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.
Weathermen...
President is in the building
Fucked up out my mind, the gun in my belt
and then the voice yells out, "enjoy your summer in hell"
Dead friends and family surround me where they found me
In an apparent suicide gotta bounty on my spirit
Higher than I ever been, overlookin' my wake
The closed caskets, 'cause I done took off the face
'Cause I ain't never like nobody starin' at me
I'm feelin' sappy
Made a few people sad but more really happy
My crew standin' there wit' shovels just grinning
When the music start 'n the cryin' stops its back to the livin'
'Cause y'all ain't really think I'd go out like Kurt did you?
Beat Gi Gi Allen to the punch and do it at a venue
Hopped out the coffin like David Blain
I hit y'all wit' a decade of verses, I guess for baby fame
You want a plug?
Stick this underground shit so far up your ass you stutter now
Keep licking the cover,
How the fuck did rap turn into Big and Pac karaoke
Back in the 80's they did shit but kept it very lowkey
I know I'm speakin' to less than one percent of the public
But this is for the people who copped movies and loved it
Ya'll better hope I don't catch AIDS or the big C
'Cause the day they say I'm goin' is in the week y'all comin' wit' me.
From the smallest of riffs to the biggest of beefs
I'ma be the first rap serial killer in the streets
I'm caught somewhere between a thug and intelligence
I bug off a eleven acid scratched off the elephant
Along with the rest of the insect nation
Standin' there wit' bloody arms like its an hallucination
This could be the last you'll ever know of I
Cause my spirit and physical just can't coincide
Used to write patterns now they right for themselves
If you ain't into death, step back, when I'm lightin' up L's
President is in the building
Fucked up out my mind, the gun in my belt
and then the voice yells out, "enjoy your summer in hell"
Dead friends and family surround me where they found me
In an apparent suicide gotta bounty on my spirit
Higher than I ever been, overlookin' my wake
The closed caskets, 'cause I done took off the face
'Cause I ain't never like nobody starin' at me
I'm feelin' sappy
Made a few people sad but more really happy
My crew standin' there wit' shovels just grinning
When the music start 'n the cryin' stops its back to the livin'
'Cause y'all ain't really think I'd go out like Kurt did you?
Beat Gi Gi Allen to the punch and do it at a venue
Hopped out the coffin like David Blain
I hit y'all wit' a decade of verses, I guess for baby fame
You want a plug?
Stick this underground shit so far up your ass you stutter now
Keep licking the cover,
How the fuck did rap turn into Big and Pac karaoke
Back in the 80's they did shit but kept it very lowkey
I know I'm speakin' to less than one percent of the public
But this is for the people who copped movies and loved it
Ya'll better hope I don't catch AIDS or the big C
'Cause the day they say I'm goin' is in the week y'all comin' wit' me.
From the smallest of riffs to the biggest of beefs
I'ma be the first rap serial killer in the streets
I'm caught somewhere between a thug and intelligence
I bug off a eleven acid scratched off the elephant
Along with the rest of the insect nation
Standin' there wit' bloody arms like its an hallucination
This could be the last you'll ever know of I
Cause my spirit and physical just can't coincide
Used to write patterns now they right for themselves
If you ain't into death, step back, when I'm lightin' up L's
Lyrics submitted by kaesi, edited by GhostWriter666
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Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Cajun Girl
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Gi Gi Allen?! Are you serious? It's GG Allin. GG Fucking Allin, come on.