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'm living without you
But I know all about you
I have run you down into the ground
Spread disease about you over town
I used to adore you
I couldn't control you
There was nothing that I wouldn't do
To keep myself around and close to you
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
But I've run out of patience
I couldn't care less
I,
I
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
I used to amuse you
But I knew that I'd lose you
Now you're here and begging for a chance
But there's no way in hell I'd take you back
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
But I've run out of patience
I've run out of comments
I'm tired of the violence
I couldn't care less
I'm looking for a new [Repeat: x4]
You were the talk of the town [Repeat: x4]
I thought you were special [Repeat: x4]
But I know all about you
I have run you down into the ground
Spread disease about you over town
I used to adore you
I couldn't control you
There was nothing that I wouldn't do
To keep myself around and close to you
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
But I've run out of patience
I couldn't care less
I,
I
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
I used to amuse you
But I knew that I'd lose you
Now you're here and begging for a chance
But there's no way in hell I'd take you back
Do you have an opinion?
A mind of your own?
I thought you were special
I thought you should know
But I've run out of patience
I've run out of comments
I'm tired of the violence
I couldn't care less
I'm looking for a new [Repeat: x4]
You were the talk of the town [Repeat: x4]
I thought you were special [Repeat: x4]
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Standing On The Edge Of Summer
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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.
The Night We Met
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Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
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”
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
I was loving the song, thinking it sounded a lot like Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders. Plus there were seeming references to Pretenders songs, like the title of the song (reference to "I'm special, so special", from "Brass in Pocket"?) and that line "the talk of the town" which is a Pretenders song title.
So I googled a bit and found this excellent quote from Shirley Manson:
"On one of the songs, called 'Special,' I took a line out of Chrissie Hynde's 'Talk of the Town,' and it was meant as an homage to her, because the song itself is a little Beatlesque and Pretendersy. I just thought it was a nod to her. But our lawyers were like, 'You have to take it out. You're going to get sued. They'll come after you for hundreds of thousands of dollars. It has to come out.' And I was like, 'I'm not, I want it in there!' So I called her up and she took our call immediately and she was like, 'Are you kidding? I want it in there. That's fantastic!' So the next day, we came into the studio and there was this fax from her lying on our desks, and it said, 'I, Chrissie Hynde, do hereby allow Garbage, the rock band, to sample any of my sounds, my voice, or indeed my very ass.' And it was so cool. She never asked for any money. She didn't ask for any credit. Nothing. She just sent us this great fax."
How cool is that!?
but i've run out of patience i couldn't care less
The first time I heard this song I thought it was about an abusive relationship where the girl (or guy) broke free from and became strong by getting some revenge.
...there's a "t" a the end of "thought". once would be forgivable, but crimany! get literate.
love this song and garbage too. who hasn't had an awry-gone relationship to apply this sweet jam to at least once in their life?
just came out of one quite applicable to "Special" myself. this song has more or less been my therapy.
c'mon people, I bet everyone can relate to this. I know I can. The lyrics are pretty obvious
i'm not really a garbage fan, but i do like this song
I'm thinking about sending these lyrics to an ex of mine who doesn't get that I don't want to talk to him anymore. She comes right out and says that she doesn't like him anymore and doesn't want to pretend that she does, the same way that he pretends to be someone he's not. I love this song.
I love this song! I can relate to it very much, like most of Garbage songs. It reminds me of a guy that I used to be frickin obsessed with and wouldn't even give me the time of day. Evenually I noticed that he was a jerk off and basically was like, "screw him". Now he's the one who wants me. Yeah, like that's gonna happen. This song rocks and it actually decribes things word for word about what happened to me. :)
MY EX IS DENSE. Im so glad I have a song I can listen to and TOTALLY RELATE TO. I love Shirley Manson and I love garbage. I dedicte this to him. HE KNOWS WHO HE IS.
this song is so awesome...definatly can be sung about a couple of ex boyfriends! i thought they were special...i was wrong.