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Jack's Mannequin – Bloodshot Lyrics 17 years ago
"Sits in his basement from midnight 'til four
Painting pictures that nobody sees from his days in the war
The canvas is painted bright red, red
He heats up the shower, he paces the hall
He'll scrub for an hour or more but he won't get it all
The paint in his fingernail beds"

The paint here is a metaphor for blood. As someone said earlier, he paints the canvas red because of all the blood and carnage he saw. When he scrubs his hands, but can't get it out of his fingernail beds, it's referring to his attempt to get the blood off his hands, to redeem himself from the lives he's taken. But he can't forget, so the "paint" stays, no matter how long he washes.

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The Format – She Doesn't Get It Lyrics 18 years ago
Platnumben09, you're awesome. Bitten by a cactus. Yessss.
MrDelirious, the coffee table part is just emphasizing her immaturity. She doesn't have "clever" intellectual books on her coffee table, instead, the four books she does have are probably those pointless ones you see like "pictures of pretty lighthouses" and that sort of thing. He's just saying that the things in her apartment are reflective of her personality.
Musicman denton, the problem with that theory is the line "I fall in love far too quickly, I never want you to forget me." Sounds to me like it's not love that's become meaningless, but meaningless sex that's becoming love.

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Reubens Accomplice – All Chorus Lyrics 18 years ago
I think this is a song about picking up the pieces after a breakup or a fight or some sort of falling out, and learning from your mistakes. He's trying to find out what went wrong, and trying to convince her to try again. ("Maybe we're just low on gasoline, we used to be such a good machine." and ""Are you going to walk out on this? Are you giving up on our love?")

I always hear it as "...you will find YOUR shine, I'll figure out what's with mine," and that makes more sense to me, because he's saying that they're still figuring themselves out, and that if they stay together and stay strong, they will discover what makes them tick and how they can be successful.

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Reubens Accomplice – Borders Lyrics 18 years ago
A make-up song. Plain and simple.

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Reubens Accomplice – Act on Feeling Alone Lyrics 18 years ago
I hear "We could hang out and used to nothingness" as "We could hang out in Houston or Phoenix" and "I swear your feet are wings" as "I swear your feet are wheels."

I love this song.

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Reubens Accomplice – It Is What It Is Lyrics 18 years ago
This song always makes me think about existentialism whenever I hear it. You know, "There's no universal truth, no blueprint to help you follow through. It's all up to you." There's no predetermined way everything should be, it's all free will.

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Jack's Mannequin – Cellular Phone Lyrics 18 years ago
Well I think this one's pretty obvious. It's about his struggle with cancer; the difficulty of getting up everyday and fighting and how those he loves (his wife in particular) can help him through it by showing their support (through phone calls, etc. when he was in the hospital). I love the lines "I have become increasingly/ Overwhelmed when I'm in public/ I'm not so patient when they stare/ There's a fighter/ Somewhere underneath this skin and bones" and "Sometimes convinced I have the world to carry/ Everyday is war/ And rockets fly from dusk 'til dawn/ I won't be shaken."

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The Postal Service – The District Sleeps Alone Tonight Lyrics 18 years ago
To me, this song captures the feeling of coming back to visit after having left home. The lyrics "You seem so out of context/ In this gaudy apartment complex/ A stranger with the door key/ Explaining that I'm just visiting" hits it dead-on: that sensation that despite how closely you were tied to a place, you have moved on, and everything seems different. You feel out of place in the one spot you expect to feel like you fit in, and everyone you left back home expects you to be as you were.
Obviously, I know that that's not really what the song was meant to be about, because they're not even from D.C. But that's what this song means to me, as I am a D.C. native and I first ran across this song on my first trip home, a long time after I left.
I do think that both the feeling I get from it and the feeling it was meant to express is the sense that everything's changed, and the difficulty of reconciling the present and the past.

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This Day & Age – Second Star To The Right... Lyrics 18 years ago
I've always wondered if this song is about a girl's love, or about the love of God or something like that. The title, "second star to the right," suggests it's a girl, because the song from peter pan, which is where the title comes from, talks about finding your true love when you go to neverland, which is "the second star to the right and straight on till morning." On the other hand, some of the lyrics in the TDAA song seem to suggest it's about God: "taking in the truth and blocking out the lies", "your grace is as endless as the sky," "ascending", and "a love that carries us regardless of defeat."

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Firescape – The Way You Are Lyrics 18 years ago
It's not "mental apocalypse," it's "dancehall apocalypse." Josh once explained in an interview that the dancehall apocalypse metaphor is about horrible things happening during times you expect things to be good. Dancehalls, he said, were supposed to be places full of joy and fun, and apocalypse, obviously, is the complete opposite. Anyway, that phrase sort of fits the song; it's kind of melancholy/bitter sex.

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Sherwood – Home Lyrics 18 years ago
This song is about moving to a new city to follow your dreams.
I think this is the prettiest song on the new album.

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The Spill Canvas – Gold Dust Woman Lyrics 18 years ago
Well, I like it. I think it's a well-done cover.

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The Spill Canvas – To Live Without It Lyrics 18 years ago
I agree with Ellie117. It's definitely about an off-and-on relationship, that hurts both the people in it and those around them (the part about the family), but they continue to live in denial.

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Weatherbox – Trippin' The Life Fantastic Lyrics 18 years ago
So I think the meaning of this song is pretty obvious: it's talking about atheism. "This god of your holy books I do not agree with him."

I'm not sure I get the part about being born in a swamp, or "I have cobwebs for maps", though.

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No Use For A Name – Overdue Lyrics 18 years ago
Bowline, the "British accent voice" is actually a quote from the radio version of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. The full quote is "It was what he had waited for all these years, but when he had deciphered the signal pattern sitting alone in his small dark room a coldness had gripped him and squeezed his heart."

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No Use For A Name – Killing Time Lyrics 18 years ago
Pretty straightforward. This song is through the perspective of a mother whose son died in the war. Basically, this is a quality protest song.

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Something Corporate – Ben Franklin's Kite Lyrics 18 years ago
This bears repeating:
This song is not about Andrew's leukemia, because it was released on Ready...Break, which came out in September 2000, five years before his diagnosis (June 2005).

It is, however, somewhat ironic (in a sad way) when you look at it through the perspective of his own illness.

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Halfway Home – Four Months Until the Swarm Lyrics 19 years ago
I've always wondered what this was about. Someone who died, and left everyone who knew them feeling empty, maybe. But I think there's probably more to it than that. Anyone?

"So haste the day we waste away like you/ and although the pain has left your chest/ It seems it was transferred to the rest of us who stayed." I love those lines.

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The Academy Is... – Down and Out Lyrics 19 years ago
I've always seen this song as an homage to the ups and downs of life in general.
The part about the abused girl is to contrast the life of someone who is harder on her luck ("down and out") than he is.
The second part is a depiction of the ups and downs of his life, including his friends (Tony Marino and Johnny Minardi), those albums, going on tour, etc.
These parts are interspersed with the ups and downs of life in general: marriage, nightmares, friendships, etc.

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No Use For A Name – Apparition Lyrics 19 years ago
I can't believe no one's commented on this song! I love it...but I don't really know what it's about. Anyone want to enlighten me?

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Echo Screen – Rushmore Lyrics 19 years ago
"Nobody knows about them yet?" Plenty of people do. I mean, I first heard them a couple years ago, and their music's reviewed in AP and stuff now.

This song's about running from the life you used to know and starting something new.

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Dropping Daylight – War Song (Album Version) Lyrics 19 years ago
Okay these lyrics are all wrong.
It's "The heat here makes me want to leave, I'll take a shot to ease the BURN, Ash the parchment memories, Twenty seconds 'till I TURN."

Also, "We'll fight ourselves another war" not "find ourselves another world". Hence the name "War song."

Also, "I'm not leaving without ADMITTING all our sins, One LAST THOUGHT before I die, DEFINE our need to fight."

Also, and this is minor, "BEYOND the curtain masquerade, THERE'S lead left buried with the names."

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Dropping Daylight – Same Angry Song Lyrics 19 years ago
I love this song, but I've never been able to tell what all the spoken word stuff is during the instrumental part.

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Dropping Daylight – Apologies (album version) Lyrics 19 years ago
It's not "detain yourself a little more" (what does that even mean??). It's "Today we say a little more." It's also "Tomorrow you ARE out the door."

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Dropping Daylight – Tell Me (Album Version) Lyrics 19 years ago
I adore these guys, and this song is one of my favorites.

This song is about all the awful stuff going on in the world right now ("I can't stand to look in the face of my leaders now," etc) and the differences we could make if people actually try ("Not giving up 'till I break down"). If you look at the video for this song (their debut video, check it out!) it gives some interesting insight into the message of the song.

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Say Hi – They Write Books About This Sort Of Thing Lyrics 19 years ago
This song reminds me of college. Something about the library, pad thai, books, pac man and "do you want to go out."

It's definitely spelled Pad thai.

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Matt Caplan – Divide and Conquer Lyrics 19 years ago
It's about having sex with a girl who doesn't feel the same way. He's falling for her, or at least feels like he needs her and she doesn't "hear the same song that he hears."

I love how he sings "And look out now it's over" just as the song ends.

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Matt Caplan – Sideways Lyrics 19 years ago
It's defintely "found a little solace where you lay." Sawdust...not so much.

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The Academy Is... – We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands Lyrics 19 years ago
I don't like their new sound as much as their old sound. It's more generic.

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Logan Square – I'll Get There Lyrics 19 years ago
I think the meaning is pretty obvious. This girl left him because she wanted "a guy who's got money and fame" and he's saying that he believes he's going to be famous one day.

This song is really catchy, I get it stuck in my head for days at a time.

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Logan Square – Fire and Kerosene Lyrics 19 years ago
Quick change: It's "Well aren't we all just diehard fans of insecurity?"

I can't believe this album came out so long ago and barely anyone's commented on it yet. These guys are pretty talented.

I think Last Action Hero is pretty close on the meaning.
One slight thing that pisses me off about this song though is where it goes, "I'm all alone with just one worry, where I'll drink tonight." He claims he's punk and then says he only worries about getting drunk--punk is about more than just that, it's about standing up for causes, and people forget that nowadays and sing about girls and getting drunk.
Not that Logan Square is really punk anyways, I'm just saying.

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The Academy Is... – LAX to O'Hare Lyrics 19 years ago
If it really says "it was a plane ride, it was a plain ride," I really like that double meaning thing there.

I too like Almost Here better so far than "LAX" and "We've got a big mess." I really like the lyrics for this sing though.

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Jack's Mannequin – The Mixed Tape Lyrics 19 years ago
EpitomeofRadness, I think he's "thinking about what I've given up" because he chose to focus on music and his career rather than her. She may have broken up with him, but his actions caused her to do so.

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The Audition – La Rivalita Lyrics 19 years ago
Sweetheart, La Rivalita ISN'T the song they stole. Fall Out Boy stole Dance, Dance from the Audition, and because they couldn't put their Dance, Dance on the CD anymore since Fall Out Boy already was selling it as their own, they wrote La Rivalita in response to that controversy and in revenge for what FOB did to them.

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Fall Out Boy – Dance, Dance Lyrics 19 years ago
The reason everyone keeps saying this is the only tolerable Fall Out Boy song (and not by much) is because it's not their song. They stole the idea or it from The Audition. Pete heard the song and where they were planning on going with it and put it on Fall Out Boy's CD, which came out before The Audition's, so there wasn't much they could do about it. Instead of making a great big fuss, The Audition just wrote another song, "La Rivalita," in response to the whole scandal. The chorus of La Rivalita goes, "Wake up and Dance, Dance to the beat of the drama...tonight this one goes out on the shelf because of popular demand."

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The Format – Dog Problems Lyrics 19 years ago
Ok to dispell all the rumors, and correct all the people who think it says "BECCA"--here's the answer to the debate from Nate's own mouth.
"Question: There's been some confusion...beca or becca?
Answer: I'm starting to wonder if our listeners can't spell or read...how can B E C and A being shouted out and going into BECAUSE, translate into anything else?"

He has made it abundantly clear that there is no reference to a girl named Becca.

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Sun Kil Moon – Last Tide Lyrics 19 years ago
Wow...this song came out years ago and no one's said anything about it..Well, I think this is one of the more straightforward Sun Kil Moon songs, but I think it's also one of the most beautiful.
I've always wondered if it intentionally links to "Carry Me Ohio" with the lyrics "I never showed you if I loved you enough..." (Carry Me Ohio mourns, "Sorry that I could never love you back, I could never care enough, in those last days.")

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Bright Eyes – Road to Joy Lyrics 19 years ago
It's actually "my parents, they have their RELIGION." That line's not about the problems of an inter-faith marriage, it's about the failure of one religion to save their marriage.

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Bright Eyes – Landlocked Blues Lyrics 19 years ago
I don't know if anyone's said this yet, but there's a well-known proverb that goes “If you love something set it free; if it returns it's yours forever, if not it was never meant to be.”
I always thought that's what he was referring to when he sings "If you love something give it away."

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Jack's Mannequin – Last Straw Lyrics 19 years ago
The part I never understood was when he says "I see Arizona stars from here, but Peter Pan is miles away." Anyone care to explain?

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Big City Dreams – Miracle Lyrics 19 years ago
That's Halley's Comet. Miracle lyrics are:
Hello. It's been a while
since I've called you.
And I swear I'm not the same
I've got a million things
to tell you.
But now I've been thinking
about this thing called love
and how you had me
figured out

Oh, pick up your phone
because it's me
your miracle
The sweetest since '86
Oh, pick up your phone

I declare I had ambitious
plans to ignore you
You're in boxes under my bed
That's where you're filed away.
But now I've been thinking
about this thing called love
and how you had me
figured out.

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Big City Dreams – Can't Catch Halley's Comet Lyrics 19 years ago
Ok well those aren't the lyrics for Halley's Comet. The actual lyrics are:

Good boys know how to lie
With picture-perfect honesty
In bathroom cabinets
Keep dirty secrets
Comfort is relative in front of sleepy eyes
Artificial rest for me.
Artificial bravery.

Don't say no. I'm on your front doorstep.
Please let me in. To drown in blue oceans
Again.

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Weezer – Photograph Lyrics 19 years ago
Haha yeah whybother, I always thought it was about blowjob too.

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Firescape – His Midas Touch Lyrics 19 years ago
Btw, it's not pitted alms, like olives, but "pity alms."

I've always loved this song, and wondered who "he" is that has a midas touch.

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Death Cab for Cutie – Tiny Vessels Lyrics 19 years ago
Someone's probably said this already, but I really love how Tiny Vessels leads straight into Transatlanticism. The two songs have interesting connections, like the way the dark clouds build up in Tiny Vessels and then open up and storm in Transatlanticism.
The two songs are like different perspectives on romance and distance.

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No Use For A Name – Divine Let Down Lyrics 19 years ago
Well I think this song's pretty straightforward...
I love NUFAN.

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Dropping Daylight – Brace Yourself (Glenwood Sessions Version) Lyrics 19 years ago
This was the first song I heard by them, before I saw them and got the CD and everything, so I think this is my favorite version of this song.
I used to think it might have a little bit to do with the war, with "all the bonds and bodies broken" "Driving a vehicle that couldn't keep its body heading straight" and "feeling divided because we are losing our innocence, to fight our whole lives waiting there."
But after the album came out, I decided it was just about their lives.

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Dropping Daylight – Brace Yourself (album version) Lyrics 19 years ago
I have always thought this song was about people not believing in them and criticizing them (or maybe him--it could be just about Sebastion) saying basically "go fuck yourself," we're going to do our thing despite you.

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Firescape – Parker Peterson Lyrics 19 years ago
Oh, except I meant "thought he FOUND"

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Firescape – Parker Peterson Lyrics 19 years ago
Parker Peterson, drove his car to the shore
Of Lake Michigan, won't be seen anymore
Thought he find a way out, thought he find a release
Found a door with a light, found A Seperate Peace
From the inside out I feel I'm burning alive
And from my head down I feel I'm losing the fight
Julie Peterson cried for 22 weeks
Left her husbands grave, drove her car to the beach
Tried to find a new life
Tried to find a new man
Told herself it was fine
From the inside out I feel I'm burning alive
And from my head down I feel I'm losing the fight
Why don't you turn around, turn around
And take it all out...

Those are the actual lyrics.
I love this song.

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