of a "quaint" notion of love coming true in a very real way. For sailors' lovers/wives, it was often very difficult to "wait" for their significant others to return home, since they often received no word from their lovers for months, or sometimes even years. Sailing was a dangerous occupation and death was always a possibility, so it took extra fortitude to remain faithful in the face of this chance. To be on the receiving end of that faith, though, would show just how much the other person loved you, and it might even allow your shared love to expand more. // I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me // He may be trying to turn on its head the idea of a singer hoping for a situation better than the current one, or he may simply be making a poignant statement that the situation in which he finds himself is the best possible one, and so that is the one that he wishes for. He hopes for things to continue to be exactly the way they are, because he believes they cannot get any better. // I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good // Another archaic reference (akin to the earlier sailing lyric) in which messengers could often be in danger if the messages they brought were bad (hence the saying, "don't kill the messenger," because it sometimes happened). He's probably making reference to the fact that he always wants everything between him and his beloved to be positive, and he doesn't even want to consider the possibility of bringing her pain indirectly (since direct pain is out of the question anyway). // I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood // Here he uses vivid imagery to suggest perfection, a sense of adventure, and of momentary satisfaction, all rolled into one. He always hopes to have the perfect finishing touch for the situations he and his beloved find themselves in -- and approach these situations with a sense of fun, daring and freedom. // I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun // This is a very confusing line, because it doesn't seem to refer to love, at least not at first. He could be making reference to wanting to be unique and wonderfully different, and bringing these values to his relationship. Or perhaps he is making reference to his beloved as "the sun" and he as the stranger who is able to find refuge only in her, and nowhere else in creation. // I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on // He could be making a figurative statement about wanting to be in her life as a constant fond memory, or perhaps a more literal suggestion that he would like to be the person with whom she builds her home life, in the sense that he is the center of the home, which is meant to be warm and loving above all other places. Or perhaps it is a combination of both. // I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on // The wording "pedal brake" (and not the reverse, "brake pedal") is strange here, and almost seems to suggest more of a child's bike (with a pedal brake, rather than a handlebar brake) than a car. But in any case, he wants the woman in his life to be able to depend on him not just in the sense of the more flowery language earlier in the song, but also in the sense that she would use him, in a way he is meant to be (and wants to be) used, to keep her from danger... both in an everyday sense, and in an emergency sense. // I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down // He wants to be more than just the things he has already described -- he wants to be the very meaning of the words which she would use to describe him. He wants to be everything that "trust" means. "Never let you down" may also be a sly reference to never wanting to part from her, in the sense that a person in love may sweep the other person off his/her feet, and he wishes never to depart from that sense of love and commitment. // I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish I guess it never stops... // In the studio version of the song that I have, these lyrics fade our quickly and are not heard. It seems strange for him to include any more verses after the last one, since that one seems to be the culmination of all that he wants to be for her -- he wants to be the very definition of what she needs in a relationship. The "radio song" reference, though, is obviously a self-referential line to his being a singer and this being a song, and that he would love for his work (this song, as well as others) to help bring people to the heights described in the lyrics, as well as the fact that he would like to mean as much to his beloved as all the songs she has ever loved. The last two lines are slightly confusing, though, as they seem almost defeatist rather than lovelorn. Perhaps, despite his brilliant use of language, he could be just expressing his inability to use words to fully describe how he feels for his beloved. Or he could be making reference to the fact that no matter how much he tries to describe elements of how he feels, he is never able to fully encompass it ... and yet affirming that describing it does nothing to detract from its deep meaning. // |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.