submissions
| Elvis Costello – (What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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It's about the end of the hippie era, when people were getting together and caring for each other and a much better and more humane world seemed to be at fingers reach, until it all got marketed as just another product and the "fashion" passed, making the old "peace and love" motto sound dated and subject to jokes by most people. But it's interesting the way Elvis does it, as compared to the original Brinsley Schwartz version in '74. While the original sounded almost like Nick Lowe and band were mourning at the "better world"'s funeral, Elvis is downright mad at those who "murdered" it. One of the most moving songs of all time without a doubt, thanks Nick Lowe for writing it and Elvis for the great version and keeping it alive. |
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| Elvis Costello & the Attractions – (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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He actually is as good as you say, only this song wasn't written by him, but by his longtime friend and early influence Nick Lowe, at the time he was still the leader of the pub rock band Brinsley Schwartz.
It's about the end of the hippie era and how futile, lonesome, sad and hopeless the world became again after the flash of light of the 60's began to fade away. One of the most moving songs I ever heard. |
submissions
| Elvis Costello & the Attractions – (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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He actually is as good as you say, only this song wasn't written by him, but by his longtime friend and early influence Nick Lowe, at the time he was still the leader of the pub rock band Brinsley Schwartz.
It's about the end of the hippie era and how futile, lonesome, sad and hopeless the world became again after the flash of light of the 60's began to fade away. One of the most moving songs I ever heard. |
submissions
| Tom Waits – Martha Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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Hey Splerb, your interpretation is very interesting and sure fits the song, but as jimnuaeabhracon said, great art tends to enable multiple interpretations, so there's not much pointing in arguing about who "got it right". Not even what Tom Waits had in mind when he wrote can be called the definitive meaning, but judging by his early early style, I think it's very likely he meant most of what he said here. The feeling is his voice is anything but sarcastic. In fact that's why I didn't like Meat Loaf's version, in his voice it doesn't sound so sincere. I thought of writing this because your comment reminded me of something I read on I Found a Reason, by The Velvet Underground. Someone there who was clearly a bigger fan of Lou Reed's later solo works stated that that song could only be full of sarcasm, that Reed's style didn't fit with sentimenal ballads, when he actually meant his LATER style didn't fit with them. I think it's the same here. I'd expect it to be sarcastic coming from Swordfishtrombones or later, but as for Closing Time, it sounds much more likely it wasn't his intention to me. Again, not that it matters much to us whatever he thought. |
submissions
| John Prine – Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Any More Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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Great song, that was already true long before it was written, since Christianity first gained popularity up to this very moment, and probably will be for a long time still...
About the association of country music with conservativism, I think it's more of a myth. Real country music has never been conservative, way back since Jimmie Rodgers' days straight up to this day there's been a constant flow of country musicians who were anything but conservative and that shaped all the main delevopments and subgenres. Of course there's always been conservative country musicians and their equally minded audience, but those are the corny ones that never contributed much (accordingly to the very principle of conservatism) and were forgotten by most people almost instantly after their heyday. And the very same can be said about pop music, rock, etc you name it. |
submissions
| Bob Dylan – Tomorrow Is a Long Time Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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What can I say after tomorrowisalongtime's comment? (S)he not only expressed everything I carried in my mind about this song, but still did with such a beauty that is only matched by the song itself. That's easily the best thing I've read on this website. Dylan is indeed a genius, but it takes another genius to recognise one in such rich detail.
This is one of my all-time favourites, Dylan's or otherwise, but to me the greatest version is by long time country rocker Chris Hillman, on his 1982 album Morning Sky. |
submissions
| Bob Dylan – Mama, You Been on My Mind Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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Forgot to mention it inevitably reminds me of another song, Robert Hunter's "It Must Have Been The Roses", written about a decade later with possible influence from this one, but still incredibly beautiful as well. Hunter originally wrote it for him to perform, but the Grateful Dead (for whom he was the main lyricist) couldn't help covering it and making it more famous. Highly recommended for whoever loves Mama You Been On My Mind. |
submissions
| Bob Dylan – Mama, You Been on My Mind Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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My absolute favourite song right now, Dylan's or anyone's.
Cavern, your interpretation of the song being about Woody Guthrie rather than a potential love interest was very interesting, but the Jack Johnson argument is flawed. On the soundtrack for the I'm Not There film, Johnson does indeed covers Mama You Been On My Mind, (adding the "'ve"), and he also covers a certain "A Fraction of Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie", in the same track, but that's another piece altogether. "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" is a poem Dylan wrote and first recited on stage in early '63, a full year before he first came up with "Mama You Been On My Mind", so it's very likely they had no relation at all and Jack Johnson just happened to like both. Don't take me wrong, I really appreciated reading your interpretationg and I think it's valid, just not definitive (as by the way none could be for a work of art).
For me it's simply about being (a little) in love with someone you cannot be with, and actually getting by with it, but without pretending the feeling's not there. It could be because the other person has someone, because you have someone, because you two've been together before and I didn't work out, for strong lifestyle differences or even because the two of you live too damn far from each other. Whatever reason it was that made you conclude the union is impossible, you've already (kind of) accepted it. You just couldn't help telling the person about it all anyway ....perhaps secretly hoping (s)he would feel the same and come up with a way to get through the "impossibilities" and be with you at last. Perhaps just being unpretentiously honest. |
submissions
| John Sebastian – Rainbows All Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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It's about a happy and freewheeling person wanting to help a friend who's depressed.
It's about the joyful and liberating hippie community trying to share their bliss with the rest of the world.
It pretty much sums up the whole point of the big western counterculture movement that started shyly in the late 40's with the Beats, grew in popularity through the mid 60's, culminating in the Summer of Love in '67 and the Woodstock Festival in '69, where (no coincidently) this song was so emotively performed by its writer. Just about one of the most beautiful however simple and underrated songs ever sung. |
submissions
| The Beatles – Yer Blues Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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Dear Mr. (or Mrs.) FackingHell, I admire a lot and listen to very often Blind Willie McTell and several other Blind's and other bluesmen from about the same time with better eyesight, as well as many, many other ones from the black American blues style until British bands made it huge. I really don't think this makes any difference for someone to give their opinion, but as you seem to think so, I'm telling you.
Still, I believe it's pretty much the standart British blues-rock that many other bands such as the Stones, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Free or the Jeff Beck Group were playing at the time. For me, John clearly intended to make a parody of this kind of song, keeping the "power blues" basis quite consistent and exaggerating a lot on the "down" feeling, frequent in blues music. I believe he just put on the lyrics all depressive stuff he could think of, making references to the sadness in his past (the mother and father part), other "down" songs (Ballad of a Thin Man) and the tradional sadness related to love (lonelines).
One of my favourite songs. |
submissions
| The Who – Magic Bus Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Whatever it was originally about love or drugs, I believe Pete's intention certainly was to make people see both.
If you're on drugs and they are too expensive, it fits this way for you. If you're in love and the one you love lives far, it's perfect like this for you too.
Personally, I always listen to it using the second option, as it describes exactely how I feel.
The live versions are all really amazing, with harmonica and some extra lines. Most times, Pete ends up surrendering and saying a price, "one hundred English pounds". I'm not from England, but isn't it extremely cheap for a bus (especially a magic one)? |
submissions
| The Who – I Don't Even Know Myself Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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This is not on actually on Who's Next, it's just one of the bonus tracks added later.
And it's hard to analyze this as an individual thing (though the meaning seems to be obvious), as it's part of the Lifehouse rock-opera, the one between Tommy and Quadrophenia that never was finished. It fits well in Who's Next, most of the songs there were supposed to be in Lifehouse too. |
submissions
| Chuck Berry – Memphis, Tennessee Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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It's clearly a break up and the mother doesn't want him to see his daughter. No girlfriend could be six years old!
I thought this song's name was 'Memphis Tennessee', not just 'Memphis'. |
submissions
| Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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isabellahelsing, The Small Faces' "You Need Loving" is from 1966, two years before Zeppelin's birth. Course, the original is Willie Dixon's "You Need Love", but listening just to it and "Whola Lotta Love" you think Led Zep nearly made a new song, but knowing Small Faces' too, you say they weren't THAT creative. At least half the changes are already on the '66 'bridge'. All three amazing songs, course. |
submissions
| Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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isabellahelsing, The Small Faces' "You Need Loving" is from 1966, two years before Zeppelin's birth. Course, the original is Willie Dixon's "You Need Love", but listening just to it and "Whola Lotta Love" you think Led Zep nearly made a new song, but knowing Small Faces' too, you say they weren't THAT creative. At least half the changes are already on the '66 'bridge'. All three amazing songs, course. |
submissions
| Grateful Dead – He's Gone Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Yeah, Pigpen was still alive and singing.
It could only be about Mickey's father's thing. Poor Mickey, got so ashamed he left the band for some time. |
submissions
| Grateful Dead – He's Gone Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Yeah, Pigpen was still alive and singing.
It could only be about Mickey's father's thing. Poor Mickey, got so ashamed he left the band for some time. |
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