| Train – 50 Ways to Say Goodbye Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I see the humor in the exaggerated death stories, and it's pretty clear that the singer is trying to cover up some serious pain over a breakup. I think it could be seen a slightly different way, though: in addition to trying to convince his friends with the ridiculous accounts of his ex's demise, he could be trying to bring himself some closure. That's one interpretation that makes sense in light of my experiences, anyway. My last breakup was difficult for me, partly because the main reason was that she moved across the country -- there were no real problems in the relationship otherwise. It just wasn't logical to stay together over such a long, semi-permanent distance. I held on for much longer than was healthy, but one thought that finally helped me let go of her (long after she'd moved on) was to cut all ties and pretend that she was as inaccessible as if she had died. I'm no good at goodbyes, but it's helped to destroy all lingering remnants of hope that we might get back together. The line in which she "danced to death in an east-side nightclub" is especially poignant for me, even though it's because of a loose association: our relationship had grown through our mutual dance hobby, and then her moving-on process involved a lot more dancing after she went east. She met her next boyfriend out there through dance...but I prefer to think that she simply danced to death instead. It hurts less. |
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| OneRepublic – Good Life Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I don't see this song as a straightforward celebration of a "good life." I hear something more like desperation; a frantic search for meaning and connection amidst fading hopes that such things can actually be found in this life. The singer seems aware that he is more fortunate and better-off than the vast majority of the world's population: he insists that "this has gotta be a good life" since he has been afforded such opportunities by the accident of his birth in a wealthy nation. He searches for this "good life" in raucous, reckless partying. Waking up with no memory of the previous night's events, and apparently in a different city than he was expecting, obviously indicates heavy drinking the night before. He knows that he met lots of people, went to interesting places, and probably did plenty of exciting things, but it's all a detached sort of fun. It's all what he's "supposed to do" as a young celebrity, but is it really what he wants? He doesn't want to deal with that question. When you're "happy like a fool," you can forget about those troubling thoughts for a while. All it takes is a few more shots of liquor...or maybe some harder drugs. The bridge lays it all out. The final line contains the theme of the song: "Hopelessly, the hope is we have so much to feel good about." We're young, privileged, and successful on top of that. We don't have a right _not_ to be happy, right? But...what if we're not happy after all? What if the whirlwind days and the crazy nights don't satisfy that little part of us that wants the simpler, more elusive pleasures of warm companionship, purpose, and genuine human connection? Well, "we all got our stories." With that, he dismisses any possibility that his unhappiness could be real or understandable. With it goes any chance of resolving the vague longing that troubles him. Stuff your discontent deep down inside, and pretend that it isn't agonizing while it eats at the very substance of your being. That's all you can do, as a conscientious and self-aware member of society. Eventually, the pain will stop...one way or another. |
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| Weird Al Yankovic – Ode To A Superhero Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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*scolds past self* I'd like to retract my assertions of Weird Al's genius. He's certainly clever, and puts a lot of effort into his parodies, but the word "genius" is thrown around far too casually sometimes, my post from two years ago being one such time. I was just impressed by the multiple layers on which this song in particular was crafted. I still listen to it occasionally, but claiming that Al's a genius for creating it is going too far. Claiming that twice in a row is just cringe-worthy in retrospect, hence this update. To add some actual content: note that the piano solo in the original is, in this version, played on Al's accordion. He's somewhat known for playing this less common instrument. |
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| Kylie Minogue – Can't Get You Out of My Head Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The meaning of this song is quite obvious, after some consideration: it's about vampires. Kylie is a human with an overwhelming crush on a creature of the night. I just can't get you out of my head Boy your loving is all I think about I just can't get you out of my head Boy it's more than I dare to think about This opening establishes her obsession, and this is reinforced by its repetition throughout the song. Vampires are known for fascinating and dominating their victims over the course of weeks as they visit each night and drink just a little bit of blood. Read "Dracula," by Bram Stoker, for an example of this. However, there's a subtext here in the last line: Kylie's not entirely unaware of what's happening. She wants to submit to the vampire's thrall, but she knows on some level that his nightly visits will lead to her death -- and possibly more. She can't deal with the thought, so she pushes it aside. Every night Every day Just to be there in your arms Her undead lover is with her every night, but the nights aren't enough for her. She wants to be in his arms every day, too. The days leave her feeling cold and empty, and it's not just the anemia. Won't you stay Won't you lay Stay forever and ever and ever and ever She wants him to stay with her, and lay her in the cold earth of his coffin. Forever... She realizes what he is, and she wants to be turned. To exist forever as the undead, stalking the night and lying with him by day. La la la La la la la la La la la La la la la la I just can't get you out of my head Boy your loving is all I think about I just can't get you out of my head Boy it's more than I dare to think about This revelation is too much for her, and she retreats to the comfort of thinking that he's just an ordinary paramour. The humanity left in her shudders at the thought of becoming a creature of the night -- it's more than she dares to think about. There's a dark secret in me Don't leave me locked in your heart Set me free Feel the need in me Set me free Stay forever and ever and ever and ever It doesn't work. She acknowledges the dark secret in herself: she welcomes the cold embrace of death, and the opportunity to rise and hunt humans like wild game. She was always a bit of a misanthrope, but her empathy and other trappings of humanity kept those feelings in check. The transition to vampirism strips away love, empathy, and warmth, leaving only bloodlust, rage, and sadism. Her dark secret is that she welcomes this. She knows that being turned would set her free; release her from the binding, complicating influence of human emotions, and allow her to embrace the stark simplicity of sociopathy: the strong preying on the weak. She begs her vampire lover to feel this dark need in her. To recognize her potential to be the greatest terror the night has ever known. She asks him not to let that terror remain a figment of his imagination, "locked in his heart." She commands him to unleash her on the world, and promises an eternity together, feasting on the blood of the innocent and reveling in the chaos they would cause. La la la La la la la la La la la La la la la la I just can't get you out of my head I just can't get you out of my head I just can't get you out of my head... The vampire consents, and begins the process of siring her. As he drains her nearly dry of blood, she writhes in pain and ecstasy; helpless, but getting exactly what she wants. Just before she slips into true death, he offers his own unclean blood to her lips. She drinks, and as her life fades away, she thinks of nothing but her eternal partner-to-be, and how she will be vindicated when she rises from the grave. |
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| Supertramp – Sister Moonshine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Well, moonshine is a term for homemade distilled alcohol. Maybe Roger's turning to strong alcohol to escape from the difficulties in his life: the verses imply loneliness, regret, and pain. He's overcome with regret, because he "lock[ed] [his] dreams away," dreams of being a minstrel, gypsy, or other such adventurous and fun childhood fantasy. Now that he's an adult, he drinks to escape. "Sister Moonshine" is his only friend. Or, how about a completely different interpretation? Roger's simply personifying actual moonlight. That's essentially what moonlight is, a little sun in the middle of the night. Perhaps the darkness of the night symbolizes his sadness. Meanwhile, sunlight symbolizes childhood's innocence and imagination, "see[ing] the magic in a day." Now that he's grown, he's lost sight of his dreams, and is shrouded in permanent nighttime. He knows he can't return to childhood entirely, but still he hopes to regain a small measure of imagination and ambition by asking Sister Moonshine to send them; to give him the secret to enjoying himself; to light up the sky and his life. At any rate, I think this is a good song. Hopefully my post will start a discussion. Please feel free to disagree with me, or to add to my ideas. |
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| Weird Al Yankovic – Ode To A Superhero Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This is a parody of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel. Weird Al's a genius...this song would be funny if you'd either heard the original or seen the movie, but it's so much better if you're familiar with both. Even if you've seen/heard neither, it's still pleasant to listen to. I love how he leaves a few references and similarities to the original song (like naming a new person at the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd verses), without it feeling forced or as if he'd just been too lazy to change them. It's not just this song either; that's one reason his parodies are so good in general. And, of course, he can imitate so many musical and vocal styles, with just a hint of exaggeration -- from this to metal to boy-bands to rap... Genius. |
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| Pink Floyd – The Gunner's Dream Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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Here's what I think: The previous song, "The Hero's Return," ends with "the gunner's dying words on the intercom" as he and the narrator were flying "over Dresden at angels one-five." The way I see it, the gunner was forced out of the bomber somehow after it was hit by enemy fire. The Gunner's Dream picks up from there, following the gunner as he floats or falls to the ground over hostile territory (I'm not sure if he has a working parachute or not - he says he's "floating down through the clouds," implying a parachute, but the next line, "memories come rushing up to meet me now" could be implying that the ground is also rushing up to meet him, which it would do if he were falling without a parachute). In any case, for the next few minutes he is falling through "the space between the heavens and the corner of some foreign field" with nothing to do but reflect on his situation and dream about an ideal society where war would be unnecessary and no one would have to suffer. He starts by imagining his parents at his funeral, saying goodbye to them, and hoping they'll remember his dream. He then goes on to describe this society - fairly self-explanatory, but something else happens in the background as the verse begins: some shouting, and an explosion. I think these are Germans on the ground shouting as the bombing continues, which implies two things: the gunner is getting close to the ground, and he's in for a hostile reception when he lands. One thing worth noting: the line, "no one kills the children anymore," could apply to both sides in the war, including the gunner himself. He knows that many innocent children probably died in the bombing of Dresden in which he had just participated, so his repetition of this line is probably expressing remorse as well as desperate hope for the future. The final verse, beginning with, "Night after night..." switches to another perspective, probably that of the man who narrated the previous song ("his dream is driving me insane" - this fits with what was said in "The Hero's Return"). He finishes relating his memory of the gunner with the last few lines. "In the corner of some foreign field, the gunner sleeps tonight," means that the gunner is lying dead somewhere in a foreign land, either killed on impact because he had no parachute, or killed shortly after landing by German soldiers or an Allied bomb. "What's done is done," meaning it's too late to help the gunner or any of the other casualties of the war, but if we "take heed of the dream," we might be able to prevent such things from happening in the future. A chilling song, but at the same time beautiful; both depressing, and hopeful against all evidence. My favorite on the album, though several others come close. |
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| Pink Floyd – Not Now John Lyrics | 20 years ago |
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I think this song is written from the point of view of a typical working class British man, speaking to his friend John. The swearing and vague word choice are meant to convey a low level of education. The part that goes: "Can't stop, lose job, mind gone, silicon, Stalin, what bomb, get away, pay day, make hay, break down, need fix, big six, click click, hold on, oh no! Bingo!" represents the muddle of thoughts and concerns running through his mind, most of which are things he's heard or read about in the media and is trying to react to. He can't really make sense of it because he's so overworked and uneducated. The next two verses seem to be from the point of view of someone else, a greedy producer or someone else in the film industry. Next, we return to John and his working-class friend. The speaker seems to be some kind of factory worker, who doesn't even know anything about the machines he works with. He makes plans with his friend John to go and get drunk after the shift. The next verse is about the media, which supplies the speaker and John with all of their information, along with a large dose of propaganda. It's possibly related to the greedy producer mentioned earlier, in that the people who produce the media are all greedy and don't care how they influence their viewers as long as they make money. The last part involves the nameless factory worker having a conversation with John after the shift is over. The worker names countries that have been at odds with Britain or her allies: Japan, Vietnam, the Soviet Union, Sweden (not sure about this one...maybe just a random country thrown in as an easy target?), and finally Argentina (referring to the then-recent war in the Falkland Islands). He says, "now let's go and show these," meaning Britain should find a new country to go to war with to prove her superiority, as John laughs and encourages him in the background. He refers to the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher ("make us feel tough, and wouldn't Maggie be pleased?"). The nameless worker starts asking about the bar in different languages, as John expresses confusion and disgust for foreigners in the background. Finally he says it in English, and John says, "Oh, now you're talking!" and goes on to sing "Rule Brittania, Brittania rules the waves!" As the song fades, the nameless worker refers to Maggie one more time, and starts chanting, "Hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer, now!" in reference to fascism as portrayed in The Wall. Basically I think Roger is saying that because the lower classes are uneducated, they swallow propaganda whole and can be used as tools of the people in power - in Britain this leads to nationalism, xenophobia, extreme patriotism, warmongering, etc. Eventually it could lead to Fascism. The song is sung from the point of view of these lower-class people, but is very sarcastic. |
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