| Jon Foreman – The Cure For Pain Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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It's too bad. For the longest time, I heard this song and thought he was singing "Oh my love, to suffer like you did." That would have been a lot more meaningful. But to find out he was just singing about Jesus, like countless other poorly written songs and bad songwriters just pandering to their Christian fans, drains this song of its potential beauty. That said, even with "love" instead of "Lord," the song still isn't written all that well. I've got a cure for your pain, Jon. Ditch the antiquated forms of morality and start living in a world that doesn't take offense from every tiny little thing that other people do. Maybe then your guilty conscience won't be so heavy, and your pain will go away. Or, you can keep crying about how tough it is to keep the faith despite how everything around suggests you shouldn't. I suppose that makes you a trooper. Keep at it, slugger. |
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| Jon Foreman – The Cure For Pain Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"If you think about it, no matter how much we have suffered in life, God has it a trillion times worse (literally)." I've thought about it, and that makes no sense. Suffering logically implies flaw, and God is flawless. Even empathetic 'suffering' means imperfection, because perfection would be elevated above emotional response. By logic, God either loves us, or is perfect. Can't have both. |
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| City and Colour – Body in a Box Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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some parts of this song are kind of poetic, but the chorus of this bugs the SHIT out of me. i don't know if he meant it to be profound, or what, but it is just lazy songwriting. "we celebrate the lives of the dead / it's like a man's best party / only happens when he dies." really? that's the line we're going with? it seems like something a kid wrote. it doesn't go with the rest of the song. i like city and colour, and i like the idea of this song. but this chorus, to me, is just lazy and a poor, poor choice. and actually, in my opinion, there's quite a bit of that lazy songwriting on this record. (or even in this song: "tears of sadness soak the ground" is not a line you'd fine in any published short story or poem anthology.) just because you have a mellifluous melody and a good voice doesn't excuse lazy corner-cutting, in my opinion. maybe i sound harsh. i do like city and colour, and dallas green. i just think a lot of songwriters gets complacent with being "good enough." oh well. |
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| The Airborne Toxic Event – All At Once (Bombastic Version) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| innocence, pt. 2? | |
| Matchbox Twenty – You're So Real Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| i love how this song features the titles of a bunch of other songs on the album. it's got "soul," "feel," and "cold." and i know those are just one word titles, but still i feel like this was a bit intentional. kinda fun. | |
| Matt Nathanson – Fall To Pieces Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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i think the "and i've watched them all move through you / yeah, i've watched them all let you down" part is annoying. i don't mind that it's a key change, and i actually kinda like that it's grainy, almost like he found an old recording of a really bad song and he used a pinch of it to add some dimension to this one. but the lyrics of it and the timing are both just awkward and weird. they don't rhyme, nor are they particularly profound, or presenting an interesting idea or metaphor. they just... are. it's like he was trying to do improv and that was the best he could come up with. i wouldn't even mind the lack or lyrical depth or rhyming scheme if just the rhythm wasn't so awkward. the song on the whole is good and catchy, but that part just is odd. i wouldn't say out of place, because i think the IDEA is cool. but the way he executes it is just lazy. unless there's some part of the story i don't know. but in that case, to the layperson, it's gonna come across as lazy and awkward. oh well. |
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| Flight of the Conchords – Carol Brown Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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i really like this song, but the lyrical composition kinda bugs me. like, at first it's a song about how all these girls leave him, painting the singer as the victim. but then when the girls start singing, all of a sudden he's the guy who is like a jerk and doesn't give a crap in relationships. like, it switches, somewhat haphazardly. the song is supposed to be about "carol brown," and therefore about the hope that she "sticks around," unlike all the other girls. ("there must be fifty ways that lovers have left me." kinda sounds like he's saying he was an unwilling participant in these break-ups.) but then "he loses interest fast, his relationships never last," and especially "how can we ever know we've found the right person in this world?" suggest that he's the one coming up with lame excuses just to get out. as in, they're not leaving him, he's leaving them. so the song has like an identity crisis. i know it's a comedy song, but still it should have a steady theme. this just seems like they had a bunch of nonrelated ideas about relationships and decided to put them into one song. the lyrics, by themselves, are clever and witty, but when put together it just sounds forced, even lazy. i still like the song, and the conchords. i just think they've got other songs that are much more well written. though this tune is pretty catchy. |
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| Joan Osborne – One Of Us Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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this song honestly seems like a parody. the way she says things like, "in all his glory," and "god is great yeah yeah..." and "things like heaven and jesus and the prophets," i mean... it's really like a joke. especially the "god is great" part. like, literally, this song seems like she is parodying jesus songs. which i really wish was the case. to anyone saying this song is profound, it really doesn't take much to impress you does it? i suppose i could throw a line out there that runs something like, "what if god was one of us, and he had to buy shoes, but the shoes he wanted cost twenty dollars, but he only had 17.50." whoa. let's all form a prayer circle and ponder the complexities inherent within this thought-provoking and theologically demanding hypothetical. it's pretty much getting to the point where if you say anything about how hard it is to keep your faith, but in a way that implies you kept your faith anyway, people take it as really profound. maybe this song is just a call to stop being a dick to everybody. just act like everyone is "god," and don't be a total asshole. there doesn't have to be a biblical verse tied to that. |
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| William Fitzsimmons – Passion Play Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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even though this song is a slight departure from normal folk christian songs in that it's more pondering than affirming, it still bugs me that william subscribes to this evergrowing stereotype of folk singer/songwriters being uneducated and blind in faith, if only for this song. i find it VERY annoying when songwriters write a song about praising the LORD Jesus Christ and how great he is, because every time it just comes across as pat-yourself-on-the-back, insulting-to-the-intelligence yay for god bullshit. it's just sad and lazy songwriting. this song is, admittedly, a SLIGHT departure, in that he is saying he wants to better himself more than he is saying "god i love god!" and to that point i think raynequeen hit the nail on the head. still, though, at this point these overtly christian songs and songwriters just seem to be pandering to a christian majority and taking solace in the safety of numbers. sure is hard to be christian when there's a church on every corner and the standard of living in this country is so comparatively high, that's for sure. sitting there and thinking about how jesus, if he existed and if he really was crucified, by whomever, is a figure upon whom one can base one's own efforts to be a better person, is one thing. and that's what i think this song is trying to do. but what hangs me up is the people who read this song as meaning they should have a deeper faith because of songs like this. because songs are necessarily not argumentative, but instead by definition pandering, you're not going to get anywhere writing a religious--or for that matter political--song, except for making those who agree with you go "yeah!" and those who don't go "well fuck that." i don't know. it's too bad. |
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| David Gray – Babylon Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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i actually had that exact thought myself. it just seems like a way to say "babble on" but disguise it, just as one might do in a relationship or a fight. disguising a heavy blow as something lesser, like saying "we should take a break" instead of "we should break up." |
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| Leona Naess – Star Signs Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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i love this song. i think it's my favorite off of this album. i guess it doesn't really surprise me all that much that no one's commented on so many of her songs, since she doesn't seem to like all that much attention at this stage in her career. but i was just listening to this song the other day, and i guess i'd always just listened to it as sort of a background song when i was at work or something, but that day i actually listened to it. i think it's a beautiful idea conveyed in the chorus, the idea that, even though he's not there anymore, she still thinks of him when she does something as unassuming as read the daily horoscope. i've actually had those moments myself; i don't put much stock in astrology, but sometimes it's entertaining, and then for whatever reason i read the horoscope for a past flame's sign. it just seems like a very profound image, portrayed in a very simple line. that line encapsulates the mindset she is in, in a way that is small and almost quirky, specific to their relationship, and yet it's readily relatable. i think leona is a great songwriter. much better than a lot of her female contemporaries. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| if you have to switch perspectives mid song temporarily just to explain the meaning of a verse, then usually you are way off. occam's razor. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| so you're a selfish lover if you love jesus? | |
| Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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i'll second you gummi. it's quite annoying when artists get preachy. although i'm still not entirely convinced this song is about jesus. even if jesus did, as some claim, have a family, that's not common knowledge, nor is it something a religious man would write about. there is nothing in this song that suggests jesus. even if sufjan is admittedly religious, this song has no direct references to christianity. why call it a tree? cross and tree are not synonymous, pemberley. just because a person wants this song to be about christianity doesn't make it so. i think it could just as easily be about a gay relationship, or the idea that a gay guy loved him but then, say, committed suicide before he got a chance to know him. or, it could be written from the girl's perspective. plenty of artists write songs across gendered boundaries--jimmy eat world's "cut" comes immediately to mind. |
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| Joshua Radin – The Myth of Us Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| what a lazily written song. this didn't even deserve to make the EP. it's too bad josh it taking his music in this direction. i'm waiting for the day he releases a joint record with colbie caillat. at which point, i will officially stop listening. | |
| Joshua Radin – I Think I'll Go Inside Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i'm surprised no one's talked about this one yet. i think it's the prettiest song off the new record. it shows he's not totally departed from the sad, victimized songwriter as whom he began his career. i've been hooked on this song for the past few days, even though i've had access to it for a long time. i remember hearing it for the first time way back before the record came out, and thinking how greatly it complemented his old style. and that's the style his original fans are gonna want to see on his upcoming records, so i'd be curious to see how much he departs from the "whisper rock" on later installations. hopefully he won't alienate his older fans by focusing too heavily on the pop-influenced rock he's tending towards now. | |
| Lily Allen – Back to the Start Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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i know the song is about her sister, and a lot of people here seem to find that very mature or otherwise a positive aspect of her growth as a songwriter, but i really wish it wasn't. "back to the start" and "chinese" were two of my favorite songs by her, but knowing the true meanings dulled them for me. for instance, "back to the start," in accordance with my original interpretation, should be describing a relationship with a guy. and not because i'm narcissistic and self-involved and want to be right, but because it's a lot more meaningful i think. lines like "i've been so evil with my constant invasions," and "you always rise to the occasion," all of a sudden carry double entendres that are right up Lily's alley as a songwriter. (see: Never Gonna Happen, "it's been weeks since i got laid," eg.) but, about her sister, those lines are simply one-dimensional, and actually, frankly, become somewhat unappealing and cliched. i like this song, but mostly because of the catchy beat and the quick chorus. it's too bad that she packages this song as if it's not necessarily about a sibling only to dull its profundity and fun by admitting the familial foundation of it. "chinese," about her relationship to her mother, functioned in much the same way for me. i liked it a lot more thinking it was about a guy she had been with. it's too bad. but oh well. |
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| Damien Rice – The Rat Within The Grain Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i think the lyrics are "i never thought you were a chicken / shit, i never thought of you at all," as opposed to "chickenshit." in certain live versions, he enunciates this break in thought more clearly. | |
| Stars – I Died So I Could Haunt You Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i thought the same thing the first few times i heard the song, but it's growing on me. especially at the end when they start singing the different parts. | |
| Stars – Dead Hearts Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| and by "organ" i mean guitar. i hadn't listened to the song in a while when i posted that, and now i feel dumb. it's just a bass note on the lead guitar. still, emotional moment. | |
| Stars – We Don't Want Your Body Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| whenever i hear the first verse, and how both "vampire" and "oxford" are mentioned, i always wonder if maybe it's a subtle reference to vampire weekend, and their song "oxford comma." i highly doubt it, but i always think of that. | |
| Stars – Changes Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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it seems to me like the chorus, if written with impeccable english grammar, might be read as: "changes: [on the one hand] i've never been good with change. [but on the other hand] i hate it when it all stays the same." it's not really a contradiction, it's just lacking a conjunction, according to my reading anyway. and this would mean that, while the singer may not handle change well, she still gets very bored and irritated when things stay the same. like, maybe, a relationship. you stay with one person too long, you get bored. so you cheat, or bail, and it blows up in your face or you lose something you've been taking for granted. so you didn't handle the changes well, but at least you're not bored. |
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| Stars – Dead Hearts Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| this certainly is a gorgeous song. it's kinda hard to figure out what exactly the song is about, but it sounds like there's a girl who got her house broken into, or some burglars tried to burgle it or something, and torquil is playing the cop character. and she explains that the kids who tried to break in were kids she once knew, so they got scared and ran off. it's really a heart-sinking emotional experience the very first time she says "they were kids that i once knew," because the organ plays the perfect low chord just at that moment. this is my favourite song off the new record so far. | |
| Stars – Personal Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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i agree that the fat vs. emotion argument is really irrelevant. if you accept that this is an exchange between two complete strangers, then the song is written in too vague a manner to come to a definitive "yes / no" answer on whether the "heavy" has a second meaning. so everyone saying "it definitely doesn't!!!" is just dumb. i don't think this [the following] is the "correct" interpretation of the song, but the first time i heard it, i interpreted it thusly: the guy, who gives no name, is searching for a particular person, sort of like a lifelong quest to find a long-lost girl. he does show up, sees caroline, and finds that it's not the girl, so he bails. the "nothing too heavy" addition is sort of like him modifying his search, and the overlaying of "is it you or me"s at the end is the implication that he will be searching for [a long time / ever]. i like to follow the song with this plot, because it's so much more complex than a simple douchy guy, which, in all likelihood, is the real story behind the song. i love the song, love the idea of the song, love the way the song is written, so no complaints. but the music is just eerie enough to make me feel like there is some hidden layer, and the last verse (that torq sings) just seems like it's the twist in the song in which we find out he's still searching, not for some vague concept of "the perfect girl," but for the girl he lost long ago somehow. idk, i think it's a fun interpretation. |
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| Gary Go – Drive Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| this is a cars cover, by the way. i'm not a big cars guy, so i prefer this version, but both are good. | |
| Michelle Branch – Everywhere Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| by that logic, when she says "and when i touch your hand, it's then i understand" HAS to refer to a boy, and not god. so you religo's can't really pass that off as "proof" it's about god. also, dancer, get over yourself. you think your way is the way it should be, when everyone else thinks their way is the way. so logically all of your points are moot. | |
| Augustana – Dust Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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first of all, the capitalized "He" refers to a pronoun, so even if dan doesn't believe in it anymore, it's still capitalized. you wouldn't not capitalize Santa just because he doesn't exist (unless you're lazy like me and don't tend to capitalize things, or unless you're going out of your way to make a point, like using "it" as God's pronoun). anyway, i think the song is less about losing one's religion than losing a girlfriend because of religious differences. as in, she believes in god, finds out dan isn't that religious, and then leaves him. when he throws in the "i believed in the lord / but he don't show up anymore," it's just to sort of say, hey, i did believe once, but now i just realize there's not much reason to. in the lines: "If I fell down would you pick me up? If I don't drink from a silver cup, like you Would you say "so long, farewell, good luck" " ... it sounds like he's just very bitter about this girl because she acts all high and mighty due to her religion. the sort of pompous, smug arrogance one finds in the religious. because at the end of the day, to be religious necessitates arrogance. there's no rational reason to assume we human beings have an afterlife, or a god that looks after us like a father, or a figure who grants us wishes; this all stems from a basic biological and psychological desire to continue existence and to feel important and needed. this is not to say, however, that the song implies atheism. he could simply have lost his religion. people far too often draw a false dichotomy: you're either religious, or you're atheist. and that's not true. aside from the obvious example of agnosticism, there are also shades of believers. after all, one need not be religious to believe in "god" or "souls" or "the afterlife." he makes pretty clear in this song that he doesn't believe in the "Lord," but that could merely imply that he no longer believes in the abrahamic god; or, if you infer that he has lost all faith in god entirely, it still in no way implies he has no spiritual side. i just wanted to make this distinction, before people started getting all defensive of their stupid belief systems. |
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| LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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everyone seems to think this song is about "life" and "growing up," but--and it may just be me--it seems like this song is about getting into a relationship with a domineering girlfriend who basically makes him choose her over his friends. and he does so, and then later on down the road he regrets it. the whole first part of the song seems to be describing the circumstances that made him fall for her, to answer the one douchebag who listens to the story and goes "how could you do that to your friends??" without understanding the context behind it. and then he tells the rest of the story and how he's alone now (because she left too?) so he really regrets it. |
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| The Airborne Toxic Event – April Is the Cruelest Month Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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sorry about the question marks. i've only heard one version of this song, and while i know he is dropping two allusions in those places, i can't tell what they are--it's difficult with proper nouns and shitty-quality recordings. there are so many things i love about this song. but the last 3 verses are the best. the neophyte charm is like a priest's secret fetish. it reminds me of "v for vendetta," when natalie portman dresses up like the little girl for the priest. the fact that she's getting all gussied up in an attempt to look attractive, but she only comes off to him as a "common whore," that's fucking powerful. he liked her the best when she wasn't trying, when she kept it simple. and the image of drinking something traditionally more classy like wine in a "pink plastic cup" reminds me of the death cab song "champagne from a paper cup," though in that song it's ridiculing the idea and in this one he's sort of praising it as simplistic and cute. or quirky. the first two lines of the last verse are so basic and so effortless that they are even more powerful. but my favorite part is the very end, at least on my recording, because he says "happy birthday to you, i sure hope it's not true" (as in, we haven't talked in a really long time, but i know it's your birthday and i've heard things along the grapevine) "even though i don't miss you that much." what i like about this is, on my recording, which i got from the airborne site, some guy in the audience says something that sounds like "yeah he does!" just as the clapping starts after the song. it's funny, because if that is what he said, then i inferred that as well, that mikel is saying something but implying something else, and if that guy said that it's really interesting. i like it anyway. |
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| Jimmy Buffett – Coast Of Marseilles Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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this is an amazingly beautiful song, great for pondering stuff. he said in his boats, beaches, bars & ballads booklet the following: "i believe this is one of the best songs i have ever heard. keith sykes wrote this years back when he was hanging around key west, and it felt as if it had been molded for me. i never get tired of singing this song." which is ironic because there is not a single youtube clip of him singing this song, nor is there any live cd, of which i am aware, in which he plays it, which is too bad because, like jimmy, this is one of the best songs i've ever heard. |
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| The Airborne Toxic Event – A Letter To Georgia Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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so i used to think that this song was a song he wrote to a girl with whom he used to be in love but isn't anymore, and this was like his confession saying they both knew it and he's just saying it, even though it's really sad. but now i kind of think the opposite. it sounds to me like mikel is courting a girl who has a boyfriend, but she really seems to take a shine to him (mikel), and so she is conflicted and doesn't know what to do. the "lie i've lived with you" could be the affair, a guise of a relationship but not a real one because she's still unsure. the whole second stanza is just about how sad she is because of the internal conflict. then in the third stanza, he says "everybody that i know tells me just to let it go" because he has had a series of relationships that meant nothing to him but a lot to the girl, but now he's sitting alone and picturing this girl, implying she's different, which is the only reason he cares that much about the predicament she's in. "you're heart's so big and broke in two" means she's divided; "mind drifting through all you knew," as in she's trying to discern what the best thing to do is. the whole last part, about being afraid, i think is the best evidence of my interpretation. she's afraid to love this new guy (mikel); afraid to lose, in that she's got something stable now she can rely on and if she leaves him for mikel then she could very well lose that or both; afraid to start a new relationship; afraid to choose which one to be with; etc., and afraid of the truth, that love, for this new attraction, can cause you so much pain. he "felt it too," the painful loving yearning; and he also wishes the circumstances weren't the way they are. there do seem to be alternate versions of this song, including slightly different lyrics (like "you run from everything they say, hurt the ones you love blindly" and "darlin i wish it wasn't true"), but the meaning doesn't change. still, i can't wait for a studio version of this song. one of the most gorgeous songs i've ever heard. |
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| Jimmy Buffett – Lovely Cruise Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| uh, i feel like you guys aren't taking it literally enough. as a songwriter myself, this seems way too easily inspired by a literal cruise--and god knows jimmy buffett's the kind of guy who'd be on one--and he met someone on the cruise, they hit it off, and then the last day or so rolled up and it hit him like a ton of bricks that it was ending. so maybe he wrote the song thereupon, or maybe he wrote it later and placed the song in the present tense. either way, as brilliant a songwriter as jimmy is, i can't imagine this being a metaphorical cruise. gorgeous song, though, especially played acoustically. one of his best serenades. | |
| The Killers – Mr. Brightside Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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i love this song's sexuality. i feel like you could interpret otherwise (a more PG interpretation), but i could definitely see the killers writing a song with subtle sexual references, as many artists have also done, like damien rice, notably. but this song seems to be just drenched in sexual double entendres and the like. here are some lines that convinced me "i'm coming out of my cage" -- cumming "my stomach is sick, and it's all in my head but she's touching his..." -- dick "he takes off her dress" -- duh "taking control" -- the way he says it, with the big emphasis on the first syllable on the second word "choking on your alibis" there are others. it just seems very sexual to me, on top of the overt references. not that it can't be about emotional longing as well, just that oftentimes the physical is the hardest to get over, or that for which men long the most. so he could be singing about how he misses her or something, but because her sex was so addicting and intoxicating in its own right, he obsesses over that and it comes out as he sings the confession. idk, my take. |
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| Joshua Radin – Sky Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| as "joshradin" pointed out above, i believe the "sky" is schuyler fisk, another singer/songwriter whom he dated for a long time and about whom many of the songs off the first record are written. "sky" is a nickname for "schuyler," more usually spelled "skylar" (at least in my experience). i think it's intentionally written in a way that doesn't make that obvious. for along time, i didn't realize they had dated, and so i assumed the sky was just a metaphorical image of beauty, like the cliched clouds and sun and warm image. but when he opens his eyes and sees "sky," he is actually seeing his girlfriend named sky. it's a clever songwriter trick, to give it a sort of ambiguous meaning to those who might not have insight into the writer's personal life. but he's said numerous times now during live shows that he toured for a while with "his girlfriend" as his opener, but you can hear a lot of references to sky in some of his songs. | |
| Modest Mouse – Blame It on the Tetons Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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i agree with you in this particular context, that just because a band is popular does not make them a "sellout," but i do believe the term as applicable usage, for instance when a band betrays its roots specifically for money. popularity, and the acquisition of more money, does not necessarily imply this, but when a band loses depth in meaning for its songs because perhaps it's trying to appeal to a larger scale audience to sell more cds, that i would consider selling out. for instance, if a band swears a lot, but later it decides to censor itself specifically for the purpose of appealing to a wider range of people who may not like swear words, i would say that is one type of selling out, because the artist is no longer saying or singing what he or she really wants to say. that said, i would certainly not necessarily condemn a band or singer simply because i believe they have betrayed their roots. there are plenty of logical reasons for doing so, and it depends on what music means to you. it's essentially all interpretive. but i agree, the idea that just because a band has become popular or brought a video to MTV means they have sold out is normally propagated by the pricks who liked the band when no one knew about them and so they try to establish themselves as "true" fans who were there since the beginning, and thus "better" than everyone else. it's a misplaced sense of pride, and it's ridiculously juvenile. |
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| Joshua Radin – Nowhere To Go Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| brilliant song. it's probably the happiest, feel-good song he's released (or written, since he's only released a demo version so far), even more so than brand new day, which to me was a little bit tainted by that commercial it was in. i listen to this song all the freakin time. it's just so damn brilliant. | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – Waves & Radiation Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| oh, and "solace OF years." the "or" is a typo | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – Waves & Radiation Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| i think the "when we finally fate, i'll be fating with you" is "... fade... fading..." kinda seems obvious in retrospect. but, you never know. mikel was a novelist before he was a musician, or at least an aspiring novelist, so perhaps "fating" is something he'd use. might just go with occam though and say it's "fade." | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – All I Ever Wanted Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| gorgeous song. i think he switches up the lyrics for each show, or otherwise hasn't settled yet, so we probably won't know the official lyrics until the studio version comes out. for instance, sometimes he sings "i could utter every word as i hold you near," but in some versions it sounds like "i could utter every word you ever hoped you'd hear." also, sometimes he says "pristine doll," but others he says "virgin bride." so, yeah. but i absolutely cannot wait to have a studio version of this song, just so that i can have one that is good quality. i have two different live versions of it on my ipod and i listen to them all the time. the song is gorgeous. | |
| Damien Rice – Elephant Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| contrary to what i thought earlier, i think everyone's thinking way too hard about what "elephant" means. i think it is simply a reference to the penis. damien slips a LOT of sexuality into his songs--"confess the actions of a hand" referring to masturbation, for instance, in "Insane." his obsession with the "elephant" character is evident with all of his songs about sexuality and the prominence of it in his relationships. that "you can't paint an elephant" as well as she can simply means you don't get me off as well as she does, whether there's an emotional component or not. "elephant" is simply male genitalia: the dick is the trunk, the testicles are the ears. he references the elephant, or the "beast," in several songs ("beast" often referring to the singer/songwriter in general, but likely an extended reference to the sexuality of the elephant). and then people start saying, "oh well elephants never forget, or elephants are strong, or elephants are monogamous" or whatever, and THAT's where all this extra profundity comes from. i think it's so much more meaningful if he simply means it as what i've interpreted. | |
| Brett Dennen – She's Mine Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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few things first off, the "gwb bashing" is not necessarily bashing gwb, depending on the view point one takes. it could also refer to the evangelical south, a movement of revivalism that makes no rational sense whatsoever. now, likely, it is a reference to gwb if the song is not founded in actual happenings in his life--since brett is undeniably politically charged and clearly leftist--but it could also be that he actually bumped into a sidewalk preacher or a southern evangelical around whom many sympathizers were gathered. it sorta depends on whether you think he was inspired by something he actually or saw or something he just knows about. in response to graham, i sure as hell hope that the "she" is not literally a girl, because if it is then this song would be possibly my least favorite song on my ipod. it would make no sense at all, jumping from politically charged verses to a sweet, loving chorus. that said, i wouldn't put it past him, because i personally don't think brett's that good of a "poet" as someone mentioned. i think most political songs are pretty naive, whether they're leftist or conservative (perhaps especially the conservative ones, because as an idea conservatism makes no sense anyway unless we allow for evangelism). but i personally find this song to be too jumpy and his voice too preachy to dive into this song as others. i agree with a lot of his political IDEAS, but many of the ways in which he portrays the ideas are naive (in his songs in general). one of the fundamental flaws of modern leftist world view is that everything is subject to will power and nothing more--perhaps attributable to the therein fatally flawed Marxist writings. biologically, genetically, we are geared toward certain directions. "stubbornness" comes much more naturally to some over others, and generally, writing songs like this does more to polarize the two opposing camps and push people to their respective extremes. when i hear a christian song, for instance, i am not in any way more receptive to the idea, but instead made more hostile through frustration. the same applies here. which is why, as a rule of thumb, i try to avoid political songs, especially this one, since it's so jumpy. contrast this song with "ain't no reason," a pessimistic, frustrated world view that does not necessarily imply that democrats are good and republicans are bad, but instead looks at everyone and says, damn we're fucked up. there's a reason that's my favorite song of his. |
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| The Airborne Toxic Event – Missy Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| according to mikel during a live concert, this song is about "finding yourself in music" (and that's about as much of an intro as he has given to any song i've heard live yet), so it makes it seem like it's a very positive thing. i don't know how exactly it relates to the girl named missy, or if missy is perhaps a personification of the idea of music (finding a "home" in downtown l.a.), but it could be somewhat of a celebration of music in general, or airborne's personal trek from nothing to stardom. | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – Echo Park Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| i've had this song stuck in my head ever since i saw them live last weekend. i can't wait for them to release a studio version of it so i can listen to it in a good quality. it's got that airborne stamp of authenticity on it, great song. it just seems to be about drifting mindlessly in a crowd, wondering about where "she" went or is, and trying to move on from her but being stuck in this cycle--because she keeps pulling you back in. | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – This Losing Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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this is probably my favorite song by airborne (if i can narrow it to just one). what a fantastic beat it's got. i think the song is about slipping back into relationships that should be dying. getting back with ex-girlfriends more out of ease's sake, or fear's sake, than love's sake. he talks about how shitty he feels in the morning, after they slip back into their rhythm, and how degrading it all feels. as for the lyrics, i think a few of em are a little bit wrong. here's what i'm hearing: "where to begin" (not "where to be brave") "it all seems so degrading" (not "and i'll seem...") "secretly pray" (not "play") "this wine" (not "whine," though since they're homophones this is just interpretation, but mikel talks a lot about alcohol in his songs) "again i'm swimming or flying or dying" (not "again i swept me...") "this hand, this glove" (not "this glow") |
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| The Airborne Toxic Event – Happiness Is Overrated Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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in fact i'm pretty sure the first chorus is "i nearly lost my head" and the second chorus is "i really lost my head." my favorite part of this song is the fact that it starts with the word "and," indicating that this is just a continuation of his ranting and talk to himself. this isn't an isolated episode, it's part of a much larger picture. beautiful. |
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| Muse – Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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almost. actually, in part 2 of the suite, the humans, who have accepted that civilization is coming to an end in the overture, send a group of astronauts out to repopulate a new planet. this song is the people back on earth telling the astronauts that they are their last chance. part 3, then, is about the astronauts' realization that the humans will simply do the same things over again on the new planet, and so they urge the people to change their ways instead of simply going and wrecking some new planet. |
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| Muse – Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| the first part of this suite (which is amazing) is about humans coming to terms with the fact that they are destroying the earth, a "jaded acceptance that civilization will end." | |
| Muse – Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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exogenesis is the reason i bought this CD, and it did not disappoint. fantastically beautiful suite. according to the notes, this part's about how the astronauts realize that it doesn't matter whether they find a new world to which to spread the human race, since humans will end up doing the same things all over again. so they are telling the people that we need to change our ways. |
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| Gary Go – Just Dance Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| to me, this song is an example of gary go taking an incredibly hollow, shallow, cheap, party, dance song that has glimmers of potential and transforming it into a tremendously touching, beautiful and honest song. despite it being a cover, you really get the feel that these words mean a lot to him, albeit largely from the words he put in himself. it's miles better than the lady gaga version, which to me is nothing more than another petty attempt to get a crappy, meaningless song--some "fucking song about fucking," to use the words of a personal favorite singer songwriter of mine--onto the top 100. | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – Happiness Is Overrated Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| are we sure the lyrics aren't "sorry, i nearly lost my head"? i thought for the longest time that he was saying "really" and not "nearly" like these lyrics say, but when you listen closely, i've gotta say it sounds a lot more like "nearly." if that is the case, then it throws another perspective into the discussion of this song's meaning. | |
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