submissions
| Spoon – The Book I Write Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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Short and sweet. It follows the dynamic of the film, that is, the duality of the author and the permanence of her words, projected on to her living character Harold Crick. |
submissions
| Grizzly Bear – Yet Again Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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I'd suggest these changes-
"Bear behind the case" becomes "barely had a case"
"Keep score, even playing fields is game" becomes "keep score, even playing fields, this game, I know when all said we're the same". |
submissions
| Givers – Saw You First Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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New version is from In Light, the new album. The lyrics are the same and I can't be sure what some of them are.
I know he says "in the gray, there's the color", and in the chorus, "it's cold in those arms, so don't hold it". |
submissions
| Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This is one of my favorites on the album, it's got an urgent pace that recalls the first half of Rolling Wood, and the closing acapella portion ends almost unsurely, reflecting the ideas of the song and album.
Some of the best lyrics Robin has ever written at the end. |
submissions
| Fleet Foxes – Grown Ocean Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This is one of my favorites on the album, it's got an urgent pace that recalls the first half of Rolling Wood, and the closing acapella portion ends almost unsurely, reflecting the ideas of the song and album.
Some of the best lyrics Robin has ever written at the end. |
submissions
| Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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It's a gorgeous song and the lyrics are more tangible and personal than anything on S/T.
It's about not wanting to be a part of the society that would subject the singer's golden-haired angel to a life of worker's servitude, 'running the store'. |
submissions
| Broken Social Scene – Sentimental X's Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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Best song on Forgiveness Rock Record- very subtle, very gorgeous. The lyrics build on themselves in a really clever way, too. This song is thinking about the people you retrospectively used for self-pleasure and realizing how much you actually appreciated them, I think.
Only changes I would make (I don't know what they say after "I couldn't believe that's where they found us" and before "shouldn't we keep it as a promise?") are
1) Opening section, "when you bagged/begged me I was gone"
2) Second section, they say a few different things
Off and on is what we want, what we want is often 'on'
Off and on is what we want, what we want is often 'on'(wrong)
3) Third section, the main line becomes "a friend of a friend you used to call"
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submissions
| Minus the Bear – My Time Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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"Making moves so blind," I'm pretty sure, also, 'we are magnified' seems to be more like 'we are made of fire' but that's just a broad guess. Love this song, it's simpler than the older material but just as delicious |
submissions
| Audio Karate – Lady Melody Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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I always like to think that 'womb' is dragged out to sound like 'home', and that the analogy presented here is kids swelling up (growing up) and being born (moving out/gaining independence), absorbing the love of the mother throughout, preparing them for life (after childhood)
Beautiful song |
submissions
| Minus the Bear – Lotus Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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Sort of vague and preachy, but the music is undeniably top-notch. The Floyd comparisons are pretty dead-on, lyrically and musically- I feel this owes a big debt to Animals. |
submissions
| White Rabbits – Tourist Trap Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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Missing lyrics: "Their lanterns still burned on the lawn", "slept by the sea and went out with the tide", and I believe that "burnt cigarettes in the air" should be "birds circle us in the air". Could be wrong, love this song though! |
submissions
| Andrew Bird – Masterswarm Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Definitely an admittance that you have to "pay to play with finger paints and macrame" which comes out more fully later in the album on 'Nomenclature'. He admits in this song that the youthful, rebellious side of him is slipping away, as he invites those fleas feeding from the arms of the masters to burrow into him-
But out of this comes his stronger sense of conviction, though it comes with an uncertain future- which is reflected throughout the rest of the album's track, I think most similarly on "Nomenclature" |
submissions
| Andrew Bird – Nomenclature Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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This song is an appeal to artists to change the nature of their thought, to forego the status quo and attempt to make something "real", something that reflects the colors of nature. If not, the song seems to say, we will continue to ignore those whose misfortunes outweighs our own and eventually it will wash us all away. |
submissions
| Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Think that Censored_by_laurie is exactly right, Will is expressing his hesitance at turning in his ticket and going ahead with his musical career, especially without the guidance of his friend and fellow Okkervil mate Jonathan.
But Jonathan essentially tells him that he has the talent to succeed, to keep going, he's given him the maps and everything he needs to succeed but he didn't let on just how difficult it would be (the lost coastlines).
Great song, obviously Will and co. aren't so lost as they may think, they're doing a fantastic job and so is Jonathan, but of course, it's Will's job to be a melo-dramatist. Good stuff |
submissions
| Fleet Foxes – Ragged Wood Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I believe "even in the light" is supposed to be "in the evening light", which would make a pair with the "morning tide".
This is my favorite song on the album, in my mind it's the best showcase of their ability to tell a story with their music by essentially splitting the song into two distinct sections that fit thematically with each other. |
submissions
| The Walkmen – Postcards From Tiny Islands Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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A few changes for this awesome song:
*Many nights dwindle by,*
*This letter don't say it all, but it's too much to enclose* in both choruses.
The marble, maybe: *the marble was stoning me"... although that disagrees with the tense, so maybe not. Your guess is as good as mine.
And finally, "oh how the days are flying by!" |
submissions
| Islands – The Arm Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I think you've got most of it right... the last few lines are definitely the most ambiguous because of the clarity of Nick's dwindling voice amid the outro of the drums and guitar... anyway, some possible edits:
"Need you to even if it's pointless to let your arm's carry you"... it really could be either though, they're pretty similar either way.
"Lord knows I tried to keep you from leaving, oh baby, I tried" - This song seems to be telling a past tense story so I think the lyrics are probably closer to this.
This last one is a bit harder, I think it goes something like this: "you're mine, you're mine, there's no way I lied/it's no wild lie when I told you you were breathing, oh baby I tried, but you just float on by" Definitely not sure about 'float on by' but it's definitely something a little like that.
Anyway, great song, the string duo is a little cheesy in it's addition to this album, but only really when it's being used for ELO-like sweeping arrangements such as are featured in the verses of this song. But it's still an A-grade tune, one of the things I'm always impressed with about Nick is that his songs have so many different movements to them and The Arm is no exception... my favorite one is definitely the 1/8 notes of the piano in the bridge, combined with Nick's amazing vocal delivery. His vocals have just gotten better and better, even if they've sacrificed some of that Built To Spill aesthetic for a more showy, theatrical style- lots of "Ohs!" and "Oooos", even more than before.
That said, I'm very excited for Arm's Way, don't think it will be AS good as Return to the Sea because J'Aime was a better drummer than the guy they replaced him with and Jim Guthrie was a much more interesting lead guitarist as well; but Nick's songwriting is as strong as ever, so undoubtedly it will still be head and shoulders above most of the crap everybody else is coming out with these days. |
submissions
| Islands – Creeper Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Sounds like he's saying "honey, you will remember some of it, but if you solve it you will remember all of it" |
submissions
| Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I was thinking it's about a rich girl who's embarrassed to be with a poor guy and lies about it when she's in public with him |
submissions
| Nightmare Of You – I Don't Want to Dance Anymore Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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He actually says "I've got blue collar eyes, the union has been unkind". I'm not sure the words in Brandon's songs are supposed to form any sort of cohesive story as much as they're supposed to evoke images... either way, he has a knack for saying Morrisey-esque lines that come across as being very shrewd, so I don't really mind.
This is a pretty cool song, too. I love how the main riff is lifted from Surf Wax America, intentional or not. |
submissions
| Spoon – Eddie's Ragga Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Moodiest song on the album... it builds and builds and then cuts out unexpectedly before anything really happens; but it fits the quitting mood of the song, with Britt pleading "let me walk away, just let me walk away".
Seems to be about sleeping with someone to get over an ex and being overwhelmed by the situation, not really being sure he can go through with it. Then again, I could be off. |
submissions
| Animal Collective – Unsolved Mysteries Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think he says, "and all was graying and all was aging anyway." Also... Every time I listen to the song I wonder if he's saying "can't" or "can" 'understand, when holding her hand, so womanly, I have to go and kiss her.'
Anyway, amazing, amazing song. These lyrics are the best I think AC has written. |
submissions
| White Rabbits – While We Go Dancing Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Excellent, excellent song from an outstanding band. These guys killed at Siren.
A few corrections, none of which I'm sure about:
"The kids go out to the corner show" sounds a lot more like "the kids go out to the corner shop"
"My old man used a poor attitude" sounds more like "my old man used to pull that, too"
Everything else seems good. |
submissions
| The Rolling Stones – Rocks Off Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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It seems like the song's chorus is a double entendre- the only time he has to gratify himself is when he stops to take a break, and the only time he does that is when he sleeps (get his rocks off, which would mean shooting his load, but in the larger context of the song also represents gratification) |
submissions
| Islands – Volcanoes Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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The second verse makes me think this song is a highly exaggerated fantasy of a potential disaster effect of global warming, resulting in a cataclysmic explosion of all the world's volcanoes. |
submissions
| The Shins – Australia Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Just realized... given that this song is being sung to a girl, it should be "selfless fool, who/you hoped you'd save us all" |
submissions
| The Shins – Australia Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Just heard a live KEXP version of this song, and based on what Mercer was singing I thought I'd add two more corrections, one that I'm sure about and one that I'm not.
1) In the second verse, there is a "dual tone on the wall" instead of a "dual tone under wall". Right after that the lyrics read here as "selfish fool who hoped he'd save us all", but that doesn't make much sense... it sounds a lot more like "selfless fool had hoped he'd save us all". Someone who is selfish would never hope to save everyone, only themselves.
2) I'm much, much less sure about this, but in the live version it very distinctly sounds like James Mercer is saying "you're Himmler in your cote/coat/code, you don't know how long I have been". I'm not sure I really understand why a Heimlich Himmler reference would be thrown in there, but it sounds pretty distinct... perhaps someone could shed a little light?
Anyway, this is the most amazing song on the new record, which in my opinion is absolutely phenomenal and shows why The Shins are the best bast going right now. |
submissions
| The Decemberists – Shankill Butchers Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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This song is really one of the highlights of the Crane Wife- and let me just say, I think the Decemberists really hit this one out of the park. What an amazing album. |
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