| Simon and Garfunkel – America Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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America by Paul Simon Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together I've got some real estate here in my bag So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies And we walked off to look for America Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh Michigan seems like a dream to me now It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw I've gone to look for America Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat We smoked the last one an hour ago So I looked at the scenery She read her magazine And the moon rose over an open field Cathy, I'm lost, I said though I knew she was sleeping And I'm empty and aching and I don't know why Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike They've all come to look for America All come to look for America All come to look for America ************************************************** “America” is a song written by Paul Simon which appeared on the Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel 1968 album “Bookends”. It has been suggested that the song was inspired by a road-trip that Paul Simon took with his girlfriend Kathy Chitty – but, I have not seen a well-supported reference of that fact. The song starts out describing a light-hearted arrangement between two “lovers” who “walked off to look for America”. They jokingly marry their non-existent “fortunes together” which includes spurious “real estate here in my bag”. But, of course – the song is about more than a trip by two individuals “looking for America”. The song repeatedly eludes to emotional complexities beyond the light-hearted relationship of two lovers – and, culminates with a plaintive refrain “Cathy, I’m lost… I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why”. We do not know how Paul Simon’s thoughts and experiences resulted in his expressions in this song – but, such is the common realization of many young adults as they begin to understand that life is undefined and much more complex than it appeared when they were children. Losing the simplicity and happiness of childhood often leaves one yearning for something they will not be able to experience in the future ( a.k.a. “Rosebud” in “Citizen Kane"). |
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| Simon and Garfunkel – Kathy's Song Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This is how Garfunkel described the source of the song at a Simon and Garfunkel concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Q1mmxREuI |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Just an FYI... After much thought, I have made this song number 65 on the list of 68 best rock songs. http://geocities.com/truerock2/ |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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ScottishGirlie: Do you have a web link to the interview you mention? Where did you hear the interview? Thanks much... |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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ScottishGirlie: Very interesting... So are you saying that flathead is a common derogatory term used in Scotland? When was the first time you heard flathead used similarly to dickhead? Is flathead a common term in Scotland? |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Regarding who is talking to whom about whom... My interpretation is that the author of the song (a male) is talking to Flathead (a female) about a second female with whom he had previously had sex. The author is telling Flathead the relationship he had with the second female is not as important as how he feels about Flathead. Apparently Flathead is paying little heed to the author’s entreaties. So, the author points out that Flathead has led a lifestyle of debauchery and therefore should overlook the author’s previous relationship with a different female. In some parts of the song, the author is talking to the audience (or himself). Examples are: 1. I heard they kicked the boy till he bled (the author is talking to the audience about Flathead's lifestyle) 2. Well her's is a tonic and mine is a gin (the author saying to the audience that he is compatible with Flathead) 3. Said the boy's (i.e. the boy who is) not right in the head (the author is talking about himself (the boy) to the audience) |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I think GreenDayCrazy50, yranigami, pressgang and others all have valid observations. But, I think we are stuck on the primary issue of what the word or name Flathead means. Flathead is: A type of screwdriver. A type of automobile engine block A native North American tribe (and various things like rivers and mountains named after them) A type of fish A devotee of Michael Flatley A fictional family in the Zork computer game None of these really fit into any of the interpretations. |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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yranigami, I agree with your observations. There is definitely a possible alternate interpretation in which Flathead is not the female mentioned in the first 4 lines of the song, but a male acquaintance. And, also I agree with your alternative interpretation of the word bones. Given John Lawler’s age, I lean to my interpretation – but as you say it doesn’t change the meaning of that particular line – and John Lawler may actually use the word both ways without really caring how it is interpreted. Regardless, the real issue is what is John Lawler’s intention of referring to someone as Flathead. I don’t think anyone has asked John what Flathead is. You’d think that any interviewer with a clue would have brought that up. I think it would help if someone with a Scot/Brit/Generation-Y background tossed around a few ideas. |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Obviously I should elaborate a little bit to put my interpretation into perspective. I’ve gotten quite a few questions regarding what I wrote. Admittedly I dashed it off in roughly 10 minutes. So, it is not perfect work. First of all, I consider the lyrics to be quite artful and I personally am quite impressed by the overall musical arrangement. I apologize if I’ve upset anyone with my interpretation, but I think the Fratellis have created a reasonably tasteful evocation of what part of the current generation Y alternative rock environment entails. Granted, it is not going to be competing with Raffi for the G rated music segment. Perhaps my writing is a little too direct to the point by using certain human anatomical vocabulary. I’m a Yank (specifically a Texan) and I wrote my interpretation for a Yank audience assuming they might be a little sketchy regarding Brit slang. So my blather at the beginning about Michael Flatley was just my attempt to explain to Yanks that there is a little history on the other side of the pond regarding the term Flathead. In the US, I think Flathead is used often to indicate someone of low intelligence (e.g. a cave man). I’m positive that is not what Flathead means in this song. It is obviously a name for a girl/women who has a pretty wild and uninhibited lifestyle. I think Brit mod/alternative rockers would use that term for individuals who are over-the-top and excessive like a Michael Flatley Flathead. As far as I know, the Brits do not have a widely used meaning for Flatheads other than what I mentioned. Now, as for the perhaps nonsense chorus of Bara bap bara ra ra ra. At first I did think it was just nonsense. But, then I remembered that Brits use the term in a number of ways. On further reflection, I think my Barazoku interpretation is wrong. I think perhaps Bara means penis and bab means vagina. I don’t think this is a matter of my mind being in the gutter. It seems pretty clear to me that the song at this point is about a girl uttering dirty slang during sexual orgasm. Also, ra ra is a common Brit utterance for where Yanks would exclaim yea yea. It’s been along time since I’ve hung-out with Brits, but I’m relatively sure about my latest interpretation and I checked it against some slang dictionaries. |
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| The Fratellis – Flathead Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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A flathead is a devotee of Michael Flatley who is famous for his creation of the Riverdance Irish dance ensemble. Also, Flatley won the Golden Gloves Championship in 1975. In the context of this song, flathead probably refers to someone with an intense, edge-of-the-cliff life style. Barazoku was Japan's oldest gay magazine, and was in print for 33 years. First published in 1971, Barazoku was known as a trailblazer for other gay publications and a leader in Japanese gay culture. In this song Bara is probably used as a non-gay reference to heterosexual, young, attractive men. Just because she feeds me well >> Just because she has oral sex with me And she made me talk dirty in a pink hotel >> And she made me talk dirty during sex (pink hotel: vagina) Doesn't mean she's got eyes for me >> Doesn't mean she loves me She might just want my bones you see >> She may just want me for sex (bones: penis erections) Hey flathead don't you get mean >> Hey flathead don't get mean She's the second best killer that I ever have seen >>She’s the second prettiest women I ever seen They don't come much more sick Than you >> sick: cool in a crazy fashion I could go on if you want me to >> I could continue to say nice things about you if you want me to It's just so wrong so very nice I told you Once and you killed me twice >> I said something nice about you and you replied negatively twice I saw you one time at the back of the Club chewing on glass and a ticket stub >>Glass: crystal (high purity) methamphetamine >>Ticket stub: paper soaked with LSD I heard they kicked the boy til he bled >>kicked: break an addiction >>boy: heroin >>til he bled: until the addiction is broken >>The above is mixed drug/sex metaphor Then stood and said oh my god til she said >>Then had an orgasm until she said Bara bap bara ra ra ra bara bap bara ra ra ra...... >>young, handsome men… Everybody knows you're the one to call >> Everybody knows you’re the one to ask for sex When the girls get ugly round the back of the wall >> When other girls are not interested in sex because of drug usage Josephine says you got bleedin nose >> Josephine says you have cocaine connections Shes takin it with her wherever she goes >> Josephine will stay in touch with her in order to get cocaine Hey flathead don't check me in >> Flathead, don’t ask me for sex Well hers is a tonic and mine is a gin >> we are not compatible They don't come much more slick than you >> Vaginas don’t come anymore lubricated than hers I'd drive your car if you ask me to >>I’d have sex with you if you ask Said the boy's not right in the head >> The boy’s confused about wheter to be involved with flathead So he stood and got a kickin instead til she said >> So he had sex with Flathead and then was rejected by Flathead until she went looking for a different boy to have sex with Bara bap bara ra ra ra bara bap bara ra ra ra...... And she said the boy's not right in the head >> And then she rejects the next boy Then stood and said oh my god til she said >> She has an orgasm until she looks for a new sex partner Bara bap bara ra ra ra bara bap bara ra ra ra...... |
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