| Joanna Newsom – Sprout and the Bean Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Why is it that every piece of art about abortion MUST be anti-abortion? I'm quite tired of it. Most of the abortion-related interpretations hinge on her guilt over "killing her fetus/child." If the character felt that way about abortion, then should we not ask why they ultimately chose to get one? Is it not possible that the character--if she did get an abortion--feels it was the right thing to do? Nearly every interpretation here assumes she regrets the choice. Perhaps she sees it as the necessary decision. Perhaps she's grateful. Perhaps she's ambivalent. PERHAPS she is SOMETHING other than what amounts to pro-life propaganda: "don't ever get an abortion, ladies, no matter how good your reasons are; you'll awlays feel guilty afterwards." Give me a break. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Sprout and the Bean Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Actually, if you're going to go with the abortion interpretation, this could be interpreted as someone defending her choice to have an abortion. She's angrily arguing ("And I railed/And I raved") in defense of her abortion: "The difference between/The sprout and the bean" is the difference between what has grown and what could grow (sprout=baby, bean=fetus, which could BECOME a baby/sprout, but is not one yet). The golden ring and twisted string work as marriage symbols (she's unmarried and couln't support the child on her own). If you ask the counselor (aka "doctor") or the king (aka "president," or "politician"), whether either one approves or not, they'll both have to say the same thing: abortion is legally allowed. Going outside, breaking bread, and sleeping as though dead are all signs that she is trying to move on with her life. "I slept as though dead" might mean that she lost no sleep over her decision (she does not feel guilty). Not fully certian of the rest of it, though, except for the repeated "Should we go outside" part--she's once again trying to move on even though others seem hung up about her abortion. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Bridges and Balloons Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Jesus, this is brilliant. Not the song (though the song IS very good), but your analysis. | |
| The Foxboro Hot Tubs – 27th Ave. Shuffle Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think this is about committing suicide in San Francisco. The first verse is fairly depressed and hopeless (Things are so much harder now/no matter how i try): life sucks and i can't fight it. Then the persona (the character singing--as opposed to the actual singer performing) mentions what sucks (Junkyard days, toxic waste, unrequited love). The second verse further describes the persona's feelings of despair and powerlessness> "Voices in my head are telling me that I am lost/ Pills and alcohol are making me a lost cause." The chorus, however, is the real clue. "I can see the ledge now/Golden Gate is falling from behind/(?)/." The persona sees the ledge of the Golden Gate bridge and jumps off--which is why it is "falling from behind"--and says that this kind of life is pathetic and not worth suffering through ("Well if you call this living,/I just wanna hang my head and cry."). |
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| The Decemberists – The Tain (Parts I, II, III, IV, V) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I've read the Tain (actually pronounced like "Toin" from what I've heard), and I love it, but I was kind of unhappy with the Decemberists rendition because so much of it (first half of part 1, all of part 2, and much of part 3) doesn't match up or make sense with the story. HOWEVER! I think I figured out parts 4 and 5. Part IV: After Cuchulainn (who is roughly 17 at this time, if I remember correctly) has been fighting bravely and fiercely for a long time against challengers and whole armies, and even the Morrigan herself (a war goddess/fairy who does not take rejection well AT ALL), he's exhausted and very badly wounded. He can't go on like this much longer, and he knows it. But his real father, Lough--another god/fairy who has been the typical absent immortal father up to now--shows up. He tells Cuchulainn "You're doing a great job, but you need rest. Oh, and I'm your dad." Cuchulainn worries that if he sleeps, Ulster (his home province of Ireland which he is defending ALONE) will be slaughtered. Lough promises him that he'll find a way to protect Ulster while Cuchulainn takes some R&R. Lough then leads Cuchulainn to a cave, magically seals the entrance, and sings him to sleep. While Cuchulainn sleeps for 3 days, Lough uses magic herbs and a magic lullabye to heal his son. THIS is that lullabye. I love that moment in the story because you don't see a lot of good parenting from immortals in most mythologies. Even though Lough has not been there for Cuchulainn's childhood, when his boy really needs him, Lough steps in and acts like a good father. On to Part V!! Okay, this I'm much less sure on, but I think it might be an argument between Maeve and her daughter Finnabair, who Maeve has been using as a carrot on a stick to get men to fight Cuchulainn. "If you win, you can have my smokin' hot daughter." In some versions of the Tain, Finnabair does not find out until very near the end that Mommy has been using her to lure hundreds of men to their deaths, and when she does find out, she kills herself from shame soon after. I think this is Finnabair shortly after she's realized what Maeve has been doing, but before she's decided to commit suicide. She's furious at her mother, but she can't directly call her mom a murdering pimp because her mom is a powerful and ruthless war-mongering queen. So she's giving veiled responses that show she's upset and who she's upset at. The end of the song is Maeve telling Finnabair that yet another soldier has died on the riverbed (all the duels were at a river) for HER, and Mom is now trying--in vain--to console her distraught child that things'll be okay and be worth it eventually. Which turns out to be untrue. The MORAL: Parents, only pimp your kids with their permission. |
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| The Decemberists – Sixteen Military Wives Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Actually, the music video--as opposed to the song--is commenting more on those who are "chosen" to represent America, not on America itself. All the kids in that school are probably citizens of the same nation (which let's assume is America), so all are representative in their own way of people from the US. Henry, the boy who is "chosen" to represent the US, is a jerk, and uses his position to bully others. Gee, now doesn't that sound similar to SOMEONE ELSE who was "chosen" to represent America? The problem, which both the song and video hint at, is that these "representatives" do not actually represent America, but all of America gets stigmatized. It's really about those who make the big decisions for this country and see themselves AS America. | |
| The Decemberists – Isn't It a Lovely Night? Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| actually, the baby's never born. Margaret dies while still pregnant. | |
| Harvey Danger – Wine, Women, and Song Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| you are filth. | |
| Harvey Danger – Little Round Mirrors Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Whoa.... you're good. It all makes sense now. Sincerely: thank you. | |
| Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I am sick of reading foolish comments about "it's all about masturbation and phallic symbols." I am sick of cop-outs like "the song has no meaning." Let's break this sucker down verse by verse. "I had visions, I was in them I was looking into the mirror To see a little bit clearer The rottenness and evil in me." --Narrator is trying to see who s/he truly is and figure out what's wrong with him/her(note that s/he's already made the assumption that something IS wrong with him/her). "Fingertips have memories Mine can't forget the curves of your body And when I feel a bit naughty I run it up the flagpole and see who salutes (but no one ever does)." --Not 100% certain on this. Could be jerking off to memories of a hot ex, could be dealing with resentment towards an ex by making fun of him/her to others (running something up a flagpole so everyone can see it and laugh and notice everyone else laughing). Could be impotence--"...and see who salutes/(But no one ever does)." "I'm not sick but I'm not well And I'm so hot cause I'm in hell." --Nothing diagnosable (or physical) is wrong with the narrator, but s/he knows something is wrong, and it's hell not being able to figure it out. "Been around the world and found That only stupid people are breeding The cretins cloning and feeding And I don't even own a TV." --Starting to looking outside him/herself now. Other people are seriously messed up and seem oblivious to it. The lack of a TV might signify poverty, non-materialism, non-consumerism, how different the narrator is, or just that s/he wants to watch his/her shows and can't and are bitter. "Put me in the hospital for nerves And then they had to commit me You told them all I was crazy They cut off my legs now I'm an amputee, god damn you!" --This is real important stuff. This is about trying to get outside help and it bites the narrator in the ass. "Put me in the hospital for nerves/And then they had to commit me" means that s/he went to the doctor because s/he felt something was wrong with him/her, but rather than therapy, s/he got a padded cell (possibly because the doctors over-reacted). The next 2 lines talk about someone close to the narrator (possibly same "you" whose bodily curves the narrator can't forget?) betraying and misrepresenting him/her and doing him/her great harm because of it. This verse may well be about speaking one's mind and holding unconventional opinions, or about admitting you have a problem and need help, and the negative consequences that can follow either one. "...And it's a sin to live so well." --Possibly guilt at being better off, or self-hatred and a feeling of deserving punishment. Could also be ironic. "I wanna publish zines And rage against machines" --Wants to speak his/her mind and do something constructive (and counter-culturey). "I wanna pierce my tongue It doesn't hurt, it feels fine" --Tongue piercing is "bad-ass" "rebellious", as is being unfazed by pain. This could, however, also be considered self-destructive/nihilistic. "The trivial sublime I'd like to turn off time And kill my mind You kill my mind...." --Life and speaking one's mind can be very painful, stressful, and confusing, and sometimes one just wants a rest, an escape. Plus, if the narrator's messed up in the head, then s/he wants a vacation from his/her own thoughts, wants their mind to stop torturing them. S/he'll "turn off time/And kill [his/her] mind" if it means inner peace. "Paranoia paranoia Everybody's coming to get me Just say you never met me I'm running underground with the moles (diggin' big holes!) Hear the voices in my head I swear to god it sounds like they're snoring But if you're bored then you're boring The agony and the irony, they're killing me!" --This is when (I think) our narrator has really started to lose it. S/he feels paranoid that everyone is out to get him/her, or at least is against him/her, so the narrator is leaving (figuratively or literally is anyone's guess). S/He's gone underground to avoid whatever problems or judgements are haunting him/her, and either hoping to find kindred spirits ("the Moles") or screw up other people ("digging big holes"). The voices in the narrator's head might be actual voices, or just conflicting instincts, but s/he's begun to bore him/herself with their own unending psycho-schmutz. The last two lines of this verse--I think--refers to the question that the narrator has: "Is society screwed up, or am I screwed up because I can't function in society?" I think this song is about having a breakdown, and is for anyone who's ever needed a therapist or not fit into the machine and wondered "is it them or me that's the problem?" I could be wrong and feel free to tell me so. |
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| Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Must disagree. This is not a happy-go-lucky song. "You told them all I was crazy/ They cut off my legs/ Now I'm an amputee/ God damn you!" This is not a happy-go-lucky song. It's about how society has gone nuts, and it's making you go nuts. | |
| Harvey Danger – Flagpole Sitta Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| PERHAPS that verse has phallic references, but how do you explain the rest of the song, O Shallow One? | |
| Harvey Danger – Woolly Muffler Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I like this song very much, but I strongly disagree with Kiran's interpretation (no offense meant, Kiran). This is about the fantasy of a relationship versus the reality of one. The persona (poetry term for the character narrating the poem/song--we aren't supposed to assume the writer is the narrator) has had a serious crush on someone for a long time, and that someone was the subject of many fantasies and desires of the persona (who we'll call a "he" for convenience). Nonetheless, "he" assumed they'd never actually be together ("All I ever thought we might come to/Was second dates and flirting eyebrows."). However, they HAVE gotten together, and what's more, the "crushee" (made-up term for the object of the persona's affection) has fallen in love with/is becoming emotionally codependant on the persona, and wants a deep, committed relationship. The persona--who we'd expect to be on cloud 9 right now--is ready to run for the hills ("You want me to hold your hand/It's a courtship I can't stand."). "He" has commitment and trust issues ("Friends will turn against you/People disappoint you every time") and does not want the responsibility or confinement of a serious relationship ("I will not take your possibilities under my care."). The persona loved the crushee when the crushee was a nice, controllable, consequence-free idea (think of the "expat fantasy"); the messy reality of being with this person is undesirable to him, so he's leaving. And he's not doing it gently. | |
| The Foxboro Hot Tubs – Red Tide Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Guys, don't wig out that they wrote a PMS song (though the bipolar interpretation does hold some water). If you're flipping out because menstruation's icky, well, yes it is. It's very icky. But a lot of us do it, so cope. If you're freaking out because you feel it's unfeminist, I disagree. While PLENTY of women don't get PMS, and PLENTY of women use PMS as an excuse to get away with bitchiness, and PLENTY of men will make the suicidally bad mistake of attributing any woman's anger to PMS, some women do get PMS and become rather volatile. I would imagine that for a guy witnessing this behavior which they have never personally experienced, it's very disorienting. NOT ONLY THAT, but like most good songs, this one works on multiple levels. Yes, it's about PMS. But the song is subtle and clever enough that it could also apply to other situations, like someone who is bipolar, or taking medecine that messes with their personality (a situation that men can potentially relate to). Do not forget that their is often a schism between a song's literal meaning and its many potential emotional meanings. | |
| The Decemberists – Shanty for the Arethusa Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Yeah. Yeah they are. And I was RAISED on those stories. And I still like them, even while knowing how screwed up they are. I think all of this goes a little way towards explaining why I am so messed up. |
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| The Decemberists – Odalisque Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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ACTUALLY, an odalisque is not a naked reclining woman, nor is it a sultan's concubine as Knowthyself says. An Odalisque is a concubine or harem woman's MAID. Odalisques were often slaves, given as gifts, and frequently virgins. An odalisque could become a concubine if the woman who oversaw the harem (yes, a harem had a woman overseer--a middleperson between the harem and the sultan) thought the odalisque might please the sultan. Then, if the sultan was interested, he would deflower the odalisque, then fire her (unless he knocked her up), for now she was a professional concubine. THe odalisque had little or no say in ANY of it. SO: This song is about an odalisque who has been singled out to be shagged by the sultan, but not wanting prostitution to be her fate, she runs. Then we have what I believe is the story of her mother (the "lazy lady") who had no clue how to raise a child, and ultimately pimped and/or sold the girl into odalisque-hood. We then return to Odalisque's present terrible situation, where she has been caught and is raped by the sultan, who now wants her more than ever because she dared to run. I happen to love the line "Such a filthy dimming shine/The way you kick and scream." It means that to the sultan she is desirable "shines" because she dared resist, so now he feels the need to reassert his dominance. BUT he knows all this psychobabble, as does he know that as soon as he's had her, he'll be bored with her and see her as another dirty whore. Hence, it's a "filthy dimming shine." |
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| The Decemberists – Oceanside Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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couldn't it also be crabs they're picking up? Most moms would certainly stigmatize that. (In case anyone can't tell, I mean this somewhat tongue-in-cheek.) |
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| The Decemberists – Oceanside Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I agree with about 90% of your interpretation, Words&tricks. But Oceanside would actually refer to IN the ocean, not out of it. The ocean--as opposed to the land--makes for a much better sexual metaphor (undertows, tides, movement, etc. Earth just stays put.). The whole "lather up and lay her down" line: think of someone sleeping on the beach as the waves gently lap at her legs. What should be stimulating (the ocean/sex) she's ignoring (sleeping through it). As for "the field is right for reaping," that actually works fine, on two levels. 1)Fields are where things grow, so the whole reaping and fields thing is a fertility (sex) reference. Secondly, there's a pretty steady and well-acknowledged literary history of comparing the ocean to endless windy wheatfields, and vice versa (see "Moby Dick"). This is because, in the earlier parts of US history, when someone from the coast came to the Midwest and saw these endless fields of wheat swaying in the breeze, it reminded them of the ocean, and when inlanders came to the sea, the only reference point they had to compare it to was wheatfields. | |
| The Decemberists – An Interlude Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Actually, no. William and Margaret never get that chance. While William is en route to his beloved Margaret, she is discovered and kidnapped by the Rake. I don't think the interlude is any more than just that: an interlude. Like an intermission between Acts I and II. | |
| The Decemberists – The Tain (Parts I, II, III, IV, V) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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On to Part V!! Okay, this i'm much less sure on, but I think it might be an argument between Maeve and her daughter Finnabair, who Maeve has been using as a carrot on a stick to get men to fight Cuchulainn. "If you win, you can have my smokin' hot daughter." In some versions of the Tain, Finnabair does not find out until very near the end that Mom's been using her to lure hundreds of men to their deaths, and when she does find out, she kills herself from shame soon after. I think this is Finnabair shortly after she's realized what Maeve has been doing, but before she's decided to commit suicide. She's furious at her mother, but she can't directly call her mom a murdering pimp because her mom is a power and ruthless war-mongering queen. So she's giving veiled responses that show she's upset and who she's upset at. The end of the song is Maeve telling Finnabair that yet another soldier has died on the riverbed (all the duels were at a river) for HER, and Mom is now trying--in vain--to console her distraught child that things'll be okay and be worth it eventually. Which turns out to be untrue. The MORAL: PArents, only pimp your kids with their permission. |
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| The Decemberists – The Tain (Parts I, II, III, IV, V) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I've read the Tain (actually pronounced like "Toin"), and I love it, but I was kind of unhappy with the Decemberists rendition because so much of it (first half of part 1, all of part2, and much of part 3) doesn't match up or make sense with the story. HOWEVER! I think I figured out parts 4 and 5. Part IV: After Cuchulainn (who is roughly 17 at this time, if I remember correctly) has been fighting bravely and fiercely for a long time against challengers and whole armies, and even the Morrigan herself (a war goddess/fairy who does not take rejection well AT ALL), he's exhausted and very badly wounded. He can't go on like this much longer, and he knows it. But his real father, Lough--another god/fairy who has been the typical absent immortal father up to now--shows up. He tells Cuchulainn "You're doing a great job, but you need rest. Oh, and I'm your dad." Cuchulainn worries that if he sleeps, Ulster (his hometown) will be slaughtered. Lough promises him that he'll find a way to protect Ulster while Cuchulainn takes some R&R. Lough then leads Cuchulainn to a cave, magically seals the entrance, and sings him to sleep. While Cuchulainn sleeps for 3 days, Lough uses magic herbs and a magic lullabye to heal his son. THIS is that lullabye. i love that moment in the story because you don't see a lot of good parenting from immortals in most mythologies. Even though Lough has not been there for Cuchulainn's childhood, when his boy really needs him, Lough steps in and acts like a good father. |
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| The Decemberists – After the Bombs Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Actually, I think this beautiful song is more of a post-traumatic stress ballad. The bad thing (whatever it may be) has ended, and things should be alright, but they're not. You're still haunted by them. "We pinch at our skin/ While we wonder how we escaped harm." This line is about survivor's guilt. This is about needing time to heal, to get over whatever terrible thing(s) happened, and the only half-decent comfort is your "baby's arms" (your lover or loved ones). As for "we'll go dancing", it means you know you'll get over this eventually and return to normalcy, and maybe you even need to "go dancing" (which is carefree and absorbing) in order to heal, but a return to normalcy, or a plunge into wild enjoyment does not stop the world from being dangerous and volatile (think WWI, then the isolationist, hedonistic '20s, then the Great Depression and WWII). |
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| The Decemberists – The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Sorry, specifically Caliban is singing to his DEAD mother in "You'll not feel the Drowning." |
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| The Decemberists – The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I've read Tempest way more times thatn i care to remember (with special attention paid to Caliban) and I think I've got it all figured out. You're right about "Landlord's Daughter"--it's the attempted rape of Miranda. "Come and See" is actually (I'm pretty sure) about Sycorax and Caliban coming to the island AS WELL AS Prospero and Miranda arriving there, too. Don't forget that there are a lot of similarities between those two single-parent families. "You'll Not Feel the Drowning" gave me trouble, but at last I think I figured it out--before prospero and Miranda get there, Sycorax dies. I think this is Caliban singing to his mother, and I think "go to sleep now, little ugly" is Caliban parroting something she used to say to him as a child (after all, neither were good-looking). Furthermore, I'm pretty sure "Sons and Daughters" is the end of the play, when amends have been made and everyone's going home to start anew and live happily ever after. The "Son" is Ferdinand, and the "Daughter" is Miranda. |
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| The Decemberists – The Chimbley Sweep Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Amen, brotha! (Or Sista. I don't actually know your gender.) | |
| The Decemberists – We Both Go Down Together Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Very cool interpretation, though I don't think that's the only way you could read it (a totally legit way of reading it, though). I do agree that the girl isn't on the same page as the male narrator of the song, and I do think he's seriously deluded. I think he dies too, but I don't know how much the girl was a willing participant to any of this. | |
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