In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I wish I had an evil twin
Running 'round doing people in
I wish I had a very bad
And evil twin to do my will
To cull and conquer, cut and kill
Just like I would
If I weren't good
And if I knew where to begin
Down and down we go
How low no one would know
Sometimes the good life wears thin
I wish I had an evil twin
My evil twin would lie and steal
And he would stink of sex appeal
All men would writhe
Beneath his scythe
He'd send the pretty ones to me
And they would think that I was he
I'd hurt them and I'd go scot free
I'd get no blame and feel no shame
'Cause evil's not my cup of tea
Down and down we go
How low one would not need to know
All my life there should have been
An evil twin
Running 'round doing people in
I wish I had a very bad
And evil twin to do my will
To cull and conquer, cut and kill
Just like I would
If I weren't good
And if I knew where to begin
Down and down we go
How low no one would know
Sometimes the good life wears thin
I wish I had an evil twin
My evil twin would lie and steal
And he would stink of sex appeal
All men would writhe
Beneath his scythe
He'd send the pretty ones to me
And they would think that I was he
I'd hurt them and I'd go scot free
I'd get no blame and feel no shame
'Cause evil's not my cup of tea
Down and down we go
How low one would not need to know
All my life there should have been
An evil twin
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Hayalperest
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This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
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Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
You know, I was listening to the song and I think that the last line might have a double meaning as far as a wish and possibly the wish that any evil he had done in his life could be erased from his conscience. He goes through his list of evil acts and at the end he expresses the wish slightly differently using the past tense and not the present conditional tense. Also, he says that he is basically a good person and it wears thin. Maybe he is saying that when he does evil it bothers him and his past evil acts still prey on him and that an evil twin would help erase the evil within himself. Just a thought.
mmmm i dunno, i think he really means he wish to have and evil twin. just based on all the other stephin merrit's lyrics, i doubt he is more evil than good. i think what he means in this song is that we wish he could make a vengeance for all the bad things he has been through and he actually can't because that not the way he really is.
Don't we all just wish we had evil twin's?
I wish I had more songs about evil twins so I could make a mix about them, is that the same thing?
This song seems to just convey the message that evil is sexy. The twin would "stink of sex appeal" and "all men would writhe beneath his scythe" and then "bring the pretty ones to me/and they would that I was he." Given Stephin Merritt's sexual orientation, this would be more than agreeable. And also, it would seem that it doesn't make much since that the twin would stink of sex appeal when Stephin doesn't, but then you realize that the sex appeal comes from the fact that the twin is evil.
Conclusion: the song is about how evil is sexy.
lol absolutely
This song totally rocks! I wish I were the evil twin...
I think you definitely have to listen to this song and recall the story of the Ring of Gyges: that mythical ring that turned its wearer invisible, and thereby able to do anything without repurcussions ("and they would think that I was he // I'd hurt them and I'd go scot-free"). For those who have read your Plato, remember that this device was used by the character Glaucon to demonstrate that no-one is perfectly virtuous. Just as the narrator feels himself to be good ("cause evil's not my cup of tea") but seeing how he would actually use his evil twin, we see this is not the case.
With the fairly strong connections to earlier ethical Gedankenexperiments, this song may be thought of as almost a social commentary about the nature or good and evil, and how people are good because for fear of getting caught being evil.
I love the idea of having an evil twin so that when I'd do all the bad stuff, they'd blame her instead of me. "All my life there should have been/ An evil twin" That's how I feel sometimes. What a wonderful song.