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Mclusky – Alan Is A Cowboy Killer Lyrics 15 years ago
It doesn't really aid the interpretation of the song, but 'cowboy killer' is a slang term for cigarettes, particularly Marlboros.

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Gallows – Queensberry Rules Lyrics 15 years ago
These are the same inaccurate lyrics as appear elsewhere on the internets. The only correction I'll recommend is that Frank obviously says "Thames", rather than "flames" when he's singing about throwing knives away. Makes more sense as well.

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Gallows – Crucifucks Lyrics 15 years ago
I disagree. 'Green and pleasant land' is set up as a line to contrast with 'grey broken land', and in any event fits the theme of the song better than a reference to the Queen.

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AJJ – Growing Up Lyrics 16 years ago
I just turned 29. And here I am, writing about a song on the internets. This song is definitely for me. Fuck.

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Drive Like Jehu – Spikes To You Lyrics 16 years ago
Picky picky, but the actual lyric is 'put a sofa on your concrete slab'. Other than that, it seems to be a criticism of bland suburbia - keeping up appearances and being eaten alive by your children. Not so sure what 'spikes to you' actually means, but it's ambiguously nasty enough that it doesn't really matter.

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Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – FC: The Freedom Club Lyrics 16 years ago
Fact to the line being 'the shack taken down'.

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Alestorm – The Huntmaster Lyrics 17 years ago
The last four lines are a translation of the poem that appears on Jaegermeister bottles. Jaegermeister translates to Huntmaster. A fine drinking song, this.

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Aphex Twin – Come to Daddy Lyrics 18 years ago
And like any good parody, it's far better than that which it satirises.

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Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics 19 years ago
What does it matter to any of you what Kurt thought of this song? Either you like it on its merits, or you don't. You don't need his permission to enjoy it, and saying 'Kurt hated it so I hate it as well' is retarded.

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Sid Vicious – My Way Lyrics 19 years ago
This version is kind of cool, in a trainwreck sort of way.

The lyrics for the last verse are wrong, and should read:

'For what is a PRAT,
What has he got?
When he WEARS HATS
And he cannot
Say the things he truly feels...'

John writes briefly about this in No Irish No Blacks No Dogs.

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Cradle of Filth – Malice Through The Looking Glass Lyrics 19 years ago
I saw this as being almost a proto-Her Ghost In The Fog. A lover killed by vengeful men of the church because she was (or was thought to be) a witch.

"Eyes full of curses for her killers by choice
Who fell to their god o'er her vision and voice"

These are the lines that really give me that impression. I'm not saying it's got the same narrative as Her Ghost, because the 'sky dressed in flames' does seem to suggest burning, but there are similarities, as indeed there are between this, Her Ghost and Of Mist and Midnight Skies.

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Cradle of Filth – Malice Through The Looking Glass Lyrics 19 years ago
This song got big time play in Australia, most of it by radio shows getting it wrong. Because of the inclusion of Nocturnal Supremacy '96 on Duck... as an unlisted track 5 (?) the order of tracks thereafter was slightly out of whack. So if you followed the track listing on the sleeve to play the title track, you got this one instead. This song was actually included on a compilation released by radio station triple j and listed as being 'dusk... and her embrace'. Shows how much attention djs pay to what they play I guess.

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Modest Mouse – Long Distance Drunk Lyrics 19 years ago
This song always reminds me of my late grandmother. She had a big sign next to her phone that read 'Do not use when pissed'. That sign was ignored many, many times.

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Ween – I Can't Put My Finger On It Lyrics 19 years ago
Interesting that various of you have described the song as 'epic' - all the references to 'it' in the song remind me of Faith No More's Epic. What is it? It's it.

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Cradle of Filth – Lord Abortion Lyrics 19 years ago
maybe you are referring to anton lavey, founder of the church of satan? It's not really right to say he's the founder of satanism, as forms of satanism have been round for centuries. I doubt the song is referring to him, it's much more likely that filth is using 'anon' to mean 'again'.

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Cradle of Filth – Mother of Abominations Lyrics 19 years ago
Is it 'Ia' or 'Ea'? Maybe the same Ea referred to in the burzum track Ea, Lord of the Depths?

Ea some sort of water deity? Middle Eastern perhaps? Possibly one of those conglomerates of various mythical creatures that have been filtered through cultures?

so many questions. so few answers.

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Cat Power – Water and Air Lyrics 19 years ago
This is probably completely wrong, but just looking at the lyrics here, is the song possibly some sort of eulogy or tribute to jeff buckley? I don't know enough about him or the details of his death to draw much out of the lyrics, and maybe it is just assuming that any 'alternative' song from the mid/ late nineties is going to be some sort of reference.

Like i said, just a thought.

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The Pussycat Dolls – Don't Cha Lyrics 19 years ago
I guess this is no better and no worse than most here-today-gone-tomorrow pop music. Seems the only point of mass produced music these days is to license the beat and melody out as ring tones. This is inane, self-absorbed rubbish. It reflects badly on the girls that they would willingly sing this crap, but it reflects far worse on the anonymous studio hacks who actually wrote it, and worst of all on anyone who chooses to listen to it. 'don't cha wish you girlfriend was hot like me?' it's enough to drive a man into the priesthood.

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Nirvana – Negative Creep Lyrics 19 years ago
*It might be right.*

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Nirvana – Negative Creep Lyrics 19 years ago
I never thought of the rape thing when listening to this. I might be right, but I'm pretty dubious.

Like many Nirvana songs, I'm not sure there is a deep message hidden in it, the words might just describe the process of writing and playing the song, which is, after all something of a drone, and most likely written when stoned.

I'm not sure where the 'daddy's little girl' bit fits in here, if it fits in or if that matters. I seem to remember having a live version of this at some point where after 'daddy's little girl aint a girl no more' he yelled 'she's a whore'. It was on a tape I recorded off the radio and lost years ago, so I guess there's no way of checking.

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Tom Waits – Hold On Lyrics 19 years ago
This is probably how Bruce Springsteen would sound if he had three testicles, and they were each enormous.

This is a great song.

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The Cranberries – So Cold In Ireland Lyrics 19 years ago
This song appeared as a bonus track on at least some versions of No Need To Argue in Australia.

I have two theories as to what it might be about.

The first is that it is a lament for the Troubles in Northern Ireland. A story of a woman whose young lover is killed in some sort of sectarian strife.

The other is that it is about a woman who has to leave Ireland to obtain and abortion. I'm not sure what the current state of the law is, but I recall several years ago there was a lot of discussion about abortion being illegal in Ireland, and Irish girls travelling to England or further afield for abortions. I think there was talk of Dutch medics setting up a ship off the Irish coast to provide the procedure.

It's quite possible that neither of these is correct, but either one could be.

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NOFX – It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite Lyrics 19 years ago
Maybe this is a fuck you to major record companies.

Or maybe it's a fuck you to all the cliquey scenesters and underground trend makers. People who seem to operate with very strict lists in their heads of what you can and can't listen to. It's a fuck you to everyone mired in the utterly pointless 'this is punk/ this is not punk' debate.

Maximum Rock 'n Roll, I'm looking in your direction.

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NOFX – What's The Matter With Kids Today? Lyrics 19 years ago
Like most NoFX songs, this makes a serious point with tongue jammed firmly in cheek. It's not so literal as Panathinaikos makes out, and it's not a specific attack on jock types. It seems to be more of a complaint about the growing number of kids identifying with the more conservative side of politics. Now, Fat Mike is a pretty serious liberal, and this no doubt bothers him. I guess the feeling is that kids should be acting like kids, not copies of their parents.

Alternatively, the song might just be saying that there is someting strange about kids behaving the way the song describes. Not that he is saying there is anything wrong with it (in terms of a value judgment), just that it is unusual for kids to act that way.

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Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics 19 years ago
Whatever your opinion of it, this is Nirvana's most well known song. Many people would agree that it is not their best. This thread seems to be as much a rumination on Nirvana generally as it is on SLTS, so I'm not too fussed about not giving any interpretation of the lyrics.

What strikes me as a little odd is this creepy fannish death cult that has sprung up around Kurt Cobain. The man wrote some great songs, about things that were obviously important to him. Other people enjoyed these songs, and could relate to them. But there is a world of difference between listening to someone's music (or appreciating anyone's art in any form) and knowing that person. I don't care how raw and true the art is, it is no substitute for actually knowing a person. What we who never encountered him know of his life comes from the press, biographers, other bands etc and his music. Some of it is interesting and relevant, some of it isn't. But we do everyone a grave disservice by pretending that we have some kind of personal relationship with the artist. Kurt Cobain wasn't your friend. He was a guy that made music that you like, and now he's dead.

Isn't that enough?

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Fear Factory – Suffer Age Lyrics 19 years ago
The lyrics to this song were written by Dino. It's about John Wayne Gacy. That's all you need to know.

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Rogue Traders – Watching You Lyrics 19 years ago
I don't give a crap what this song means - any possible meaning would have to be as inane and worthless as the music that conveys it. you're not paying homage to influential bands (not that the knack can be described as influential beyond 'my sharona') by stealing their riffs. this isn't like giving a cheeky nod towards an influence, this is effectively admitting that you are a worthless songwriter who cannot produce anything original or worthwhile. so you steal one of the most recognisable riffs in rock and pretend it's some sort of accetpable 'sampling' or such. this promoter's dream sucks so bad, and i look forward to their being speedily condemned to a future of appearances at outer suburban shopping centres, possibly as an opening act for big brother evictees.

and the superjesus sucked as well.

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Regurgitator – Blubber Boy Lyrics 19 years ago
once there was a girl whose lover drowned
nothing to console her could be found
she took a chunk of blubber from a whale
carved herself another, to perfect scale

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The Jesus Lizard – Lady Shoes Lyrics 19 years ago
This kind of sounds like a song version of the 'aristocrats' joke.

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Modest Mouse – Black Blood and Old New Agers Lyrics 19 years ago
Wouldn't old new-agers be aging hippes?

plenty of them in the Pacific north-west.

doesn't really take us any closer to the meaning though.

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MC Jin – Learn Chinese Lyrics 19 years ago
these lyrics are pretty inacurrate:

'this hip hop shit could fuck up your head man
i know a bunch of crips that love Redman'

'too much sess got me seein' slow motion'

'Mr Jin you are the sexiest man'

'your girl she loves the jin potion'

'and the barrel of the gun is gonna make you speak another language'

'roll dice in the hood - you think shit is all good?'

'cowboys roll through'

'pigs on the hook out by the window'

'reading the ten commandments cooking their crack up
biggie smalls posters all over the walls'

there's some other stuff i'm not sure of, but these are the correct lyrics for most of the song.

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Faith No More – R.V. Lyrics 19 years ago
every time i hear this song, for some reason, i picture phil anselmo with his hands down his pants, al bundy style.

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Pearl Jam – Dead Man Lyrics 19 years ago
racist should read rapist. kind of tautologous to call someone a nazi racist.

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Pearl Jam – Dead Man Lyrics 19 years ago
pety, i'm not sure if you still need an answer one year on, but 'dead man walking' is what is traditionally (in films at least) shouted as a condemned man walks from his cell to execution.

and just quickly on the film, does anyone else see how it could be interpreted as pro-capital punishment? without the threat of death hanging over him and ultimately becoming reality the sean penn character would have remained an unrepentant, nazi racist sack of crap.

just a thought.

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Cat Power – Bathysphere Lyrics 19 years ago
is it just me with a weird download, or does this track actually have an annoying high pitched electronic noise running throughout the entire song?

apart from that it's great. i've tried to enjoy this noise as some sort of accompanying instrument, but it's just balls.

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At the Gates – Cold Lyrics 19 years ago
'i feel my soul go cold
only the dead are smiling'

i can't work out if this is the coolest or lamest metal lyric i have heard in years.

just possibly it is both.

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Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics 19 years ago
demo to original - well put dumbass.

demo to final/ album version is what i suspect i meant.

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No Doubt – Just A Girl Lyrics 19 years ago
doubling up - the first comment took so long to appear i thought it was lost in transmission, so i posted again.

still, i don't make making the point twice.

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Hilary Duff – Haters Lyrics 19 years ago
nice to see anal cunt making an appearance on a hilary duff thread.

hilary duff is [you know what].

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No Doubt – Just A Girl Lyrics 19 years ago
this song is right up there with 'pretty fly for a white guy' as far as irony goes. it is a brilliant example of unintentional self-parody.

gwen stefani has ALWAYS relied on her looks and sex appeal to gain attention for herself and her band. kind of hard to complain about unwanted attention when you are courting it in this way.

and now she fancies herself as the new madonna.

truly, she is just a girl.

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No Doubt – Just A Girl Lyrics 19 years ago
this song, and 'pretty fly for a white guy' pretty much define irony. it is a brilliant, unintentional self-pardoy.

gwen stefani is married to the guy from bush, and now fanices herself the next madonna.

she has ALWAYS got by to some extent on her looks, even while complaining about being judged on standards of appearance.

truly, she is just a girl.

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A Day in Black and White – Storming the Bastille Lyrics 19 years ago
at first i thought this song was about the paris riots (i think were in '68), with obvious reference back to the french revolution.

now i'm pretty sure it's about the prague spring, the attempt by czech socialists to liberalise their regime during the spring of 68. this attempt was ruthlessly crushed by the soviets, who occupied prague and firmly dragged czechoslovakia into the eastern bloc.

i wasn't round then, but i assume this was a pretty severe blow for a lot of people on the left who had hopes for a peaceful socialist future based on the ussr. instead 68 was the year this false hope died.

i'm quite prepared to accept the possibility that i'm completely wrong.

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Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics 19 years ago
kafei,

i haven't read the huge backlog of posts here, and don't want to get into a pissing contest with you about nirvana, kurt or amphigouri. BUT, when you listen to songs from demo to original, and the lyrics have nothing in common, you kind of wonder whether they are just something to hang a vocal line on.

there is also the interview in the 'live, tonight sold-out' video when kurt says something like: 'music is number one, lyrics are secondary.

this is not to say there is no message, or that they are nonsense, but that they might not have any transcendental meaning behind them. songs need words, if they mean something, so much the better.

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Burzum – Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown Lyrics 19 years ago
from reading what varg has said about this (and he is somewhat notorious for changing his tune on a whole lot of things) this is the 'theme song' of burzum.

there is no hope because all of the things he believes could make the world worthwhile - magic, the old ways etc - have gone, or never existed. to trivialise it, it kind of seems like the lament of a dungeons and dragons nerd facing the hard reality that orcs and dragons do not exist. the world is not as we might wish it to be.

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NOFX – Freedom Lika Shopping Cart Lyrics 19 years ago
Pheurton

my feeling is that 'between the red and black' refers to profit/loss sheets and bank accounts. it's saying that being a bum takes you outside economic/financial systems.

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NOFX – Scavenger Type Lyrics 19 years ago
hindsight, i'd say it's about a homeless alcoholic.

the reference to a 'scavnger type california redemption' is not about receiving welfare from government, but the 5c redemption on cans and bottles. in the states that have this redemption one of the prime occupations for bums is collecting bottles and cans to cash in. i'm pretty sure california is one of the states with such a redemption scheme.

but he's after quarters, so i guess he's panhandling or, more likely given the references to him gigin and his horn - he's busking.

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Cradle of Filth – Nymphetamine Overdose Lyrics 19 years ago
Anyone else find the opening riff of this song somewhat reminiscent of Burzum? Obviously far better produced, but it has that same smeary quality to the guitar sound.

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Modest Mouse – Head South Lyrics 19 years ago
i'm not sure if there's any history between the two bands, but this could be a specific dig at everclear - exemplifying the move to bleach blonde cali-cool. i'd agree with mousefan's interpretation, it's just that every time i hear this song i think of everclear.

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Ween – Cold Blows The Wind Lyrics 19 years ago
i'm not sure how much credence to give the 'chinese traditional song' description (probably none). but i'm pretty sure that in the liner notes of 'the mollusk' the song is descibed as such. one more instance of the boys pissing about?

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Sepultura – The Hunt (New Model Army cover) Lyrics 19 years ago
My understanding is that it's about a man and his friends tracking the drug dealer responsible for getting his brother hooked on drugs.

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