@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your frownland
My spirit is made up of the ocean
And the sky and the sun and the moon
And all my eye can see
I cannot go back to your land of gloom
Where black jagged shadows
Remind me of the coming of your doom
I want my own land
Take my hand and come with me
It's not too late for you, it is not too late for me
To find my homeland
Where a man can stand by another man
Without an ego flying
With no man lying
And no one dying by an earthly hand
Let the devils burn and the beggar learn
And the little girls that live in those old worlds
Take my kind hand
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your frownland
I cannot go back to your frownland
I cannot go back to your frownland
My spirit is made up of the ocean
And the sky and the sun and the moon
And all my eye can see
I cannot go back to your land of gloom
Where black jagged shadows
Remind me of the coming of your doom
I want my own land
Take my hand and come with me
It's not too late for you, it is not too late for me
To find my homeland
Where a man can stand by another man
Without an ego flying
With no man lying
And no one dying by an earthly hand
Let the devils burn and the beggar learn
And the little girls that live in those old worlds
Take my kind hand
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your frownland
I cannot go back to your frownland
Lyrics submitted by DonCaballero
Frownland Lyrics as written by Don Van Vliet
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Holiday
Bee Gees
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
American Town
Ed Sheeran
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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.
The lyrics can be interpreted in many ways ( like pretty much every songs he made ! ). It could be about an artist trying to convince a friend to leave society, to create a world of their own, a world of poets. But my own interpretation is, perhaps, darker. I believe it's about the fact that as an artist you must connect some way to society, and because of this, there is always something or someone to drag you down to " reality ". These lyrics are, in my opinion, about the same man talking to himself. There is the first half, the artistic, dreaming one, and there is the other one in frownland ( society, real life as you may call it ). Both will never become one, and for this reason, everything that is reality will belong to the frownland personality, and everything that is artistic and outerwordly will belong to the artist who escaped frownland, hence is " smile is stuck ". The overall message is about drawing a line between real life and artistic life and not blend each other or else you will be diminished in both worlds. The reason why this is the opening song in Trout Mask Replica is probably because Beefheart says a goodbye to his Frownland alter-ego, because his albums were the only way for him to create a world made out of pure artistic work. And he is right. An earthly hand cannot kill you in Captain Beefheart's world. When the Cap will die, his music will still live on.
@Ex Abrupto That is very close to my interpretation. I find the tone and cadence contradict the message, widening the psychological implecations.
I think he sings ''it's not too late for you, IF it's not too late for me'', not ''it's not too late for you, it's not too late for me''.
He's got an inability to be cynical in such a wild world.
I think that's the most accurate of one line descriptions that could be made about this song.
Isn't this just a manifesto for the counterculture, where "frownland" is conventional society and Don is counterposing a different way of life? 1969 was kind of the peak of the hippie dream, after all. Isn't it as simple as that?