| Death Cab for Cutie – Your Bruise Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The inspiration for this song seems to be a road-trip that was taken with an ex-girlfriend. "It�s a backwards attraction to your forward eyes But you�re so farsighted that you can�t place trust In what or who you recognize" He wants her back, but she is so concerned with the future that she is unwilling to take a risk on the past. "We sped the Plymouth across the banks of the Mississippi River Mary Timony was smaller than a superball Chitter-chatter, all these secrets started giving me the shivers Plain and simply broken down near Olympia" They drove in a plymouth (vehicle) across the Mississippi River. This can be viewed as poetic irony considering that though they could cross a physical river, there was seemingly no way to fjord the invisible gap between them. The reference to 90's indie artist Mary Timony and her song "Superball"(though I would probably refer to her as more punk-rock), seems to be of little relevance to their situation and is likely just a way of enhancing the visual of that time period - making light of the fact that they were listening to MT's Helium album while on this road-trip. In stating that she was "smaller than a superball" ties into the chorus of Superball where she sings "I'm small like a superball..." However, though Timony is unclear about why exactly she feels small in the song, I think Death Cab's lyric is implying that the atmosphere in the car was so heavy on this guy and he was so lost in his affection for this girl that the music playing in the background was dead-noise comparably. The secrets mentioned as "giving me the shivers" makes me think that there was other friends present on this road-trip, perhaps some of her girlfriends and that in eavesdropping on their conversations he was stricken with a cold - left-in-the-dark sort of feeling. This secret must have become most apparent in Olympia, WA - a town they would have to drive through to get back to north-western Washington where the members of death cab hail from also giving me the impression that this song is telling the story of one of their personal experiences. Whether or not this break-down also refers to an actual car problem is possible, but not important. "I think your bruise was understated Because you can�t feel this anymore It�s getting bluer and you can�t keep faking That you can�t feel this anymore" (x3) This is probably the most revealing lyric of the song where the guy (whoever he is) suggests that the girl is unable to reciprocate his feelings for her because of a bruise deep within her that she seems to be ignoring. This bruise is "getting bluer" likely inferring that her affection for him is becoming increasingly obvious while on this road-trip - perhaps either in her bitterness towards him (sometimes girls react in an ambiguous way when a guy they care about opens a wound) or on the other hand she could actually be displaying direct affection for him through prolonged glances and or flirtatious behavior. And the more that this girl shows symptoms, though probably more masked than his, of having sharing his same emotions, the more he affiliates this with her hiding "her bruise." Though it was probably unintentional, the themes presented in this lyric are synonymous with those of a more recent Death Cab song "I Will Possess Your Heart." Ben Gibbard himself is quoted as saying that the song is about a stalker who is in denial - believing that the woman he seeks will soon discover that she too loves him only if she would just take the time to simply realize it... "you gotta spend some time, love" "I know that you'll find love" The likeness of the two songs to eachother is especially evident when comparing lyrics like "And I long for this mirrored perspective" with "It's a backwards attraction to your forward eyes." In both instances the girl appears to be unaware of the feelings the guy attributes to her. I Will Possess Your Heart is paradoxical because it is narrated from the perspective of a stalker while the general tone of the song is critical - displaying both compassion and disgust for the feelings of this guy; disgust because this guy clearly has an unhealthy desire for this girl and lacks the restraint to control it and compassion because through older songs such as Your Bruise we get the feeling Ben, or one of the other members from Death Cab has experience in going out on a limb for someone who is unwilling to do the same, regardless of how they actually feel. |
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| The Decemberists – The Rake's Song Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| there were no condoms in the 19th century | |
| The Shins – Know Your Onion! Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Shot out pimpled and angry pretty much speaks for itself and really is a sure sign of what the song is going to be about. You’re in elementary school all is well, there is generally no social hierarchy and you are careless and innocent, but then all of the sudden you are shot out into middle school and all of the sudden you have to deal with the many peer pressures and personal changes that propel early-teenage paranoia and insecurity and on the superficial outside the first pimples usually being to arrive around this time. The songs name too is also a good indicator because probably the biggest problem with teens at this age is that they have no idea who they are and what to make of themselves thus KNOW YOUR ONION! (brain) | |
| The Shins – So Says I Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is absolutely beautiful, a great portrayal of just the kind of poetic grace James Mercer is known for. I am a poli-sci major so this song really touches home for me and the reference to Sir Thomas More not only clears up the meaning of the song, but from my perspective provides insight into the character of Mercer. If any of you have read Utopia it is a very interesting book, here you have Sir Thomas More Lord Chancellor of Britain who begins his book with a series of letters which outline his many insecurities in his theory believing it to be very possibly fallible and flawed as it so proved to be. As Mercer so expresses through his many lyrics which contain references to his teen years he in the stage where insecurities and lack of self-worth flourish loses himself in the caring hopeless-romantic like out look he so possess which like More’s shortcomings reveal themselves through the writing of the two. I found this lyric to be one of the all time greats of many others produced by an awesome band and a deeply intuitive vocal artist. | |
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