Primitive Radio Gods – Skin Turns Blue Lyrics | 8 years ago |
LOVE this song! It's just a great song about learning to see through another person's eyes and not judging them by their skin color. What's not in the lyrics above is the last bit, spoken, by a woman saying, "Don't wanna get hit by a bullet that wasn't meant for me." which I think is SO FUNNY because I also don't want to get hit by a bullet that wasn't meant for me, but I ALSO don't want to get hit by a bullet that WAS meant for me. Either way, I say, "Hey bullet, no thanks." |
Chris Isaak – Blue Hotel Lyrics | 8 years ago |
I've been lucky enough to see him perform one very rainy Valentine's night in SF back in the 80s in a little South of Market bar. The Blue Hotel in the song is an emotional place... it's about being lonely. Lonely highway, every room is loney. Life don't work out my way. Thank God they don't all write songs about how great love is, since heartbreak and lonliness are much harder to bear. At least we have Chris to serenade us as we cry into our pillows. |
Colin Hay – Overkill Lyrics | 8 years ago |
It's just worry --- worry about all the things that can go wrong in life. All of it seems to rush in just as we're trying to go to sleep. Beautiful song. Colin Hay is the best. |
Elvis Costello – Charm School Lyrics | 8 years ago |
@[FLY2venus:7274] It just occurred to me that the lyric, "Just one shameful act or sometimes two, We make believe we're making do" is her plying her trade --- it's 'just one shameful act or sometimes two' and that's the number of sexual acts she performs, and the two of them pretend they're just doing it to make do --- to make a living. But I think the man with the calling -- that's Elvis and his determination to make music. It's not just a whim, he's dead serious about it. When he says, "take your dreams and promises and put them through the mangle" it's about how hard it is to make your dreams come true when you've got life to deal with. Promises too can be broken when life is too difficult "in this perpetual nightclub" which is their alcoholic, fast living lifestyle. |
Elvis Costello – Charm School Lyrics | 8 years ago |
She went to charm school -- and now she's trying to make a living out of her "downfalling" IE being "loose". She's turning tricks (a girl with a trick) and he's a minister or priest (a man with a calling) or maybe just a career man. It's nothing too serious (Just one shameful act or sometimes two, We make believe we're making do" but still he laments that she's cruel to him, so he does care. "They say it's hell to finance too (I think it is supposed to be TWO), And I just want to romance you." So he can't afford to finance the both of them, so she turns tricks -- and still he wants to romance her. Sorta sad. They both are just trying to make a living --- "at anything at all." |
Rosanne Cash – I Was Watching You Lyrics | 8 years ago |
Written out of such deep love for her dad, Johnny Cash, she writes how her love was there --- even before she was born, even after he dies -- that the bond of love supercedes the span of a lifetime. She describes her parent's wedding, the breakup of their marriage -- "You never came back but I know you tried" Then the day he died, "Until September when you slipped away" he died September 12, 2003. What a beautiful song -- that love does indeed tie us together even beyond a single life span. |
Jude – I Know Lyrics | 8 years ago |
Normally I'd tend toward a romantic meaning behind most of this but I suppose because this was featured in the movie City of Angels, it seems to be an angel talking to someone who feels very very alone - and is, in fact, suicidal, "Step away then from the edge" One bit in particular that makes me think this is: And don't say you've never been told I'll be with you 'til we grow old 'Til I'm in the ground and I'm cold I'm not sitting up here on some throne I'll be with you 'til we grow up young Like a dog you can always come home The angel is asking the person, "Don't tell me no one's ever told you that they'll be with you til you both grow old" Then "I'm not sitting up here on some throne" how we all think of God up in Heaven on a throne -- but he's not, he is right here with us. See, normally I hate a Christian slant to things because it gets so preachy, but this message is one of reaching out to someone who is so distraught --- maybe an angel, letting that person know that they (the angel or God) will be with them forever. Or maybe it is just a person telling a friend how much they're loved and they are NOT alone. That's a nice message too. Sometimes when you're really low, it's nice to know you're not all alone in those feelings. |
Father John Misty – Nancy From Now On Lyrics | 8 years ago |
I just watched the "Official Video" of this --- he is being humiliated/dominated by a Dominatrix so now I'm really confused. But I suspect that's how he wants it. I read that when the Beatles found out there was a college class that discussed the meanings of Beatles' songs -- they wrote "I am the Walrus" not because it had ANY meaning but just to mess with the class - it had NO meaning. Ha ha. Hilarious. |
Father John Misty – Nancy From Now On Lyrics | 8 years ago |
Pour me another ---- he's in a bar And punch me in the face ---- he's a pacifist or it's a maybe he's just resigning himself to getting treated badly. You can call me Nancy ---- he's not a fighter so you can call him names if you like but he won't fight back Every man wears a symbol ---- TATTOO ?? And I know I have mine --- he's got tattoos I've got my right hand stamped ----- Bars often stamp your hand to get in -- so he's been in a bar In the concentration camp where my organs scream slow down, man --- Not sure that he would refer to a bar as a 'concentration camp' but his organs - specifically his liver -- would be screaming if he was drinking too much. Oh hook me up to the tank And roll me to the door --- Could he be referring to an IV in a hospital --- he just wants to leave, IV and all I'm going where my body leads me -- doesn't care where he goes I can fend for myself --- determined to make it on his own With what looks I have left --- Acknowledging he's getting older and maybe has seen younger, better looking musicians coming up --- and it makes him feel vunerable. I'll put away a few ---- DRINKS And pretty soon I'll be breaking things like Howard Hughes - Apparently HH got drunk and was involved in drunk driving accident where someone was killed. Is there an interview where he talks about this? I suppose it's all up to interpretation but the homosexual stuff ---? He's married. That's a pretty bold heterosexual move. |
Wilco – Should've Been In Love Lyrics | 13 years ago |
THis song is about a friend commisserating with a heart-broken friend. "I know how it goes, So I just had to let you know I know" as in --- I've been there too. Sad to say, I know EXACTLY what this song is about. JUST broke up with a guy because I cared and he... well, I have no idea; he never gave me any clue as to his feelings. "Should've been in love" --- refers to the guy (for me). I was crazy about him and he should've been in love but wasn't. Doesn't feel very good when your heart is shrinking. "Your mind's been racing, your heart's been chasing, And you might as well face it, time's wasting" I thought about him all the time - my heart was chasing after someone who was never going to love me. It was a waste of time... I finally told him that if he didn't love me by now, he probably never would. |
Kings of Leon – Use Somebody Lyrics | 13 years ago |
I've been roaming around Always looking down at all I see Painted faces fill the places I can't reach Seems like he wrote this about how lonely touring is. He's in the tour bus roaming around and from that vantage point he's "looking down" at everything that is going on --- normal life, so to speak, while he's feeling distant and isolate. He sees painted faces --- out in the audience or along the bus route, "places I can't reach" which is to say, they're in their lives out there and he can't breach that or be part of it... stuck on stage or on the bus constantly moving from one venue to the next. "Why you live it up, I'm off to sleep" ---- the people who come to his concerts are having fun but he's tired and lonely. He's hoping that his poetry touches people at least -- he wants you to accept him, to want him. Boy, that's a very common human need. THink of all the stupid things people do to get liked.... writing GREAT songs is a terrific way to get liked but in the end --- he's still lonely on tour. (Maybe) That's my take on this song, anyway. |
The Pack A.D. – Bone Handle Lyrics | 15 years ago |
CLearly she is conflicted about men... "Come to me Run from me". And threatening a man with a knife... seems a sure move to attract the "right one". Or a psycho. Here she shows her kinship with animals -- clearly they are not afraid of the knife welding singer. While her lyrics are generally mysterious - it just doesn't matter because this is MY FAVORITE BAND!!! These two girls can rip a hole in your ear drums and make it enjoyable. |
The Pack A.D. – Bang Lyrics | 15 years ago |
It's about fighting with her lover - she hates how he fights unfairly - crying. She wants to be able to respect him. Bang -- seems more about sex than gunpower. I don't know why I like this song so much. Probably because this dynamic duo ROCKS my SOCKS OFF. |
The Pack A.D. – Making Gestures Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Well, it seems to be about being afraid to make a move on someone she likes. But also about how people get stuck in being worried about how they come off - all wrapped up in their beliefs so they're not open to honest experience anymore. Who knows? Becky Black is one deep girl - she makes me proud to be a girl. She is the best thing to happen to women since the vagina was invented. |
Toadies – Dollskin Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Catch that light, It falls in suble patterns. It crawls in and tells them when their time is up And when it's over. He takes her hand, And he kisses her cheek She's a doll, oh yeah She's his spitting image. Where have you gone? You're still a part of me. The light tells them when their time is up --- like at a certain time of day the mom or other family members come home - and they have to stop what they're doing or, more correctly, what HE is doing to her... "doll skin" - his spitting image - BECAUSE it's his DNA... his daughter. "When it's over" (the sex)"he takes her hand and kisses her cheek" notice - she doesn't do anything... it's HIM doing it to her. He treats her like a doll - not even like a human being. Maybe that makes incest easier. Then he wonders where she's gone --- she is still part of him -- his daughter. Sick, but that's how it seems to me. It's a twisted love song, from his point of view. |
The Black Keys – Grown So Ugly (Robert Pete Williams cover) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
I LOVE this song. It rocks. athomeinmygalaxie - nice addition! I recently asked my husband why he can't ever say anything nice to me -- "You're not pretty" was his answer. When I got mad he asked "Do you want me to lie?" and I asked, "Do I have to be married to you?" Anyway --- at least I have an AWESOME theme song!!! |
Elvis Costello – Kid About It Lyrics | 15 years ago |
I think this is about the sadness of leaving behind innocence. "So what if this is a man's world I want to be a kid again about it" It's also about the lies people tell each other... "Say you wouldn't kid about it She's telling all of those lies She swore she'd never told before But I doubt it " It makes it hard to trust another person with your heart... "I might even live to tell the tale". This is one of the best ELVIS songs ever. I wish Elvis would tell me what they all mean. I hate poetry but love his lyrics. |
Elvis Costello – Just a Memory Lyrics | 15 years ago |
This is a song Elvis wrote about me and an old boyfriend. HOw MUCH I regret having broken up with him and now I can't tell him how I feel -- because we're married -- but not to each other. Oh wait, that was just a trip down Delusional Lane. Back to reality now. This is Elvis being his sad, sage self writing about loss and regrets -- coming to terms with lost chances. But thanks, Elvis, it makes me feel a little less terrible that I can't tell him how I feel now. I write him letters "But the pen that I write with won't tell the truth." That's the truth. |
Elvis Costello – Talking in the Dark Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Without you, I miss talking in the dark When the barking and the biting is through We can talk like we're in love or talk like we're above it We can talk and talk until we talk ourselves out of it When the "barking and biting is through" -- either the day is over or LE SEX is fini... One is never sure with Elvis... but THEN they talk together in the dark. Always a nice thing when you love someone... that wonderful intimacy where you can talk about anything --- "we can talk like we're in love or talk like we're above it". |
Elvis Costello – The Only Flame in Town Lyrics | 15 years ago |
He's OVER a girl -- and has a new flame, but the old one doesn't realize it yet. |
Elvis Costello – When I Was Cruel No. 2 Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Is this autobiographical... "You were a spoilt child then with a record to plug" --? Or is this about someone else - a rich dude marrying a pretty young thing who came from nothing? I don't know much about Elvis Costello's personal life except that his real name is Decclan McMannus (sorry if I misspelled it). I am a fan but never thought to learn his life history. Just listen to the music and WONDER what the hell the lyrics mean. The mysterious Mr McMannus!! |
Elvis Costello – I Wanna Be Loved Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Me too Elvis. This is so straight forward - no need for debate. We all just want to be loved. Unfortunately we all seem to get picky about WHO does the loving and HOW. |
Elvis Costello – 5ive Gears In Reverse Lyrics | 15 years ago |
LOVE this song. I think it's about drug use: "The big lift" and "the road to ruin" "If you're gagged and bound, how can I corrupt you?" in other words - if you're doing silly things (maybe while on drugs) how can anyone make you even worse? And "FIVE GEARS IN REVERSE" is perhaps about drugs take you backwards - never forwards. Maybe. I've listened to this song for many years and never thought about it. |
Elvis Costello – A Town Called Big Nothing (Really Big Nothing) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
I LOVE this song - it's hilarious. A parody of an old western with very funny lines like "He didn't need tattoos to show where he'd been And who he'd loved. It was the same thing that men had cried for; That women had dyed their hair for." and "She took him to bed like an adopted dog." THe music reminds me of the tough guy in the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns - but it's almost cancelled out by the funny imagery of the lyrics. |
Elvis Costello – Watching the Detectives Lyrics | 15 years ago |
I agree with Mattie Dubbs "Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay, it only took my little fingers to blow you away" The guy finally convinced the woman to stay and with his little fingers gave her an amazing orgasm. But it's typical Elvis Costello that this could be also taken to mean that he killed her. However Elvis is essentially a lover so I like to think he meant an orgasm because what is more romantic than that? Nothing - and I'm sure Elvis is with me on this one. THough what it all means - very mysterious still and I've been listening to this song for more than 20 years. Very film noir like many have said. I have very little knowledge of his private life but I assume it's been more eventful than mine -- could be Elvis was writing about the sneaking around that went on from time to time in his love life. Or maybe not his own sneaking around, cheating etc.. but that of the women he loved. And HE was the detective looking for clues to her infidelity. Like everything he writes - it's unbelieveably complex. That man has a mind like a sexy rocket scientist in which case I say, "fly me to the moon!" |
Live – Freaks Lyrics | 15 years ago |
This comment applies to all LIVE songs --- Ed Kowalczyk explained in an interview how he writes the lyrics. He starts with the music and then mumbles words - nonsensical at first and then works towards actual words that fit. Seems like it's a very "organic" process, like hurling paint at a canvas. So these songs are largely, it would seem, a product of his subconscious - like automatic writing. Some might be nonsense and some might hint at deeper meaning. I really LIKE what Kowalczyk says about lyric meanings -- that he won't discuss it as he thinks people should be able to make of it what they will so that's what everyone here is doing --- making it mean what they want it to mean. I like that he doesn't just assign a meaning and then we're all stuck with it. Our own brains will assign a meaning that is perhaps, to us, far more interesting than anything he might have intended. Way to go Ed! Power to the people! |
Live – Freaks Lyrics | 15 years ago |
This comment applies to all LIVE songs --- Ed Kowalczyk explained in an interview how he writes the lyrics. He starts with the music and then mumbles words - nonsensical at first and then works towards actual words that fit. Seems like it's a very "organic" process, like hurling paint at a canvas. So these songs are largely, it would seem, a product of his subconscious - like automatic writing. Some might be nonsense and some might hint at deeper meaning. I really LIKE what Kowalczyk says about lyric meanings -- that he won't discuss it as he thinks people should be able to make of it what they will so that's what everyone here is doing --- making it mean what they want it to mean. I like that he doesn't just assign a meaning and then we're all stuck with it. Our own brains will assign a meaning that is perhaps, to us, far more interesting than anything he might have intended. Way to go Ed! Power to the people! |
The Pretenders – Night In My Veins Lyrics | 15 years ago |
ANOTHER reason this isn't about a rape --- "He" is STANDING... lighting a cigarette... in other words HE isn't moving at all but is passive. SHE, on the other hand... is on the move - her attraction to him obvious - crossing the street (to him) and quickening her pace - she is eager! And she finds herself in the bones of his face - implies that she is looking deeply into his face and finding herself there - which NOT an alienated thing. But here's the clencher that this is a LOVE song... He's got me up against the back of a pick-up truck Either side of the neon glare It might as well be on a beach under the moonlight Love's language reads the same anywhere (yeah) "Love's language" --- this is NOT about rape. She is getting all amorous in the parking lot but feeling like she could be on a beach under the moonlight. THat's pretty romantic! I think the message here is that romance is where you find it. Maybe the last line about 'head on the curb' is a caution against drinking too much. heh heh. |
Live – Turn My Head Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Boy - this is a tough one and the video gives away no clues. It seems very sexual (drunk on your juices & we came to love you all day) and hints at violence (dress torn to shreds - eyes are wild). WISH the song writer would show up here and clear things up although this debate is very interesting... how can ONE song have such divergent interpretations -- God versus gang rape??!!! |
Live – Lakini's Juice Lyrics | 15 years ago |
"It was an evening I shared with the sun To find out where we belong From the earliest days We were dancing in the shadows" That imagery would fit a rock concert - it's in the evening but the bright lights are like the sun - in the spotlight anyway. So they're on stage, dancing and playing and trying to figure out where they belong. Their earlier days were spent in the shadows - away from the bright lights - when they were struggling to make it. It's also a comment on how crazy life got --- "Used to be so sane" and now he's gotta have more wine, more skin.... BUT - I don't really care what it's about. It rocks. One of the best songs ever! |
Spoon – You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb Lyrics | 15 years ago |
LOVE this song. I can listen to it over and over. THANK YOU Loserno1 for the interview notes. Now we don't have to interpret the song -- but that's pretty much what I got from it -- that it's about a failed love affair and he's just trying to get on with it... brush teeth for bed, stuff like that. By the way, first time I've ever heard such stellar advice in a song. |
The Pretenders – Night In My Veins Lyrics | 15 years ago |
Hey bochel --- you are ignoring the refrain in EVERY verse, "it feels good, it's alright it's just the the night in my veins" which is how she explains her somewhat naughty behavior. And drunk - which finally explains how she ends up with her head on the curb. NEver been there myself but when you've had too much to drink, I suppose it can happen. And the first part --- "silhouetted in the lamplight I cross the street and I quicken my pace He cups his hands and he lights a cigarette I find myself in the bones of his face" she is in LOVE with this guy or at least crazy about him because then... "He's got his hands in my hair And his lips everywhere (oh yeah)" "Oh yeah" --- she is pretty happy about what's happening and it's terribly romantic. I remember a guy who used to put his hands in my hair and lips everywhere --- it was awesome. I can see why you think it's about rape but dearheart --- you're just not paying attention to EVERY word - just the ones that support your idea. "Making me crawl in the dust again." may be her reference to getting down and dirty but not in an entirely bad way. I've LOVED this band for more than twenty years and this might be their BEST SONG EVER!!!! |
Toadies – No Deliverance Lyrics | 15 years ago |
This is easy - drowning. Sad about a failed love affair and off he goes "waded into that icy black" and "Let the tide take me." Then he sees "a host of angels" so he's dead or dying. I think the line "I'll be your lover, I'll be your rack" is really, "I'll be your lover, I'll be your ride." THat's what I hear. And I love that line. If you have transportation problems - having a ride is really so important! Ha ha. Anyway - the angel is going to take him so she'll be his "ride". Although 'rack' does rhyme with "back" This is an awesome song! One of the best by this band. |
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