| O.A.R. – The Wanderer Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| I know about the story Marc wrote and all, but I was listening to this the other day, and it struck me that it could be about the story of the Wandering Jew, who has supposedly been walking the world since he taunted Jesus at the Crucifixion. You know, feet been walking for a thousand years, the bald head, looking for a long lost soul. Maybe not the true meaning or the whole meaning here, but kind of another layer or angle to add depth to the song. I know OAR do get kinda religious sometimes. | |
| Bruce Cockburn – Wondering Where The Lions Are Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I think this song is fairly clear. I like the idea of a "reality trip" that chuckbane said. But, one thing... isn't it "should be the gunman who's thinkin''bout eternity" |
|
| The Verve Pipe – Villains Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think it's more general than that. He starts off by turning up the volume of the (mass marketed) music real loud, and goes on to indulge in more media (the magazine). But he's losing interest, because it's all villians and sexy advertising; twisting and shouting for his attention, but they're hardly worth noticing, so ubiquitous have they become. It's just a headache to him now. | |
| Van Morrison – Alan Watts Blues Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
I happened across this passage in a book (Nature, Man and Woman) by Alan Watts the other day, which I'd say clearly pertains to the song. It is a quote of a poem by Chia Tao called 'Searching for the Hermit in Vain' I asked the boy beneath the pines. He said, "The Master's gone alone Herb-picking somewhere on the mount, Cloud-hidden, whereabouts unknown. I believe this may have been the inspiration for the song, in terms of modern man's search for something more real than the town and the empires that keep turning to rust (all the surface chatter of life). Even when he says he's heading back to town, he states how he know's he'll be back to the countryside again soon. Like the hermit on the mount who cannot be found by the seeker, Morrison is heading off into the depths of the Real. And like the seeker, we cannot expect to find the hermit and recieve our teaching; we too have to venture into the clouds. |
|
| Guster – (Nothing But) Flowers (Talking Heads cover) Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
See the page on the Talking Heads for more info, but I see it as pretty sarcastic. Like, the singer takes the other side of the argument to make his point. On the surface, even though it appears he would rather have factories and dairy queens, he's actually an environmentalist. I guess you'd call it irony? Plus it does show how we're gonna feel when our own excessive way of life ends: memories of microwaves, cars, and discount stores. Deeper, I think it could be about a woman he loved and lost. they built up their relationship, but it wasn't sustainable and it fell apart, or as diggit said, de-evolved. |
|
| Guster – All The Way Up To Heaven Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
I guess it could be drugs, but I doubt it. I mean, you interpret it your own way, we all do, but I think it's more obviously about someone trying to convert him. All the stuff about "down is where we came from" as in, from the "clay" in Genesis that Adam was made of, as well as the Fall of mankind, and how we should be looking up: ahead to better days, ultimately to heaven and our reunion with God. And, "no one get's high on themselves" could be a reference to how supposedly no one gets to heaven but through Jesus; we can't do it ourselves. This is all implied, of course. Still, one gets the definite impression the narrator doesn't buy it, even though he acknowledges his need to not "stay the same I am today". He calls it a fairy tale, and implies, alright, don't get annoyed, he's just trying to be nice to me, since I seem so lonely and sad, and help in the way he knows how. Or, maybe when he says he believes, it's a spoof on religious people. How they generally just get suckered in with tales of hope and everlasting love, and end up depending on their preacher or guru |
|
| Guster – Rainy Day Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
this is the deep despair, the giving up, the no longer caring. you wall yourself away from everything else. I can just see the narrator laying in bed with a blank look on his face, too depressed to even be sad. The best that he had wasn't much, and he's not gonna bother trying to improve or anything. Then even the wall crumbles, and you're just exposed and vulnerable and weak, and it just gets worse and worse. |
|
| Guster – Rocketship Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
could be about christ, never thought of that, but aren't most of Guster Jewish? Anyways, I always figured it was suicide; the part about leaving it on the steps just screams "suicide note" and the hope it would inspire, hope that it's not true, even though it is. In fact, it kinda reminds me of myself a bit, the part about being unkind in that he showed no signs of such depression, and so decides he'd better warn them for what they're going to find at the top of the stairs. I've always been one to keep my feelings inside, to this day I doubt anyone I know knows how I feel sometimes, so I guess I can relate to this. Still, there could be a glimmer of hope in the song. He says "no remedy up ahead" and that could be as true for the would-be-suicide as it is for those he leaves behind. Maybe he'll realize before he does it that it's not a solution. After all, he does say he's scared, and doesn't want to be one of many. Maybe he doesn't want to be a mindless drone, but also maybe he doesn't want to be just another loser suicide. Maybe it's just the optimist in me that sees it that way, tho |
|
| Guster – Jesus On The Radio Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
First, think about the weirdness of the scene: 5 am in march, the sun won't be up for hours, yet they're taking pictures? A long night of partying, or what? But, partying with Christian music/preachers on the radio? It's pretty twisted, right? Anyways, I think it goes like this. Sort of the mellow, hazy end of a long party, or just a long night of hangin out. Someone's on the floor and takes a picture of the narrator up in the bucket seat. In the photo, because of the angle, he's way up high, a weird perspective. The photographer is so low, in both the sense of being on the floor, and of being in a grungy, sort of wasted place. The narrator has moved on such that he doesn't recognize himself in the photo in the man he is today; but the person taking the photo never did, because s/he was: "too low you don't know to get through to go around". He's telling himself not to look back to those days, because they're gone, and he's not the same person he was and can't relate to his still-wasted friend. |
|
| Van Morrison – Into The Mystic Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
I see it as referring to attaining some form of enlightenment. The ocean as a symbol of the One reality that we are all a part of but don't realize. Sailing off into the mystic is like returning home. And, the references to the "girl"... I believe the boat and the girl are synonymous. Her love, THEIR love will bring them to this place. It's beautiful, Love + Mysticism. |
|
| Jimmy Eat World – Sweetness Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
drugs or relationships. Nah, I think this song is deeper and more universal than that. I think it's like he's had a moment of clarity in his life, maybe coming out of a depression or something. The string unwinds, outward to bind, as in, he's not so wrapped up in his self and is reaching out again. Shit, it could even be about spiritual enlightenment. Words losing their meaning is a clue. He's leaving the dizzy-dance world of ego and outward into Life. Spinning free of himself, into sweet uncertainty, where the possibilities are endless. Plus, in India, they say Brahman (God) is playing hide and seek by forgetting his godhood and manifesting himself as the world. the hide and seek game ends for a person when he comes to the realization of this. |
|
| Jack Johnson – Inaudible Melodies Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Just a note on the "plato's cave" line: As someone else said, in Plato's cave, the people were chained facing the wall in the back of the cave, and saw only their shadows. Eventually, one of them got out of his chains, went outside, and saw the real world. When he went back in to tell the others, they wouldn't believe him. (sort of like how no one believed Jesus when he taught of how to be godlike). Anyways, I see this as referencing a movie theater. It's cave-like, and technically, the images are shadows (as the light passes through the colored film). So Jack's talking about how we are indoctrinated by the media (using film as a metaphor for the song). We miss the things "that didn't make the screen" because we're so absorbed in the movie. Also, the editors like Eisenstein chop out parts of the story: we're only getting half the facts, so our ideas are all screwed up. On a deeper level, "Inaudible melodies" refer to the whispering and omnipresent voice of our culture or the status quo, which are subconsciously absorbed by us. Anyone who ever read Daniel Quinn's books would know this as "Mother Culture" So, he's saying to not only slow down and smell the roses, but to actually look around: see the roses, and hopefully not just that, but all the bad stuff too. Don't buy the lie that all is well, because it isn't. But first we have to realize it, then we can change it. Also, that line "we are only what we hate" is amazing. I spent a long time thinking about that, and still do now and then. I guess I'm getting a little spiritual here, but we define ourselves (that is, draw boundaries around ourselves) by denying things. We have to deny things in order to perfer things, to be unique or seperate. I'm not really sure how this fits in to the overall meaning, but I just love how Jack puts in these really deep ideas into his songs. I'm sure it relates somehow but I haven't figured it out yet. |
|
| Dave Matthews Band – Big Eyed Fish Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
It seems depressing, but in a way, it isn't. Like, he says "under the weight of life/things seem brighter on the other side", a common cliche we tell our kids, you know, the grass looks greener on the other side (but it isn't). So, at first you think Dave is saying, kind of, to "know your role" and just accept the crap in your life, because you can't change it. But looking deeper, since the "other side" in the end is death, as far as this song goes ("no way out of life"), he's saying you just have to deal with it, because death is not the better option. It's like he's contemplating suicide, but then realizes that the other side won't benefit him. Life can be hard, there's no way out of that, but looking at these examples, it's the best situation we've got, so quit looking at death as a good option. |
|
| Dave Matthews Band – Christmas Song Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
How can so many of you miss the meaning of this song? It's not hard. It's, as someone said, about Jesus' humanity. It doesn't matter at all what Dave believes, that's not the point. This is about Jesus as a man. He's hanging on the cross, and he sees how it's going to be: crusades, religious wars in his name, and he's saddened by it. He came to shed light, but he's afraid he's only going to cause more blood. And yet for it all, in all the hatred and anger, he's still filled with love. Because love is the only satisfactory answer to anger and hate. And you don't have to believe in God to believe that, which is why it's irrelevant what Dave himself believes. It's also a slam on the religious leaders. Or not a slam, but a reminder. They, like us, like Jesus' own friends, are drinkers, jokers, soul searchers. Searching for love, and sadly end up killing for it (killing even god himself on the cross (and in our hearts)). Lastly, Jesus didn't come to spread a belief or a creed. He came to spread love. This is the spirituality behind the religion. I get the feeling that Dave sees it the same way, it shows in many of his songs. I love this song. All ya need is love |
|
| Creedence Clearwater Revival – Up Around The Bend Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Could be more general than draft dodging, more just about the hippie revolution. The place up ahead is the idealistic future. Leave the sinking ship behind (the current status quo) and come join the movement. | |
| The Allman Brothers Band – Melissa Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Simply my favorite AAB song, besides Jessica. He's a gypsy. A drifter, he's not on the run from anything, except maybe himself. He's searching for something, going coast to coast, everywhere looking, literally or figuratively. He appears not to have any cares, but that's not true; he's actually lost at heart. I think he's struggling with a decision. Melissa is his love, but he's looking for something; he's caught in the crossroads, doesn't know where to go to fill whatever hole it is he feels in his soul. But perhaps she is, in the end, what he wants and needs. The speaker seems to know it, but the Gypsy has yet to realize it. |
|
| Virginia Coalition – Wichita Reprise Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I like the reprise better, because it lasts longer. Best jam on the album. | |
| Virginia Coalition – Nicole's Song Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Yeah, that's pretty obviously what it's about, I agree. Wanted to correct some lyrics. It's supposed to be "Knowing that I COULD love you twice as well as he could" |
|
| Dave Matthews Band – Bartender Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
I agree with most of you. This song is definitely spiritual and very deep (deeper the more you look at it/listen to it). Looking at the symbols, the bartender is God, the cup is his soul, the wine is Life or grace or faith (or the strength that the faithful have). Brother mother and sister could be literal, but more likely that it means everyone, dave doesn't want to be hated or forgotten after he dies. The gold is his fame and fortune, which he was struggling greatly with around the time this song was written (example: http://davematthewsfans.com/dave/davebio.php read towards the end). And not only that, but, though he didn't think about it much when he was young, now all these spiritual questions are stuck in his mind, and he's frustrated because he still has no answers...so he's begging God or whatever might be out there for something, some sort of answer to help him get his life back in order. Because the wine is drinking him, not him drinking it...his life is out of his control. It's only the Judas part that throws me. I keep thinking about how Jesus called himself the vine, from which the wine of life is made. Judas betrayed Jesus, and the guilt over it killed him...it's like he had turned Jesus, the vine of life, into a noose. Dave feels like Judas, with all the money he has he's feeling lost and maybe guilty at how he's living. His life is killing him, his cup (soul) is empty. And he's begging for a refill. |
|
| Dave Matthews – Oh Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Yeah, I have a feeling it's about his dead sister, but I guess it could be about his grandfather too. I don't really know. I think the Lilywhite sessions were all written after his grandpa died and many were about that (which became the basis for the Busted Stuff CD)...so maybe this is another idea from those scrapped songs that he ended up using for his solo CD rather than with the rest of his band. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – Some Devil Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Such a long, lonely time, because even though she's gone (dead or just left him, either way), the love, the memory, truly is "always and forever" and that's his problem. He can't let the angel go, even though she's gone. He'll always love her, even with the pain. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – Dreams of Our Fathers Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
He realized "oh, it's my world too" with the meaning that it's here for him to leave his own mark on. Dave says that, with or without the doubt, this is OUR time, and reinforces it with saying how it's a shame to live the dreams of our fathers...we need to live in our own way, not in the shadow of others, even our loving family/friends. Interesting though, how he says the love he has within him IS the dreams of our fathers. So maybe that's the whole point. That is, not to live a predetermined life laid out by others, but to continue and expand the love we inherit from "our fathers". Take the good, forget the rest. You know, like, in explicit terms your parents may want certain things for you, but implicitly, behind the literal words, is a desire for you to be happy. That's the real "dream of our fathers" And, the "Everyday" album is different, but it's still got the magic. Especially lyrically; musically it has it's ups and downs but Dave still writes amazing songs here. I feel that there's a lot of good to take from this album. I used to hate it but I'm seeing it in a new light lately. |
|
| Paul Simon – Homeless Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
could be about spiritually being lost. we're homeless in our world, just moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake (mere reflections of our true selves). People dying all the time, could be us next time. Saying hello, crying goodbye (birth and death). Hard to say since I don't know what the Zulu parts say. Maybe it was just about an actual event Paul knew of, winds in africa making the villagers homeless. Maybe it's the political turmoil and wars and poverty africa suffers that is the wind killing and making people homeless. |
|
| Paul Simon – Under African Skies Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Paul Simon is a Jew, so I doubt it's about Joseph, Jesus' dad. Definitely could be about the Old Testament Joseph, though. Though, references to that are pretty slim, just the fact that it's an african man with dreams. I really don't know what this song is about, the reference to the baby in arizona leaves me lost, though that verse is beautiful: "wings to fly through harmony"... exquisite. | |
| Simon and Garfunkel – The Boxer Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
I think sebastianquilt has it right. It IS about determination. The fighter is the part of you that doesn't give up on life, even when you're so alone, jobless, and the only love you can find is from the 7th street whores. Life is kicking you around, but you can't change who you are inside, you're a fighter and quitting just isn't part of your psyche. Also, thanks for posting the 4th verse, that seems to confirm it; situations change but inside our true nature doesn't (the fighter still remains). |
|
| Simon and Garfunkel – I Am A Rock Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| The musis is definitely cheery and upbeat. This is what makes me hear the song as being extremely sarcastic. It seems obvious that he knows what he's saying is wrong. He's been hurt but still knows that friendship and love are worth it. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – Warehouse Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I say there is no doubt about this song being about death, it's full of symbols (colors fading, leaving the "warehouse",hopefully to heaven, the whole last stanza). Even the TV spot in the middle is fading (show's over, folks), but to where....? It's not about a bad death, though. The song starts out with one guy, he's afraid of his warehouse (his life), saying he's dying and just hopes to find somehting better than this scary world. But then a second person comes in and says not to throw away his playful beginnings. Keep your eye on the black cat changing colors, because it just shows everything is changing, it's the nature of reality. Then you can live without fear of superstitions, knowing that even death isn't scary. Instead of being dragged around by the current of life, you can swim with the tide. It's important that he's cleaning up the warehouse, even the "walls and halls have disappeared" He's talking about cleaning his soul of all karma/sin until nothing remains. And as he says, nothing seems worth defending anyways, so he'll just slip on to the other side, completeing his journey. And even though he's saying he's not afraid to leave, he also says it's hard to believe "this rhythm could ever quit", he likes staying in his warehouse, tells everyone to "get alive". So even while not fearing death, he's loving life. One of Dave's deepest, best songs. Great music too, him and the band really did a hell of a job on this one. |
|
| Dave Matthews Band – Warehouse Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I agree with the two posters who said it was about "the growth of the soul" and "death". Clearly death is the finale of life, the climax if you will, where the soul "graduates" from this life. I say there is no doubt about this song being about death, it's full of symbols (colors fading, leaving the "warehouse",hopefully to heaven, the whole last stanza). Even the TV spot in the middle is fading (show's over, folks), but to where....? It's not about a bad death, though. The song starts out with one guy, he's afraid of his warehouse (his life), saying he's dying and just hopes to find somehting better than this scary world. But then a second person comes in and says not to throw away his playful beginnings. Keep your eye on the black cat changing colors, because it just shows everything is changing, it's the nature of reality. Then you can live without fear of superstitions, knowing that even death isn't scary. Instead of being dragged around by the current of life, you can swim with the tide. It's important that he's cleaning up the warehouse, even the "walls and halls have disappeared" He's talking about cleaning his soul of all karma/sin until nothing remains. And as he says, nothing seems worth defending anyways, so he'll just slip on to the other side, completeing his journey. And even though he's saying he's not afraid to leave, he also says it's hard to believe "this rhythm could ever quit", he likes staying in his warehouse, tells everyone to "get alive". So even while not fearing death, he's loving life. One of Dave's deepest, best songs. Great music too, him and the band really did a hell of a job on this one. |
|
| Dave Matthews Band – Digging a Ditch Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
^I agree. It could just be, like itsALLprogramMUSIC said, about meditating to get rid of your worries. Meditation is a slow process, step by step, so it's like digging a ditch, a grave, where he can eventually bury his problems (get enlightened). Makes sense, with him saying to turn off the tv and unplug the phone. Or maybe it's more literal, every day we're a day closer to dying: digging a ditch (grave) is what life is, eventually life is over and we die. Dave isn't looking at this as a bad thing, though. His death is his climax of life, the last page in his saga. One thing I have to ask: isn't it "undo your dreaming"? That's how I always heard it, not as "unto" which makes no sense to me. "Undo" makes more sense, since meditation is about undoing your conditioning, stopping the dream and waking up to real life. It's not about suicide though, because he says it's for when he's old. I don't know why it seems like every slightly dark song on this site gets analyzed as being about suicide. People need to lighten up! :) |
|
| Jack Johnson – Situations Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
Fieran, I think you're sorta close, but I don't think it's about religion, specifically. I think it's broader than that. Because, for example, it's not just Catholics who think they know the only way to heaven: every Christian group believes that, so does Islam. Besides, Jack seems to think in broader terms in his songs, I doubt he's singling any one group out. I'd say it's more like this: 1. A peace movement, or a tolerance movement, like civil rights going global. This is new, the idea that we don't have to all conform or that some are better than others. More about acceptance and understanding. Sort of an idealistic view, which it may be too late for. 2. war and anger, the way things always seem to go, controlled by haters and greedy people. Sort of the opposite of number 1, the dark reality. 3. trust in god, mysticism, seen as impractical and fluffy new age ideas, fate, even though they could be our salvation. 4. materialism, which leads to wanting more, greed. I see this as a sort of intro for the next song on the album, setting the mood. |
|
| Widespread Panic – Fishing Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I think this song could have a double meaning. First, on the surface, a spring fishing trip, but since he's talking about inspiration and thoughts and words, I think it's deeper. He's fishing for ideas and inspiration which he can work into his reality: "Strong beliefs/Like ideas come to life/Turn atoms into rain and stone/Sands and tall trees." Narcissis was the god who was so self absorbed he sat looking at his reflection all the time, like most of us sit absorbed in our thoughts. The writer here is saying to look beyond that, to stop and think and talk about it, to reach for real inspiration. Maia, the goddess of spring (the month of May is named after her), represents a new beginning, a rebirth and a growing. Maia is here used to represent inspiration and this higher plane, dancing in illusion and light. Interestingly, in Eastern religions like Hinduism, the world is seen as an illusion, called Maya. There might be a connection. Getting beyond the illusion to see the reality. Dance with Maia and dissolve with her into the light of illusion, that is to say, the light that shows the illusion for what it is. That's my take on it. Pretty deep but with his mythological references, it seems to be speaking of deeper things. |
|
| The Who – Who Are You? Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I agree elftek. Every musician sells out in some way, because they have to sell their music (albums) to make money. Music is a business. Selling it to advertizers is just another way of doing business. But yeah, when you're really just playing FOR the business, not the music or the fans (and it usually shows), that's selling out. Anyways, cool song, my first experience with the awesomeness of The Who. I like the way he describes his crazy drunken night, with the cop and the fighting and then reflecting back on his day. Still, I'm not really sure about the last two verses there, where it seems to switch to a love song. How does that connect with a drunken brawl? |
|
| John Denver – The Eagle And The Hawk Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
That's cool how the song had real personal meaning for you. For me, it is like an anthem, telling me to reach for what I could be and not settle for things as they are. The second part really resonates with me, makes me want to live free. It seems so many people just settle for a mediocre life, this song really seems to shout it out to me that I can do better. I love John Denver, may he rest in peace, but his songs forever live on. They seem more important now than ever before. |
|
| Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| The mark of a great poem (or poet for that matter) is that it can be applied in a wide range of situations. This is a multilayerd song, in my view. There's the Christian aspect (the deepest level as it deals with God), but there is also the social aspect, with the princes in their castle, drinking wine, having women and servants, ruling and exploiting the poor. The theif and joker are discussing this situation, and at the end, with the scream of a wildcat, come to make war on the stronghold of the rulers (protest and social change). That's how I usually view the song, though having read the posts, the religious meaning makes sense too. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – So Much to Say Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I agree to the gist of what people are saying here. We walk the same trails over and over, not talking about things other than superficialities like the weather. Dave implores "open up my head and let me out", open his mind, let him walk a new path, get into the real meat of life. He thinks it's so sad how a baby cries for a year until they are finally able to talk, only to be stifled again by "society". His hell is the closet, no he doesn't mean being gay, he means being stuck in a little box. He wants to fly high in the sky, stop living the same old lives, doing what others do because that's how its done. Do your own thing, live your life, have REAL experiences. It's such a hopeful song, I love it. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – The Space Between Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I see this totally different from everyone else. The singer/narrator is god, who has been forgotten by mankind. God can't be quit so easily, can't be squeezed in a corner, but we do it anyways. We waste time talking about god without really knowing him, praying for rain in words, but never truly feeling god in their lives. The rain falls as god's tears, falling into the heart of humankind. Both sides feel anguish, and humans act out in this anguish with lies, war...spinning out of control like a roller coaster. We are totally out of balance, balance that can only be found in God. God can wait (the space is filled with time) but hopes "we don't take this ship down" by destroying everything. Read the lyrics with this in mind, it makes sense. I think the video supports this. Remember all the factories in the distance spewing smoke, and the almost heavenly light of the sky? Everyone is in the video, child and adult, people from every race. I think this song is much deeper than just a love song. Dave is saying we need to search inwards, find god in ourselves and the world, and come together. "Take my hand, cuz we're walking out of here. Love is all we need here." We need to walk with (not under) god, with (not above) other people. Peace and unity. |
|
| Dispatch – Lightning Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I think biscuits4 is pretty close, at least, I see it similar to s/he does. The lines about losing vision influences me in this thinking. We've built a grimy city, with smooth talking dealers smoking cigs, people getting high only wanting to get higher (maybe with drugs, but also with any material thing, we're addicted to the idea of "more"). Also, the marionettes on Washington Square...I don't know if that's a more specific place, but one could say it represents Washington DC, and all the leaders are nothing but puppets to their greed and desires, but supposedly "real bone and blood" (sarcasm). Or, conversely, they're only acting like they care about the public, but it's all a big act, they really only care about themselves. Then he diverts to a more natural setting, with horses running from thunder, and the human setting of a loved pet buried in a garden. This is real, but it's ruined by the emptiness on the radio (and tv, and modern life in general), and it's almost like the only thing there is to look forward to is when we'll be gone, dead. |
|
| Dispatch – Questioned Apocalypse Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Seems to be that he's realizing his view of things was small (my world a bubble), and "she" came along and enlightened him to bigger things. And he isn't the only one in a bubble, it's everyone (my brother's was too)~ his brother is everyone, humanity. His brother sees what has happened to the narrator and says "why have you poisoned my brother's cup" but the narrator knows he has been shown his bliss, and someday so too will his brother. | |
| Jack Johnson – What's Man Without His Wealth Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I think the blueprints are DNA, for cloning. The ridiculousness of the idea, who other than humankind would go to all the trouble of cloning when it's so much simpler to just have a baby the NATURAL way. Only a human with all his wealth could be so stupid. We drive cars, going to all the trouble, when we could just walk. A lightbulb full of anger...maybe because so much of our electricity depends on oil and natural gas, and we fight wars over it. We have enough light from the sun, but we fight wars for a little bulb. Such a monumental waste of time. That will be what humanity is going to be known for. We work so hard to have what we could have had so easily otherwise. A very sarcastic song... |
|
| Dispatch – Headlights Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
Yeah, definitely about death. Leaving our shoes behind, crossing the water (the river Styx, perhaps?). The cold wind of the night air, and the smoke from the crash are mentioned, and he moves from shadow (either night, or the shadow-world that is life) and goes to a shelter (heaven, place of light?). "The door is open, come inside" might be God saying come on into heaven. I get a very morbid sense from this song... |
|
| Dispatch – Open Up Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I'd say it's about oppression of the law. It is unable to determine innnocence "how are we to know that you are not a liar?" and just goes out arresting and killing people. They base it off something written in some law book and don't look at the reality of things, criminals are based on "the higher man's tounge". He smiles when the rope's around his neck...this is a bit of hope in an otherwise depressing song, because he knows that even though he'll die, he'll be a martyr. No injustice can ever stand, and his death will become the symbol in the cause for justice. He won't return, but he knows his death will change things. Incidentally, I see the opening lines "...when I came too...when I came back" as the guy coming down from being high, and now has to deal with the cops. My first impression was that it was about the stupidity of the Drug War which imprisons so many for non-criminal actions. Really, being a drug offender makes you a political criminal (against the higher man). Just an idea, I really think the song reaches farther than just drugs and applies to all police/legal injustice (including slavery and mexican deportation). |
|
| O.A.R. – About Mr. Brown Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I think it's about hypocracy more than just conservatives. Like, Mr Brown tries to set up laws for his daughter, but she disobeys and does her thing. He disapproves of what his brother did, so he chases him out...but man, it's his brother, you can't turn your back on him like that. It pisses his bro off, who chases him with a knife, angry and rejected, and maybe vengeful of his brother's hypocricy. And then, Mr Brown is asked what he does when no one's looking at him, when the parade is canceled. He wants the show to go his way, but it never can, because we all have our own lives to lead, and Mr Brown isn't perfect either. Yet he tries to act high and mighty, putting his will on others. |
|
| O.A.R. – King Of The Thing Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| What are you talking about, it's depressing? Hell no, the song is so upbeat it isn't even funny. He's talking about enlightenement, finding himself. He's decided to stop trying so hard and just relax, because it comes easier that way anyways "the more you try to find yourself the more you tend to hide." He's "loosening his grip" and "conferring with the wise" and "losing himself on the riverways of days" Taoists talk about the Tao as being like water, flowing. Going with the flow is common to many religions anyways. He finds it's easier to go with the flow than to struggle to live up to some ideal, and finds that the ideal is acheived in letting it go. Amazing song... | |
| Dave Matthews Band – You Never Know (Busted Stuff version) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Sort of starts out talking about meditation, finding peace within: "sitting still as a stone, watching...breathing just to breathe" He's saying not to let your troubled thoughts control you, find some inner peace and live your life, because we'll be dead someday...this is our only shot. We need to slow down, stop rushing, just sit down and look around at whats there. God is in everything but we're too busy with our little petty issues to see him walking by (in the form of the world). Find that childlike wonder, of the moon following us, laying there looking at the stars, simply walking in the woods. The world is so beautiful and no one takes enough time to notice. If we lived in the moment, we'd find peace, and any day would be a good day to die, because we'd have no regrets for things done, or things not yet done. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – Two Step Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
It has to do with reproduction "climb on two by two, to be sure these days continue" because we are mortal, and the only way for life to go on is to have kids. Yet at the same time, we should enjoy our time "celebrate we will, because life is short but sweet for certain". Life, though short and finite, is a wonderful gift to be enjoyed. We can't change our mortality, but we can keep life alive, conviniently, through sex. I think dave uses the "two by two" reference to tie in religion too, making it a far reaching and deep-digging song. Noah's ark can be seen as a metaphor, the ark being life, and the flood death, the ark only occupies a small space in the vastness of death, but is where all the life is. The Ark must have males and females to continue the life, because we are all mortal. So, you have our mortality playing against the zest for life (best expressed with references to love). |
|
| Dave Matthews Band – Too Much Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| It's about America (or maybe the West in general) and their global appetite for commodities, especially oil (lots of cars in traffic jams, going over my borders, coming into your country...we have a huge appetite for oil), which keeps on growing. We suck it up, it's cheap, and we want more more more. We invade countries and destroy cities (under the guise of moral causes) to get what we want, but we're really just being overindulgent, greedy, eating and drinking too much at the expense of everyone else. | |
| Dave Matthews Band – Ants Marching Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
I don't think it's about drugs, but I guess everyone can see what they want in a song. I see it, like most others have said, the numbing repetition of our daily lives. Doing the same thing everyday, not telling each other how we feel, dreaming of being young when life was more vibrant. Now we scurry around like ants, driving too and fro, alone in our cars and our worlds, isolated from contact. It's quite sarcastic, "take these chances, place them in a box until a quieter time, lights down you up and die" he's talking about how stupid it is not to live in the moment, how useless it is to not act when opprotunity knocks, because before you know it you're out of time, dead. The candyman, I see as the way we are lulled into this life, people telling us to buy their product, lose weight, live to "the standard" which is really not important. Dave is saying the advertizments and the pressure to live a certain way (and thus not take your chances as they come) is folly. We sit on the fence and thus never really live. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.