| Cake – I Bombed Korea Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
There's a device called conceit in lyricism. It's where the artist draws a comparison between two very different things within the same set of words. Of course the song is about some old Korean war vet in a bar, on the surface. If you're not willing to go past what the lyrics state overtly, you're not giving the artist much credit. The song is also about McCrea's own story to tell: that of emotional ambivalence and limited perspective in a string of one night stands. You don't have to say "I banged some chicks that I didn't really know that well" to talk about sex in a song. |
|
| Spoon – Carryout Kids Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
I think it's "I coulda ridden the ride, I could have lived the life!" instead of "read her her rights" This song is brilliant. I was a carryout kid in high school, and I've felt the swift, defeating transition into the magazine life of work every day and getting things done. I'm not setting the city alight anymore; I've been tired and trapped. But now, now in a moment of fire, now I know I wanna live the life, I wanna wrong the rights! Because I can't stand not being extraordinary anymore, because I can't just collapse from being a Carryout Kid living another life into Stranger Than Fiction monotony. |
|
| Guster – Ruby Falls Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
The ideal of love was not entirely achieved, but instead of being disappointed by the end, the author accepts the "failure" as another facet of love itself. Ruby Falls itself is a beautiful spectacle --perhaps he and the girl visited it as part of a road trip together in which they realized they weren't right for each other (reinforced by reference to "navigation" later on)-- but when one sees it, there is a sense of acceptance. To get there, one must drive through some of the most beautiful parts in Tennessee's mountains. Upon one's "reaching the end," the falls themselves aren't extremely grand or superb, they're just beautiful. The author may view the love he had in this way, starting with a "digging" to recover what he has lost, but eventually settling on acceptance of its end. He is confused as to where they can go from there. Certainly he feels guilt in the early lines of the song, asking his Judge to look away from his failings in the relationship and, in an image similar to that of Dante and Beatrice in Dante's "Divine Comedy," requesting that his love "don't look him in the eye." Eventually he asks her to "wash it all down" and swallow the reality of it-- the birds will remain buried, the memory of their love will be its sole salvation, their is no more between them. |
|
| Cake – I Bombed Korea Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
This song is a huge double-entendre for the detatchment of a loose sexual relationship. It draws comparisons between war and sex, two commonly related items, yet comes just short of condemning them. McCrea understands what it's like to be in such a relationship, Bombing Korea Every Night. I bombed Korea every night. (it's so familiar to him that it's almost mundane, being repeated throughout the song) My engine sang into the salty sky. (Salty, obviously a male sexual reference) We didn't know if we would live or die. (Unsure about the relationship with the person) Red flowers bursting down below us. (Red flowers, obviously a female sexual reference) Those people didn't even know us. (It's a rushed relationship, lacking understanding) We didn't know if it was wrong or right. (He questions the morality of the act itself, but in continuing to repeat it, he dulls the effect of it.) It was so fitting once I figured it out! Chyeah. I just rocked that dish! |
|
| Gnarls Barkley – A Little Better Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
This song is about how trials can bring you feelings of a higher quality than the ones you've had before. Compare to the song "Finer Feelings" by Spoon. "you dont' have to be grown to go" he learned at a young age to feel deeper things than he had before. Corey Austin once said "If you want to give a man a muse, stab him with a knife and twist." and it holds true for many artists. He says that he's had pain in him, but it's given him a sense of purpose-- he's going to do big things (which is probably what he's doing singing) and says "The circumstances put soul in me... I've got a heart made of gold in me" Overall, he realizes that he needed to go through the fire in order to refine himself. He feels better about his trials, because he realizes they had a purpose. After all the world has done, he's come out alive, and he's optimistic about it. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.