| Barenaked Ladies – Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At The Wheel Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Also reminds me, I wrote a short story based on this song a few months ago. Although, I turned the narrator into a cheating husband. He was on the way home from his mistress' apartment when the accident happened, and it was only then that he realized he was still in love with his wife. This song really makes me appreciate the people that I have in my life. I know I take them for granted sometimes, and listening to this makes me hate myself for that. |
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| Barenaked Ladies – I'll Be That Girl Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Oh, how I love this song. I think it's about a guy who is in love with a girl that would never in a million years notice him. And although it pisses the guy off, he can't get over her. He goes from thinking about the ways he could be noticed by the girl, and eventually realizing that as long as she's beautiful and he's...not, it won't happen. I love the lines: "And when at last your beauty's faded/you'll be glad that I have waited for you", and "When you're done with being beautiful and young/when that course has run/then come to me" Basically just goes to show how he knows she won't be beautiful forever, and he plans to be right there waiting for her once that time comes. |
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| Barenaked Ladies – Lovers in a Dangerous Time Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I don't think this song is about AIDS or anything like that. I simply think it's about being in a relationship where nobody wants to see you together. It's a shitty situation, really -- and perhaps everyone else sees it as a waste of time for them to even be together. People believe they are destined to fail, but the narrator is truly in love and wants to prove everyone wrong ("gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight"). And perhaps the line "never a breath you can't afford to waste" is sort of a tongue-in-cheek reference to those who think their relationship is a waste. A beautiful song, really. On the "Barelaked Nadies" DVD, I absolutely adore the closeup of Steve when they are doing this song and he looks straight up into the camera and sings "weeeee were lovers in a dangerous time". Gives me chills every time. |
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| Barenaked Ladies – Have You Seen My Love Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song is depressing. To me, it's about a long-term relationship that has just ended. The girl broke up with the guy because she changed and wasn't happy anymore -- and the guy couldn't change with her. Now, the guy can't stop looking back and dwelling on the way things used to be before the girl changed ("in these faded old photographs, you can see how we smiled"). In fact, he would do anything just to even be her friend again, because they were together so long that she was basically all that he knew. But now, he is left with nothing and the person he knew so well is completely gone from his life (having broke up with him AND having turned into a totally new person at the same time). He feels that he got screwed over (and perhaps he did) by her changing, and his anger becomes evident toward the end of the song ("Did you bury the woman I love and fall asleep in her space?") |
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| Barenaked Ladies – Second Best Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I agree with the interpretation that this song is about the war. And even beyond that, it is about the relationship between the United States and Canada. It's basically Canada saying, "your ideals have changed -- and not for the better. We're happy we're not you". America's "ideals" used to be that of laissez faire, keeping out of foreign issues. Even before that, however, the US was known for "manifest destiny", AKA spreading democracy (which is apparently what we're trying to do in Iraq?). A popular image portraying manifest destiny is seen in a painting by John Gast, showing an angel (democracy) flying west across the land (spreading democracy). The image can be seen here: http://www.historyonthenet.com/American_West/images/manifestdestinylarge.jpg This goes well with the line "You're an angel in a see-through dress" Overall, a very interesting song. Very true, though. A lot of people see Canada as "second best" to the United States, but in reality, they have a lot less crap to deal with than we do. "Sometimes it's better to be second best", indeed. |
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| Barenaked Ladies – Tonight Is The Night I Fell Asleep At The Wheel Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This is my favorite song, ever. Funny, too, because for the LONGEST time after I got the CD, I wouldn't listen to it because I couldn't stand the slowness of it. Obviously, I had never really listened to the lyrics or gave the song a chance. One night a few summers ago, I actually listened to it (by mistake -- I was too lazy to get up and shut the song off or something) and absolutely fell in love with it. I remember putting it on repeat for the rest of the night and listening to it for hours. The double entendre in "you're the last thing on my mind" gives me chills every time, and Steven's opera note at the end is freaking amazing. The song is just so disturbing, strange, and beautiful all at the same time. Only BNL could do something like this. However, one thing I remember having read somewhere that REALLY got me thinking (I don't think it was on here, but I'm really too lazy to read through ALL of the interpretations)...is the point of view that the person's spouse/significant other/whatever is actually in the car with him. The whole ride home, she may be there but she doesn't really exist to him. The last line of the song is what makes this interpretation seem plausible to me: "I can see my face slump with a grin, and you...you're the last thing on my mind" The "and you..." part, could mean he is actually seeing her next to him after he dies. It's a freaking creepy thought, but it does make sense to me. Of course, the song could be interpreted in more than one way, but I just thought this was an interesting take on it. Definitely weird. BNL is so goddamned clever. |
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