| Radiohead – Optimistic Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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To me, it sounds like a description of capitalism, and how it uses people's dreams and aspirations as a means of control. We're caught up in a game where slips of paper have life-or-death meaning to them, which was devised to keep the powerful in power. Most of us know we're never going to have the big money and power, but if we try the best we can, that will be good enough to keep the game rolling. If, on the other hand, we all rejected their game with its deadly consequences and its strangle-hold on our hopes, they would become normal, little people like everyone else, with no power at all. |
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| R.E.M. – Texarkana Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Texarkana is a city that belongs to two states, as it sits directly on the border of Texas and Arkansas. I see the narrator describing a journey passing quickly through the decades of his 20s, 30s and 40s. At the same time that he is taking this journey in time, he is also able to stand outside of himself and watch his journey as if he were watching three different men at these different times in his life. He sees how the different stages of his life and their challenges intersect, as his observation intersects time and timelessness. I'm sure there's much more to it, when you get into looking at the lyrics, but that's a first impression. |
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