| The Beach Boys – Heroes and Villains Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I don't know why people are guessing. Brian Wilson explains what all his songs are about! It was a concept album about America/American History. So the theme is loosely "cowboys and indians" and a story about that era. But the song is a actually about the music industry - Wilson's idea for the song was about the good and bad people in the record industry. And to put them in a story. As with all songs, his lyricist, Parks, translated this vision into the lyrics |
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| The Beach Boys – Surf's Up Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I mean, it is about that. Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson have said so in the past | |
| The Beach Boys – Surf's Up Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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In regards to the actual lyrics (not the general road trip theme of all songs)....... I believe it's about a guy at a concert in California, whose having a great time, until he starts to see how fake it all is, and starts to get very depressed about his life. "Surf's Up" is a play on words - as in the Surfing Lifestyle is over. |
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| The Beach Boys – Surf's Up Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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This song is quite easy to explain, as the album is a concept album, with a known theme. To cut a long story short, Brian Wilson was sick of the British invasion in 1967, so wanted to highlight the great things about the USA. The album is supposed to be "a road trip" from Plymouth Rock to California, describing what it's like to be an American Surfs Up obviously refers to the California way of life |
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| Radiohead – Bones Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| You know, I used to be young (Fly like Peter Pan), now I'm old (can't climb the stairs)............but I'm still me, as I have my soul/heart | |
| Radiohead – Bones Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I get sick of people over-analysing stuff. 99.9% of lyrics are pretty literal, based on personal life events. The songs about growing old, and watching people you once looked up to turning into weak, feeble people. "I used to fly like Peter Pan" etc etc |
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| Sinead O'Connor – Nothing Compares to You (Prince cover) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think the break up fits more than the death explanation for the single line "but I'm willing to give it another try". ======================================================================================================== You're both right - Prince broke up with his girlfriend, and lost his mother to cancer at around the same time, and the song is generally about him being in a state of depression - seeing therapists etc etc. Some of the lyrics are about losing his girlfriend, and some are about the death of his mother. I think "Since you been gone I can do whatever I want I can see whomever I choose I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant But nothing I said nothing can take away these blues `Cause nothing compares Nothing compares to you" Is about his mother dying. As is "All the flowers that you planted, mother (Sinead O'Conner changed this lyric from mother to "mama") In the back yard All died when you went away" The rest is about losing his love |
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| Sinead O'Connor – Nothing Compares to You (Prince cover) Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Sinead O'Connor cries in the video because Prince told her that the line: "All the flowers that you planted, mother, In my back yard, All died when you went away" Was about his own mother's death. She enjoyed gardening, and used to look after his garden for him. And when she died, all the plants died as well. Sinead O'Connor's own mother had died a matter of weeks before the video shoot - and when she sang the line, it was obviously very powerful |
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| Rage Against the Machine – Bullet In The Head Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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balcan boy This isn't correct. Yellow Ribbons are worn by Americans, to support the US army, in foreign wars. They're, generally, seen as quite controversial by liberals (RATM), as not everyone supports invading other countries. They're basically saying that American invading Iraq (what the song is about) is no different to the Nazis invading Poland.......... Nazis wore swaztikas to support their troops. Americans wear yellow ribbons |
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| Rage Against the Machine – Bullet In The Head Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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The general theme of the song is about how the US government use the media, to brainwash people into basically being idiots…….. And how they use the media as a weapon for their own propaganda. “They load a clip of Omnicolour” (what TV is broadcast in) “They pack the 9, and fire it at prime time” (9pm being what’s considered primetime in television, because that is when most people are watching. Basically they’re saying that the government pack primetime TV with propoganda). However, the song is a lot deeper, and more controversial than many thing. He comments: “You wear a yellow ribbon, instead of a schwazitka”. Yellow ribbons are worn by people, in support of troops fighting abroad. And it tends to be a conservative/republican symbol. He’s basically saying people who blindly support invading US troops, are no better than the Nazis 70 years ago…………. He goes on to say “fools follow rules” and “that’s how you got a bullet in your head”. Basically, he’s stating that people who fight for the US army, blindly, because of the propaganda the government pumps out, are idiots, and can’t complain if they’re killed To conclude, the songs generally about the US government using TV to control US citizens. But the actual theme “bullet in your head” is about how the US government uses TV to legitimise illegal wars and invasions…….. |
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| The Smiths – Frankly, Mr. Shankly Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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You’re all wrong. Frankly Mr Shankly is about the head of Rough Trade Records, Geoff Travis. The label which The Smiths were signed to at the time. Morrisey was upset about the deal the band were on, and the basic fact that they weren’t making any money. So he wrote a song making fun of Geoff Travis, and disguised it as a letter to the fictional “Mr Shankly”. However, he gave it away (probably purposefully) with the line. “I didn’t realise you wrote poetry. I didn’t realize you wrote such bloody awful poetry”. Geoff Travis apparently used to write poetry, and for many years previous to the song sent it to Morrissey (a fellow poet), for his opinion. Morrisey ends the song with “Now give us money” Which was basically the reason he was so upset with him. He felt the band were being cheated financially On the 25th anniversary of the album, Geoff Travis gave an interview to the NME, where he said he had no idea it was about him, until he heard the line about “poetry”, where he burst into laughter (they were actually friends, and Morrissey intended it as light hearted) |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"scarred slave trader" refers to the fact that black slave girls only defense against rape was using their claws. They got scratched a lot basically. |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Sorry, but you're just not as smart as jagger. He wrote the song about atrocities against black women, during the civil war era. Basically being raped by their owners. He just hid it behind a lot of generic "sex drugs and rock and roll" stuff, to get it on radio stations. Huge US hit. Think it would have been, if people knew it was abusing America's history? |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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You're 100% right. Jagger hid a lot of the meaning behind generic "pop" themes. As in sex, drugs and rock and roll |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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It's 100% not about drugs. There are drug references, but most of the lyrics refer to the slave trade |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Jagger said himself, he dressed the song up as a generic, drug song, as it was the sort of thing that was popular at the time, and it's the only way he could get his message out. It's 100% not about drugs. You're just being tricked like you were meant to be tricked. It's about the atrocities of the slave trade. Young black women being raped by their owners, during the civil war era. And at the end, Jagger admits, he's no "schoolboy" as he's glad that the end result was lots of black women being in America for him........ |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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You're 100% right on every count. Well done. Jagger has admitted this is what it's about The terrible history of black women being abused, as slaves, by white men, but Jagger saying he's "no saint" as he's happy he gets to sleep with them himself |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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BS. That's what Jagger wanted people to think. It's a very political, controversial song, hidden behind the popular drug references of the era |
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| The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Man, you guys are dense! “Gold coast Slave ship”, “Market down in New Orleans”, “Scarred Slave trader is doing all right, you can hear him whip the women, just around midnight”. Aint it pretty obvious. Probably the Stones most controversial song. Especially for release in America. It’s about the practice of slave-rape, that happened a lot in the deep south in America, right up until the 1960s. Basically, white slave owners, who raped the young black women they owned. The first verse refers to a slave owner raping/abusing a young black women he owns. The second verse refers to the white house boy, in an English stately home, getting his sexual gratification from the slaves. The last verse is Jagger himself saying, he’s no saint himself, and gets the same gratification from black women, as a white man. Of course, in loving relationships, but as I said, it’s a very very controversial song. Basically about white men’s terrible history with black women |
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| Pink Floyd – Brain Damage Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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To understand this song, you have to understand the concept of the album. The entire album describes different periods of a humans life – in particular, the life of ex band mate Syd Barrett. From birth (breathe) , to fame, to wealth (money), to madness (brain damage, dark side of the moon), to death (great gig in the sky) This song in particular is referring to Barrett’s madness. In particular, Walters attempts to help the (then) recluse recover “The lunatic is on the grass. The lunatic is on the grass, remembering games and daisy chains and laughs, got to keep the loonies on the path” This is referring to Barrett’s condition, and his habit of being child like. Often, in his illness, reminding Walters of how Barratt was as a child. Walters is stating that Barratt acting like a child (running about, throwing things) was bad, and that he “had to keep the loonie on the path”. Stating the “grass” represented madness (acting like a child) and the path was sanity (being a grown up. “The lunatic is in the hall, the lunatics are in the hall, the paper holds their folded faces to the floor,and every day the paper boy brings more” This simply refers to Barratt not responding to anyone. During the period, he barely left his bedroom, and when visited, was noted to have months worth of post, letters, newspapers, magazines piled up in his hall. Walters is stating that this is another sign of his madness. “And if the dam breaks open many years too soon and if there is no room upon the hill”. This is stating that “the dam has broke” and that Barratt has gone mad, from the pressure “too soon”, as in young. “and if your head explodes with dark forbodings too,I'll see you on the dark side of the moon”. Basically stating that Barratt was in a dark place, that had driven him insane. As with the album “The Dark Side of the moon” is Walters imagery for madness. As in, if you “go to the dark side of the moon”, you have gone mad. “The lunatic is in my head. The lunatic is in my head you raise the blade, you make the change you rearrange me ' till I'm sane you lock the door and throw away the key here's someone in my head but it's not me”. Walters is stating how his best friend going mad had got to him, and how he feared he was going the same way, with “the lunatic is in my head”. “You raise the blade, and rearrange till I’m sane, you lock the door and throw away the key”, he is referring to the various medical treatment used to combat madness, as well as enforced incarnation in a mental hospital – where Barratt was for 6 months before the song was written. “There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me” is Waters referring to the fact that the various treatments Barratt had taken had changed him, and he did not recognise his childhood friend anymore. “and if the band you're in starts playing different tunes. I'll see you on the dark side of the moon”. Probably the most famous line and incident on the album. While Barratt was in the band, and growing very ill, he did very odd things in practice. One of them was his habit of suddenly starting to play different songs when they were practising. So Waters is saying “when the band your in starts playing different tunes”, as in, Barratts first symptoms, “we’ll see you on the dark side of the moon” – you’ve gone mad. The main theme of the song is Barratts madness, and how it affected Waters, who was a very close friend. Waters uses the imagery of “the dark side of the moon”, as a description of the dark side of the human mind – ie madness. And states that if uou’ve seen the dark side of the moon, then you have gone mad. However, he’s not just claiming Barratts mad, but a lot of people are in general. And stating that if Barratt is mad, and is being operated on, then maybe he should be as well, as he felt that a lot of symptoms Barratt displayed, he had as well. Another feature of the song is Barratt’s haunting voice, mixed over the top. Although, very ill, and very sad, Barratt often turned up at Pink Floyd recording sessions to watch. Something that supposedly broke Waters heart, and inspired him to write many of the latter songs about his long time friend. |
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| Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Disagree entirely, with most of this. Have studied the song greatly, so may be able to offer some fact based insight. The song is about socialite, Edie Palmer. A one time girlfriend of Bob Dylan, who cheated on him, with a number of people, while he was an up and coming musician, and eventually left him for the artist Andy Warhol. Their lives went different ways, with Dylan moving on to fame and fortune, and Palmer becoming destitute, and dying a homeless drug addict. Sadly, the song is black humour on Dylans part, mocking the girl after she was dumped by Warhol, and quickly lost the brief fame she had as his girlfriend. Most of the song hints at a rich, fame hungry girl, who was maybe destined for a fall. But there are many hints to what happened to her, after falling on hard times: “You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns. When they all come down and did tricks for you” This refers to the many suitors that Palmer had. Many men, trying to impress and court her, and how much she loved it. Dylan refers to them as “jugglers and clowns”, as in, men trying to entertain her, trying to catch her attention. Dylan thought of them quite literally as desperate clowns. He comments that she had little care for their feelings, and probably refers to himself as one of these “clowns”, as he was well known to have pursued Palmer vigorously, as a younger man. “You said you'd never compromise. With the mystery tramp, but now you realize. He's not selling any alibis. As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes. And ask him do you want to make a deal?” This refers to the fact that Palmer resorted to prostitution, not literally, but in Dylans eyes. It was well known that Palmer slept about a lot, mostly for gifts, and fame – generally sleeping with anyone she though of as “hip” – Dylan being one of them. He’s commenting that she used to make fun of “working class people”, and considered herself a better class, but at the same time was (in Dylan’s opinion) prostituting herself to the same people, for fame. “You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat. Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat. Ain't it hard when you discover that. He really wasn't where it's at, after he took from you everything he could steal.” “The diplomat” was one of many names Dylan referred to the artist Andy Warhol. Dylan and Warhol were known enemies of the New York art scene. Dylan, the legitimate artist, and star, whereas Warhol was more “shock” value person, who attained fame by courting the media, and trying to shock. Dylan disliked Warhol, and his “factory” immensely, and felt of them as untalented wannabes. He called him “the diplomat”, as although he had an exterior image as a wild artist, he was in his early 40s, and very wealthy, so Dylan felt it was all an act, and he was in fact a very establish piece of New York society. “Chrome Horse” he is obviously referring to a car. The Siamese cat line is referring to Warhol’s almost comedic artistic decadence. The imagery of a man walking around town with a Siamese cat (very rare at the time) on his shoulder, was Dylan explaining how ridiculous he felt Warhol was, and how much attention he craved. “He really wasn't where it's at, after he took from you everything he could steal”. Warhol’s 60s fame was seen as a “fad” at the time, and Dylan was basically saying “you backed the wrong horse”, as in the late 60s, Dylan really was the biggest artist/star in the world, rivalling the Beatles, and Warhol had slipped into obscurity. “You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse. When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.” Someone touched on this earlier, claiming “Napoleon in rags” was referring to himself, Bob Dylan. Nice, but sadly wrong. “Napoleon in rags” was another Dylan (mocking) nickname of the artist Andy Warhol. As stated earlier, Warhol painted himself as a beatnik/struggling artist, yet, he was immensely wealthy, middle class, and powerful, in the new york scene. He was also at least 20 years older than Dylan at the time. “Napoleon in rags” was basically Dylan mocking the image Warhol tried to convey of himself, stating that he was actually, underneath all the rags, and imagery, a little, ageing powerful man, who dictated himself to people. As a parting shot “Go to him now”, Dylan is telling Palmer to go to the man she left him for, and states that they are both “invisible”, as in, not famous, whereas, he was world start. Basically stating what a mistake she actually made. In conclusion, the crux of the song is the fact that Eadie Palmer, left Dylan, as a struggling musician, in the new york scene, to date the 40 year old artist, Andy Warhol, for what Dylan felt were money related issues. He was very rich and famous in the early 60s after all. Dylan, rather darkly, is mocking them both, and basically stating that “you left me for money, but now look at you – your nothing, and I’m huge”. |
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