| David Bowie – Station to Station Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I had always assumed it's canon and not cannon, or at least that canon is the primary meaning. | |
| Iggy Pop – Sister Midnight Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Yes, it does look rather oedipal. It just doesn't sound like he's singing about someone else's mother, but that has to remain a possibility. | |
| Brian Eno – Another Green World Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| It's about a bottle floating by with the word "Arena" glowing on the side of it of course. | |
| David Bowie – Warszawa Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| The lyrics probably come from working with Brian Eno, who came up with words for his own solo albums by singing nonsense syllables before refining them into actual words, even if they still didn't mean anything. Bowie probably didn't want his words to mean anything. The sound of the voice and the sadness of the music says all it needs to. | |
| David Bowie – Rebel Rebel Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| The song had been worked out back when Mick Ronson was in the band, but this is a rare Bowie on lead guitar moment. | |
| David Bowie – Rock 'n' Roll Suicide Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
Where other rock stars have sold their souls at the crossroads or indulged in pleasures that sent them to an early grave, Bowie cleverly sacrifices Ziggy, thereby opening the door to eternal youth (or at least an extra few years of artistic credibility). I love the way he sings "Oh no, love! You're not alone." As with the rest of this album, the song shouldn't be analysed without reference to the whole album, and the whole album shouldn't be analysed without taking the time to get into each moment of every song because the whole thing is worth it. |
|
| The Smiths – Meat Is Murder Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| It tries too hard to make a point and no matter how much it tries to pull at the emotions it won't change me. I don't like factory farming either. But I'm not going to get into an argument about vegetarianism, but I will suggest that Morrissey didn't grow up somewhere where people go out and shoot rabbits. | |
| Robert Wyatt – Stay Tuned Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
The thing about being particles in the air and staying tuned obviously make it seem to be about contacting someone over the radio. It seems to be contacting someone who doesn't know they're being contacted. Oddly enough, I got the sense of trying to reach someone who had died, but seeing the lyrics, I can't see any such reference. Another couple of comments about the song: it was written by Norwegian singer Anja Garbarek. It is also noted on a popular internet encyclopaedia that Mr. Radiohead said that he really liked it, but couldn't listen to the rest of the album because this song is so beautiful. If he really liked it, surely he would have listened on and found that the rest of the album is great as well. It makes his comment appear more than just a little disingenuous. |
|
| Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
I like the way there are about three or four different meanings that people find here. The Neil Tennant quote says a lot: he heard a cool line in a film and put it in a song that was written very quickly. Thinking of Phil Collins's answer to what In the Air Tonight, I can't imagine many songwriters throwing something together in a hurry and there NOT being more than one meaning, especially here where it may have come out in somethng of a stream-of-conciousness. That is to say: the obvious meaning of rich girls from up west looking for guys from the rough east end. But the gay thing was probably in mind as well. In Neil's native Newcastle, the west end is where the gay pubs are rather than the well-to-do. Neil Tennant didn't write anything specifically openly gay back then, so it would have to be somewhat hidden between the lines. Holding all of this kind of imagery in mind and it's easy to see how the rest of the lyrics fall into place, not about one specific subject, but about the loose concept of east meets west, but in the rougher east side. It is a very good song which has stood time very well, considering the ephemeral nature of so much music that is firmly within the pop category. |
|
| The Soft Machine – Pataphysical Introduction Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
The lyrics aren't up for the following part: A Concise British Alphabet Part 1. So for those who don't know, it goes something like: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x (y) z I put y in brackets because the vocal channel swaps stereo channel for that letter. I'm not sure what's pataphysical about this song, but that does start to become more apparent with A Concise British Alphabet Part 2. |
|
| The Soft Machine – Have You Ever Bean Green? Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Mike Jeffreys, their manager, I believe. | |
| The Soft Machine – Moon in June Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
It is partly a medley of Soft Machine's older songs and other related stuff, or at least lyrically it is. The "Now I love your eyes - see how the time flies" verse is from "You Don't Remember" The section about living in New York reflects the end of their US tour with Hendrix when the band split and Wyatt stayed in America considering a solo career before deciding he missed the trees and the rain! In the final section he sings a few lyrics of former Soft Machine member Kevin Ayers' songs. There's a bit of The Hat Song - "You say you like my shirt, you say you like my hat, but you never say that you like me or anything nice like that". This may have summed up some of Robert Wyatt's feelings about the band. This was his last major contribution to Soft Machine as he gradually parted company with the others' vision of the band. Similarly, Ayers' lyrics from Singing A Song in the Morning show a tendency to prefer the original formula of songs with proper words, even if they didn't mean very much. It has so many of the ingredients that made early Soft Machine great - the humour, the way Robert Wyatt could sing something almost mundane about the nature of the song, something nonsensical (or pataphysical) or something with meaning. "Oh wait a minute!" It's worth knowing that Robert Wyatt recorded nearly all of the sung part on his own - all drums, bass and keyboards. Then just at the end of this section, Hugh Hopper's fuzz bass kicks in and Mike Ratledge goes off on a massive solo which kicks more arse than anything he did since. |
|
| The Soft Machine – Pig Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Robert Wyatt's voice was often more of an instrument than a conveyor of deep meaning. He has since written some very serious and personal lyrics, but here I think he was just having a laugh and maybe a little celebration of the free love thing that was going round those days. Or on a more serious note, why does a lack of clothes cause so much fuss in our modern society? We were born naked, resulting from an act usually carried out naked. I've never understood all the time wasted struggling with fancy underwear. | |
| The Soft Machine – As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
Some good spot-on facts in that last post, but I think there's a little more. I believe the story goes something like this: Kevin Ayers didn't enjoy the US tour they did with Hendrix, and developed a habit of just lying on the floor in his hotel room and doing nothing. He did eat brown rice and this was all part of an illness avoidance strategy. The strains of touring led to Kevin's departure and a near break-up for the entire band. References are made to so many of Kevin's songs, but I can't tell if Wyatt wrote this song affectionately or if he was having a dig. "Why is the trumpeter weeping?" seems to be asking what the hell Kevin's words actually meant, if anything. Whatever was in Wyatt's mind when he wrote these words, they continued to play on eachother's solo albums, so no long-lasting damage seems to have been done. The song itself kicks some arse though. |
|
| The Beach Boys – Salt Lake City Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I bet this went down well in Salt Lake City, but I never assumed it to be America's centre of cool. | |
| The Beach Boys – Vegetables Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| A big brown bag? Drugs? Noooo, not squeaky clean Brian Wilson! I think it IS about vegetables, but he did like an extra layer of meaning in some of his songs, especially when he came up with his Smile project, which may have been inspired in part by his experiences on acid. | |
| The Beach Boys – Mama Says Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
Bored people tend to be boring people. Look after yourself, do stuff with your life and enjoy it! Oh! And getting enough fresh vegetables will help as well. |
|
| The Beach Boys – I Just Wasn't Made For These Times Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
People treat it as "I wish I was born back then" but I think Brian was looking to a future in which he would be vindicated. Not a distant future, but a time when everyone around him (those who wanted to just sing about girls or count the formulaic pop hits rolling in) would GET what he was trying to achieve. I'm so glad I WAS born when I was because if I was from Brian's generation, I would probably have missed so much of the good stuff back then because like so many young people, I'd have been too hung up about being cool OR I'd have been like so many are today and simply harking back to the past. Go forwards, not back! |
|
| The Beach Boys – Surf's Up Lyrics | 15 years ago |
|
I agree with a lot of what has been said, although about the idea of the band breaking up: this was written for Smile in '67, not for the post-Brian 1970 album that took its title. It is about a break from all the stuff about surfing, but the brief answer, the one that struck me without seeing anyone else's interpretation is this: It is about death and rebirth. It is such a sad song, a very sad song, but the "child is the father of man" section lifts it out of the mire and brings rebirth. |
|
| Frank Black – Headache Lyrics | 17 years ago |
|
Was he peeking under Saturns rings? Naughty! He deserved that headache. |
|
| The Fall – How I Wrote Elastic Man Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Did anyone dare ask Mark E Smith how he wrote 'How I Wrote Elastic Man'? | |
| Gong – Radio Gnome Invisible Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
Singing the 'banana nirvana manana' bit on the long walk home from a mammoth drinking session in a country pub in the middle of nowhere. It all makes sense when taken as part of the Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy. Musically, this is one of the least serious. Hang on... Makes sense? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha har ha!!! |
|
| Kate Bush – December Will Be Magic Again Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
Christmas! What else? Possibly a lot more, but this little-known Kate Bush song is one of my favourites, ever since someone lent me a much-cherished copy for safe-keeping. I'm not one for Christmas music, but this will definately be accompanying the cooking of a large bird, potatoes and brussels sprouts, then echoing through my mind as I walk through the cold streets in search of a nice warm pub. Parachutes? If you read the lyrics, it probably means something else, but what a better way to think of falling snowflakes? |
|
| Kristin Hersh – When The Levee Breaks Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
A great version of an old song made famous by, not written by Led Zeppelin. Kristin Hersh's acoustic version has a real mood running through it, so it doesn't sound really stripped down compared to the Led Zep version to which most people will compare it. Although it doesn't have some of the extra parts they had put in. The lyrics are slighlty different (maybe reverted to the older ones). 'Thinkin' 'bout my baby and my happy home' definately has more of a female resonance than Percy Plant's wailing 'Goin' down' over and over. It is this version that actually inspired me to learn to play it (on the banjo of course!) |
|
| The Smiths – The Boy with the Thorn in His Side Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
I agree with tetsuo29's comments that Morrisey's lyrics work on many different levels. He certainly does have a sense of humour that allows him to tackle the subjects he does. You can take many different things from the lyrics, but don't simplify the meaning. Mozza didn't get to where he is today by being simple! The issues of sexual orientation that many see in his lyrics are there in some songs. However, you don't have to be gay to relate to what he sings. Shyness and awkwardness and feelings of isolation for who you love are feelings experienced by many people. I love the guitar playing. And the yodelling bit at the end. |
|
| Os Mutantes – Panis et Circenses Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
Bread and circuses. The people don't care what nasty stuff their leaders are doing because they have their cheap entertainment or whatever. Look out for old clips of Os Mutantes on Brazilian TV shows and remember the military junta of the time. Then go forth and be subversive! |
|
| Os Mutantes – Baby Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
The above lyrics are not quite a translation of the Portuguese. I think the song begins: You need to know about the pool, about Carolina, about Gasoline. You need to know about me... |
|
| Os Mutantes – Ando Meio Desligado Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This is a fantastic song and I only understand about three or four words of it! It took far too long for the Mutants to enter the consciousness of the English-speaking world. | |
| The La's – Doledrum Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Don't sit around on the dole - live life. Alright for pop stars or students I suppose. | |
| The Wedding Present – Go Out And Get 'Em Boy! Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This is the first song I heard by the Wedding Present all those years ago, and it's been my favourite ever since. To me, the song says carpe diem - sieze the day. | |
| Television – Venus de Milo Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| New York's a go-go where everything tastes nice (David Bowie). And of course Milo rhymes with feel low - she and her arms - Italian. Cool song. | |
| Syd Barrett – Effervescing Elephant Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| There is something of the boy who cried wolf to this song. Not many songs contain words like 'effervescing' and 'plankton'. The rhyming is genius. | |
| Devendra Banhart – Queen Bee Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Doesn't he sing 'sting me' in this song? I take it as being about infatuation, blind love. He'll do anything that she does, think what he thinks she's thinking. But he knows she's a bee and she's dangerous! | |
| The Smiths – Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I didn't like the Smiths for years without reaally listening. I just assumed they were depressing miserablists! Then this song hit me with Morrisey's honesty and self deprecating humour and Johnny Marr's beautiful guitar work. | |
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.