| Iron & Wine – The Trapeze Swinger Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I don't think the being high comment necessarily means drug abuse, as the line before that indicates a tower, which to me sounds like a reference to an ivory tower. However I think you're right that there is something negative that put him "much too high to see" and ultimately lead to the destruction of his relationship to this girl and possibly his life. But I didn't notice the adverbs becoming more negative until you pointed that out, that's really interesting! | |
| Iron & Wine – The Trapeze Swinger Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| As a student of literature the first thing we're taught about poetry is that the structure has just as much or more importance than the actual content of the poem. I think the principle applies less to music but can be employed to great effect. I first noticed the structure of this song when thinking about the fact that none of these verses have musical resolutions. There is no chorus or bridge, simply the same musical verse. The same tune repeats over and over, making it in essence a song that could go on forever. I wondered about what it might mean when I remembered the title of the track, The Trapeze Swinger. I think the musical structure of the song, of the same musical lines repeating with very little variation is meant to musically invoke the image of a trapeze swinger, endlessly swinging. The motif of carnival folk and trapeze artists is scattered through the narrative of the song but it is all held together by the to and fro of the music, giving the song a strong narrative backbone through music. Just a thought I had, but Beam has proven himself a musical genius before so I don't doubt it could be intentional. | |
| Great Lake Swimmers – Your Rocky Spine Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I am SO in love with this song. One of my favorites of all time. I like to think it of as less about love, but just a physical infatuation that may or may not have to do with actually being in love with the other person. It's just a beautiful extended metaphor for the beauty of the body of a lover. |
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| Mirah – La Familia Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It could just be because I'm going through this phase in my life, but this song makes me think of the end of school, high school or college. I've been dealing with my friends striking out in the world, and it's hard to accept them leaving and that I might not see some of them again, ever. "If we sleep together would it make it any better?" Trying to form a physical connection in the hopes that it will save some kind of emotional connection when that person is gone. So beautiful. |
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| Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Me and Mia Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song has already been picked apart a million times, but as a sufferer of bulimia for the past two years, there are a couple things that I personally noticed that I haven't seen addressed. First of all, I'd like to point out that though anorexia is mentioned several times, the title of the song is actually Me and Mia, which leads me to believe it deals more with bulimia than anything else. Something no one else has pointed out is that bulimia is not only throwing up and taking laxatives. Another form of purging is actually to fast, taking on the tendencies of anorexia for whatever period of time. The difference is that anorexics will eat something small every couple of days and then return to the fast. Bulimics generally break this fast with a binge, which they then purge. Its a vicious cycle. Anyway, this is my take on all of it. The sun was out, the air was warm but ohh, I was cold, and though I must have looked a half a person, It was only then that I felt whole. The first lines are obvious: a quick drop in weight will make you cold in any enviroment. From a personal standpoint, I know that I have trained my body to embrace the feeling of hunger. I feel much better when I am hungry, or just after a binge, or basically anytime I am empty, than when I am full. Fighting for the smallest goal: to get a little self-control. I know how hard you try. and what's eating you alive, might help you to survive. EDs are all about control. Especially with bulimia, its about the self control, because when you lose that self control and binge, it leads to such a feeling of self-loathing and shame that you must rid yourself of the offensive food. Its starts with the "smallest" goal, something like today I will skip lunch. If you can meet that goal, you feel empowered, you skip dinner. Then you don't eat the next day. Or the next. Its all mental, mind over matter. And obviously, EDs are self destructive. You are, in effect, killing yourself, and that hunger will keep you alive if you give into it. Its the choice between being thin and being healthy, and someone with an ED choses to be thin. Even the nights that could get better. And even the days aren't all that bad. And after a week of fighting, As more and more it seems the right thing Personally, and from those I know with EDs, when you fast, the first day is the worst. That's when the hunger is consuming and hurts the most, and its hardest to ignore. If you can get past that, going for days and days is easy as pie. The biting hunger just becomes a dull ache and its much easier to ignore. It begins to feel right, the emptiness, and you feel good that you're fighting and winning. Won't anybody here just let you disappear? Not doctors, nor your mom nor dad, But me and Mia, Ann and Ana Know how hard you try, Don't you see it in my eyes? This is more a problem for sufferers of anorexia than bulimics. Its hard to hide the fact that you don't ever eat, and while seriously ill people don't broadcast their disorder, there's usually a certain amount of pride that comes with mastering your own urges. Bulimia, on the other hand, is usually a very secret and shameful struggle, one that is kept hidden for long periods of time. After two years of suffering, no one knows that I have this disorder. The line about the doctors and parents is different in both cases. With ana, this is a literal problem. With mia, this is a problem that will have to be faced if they ever admit the problem, and the fear keeps it hidden. Most people with EDs become so afraid of gaining weight, and the ED is the only way they know of dealing with food, that they fear being discovered and being forced to deal with it in a healthy way. They would rather be knowingly unhealthy than be "fat." Sick to death of my dependence, Fighting food to find trancendence. Fighting to survive. More dead, but more alive. ED suffers are completely consumed with an obsession with food. It dictates their lives, how they feel about themselves and others, their moods. Everything. I have never met a person who liked the dependency, but we know no other way. They may be dead because they are dying, but it makes them feel alive. Cigarettes and speed to live, And sleeping pills to feel forgiven. All that you contrive, And all that you're deprived. Without your body burning fuel, energy supplements often become necessary. That's where the cigarettes and speed comes in. All that you contrive is the distorted way that people with EDs see themselves, and all that you're deprived is obviously food. Now, I personally differ on my interpretation of the sleeping pill line. When I'm fighting off a binge, my cravings get worse at night. Sometimes, to deal with this, I would take sleeping pills. If I'm knocked out, I can't eat. I know I'm not the only person who does this. All the bourgeois social angels Telling you you've got to change. Don't have any idea. They'll never see so clear. Basically, people left and right tell you you must change, you must be healthy, you must eat. But someone who has never had an ED could never understand the behavior, or the way it makes you feel. I don't think this song is pro- or anti-ED. I think it's just a portrayal of a person who has a disorder, and its open for the listener to see it as a pro or a con. Some may find it horrifying. It makes me feel understood. It all depends on who you are. I adore this song. |
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| Ben Kweller – Penny on the Train Track Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song has a lot of meaning for me. I live right by some train tracks, and my friends and I used to put pennies on the tracks all the time. It was such a carefree and innocent time, and it makes the penny metaphor a very powerful one. I also love the part about the man with the perfect life. Brilliant. |
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| The Decemberists – The Mariner's Revenge Song Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Honestly, I don't understand the Hamlet parallel being drawn. Yes, the story of Hamlet is one of revenge for a parent. But the entire course of the story, Hamlet has his revenge just within his grasp, and is too chicken to just kill the guy. The narrator of this song will stop at nothing and hunts his prey for fifteen years. You think he stops in the whale's belly to say some pointless soliloquy? No way. I can, however, see the Poe lines being drawn. Although as someone who just spent three months writing a research paper about Poe's tales an poems, this song doesn't really make me think of one story in particular. It just has a lot of Poe-like elements; beautiful dead female character who lives on through supernatural means, insane narrator who does not realize he is insane, death. Even the sea plays a big role in many of Poe's lesser known works like M.S. Found in a Bottle, A Descent into the Maelstrom, and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, all of which deal with ship wrecks and death at sea. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me Colin was a fan of Poe. Anyway, I love this song. Its haunting and hysterical all at the same time. Sheer brilliance. |
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