| Neil Young – Borrowed Tune Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| The "borrowed tune" is "Lady Jane", slowed way down. Like many of my favorite Neil Young songs, he refers to the song he is singing, powerfully giving it a sense of present tense....that fourth verse just kills me, the way he suddenly thrusts you into the very room, and exact moment, in which he is creating this music. Along with the music, it's a powerful and stark contrast to the more beatific, optimistic lyrics that come before. Though each verse opens with a image of hope, undermined by the second half of the verse ("Climbing this ladder vs. having my doubts, peacefule lands vs. hands grabbing at the sky, ice skaters flying along vs. the eventual melt, and finally the ambigious, "I hope that it matters". I love this song. | |
| Elliott Smith – Satellite Lyrics | 20 years ago |
|
This song is very intriguing. This may be obvious, but since no one's mentioned it, the Satellite is the moon --a strangely detached, oddly technical, way to describe it. This goes well with what NightNeverSleeps was saying about the song be about feeling disconnected from romance; the moon, that beloved chestnut of love songs and poems, is to him, a cold, lifeless satellite. In fact, the narrator is in many ways like this moon, is "staying up all night" , a ", "a burned out world you know" So... for me the poem, has a clear place and atmosphere, and metaphor. As for the relationship at the center, there is much mystery but here's a couple thoughts: "you're a question mark coming after people you watched collide" I don't know about the second half, but the first half is about his lover coming to him with questions, a desire to communicate and connect. "you can ask what you want to the satellite" Great double meaning (at least). The narrator could be the satellite (he is, after all, like that cold, lifeless moon). A little sarcastic, maybe. Or just sad. Or, even better detached. It could also be, you might as well ask the moon....cause: "cos the names you drop put ice in my veins" More detachment. Those moments in a relationship when even when you see someone you once loved in pain, you are able to cut off your sympathies. A brutal place. "and for all you know you're the only one who finds it strange when they call it a lover's moon" I don't know. My favorite line because it sounds so specific,, without being quite placable. Generally, I find out these lines are the most personal ones, that only the songwriter knows (i.e. An actual conversation they had). The very privacy of it pulls me in.... Great song. Oh, and as for drug references, the only one I personally see would be the state of mind that the song is sung from --the kind of objectivity a junkie can get about his own sadness. The ability to know one's one tragedy, but look at it from way above so it, like watching from far out in space as the Earth explodes. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.