| The Shins – A Call To Apathy Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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The whole song is written from the perspective of someone who was most likely engaged to someone and has finally came to the conclusion that the relationship is not going to work out. It is probably one of their most literal songs. “Untie me, I've said no vows The train is getting way too loud I gotta leave here my girl Get on with my lonely life Just leave the ring on the rail For the wheels to nullify” Right off he is saying, please cut me loose from our relationship, "untie me" because I have not said any wedding vow, I have not married you. He wants to leave her and go back to his “lonely life” being single. When we were kids we lived near the railroad tracks. We would put a copper penny on the “rail” and when a train would come along it would flatten the penny, nullifying it’s value. He is metaphorically saying put the engagement ring that he gave her on the track so it will destroy it and nullify (make void) their engagement. “Until this turn in my head I let you stay and you paid no rent I spent twelve long months on the lam That's enough sitting on the fence For the fear of breaking dams” What he is saying here is until he finally figured out the relationship was a bust, he let her stay where he lived without paying rent for 12 months. The whole time he was on the “lam” or basically running away from her emotionally. The entire time he was “on the fence” meaning not sure whether to stay or go. For the fear of “breaking dams” “It took me all of the year To put the poison pill to your ear But now I stand on honest ground, on honest ground You want to fight for this love But honey you cannot wrestle a dove So baby it's clear” Again it took him 1 year of being with her before finally putting the “poison pill to her ear” meaning telling her it is over by killing “poisoning” the relationship. He can finally be honest with himself in that he knew it wasn’t going to work. She wants to fight to keep the relationship but he is a “dove” meaning peace, he wants peace, and will not “fight for this love”. “You want to jump and dance But you sat on your hands And lost your only chance Go back to your hometown Get your feet on the ground And stop floating around” He is saying she was all excited at first about the relationship and possibly the engagement but she “sat on her hands” and did nothing to make things better. She “lost her only chance” to convince him she was the one. She should go back home, to where she can “get your feet on the ground” and find herself and discover what really is important to her rather then “floating around”. The Chorus “I find a fatal flaw In the logic of love And go out of my head You love a sinking stone That'll never elope So get used to used to the lonesome Girl, you must atone some Don't leave me no phone number there” Love does not make logical sense, if you think about it too much you can “go out of your head”. He thinks she is a “sinking stone” a dead weight that will only bring someone down with her. If she continues to be the same he thinks she will never “elope” marry. So she needs to go on her own and “atone”, reconcile with herself, again figure out who she is or what she wants. And finally, “don’t leave me no phone number” don’t bother leaving any connection between us, he is done with her, doesn’t want a chance of things startup up again, and simply wants to move on. |
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| Joshua Radin – These Photographs Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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One of my favorite Radin songs. I like the upbeat tempo. The "photographs" he talks about are mental photographs, snapshots of the women he admires that he sees in persona of the woman he loves. Interesting to note: Sylvia Plath once said, "There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." Ryan Adams also admires Sylvia Plath, he wrote a song about her. In it he wishes he could have been the one that was with her. He also wrote a lyric referencing the bath - "And maybe she'd give me a bath, How I wish I had a Sylvia Plath". |
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