| The Postal Service – Clark Gable Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Having heard this song so often, to the point of driving myself mad, I wanted to contribute this. I feel that this song is in fact a metaphor for a relationship that the persona we are understanding the song from sees as being taken from him. Much like our own troubles with coping initially with being left for someone else, his own mind is now attempting to cope by viewing the relationship as a movie. He "framed a shot, using a friend as [his] stand-in" implies that his girl has left him for a friend. And as sometimes happens, where people make their losses seem a little more tragic than they sometimes are, we even have the line "the script it called for rain but it was clear that day, so we faked it" is a tip of the hat to that notion - while we may end up in a break up on a bright sunny day we like to believe that it was a cloudy and sad day when it happened. When he says, "I [in this case the "I" being played by the new love interest - his friend] kissed you in a style Clark Gable would have admired, I thought it Classic" further pushes this metaphor: a movie classic has had no equal to that point, it has set a new bar by which to compare all others. Likewise, he is now seeing that the passion between his ex and his friend seems so much stronger than any kisses he had exchanged with her. This is why I'm sure that the verses dealing with the Hollywood movie-making metaphors are not contradictions of each other, but rather, the metaphors are the sarcastic and angry feelings he has, while the chorus is indicating his true emotions - the hurt he feels, how he now questions whether love is real, and to be honest ("life in every word") rather than hiding feelings or worse, dating someone behind your back. This song is so perfect, dealing with the 5 stages of grief: Denial : The marker snapping, telling the "set" to be quiet so he can be left to film his movie Anger: the Chorus is clearly the stage of anger being put forth. The last addendum to the chorus "I know you're wise beyond your years...your perfect verse is just a lie / you tell yourself to help you get by." Bargaining: the movie metaphor. If he can no longer be part of the relationship, then he can at least make this movie to have eternally etched in his mine. Depression: After witnessing the kiss that would even make Clark Gable a fan, and his ex agreeing that she could at least pretend to love again, he goes on to say "i want so badly to believe that there is truth and love is real." His anger has turned to depression, believing there's no longer hope, since truth and love are no longer in existence. Acceptance: the final verse is a clear indication that he has gotten over the movie-making stage. He has broken out of the denial and sarcasm associated with making the movie, and is addressing his ex in an almost sympathetic manner - he warns her, in a final act of selflessness, that if she stays on this track she will wind up hurt. The warning could be a little more direct, but if he's still hurting and trying to cope, it would be probably the most representative way of someone, anyone that's been in a break up that strikes them like "the london underground" |
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| We Were Promised Jetpacks – It's Thunder and It's Lightning Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The opening verse starts with the image of having to help someone with their walking, as if they are in a stupor from being in an accident or being too dazed/drunk to keep going. Judging by the second verse, which speaks of someone paranoid that they're hearing their name - I'd say the song is from the perspective of someone who blames themselves for what has happened. I'm guessing the person feels guilt, or remorse, that they have caused so much pain to their significant other. The line "waiting for my brain to start" (or "storm" as some have suggested), amidst the imagery of thunder and lightning striking seems like it's speaking about rage: since he is unable to get the brain to do what it normally does, which is to think. This leads me to believe, along with the lines "Your body was black and blue/It struck twice there's nothing new" and the fact that we all know that there may eventually be a lightning storm during rainy seasons, that this is in fact a metaphor for a very violent relationship. Maybe an argument turned violent and he struck his significant other in such a way that they are now struggling to even get up and walk. The paranoia that someone was watching is evident from "standing on tip-toes" and the guilt of "oh God, not again," from the "there's nothing new." The last lines all indicate a bit of cowardice - rather than deal with the real problem (his own rage), he is simply going to leave. This isn't to say he's gone forever, he may just cool off, come back and sweet talk the girl/guy back into his life only to have the cycle repeat itself again. These are, after all, very frightening things in a relationship. |
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| The Ataris – The Cheyenne Line Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I think AtarisRoCk is pretty much dead-on. I think Kris is simply paralleling his own experience to the construction of the Cheyenne rail line - the company was so hellbent on completing the line that they lost sight of other companies taking over it, eventually buying out the Kansas rail. Anywho. Hope that helps |
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