submissions
| The Beatles – Golden Slumbers Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think Paul wrote Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End as a catharsis for the impending breakup of The Beatles.
I think McCartney wrote “Golden Slumbers” to try to express his sadness and hurt (and maybe even depression) at the breakup of the Beatles, and to try to soothe himself at the same time. He’s doing this with a song that is supposed to be a lullaby. A lullaby implies someone who is comfortable, singing a soothing song to someone in need of comforting. The person he is trying to comfort in addition to us, however, is himself. The person singing is also the one feeling the hurt, so Paul’s performance of the song is an emotional dichotomy, one part comforting (“sleep pretty darling do not cry”) and one part pain (“Golden slumbers fill your eyes”) and sadness (“Once there was a way to get back homeward“). That’s part of why this recording is so special.
On “Carry That Weight“, Paul is conveying anger and blame, whether it’s toward John, Yoko, or Allen Klein, (or all of the above,) before the song heads back to sadness with the reprise of “You Never Give Me Your Money“.
On “The End“, Paul comes to terms with the end of The Beatles and tries to help the fans do the same by performing a final number with rotating solos to close out a magnificent career for the group. The fans don’t know quite yet that this is the end, but Paul knows they soon will. And the final line expresses so well the impact of The Beatles, "and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make".
Interestingly, this series of songs also represented my personal feelings after John Lennon’s murder. In my sadness and shock, I instinctively wanted to hear these three songs. |
submissions
| The Beatles – Hey Bulldog Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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John Lennon had one of the greatest rock and roll singing voices ever (maybe even the best), but either stopped using it or lost it. This song, recorded in 68, is one the last times you get to hear it. I wish he would have recorded the songs on his post Beatles Rock and Roll album in the early 60's, because compared to his early Beatles singing, it's very mediocre. |
submissions
| The Beatles – I Need You Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think this song is as good as some of the better Lennon/McCartney songs. I think it's strange that George didn't comment on the song in his I Me Mine book. I agree with MrLongrove on the guitar sound in this song. |
submissions
| The Beatles – If I Fell Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I know this site is about song meanings, but there is not a lot to discuss about the lyrics on this song. The story here is the beautiful melody and the great harmony. When you see how complex the chord progression is on this song, you have to have a lot of admiration for Lennon. The easy route would have been for John to stop short of what this song eventually became and end up with merely a good song. Instead he ended up writing one of the best songs in the Lennon/McCartney catalog. In my opinion "If I Fell" is one of John's five best songs. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Factory Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think this song was written in tribute to Bruce's dad. I know they didn't get along very well. A friend of mine pointed out that the short instrumental in the middle is the same melody of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ, Superstar. We both wondered whether that was a coincidence or not since it kind of summed up their relationship at times. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Roulette Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I always thought this song was written and sung in the style of Elvis Costello, so many words in the lyrics and sung at such a fast pace, it sounds like Bruce can barely get the words out on time. An excellent song about a Three Mile Island incident, I suppose. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Youngstown Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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The live electric version is as good as Springsteen's early music. Great lyrics. I think the Hitler line refers to some of the American steel mills not being able to compete locally and shutting down. Hitler was not able to bomb them into scrap and rubble, but that is the state of the steel mill after closing. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – No Surrender Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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The best three songs from the Born in the USA album is the title track, Bobby Jean, and this song, No Surrender. The rest are mediocre in my opinion. |
submissions
| Paul Simon – Mother and Child Reunion Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I think this song is a response to The Beatles "Let It Be" and the message of MACR counters the optimism of Let It Be with a more pessimistic outlook. But I don't think either song is about drugs, just philosophical outlook to the future. I prefer an optimistic view. |
submissions
| The Beatles – This Boy Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Ok, this may seem bizarre, but hear me out. This Boy never refers to a she, although it's clearly implied. The "(Ringo's Theme)" part of the title is a clue. I think the song is a disquised adolescent dig at Pete Best. The lyrics are directed from Pete Best's point of view begging the Beatles to give him a second chance, that Ringo was bad for them. So Pete is actually "This Boy", Ringo is "That Boy", and the implied girl in the song is "The Beatles". But the song lyrics are written in enough of a general way to also pass as a love song, and that's the clever part of it. |
submissions
| The Beatles – And Your Bird Can Sing Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I agree that the bird in this song is a woman. But I don't think it's Mick Jagger's girlfriend. I think it is Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. The song is directed toward Phil Spector, who was probably the most famous record producer at the time with his "wall of sound". Ronnie Spector was Phil's wife. It's kind of a childish taunt..."you may be this famous record producer, but you don't get to produce the Beatles". On the lyric where the song says "and your bird is green", I think it refers to a time when John Lennon and Ronnie Spector were alone and John tried to seduce her. John thought Ronnie Spector was hot even before the Beatles were famous. At the height of the Beatles fame, John was not accustomed to failed advances, but Ronnie wasn't responding to John's on this particular day. So rather than John admitting that he wasn't irresistable, it was easier to tell himself that Ronnie Spector was inexperienced (green). This whole episode was in a biography on Ronnie Spector that come out in the last 10 or 15 years. Check it out. Another thing supporting this theory, is that John's inspiration for "She Said...She Said" was a meeting with Peter Fonda who was on an LSD trip when the Beatles were in L.A. And Your Bird Can Sing was written around the same time. And Phil Spector worked out of L.A. Around the time that John was being interviewed on the meanings of his songs, Phil Spector was producing or had produced the "Let It Be" album, a lot of John's post Beatles work, and a lot of George's post Beatles work. So at the time John was being interviewed, it would have been awkward, to say the least, to admit that "And Your Bird Can Sing" was about Spector. |
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