| Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Since I have read 'Into The Wild', this song definitely makes sense to me... Alexander, our older brother Set out for a great adventure This talks about his great trip to Alaska He tore our images out of his pictures He scratched our names out of all his letters I think here it's referring to his parents - since he had a lot of angst towards them, so he kind of 'erased' them from his memory. It's also him erasing everyone he knew from university, high school, etc. from his mind. Our mother should have just named you Laika! Laika - the dog who traveled to space. I think they are saying he should have been named Laika, because both of them went on an adventure, and both their lives ended tragically (they both died). It's kind of said in tragedy, how he lived such a short life and somehow 'wasted' it. Come on Alex, you can do it Come on Alex, there's nothing to it If you want something, don't ask for nothing If you want nothing, don't ask for something Here I think they're talking about Chris/Alex not knowing what he wants. He wants to find 'something' (the great meaning of life) by going on this adventure, yet he is asking for nothing. And when he goes asking for nothing, he is expecting 'something' to gain out of the experience, and you can't have nothing and something at the same time. Because as we see, he later died because of this belief. I think this is talking about the extreme and stubborn person he was. He thought in a very black and white way, where there was no compromise. If he believed in something, he believed it all the way. Our mother should have just named you Laika! It's for your own good It's for the neighborhood I think they are saying it's 'for his own good' and 'for the neighborhood' to call him Laika, because then he would really be able to reflect upon himself for a second and to see who he really is (a person who would end up a victim because of his choices). Our older brother bit by a vampire For a year we caught his tears in a cup And now we're going to make him drink it Come on Alex, don't die or dry up Here I think they are meaning that 'bit by a vampire' refers to the way Alex/Chris died (of poisoning). And by saying they are going to make him drink his tears, it's referring to the pain he experienced before his death, and how he literally had to taste his death everyday. When daddy comes home you always start a fight So the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights The police disco lights Now the neighbors can dance Look at them dance Here it's talking about Alex/Chris's short temper, and his angst towards his feather. The police refers to the abuse and arguments in his house. Yeah, I think they are saying Alex made foolish choices, and that's why he died. But in a way they are applauding him for being different. I believe his character really fascinated them and that's why they wrote a song about him in the first place. |
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| Arcade Fire – Sprawl I (Flatland) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Ok, I'll just analyze this bit by bit... Took a drive into the sprawl To find the house where we used to stay I couldn't read the number in the dark You said "let's save it for another day" Here I believe he is going into his old neighborhood (suburb) to find where he used to live, and he couldn't even recognize his own house even though it was something he truly anticipated, and another person who doesn't seem sentimental about the situation says "let's save it for another day", like it doesn't really matter if they ever see it again or not. I took a drive into the sprawl To find the places we used to play It was the loneliest day of my life You're talking at me, but I'm still far away Again, connecting to the roots of his past. He goes to all the places he remembered as a child, but when he hears the other person's voice, he feels far away and disconnected from those memories - as if he doesn't belong there at all. Let's take a drive through the sprawl Through these towns they built to change And then you said "The emotions are dead" It's no wonder that you feel so estranged Here he is driving through places he knew from the past, but they have all been obliterated and replaced by 'changes', and he doesn't feel 'at home' even though he feels like he should. And the other person points out that "the emotions are dead" (meaning that the place has been so changed, there is no value to it whatsoever), and it seems the narrator is in a sort of denial. He really does want to belong there, but deep inside he knows that it's true - the emotions are dead... He barely knows where he is, and he does, indeed, feel 'estranged'. Cops showing their lights On the reflectors of our bikes Said "Do you kids know what time it is?" Well, sir, it's the first time I felt like something is mine Like I have something to give By saying "it's the first time I felt like something is mine" I think he is speaking about his neighborhood, and about his supposed 'home'. And I believe he is saying "like I have something to give", not because he wants to contribute in any way, but because he feels like he has to 'give' his home/neighborhood back, because it's really not his. He really craves a place where he can call "home", but he really can't find it as much as he wants to. The last defender of the sprawl Said "Well, where do you kids live?" Well, sir, if you only knew what the answer's worth Been searching every corner of the earth... This is very powerful in my opinion... Here the man is asking where they live, and he explains that he has been searching for his true home everywhere, yet he has not yet found it. Therefore, he is technically not living anywhere. He has no permanent 'home'. I believe the message of this song is that there shouldn't be a stereotype on what a home should be. Because a lot of times in movies/songs/etc., it shows people trying to find themselves by going back to their roots and their childhood. Any place could potentially be a home, but then again, no place truly is a home. Maybe he is trying to imply that a home is the people you are with, and not the place. Because a land or a house will never fill the 'void' of not knowing where you belong. If you really are surrounded by people you care about, a home can be found anywhere. It's also a song about change - nothing ever stays the same. Sometimes you stay the same, but the place changes. Sometimes the place stays the same, but you change, and sometimes both you and the place change. This is definitely (in my opinion) the best song on 'The Suburbs'... It's so powerful in a way I can't even describe. |
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