| Sufjan Stevens – Chicago Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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"You came to take us / recreate us" seems like a reference to the idea of God taking us in death. It reminds me of the last line of Casimir Pulaski where the songwriter angrily rails against God for the death of his friend: "And He takes and He takes and He takes". Chicago is a great city, but I'm betting Sufjan, being from Michigan, has been there many times and is familiar with it. So I like that he takes the van to New York City on a perhaps impromptu road trip with his friend. And when they get there, even though they are sleeping in parking lots, and are basically homeless, near clothesless refugees, he "was in love with the place / in my mind." That's because New York captures the imagination in a vastly different way from Chicago. There's the idea that you can come to New York City and recreate yourself. Artistic, creative, and intellectual freedom is celebrated. Totally different from Chicago - "Hog Butcher for the World... City of Big Shoulders" (Carl Sandberg) and again, the Casimir Pulaski song has a couple of references to shoulders. You probably have a preconceived idea of New York in your mind, from movies and books and tv. Think: Salinger, Gatsby, Poe, Dylan Thomas, Damon Runyon, Henry James, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Woody Allen. On and on really. People who come here are usually already in love with an idea of New York not rooted in their own personal experience with the place. So when he talks about crying for freedom from himself "and from the land" I think he is relieved to be out of the land-locked familiar Midwest and in the New York City of his imagination, a harbor city surrounded by water that looks out to the world. And a nonjudgemental city that welcomes refugees of all manner. ("Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!") I love that he cries for freedom "from" himself, it's taken me a while to get into that concept. I still hear it freedom "for" myself. Which is just my own trip where I'm very independent and libertarian and individualist I guess. But the "freedom from my self" is key to what Sufjan's about: his quest for spiritual transcendence from the material world, and getting through his own past, faults, and mistakes, his old mindsets, and probably from his sometimes-ambivalence toward his own Christian faith. And the ambivalence is gorgeous. He doesn't say he WAS crying. He says IF he was crying... which to me means he asks us to see him vulnerable, crying, in a strange city, practically clothesless, homeless, in a van, in a parking lot -- a pitiful scene really -- and then he asks us to suspend our pity and believe that at that moment he's crying in JOY!! for finally getting to where exactly he needed to be on his own particular spiritual journey - true FREEDOM! Beautiful. I love the meditative, repetitive "all things go" which seems like a Buddhist nod. Simply gorgeous song. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – Chicago Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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"You came to take us / recreate us" seems like a reference to the idea of God taking us in death. It reminds me of the last line of Casimir Pulaski where the songwriter angrily rails against God for the death of his friend: "And He takes and He takes and He takes". Chicago is a great city, but I'm betting Sufjan, being from Michigan, has been there many times and is familiar with it. So I like that he takes the van to New York City on a perhaps impromptu road trip with his friend. And when they get there, even though they are sleeping in parking lots, and are basically homeless, near clothesless refugees, he "was in love with the place / in my mind." That's because New York captures the imagination in a vastly different way from Chicago. There's the idea that you can come to New York City and recreate yourself. Artistic, creative, and intellectual freedom is celebrated. Totally different from Chicago - "Hog Butcher for the World... City of Big Shoulders" (Carl Sandberg) and again, the Casimir Pulaski song has a couple of references to shoulders. You probably have a preconceived idea of New York in your mind, from movies and books and tv. Think: Salinger, Gatsby, Poe, Dylan Thomas, Damon Runyon, Henry James, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Woody Allen. On and on really. People who come here are usually already in love with an idea of New York not rooted in their own personal experience with the place. So when he talks about crying for freedom from himself "and from the land" I think he is relieved to be out of the land-locked familiar Midwest and in the New York City of his imagination, a harbor city surrounded by water that looks out to the world. And a nonjudgemental city that welcomes refugees of all manner. ("Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, / The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. / Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!") I love that he cries for freedom "from" himself, it's taken me a while to get into that concept. I still hear it freedom "for" myself. Which is just my own trip where I'm very independent and libertarian and individualist I guess. But the "freedom from my self" is key to what Sufjan's about: his quest for spiritual transcendence from the material world, and getting through his own past, faults, and mistakes, his old mindsets, and probably from his sometimes-ambivalence toward his own Christian faith. And the ambivalence is gorgeous. He doesn't say he WAS crying. He says IF he was crying... which to me means he asks us to see him vulnerable, crying, in a strange city, practically clothesless, homeless, in a van, in a parking lot -- a pitiful scene really -- and then he asks us to suspend our pity and believe that at that moment he's crying in JOY!! for finally getting to where exactly he needed to be on his own particular spiritual journey - true FREEDOM! Beautiful. I love the meditative, repetitive "all things go" which seems like a Buddhist nod. Simply gorgeous song. |
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| The Shins – So Says I Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Awesome interps. And samlowry44 brings up some good points about those troubling first few lines. I think the song is rooted in the singer feeling uncomfortable with their band signing with a big label and commercialness in general - after years of obscurity their "overnight success" (ha ha) and becoming a part of a record company conglomerate corporation industrial entertainment complex (the golden door). I see strumming on the stone as a mixed or condensed metaphor of playing guitar and extracting blood from a stone... like trying to get $$ from a record company. Also it's a visceral image that ones fingers would get scraped and bloodied. Pulling teeth might be an allusion to stealing gold teeth (yeah there they are again)(i.e. $$$) from zombie record execs (da pimps).... or just the difficulty (pulling teeth) of getting interest in their music at all and get the deal signed. "Cuz if it makes them money they might just give you life this time" sounds like a pretty straight up record company reference, but in a larger sense capitalism beats the hell over communism and socialism when it comes to innovation, it makes me think of pharmaceutical companies. Yeah, it sux that they are trying to make money taking money from sick people - but those "evil" pharmacos literally do save lives. Do you want cancer treatment in some communist country... or at cedars mt sinai?? So I don't see "So Says I" as a rant against capitalism. It's more like, what's the old saw? Capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others. And it's better to have failed attempts than to fail to attempt, ya know? With financial success there is no rent to worry about anymore - same as if you're living under a communist regime - but there is also a danger you can lose your inspiration and drive: "Our lust for life had gone away with the rent we hated." With this song I get the sense that Mercer is an idealist, but at the same time he's no dummy. p.s. hey I recently posted lyrics to a bunch of songs by Flake Music, they are the Pre-Shins, low fi and phenomenal. If you haven't heard Flake Music and you love the Shins... you're in for a treat. : ) |
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| Flake Music – Deluca Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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another breakup song by the master. In a lot of Flake Music / Shins songs love and friendship are transcendant, escapes, adventures. the imagery is flight and floating (From Girl Inform Me: "How else could you tie my head to the sky?"). Then the breakups are messy, devastating. The imagery is "severed and untied" or losing a part of yourself (like a phantom limb). "the weird divide" is an amazing song title and that phrase also appears in the song Sphagnum Esplanade: "Far better a find it is if we try to span the weird divide With no real rationale we step out of bounds and think we've escaped the lies" From Fighting in a Sack: "Walking a bridge with weakening cables" and "Marionettes on weakening cables/Huddled up with fear and hate/because they know their fate/ and it's a lot to put them through" From Pink Bullets: "When our kite lines first crossed We tied them into knots And finally fly apart We had to cut them off" and lastly, "Two loose kites falling from the sky Drawn to the ground and an end to flight" From Past and Pending: "We settle down to cut ourselves apart" and "and lose yourself in lines dissecting love". |
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| The Shins – Weird Divide Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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The weird divide is the difference between people even when they are likeminded or sympatico or lovers or friends, like what appears to be the case in this song. Anytime you can overcome alienation and crippling self-consciousness and cross that divide it's good. But "purposes cross" and you have a falling out or a breakup or maybe something less dramatic. Years pass. Then as you get older and look back on your life those little friendships and connections become a new "weird divide" of space and time and memory between yourself and your younger self, and the memory of the relationship vs. what is was really like at the time. A new form of alienation of the self, but one that can also be comforted by appreciating the good times. It didn't work out, but you can smile when you look back and think about that person and that time. |
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| The Shins – Turn On Me Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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i think it's "I don't know why and I don't care (well hardly anymore)" That's my favorite line on Wincing, I agree with darrylk. It's that classic shins second guessing onself and admitting something emotionally personal and difficult. ... hey i posted the lyrics to Flake Music (Mercer's pre-Shins band) here on songmeanings.net a few weeks back - so pls take a look! The album is "When You Land Here, It's Time to Return". I found it on ebay a few years ago and love love love it. |
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| Steely Dan – Dr Wu Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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The singer and Katy are hanging out somewhere glamorous and sleazy (think: Jake, Lady Brett & co. in Hemingways' The Sun Also Rises) when Dr Wu (think: Gatsby) arrives where they are staying. The three of them hang out, get high, party (probably on dr wu's piasters) and all night long they would sing that stupid song. It's a nice arrangement -- until dr wu and katy start fooling around behind his back. The singer doesn't really mind so much but dr wu also happens to be his dealer. It's one thing to get dumped by Katy and quite another when you're stuck in the sticks and broke and hooked to get dumped by your dealer. Dr Wu leaves for long enough that the singer goes into serious withdrawl. Katy summons Dr Wu to his beside. The singer is happy to get his fix, and he warns Dr Wu about Katy . . . just as the good doctor administers a big fat lethal overdose to poor hapless singer, who calls out "are you with me doctor" "can you hear me doctor" "are you with me doctor" until the fadeout. Think: Double Indemnity. My interp is similar to the "camelot theory' proffered at the link provided by shadowself, but it's not them specifically. It's just the classic love triangle addled by drugs. |
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| Flake Music – Deluca Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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ultimate break up song. how searing those last arguments can be and how you can look back with a lot of regrets. the lyrics posted here are great! Well done. I have a few minor suggestions on how i hear it: The stain that sticks like glue Your expression when you left I’ll never change your style We're severed and untied I failed to help your head I was selfish and unwise I’ll never make you smile Cuz my train runs with no track A stain that sticks like glue Your expression when you left I'll never change your style We're severed and untied I failed to help your head I was selfish and unwise I'll never make you smile My train runs with your track |
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| Flake Music – The Shins Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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for me it means be wary of people being nice/false to you, don't trust that, they're going to try pull the rug out from under you. Keep the courage of your convictions and your own creative imagination - keep your eyes in the clouds - and with true love ('blowing a kiss') you can 'scale the walls' and go five miles high and reach your highest goals. Then when you're old you won't look back and have any regrets because some a-holes threw you off track and kept you from doing what you really wanted to do. But what the hell do I know. I just added a bunch more lyrics, hope they will post them soon and you all can jump in and fill in the missteps. |
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