submissions
| Bob Dylan – Love Is Just a Four-Letter Word Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I agree; Joan Baez's cover is great. In No Direction Home, she was talking about how she was with Bob the first time he heard the cover and he didn't remember he wrote it. He just remarked that it was a good song and she said something like 'You wrote it, you dope!' |
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| Bob Dylan – Ballad of a Thin Man Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I feel like the naked man thing is about vulnerability. The Mr. Jones character sees someone being vulnerable and doesn't get it. To me, he's describing what narrow-minded people thought of all the revolutionary things that were going on in the 60's. |
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| Bob Dylan – Ballad of a Thin Man Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I feel like the naked man thing is about vulnerability. The Mr. Jones character sees someone being vulnerable and doesn't get it. To me, he's describing what narrow-minded people thought of all the revolutionary things that were going on in the 60's. |
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| Veruca Salt – Used to Know Her Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I really like this song but the lyrics are a little embarrassing sometimes. Like the 'I used to sing' bit. I don't know, I think they're a bit silly but maybe that's just me. Anyway, this is a really good angry song. Pretty straight forward meaning and, like most of you, I just assumed it was about Nina Gordon and Dave Grohl. Does anyone know what actually happened with them? |
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| Paul McCartney – C Moon Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This song's cute. I think it's about being young and feeling misunderstood. It's kind of saying you can't ignore your dreams.
It will be L7 and I'd never get to heaven
If I filled my head with glue
What's it all to you?
So, about this part, L7 (as someone already pointed out) is British slang meaning square and C Moon's the opposite of that. I think he's saying 'my life could be really boring and I could follow all the rules but I would never accomplish anything unless I let myself be who I am.' |
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| Sonic Youth – Androgynous Mind Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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These are most likely Kurt Cobain references: "god is gay, and you were right." The last line of the Nirvana song Stay Away is 'god is gay.' |
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| Sonic Youth – 100% Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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The video for this is pretty awesome. I always thought it was about how trends affect teenagers because of skateboarder man Jason Lee (who played the lead guitarist in the movie Almost Famous) and how, after he died, all the kids were still skateboarding. It made me think of how trends start and then turn bitter. Even after the source of the trend grows old, the trend runs its course. It kind of reminds me of Kurt Cobain, actually. |
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| Guns N' Roses – One In A Million Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Axl Rose just used the word to cause controversy. That is all. He wasn't thinking about how he was saying it and what it truly meant; he was using it for shock value. That doesn't mean he isn't a racist. Why don't you look at the context? Does he sound like he's joking? Honestly, even if he was kidding, I don't think it'd be okay. Maybe if it was really good satire. And satire is probably above Axl Rose. |
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| Bob Dylan – Hurricane Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I don't think we will ever be able to declare whether or not Rubin Carter was innocent, and that's because his trial was unfair. And that website was mostly saying 'NO WAY! He wasn't the best boxer! Therefore, he killed people!' |
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| Guns N' Roses – One In A Million Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"White people say "nigger" all the time, but that doesn't make them racist."
Um. Yes, it really does. These lyrics are awful and disgusting. I'm also pretty disgusted at many of you. The logic that 'black people do it all the time in rap and that makes it okay' is ridiculous. First of all, rap is in no way representative of all black people. The fact that there are other offensive songs out there doesn't make this one any less offensive. Honestly, if someone says something racist to you, returning it with another racist statement isn't accomplishing anything so don't even whine about how unfair that is because that’s total bullshit. Axl tried to justify his racism by saying, 'Slash is half black,' but that doesn't cut it. I mean, you can't make homophobic and racist statements; call them art, and pretend it's alright because you once knew a gay guy and a black guy. He defended his homophobic statements by saying he has a lot of respect for gay people like Elton John and Freddie Mercury. Okayyy, that's great, Axl, but maybe you should stop being such a stupid homophobe if you don't want to be perceived that way? This (my rant) isn't about political correctness; it's about not being a racist, homophobic, ignorant moron. Axl is just promoting forming opinions on ignorance and you're all swallowing it.
"all gays are to me are WEIRD"
I think your incompetence is weird but I wouldn't have pointed it out if you weren't so blatantly homophobic. Oh, and racist. And you seem to depend entirely on generalizations. Just like Axl! Yes, all of his assumptions are based on things that happened to him. By his logic (and many of yours'), if one person of a certain race or group or whatever does something, it goes for that entire group. Do you see how ridiculous this is? ANYBODY??? |
submissions
| The Beatles – Money (That's What I Want) Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"i thought they meant the flying lizards"
I hope so. I can't think of anyone who would call the Pretenders obscure... (btw, I am mandolinloser. cept a year older.) |
submissions
| Paul Simon – Kodachrome Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall"
Everyone always focuses on the black and white line (which I also enjoy. To me, color is representative of emotion and context in this song) but I really like this one. It's such a clever use of a double negative. |
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| The Beatles – Baby's in Black Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I kind of hope this wasn't written about Astrid Kircher. That wouldn't be very sensitive considering they were friends with Stuart Sutcliffe. I feel like they wouldn't be so blunt towards someone they were close to. I don't know, that's just what I think. |
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| Led Zeppelin – Bron-Y-Aur Stomp Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This always makes me think of Martha My Dear by the Beatles. And about how awesome Robert Plant is. And if you think this is a love song, it doesn't matter what it is referencing. The wonderful thing about writing is that it is subjective. That's what makes lyrics art. They mean whatever you want them to mean. |
submissions
| Bikini Kill – Alien She Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Dejavula, I don't think drunkenbutterfly is totally wrong. I think this song is about how society tells girls to behave. It blurs the line between what girls are inherently like and what they are told to be. Kathleen Hanna is wondering which parts of stereotypical femininity are true and which are forced upon us in an attempt to opress us. |
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| Julie Ruin – The Punk Singer Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This song is FANTASTIC. It's totally awesome that Kathleen Hanna wrote a song about all the hypocrites who claim to be punk, when all they want is what punk is supposed to be fighting. Punk isn't thinking about YOU all the time, it's about changing the rules because you truly feel they're unfair! Her singing's fantastic, too. This is my favorite song on this album. |
submissions
| Jethro Tull – Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day) Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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For me, this song is all about perspective. The 'lens' through which we see things as time changes. There's also kind of a theme of grabbing opportunity ("everybody's on the stage, and it seems like you're the only person sitting in the audience"). It seems to be describing the feeling of your society deteriorating. He's encouraging revolution and change. Anyway, this is one of my favorite Jethro Tull songs. |
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| Hole – He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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It was actually written by Gerry Goff and Carole King. She wrote it when she found out that Little Eva's boyfriend hit her. Carole King asked her why she didn't leave him and she responded that he did it because he loved her so much. I think it's just her (Carole King's) observation of an abusive relationship. I don't really think the song is sick, just the concept it's describing; that someone can still love a person who hurts them like that. It wasn't intended to be encouraging spousal abuse but that's how some people took it. |
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| Hole – Rock Star Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I believe that this is her poking fun at the Lemonheads. I think they also made a song making fun of her. |
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| Bikini Kill – I Like Fucking Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I agree with Bridget that this song is dispelling the stereotype of feminists as women who hate sex and hate men. It's a silly stereotype, anyway, because feminism is very related to sexual freedom. It's just thinking about female sexuality in terms of women as well as men. Women don't have sex soley to please men, is kind of what this song's saying, in my opinion. |
submissions
| Bikini Kill – Alien She Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"and kathleen hanna is hella hot, but she doesn't like men so why would it matter if she's hot to you or not."
Well, actually, I believe she identifies as bisexual and is married to Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. Someone deleted the posts of the person you were all yelling at but Kathleen Hanna's appearance is irrelevant. I think she's pretty but that has nothing to do with her art.
And I don't think girls are inherently "girly" or feminine in the narrow way that society tells girls they should be. It's society that we're fighting, not our natural instincts. I know that every time I put on eyeliner or gossip or engage in other stereotypical girl behaviors, part of me is screaming and that's what this song is to me. She's wondering how much of her femininity is hers and how much is a result of society. |
submissions
| Courtney Love – Sunset Strip Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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B-budd, art is subjective. It means whatever you think it means. I think it's about how empty she feels even though she has everything she thought would make her happy - money, fame, name-recognition. It took her so long to get all that and she still isn't happy. Materialism, etc.
About this album, I don't think it's her best work but it has some pretty brilliant parts. Her voice is like a lot of other alternative rock singers' voices. While it isn't technically good, it is interesting and unique. And actually, her voice is really sweet and pretty sometimes. And she's great at screaming (as evidenced by Live Through This). |
submissions
| The Smashing Pumpkins – Farewell and Goodnight Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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This is the only Smashing Pumpkins song where all the members of the band sing. I thought that was kind of neat. And it's such a pretty, dreamy song. I feel like I can relate to the part about sleep keeping you from loneliness because I always get really depressed when I'm sleep-deprived but, now that I think about it, this song could be about suicide. Huh. While a good portion of this website is a bunch of idiots arguing about something that they will never know the answer to, it does make you think sometimes. Maybe it's a goodbye to someone you love before you go (in whatever sense of that word you want it to be). |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Ava Adore Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"how do you know it's about courtney love....and for that matter, i can think of ten songs that people on this site say are about courtney love. WHO CARES!!!! plus, i don't think that every artist/band is so consumed by her that they have to write songs about it."
Well, Courtney Love is a really interesting person and dated/was friends with/had sex with a lot of musicians. Therefore, musicians wrote songs about her. Why don't you get over it? Billy is still friends with her, so what's with the hostility? I see all these Smashing Pumpkins fans and Nirvana fans ranting about how EVIL Courtney is. Well, apparenty she wasn't too evil for Billy Corgan to date and for Kurt Cobain to marry and breed with. I, personally, am fans of all three bands (and Courtney Love's band's name is HOLE, which I'm sure plenty of you didn't know. Because hating someone you know very little about is perfectly reasonable.) and don't really care that Billy and Kurt disliked each other and that Courtney and Billy had a weird relationship. I mean, it's interesting to know who wrote what about who but it doesn't really matter. They're just songs and the intented meaning (and often times there isn't an intended meaning) isn't nearly as important as what the song means to you.
Anyway, on to the meaning of the song, because this is songmeanings.net. This song makes me think of the notion that you can change someone you love. I think he's kind of pointing out the absurdity of this belief. It does sound like he's describing an unhealthy relationship. He loves this woman but wants her to change, to better fit his ideal woman. I always imagined this song was about Courtney Love, as well as Perfect. It's like this ongoing theme in their relationship, that they were almost perfect for each other, but I'm just guessing. |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Bullet with Butterfly Wings Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I agree with whoever said they thought this was about the music industry (especially the 'but can you fake it for just one more show' line), but i think it's a little broader than that. The mention of nakedness might relate to being a celebrity and feeling exposed. It seems like he was feeling limited in his fame and, even though he was like this icon for teen angst and rebellion, he was controlled by his record label. |
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| Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"Some of you commenting are the biggest retards I have encountered, it's too bad you're screwing up the image of such a good song, I don't want to associate this song with you morons."
Don't come to this website, then, if you're just going to complain. You whiner. :) |
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| The Smashing Pumpkins – Here's to the Atom Bomb (Judas O) Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Hmmm, I've never tried to analyze this one. In some ways, I think this website is silly because songs don't have one definitive meaning and there will always be some people squabbling. People are interpreting things so literally that you end up with a summary of the song. A lot of things just make sense in their poetic form and don't need to be spelled out. Sometimes it ruins songs to analyze them. Anyway, this one's really calming for me. Parts of it just make sense in a way I can't explain. |
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| Hole – Good Sister/Bad Sister Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Kat Bjelland has said that Violet was just a name they both used; it was like a muse sort of. I'm pretty sure Violet is about Billy Corgan but it could also be referencing her relationship with Kat. Also, the Babes in Toyland song Bruise Violet is pretty blatantly referring to Courtney (in my opinion, anyway). |
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| Hole – One Dollar For Every 62 Cents Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Ha, I love this. All Courtney Love did was behave like every other grunge rocker out there and yet she is called all these horrible names. There's obviously a reference to equal pay in there (and we're at like 77 cent to a dollar right now, just so you know) but it's not really about money. Courtney Love makes plenty of money, I'm sure (although it probably was very hard to break into the music scene as a female rock artist). It's what money stands for; power, wealth, self-worth. She's saying, fine call me whatever you want, but I'm still earning more than the average man. |
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| Hole – Asking For It Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"She is referrring to that old cliche people say when a woman who went out dressed like a slut and flirted to heavily with some guys ends up getting raped. You're not supposed to take the phrase "asking for it" literally, Courtney, you stupid cunt! It just means she SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER than to dress/act like that around a bunch of horny assholes. P.S. What did Kurt ever see in her?"
Are you serious? That was a really dumb thing to say. Courtney is right here. A woman should be able to dress however she likes and not get raped. That would be ideal. It's not that she should have known better, it's that they shouldn't have raped her! There is nothing wrong with telling women to be careful but when it gets down to 'don't dress like this', etc. people will start using that as a justification for rape and that is wrong. When it gets to the point of victim blame (i.e. "she was asking for it"), we've gone too far. Maybe she should have used her common sense but she still didn't deserve it, like the saying implies.
Courtney has said that this song is about the time that she stage dived in a skirt and the audience tore her clothes off. |
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| Hole – Beautiful Son Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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What? Smells Like Teen Spirit uses F5, Bb5, G#5, and C#5 and Beautiful Son uses B5, C5, and A5. Unless you were referring to the song I'll Do Anything from America's Sweetheart. |
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| Hole – Miss World Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I love this song so much. That's why it's my username. It's so stupid that some people don't give Hole a chance just because they don't like Courtney Love. I happen to love Courtney Love, Hole, Nirvana, and the Smashing Pumpkins. You can't get so involved in their little personal feuds. Kurt Cobain disliked a lot of people. As a Nirvana fan, I respect the fact that he loved Courtney and that's that. Listening to the music SOMEHOW seems a bit more important than the artists' personal lives.
Anyway, I definitely feel like I can relate to this, because I'm a girl and am faced with the expectations society has of my gender. I feel silly pointing it out, but a lot of people miss it: SHE'S BEING IRONIC. To me, this song is her take on the misogynist society in which we live. She's singing about (or rather, from the perspective of) this woman who is so "perfect" and so loved but is empty and sad inside. She's not even a woman, she's a girl, a MISS. And that's the girl that everyone looks up to; the girl every little girl wants to be. And that is very obviously a problem. She's pointing out the sickness of our society; that we ADMIRE this person who's so screwed up just because she mirrors how screwed up we are as a society. That, to me, is what Courtney is trying to say. Or at least what this song means to me.
Alex 0203, though I agree with most of what you said, Courtney is acually very intelligent. Sometimes she says things that make her seem dumb but read her journal book thingy or her mother's book (or at least read an interview where she's not high or drunk); she's clearly creative and bright. |
submissions
| Veruca Salt – Forsythia Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Also, she could have written this about herself. That makes sense because as Numberoneblind pointed out, the 'I don't mind lying to my friends' line is referring to her parents' divorce, and so the girl she's describing could be herself, or maybe just a different side of her that she isn't used to. |
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| Veruca Salt – Forsythia Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Moonlapse Vertigo, songs mean whatever you want them to mean (which is the biggest problem with this website), but I disagree with you. I think people should be able to write a song about someone of the same gender, regardless of their sexual orientation. To me, she's describing a girl who is very unique and posesses some generally bad qualities that the writer (who is Nina Gordon, in this case) is willing to overlook. |
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