| Cantona – So Sad (So Fine) Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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This band could be my life! This song is on the EP I picked up at one of their shows and is probably the best of the recorded tracks. It has a very strong tune and as usual a fine lyric. While on the surface the song has more concrete imagery, the train to Brooklyn suggesting a thoughful commute, this is to me a more opaque lyric than the others I've looked at. There is a deep vein of barely suppressed sensuality in this song, for example the main character wanting to step inside the mind of the person the lyric is addressed to, the snaking train, the crushes, the frequent fantasies. Whether intentional or not, there's a very nice suggestion that the main character listening to music which is very fitting given the commuting theme: 'the speakers pound you're coming through', 'the notes came to me'. The chorus is very well done, the slightly imploring 'take me out tonight', the appeal for guidance ('you can be the light') and the slightly wistful 'you still look so fine'. This track stays on repeat for me, a very, very good personal song! |
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| Cantona – Semaphore Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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I don't do this lyric justice, but I think I've copied it down mostly accurately. The song conjures up a dreamlike and slightly claustrophobic world of oppositions and opposites, intended bad and unintended good consequence. The main character walks through this world with great awareness, she reads the signs, yet she knows her stance is going to bring her into conflict: she still walks into the traps. There's a slight atmosphere of whispering paranoia, the spies on the sidelines making deals (conspiracies), the reference to laughter in the sound of the debris coming down (malice), the secrets, the main character's agitation. My favourite part is the central image of the semaphore: the main character tries to cover her head to protect it from the falling debris, but the gesture has the opposite effect and actually draws the fire. Perhaps her stance isn't quite as defiant as it seems? It's probably a stretch, but there seems to be a slightly upbeat ending, the spies want to bring her to their way of thinking (world view, self-image), but they retreat, she still appears unbeaten and unbroken. A very fine lyric! |
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| Cantona – New Song #3 Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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An economical piece of writing. Conjures up a hazy world of impotence, missed chances and inevitability very effectively. There's a slightly mocking tone, but it's a maternal kind of mocking, gentle and concerned. Though the viewpoint is female, the central character is easily transferable in the reactions described: drinking, self obsession ("a gesture well studied"), reassessment. Some very poignant imagery: the picture on the LCD, loneliness watching the parade, the early hours and the senseless TV. A very nice study in end of relationship blues! |
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