| Regina Spektor – Oedipus Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I agree with commenters mentioning the oedipal complex theme. However, I feel like the mechanical/mathematical aspects of this song are often overlooked. She may have chosen "thirty-second" as the narrator's number because of the pun, but it's also an important number in binary -- you'd write it as 10000. For some reason, this always jumps to my mind when the song plays... but I don't have anything more concrete than just a vibe and a few loose straws. Oedipus' comments make his birth sound almost artificial. He makes it sound like he wasn't just conceived, but also born in a single night, part of a batch. Is this poetic licence? Quite possibly... still, it adds to the sound. And his mother hardly sounds human; she could be, of course, but the way the song commodifies and objectifies her makes it sound as though she could just as easily be something else. I don't think this is (or at least is just) some sci-fi story about a cloned vat-boy, but if I were making a music video, that would probably be the video I made to it. I think that's another layer of metaphor... under that, assuming that is even accurate to the intention with which the song was made, I could imagine a story about power and industry. But I can't really say. I think of all Ms. Spektor's songs, this is the one I'd most like to ask what story she was telling when she wrote it. |
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| Gillian Welch – Everything Is Free Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| She's saying she wants to (or feels forced to) resign from music because she has to give away her work for free. I don't think she works for a big label. | |
| The Tiny – Everything Is Free Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Ditto loveinvincible. | |
| Bic Runga – Between an Overload of Information Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This is actually "Good Morning Baby," by Bic Runga and Dan Wilson. | |
| Serj Tankian – Lie Lie Lie Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Pfft, reading some of the comments for this song is like reading YouTube. | |
| Cake – Opera Singer Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| their works outlast us all. | |
| Cake – Opera Singer Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| this song is about artists. | |
| Thom Yorke – And It Rained All Night Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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lie down listen to the rain and watch it all get washed away. filth and love alike. tick tock tick tock... |
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| Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I actually kinda thought he was tributing/satirizing Fat Bottom Girls / Like Big Butts. | |
| Regina Spektor – A Cooler Version of Yourself Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Er... I think the *guy* is supposed to be a cooler version of her dad... kind of like how many guys and girls seek mother/father figures in their partners. | |
| Regina Spektor – Oedipus Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Oh -- and keeping in theme with the dystopic element, there's an awfully mechanical sound to parts of this song. From his descriptions of his birth and siblings, it sounds almost as though the main character was produced mechanically, not biologically... if you take this interpretation, the line 'not at all a *sex* machine' takes on entirely different cannotations. | |
| Regina Spektor – Oedipus Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I'm the king's thirty second son... Keep in mind that 'second' has two meanings within this song. Not only is he the 32nd, but he represents thirty seconds of investment on his father's part. To me (as to others), much of this song has a rank-and-file dystopia kind of sound to it, making me wonder if it's about patriotism. The main character of the song would be a soldier or beaurecrat. The mother reference is a mixed metaphor -- representing love and kindness, but distant and unknown, and someone/something that rejects the speaker (and to see me made her awful/and to touch me made her awful). The Oedipus complex is heavily built into the story... the implication is strong that the main character is going to depose the 'king' and assume rulership (Rex is the latin word for King -- "then one morning I woke up, and I thought Rex, Rex, Rex, Rex."), and that the main reason is to find this mother element he's lacking. |
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| Regina Spektor – Après Moi Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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You can't break a heart that doesn't belong to you, nor a will not your own. "Apres moi, le deluge" may have been originated not by Louis XV, but by his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. I think of a cathedral when I hear this song. "I, I must go on stan-stan/ding-dong." And of course, there's always the Beatitudes reference ("the meek shall inherit the earth"). |
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| Sissy – Start Again Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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(Posted version 1 of lyrics) : Sorry- uncertain about "i'm so sad about now", "its history," and (we would feel so) "upset." Heavy distortion on those makes them hard to decipher. This was the first Sissy song I really listened to the lyrics to, and it struck me how unusually coherent they are for the genre. It sounds like she's singing about being trapped in a relationship with someone who is emotionally exhausting her. The chorus makes it sound like they keep going through cycles, with the other person restarting their relationship every time it ought to be over. Trite, but well sung. |
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| Rasputina – Nov. 17dee Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| But an adult is the one who chose to record it. Of course it's symbolic. | |
| Rasputina – Hunter's Kiss Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Um. It's really beautiful, but this is a song about being raped. | |
| Cake – Meanwhile, Rick James... Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Hmm, I always thought it was 'lettuce-toothed junkies', ie, rotten, flat teeth. | |
| Big & Rich – Blow My Mind Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Despite the obvious drug implications ('Or if you want to, me'n'a few friends are gonna fly'), I like this song because of the tone of cynical wonderment it portrays. | |
| Big & Rich – Comin' To Your City Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Sucking sucks. Suck, sucking suck suck. Suck suck, suck suck suck suck, suck. Sucked sucker sucking sock. Soccer sock. Sucking soccer sock sucked suckers slurpily. See Dick run! | |
| Cake – Opera Singer Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Pavarotti? Brightman? I think the song is about the singer. The song reports the traits common to any who live to perform- passions both grand and dismal. And, when you the listener is dead, will the music, recorded and distributed, not live on? It's the first track for just such a reason. |
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| Cake – Shadow Stabbing Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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If you've ever seen someone's shadow cast to the side while they're using a keyboard, their fingers look like little knives stabbing at some flat surface. I think 'cool blade' could equally mean the reset bar on a typewriter, a shaving razor, or a switchblade. Likewise, cell might refer to his room, a place he's locked into, or his physical body, whose fingers can't keep up with his frenzied mind. To me, the song is about an slightly insane writer (songwriter?) who is bound up in a love-hate relationship with humanity. Out in the world, no one else sees (hears) the manic nature of his inspiration, but that's where he gets it from nonetheless- the tight jaw and steel eye are the writer's, and the white paint, plastic saints are the world he's observing and writing about. |
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| Cake – Wheels Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"What does this song mean to you?" Things change. |
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| Cake – Sheep Go To Heaven Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I'm not quite sure what all the lyrics mean (ie, the chorus), but to me, this is kind of a 'party' song. From the music and emphasis (and how it's performed live), it sounds like Cake is very strongly on the side of the goats (and I mean, really, would Cake *ever* side with sheep?). When the singer's chanting 'Go to hell', it's a rejection of all limitations and strictures- notice he says it after each line the other singers do ("Sheep to to heaven (Go to hell)/Goats go to hell (Go to hell)") The first verse may be from the point of view of someone who's just died. |
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| Cake – Long Line Of Cars Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Oh, almost forgot. The cars are simultaneously literal and metaphorical (as this massive population drives all the time), so the lyrics also each pertain to actual cars. I like archemo's comment about 'accept a little grey' pertaining to smog- hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense. | |
| Cake – Long Line Of Cars Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Seriously, huh? Two lyrics in the above version are off- it's "'We' don't remember where we're going..." and "accept a little 'sin'." The cars are a metaphor for human beings. The lines 'is all because of you' and 'is all because of me' are accusitory, but also refer to the fact that each person has a long line of ancestors and will likely have a long line of descendants. The song is talking about population increase and the thoughtless way in which it continues; 'we've got to accept a little sin', 'we've got to keep the fire burning and accept a little grey' talk about either the 'necessary evils' of life, the extents to which people will go to get their family ahead in the world, or both. "We don't remember where we're going or remember where we've been" points out that nobody has any idea (nor seems to care) where the human race or they themselves are 'going' in the future- another comment on the senseless nature of overpopulation- and few people even have a grasp of the history of their family, much less species. |
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| Ed Harcourt – Let Love Not Weigh Me Down Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This is my favorite Harcourt song. I don't think the meaning's hidden too much, but other people who've listened to the song get the impression he's saying not to fall in love. It's not so much that, I think, as that he's saying- let not the bad experiences you've had in the past become a burden or make you cynical. | |
| Audioslave – Like a Stone Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"And I sat in regret for all the things I've done; for all that I've blessed, and all that I've wronged." I love the sorrow in this song- I can empathise with feeling regret not only for bad deeds, but good ones as well. A good compliment to this song is House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski. Of course, I read the book a long time ago, so it might not be as good as I remember. |
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| Cake – Comfort Eagle Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This song is about power, prestiege and image. Primarily, it's about advertising. Although I like the Ishmael interpretation, I disagree with parts of it; Cake's a very people-oriented band. They essentially never digress into purely environmental lyrics, even though they're very concious of how people have screwed up the planet- that is, they're not environmentalists, just cynics. I'm also pretty positive it's not a direct reference to the book, as it's notoriously absent even a single reference to an ape. Anyway, back to power and image. The 'man' in the song, the shapeshifting character whose cigarette never burns to ash (ever seen that happen in a movie? The guy's always either got a cigarette in his mouth, is flicking a butt away, or drawing a fresh one- but it never seems to actually be burning away), builds up his power and brainwashes his followers by whatever means necessary- music, pop culture (radio, clothes), drugs, law, money (love the 'one big sign, the doublewide shine' - the dollar sign). The song frequently talks about seemingly opposed elements of society (suddenly jumping from 'grooming his poodle' to 'showing his tattoos'; pepsi/coke et al) feed into the same power base- democracy's a joke if no matter who you vote for, it's essentially the same group of elites in power. In terms of interpretation, the lines from "Now today is tomorrow..." to "of the waning of the moon." are interesting because they're the most obscure. The first bit's metaphorical enough to not pose a lot of a problem- my guess is it's about how we (Americans) keep being told we're living in the World of Tomorrow- that is, we've got everything we could possibly want at our fingertips, blah blah blah, buy this gadget. Today is the shining future, which means tomorrow's going to be just like today was, and forget about the past; we don't need that any more. But the airplane bit, juxtaposed right there? And the skip from pure metaphor to concrete scene? On a metaphorical level, it sounds almost primal- the fluffy white lines from our techno-uberosity are obscuring the heavens, which turn their face away (the waning moon). Scary stuff. |
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| Cake – Tougher Than It Is Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I'm pretty sure this is a song about people who try to overanalyze and deconstruct things needlessly. The first verse is about the confusing language that results when trying to analyze something simple, and the second verse is about how taking things apart doesn't neccessarily improve your enjoyment of them. The refrain reminds people that life is hard already, and deconstructing every little thing is just going to make it harder. What I really love about this song is that it's couched in so much metaphor that it cannot be understood without at least a little critical analysis. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – Shores of California Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| From what I've heard, at least, Amanda wants a penis and is annoyed that they all have to be attached to other people. She wants her own, damnit. | |
| The Dresden Dolls – Delilah Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"On the rag" is common slang in America for menstruation, as well. I think that particular line is Amanda's excuse for continuing to try to help Delilah ("She's not really crazy- it's just that time of month!"). The idea that Delilah might be a prostitute is from the 'porn of you' line, as well as the constant sexual references (add 'at 4 o'clock he got off' to the list). However, being on the dating scene is an equally good interpretation, and Amanda talks about sex all the time anyway. |
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| Atomship – agent orange Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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These are the lyrics as I heard them, prior to reading the written text. Text with / slashes indicates a word with another word sung simultaneously with distortion. This is how you hold your American flag 2x So this is how you hold your patr(/fucking/)iotic flag. We/You're all a bunch of fucking/public disgraces. There sits an old/no man he's waving and typing and playing his sax to the law. I see him through the window-sill. There you are laughing and joking and waving and praying for life to be free. And I know that you mean him well. Losing track of days, staring to the sky as the old man yells. Losing track of days, staring to the sky as the old man yearns.2x There she lies bleeding and crying and wasting life on a bed that she has only made. And I know that she'd have done him well. Stands up in anger and walks to the doorway where he can you clearly hear me. And I'm not sure I know what he means. Losing track of days, staring to the sky as the old man yells. Losing track of days, staring to the sky as the old man dies. *can't make out spoken words from 3:03 to 3:17; heavily distorted, may be (partly?) backwards (notice the 'lisp' sounds common to reversed speech)* This's how you hold your American- American Flag. This's how you hold your American People People's Flag. This is how you hold your American American Flag. This is how you hold your American American People People's Flag. As the old man dies (losing track of days) As the old man dies (staring to the sky) As the old man dies (losing to the days) As the old man dies... *** I'll concede 'where he can you clearly hear me' and 'playing his sax to the law'- I thought the latter was a Bill Clinton reference, but repeat listening sounds more like overstressed sibilants, which the singer does a lot. In all other cases, I stand by my version above the official one as to the song's actual lyrics. I think 'waving' in the first segment was *supposed* to be 'writing', but he mis-sang and nobody noticed or nobody cared. The song may be about the writer's grandfather or another significant elderly person, but the broad comments (the old dude 'yells' and 'writes', which are pretty standard old people things) suggest it's more about the aging troops of Vietnam in general- and, of course, our failure to do anything for them, because they're going away soon enough. The song only has a single- and very oblique, at that- anti-government reference, "paying his tax to the law." However, the disgust at the 'flag-wavers' may be targeted at people who are supposed to represent said flag. |
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| New Order – True Faith Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Even though the songwriter has commented, it's important to remember that even the maker of a thing isn't in control of it's meaning; either the meaning it takes through nuance when it's first created, or the meaning it takes through time as different people interpret it. Or was everyone happy with George Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy? It's kind of funny how no one's really tried to synthesize the two common interpretations- substance abuse and organized religion. The song is about addiction more than it's about drugs- and the highs produced by fervent religious faith are little different than those produced by chemical use. Really, any addiction or controlling behavior could apply to this song... or anything that takes away one's innocence and one's destiny. As much as anything, to me, this song is about growing up and trading away dreams for short-term happiness. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – The Kill Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I've never heard it, and SongMeanings is the only site that lists it- it's not on the Dolls' site (even unlinked, as many of their songs are). Live only? | |
| The Dresden Dolls – Shores of California Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Not that I agree with your interpretation in the least, trytaker, but "In short, this is a lovely-sounding song but the lyrics are atrocious and vile" Welcome to the Dresden Dolls? |
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| The Dresden Dolls – Sing Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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It's funny, because the text above this box says, "What does this song mean to you?" Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – Delilah Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I think the song's actual meaning is clear enough, even if there are some ambiguities about Delilah (ie, "and after 7 years in advertising you are none the wiser" - does this mean she (Delilah) works in advertising, or is a self-promoter, ie model/singer/prostitute?) Lyrically I love the 'princess of de nile' thing, because it's just such a trite cliche used so well. Let's not also forget that there is a late night radio show hosted by a "Delilah" and playing primarily love songs, site here: http://www.radiodelilah.com/home/home.html All that aside, it's mostly the interaction of this song with the album as a whole that I love. "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." And he'll stop beating you if you just change a little bit more. He really loves you, Delilah. Santa Claus, I mean. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – My Alcoholic Friends Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| The verse beginning on, "I'm taking back the number of the beast," is what most intrests me, because it brings up the numbers 666, and 6, 8 and 3 (and the letter a). Half Jack references 83rd street, but I dunno if 683a- or some permutation- is intended to be the number of something (like an address or hotel room). 'a is for the address on the letter' | |
| The Dresden Dolls – Sex Changes Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I think the song is about gender re-evaluation; the explicit lyrics are about replacing a penis with a vagina. "One never-ending 'hope you're feeling better'" is the result of any major surgery, "no money back once you've been ripped off" is the loss of the penis, "the boy's'll murder for it but what will the neighbors say"- a vagina- "it leaves you feeling pretty hollow"- replacing a protrusion with an orfice, "love to have a little thing with which to play"- a penis; many other lines refer to about the same sort of thing (keep on beating it tomorrow, stick it in you never know when it will end, etc). The primary thrust of the song seems to be a male-to-female change, but there are references to it either failing or a female-to-male change. My favorite line is probably "Of course it's what's inside that matters." So many meanings... The Macbeth analysis is freaking brilliant. As I understand it, Lady Macbeth is considered a literary symbol of transgenderism by the modern GBLT etc community. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – Half Jack Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Oh, and I would also totally support the idea of either a) amanda being transgendered (i mean, 'a man duh'?- could just be coincidence) or b) her erstwhile father becoming transgendered. 'Sex Changes' is a pretty angry song. | |
| The Dresden Dolls – Half Jack Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Hmm. I thought hermaphrodite at first too, but someone else said accidental child, and I think that's the case. It sounds to me like she was always resented by her father. The lyrics 'half biology and half corrective surgery gone wrong' could mean that her father had had a vasectomy or her mother had had the equivalent operation, and it failed, resulting in her accidental birth. As someone else said, this may have been at a time when birth control by other means was unavailable. The lyrics "and when i let him in i feel my stitches getting sicker/i try to wash him out but like she said:the blood is thicker" are particularly disturbing, because they imply childhood sexual abuse by her father. I suspect it's symbolic, but nonetheless. The numbers 8 and 3 also appear in the song 'my alcoholic friends'. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – 672 Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| She also references the numbers 6, 8 and 3 in My Alcoholic Friends, in conjunction with a reference to the number of the beast (666). 683-666=17, but that doesn't mean a damn thing to me. | |
| The Dresden Dolls – Mrs. O. Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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It seems quite likely that Mrs O's name is taken from Virginia's letter, but it may represent an actual person- such as a schoolteacher (or, more likely in my opinion, long-past sunday school). The last two paragraphs actually read (a few sentences changed in your version): Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest man that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank GOD! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/ |
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