| The Shins – Saint Simon Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think this song is kind of about giving up on ideology, and on the idea of working out the real significance of the works of the vast numbers of past philosophers and thinkers, both secular/progressive and traditional/religious. It's just saying 'f**k it!', and not trying to justify your position any more, or pretend you're moral, but just 'stepping into the night', and giving in to apathy, while resisting the instinct to try and build a defence of your position or justify it as somehow good, and ridding your head of that idea, and forgoing the comfort that such ideas can bring. I sometimes feel like this, but frankly I can't imagine being able to live with it in the long run. I'd rather keep trying to figure things out, however impossible that seemed. Beautiful song though. |
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| Nirvana – Territorial Pissings Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Summary of the comments so far:'Everyone is a fuckwit except me, because I know what this song's about, and I'm me, so I must be right.' To me, this songs is about growing up and coming to realise that hippy idealism is just another cliche, just like every other pointless mindset indoctrinated by culture. Even the idea of resisting culture and influence by the mindset of society is itself a mindset. As such, any ideal of this type is doomed to collapse in on itself in an orgy of pointless nihilism (a.k.a the '70's). All cultures, opinions, views, are relative. Each generation or group tries to promote their own ideals, their own mindset, with the conviction that when their vision is in place, everything will be made better. It's just what humans do. So maybe we should wait until we find some verificable basis for our views before we try and shove them down other people's throats (if that is ever possible). But hey, what the hell do I know? Maybe it's about sex?! Or drugs?! That'd make sense, right? To an addict, every song seems to be about drugs. |
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| Muse – Thoughts of a Dying Atheist Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I don't think there's any way to talk about the subject of religion without offending somebody. Still.... I think this song is basically about being suddenly confronted with his own mortality by the death of a friend, and wondering what the experience was like for them. The memories of the person haunt him, and he can't get them out of his head. He ponders what it's like to die (the final moments) when you're an atheist (like he is). And basically he can't stop thinking about this, and it's scaring the hell out of him. As to the whole atheism/theism debate: people's beliefs are a function of their psychological needs. They are personal to each individual person. You can't label atheism or theism 'right' or 'wrong', because these positions are held for such diverse reasons, in such a vast variety of forms. There are plenty of ignorant atheists, just as there are plenty of ignorant theists, who hold beliefs that are ridiculous for their own comfort. I used to be one of these. I used to regard religions as simply societal control mechanisms, that were plainly factually wrong. I considered myself an atheist as a result, without considering any of the real implications behind my beliefs. Then I learned about some different religions, the sheer variety of beliefs, and the meaningful philosophy behind them. And I realised that I didn't know much at all. I'm still an atheist (in the sense of having no formal gods). I don't pray. But I couldn't judge the likelyhood of God existing or not either way. I'm constantly encountering information that seems compelling on both sides. And it never totally satisfies me. And you know what I realised? It's just people's opinions. From Richard Dawkins to Rowan Williams, at the end of the day, people are just trying to make sense of their lives through the mental constructs that they've been taught. If you're happy (truly happy) as an atheist, then great. If you're happy as a theist, then that's great to. But don't let your impressions of society, whether scientific rationalism or Christian Evangelicism tell you what you know in your heart doesn't fit. If you want to believe in God but feel you'll be abandoning intellectual rigour to do so, then look into it. It's not like you'll be violating some moral principle or something just by investigating the idea of God with an open mind. If there is no universal morality, then what does it matter anyway. And, likewise, if you find yourself doubting theism, don't feel guilty. You can't pretend to believe in God. If you want to be an atheist, be an atheist. Either way, don't let your guilt or your fear hold you back. These things come from human society, from human fear, from the human urge to make others conform. Reject it, and pursue your own truth. And remember, we are all limited by our feeble reasoning capacities. To grow as a person and in knowledge seems the surerest path. Fear of death is natural. But don't let it dominate your life. If it's the end of the story (rather than the end of a part of a series), then don't allow others to convince you of the ending. Those who speak do not know. And those who know do not speak :) |
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| Rage Against the Machine – Wake Up Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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About conspiracy to off leaders of the civil rights movement. While I know both king and x were under government surveillance, and there may even have been plans in the work to off them, I just don't believe it was the government that did it in the end. Malcolm X did have major beef when he broke away from the Nation of Islam. I believe his killers were members? And that his minders from the Nation had also been given instructions to off him? Seems like a pretty basic case of a power struggle to me. As for King, wasn't he offed by some redneck nutcase? Anyway, I don't really know enough about it to pass judgement. It just seems to me like if the evidence for government involvement was that strong, people would have made more of a thing of it (like Spike Lee could've in his tribute film to Malcolm X.) Conspiracy theorists discuss. |
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| Eels – Suicide Life Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| To me this is just about depression. Being so sick of feeling that way, and being desperate for it to stop, and all the thoughts that spin through your head. | |
| Coldplay – Strawberry Swing Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Brilliant song of the new album. I think the first half is about childhood memories, and the way things seem looking back on them. Then it brings it up to the present 'people moving all the time, inside a perfectly straight line, don't you wanna just curve away', which makes me thing of how I feel on warm summer days when I wan't to just be a kid. But then he goes on to say 'now the sky could be blue, but I don't mind, without you it's just a waste of time' so I guess it's about finding something more important than childhood freedom (love.) So overall, I guess the song's about growing up. |
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| Coldplay – Viva la Vida Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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1. NYyankees51, it is most definitely you who are an idiot. Coldplay are most definitely against the war, and if you think Bush did a god job responding to 911, you need to get your head out of your ass. 2. As to the meaning of the song, I just can't decide. 'I used to rule the world' fits with religion and the monarchy. 'Seas would rise when I gave the word' equally denotes monarchs and religious patriarchs. 'Now in the morning I sleep alone' seems to denote the loss of a close personal relationship. 'Sweep the streets I used to own' is reminiscient of the last emperor of China, (as someone has already mentioned) who went from God-king to manual labourer after the Chinese revolution. 'I used to roll the dice' signifies the risks that great leaders take. 'Now the old king is dead, long live the king' reinforces the theme of revolution. All revlutions start of trying to do away with the monarchy, but in the end replace it with an identical equivalent. All revolution really means is a period of turbulence before a return to business as usual. 'Next the walls were closed on me' is reminiscient both of the last emperor and Napoleon (one was locked out of the city where he had lived all his life, the other imprisoned) 'And I discovered that my castles stand, upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand' implies that the figure realised that his strength was nothing without his authority. 'I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing, Roman Cavalry choirs are singing' ? Jesus? The crucifixion? The figure knows he's near his end. 'Be my mirror, my sword, my shield' this seems like an appeal to an outside other (God?) to enlighten the figure about his own weaknesses, after all the falsehoods, to be his strength during this difficult time, and protect him. 'Missionaries in a foreign a field' This again seems to invoke Jesus? The disciples maybe. The figure seems to be calling on his last followers to carry his memory beyond his own death. 'For some reason I can't explain, once you'd gone there was never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world.' This again seems to imply the breakup of a relationship, where the figure lost all sense of reality once his partner left him (but now he's been cut down to size, he sees the truth about himself.) 'It was a wicked and a wild wind, blew down the doors that let me in' This seems to apply to revolutions, where a period of terror allows a new order to gain power - 'Shattered windows and the sound of drums' also conjures up images of revolutionary uprisings. 'People couldn't believe what I'd become' to me this seems to be about how the message of revolutions get's twisted out of all belief over the course of the actual revolutions. People end up horrified by the violence that they've unleashed. 'Revolutionaries wait for my head on a silver plate, just a puppet on a lonely string, oh who would ever want to be king.' This absolutely sums up Charle's fate after the French Revolution. While they were planning what to do with him, he was kept on as king for a while, a puppet ruler, isolated from his family, as the gullotine got into swing. He never should have been king. Poor sod. 'For some reason I can't explain, I know Saint Peter won't call my name' To me, this is about how European kings were declared as instruments of God to their followers, with divine jurisdiction. But the figure really knows that after all the things he's done, he's not getting into heaven. His bubble of self-deception has been well and truly punctured. In conclusion, I'd say this song is about how the mighty fall. Revolutions happen, enemies surround you, and no matter how many flatterers you surround yourself with, you can't avoid the fact that sooner or later you'll die, and it'll all get stripped away. So you better not buy into the bullshit that surrounds you. Be honest with yourself. Don't let yourself believe that any of this is permanent. Life moves on. Life is transitory. Live it. |
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| Kate Bush – This Woman's Work Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Difficult pregnancy - man waits outside, trying to hold it together, worrying about his partner, thinking about all the things he'll regret if she dies. He just wants it all to stop, to roll back the clock and live his memories with her. Beautiful song. Really captures the poignancy of human life. | |
| Blind Guardian – Punishment Divine Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Yep, Nietsche. Insanity. 'Was I aware whom I had slain' (Got ist Tot) 'The strong will survive, the weak must die' (will to power) 'Natures law instead of God's' (one of Nietzsche's primary concerns was to knock down Christian morality, because of it's false basis) 'It's good and evil, I know right between there's no borderline' (Nietzsche realised that all contemporary concepts of morality were false, and he seemed to suffer from that realisation) Darwin may have been tortured by his discoveries, but he didn't visualise their consequences are darkly as Nietzsche. |
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| The Cranberries – Zombie Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Just about the sheer mind numbing pointless stupidity of wars. Sides keep plugging away at each other even when the reason for the initial conflict has long since passed. The troubles in Northern Ireland are a prime example. The IRA's struggle was initially about simply gaining independence from Britain. But because loyalists in the North weren't happy with the idea of being a powerless minority, they caused the split. And so the British came back in to defend them. And so the IRA resumed their campaign. And so the British started getting heavy handed. And so the IRA started targeting civilians. And so loyalist paramilitaries hit back. And on and on it went, until no-one could remember why they were really fighting. They just fought because it was what they were bought up with, what they were used to. To hate the other side. Every attack was revenge for the last one. An eye for an eye. And they just carried on like this for years, unable to see how pointless the whole thing was, and how they were only harming their own people. Zombies, simply perpetuating the cycle of violence because it was what they were good at. It seems like everyone is finally sick of them now. I hope peace can come to the region, and those who continue to commit such acts can come to realise that they are only serving an endless cycle of violence that is centuries old, and has no positive effect. A truly beautiful song. |
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| System of a Down – Radio/Video Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song is about being famous, and the contrast between that and childhood memories. 'Hey man, look at me rocking out, I'm on the radio (/video)' is sung with ridiculous emphasis. It represents all the enthusiasm and outgoing feelings people have towards being a rockstar. Everyone wants it. But at the same time, this is countered with the memories of Danny and Lisa, childhood friends, whose memory takes you back to a time when you were just a normal person, and none of the fame stuff was an issue. These memories 'take me away' from 'the strangest places' of being famous, back to times spent with 'sweet Danny and Lisa', where none of that shit mattered. |
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| A Perfect Circle – Pet Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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As previous comments have indicated, anyone who doesn't see the way the lyrics of this song work as a metaphor for the way governments coerce their people is an obtuse idiot, and probably needs to lay of the drugs for a while and read something. That's why they were re-mixed for emotic. Because they work so well in that context. But why remix them at all, if the song was originally about that? Which leads me to believe that it is in fact about.....addiction. All I don't get in that context is the 'New World Order' reference. How is that to do with being on drugs? |
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| Serj Tankian – Sky Is Over Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Yep, think it's global warming. 'Everybody knows' - pretty much every government except the U.S.'s ratified Kyoto and accepted anthropogenic global warming. The U.S. is the only place where there is still real debate. 'That you cradle the sun' - human fossil fuel emissions effectively trap infa-red radiation emitted by the earth from solar rays, basically cradling the sun's energy to the earth. 'Living in remorse' even though we know what it's doing, we still continue our-emission heavy lifestyles, however guilty we feel 'sky is over' the fragile balance of our atmosphere is truly fucked. 'Even though we can't afford' - the debate over how much it will cost to prevent global warming - skeptics say we can't afford it. Serj is basically saying 'what the hell are you talking about? There isn't going to be a global economy when this happens! We are talking about the end of human civilization here!' 'Behinds closed eyes lie the minds ready to awaken you' - people can close their eyes to the problem all they want, but really they know we're fucked. 'Are you at war with land and all of it's creatures' global warming won't just screw us, it could potentially wipe out all forms of life and change the face of the entire earth. 'Your not so gentle persuasion has been known to wreck economies of countries, of empires' American capitalism and way of life have been known to have a huge effect around the world before (Wall street crash etc.) What you do has an effect. Consumerism could ruin the entire planet. 'Not even from the sun' this change in climate isn't even caused by natural solar fluctuations (as some skeptics claim.) It's entirely man-made. As if we don't have enough natural disasters to contend with, we seem hell-bent on wiping ourselves out first. 'The sky is over us' - we'll be the ones that suffer - the atmosphere was ideal for human life - now we're pushing it out of that zone - life on earth will probably move on in some other direction, as it has done before over some mass die-off. The planet will get over us. |
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| Type O Negative – Wolf Moon Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| God I wish I'd never read that now. I don't mean to be a prude, but that's just sick. Totally ruined it for me! | |
| Blind Guardian – The Script For My Requiem Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| jester's tears I cry? wtf? Still, yeah, about returning from the crusades. | |
| System of a Down – I-E-A-I-A-I-O Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| ok, after reading back a few pages, I have come to the conclusion that this is a song about American patriotism. The American media and cultural background make it out to be the land of the free, where everything is peachy. America's history is made out to be one of liberation. And yet they totally ignore huge segments of America's history. This song is asking 'why the fuck are you so proud, you fucking morons.' All the flag waving idiots 'one flag, flaggy but one.' All the celebrations around 4th July, the supposed day of freedom. Why are you so proud? Are you proud of the KKK? Are you proud of your high divorce rate? Are you proud of your racism? Are you proud of your sex-driven culture? Why? Why all this super hero shit? Superman, Night Rider, heroic cops on tv being hyped up. It's not reality. Wake up and smell your own shit! Flag waving is not patriotism, it's idiocy. Real patriotism is seeing your country for what it really is, and trying to make it better. Anyway, that's what I think it's about. | |
| The Offspring – Neocon Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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To all the conservative morons out there, this is obviously a song about neoconservatives. It's written from their point of view. All those idiots who go on and on about liberal pussies, trying to make themselves look big in comparison -We are strong' All those fools who continually try and enforce moral absolutes - 'We are right' 'We won't be pushed aside' - the neoconservative movement has managed to wield massive amounts of power, considering iit's relatively small numbers. 'We'll go on' - Neoconservatives have shown a level of drive, resiliency, and committment unusual in politics. 'We will fight' speaks for itself.' 'We will not compromise' - again, unlike the wish washy liberals who like to try and find peaceful solutions, the neocon mantra is bomb first, ask questions later. 'We will never loose to you'. We shall see! |
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| Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Wow, what an amazing song. As to what it's about, I think the way you interpret the mood of the song is totally individual. A lot of people have said they see it as depressing. I don't see it like that. To me it's about second chances. It's about an incredibly destructive relationship, where the emotions involved make both people suffer (a rush of blood to the head.) And the guy will do anything for the girl. Stupid, violent, illogical things. he's so utterly devoted to her. And he can't bear to let her go. He just can't cope without her. But he thinks they can have a fresh start. He thinks they can be good again. They can blame all their problems on a rush of blood to the head. They can get over it. So it's about torment, and pain, and destructiveness, and the mistakes that people make time and time again. But that's ok. Because there's still hope that they can start again afresh. Despite it all, somehow they still have this miraculous chance to start again. |
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| Manic Street Preachers – The Love Of Richard Nixon Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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To me, 'death without assassination' brings up comparison with Kennedy (and others.) Like Nixon, Kennedy was involved in plenty of potential scandels. But because he was assassinated, most never came to light, and he went on to be remembered as the president who gave hope to the civil rights movement, and avoided nuclear war. In contrast, Nixon left office in disgrace, and went on to become a total hate figure. The Manics are just showing how certain events in history can twist public perception of people. |
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| The Killers – Tranquilize Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| To the people who don't think 'Bushes and Bombs' relates to George W., what else could it mean? What is another use for that word? Is the writer singing about all the foliage that is bringing him down? Or is he depressed about all the female pubic hair in the world? What other possible link is there between the word 'bush' (plural) and 'bombs'? Anyway, great song. | |
| Faithless – Mass Destruction Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Pretty sure it's 'misinformation' rather than 'dis-information'. Not sure that's even a word. Oh, and it's 'I don't need good people to pray and wait, for the lord to make it all straight, There's only now, do it right, 'cos I don't want your daddy leaving home tonight. I think it's basically calling out the media for all the crap it spews about WMD and terrorists, spreading fear and racism, and the rest of the public for believing them and letting fear, the most destructive of human emotions, guide our actions. People need to learn both sides of a story, see their 'enemies' point of view, and realise there are more ways to do harm in this world than simply blowing people up. And we need to do something about it. Because what we do matters |
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| System of a Down – 36 Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| for me, this song is about having the courage to break away from all the prescribed crap of life (tv, job, car etc) and live how you want to live without worrying about shit. | |
| Elbow – Leaders Of The Free World Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| i think the 'i miss you louise' line is part of the whole 'periscope up' submarine analogy....like someone he's had to leave behind for war....that's all i could think of....anyway, this song totally epitomises the way i feel about the people who control the world. | |
| KoЯn – No One's There Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| ermmm....first off, i think these lyrics might be slightly wrong.....a lot of sites have it as 'so what can it be, no one hears me call, echoes back at me, no one's there', although i don't have the album slip with me to check. This makes a lot more sense to me, as it adds a deeper element to the song....what is the point of life, there is no god listening to his pleas, just an empty void....no one's there. So its about searching and looking for something to help him deal with the frustration of his life, and finding nothing. But 'i know its time to leave these places far behind' suggests he still expects to find an answer. | |
| System of a Down – P.L.U.C.K. Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| It seems like a widely accepted fact that 1.5 million Armenians were systematically slaughtered (for example, this was stated in a recent university lecture i attended.) Whoever started it, the Ottoman government must bear responsibility for the Genocide. Whether or not Turkey accepts it, it happened. That's the main subject of this song. Not that Turkey should be particularly singled out for this atrocity. Practically every ex-empire has similar skeletons in its closet. Britain invented concentration camps in South Africa. Germany speaks for itself. Spain and Portugal (along with others) perpetrated hundreds of years of slavery. The former soviet union starved millions of its own people to death. One comment above declares this is human nature, that we can't help it. I don't buy that. That is the nature of empires, of putting one group of people above another. You have a choice as individual people to reject this lazy and selfish view of the world. I believe that is the other point of this song. Revolution, the only solution. America is now effectively the only real empire in the world (all be it commercial rather than territorial), at least until China consoldiates its vast resources. The empirical attitudes of an American elite as its prime is clearly shown by its increasingly aggressive foreign policy. But dominating empires always come to an end. The question is whether it will be ended by choice or catastrophe. Politics aside, the song rocks! | |
| Billy Joel – Leningrad Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| to me, this song contains the perspectives of two different sides at war, the different strains the situation puts on their lives, and how they are able to move past that by meeting and discovering what they have in common. Beautiful. | |
| A Perfect Circle – Pet Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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first off, anyone who can't see the parrallels between this song and the nature of government needs to wake up. That said, the evidence for it being about drugs seems pretty compelling. Lots of people seem to have evidence that Maynard specified this. A couple of points to clarify though. 1. What do the lines a 'a will to survive and a voice of reason' from the point of view of addiction? Is this how some addicts see their addiction. 2. 'Swaying to the rythym of the New World Order'? To me, that reeks of 'the project for the new american century' (conspiracy theorists unite!) but then again i was watching an extremely suggestive slideshow when i first heard it! How does this relate to drugs? If that's all the songs about, i think it sucks that the lyrics were re-hashed for 'Counting Bodies like sheep'! Reactionary or what! Would appreciate it if anyone could clarify those points. |
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