| Seal – Kiss From A Rose Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Your eyes widen, and your pupils dilate, whenever you see something you're attracted to. It's unconscious behavior that is a classic and certain sign of attraction, and if you've ever been on a successful date you might have noticed it. I don't know how many times I can say it. This is not a song about drugs. It just references drugs because it's an easy metaphor about addiction, an addiction which love can create. To say this song is about drugs just because it contains drug references is like saying Nine Inch Nails' "The Perfect Drug" or Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" are about drugs. (Clue: They're not.) |
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| Bob Seger – Still The Same Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Posted from http://www.segerfile.com/stranger.html "Still the Same" Charted at #4. Seger: "It's an amalgamation of characters I met when I first went to Hollywood. All Type A personalities...It was another great reason to base out of Michigan." Gary Graff, October 1994, Detroit Free Press. "Bob Seger Tells The Stories Behind The Hits." Seger describes "Still the Same" as "a good song, but so medium." Seger says Capitol picked it as the single, Capitol says Bob and Punch picked it. Author? August 1978. Magazine? Seger: "The person that I'm singing about...they're just very charismatic, but they have tremendous faults, but part of the appeal is the charisma. You overlook everything because of the charisma. That's a gift and a curse. I was actually writing about several people that I had met throughout my lifetime..." Interview on Later with Bob Costas. |
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| Hooverphonic – Vinegar & Salt Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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In summary: This is a song about a lover whose honesty is a wedge between him and the singer. Thematic elements: When something is a "church," it is an unassailable dogma, a sanctuary into which one retreats. "Vinegar" is a black liquid, often used to evoke bitterness. (Because she refers to vinegar and oil, the vinegar here is balsamic vinegar). "Salt" is a crystallized solid, often used as an evocation of reality. "Oil" is a clear and slick liquid, often used in reference to something that doesn't mix well. "I don't dare to ask why" is in direct contrast to her earlier statement that "sometimes it's better to lie." Analysis: On one hand, she respects that his honesty removes or "dissolves" much of her inherent bitterness and crystalized views. On the other hand, hearing the truth also hurts. It especially hurts when her lover points out, honestly, that their interests are different. Even though they may be touching, they aren't mixing. She thinks it's okay to lie at times in order to connect, or mix, well with others. The fact that he doesn't lie scares her. But she doesn't dare to ask him why he doesn't lie, because the -honest- answer may be that he doesn't really want to mix with her. |
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| Seal – Kiss From A Rose Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Seal would have to be horribly unimaginative to mean for this song be a "drug" song. Seal isn't horribly unimaginative. (The bare mention of "addiction" or "high" does not a drug song make. Have English or Literature classes stopped teaching about metaphors?) |
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| Seal – Kiss From A Rose Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Seal would have to be horribly unimaginative to mean for this song be a "drug" song. Seal isn't horribly unimaginative. (The bare mention of "addiction" or "high" does not a drug song make. Have English or Literature classes stopped teaching about metaphors?) |
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| Bob Seger – Still The Same Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Errata: Full meaning = inherent meaning + artist's external comments + listener's subjective meanings. "or why the friend walked away" should be changed to "or why the singer walked away." |
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| Bob Seger – Still The Same Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Understanding, not appreciation, was my goal. On a superficial level, yes, this song is about the "casino-style" gambling of a friend. Just as on a superficial level, "Against the Wind" is about running. After some mild digging, we realize this song is about the friend himself. The singer sounds like he's praising the friend. But if we dig further into the words chosen, if we look harder at the tonal changes in context, it's all but clear that the singer's praise is satirical and pitying. Bob Seger doesn't deliver a single wasted word in this song. "Still The Same" is ambiguous only to the extent that it is too rich for -everyone- to take the time to break it apart. People are free to enjoy "Still The Same" at whatever level they choose. When I was younger, I just enjoyed the simple combination of piano & drums. The purpose of this site, however, is to analyze each song and to develop its -full- meaning. A visitor to this site implicitly accepts that his song interpretation may be only part of that full meaning. If you want to add to that full meaning by imparting how the song affects you, I'm not stopping you. Part of any song's meaning is the subjective reaction of each listener. Your subjective meaning is not wrong. Nevertheless, A song's inherent meaning is only that which can be derived from the music itself. The inherent meaning will explain every single word and tone of the song. The "song is about gambling" interpretation doesn't explain the character exposition. The "comfort" interpretation doesn't explain the odd "still aim high" tonal change, or why the friend walked away. The song's -inherent- meaning extends to a certain point and then stops. The point at which that inherent meaning stops may be short of a visitor's subjective meaning, or may go beyond the visitor's subjective meaning. Here, the song's inherent extends past gambling. It extends past praise or comfort. It extends past those areas into the realm of satire, pity, and resignation--and then stops. ------------------------------- Nowadays, when I hear this song, I think of an old girlfriend of mine. But that's my subjective meaning that I -add- to the song. It's not what the song really means, it's just what it means to me. It's inherent meaning is, pardon the pun, still the same. |
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| Bob Seger – Still The Same Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Hrm...but nevermind, I still can't see this song supporting the idea that the singer is "comforted." The singer walks away without saying a word, even a goodbye, because the friend is still the same. This suggests to me that the singer is anything -but- satisfied with his friend. |
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| Bob Seger – Still The Same Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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If "Still the Same" is a song about gambling, then "Against the Wind" is a song about jogging. ---------------- (First verse) The friend had all the appearance of success. After all, no one can say he'd lost anything, because he'd depart before any loss could be associated with him. (Second verse) The friend always harped about his secret to success. His "trick" was that he couldn't possibly lose what he doesn't invest. But the friend's belief was a "bluff" that never convinced the singer--nor possibly himself. (Chorus) Time passed, but the friend didn't change. He never threw himself fully into anything, and he's not affected by anyone. Instead, he just used his charm to "get by" through life despite his "high aim." And the friend kept doing what he's always done. In the end, he's surrounded by strangers who don't interact with him, just as the singer couldn't interact with him. The singer decided his friend can't change, and cut his own losses. -------------------- Crawlspace, while I can imagine Seger "taking comfort" from a friend who never changed his playboy attitude, I don't agree with that idea for two reasons. The first big clue is the line, "The only bluff you couldn't fake." Seger says this in regard to what his friend "always said" about a "gambler's share." But follow me back back to the first verse. Note that Seger isn't saying that his friend wins. He says his friend wins only "when he places a bet." Seger has simply framed the friend's loss avoidance in the positive. The rest of the song talks about how the friend doesn't stick around to play. His friend isn't a winner--he just doesn't lose. (Is that something we can take comfort in?) The second clue is the risen tone of "You still aim high." Seger had just mentioned a) how he "caught up with" the friend, b) no one blocks the friend's path, and c) charm is used "long enough to get [the friend] by". These all say that the friend isn't moving up; in fact, he's not going anywhere. So why does Seger raise his voice on "You still aim high"? Its message and tone are off from the rest of the song--which tells us it's probably meant to be ironic. (Is it a rebuke? If ever heard by the friend, it would be.) I read a pleading, melancholy tone into the song, but Seger is skilled enough to keep the song ambiguous enough that we have room to disagree. However, what we can all agree on, I think, is that this song's main theme is resignation. (Be it of the satisfied or chagrined varieties.) |
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