| The Killers – Spaceman Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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well re. "the devil and the deep blue sea", i think the spanish phrase you're drawing parallels to is closer to the english phrase, "caught between a rock and a hard place." if we read this song as describing a suicide attempt, there's at least one sensible interpretation - flowers's oft-professed religious beliefs regard suicide as a sin, hence the devil, and severe depression has been described as feeling like being "at the bottom of the ocean". the text as a whole almost fits neatly to this construction, except i can't quite fit the 'spaceman' as a metaphor, or the line about the nile. (i mean, depending how much you're willing to stretch it, you can relate ANY two things metaphorically, but still.) the second construction that makes sense to me is as a commentary on fame, in which case, we can regard the "deep blue sea" as utter obscurity, and the "devil" as the well-documented and exploitive practices of the recording industry. (this last bit fits particularly well in light of other killers songs, including "neon tiger" and "why don't you find out for yourself", which are similarly critical of the industry.) there is a certain degree of impressive artistry in well-written pop music that can lend itself just as readily to any of an array of interpretations, and i think this is a triumph of that technique, but there's still a part of me that wishes they'd pick one concept, make it explicit, flesh it out a little more. anyway the alien abduction theme, while obvious - or perhaps because of how obvious it is - seems pretty clearly to just be a metaphor. too much of the song doesn't fit into it. |
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| Elvis Costello – I Want You Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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minor lyrics correction - if i'm not mistaken, it's "some tatty compliment". (c.f. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tatty) tatty, adj.: rather worn, frayed, or dilapidated : shabby |
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| Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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Very well-thought-out, secretzman. However, I can't shake the feeling your translation is perhaps too literal. Because of how they said both burning it down and starting a war, I have the feeling they're more metaphorical than directly literal. To me, the tone sounds more like desperation. The relationship is falling apart. He knows it, and knows he has to do something about it, but he can't say for sure what. Maybe she just moved out on him. She might have said she had too many bad memories to stay in their apartment, and he interpreted it as her having a problem with the apartment rather than realizing it was as much with him. Alternatively, it could be the relationship is falling apart through no fault of his own, but because of unresolved issues she has with an ex, or her father or something. The relationship is going too fast, or they're getting too close, or she's reminded of something that happened with the previous one, but for some reason she doesn't want it anymore. The mistakes he's made aren't really why it's falling apart, but he blames himself in part because people tend to do that. In a rush of blood to the head, he confronts/has a fight with the ex or father... I guess that doesn't work well with the line, 'Some'll laugh, some just sit and cry,' but the 'Start as you mean to go on' could mean she started out wanting to just have a casual fling, occasional sex, and not feeling ready for anything more serious, intending to break it off when it suited her, but that the relationship grew into something more, and now she's being tempted to end it and move on. I'm listening to it now and I'd swear Online was right about that line, at least on this recording. Oh, and yes, very good. Brilliant use of the instruments & the voice for creating the mood, which influences the interpretation of the lyrics. |
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