| Mark Knopfler – Everybody Pays Lyrics | 3 months ago |
|
A year before this, Mark broke six ribs and a collarbone in a crash while riding his motorbike in London. "I got shot off my horse, so what? I'm up again". And he foresaw it in his Dire Straits days, in a song called News (Communique album) |
|
| Pulp – Dishes Lyrics | 6 months ago |
|
Agree, it's lovely. The melancholy on this song, and also A Little Soul, gets me every time. Loads of references to the God-man Jesus here: -'The same initials' -Thirty three is thought to be Jesus' age when he suffered death for us and came out the other side -One of the most famous of his miracles was turning water into wine -Bearing a cross is what he told his followers that they all must do, as well as doing it himself And if you like, there's the references to earth and heaven, story-telling (the parables) and light ('I am the Light of the World'). But maybe I'm pushing a bit too hard here. I agree with others that this is mainly about Jarvis' getting to the prime of his life and realising that it's mostly quite ordinary, but goodness is still possible in unspectacular ways. |
|
| Pulp – She's A Lady Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| Everything about Pulp in a single track. Superlative. | |
| Dire Straits – News Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| This song turned out to be scarily prescient: in March 2003 Mark himself 'made a line in the news' (I remember hearing it) when he took it over the top, almost dying in a biking accident in London. A later song of his, Everybody Pays, begins: 'I got shot off my horse, so what? I'm up again". | |
| Joan Osborne – St. Teresa Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
A contradictory fusion of drugginess (bad) and sprituality (sometimes bad, sometimes all-surpassing). The result: transcendent. Thank you Joan. |
|
| Joan Osborne – Pensacola Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Thanks for your response, it's good to reconsider my first impression of this story. The line 'Back To 1963' does seem to suggest someone who has been devout for quite some time, and (sadly) spirituality often does not go with a successful family life, or even kindness towards our fellow humans. One of the interesting things about this man is that he seems to be hiding away from the world, and his poverty may be either the cause or the result of this. I have to agree with you, however, that it can't safely be said that the life of poverty is his own choice. | |
| Simon and Garfunkel – Slip Slidin' Away Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
I am interested in the answers to two questions about this (brilliant) song: 1) Is it the story of one single family? (passion --> marital stagnation --> alienation) 2) How much is autibiographical? I've always felt that verse three must be. Please let me have your thoughts... |
|
| Simon and Garfunkel – Slip Slidin' Away Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
I am interested in the answers to two questions about this (brilliant) song: 1) Is it the story of one single family? (passion --> marital stagnation --> alienation) 2) How much is autibiographical? I've always felt that verse three must be. Please let me have your thoughts... |
|
| The Divine Comedy – Festive Road Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Benn -for anyone too young to need enlightening |
|
| The Killers – Just Another Girl Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
Sorry to say, this analysis doesn't really match with what the lyrics actually say. True Brandon is a securely married man, but this characters in this song are freshly split ( 'it wasn't meant to be' etc.). I've been puzzling the 'put down the gloves' line for a while -it clearly refers to boxing gloves i.e the ending of hostilities. At first I thought that the two men had been in conflict with each other, but the fight has actually been between the man and the woman, so putting down the gloves means that they have finally given up on the conflict-ridden relationship and separated. This implies that the break up was a traumatic one, and recent enough that Little Brother hasn't even heard about it yet. That adds a rawness to the emotion of the man for whom there is no substitute for this one woman. Plus the singer is now dealing with the loss of a friendship along with his inabillity to 'move on' from the girl, AND alienation from his remaining friends who can't or won't see it from his point of view. Considering how God-awful the lyrics to some of my favourite Killers songs are, this is right up there as a break-up song. |
|
| Jarvis Cocker – From Auschwitz to Ipswich Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Eels – Not Ready Yet Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Eels – Not Ready Yet Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Pulp – Like A Friend Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I can't think of any music video that I love more than the video for this song. | |
| Pulp – Inside Susan Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
Only to say that it looks as though this is a girl Jarvis new as a teenager -he's the tall boy in glasses who got off with her friend. Can anyone think of any other songwriter who makes a passing reference to him/her-self in a song about someone else?! |
|
| Alicia Keys – Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
Ermm, it's auto-erotic isn't it? Otherwise, what does "find a way to make it without you tonight" mean? |
|
| The Killers – Human Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
My take on this: 1) It's deliberately cryptic 2) I love the fact that it's 'dancer' singular, though I can't easily explain why this works so much better than the plural would. 3) The fundamental question being asked is "what is our species?" 4) (and this is the main thing I want to say) Let's be honest, we don't listen to the Killers for the lyrics, we listen because they are the most talented musicians working in Indie music these days, bar none. It's all about the sound. |
|
| Talking Heads – Stay Up Late Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Way to interpret a song! There is definitely something in there about using another person for amusement instead of looking out for his needs (just a hint of cruelty), and the man-woman metaphor is not a bad theory. | |
| Talking Heads – Walk It Down Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
It seems kind of Orwellian to me. People say that there's no way to beat the system but I say don't lose hope. -I think that's the message. This was one of the first pop songs I remember enjoying. |
|
| Jeff Buckley – Corpus Christi Carol Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
With due respect, mycroft45, all you have to do is listen. He is clearly singing "holt", not "hall". How can this be? a word that is not instantly recognisable to us in the 21st century. Well, since we have established that this is a piece of medieval verse, why not open a new window and find out what "holt" might actually mean? It's a grove or copse. |
|
| Paul Simon – Think Too Much (B) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I love the way he gets into a discussion with himself bout whether or not he thinks too much. Hmmm. | |
| Paul Simon – American Tune Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
The tune is a flagrant rip-off but you can't really criticise when it's set to such aching lines. This was played on a London radio station on September 12th 2001 and nearly made me cry. |
|
| Paul Simon – Allergies Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
Not the best song on this (sadly overlooked) album, but lyrically enjoyable anyway. I think this is P.S. dealing with a problem in his life by making fun of it. Merits comparison with The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count (Divine Comedy) |
|
| Paul Simon – A Church Is Burning Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I see this as a song of victory (albeit victory at a cost). Even the fire, the chosen instrument of violence, speaks out in defiance of oppression and ignorance. | |
| Paul Simon – 59th Street Bridge Song Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| What does P.S. know anyway? This song crystallises a mood perfectly, which (it could be argued) is just as valid as what he achieves in his deeper songs (see Hearts and Bones) | |
| The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
If the robots are evil by nature then they shouldn't need to be programmed before destroying people should they? Gotta love the bunny suits and giant hands though... |
|
| INXS – By My Side Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I reckon this one is their best... | |
| INXS – Guns In The Sky Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| A noisy song with quite subtle ambivalence about the way things are going... | |
| Pulp – Mis-Shapes Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Oh yes definitely about class war, since the middle/upper classes are well known underachieve at school and spend all their time in town centres buying lottery tickets and smacking proletarians in the mouth. Unless you think Jarvis considers himself middle class?! |
|
| Pulp – She's A Lady Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Wow, yes it does sound like I Will Survive. Gotta love the emotional intensity -the man's feelings seeming to drive events, and the song, forward. | |
| Madness – My Girl Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Written straight out of real life, apparently. | |
| Madness – Uncle Sam Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| No one else rates this?? | |
| Madness – Bed And Breakfast Man Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Five stars from me too. In fact, to me this is the quintessential Madness track, in spite of not being a single. Effective simplicity, Madness's trademark |
|
| Madness – 4am Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
I can't help noticing the names of the protagonists, which are the same as in Waterloo Sunset. A simple tale this, works pretty well. |
|
| Madness – 4am Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
I can't help noticing the names of the protagonists, which are the same as in Waterloo Sunset. A simple tale this, works pretty well. |
|
| Matchbox Twenty – The Burn Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Umm, I think it's "for the sake of our sanities". Could be wrong though. |
|
| Matchbox Twenty – Last Beautiful Girl Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
It's probably just saying that she's done this to countless other guys before. I like the wit in amongst the self-pity of this song. He's finally ready to dismiss her from his life, hence 'everyone else's girl'. |
|
| Matchbox Twenty – Black and White People Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Hands up who thinks it's about race issues... | |
| Levellers – The Boatman Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| The intro is great for dancing to in your bedroom... | |
| Levellers – The Player Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Verse two -awesome. | |
| Levellers – Saturday To Sunday Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| A highlight of the Zeitgeist album, if you ask me. Evocative+++ | |
| Levellers – One Way Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Dangerous stuff, got to love it. -a circled A is the symbol of anarchy in case there's anyone who doesn't already know. |
|
| Levellers – Maid Of The River Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Hitmeister I suggest you get Levelling the Land; almost every song on it outclasses this one by a long way. (Sorry VicarInATutu) |
|
| Levellers – Just The One Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
"you had a laugh, or so you think, but in the morning you just stink." -that's you that is. A song in favour of self-control; quite scarce in pop music, no? |
|
| Levellers – Julie Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Yes, the Levellers generally are direct, but even so it took me quite a while to work out what "blackened spoons" was referring to. Maybe I'm just too sheltered... Julie hates but Julies loves. |
|
| Levellers – Is This Art? Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| One of the best opening couplets to any song -well done that poet... | |
| Levellers – Exodus Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I don't know the details, but Exodus is/was a "dance and housing" collective (in Luton) that fell foul of the law over raving and/or squatting. | |
| Levellers – Burford Stomp Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
I have never heard this song, but look what I found on a webpage about Burford: In May 1649 at the end of the English Civil War, 340 of the Levellers were rounded up and imprisoned in Burford Church by Cromwell and his men. Carvings from the incarcerated soldiers and the bullet holes of the three executed ring leaders can still be seen to this day. |
|
| Levellers – Belaruse Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This is definitely about the Chernobyl accident-forgotten until next time. | |
| Levellers – Beautiful Day Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
"in my all powerful mind" -this is someone dreaming of revolution (plus drinking with Errol FLynn and getting it on with Audrey Hepburn). It is GueVara in verse 2 -possibly the most famous revolutionary in history. Is the bit about paper bags an acknowledgement that revolution will not really make people's lives better, much as we may want it? |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.