| Pearl Jam – Pilate Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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OK, I think I have a good understanding of the lyrics now, thanks to that. The first verse is basically about him just carrying on with what he usually does, and not making any real progress in his life. He tries to add a bit of variation to it ("Looking in," "falling up, then south, marking ground," and "talking out of turn"), but it doesn't work ("drawing circles down"). The chorus is him admitting he's similar to Pilate in the story, in that at this point in his life; he's lonely, but still has his dog. I'm not exactly sure what "Walks me out of town. Still one's a crowd." means, but I gather it's just about his loneliness and his inability to find someone else. "Making angels..." is him dreaming about what his lover would be like. Next line is him searching more furiously for someone. The chorus, which is a bit more intense this time, is him desperately trying to cope with his loneliness, using his dog's love as a substitute for a person's. In the final verse, he's grown older and is shocked to find how much of his life he's wasted without a lover. He realizes his dog is no substitute for an actual person, and falls back into the same loneliness as before. I'm pretty sure he's comparing his dog to "a friend that politely drags you down." The last chorus, by far the most frustrated-sounding, is him nearly losing his mind over the fact that he's come to the end of his life and his dog is still his only companion. The question Jeff was asking himself is whether he's going to let his life end up like this or not. I'm probably over-analyzing this a bit, but that's just my interpretation. |
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| R.E.M. – Be Mine Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I hate to ruin it for all of you who think it's a beautiful love song, but... quoting directly from Michael Stipe's Q&A on this site: popsongs.wordpress.com "I have written some songs that are I think bordering on creepy or questionable, Be Mine topping the list" "Be Mine is a little self centered and creepy in my opinion; “I want the finger with the ring.”…ick. It’s really dark and questionable, the degree to which he needs to own this person. And the sentiment is of course from Valentine candy hearts." |
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| R.E.M. – Beachball Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Aww, come on guys, it's not that bad of a song. It's a huge departure from their style, of course (and R.E.M. is a band known from their stylistic departures), but it's still good songwriting. As for the meaning, I don't think there really is one, rather, Stipe was just writing lyrics that complemented the yacht rock style of the song. | |
| R.E.M. – Auctioneer (Another Engine) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Alright, I'm probably completely wrong with this interpretation, especially since firstly I'm making it up on the spot and secondly R.E.M. has claimed before that the songs on their first three albums have no real meaning, but I might as well give it a go, for fun. The first line is important. It implies "she," most likely the singer's lover, is moving on because she desires new things. The singer is mad at her, or just frustrated as implied by the sudden urgency in the lyrics and music when Stipe sings "Get me to the train on time, here take this nickel make a dime." The person is running away too, probably in order to find someone new as well ("What is at the other end, well I don't know, another friend?). "Another wife" may mean this person has had bad luck with relationships in the past, although I'm not sure what "another morning spent" is supposed to mean. Maybe Stipe is actually singing "mourning," as over the loss of a lover (not necessarily by death). I really have no idea what the chorus means, or even a good guess, which is probably more proof my interpretation is wrong since the chorus is important enough to the meaning of the song (if there is one) that the title was taken from it. Okay, my guess for the first two lines of the second verse is that he never really got a good explanation as to why his lover left him, and that while sometimes it was obvious why he lost past lovers, other times he never really knew, like this time. The only thing I can think of for the other two lines is that he found another girlfriend, but he's breaking up with her this time, instead of the other way around. Also, he wants to make his goodbyes short so he can hurry up and... do exactly what he did in the first verse, as evidenced by it being repeated. Once again, I have no idea what the "Listen to the..." lines mean. I will say that they seem to be pretty important, though, if you consider the way the song is set up around them, so maybe someone else can elaborate on what they mean. I really doubt this song has a particular meaning, though, but it's pretty fun trying to interpret it regardless. |
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