| Jason Mraz – All I Want for Christmas Is Us Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| @[trisweb:29688] lol that didn't last long. | |
| David Wilcox – Common As The Rain Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[trisweb:25598] Hi from 9 years later. Life got a whole several tonnes better. :) | |
| Into It. Over It. – Favor & Fiction Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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How awesome is this song? Captures that mundanity and profundity that happens at the same time sometimes. It's about his cat. Seriously. At a show he said before this song, "This is a song about my cat." He then went on a monolouge about how fat his cat is, and about how his cat is actually fatter than this cat that was in the news for being so fat. So literally it's probably about taking his cat to the vet, making sure the cat was knocked out, and actually having trouble carrying him across the room. But what does it mean to you? There are so many other ways to interpret this musical painting of a moment. The emotions are so real in here that they could be attached to a bunch of things. So, even though it's about his cat, somehow it's universal. Phenomenal. |
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| Brand New – Logan to Government Center Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think the key to this song is in the first line: "Consider this a letter that I never sent." This girl's waited for him, he knows he sucks for leading her on, but he still wants her. The rest is just lamenting the complicated relationship, because even if he had her he would still feel alone - "You couldn't make me not alone" - which is probably why he's not going to send this letter. It's about his life changing and leaving someone else behind, even though he doesn't want to completely, and he feels bad about it. By the way Logan to Government Center (in case you haven't read all the comments saying this before mine) is a subway trip in Boston, to get downtown from the airport. It's the Blue Line. Bam. |
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| Brand New – Logan to Government Center Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I think it's the T line. Logan to Government Center are both T stops, makes more sense than the I93 exit. And what's more it's the Blue line, which makes a ton of sense for the song. | |
| Ben Folds Five – Evaporated Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Perfect song. It's pretty clear what it means, which makes it all the better. Also, was this the first song entered into songmeanings? Id=1. It deserves it. |
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| Bon Iver – Michicant Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Gorgeous, gorgeous song. My favorite of the album, possibly my favorite song of the last couple years really. Just musically brilliant all around. I didn't think it could get any better, but after reading the lyrics fully here it completely did. Either it's about drugs, or young love, or maybe both; either way it's a powerful moment. "both were climbing for a finer cause" sums it up. Pure genius. Had it three days, playcount is already 22. Wow. |
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| Bon Iver – Holocene Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Same here guys... the power of the music and the power of those words came on too strong. It's all good :) | |
| Bon Iver – Holocene Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think what Justin said above "a significance in that insignificance" is what sums this song up (thanks gazelle). A sudden realization, an intense humility, "At once I knew, I was not magnificent." And then you can see for miles. Absolutely, positively gorgeous. The kind of music I've been waiting for for years, and no one has ever made, but now that I hear it I knew what I was waiting for. Thanks Justin. |
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| Jason Mraz – All I Want for Christmas Is Us Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Ha, joke's on y'all, now they're engaged. Heck yeah. | |
| Bette Midler – From A Distance Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Robsun is correct - on both counts. Written by Julie Gold, best performance by Nanci Griffith, on her live album "One Fair Summer Evening." She performs it very heartfelt and with incredible musicianship and emotion. Highly recommended. Now for some meaning and interpretation. I have a somewhat dark and cynical theory about this song. It's probably not what Julie Gold was thinking when she wrote it, as the song itself is purely heartfelt and uplifting. There's an implication in this whole "from a distance" metaphor. From far away, the world looks perfect–she describes all of the great things that humanity is capable of when given all the right conditions and all the right goals. "There is harmony, and it echoes through the land." Such an uplifting thought, that the "voice of hope, the voice of peace" can be heard if you look for it. "We all have enough," and "no one is in need," and there are "no hungry mouths to feed." Everything is perfect. Except–it's not always that way. And then, the final thread, "God is watching us from a distance." So what is He seeing? He's seeing a perfect world, a people in harmony, the mountains and rivers and oceans, exactly like she described. The implication is that he's not there to help us out with the details, he's there to make sure the big picture looks right and we all have the capability to lead it in the right direction–to sing our song, "the song of every man." Now, I'm not a religious person, but it seems to me she's either saying that God isn't seeing all the horrible things in the world and we're sort of on our own, *or* that he's not concerned with them, because overall it's looking pretty darn good. I like to think it's the latter. She's saying that it's important to look at the big picture, to see humanity as a whole and not just as individuals, to even look at war as a necessary evil to protect the peace of the free world–and what's more, she's saying that God is looking at it in the same way, and if you do too, look at all the amazing beautiful things in this world, that you might understand humanity and our place on the world a little better and have the power to push forward, to keep going toward a better world, one in which all of the things in this song are *more* true, and *more* accessible to all people, not just a few. Maybe the song is just to say that it's possible at all, and we should continue seeking it out. It's a heartwarming sentiment and a beautiful song, and if you think about the metaphor and what she's really implying, it's quite deep and enlightening as well. |
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| Pink – Glitter In The Air Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This is a love song. A true love song; one of the most real, most vivid, most honest love songs I think I've ever heard. It starts with a wish and so much emotion. Like the title of the song: have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air? I mean, what an image! It's giving up control, throwing yourself into the wind and not caring about what kind of mess it makes, and not even knowing what's going to happen, but trusting it–looking fear in the face and saying "I just don't care", that's exactly it. "Have you ever fed a lover with just your hand" is a beautiful, subtle metaphor for feeding a horse, holding out your hand and flattening it out and trusting that it won't bite you! She compares a lover to this animal waiting to be fed, and love to this wild uncontrollable thing that honestly can't be tamed, and she knows it. Then so much anticipation and uncertainty, unpredictability, and raw feeling–the tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn, the breath before the phrase, the thunder before the lightning–just those last two images placed right next to each other, man, talking compared to lightning? A simple breath with all the weight and power of *thunder*? Yeah, that's truth right there. "Have you ever hated yourself for waiting by the phone? Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone." I gasped out loud and nearly cried when I realized the double-entendre of "waiting on a ring." And how perfecly, how magically that ties up *both* the beginning and the peak of a relationship, waiting for a phone call, waiting for a proposal, and how important those two points are; how incredible life-changing and joyous, or how completely desolate and lonely. Either way. "Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?" Because so many times, the touch has been harsh, time has killed small parts of her, this animal of love that she had trusted had bitten her, the trust was betrayed, the decision went the other way; all of that, all the pain and loneliness of simply being human, and then one person comes in and with a gentle touch, a moment of happiness, contrasted against all that thunder and lightning, against strangers, against time, against everything that is wrong about life; it's almost spiritual when it goes right. And throughout, the sense of endless passage of time and the constant evolution, of being able to grasp this thing, this animal, only for a moment before it disappears completely: "it's only half past the point of oblivion," (time will eventually undo all), "the hourglass on the table, the walk before the run"–soon the time will be up, everything will speed up, the glitter will be on the floor, the mess will have to be dealt with, reality will set back in, but "have you ever felt this way?" Just for a moment? Then the image of that moment. There they are, a lover, just in a day to day moment, sitting in the garden with *her* coffee, calling her Sugar. So simple, so clear, but this is a moment of pure, unadulterated happiness: a time in her life that's completely right. Yet, it's nested between this fear of the passage of time, the fear of a beginning and the fear of an end, in-between absolutely everything that has happened and could happen and will happen, and somehow, in the midst of it all, she still manages to be *so* happy. And she wants to keep that, *so* badly–she wants it to pause, she wants to be in this moment forever, she wants to lasso the moon, do the impossible, *hold* your breath so maybe–just maybe–time stops. And have you ever asked yourself, "Will it ever get better than tonight?" Time will keep marching on, and the uncertainty in that question–it's not rhetorical I don't think–is astounding. Will there ever be a moment better than this one, ever? If not, then what does that mean for the rest of her life? What if things go sour? What if time keeps slipping? What if these moments fade away and we can't keep them? It's bittersweet. The best moments of our lives will pass. "Have you ever" is repeated so many times in this song, and for good reason–this is a memory. This is in the past. She's looking back on it with reverence, as a sequence of events that led up to the best one she can remember, one that she looks at in awe and amazement, one that she recognizes is so beautiful that she may never have another experience exactly like it ever again. And there's something deeply sad about that, about that entire condition, which is, I think, why this is not strictly a happy song. But it is real. So real. This is why I said this is the truest love song I have ever heard. Love is not happy, love is not sweet, nor is love sour or bitter or unkind. It is all of those things at once, and sometimes none at all. One moment may be an absolute divine revelation, the next might be having coffee in the garden, the next might be goodbye, or a phone call or maybe a proposal, and after that could be anything. But *all* of that is part of love and part of life. And here we are sitting in the middle of it, taking just one moment at a time, and how crazy and amazing it is that you're sitting here calling me sugar drinking coffee in the midst of a hurricane of emotions; that you are the eye of the storm, an incredible calm when everything before is painful, everything after is uncertain, and everything around is spinning wildly. Will it ever get better than tonight? I think the last note this song leaves is positive, uplifting, if only that she leaves that question open, waiting to be answered: maybe with you here, it will get better. We can have more of this. It is possible, and as hard as it is to believe, she just has to trust it. This song is masterful. How much truth, how much emotional reality and intelligence there is packed into this I can't even begin to describe. And the way she sings it! Throws her heart and soul out there for everyone to see, like glitter in the air. |
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| Owl City – The Bird and the Worm Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I noticed that too! That's exactly where that line is from, I don't think it exists anywhere else. Nice. | |
| Death Cab for Cutie – Wait (Secret Stars cover) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Old song - but a great one. Props to the Secret Stars - didn't know it was a cover, but it's great writing. It became obvious to me exactly what it was about very recently, as I've just realized I'm in the same situation, and then (like it tends to) the right song came on at the right moment and it clicked. It's about an unbalanced relationship. You know, one person's really into it, and the other is just in it for almost no reason, and they're just starting to wake up to it. "I don't know much about you / Not that I want to" gives it away - and "Sometimes I can't escape from my room / So excuse me I'll be just a little late" - He doesn't care enough about her to even care about leaving whatever routine stuff is in his room to be on time. It's pretty telling. But "you will wait for me." She's going to wait, even though he won't. She cares, he doesn't. There's a little more depth to it as well - I think it goes into the reasons he's not that into it. They're just sitting around a diner or a corner that could be in any town, every town. Routine. Boring. All they do is sit around "Saying the same things / Over and over again" - no depth, nothing interesting. She could be anyone, her friends could be any friends. I think "Sometimes we all feel stupid / We say the wrong things / You're not the only one" is almost *condescending* toward the trivial stupid things these people are focusing on. It's like he's saying, Hey, wake up, this stuff doesn't matter! You're not special! And "It's a dumb thing" - dumb to worry about, dumb to be concerned with. This is a guy with a different, maybe more grown-up, level of interests and concerns, and he's in the wrong crowd, with the wrong girl, and he knows it. But "you will wait for me" - and that's what keeps him coming back. It's a weird situation, but it makes sense once you've been on that side of it, and the song is just on the money. Brilliant, and great to listen to as well. |
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| Jimmy Eat World – Shame Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Great track. I have both the 7"'s that were handed to me at Rasputin in Berkeley when buying Futures on CD the day it came out, and I still play them to this day. It doesn't quite match the rest of Futures in style and feel, I think that's why it's left off, but still glad to have it released in some form. As for meaning, heck, it's a little cryptic. But it's all clear in one line: "I'm through hiding tonight." |
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| Vienna Teng – Recessional Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The secret to this song is in the one line: "Who are you, the stranger in the shell of a lover, dark curtains drawn by the passage of time?" She's met an ex-lover by accident somewhere. They've chatted, and the speaker has searched their soul for the person they knew and remember still. But this person is not that - they are a stranger, shrouded by time apart. They're a different person. And then parting again as quick as it came - see you around. A beautiful moment, so many thoughts and emotions, and then it was over. One of my favorite songs of all time. What raw emotion and perfect expression of this event. Beautiful. |
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| Vampire Weekend – Walcott Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Hyannis Port is a Ghetto. | |
| Bon Iver – Blindsided Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I really like the first explanation, I just wanted to add to it. I think what really gives it away are the lines: "For the agony, I'd rather know 'Cause blinded I am blindsided" It's pretty clear what this means. Even though it's going to be agony, he'd rather know the truth about someone than be blind to it and dumbstruck later (blindsided - surprised or taken aback suddenly). So if it's about Eau Claire, then maybe he's going to look into the window of a bar or something, catch his girl on a date with another guy. That'd be my guess. I agree that his into in Amsterdam is just a diversion - there's definitely a little more to it than that. As for the end, Taut line down to the shorline / the end of a blood line / there's a pull to the flow - this, to me, though it's a little stretched, is a slight consideration of jumping in the river. He's found out the truth now, and it hurts, thus the shift to "I was blindsided" in the last verses. It seems like he didn't act on this instinctual pull, but the sentiment of it is enough. Helps you understand just how he felt, and if you can imagine the situation, it starts to make sense. This is my favorite song on the album. The pure emotion packed into it and the abrupt changes in tone and energy are superb musically and lyrically. It's such a well crafted musical piece that carries all the emotion of what he's saying here. Beautiful song. |
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| Bon Iver – Blood Bank Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| That's the stuff. In my opinion, a perfect explanation. This song is more like a haiku than a complex web-- just a set of wonderful imagery caught up in a realization of the moment. I totally agree. | |
| Bon Iver – Blood Bank Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think pregnancy is too out there. Nothing to support it, really. Occam's Razor - simplest explanation is most likely the correct one. This song is what it seems, and it's beautiful for it. It asks the question, What is love? What is it right now with this person, or across a life as a brother, or on Christmas morning, or in "the present"? What is it to be human and feel a connection to another such as this? And then the only answer that makes sense: "I know it well." Can't explain it. Just know it. Feel it. Perfect. Love is this ephemeral secret that we don't know how to tell, but we know it well. That is this song in a nutshell. All that and the sentiments of the feeling of the moment, the beautiful imagery, the wonderful repetition of that knowing line, and the Present creeping up like this (what a line...). This is as real as it gets, from the heart and the moment uninhibited. Great song. |
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| Jimmy Eat World – No Sensitivity Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| It was recorded on a split 7" series, Jimmy Eat World+Jebediah. Great series, also includes Cautioners and The Most Beautiful Things. | |
| Brooke Waggoner – The Wrong Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I absolutely love this song. My favorite of the new album. It's all about the last verse. I mean, clearly she's lost a love, and is in that state where she doesn't yet understand it, hasn't yet let go of it, doesn't want to call it or label anything, doesn't want to be wrong. But there it is. The Wrong. And God, what does that do to a person? Where do you go when you feel so wrong about part of your life and have to turn around and walk away? "But I'm a man o' steel no more A man o' steel no more On the Oregon shores, Brought to my core A man o' steel no more." That's it. You are brought to your core. And, I think, one has to recognize some value in that. Then, go on. Rebuild. But God almighty, the crescendo to that verse - "But I'm a man o' steel no more" - quite possibly the greatest musical moment of my entire year, if not this whole decade. I kid you not. Made me cry the first time I heard it. Which means she got the feeling exactly right. Amazing. Just amazing. |
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| The Decemberists – Raincoat Song Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Mmm. Beautiful little song. Yes, this is a girl that is frustrated and angry that the "cherubim" (you know, cupid) haven't "drawn their bows" toward her yet, that love hasn't come her way. But this song is really about what that does to her. She's angry and frustrated and down (that is her "rain") but she hides it and runs away from it - stays inside with her fluffy pillows where she's comfortable, doing nothing more than "heaving her fiercest sigh" as if that would make a difference. And when she is in this rain -- her gloom, her defeated state -- she just puts on a raincoat and tries to protect herself and stay comfortable, and ironically all that brings is more rain. And when the rain comes up she'll "wear her britches tight", and you can imagine what that means metaphorically. Think where the phrase "loosen your britches" comes from, or "loosen up" even. It's the opposite. It's a wonderful little metaphor. It's about getting into a rut, and the vicious cycles that keep us there. I love how Meloy makes it so personal, yet, subtle, with the speaker telling this story, and talking directly to her in first person - "I should teach you right" - it's quite a beautiful song with tons of weight to it. And the moral, of course, is that we shouldn't try too hard to protect ourselves from the sorrows of the world as that just makes more sorrow. Ironically, it's not like rain - we can control it. We can't expect good fortune to come to us without trying, we have to quit moping around, quit worrying, get out into the world and make things happen for ourselves! A wonderful sentiment. |
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| Shawn Colvin – I'll Say I'm Sorry Now Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is a lullaby, but one so honest and bittersweet, it's absolutely lovely in all the right ways. Nearly a perfect song, in my opinion. First, I think it's to her child, for a few reasons. "Hard as we try / The bough breaks and the cradle falls" definitely alludes to a baby and cradle. Also, it's clearly a lullaby tune. Pretty clear. And the song is about life and what may come for this child. She's telling this baby, let me apologize to you now for all of this stuff that's going to happen to you -- all of the falls, the sadness, the pain and despair -- the life that's just going to happen, good and bad. Every parent knows this is going to happen to their kids, but this song; god, this is the honest truth right here. She's saying, you can live your life, and you will. You'll sing your song and you will change your mind a lot ("you can get it wrong"), you might find religion ("kiss the rock of ages"), fall in love (I think "walk a while down the mystery mile"), go to war ("beat the drums of freedom"), and through it all, all this life, "through the rush and roar," you can only be true to yourself, you can only "call 'em like you see 'em." And, I think she's sorry for that too. Sorry that life's not more predictable, that people aren't more trustworthy, that you can't "see between the liars and the sages." But, maybe that's just life. I think this song is the most succinct, clear, beautiful explanation of how wonderfully unpredictable and scary life can be, and I think the end just says, well, that's just how it is, just go with it. Personally I think it's a little on the pessimistic side, because of course there's so much more to life than the bad stuff. But, learning to go with all of that is part of the process and I think that's what this is about. Such a beautiful song, too. A perfect tune to carry this sweet sentiment. One of my all-time favorites, and my 2nd favorite of Colvin's songs (If I Were Brave being #1). It's been a while, glad I remembered it again. |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – Cath... Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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You know what this song just reminded me of? Death of an Interior Decorator ( http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=3530822107858490765 )... the idea of giving in to something and settling for something less than what you want or deserve ("you live in someone else's dream", "so many men who would have loved you more". But here he's saying, well yeah, life is short, so I understand why you did it. "I'd have done the same as you." Simple, short, and bittersweet, but heartfelt and meaningful. So, I think this is Death of an Interior Decorator, but before she realized exactly what she had done with her life or how it was going to be so much less than she deserved or expected. But I think this song has yet more depth to it, with the implicit understanding of the complexities of these situations; I think it's slightly more mature and wise. I'm so glad this and a few other really great poetic songs were on Narrow Stairs. They redeemed having "I will possess your heart" on there (mostly). |
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| Shawn Colvin – Sunny Came Home Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Haha, I love how this is the only Shawn Colvin song with any number of comments. Branch out people, her other songs are good too! I think this one is about someone who's realized that they're in the wrong place, with the wrong person, and has even known it, maybe subconsciously, for years. She came home one day and wanted to set things right, to (metaphorically, not literally) burn down the past and leave it all behind. Sometimes that's just what you gotta do. |
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| Stars – Your Ex-Lover Is Dead Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Oh yeah, to add to my comment above - the title is great. Fits perfectly. He's forgotten his ex-lover so well that she's practically dead to him, and this event was just proof of that. Great song. | |
| Stars – Your Ex-Lover Is Dead Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Oh, freaking awesome. I just got this song. It's my situation exactly, helps me understand it so that's cool. So the guy, the narrator here, was dedicated to this girl, he had strong feelings for her, but she couldn't decide, she didn't know ("I chose to feel it and you couldn't choose"). So things fell apart because they were one sided, and he had to endure the pain of letting go, but he did, and he forgot. He forgot her so well that he can't even remember her name anymore, and he knows that she doesn't even deserve the memory of a name. With this song he's basically saying "Screw you!" He's not sorry he forgot her, and he did it and isn't looking back. Awesome. This is my new letting-go anthem right now. |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – You Can Do Better Than Me Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"My old clothes don't fit like they once did So they hang like ghosts of the people I have been" That's the stuff right there. I like this song for its length, it's short and to the point and makes perfect sense. This is a guy who's not himself anymore, because he's been in this relationship for so long. But he's stuck in a trap -- "I fall in love every day" is about her, not other people -- he can't get out of this rut because the love keeps coming back. He's thought about it, and he's realized that it's unbalanced, but he also knows that there's nothing better waiting, that this is the best he can do. The sad realization is that someday his girl has to realize that *she* can do better, and will leave to find it. So he's realized it's a dead end, regardless of how he feels about that. It's a classic paradox. What's sad is that he's wrong. You can always do better than someone who would leave you for greener pastures. |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – Long Division Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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LOVE the lyrics on this one. The new album is just warming up to me... It's all about the long division and an extended metaphor here. It's an amazing one, a perfect description of this kind of relationship he's talking about. Just genius. So we know long division works on fractions, like 28 divided by 7. That one divides evenly, without a remainder. It just equals 4. It's easy. But if you've got two numbers like 31 and 7, trying to divide 31 by 7 results in 4 and 3/7. It's not even. If you keep dividing forever, it'll go on forever and it'll never resolve, it will never be perfect. That's what he says - "It was clear with every page / That they were farther away / From a solution that would play / Without a remainder." He's actually talking about manual long division on paper - you can go on for pages dividing and adding and dividing and adding, but with an irrational number, you will never reach a simple result, there will always be that same remainder. It is uncanny and kind of amazing how well this describes a bad relationship. Two people, as incompatible as prime numbers, will never end in a clean result. They can go on and on forever in a cycle of misunderstanding and confusion, but they will never be truly happy if they are so different that they can't understand each other, and especially if things are so fuzzy that they never make it to the next level. But they keep trying 'cause that's what you do, you try to make it work and you don't want to be alone, you don't want to be a remainder again. In long division, eventually you just have to give up and put down the remainder. After a while, it's obvious that patterns keep repeating, in fact that's how you tell. In a relationship that's going on endlessly without getting anywhere, you have to do the same thing. And he's always stuck there, with that remainder, with what's left from trying to make it work for so long. But, if he's been trying with so many numbers that he has so many remainders, maybe it is like long division - maybe he's prime. In that case he's looking for 1 or himself. And his problem is that he's looking to divide by 1, to find that person who truly matches him yet is so different from him. Meanwhile everyone else is probably just looking to Multiply, and not worrying about remainders. And I get the sense that he's actually doing this to himself, because "He was always distracted / By the very mention of an open door / 'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before". So, the very mention of division is what starts the process, he's dividing himself. I think (personally) that the key to a successful relationship is addition. No remainder, no mess, just more of a good thing. Combine that with a little multiplication and you've got a good thing. I really like this song. It's unfortunately familiar, but just absolutely amazing to me how well this analogy fits the situation. Being a logic-oriented person, hearing it was like having a light-bulb go off in my head, a total epiphany. Thanks Ben. |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Heron Blue Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I think this is specifically describing the event that's more emotionally described in Harper Road (I love how the songs on this album are connected!). This is right before her death, as whatever the disease is, "like poison it succumbs her." All of the constricting, killing images in this are connected with that feeling of unpreventable loss. And then, when it finally does happen, it haunts him and the sadness sets in. God this is a sad song. I like Harper Road's version of the event a little better, but this is more real and from a different perspective. | |
| Sun Kil Moon – Harper Road Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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They will not stay together always - she's dying. "And there in breaths she'll take not often / There her heart troubles suddenly soften" - I think he's being literal there, she's actually leaving, dying soon, or has done. "Sorrow came in floods this April / With our reason humble warning" - a warning of something horrible to come, limited time, is their reason for sorrow. She's leaving the world, soon. He doesn't want her to leave - "Don't leave my love, don't leave my side." But he will "endure the driest season," and always remember her. And even though she's not with him now, he'll always find her in his dreams and memories, and his love will always shine brightly. Such a sad, haunting song, that gets that feeling of this story both before and after it happens perfectly - the anticipation and sorrow, the strong memories still persisting, and the sentiment of the power of the human spirit to endure even the most damaging events, like a wild oak endures a fire. Amazing song. |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Lost Verses Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Hence why I said "I think he's personifying the fog as all of those ghosts" - The fog *is* the ghosts, and he's one of them. So you're right, he's a ghost, but that's not all. | |
| Kate Klim – I Choose Me Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Pretty clear what this one means. She's in a complicated relationship where she doesn't feel independent, she's just acting a part she thinks she should be playing - "just acting the way we learned to play when we were young". Eventually it gets to the point where they're playing games and thinking way too much, and it's clear what decision has to be made. So she chooses herself over a questionable and hurtful relationship, seems to be always a good move. | |
| Billy Joel – And So It Goes Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Oh God, what a sorrowful, beautiful song. This is about a woman who broke his heart. That's all it is, don't read too much into it. I think they broke up, then didn't talk for a long time, but he still harbored feelings for her, and had to tell her. "But if my silence made you leave / Then that would be my worst mistake" - he has to take the chance that that's true, just to know for sure. But, at the same time, he knows what's going to happen. It's a song about the sadness of a lost love, the uncertainty and need for closure and honesty, and finally, acceptance. This is how it goes. It is. All you young choir kids (don't know why there are so many of you who sang it in choir ;-), consider yourselves darn lucky for relating to this song in a positive way, because once you grow up and have been through this once, twice, too many times - this song has different meaning. I suppose, enjoy the innocence of not knowing heartbreak while you still can! The poetry and wordcraft in this song is great. My favorite lines are probably "And this is why my eyes are closed / It's just as well for all I've seen" - In other words, he's seen so much pain and suffering in his heart that he might as well just block out what he knows is coming. It's a beautiful song, so honest and true. One of my favorite songs of all time. |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Blue Orchids Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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So sad... I think we have a better idea of what this whole album is about now. "My fallen love died so young, And all the gifts you gave I have them, and all your love I'm still holding onto." That's what all the memories, the places, the lost verses, are about. Or at least I think that's a good explanation. Such a sad haunting song... |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Like The River Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song is sort of scattered... he's remembering an old love I think, and how it ended and were happy for each other, and he eventually found a new love, but never lost the memories. This verse makes the song - "I have all these memories, I don't know what for I have them and I can't help it Some overflow and spill like waves some I will harbour For all of my days" That's all it is. |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Moorestown Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Agree with DubJ completely. It's a beautiful song, connecting her to this place, both of them special to him. It's Moorestown, New Jersey, for sure - North Church Street runs right through the town. I love how this album seems to connect to these specific places, and so many people and memories associated with them. Such a great theme. |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Lucky Man Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Places. Five different places. New York, Ohio, Florida, LA, Spain... and I think the last one is San Francisco - where else does April fog spill into hills toward the east? Plus, Lost Verses is all set in the bay area, and is all about Fog... a nice connection there. I think he has found home. "So hard to find it in us to leave these dreams" - but you do, and in the end, "Now have I found her." It's about moving around and finding your home, or at least your home for now. |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Lost Verses Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Hauntingly beautiful and powerful... amazing song. I put it in my car CD player, and drove to Mt. Tamalpais, drove up and down Hwy. 1, down to the Marin Headlands and San Francisco... just to feel all this imagery in its native setting. Amazing. As far as what it means, wow, it could be so many things. My instinct says the speaker is a ghost or someone gone looking back. "I haunt the streets of San Francisco / Watch over loved ones and old friends"... Ooh, I get it. It's fog. They're the ghosts of the fog. The fog is personified - "I came up from under the ocean / Evaporated sea salt water / A mist above the skyline" - And I think he's personifying the fog as all of those ghosts, all those lost verses, the people still haunting the "Many places we / Lay down in sleepy hidden shadows" - Tamalpais, Marin Headlands, San Francisco - and watching over loved ones, peering into windows. These are the "ghosts of April" that "Fill the foggy day" and "hide the hills away" creeping "on the bay flowing into the ocean glowing." Wow. I'll never look at fog the same way... beautiful. Just beautiful. |
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| Nickel Creek – When You Come Back Down Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is true love: "I know the sky is calling, Angel let me help you with your wings." True love isn't about needing someone to be yours and be in your presence and being possessive -- it's about wanting them to be happy, and when someone has dreams that they have to follow by themselves, as all of us do, then a true love would set them free in such a loving and kind way like this, and help them follow their dreams instead of holding them back. I recently had this experience with my girlfriend, as she was being very doubtful about our relationship and wanted to be free to have her own experience in college while she still can. I broke up with her because of the situation, and I know now that this is what I really meant. I wish I could have said this to her when I let her go. |
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| David Wilcox – Common As The Rain Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Wow, did I really write that three years ago? A 2.5 year relationship filled that time, recently ended, and I listened to this song again. I understand it so much better right now. This is a prayer of utmost understanding and love. Love at its end cannot get any better than how this song describes it. When situations or feelings diverge and "the love just slips away", there's no sense in resisting it or being selfish about it, just continue to love -- not in the stereotypical needy fake 'romantic' sense, but in the most fundamental sense -- to wish someone to be truly happy, even if it means setting them free. That is true love. And to recognize in your own self the ability to continue, to know that life is ever-changing and that this is just a part of it. That this was not a waste or anything negative, but a magic time that had to come to an end. This is the definition of maturity and stability. A great song for anyone going through a breakup, preferably listen to it before it happens so you can understand it better when it does. |
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| David Wilcox – It's Almost Time Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It's all here - "When your love grows cold and your heart grows dark and the blame seems to fall on you look how seasons must change and don't think it's so strange that your love goes in circles too." That's what it's all about. He says, look, almost everything's cyclical in the world, everything goes back and forth and changes and goes in circles, why is everyone so surprised at the ebb and flow of love? So don't be surprised, just hold on, and it'll come back if it's true, as sure as the sun will shine. He says this without fear or insecurity, which I think is the point. It's so optimistic! In general I think this song can be interpreted as a beautiful sentiment of optimism, and remembering that even in hard dark times, you have to hold on and be strong, because it will get better. Awesome. |
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| David Wilcox – Big Mistake Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| One more thing - check out "Just a Vehicle" too, same theme, but even more subtle and metaphorical. | |
| David Wilcox – Big Mistake Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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UnpopularPoet is right. This is the most eloquent way to say "But what about love? How does evolution explain that?" Love and beauty and nature and the way we feel, our sentience and awareness, and all that, he thinks, can't be explained by science alone. I tend to agree, in the way he puts it. As a proposition, that all of this could be a mistake, but is it too amazing for that or what? I don't know. |
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| The Decemberists – Of Angels and Angles Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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You know, coming back to this I think issafly has a very valid interpretation... that's exactly how that feels, having experienced that very thing between my first interpretation three years ago and now... It works both ways, and is still a great song. |
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| James Taylor – Belfast to Boston Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This could be a great peace song, if everyone would listen to it. But that's not realistic. I think that's really what he was trying to do with it though -- "Who will say this far, no further, Oh lord, if I die today?" -- who else will stop it but one man, believing in his power to change someone's mind through a song? To relay the message from the fallen soldiers, "Time to lay God's rifle down." He says it perfectly, and one can only wish people in power would listen and heed his words. |
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| James Taylor – Ananas Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Apparently, 'ananas' is French slang for breasts (means 'pineapples' literally). That should make some sense of this song, "Let me see you one more time", "Thinkin' 'bout your ananas"... take from that what you will. ;-) In all seriousness though, I think he was rejected here by someone he really cared for and was very attracted to. "Even my own heart don't belong to me" he says, which shows he actually cares about more than the superficial, but he's looking for anything, "Howling like a dog on the moonlight" for her to "Laisse moi te voir" (let me see you). It's a song of desperation and loss, and a little bit of the blues. I didn't like it at first, but it's grown on me. |
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| James Taylor – Like Everyone She Knows Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I love this song. Some great guitar work and good advice. It's a situation we all must have been in before, and this song is full of hope. "Tend your own fire, lay low and be strong" - I read that as, take care of yourself and don't worry about it, just be strong and it will come to you. Good song :) |
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| David Wilcox – Just a Vehicle Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Ah a song about a girl and her car... or not. A song about a girl who is a vehicle more like it. This, like "Big Mistake" has religious connotations I think, but done in such a perfect "Think about this now.." way as to be thoughtful and not overdone or insulting to anyone of other beliefs. So get past that, first of all, he's not saying anyone's wrong, he's just posing the question in a beautiful way. This one's deep, brace yourselves. So this woman, middle-aged maybe, has this Jaguar, and she keeps it in perfect condition, polishing it all the time and keeping it looking great. But it doesn't move - "hasn't run in a year or two" - so what's all the work for? Well, she cares about it - "it's too precious to be careless" and "it's too easy to collide it / And it hurt so much before." Okay, so a car she's afraid to drive because she's crashed it before and knows what that feels like. But why is she giving it so much importance? "Could it be / it's just a vehicle / She shines." It's not that big a deal right? Then the turn - the next verse is about this woman. She's down, blue, "Great shape but she's not so new anymore." She works out, keeps herself looking good, just like the car. If we extend that metaphor even further, we could say driving the car is like taking risks in life, falling in love only to get hurt again, and she's stopped doing that, again because "it hurt so much before." So she's losing hope, has nothing to look to, feels empty and "sees it's going nowhere and she knows there must be more." Ah, there it is. There must be more. What ever could that mean? "Could it be / That it's relly just a vehicle" - could *she* herself be only a vehicle? A container for her soul that could be going somewhere further, beyond this superficial and painful world that's going nowhere? That's the question posed and not really answered, and it's not something I would even begin to answer, nor anything anyone really knows for sure, but dang, what an amazing way to ask that question! To compare a person to a car; why polish a car if you're not going to use it? What's coming next for it? Well, you might get a new car, or maybe get out of the car, and you're still there, you're still able to live and love and move around, just outside your vehicle. That's totally the sentiment here. Could it be? Who knows. I totally didn't catch this for many years, until I really listened to the lyrics one day and it all fit together. That's a testament to David's incredible gift for metaphor, and in such a way as to make something clear and understandable by making it indirect and just enough to get the message across. This is another of his best songs, in my opinion. |
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