| Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – I See A Darkness Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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In my mind the song is about the inevitable existential dimension of the human condition that sometimes pops up: The unnerving feeling of being separate, wrong and doubting. Of not being really really REALLY known by... anybody. It's an opening into vulnerability, connection and love, which I think is beautifully underscored by the quirky but rather joyful rendition of the song on the 2012 EP "Now Here's My Plan". :-) |
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| Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Hi all, In my opinion most of Pink Floyd's lyrics contains strong existential themes - concerning life and death, although not necessarily in the concrete sense. I think a lot of Pink Floyd's strength is connected with their interest in the basic human condition - and especially the estrangement caused by modern, capitalistic-materialistic society, and the kind of hurtful and barren interpersonal relationships which it fosters. Thus the song can be understand equally as a tribute to Syd Barret and a more general comment on the sorry state of love in a world gone crazy. As usual it's about being locked in, being remote from other people, materialistic themes and the proces of slowly losing ones sound mind - f.ex. the ability to tell pleasure from pain. |
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| Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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@aleia I do not think the hypothesis that Cohen is writing to himself is threatened by the trouble that has been taken from her eyes. In this regard I think the following two segments are connected: And you treated my woman to a flake of your life And when she came back she was nobody's wife. --- Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes I thought it was there for good so I never tried. The first pair of sentences describes some experience that changes 'Jane' after which she returns but not in the habitual wife-role - perhaps with a different perception of what love is. The second pair of sentences alludes to this proces by suggesting that her former way of relating to love was somehow hurtful, and after her change or insight she has become a less troubled person. Overall I don't think Jane is to be seen as a specific woman - more like the Feminine. It could be interpreted so that the narrator at some point gave up on love and perhaps for a while became a seeker of some sort (perhaps a munk, who knows :-) but then chose to leave this kind of life, and found that he was now able to connect in a more fulfilling and genuine way to a woman - who then also found the relationship similarly rewarding. All with a 'cold and broken hallelujah'. |
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| Cat Stevens – Hard Headed Woman Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I think the song has to be seen in a spiritual context. Stevens is certainly mainstreamish, but he packs quite a lot of religious punch. On the surface the song can certainly be interpreted as a mans search for the 'one and only'. A deeper interpretation, which I think is called for, could propose the human quest for existential meaning and purpose in life, as the songs second theme. Indeed, as suggested above, the 'fancy dancers' are equated with gliding on the surface, but when it comes to the deeper dimensions of human existence (e.g. spirituality, conation, meaning & purpose of it all) they have no answers to offer and leaves the narrator with the impression of their inner emptiness. Perhaps the song also has an ironic meta-framing - the narrator talks of the others as shallow, but he himself also seeks happiness as something to come from the outside, in the form of his 'hard headed woman'. And then again - perhaps 'hard headed woman' is used as a metaphor for his own search of truth and meaning - sort of like an pop-archetype. |
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| Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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It's been incredible to read all these interpretations. A couple of years back I listened to this song until my ears bled, I even translated it to my mothertongue, danish. Especially the interpretations of Sidebeard, Malsum and Radio Saturday where thorough and right on the spot. I just have one thing to comment. In discussion with a good friend (whose ears also where bleeding) we reached a hypothesis which said that 'Cohen' and the 'brother' where one and the same person, just at different times. I think it makes good sense because it makes the song not 'just' about 'simple' jealousy, but about a mans different conceptions of love at different times in his life. In my opinion it matches the themes in Leonard Cohens production, especially his preoccupation with the popular cultures idea of love as a question of ownership of another person versus a more free, perhaps more spiritual, conception of love. So in this interpretation it is a letter written to a long-gone Self - who he in some ways misses and is troubled by. It is a very existential interpretation. Thx to all for the effort you've put into your comments - it's been great to read!!! |
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