| Pulp – Glory Days Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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One of the best Pulp songs. I'm not sure I fully appreciated that in 1997 when I was 16 but it's stayed with me all these years. The lines "Before I turn to gold Yeah we'd love to hear your story" seem to reference Leonard Cohen's A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes; which says "I'd like to tell my story," Said one of them so young and bold, "I'd like to tell my story, Before I turn into gold." |
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| Leonard Cohen – Memories Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[ZeksAtLiberty:29173] I hear it too. And I love it. | |
| U2 – The Fly Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I think this section is probably the most inspired line in any U2 song; Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief All kill their inspiration and sing about their grief |
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| Sinead O'Connor – 8 Good Reasons Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I love this song, I'm genuinely shocked no one has commented on it. This bit always sends shivers down my spine: "If I could have gone Without it hurting anyone Like a child, I would have found me mum Like a bird I would have been flown" |
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| Phosphorescent – Song For Zula Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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For me it's all about this bit: "I saw love, You see it came to me It puts its face up to my face so I could see Yeah then I saw love disfigure me Into something I am not recognising" Such a beautiful way of expressing the catastrophic damage that love can do. For this, I'll always love this song. |
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| Victory At Sea – No Such Thing As Hearts Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| God I love this song so much. If you're in the car by yourself, turn it up loud and scream along. | |
| Damien Jurado – A Jealous Heart Is a Heavy Heart Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| drownding :( | |
| U2 – The Fly Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I think this section is probably the most inspired line in any U2 song; Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief All kill their inspiration and sing about their grief |
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| Scorpions – Wind Of Change Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I love it when a song connects with such indelible memories. This is how our lives are defined. | |
| Pink Floyd – High Hopes Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I have a strange relationship with this song. When The Division Bell was released in 1994 I was 13. I vividly remember my dad playing it to me because he had (mistakenly) thought it had a great stereo bee sound at the beginning which would demonstrate our new CD player's capabilities [actually that sound effect is on Grantchester Meadows]. For some reason the piano, the bell, the lyric and the sound effects (David's son asking if that's Charlie) etc all meant this song made a huge impression on my early brain... 7 years later (2000) I left the North East for Oxford and studying. This song is quietly explicit in its mentions of that part of your life spent learning; making and losing friends, connections and opportunities that mean so much to you when you finally look back on all that came your way. Not only is it a perfect summation of that feeling generally it's also a great finale to the band who met while studying. I think the music video makes the Cambridge setting especially obvious and quite sentimental. Although Roger went on to be my favourite lyricist of the band over the subsequent years (as I discovered The Wall, The Final Cut, Animals, Wish You Were Here, Dark Side and his mighty Amused To Death) it's this David Gilmore & Polly Samson track that I'll always remember as the moment when I stopped listening to the crap on the radio and discovered great songwriting and guitar playing. I hear rumours that there will be a 'new' Pink Floyd album called The Endless River (taking its name from the penultimate line of this song). I'd prefer to think they'll come up with an original title (assuming they are original songs) but nevertheless you could do a lot worse than basing your entire life's musical odyssey on this one song... |
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| Sun Kil Moon – Dogs Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Nothing to add but compliments. Reminds me of everything I loved about Arab Strap records in 97. 'Oh the complicated mess of sex and love' Just perfect. | |
| Morrissey – World Peace Is None of Your Business Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| "stun you with their stun guns" Oh Morrissey, you have failed me. | |
| Songs: Ohia – Didn't It Rain Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this and I was just blown away and had to send a link to some of my friends so they could hear it. The hope and hopelessness are so well presented and so evocative. I know this song will be with me for many years if not ever. | |
| Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Just heard this for the first time and it sounds great - certainly evokes the imagery of sitting on the tube, stopping and starting, between work and home - everyone on their phones doing something/nothing and not really wanting to be there. | |
| Bill Callahan – My Friend Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| It's funny, reading the lyrics now I see there is no reference to it but I have always assumed this was a song of friendship and thanks to his dog. Must just be the way he sings 'my friend'. Ahh nuance. | |
| Sharon Van Etten – Joke or a Lie Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The line "I am alone, but I am alone in this room with you" pretty much sums this one up I think. I've been there before and this song would have made it easier to bare. |
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| Slow Club – You, Earth or Ash Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I hear the line "I asked to hear of your garden. to take each of my limbs and gently plant them." Easily their best song, her vocals and the mysterious lyrics are really haunting. |
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| Morrissey – You Know I Couldn't Last Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think this song goes some way to answering Paint A Vulgar picture too - where he bemoans labels re-releasing albums and cashing in on merchandise etc. I don't know how many times I've seen people writing reviews on Amazon quote from that song questioning his integrity and here he's saying 'look, you knew I couldn't keep it up' in the end he wants to maintain the standard of living he's grown accustomed to, even if that means selling some of his more youthful ideals. Also, initially The Smiths were very anti-music video (promos) but since going solo he's made quite a lot of them. The -ist and -ism relates (amongst other things) to accusations of racism in the UK music press. Great song from a remarkably uncompromised artist, despite what he says in this song. | |
| U2 – Promenade Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| So you skip this and turn '4th of July' up to 11, right? | |
| Bill Callahan – Baby's Breath Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| After only a couple of listens (i.e. reserve the right to change my mind) it sounds to me as though he's dealing with the guilt of having been involved in (suggesting or agreeing with) an abortion for his pregnant partner; it seemed to make sense at the time, but now he feels only regret. | |
| Smog – Be Hit Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Oops, think I may have had a few drinks when I wrote this. | |
| Tindersticks – Raindrops Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song found me just as I was going through exactly what it describes. The lyrics are amazing. I saw them play it live last week and I was close to tears, one of their most affecting songs I think. | |
| Jeniferever – A Ghost In The Corner Of Your Eye Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Wow, have just discovered this band today and this song has blown me away. That last verse (as Tsen said) is just perfect! What a song! | |
| Bill Callahan – Eid Ma Clack Shaw Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I don't think it's any language, it's made up. He's saying he 'dreamed the perfect song' but of course that's impossible so when he looks at what he wrote down in the night it's nonsense, gibberish. | |
| Arab Strap – Piglet Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Can't believe this hasn't touched anyone else. So many great lines in this song and it just paints such a vivid vivid picture of when I was 18 - shit, that's 10 years ago now. | |
| Arab Strap – Islands Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Still moves me... remember walking home after the first night with my first proper girlfriend and just thinking, 'am i suppose to be in love...?' as i casually smelt my fingers. | |
| Pulp – Common People Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| The meaning is obvious. Russle asked Jarvis to write something political - a break from the sex and single mother angle he was used to - and Cocker stumbled upon the PERFECT POP SONG. Musically & lyrically; I don't think there is anything that can match this as a pop song. So many people bought into this, on so many levels and for me (I was 14 when it came out) it literally intercepted the course of my life and gave me a deeper understanding. | |
| The Cure – Watching Me Fall Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I would definately say that he's touching on the idea of prostitution or 'going back for more' of something he knows he shouldn't. but ultimately (like pretty much all of the bloodflowers album) the seperation he's describing is him as a normal person from him as Robert Smith of The Cure. So in this song he's talking about how good it feels to indulge the performer part of his character and even though he's promised himself it's over, he can't help be drawn back to it and sample it some more. I think the idea of him 'falling' is possibly either that the pleasure of being the performer pulls him further and further from his 'everday/normal' life and when he's seduced this way - it's hard to know which he really wants! You can interpret most of the songs on this album in this way and suddenly they all make sense - it's a testement to his writing skill that the songs still sound universal and people can apply them to their own love affairs. Oh - and great song/album! |
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| Pulp – Sheffield: Sex City Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I would imagine this is the song I've listened to more that any other in my life. I bought "Intro" when I was about 16 and and 11 years later I still have this song on most of my play lists. It's just fantastic and as a teenager I could really get into the lyrics. Amazing. | |
| Smog – Be Hit Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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To me this song is borne of the frustration the singer feels at having been the "soft and gentle" lover, the "understanding, caring, sensitive" type only to have his relationships end with girl(s) leaving him for the more macho wife-beater jock types. And he's being sarcastic when he says they want to be hit, meaning they want something more raw and more likely to hurt them. So he's questioning why his seemingly common sense approach seems to fail him so often. I.e. "Girls always go for the bastards". And sadly, it's often true. To anyone who for a second thinks Bill is condoning or even seriously talking about domestic violence - dig a bit deeper! |
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| Arab Strap – I Would've Liked Me A Lot Last Night Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| It's pretty obvious what this song is about really. I agree with Sais - it sounds even better when you're hung-over. I especially love the last line "I could've hugged you to death last night" says it all really! | |
| Smog – Rock Bottom Riser Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This is a great ode to one's family and the way a good family will always support you and help you no matter what crazy dreams you go chasing, they will always bail you out and set you down. I guess you could apply this to helping someone recover from an addiction, but even more generally just the way they will be there for you when you leave home for city and it's gold-pavements and then get out of your depth and need to come home. If I had to pick one, I guess this one is probably the my favorite Smog song. |
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| Smog – Let Me See the Colts Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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My interpretation of this would be that the narrator is someone who has sought an intellectual understanding of the world and it's mechanisms for a long time. However today they've finally come to the conclusion that easy answers are more dependable and after all that learning and interpreting, they're tired and just want to see first-hand what the odds are; trying to predict the future no longer through enlightenment, but instead more practically, more hands-on. If that makes any sense to anyone... |
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| Bill Callahan – A Man Needs a Woman or a Man to Be a Man Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think I might have totally missed the point with this song, but I got this idea in my head and now it's all I can hear. To me it seems as if the "fireworks in the day" is masterbation, and he's talking about man needing a sexual partner to be complete, rather than playing with yourself. I guess maybe this is a rather crude interpretation, but once you apply it to the lyrics they do all fall into place. The last section is describing the true fireworks which his partner ignites when they make love. Can someone either confirm this, or give me an alternative. |
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| Bill Callahan – Diamond Dancer Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| To me this song is about Smog becoming Bill Callahan and the transition from the obscure/oblique monkier of the band name (for a band which never really existed, because all it ever really was is Bill). So he's saying I was doing this thing all by myself, and being as open and as clear as I could hope to be, but still hiding behind the 'Smog' name. At the end he says "it's time I have the world my light" meaning, it's time to just be myself and take responsibility for the things he says - in counterpoint to Vessel in Vain's "I can't be held responsibile...". | |
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