| The Cult – True Believers Lyrics | 6 months ago |
| I assume it's about rejecting the dogma of western religions, especially their idea of the afterlife, and just accepting that you are mortal and living life to the fullest. | |
| Love and Rockets – It Could Be Sunshine Lyrics | 7 months ago |
| Epic song from my high school years, loved this track more than any other on "Express" album. The tempo change is incredible, and the song that it then becomes - was perfect for unchained teen energy. Their lyrics on this and other tracks of course are very zen. | |
| ABC – Be Near Me Lyrics | 1 year ago |
|
Only three comments for one of the timeless staples of the 80's alternative synth pop genius. ABC is highly underrated. Fry's vocals are perfect, the hook is as well. This song was in the head of every teen boy and the lips of every teen girl (because the boys were too scared to be caught singing out loud) in the mid 80s. We listened to this until the cassette tape got caught in the machine. Then CD's came out, thankfully. Many memories of cruising around the mall (#Coronado) and grabbing an orange julius and wondering if the house party you planned to attend that night would have a keg. Wondering if the girl you like will be there. Wondering if you realize at the time, that you were living the dream, living a john hughes flick. "All my dreams came true that night." What better message, how better to state what all humans want: for their lover to be near them. |
|
| The Whiskers – Ornithopters Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| An absolutely epic poem and song. I could spend all day and every Sundae on the world's deepest internet rabbit hole search but all I can guess is it's possibly (in the most literal interpretation) about a loved one reluctantly coming to grips with the death of his/her mother or sister or wife. I picture her on the operating table as the doctors (awful devil things) try to excise the malignant cells while the protagonist can only imagine or hope that both he/she and she (the patient) could grow wings and transcend the entire scene. | |
| Delta Spirit – Language of the Dead Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| It seems fairly clear they are invoking history with the purpose of asking people to stop obsessing about it. This could seem anti-intellectual but I get their point and agree at least in part. People seem to over indulge on aspects of history or works of history (prose, poetry) that often serve no other purpose that to keep them from living their own life, i.e. be Hemingway don\'t just read him. Have your own adventure, and stop quoting stale works that have been overly referenced. \n\nThe singer is saying "please release me of the burden of having to sound like every other tortured twenty-something poet." While there should be a millennium hall of fame for great people, works and times and certainly lessons learned so as not to repeat history (and maybe even a Centennial Hall), I agree life is more about living than reflecting. | |
| Dramarama – Scenario Lyrics | 3 years ago |
|
I'm astonished this has no comments. Let me change that. I love this song, it's very personal to me, I put it on a mixed tape for my college girlfriend along w/ their hit "Anything Anything." We both loved this song and used the word "Scenario" during conversation. The song like so many other their others proves that Dramarama understood emotional pain and the highs and lows of romance. They also regularly express sadness and depression by nailing down it's orbiting feelings like loneliness, herein described of course not only as "all alone in a bar room" (lord knows how many of us can identify with that) but as "here is my situation: I've got two things here with me, a record player and a radio." It's poetic to simply select two things and declare them as indicators of your situation or "scenario." Right now I could say, here I am with my sweater and my keyboard" for example. The music is a driving rhythm with energy that almost matches "anything anything" -- I argue no song came closer, of all their catalogue. "famous song of love" could mean "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks but I doubt it. Who knows. She dates a lot of married men? Not a ton of lyrics but a very descriptive paragraph of how his (or her) family members are just completely out to lunch - wrapped up in their own worlds. It's a lonely song but it's not that depressing. Partly that is due to the music, but partly by the (albeit bleak) picture of hope - it's like, at least the guy is out in a bar room and being alone THERE instead of moping around at hope. Heck I've often been super lonely, gone to a bar, still been lonely, but not as much, and (on a few occasions) met a girl. Props to Dramarama for this and so many other of their songs that so perfectly expressed how it felt to be a young man trying to connect w/ others. |
|
| The Cult – Peace Dog Lyrics | 3 years ago |
|
My favorite Cult song ever. Painted bird would be the Boeing B52 bomber airplane, iconic plane capable of carrying large amount of weaponry including nuclear bombs. Drop your "love" = your nuclear bomb. The 80's saw the extension of the cold war, wherein the US including kids my age then were always living in fear of a nuclear war. I assume this song was written in 1986 if it was on Electric, released April 1987. I think this song is about the military/industrial complex and the appeal of WAR to superpowers. War was good for uniting citizens and for solving the depression, and above all, for profiteering. "War she's a whore" is a statement like, "hey, I mean, what are you gonna do, right? Can't help it - shit happens" i.e. as if to justify war by saying, it's just something that exists and there is nothing we can do about it. Which is bullshit of course. Whore here could also mean: makes you money even though it's an ugly business. "Peace is a dirty word" meaning, peace is bad for business. We need to always be at war to make money and keep people in line. The "poor man sad man" paragraph is tough, but I think of it addressing the innocent civilians who actually get bombed and killed, in countries like Vietnam during that war or earlier, in europe from WWII. It's like saying, "hey poor people who are getting killed, you should actually be happy because in the long run, this will help mankind" "Stand up for your rights" though doesn't jive with that, so maybe he's saying, "Hey you people down on your luck and getting your asses handed to you: stand up for your rights, and for peace." But then, "good dog bad dog" comes back to the negative aspect i.e. that we really just want the citizens to play along, to play a roll, do as they're told, rinse/lather/repeat. Keep the machine rolling. Aside from all that, great tune, especially the multiple voices after the climax of Ian shouting "baby baby bay bay be baby - BAAAAAYYYBAYYY". Amazing. |
|
| The Cult – Black Sun Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| Great tune from their 1994 album. Obviously speaks of child abuse. Good story arc wherein the beginning is the outcry of injustice against the innocent kid, the black sun I assume is hell. Funny this came out right around when "Black Hole Sun" came out by Soundgarden. I think this is a far better song. The story arc occurs where the speech focuses on how the abused child turns into the seeker and executor of vengeance and/or the abuser clearly gets what's coming to them: justice. Generally, abuse takes on such cosmic, eerie, permanent meaning when it permeates in the child from not only the event itself but for years and years later, doing the real and permanent damage to the young adult's present and future, and adults often who never heal from the abuse. However, in this song, the adult abused child seems to have processed the past, and evolved. He/She now realizes THEY have tremendous power, and that the abuse is completely in the past, that their abuser can no longer hurt them. They speak of justice in return, but more importantly they speak about how THEY can now interpret the past differently and even sum it up so simply as "Yeah, you were a bully". And that's it - you were not a destroyer of me or my life, you were not a God, you were just a screwed up person who bullied a little kid. Great song, and I hope abused kids who are older now perhaps benefit even if only 1% from the way this song speaks to their pain and their personal power to overcome it and rewrite not only their past, but their future as well. | |
| Dramarama – Anything, Anything Lyrics | 3 years ago |
|
Agree with most, it's pretty obviously about a relationship gone wrong, as are many of the songs on the Cinema Verite album. I think what makes this song so enticing is the raw emotion and the degree to which the lyrics are matched by the tone of the singer. He isn't whining but he is expressing desperation. It matches the frenetic pace, and the eerie and consistent riff that persists throughout the song, along with the emotional torture for the singer. It's truly a masterpiece. |
|
| Dramarama – Questions? Lyrics | 3 years ago |
|
I think this song is pretty straightforward and doesn't need a microscope to figure out, it's about a guy having an imaginary conversation with his ex-girlfriends new boyfriend. There is some nuance here, however, wherein the original tone is one of scorn and ridicule as most of the song is about the speaker feeling "above" this guy, but then in the very end the speaker keeps repeating "does she talk about me" possibly because this new guy and/or the conversation the speaker imagines with him - is in actuality the only connection to the ex. You wonder if the speaker ended it for if she dumped him. I imagine the speaker screwed it up by not appreciating her, and she ended it. So he won't admit it, but he regrets losing her. It seems autobiographical because of the line "or heard her listen to my songs." Even though this song has a much slower tempo or at least heavier vibe than the song that preceded it on the album (Visiting the Zoo, a great track with a similar "Ex-girlfriend" vibe) and the two kickass songs after it, "Scenario" and "Anything Anything", I always dug it. Come to think about it, the "emotional damage from ex girlfriend" theme seems to run through many songs on this album. Great stuff though. Saw them live in 1990 and 1993, and again in 2003. Great group, thoughtful music and lyrics. |
|
| The Cult – Rain Lyrics | 3 years ago |
|
I think it's a song about the rain. Seriously though, epic Cult tune off of Love. Almost the best song on the album, but it took "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Brother Wolf Sister Moon" to displace it, and those are epic tracks. Phoenix is amazing too. But this one is great and it's such a simple riff but it works so, so well. |
|
| R.E.M. – Stumble Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| they have since fixed it, disregard | |
| Prince – America Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| I bought this album in the 80's and listened to it all the time. I used to think it was "she may not be in black, see how she is in red" but it is about communism, meaning, America is so afraid of commies that it's ok to struggle and barely survive, as long as you are not "red" (communist). | |
| Prince – America Lyrics | 5 years ago |
|
@[mrxb72:29852] I would say the mushroom cloud is definitely a nuclear reference. |
|
| R.E.M. – Stumble Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| @[adzre:28851] this has since been fixed, apparently. | |
| Dramarama – Candidate Lyrics | 6 years ago |
|
Great tune on their amazing cinema verite album which I played to death in 1990 while in college. FYI this is a Bowie remake and the lyrics here above are way off on several places which instead of correcting I will simply paste the original http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858489228/ |
|
| Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Here Comes My Girl Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| One of my favs by him, love the way he says "we're gonna last forever and man I can't begin to doubt it" w/ intensity. I played this once at my college apt and asked my girlfriend to time it just right to saunter into my bedroom during the chorus. Yes it was corny and cheesy and we both laughed but you know what? That image is etched in my brain 25 years later and I can still remember the red checkered shorts she was wearing. Anyway, great song. | |
| R.E.M. – Stumble Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| These are not the lyrics to "Stumble" in any way, these are the lyrics to another song on "Chronic Town" album, called "Carnival of Sorts (boxcars)". | |
| Pearl Jam – Breath Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| one of their top 5 ever. Was supposedly written by Stone Gossard while still w/ Mother Love Bone per Wiki. Aside from that, this is an anthem for my life and a deeply personal song. Reminds me of going through a period during college where I had a back injury and had to quit school move home for a year. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to get back to my life. This song helped keep me going and inspire me. I still get chills when Eddie screams "If I knew where it was, I would take you there" which to me means, he wants so badly to help you but only you can find your own path and take yourself there, but all he can tell you is, there is more than this i.e. "I am not sure what it is, but I know it's out there, and I know it's better than this - so never stop trying everything you can to improve your quality of life, and identify and follow your bliss." How? Good question. I say, be introspective, be honest with yourself, and most importantly, just TRY a bunch of different stuff out, and move on if it does not FIRE you up! Try woodworking, singing, surfing, working, traveling, loving, dancing, cooking, helping people, whatever - just try it all and your passion may find you. | |
| Mudhoney – Broken Hands Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I am not extremely familiar with them, but I think this is their most powerful song. It is incredibly unique, it hints at a huge building crescendo, then actually delivers, and rides the momentum. The neil young intro is great. I became familiar with this song in 1992 when my Dad had both his wrists in braces because of a rare degenerative condition (sort of like carpal tunnel but not fixable) and at the same time I was going through some extreme challenges with a back injury that caused me to drop out of school. I felt this song spoke for me as if to say "Dad - I am in a world of shit - I cannot find an escape from this condition, and I turn to you for help - but instead of reassurance and comfort and guidance, I see you are in a world of shit too, with your hands, and not only unable to help fix ME, but unable to fix yourself. It was a very dark period for us both. Hands are a symbol of action, of DOING, of FIXING and effecting change, of touch, and giving reassurance, but in that case in 1992 they could not steer me to safety. I forgive my Dad for not being perfect and have a very good relationship with him now - his hands and my back are better for the most part, but I still (aside from the literal interpretation of the injuries) see it as an ongoing universal parallel, wherein the child feels as though he should be able to turn to the parent always, and see that parent as a ROCK - meaning an unrelenting positive, stabilizing force that is perfect and impenetrable, but in reality, because parents are only human (meaning, flawed), at some point the child realizes that, and realizes that the parent CANNOT always be there, and has their own issues. That realization at first brings shock and fear, and disappointment, but it eventualy is accepted, the reality cannot be ignored - sometimes you just have to admit we live a world that at times has issues, flaws, and challenges, and all you can do is try your best to navigate through, and hope to build as much fun and happiness as you can while working through the all the incredibly difficult challenges. | |
| R.E.M. – Stumble Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Lyrics do not speak to me in this song, but the melody does, I agree w/ "All is a Dream" and no idea what APT means, other than apartment. My only stab at the lyrics is "we'll stumble through the yard" could mean anything from a metaphor about stumbling through life as best you can...to some specific event - not sure. | |
| Danzig – Twist of Cain Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I am fairly confident that I have a read on this one, including interviews w/ Danzig himself seen on Youtube. He speaks in response to the question "are you an evil, devil-worship darkside kind of person" or some question along those lines. Typical question from mainstream media as they first feel that concern pop up when people hear Danzig's stuff. So he very carefully and cleverly responds (you can tell he has been asked this before) that he will "embrace his dark side as well as his light side." So, Twist of Cain as I recall was the first track on that amazing record (the first under that band makeup) and hence a bit of a tone-setting anthem. CAIN should be interpreted as evil, from it's origin in the bible. But not so much man's sin against God (which is more related to Adam and Eve biting the apple then being expelled from the garden), but man's sin against man, which is when Cain kills his brother, Abel. Now, nobody in their right/healthy mind including me really honestly likes evil in and of itself (I hope!), or devil worship or any of that crap, however, you cannot deny we all have a little devil in us, a little "bad" sometimes - a little jealousy, rage, anger, and it's offspring like competition, pride, aggression, etc. that we have to keep under control. It's just part of our genetic makeup. It is probably there for a reason though, I am no biologist or anthropologist or psychologist, but if you think about it - you do need some of that shit in your being in order to (for example) defend yourself against aggressors, fight for your woman, protect your family, hunt food, etc. That is why humans survive (among other reasons) - they have claws and teeth and they know how to destroy things including their enemies, the rabbit they want to cook, etc. It's just part of life. I think we project that onto our God concepts too, I think there is a reason God is not only a loving, creative God (in the bible) but also a destructive, vengeful God (flood story, Sodom and Gom, etc — he kicks ass) and it's not just the Judeo-Xian God, look at Hinduism - they have in certain earlier iterations like their three pronged Godhead with the creator god (Brahma) sustainer God (Vishnu) but yes their DESTROYER God (Shiva). All I am saying is, it's part of life, we have to realize what the true/honest/genetic origination of what we label "Evil" really is...which I guess you could boil down to the OPPOSITE of "can we all just get along" which is "we cannot ALL always get along" i.e. there are sometimes threats and competition and needs (food) that you damn well better be prepared to do this (tap into it), and to do so, you need to get mean, detach from your empathy and kick some ass, you need to channel your dark side, sorry! I think all Danzig is saying is, son of a bitch, I am aware of that, and sometimes I tap into it to keep me alive, and that is how it is motherfuckers. |
|
| Head East – Never Been any Reason Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I think TTC has it pretty close. I used to think, due to the first line "did you see any action" that it was 100% about a returning Vietnam Vet but I am not so sure that is it. Like most songs, I think it's about an ambiguous relationship with a woman (I know, how insightful). The music is great, it is no surprise it is a regular on classic rock stations. The line "save my life I'm going down for the last time" is so well placed in my opinion, it anchors the song. Something about that declaration that is so honest and refreshingly OPPOSITE of male gravitas or headstrong hubris, it's beautiful. Every now and then I think it's okay, healthy and relieving to be able to proclaim that, i.e. "I try to control the flow of my life, the flow of events, people, and circumstances, but dammit I am losing it and need help" - it's about people and their innate unrelenting need to connect to other people, and on occasion ask for help. No, I do not need therapy. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Fifty-Mission Cap Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I have always loved this track, was blown away by it from the first riff. The hockey player had a life, with meaning, an eventful one, that had impact. He lived, died, made an impression on history. It warranted him a hockey card, among other things. Yet the protagonist of the song is merely using that hockey card to prop up his hat. But...even the hat - is not just any hat, it was one of the coveted/respected fifty missions caps. Read up on the missions milestones in the book "catch-22" if you really want to know the impact of completing that many missions. As if it needs to be added, I will further clarify - some of us have these unbelievable lives, and yet no matter what, they will fade, and we may have to merely hope that they get memorialized somehow - whether in people's memories or in symbolic trinkets...or as is the case in this song - both. |
|
| The Tragically Hip – Nautical Disaster Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| to add... when Gord hits the screaming note on the word "Madly" -- might just be about the most intense lyric of any of his songs, or almost any song for that matter. I still get chills every time I hear it. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Nautical Disaster Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I agree w/ Arios and Wonderdog. Very insightful - I will not try to go into the "which disaster was it" discussion - other than to say I don't think it matters. I don't know exactly what he is saying about the disaster or the relationship, but the fact that he put forth that metaphor is brilliant already. And if you really think about it, the awful emotional pain he describes in the France/coast dream, about the guilt and horror you might feel to try to shed something like that - to be used as a way to bring insight into a relationship - is exceptionally, creatively, and profoundly insightful. We all see and hear of stories of pain and death at sea, on land, in history, throughout time...and yet - some of the most extreme, real, unimaginable pain is what we go through in our emotions, such as when we are in a tumultuous relationship. |
|
| The Cars – Bye Bye Love Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| to clarify, yes, he does so "involving" the first time, but the second time, he definitely says "were fogging" | |
| The Cars – Bye Bye Love Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| It's definitely, 100% for sure "were fogging all my energies" and also "clouds inside YOUR head" go listen to a live version, it helps get a different take/listen on the lyrics. | |
| Jane's Addiction – Summertime Rolls Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I listened to Jane’s Addiction in college, where in 1989 I heard this song for the first time and it blew my mind. I put this album in my top 5 all time. This song is the most intense on that record, so sublime and amazing — it comes at you in escalating waves of melody and images and power…just unreal. As to the “song meaning” and the purpose of this website — to interpret the meaning: This is way out there but this is one interpretation some others have agreed with me on. I think the song does quick cuts or flashbacks between two parallels. One is clearly a young man in love w/ his girlfriend, who’s nose is “painted pepper sunlight” (best-ever way to say freckles). The other one is the young man having been drafted to serve in a War. Bear with me on this…and try to keep an open mind. If you cut out the lyrics that obviously relate to his girlfriend, there are a few mysteries raised w/ lyrics that remain. For example, the opening paragraph, we all assume “fell into a sea of grass and disappeared among the shady blades” is another reference to playing, summer, etc, but it may be about a guy sent to Vietnam — he “fell into it” he did not choose it. “Sea of Grass” with shady blades so high that you can disappear among them? Easily could be said to be referring to the thick jungle in Vietnam. “The Children all ran over me screaming tag — you are the one!” Not exactly about a one-on-one loving experience w/ his girl. This could be said to be the Vietnamese children who did not know what to make of the soldiers, playing with them, maybe literally “tag” but maybe figuratively — since neither the Vietnamese children nor the American soldiers wanted to be in that pickle, pushing blame to each other regarding who started it. Then the lyrics change to the soldier hearkening back to his girl and their love, tripping, sandals, etc, mother’s pearl. Then, it switches back to Vietnam with “Yellow buttercup” (Asian children — try not to think racist in thinking of “yellow” as an Asian reference) seeing an American "helicopter", it shooting at them, suddenly they are bleeding, red blood mixes with yellow, forming Orange (orange buttercat) and the “yellow butterCUP” is now an orange “butterCAT” (cats have claws and teeth to fight). The war is making the "yellow" Asian children orange and butter cups into angry cats, now the orange buttercats are “chasing after” the flying entity that caused their pain for no reason —what is first called the helicopter is now called simply “the crazy bee mad about somebody” — which the children don’t understand. “Oh no” is how that ends. You may think this is out there, but how can you fit these “non-girlfriend” passages into the song when they have such imagery? And ending w/ "oh no". After the pain and reality of what the war is doing, the lyrics settle in permanently on the comforting images of the soldier’s love with his beautiful girlfriend. It even possibly references a return not only back to the relationship w/ her, but how they are walking naked — which could be a reference to the Adam & Eve story in the garden before they knew they were naked. The song then in effect ends up drawing the distinction between innocence/love/euphoria/eternal-life and knowledge/pain/conflict/awareness/mortality. Sorry, I know that is way out there and if Perry Farrell saw this he would laugh me out of the room. Maybe it’s just a song about a guy in love w/ his girl in the summertime. I am not a Vietnam vet or religious guy, just like to over analyze things, feel free to call me crazy. |
|
| Jane's Addiction – Summertime Rolls Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I listened to Jane’s Addiction in college, where in 1989 I heard this song for the first time and it blew my mind. I put this album in my top 5 all time. This song is the most intense on that record, so sublime and amazing — it comes at you in escalating waves of melody and images and power…just unreal. As to the “song meaning” and the purpose of this website — to interpret the meaning: This is way out there but this is one interpretation some others have agreed with me on. I think the song does quick cuts or flashbacks between two parallels. One is clearly a young man in love w/ his girlfriend, who’s nose is “painted pepper sunlight” (best-ever way to say freckles). The other one is the young man having been drafted to serve in a War. Bear with me on this…and try to keep an open mind. If you cut out the lyrics that obviously relate to his girlfriend, there are a few mysteries raised w/ lyrics that remain. For example, the opening paragraph, we all assume “fell into a sea of grass and disappeared among the shady blades” is another reference to playing, summer, etc, but it may be about a guy sent to Vietnam — he “fell into it” he did not choose it. “Sea of Grass” with shady blades so high that you can disappear among them? Easily could be said to be referring to the thick jungle in Vietnam. “The Children all ran over me screaming tag — you are the one!” Not exactly about a one-on-one loving experience w/ his girl. This could be said to be the Vietnamese children who did not know what to make of the soldiers, playing with them, maybe literally “tag” but maybe figuratively — since neither the Vietnamese children nor the American soldiers wanted to be in that pickle, pushing blame to each other regarding who started it. Then the lyrics change to the soldier hearkening back to his girl and their love, tripping, sandals, etc, mother’s pearl. Then, it switches back to Vietnam with “Yellow buttercup” (Asian children — try not to think racist in thinking of “yellow” as an Asian reference) seeing an American "helicopter", it shooting at them, suddenly they are bleeding, red blood mixes with yellow, forming Orange (orange buttercat) and the “yellow butterCUP” is now an orange “butterCAT” (cats have claws and teeth to fight). The war is making the "yellow" Asian children orange and butter cups into angry cats, now the orange buttercats are “chasing after” the flying entity that caused their pain for no reason —what is first called the helicopter is now called simply “the crazy bee mad about somebody” — which the children don’t understand. “Oh no” is how that ends. You may think this is out there, but how can you fit these “non-girlfriend” passages into the song when they have such imagery? And ending w/ "oh no". After the pain and reality of what the war is doing, the lyrics settle in permanently on the comforting images of the soldier’s love with his beautiful girlfriend. It even possibly references a return not only back to the relationship w/ her, but how they are walking naked — which could be a reference to the Adam & Eve story in the garden before they knew they were naked. The song then in effect ends up drawing the distinction between innocence/love/euphoria/eternal-life and knowledge/pain/conflict/awareness/mortality. Sorry, I know that is way out there and if Perry Farrell saw this he would laugh me out of the room. Maybe it’s just a song about a guy in love w/ his girl in the summertime. I am not a Vietnam vet or religious guy, just like to over analyze things, feel free to call me crazy. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.