submissions
| Ben Kweller – Sawdust Man Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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This song is rockin', I suspect it's about a guy whose woman has left him and he's waiting at the bus station for her to return so they can keep having fun. Not sure what a sawdust man is- possibly a timber worker, or potentially it's about a guy with no substance? |
submissions
| Ben Kweller – Old Hat Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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Yep- that's what it's about- I think it's a really strong song- I especially loves when he sings "your pretty head" towards the end and kind of injects a whole lot of emotion into it. |
submissions
| Ben Kweller – Hurtin' You Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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Pretty simple song - very cute in some ways. I think it's probably aimed at a friend - anyone know what Ben says about this one? |
submissions
| Ben Kweller – Homeward Bound Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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I think the runaway has died and his body is to be reunited with his family in colorado, hence homweard bound. I think the phrase "carry him down" refers to pall bearers. It's a really beautiful song. |
submissions
| Ben Kweller – Ballad of Wendy Baker Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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I think this is really pretty- obviously about a breakup, or an impending breakup- he's thinking about a fight, or some unkind things he said and he knows that it signifies the end of the relationship. Possibly she's still asleep after this big fight and he knows that when she wakes up they'll split, so he's telling her not to wake up because it will save her that pain. |
submissions
| Ben Kweller – Gypsy Rose Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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This is a kick-ass song! I love the vocal style and the bluegrass guitar. It sounds to me like it's about a town & he anthromorphisises it to sound like a woman- not sure though. Can't believe there aren't more comments about this album- it's a fantastic record |
submissions
| Conor Oberst – Lenders in the Temple Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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"A bitch in heat, the alpha male
not something she'd ever tell
except when she got deathly high
and out it came like summer rain
it washed the cars and everything
felt clean for just a little while"
This part is obviously about a rape- the 'bitch in heat' is a woman who was "asking for it" raped by the alpha male. |
submissions
| Conor Oberst – Danny Callahan Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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The last verse about Danny makes the hairs on my neck stand up. The image of a mother saying goodbye to her dead child and saying 'come back, where are you going to, alone' is so powerful.
I think he often writes immensely moving things about parent/child relationships- on Cassadaga he sings "first a mother bathes her child, then the other way round- the scales always find a way to level out' and so on....very beautiful |
submissions
| Conor Oberst – Eagle on a Pole Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I think BPM is 100% on the money, except for the hallucinations- I think rather than hallucinations this nis a reference to the general jumpiness and confusion you feel when you detox- that was my experience of detox anyway :-S. I had been wondering if it was another song about returned a returned soldier who was having difficulty adapting to life after war. The eagle imagery lead me there and I'm still not sure how the eagle on a pole fits into the drug stuff because presumably it's a reference to the USA.
Can anyone place the eagle?
PS- I love the Spanish line, particularly in context with BPM's explanation about the obvious relapse. This whole album makes me want to visit Mexico and the bordering states. |
submissions
| Conor Oberst – I Don't Want to Die (In the Hospital) Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Oh I'm terribly sorry Mr Hacksaw, I apologise for having an opinion that differs from your own. I understand how offensive that is and will try my hardest to blindly adore everything that Conor does, because that's what Jesus would do....................you knob. |
submissions
| Conor Oberst – Moab Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Like letussbefree said it's "when I make it to Moab, I'm gonna get my canteen filled", not "when I make it to nowhere".
I'm in Australia, what's Moab like? |
submissions
| Conor Oberst – Lenders in the Temple Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Not sure if this is just really obvious, but I thought I'd provide some context for the title; it's biblical- the one place in the gospels where Jesus becomes angry is when he comes across people trading in the temple and he is upset by their sacrilege. I think Conor is basically saying not to hold things too sacred because none of us are so important. |
submissions
| Rufus Wainwright – 11:11 Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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11:11 is a common reference to a phenomenon where people always seem to look at clocks at 11:11 or some similar coincidental time. This is supposed to be a message from "the cosmos" to alert people who receive these messages to the fact that they are supposedly Lightworkers who accepted a mission when they were on the Spirit Plane. I don't entirely understand this mission and personally think it's crap but perhaps Rufus was referring to this?
Alternatively, and IMO more likely, there is another theory that reality as we experience it is created by digital codes that trigger our DNA to evolve human consciousness. 11:11 is supposedly a significant code which will elevate human consciousness on 11/11/11. Maynard James Keenan also sings about this in Tool's song Jimmy. I think Rufus is using this as a metaphor to describe an elevation in his own consciousness of his life & relationships. |
submissions
| Bright Eyes – Hot Knives Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I'm also caught by this part of the song:
"Her bed beneath a crucifix
On guests performing miracles
With the Son of God just hanging like a common criminal
"When I do wrong, I am with God," she thought
"When I feel lost, I am not at all"
I think it's definitely a narrative- the wife loses faith in her "love" after the discovery of the mistress and seeks solace in "emptier" forms of sex (I wonder if prostitution is eluded to when he sings about guests performing miracles). She justifies her behaviour by reasoning that Christ was crucified for his behaviour (the most amazing imagery BTW).
I think she then finds salvation- the mystic who makes medicine from rain- what kind of practitioner is this? I suspect she goe to rehab... |
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