| The Spoons – Nova Heart Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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The song is kind of pretentious, but then again most are when you are in your twenties. I think it is about someone feeling ill at ease with the way the world is structured by the "elites", i.e. artists and architects. The way architecture and art can effect your behaviour. The author believes that we will soon not need these elites, perhaps because the world may be destroyed. In all this he feels at ease with his lover, and can sleep peacefully because not matter what happens, she will always be there, even if chaos arrives and destroys all the order that he knows. Her heart is a Nova heart, nova means "new" in latin, also suns go nova, meaning the burn up and explode. So she has an innocence, but he hopes the love won't burn out, the way architectural and artistic fads do. Just my little interpretation. |
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| Pink Floyd – Not Now John Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| @[Coaler:19358] The reference is not about outsourcing jobs to the japanese (which is not a big outsourcing country) rather it is about competing with the Japanese on the global market, during this time the Japanese were a rising economic force, especially in automotive production and electronics and subsequently taking market share away from the West. | |
| The Tragically Hip – My Music At Work Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| I think it is about what Gord thinks the purpose of his music is. It seems to be about a guy working the night shift and his only companion is his music, specifically The Hip's music. It seems like a kind of janitorial job. "You're all alone and dummies might be right." The person is thinking about his life decisions and maybe not taking some advice throughout his life. "The anatomy of a stain"."In a sink full of ganges, I'd remain". The latter is basically saying sink full of crap (The Ganges river in India is notoriously pollluted). The person is basically day dreaming about all sorts of think, the rain failling outside, the "star beyond the chart" etc. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Courage (For Hugh Maclennan) Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| This is mostly about being courageous as a band, as a musician, the one verse is referencing the novel by Hugh Maclellan, but it still applies. The first verse talks about "follow up the unknown with something familiar". As a starting band, you are always tempted to play covers all the time (which is what the Hip did when they started out) but eventually you want to slip in your own songs. This takes courage because people don't like the unfamiliar, which is why bands need to follow up originals with covers (at least whens starting out). The verse about the motel is kind of about being on the road. At least those are my thoughts. | |
| Laurie Anderson – O Superman (For Massenet) Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Anything we should know about your change? Which starts with the lines "O Sovereign, O Judge, O Father" Anderson has substituted Sovereign with Superman, which could mean that the Sovereign ruler (today it would be a politician or a corporate leader) is considered better than the commoner, of a higher class and genetic breeding. Mom and Dad in replace of Father, I think refers to the political speech writing habit of breaking everything down to an infantile level to appeal to our emotional inner child. Therefore, "Mom and Dad" is always used instead of the more formal "Mother and Father". This song is a conversation between an infant and it's "Mom", but the infant could be actually an infantile adult. More on that later. "Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a message, just start talking at the sound of the tone." This is also very prescient today because nobody actually answers their phone anymore. In the early 80s, the innovation was answering machines today, it is smartphones which tell us who is calling. This is about communication technology and the tendency to seperate human beings and detach from emotional contact. "Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you coming home? Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me, but I know you." At first this appears to the narrator's mother calling, but then it is revealed it is not ("you don't know me"). The voice changes from a pleasant "Mom" sounding voice to a more serious, sinister tone. This I believe is the omnipresent technological "Mom" that surrounds us, google, etc. Google, Amazon and others know us, more than we care to admit or even have knowledge of. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence technology it will soon be difficult to tell the difference between a human and a machine on the phone. "And I've got a message to give to you. Here come the planes. So you better get ready. Ready to go. You can come as you are, but pay as you go. Pay as you go." This is somewhat unclear, this is alluding to war, and the inevitability of it. "Come as you are but pay as you go", is a reference to capitalism, were are born "as we are" but we must pay our way through life in order to survive. "Mom" (i.e. the state) is gently telling us about the impending doom that is coming. There is no avoiding it, it is best to accept it. So now the narrator is getting confused, who this strange person/thing on the phone? "Mom" stays cryptic, and continues with it's riddle. "And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said: This is the hand, the hand that takes. This is the hand, the hand that takes. This is the hand, the hand that takes. Here come the planes. They're American planes. Made in America. Smoking or non-smoking?" So it is the hand that takes, it is omnipotent and takes, it takes lives, takes money, takes love, whatever it needs. ANd it is continually reminding of the planes, the impending doom that cannot be avoided. But as a measure of reassurance, the planes are made in America, whether warplanes (or in the case of 9/11) passenger planes. This is mean to appease the narrator and lull them into a false sense of security, reminds me of sedating the child before administering the cyanide pill. Creepy! " Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." This is the motto of the U.S. postal service, which apparently originated in ancient Persia. It seems that communication and it's integral part of human society has existed for a long, long time. Today, substitute postal service, which internet packet transmissions, but it's the same idea. And today it is all run by machines, much like "Mom". "'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice. And when justice is gone, there's always force. And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!" This is a breakdown of the the various levels of our society, the highest being love, below which there is justice, below that there is brute force (primitive) and below that is "Mom", which is the state, google etc. Mom will always be there, even when war defeats us. "So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms. In your arms. So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms. In your electronic arms." So now the narrator is giving in, they are letting go of having warmth or love from their biological mother (or broadly humanity), they are relinquishing themselves to the electronic petrochemical state. The "Long Arms" refers to long reach of the technology which envelopes us, penetrates all aspects of our lives. The song fades out with a creepy synth melody, gone are the pretty childlike melodies from earlier in the song, now the end is nigh and "Mom" is wrapping us in here electronic arms as we are sung a lullaby of that gently rocks us into oblivion. We have been absorbed into the machine. |
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| The Tragically Hip – My Music At Work Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| it's about being alone, either at work working overtime or whatever, music is your only friend, getting you through the tough times. "outside the darkness lurks" is a great line. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Poets Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i think most of you guys are reading too much into this, most of the lines are nonsense, but beautiful nonsense. it's mostly about poetry itself, which has a lot to do with just the way words sound together. gord downie is brilliant, and in a an art form full of incredibly simplistic lyrics, his tower above the rest. those himalayas of the mind indeed. | |
| Radiohead – Karma Police Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| i think the song is actually making fun of the concept of Karma and idea that there are "karma police" out there making sure people get their proper punishments for their actions. it's like he's saying, arrest this man because he talks funny, arrest this woman because she looks weird. the payroll is also a joke, like there is a giantic universal beaurocracy keeping track of all these things. the part at the end where he says "for a minute there I lost myself" is like "sorry, what was I thinking, it's all rubbish". my 2 cents gals and gents! | |
| Rheostatics – Onilley's Strange Dream Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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this is a sequel to the song "Saskatchewan" referring to the ship the Caroline. It is another in a series of songs based around Martin's obsession with the sea and ships. Which is odd for a guy born in Etiboke, Ontario. This is a long with a lot of Martin's trademark weird imagery, and the imagery is so amazingly reproduced in the music, you can can hear Dave Clarke making his drumkit sound like a creaking wooden deck or Martin making his guitar sound like a lightning strike. I always hoped Martin would have made some paintings about this song, I can see them in my head if I close my eyes. "Gadunger burped the sea" is one of the strangest lines ever written. "Chicken Jimmy" refers to stories of sailors reportedly sacrificing themselves to save a crew. oh well, enough from me. goodo martin. |
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| Rheostatics – Palomar Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| i think this song is about loss and dealing with loss. Palomar loves his dog, but he has to let it go when the he runs off with another dog. I think the dog is a metaphor for children, or a relationship where you have to let the other person go. "Love is thicker than brains" is a great line, meaning that you must follow love whether it makes sense or not (in this case Palomar is leaving a good life with easy food). | |
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