| Radiohead – Codex Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song is definitely a beautiful piece of art, and I think it's easy to get lead astray with some of the lyrics. If I use somebody's words, I apologize, but I didn't go through and read all of the posts so I am going from my perception of what I believe the song means. Thom Yorke is a poet at heart, and he is able to totally immerse himself in the identity of the individual he is writing about. Thom has historically been at odds with the people of authority in England, especially Tony Blair. He actually wrote "You and Whose Army" for Tony and his "Cronies", as they were affectionately named. To me this song is chock full of symbolism. I believe Thom is in the man's mind, speaking from his thoughts and his conscience. He is trying to reassure himself that he is not all bad, that nobody will find out, that he hasn't done anything wrong and that nobody will get hurt further if he takes himself out. Politicians/people of authority often make decisions that make sense to them at the time but are morally reprehensible to the rest of the world when they are exposed. Sleight of hand (He did something wrong and covered it up.) Jump off the end (He is contemplating suicide to make it go away.) Into a clear lake (Symbolizes the way he will end his life, but also symbolizes a cleansing of his spirit in death.) No one around (He is alone in the world with his secret, and he see himself alone in death.) Just dragonflies Flying to the side (This shows the level of the man's mental illness, and how long he's been fighting this problem in his mind. He is imagining his own death and his arms flying to the side while he is traveling to the water....like a Dragonfly.) No one gets hurt (He is rationalizing his decision. In his mind nobody else will get hurt, including him, because he will be gone and nobody will find out about his dirty little secret.) You've done nothing wrong (He is trying to console himself and give himself the resolve to complete the task at hand. Most people think that they will go to hell if they are bad or if they kill themselves. He is offering himself encouragement to get himself passed that point.) Slide your hand (His conscience is pushing him forward in his fantasy of death, and is trying give him the courage to follow through.) Jump off the end (He's gone from thinking about it to reassuring himself of his decision.) The water's clear And innocent x 2 (The water is what he wants to be again, clean and innocent. Perhaps he even thinks the suicide will be construed as an accidental drowning and he will pull of the biggest lie of all and keep his honor completely intact.) I think the name "Codex" is a desire for wishful thinking from Thom. He wishes all of us would be "open books", and we would take an introspective look at ourselves and try our best at honesty. I think this song was written from a place of hope for people who make mistakes on high and have to deal with them. Just my thoughts. Thanks for reading. |
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| Interpol – Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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First of all I would like to say that Interpol is one of the most awesome bands out there today, and Stella is my favorite Interpol song. I think "Stella" is about a prostitute/very promiscuous girl that also has a drug problem. She breaks away from the constraints of her lifestyle, but falls back into them because she couldn't handle a normal existence with somebody that truly loved her. Why do I believe Stella is a prostitute? He talks about Stella being wrapped up in the sea and in the ocean. The "ocean" is a metaphor for the seedy, degrading life that she is engulfed in. Paul describes the ocean in which Stella dwells as a place where "crevices are caressed by fingers" and "fat blue serpents swell", which alludes to touching a woman’s genitalia and a man having an erection. It's hard to deny these sexual connotations, and how consuming they are to her. The oceans in our lives, the things we are consumed by the most, tend to be the things that have the biggest impact on our daily lives and can often define who we are as individuals. Why do I believe Stella has a drug problem? Paul tells us that Stella believes that the buildings she passes are just fronts to hide the people that are watching her, and even calls Stella his catatonic sex-toy. Drug addicts, as well as prostitutes, often have a heightened sense of paranoia and feel like people are often out to get them. Drug abuse has also been linked to psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia and catatonia, which could explain why she exhibits both of these behaviors. I found it interesting that he uses the word “daze” to describe her scuba days. This is probably because her scuba days were lived in a drug induced daze. Thinking back on the Ocean metaphor described above, it’s easy to deduce that Stella’s life of drug addiction and prostitution as being the ocean itself and you could easily pair them together. Since one usually begets the other (drugs/prostitution), I would tend to consider them as one in the same. Why do I believe Stella broke out of her life of drug addiction and prostitution? The sea in which Stella dwells is described as tight and airtight, but she still breaks away from it. I think this means that it came to her easy because it was tight and regimented and was easy for her to do, but it was eventually too much for her and it was choking the life out of her because a lifestyle of addiction is so airtight that it doesn’t give you much room to breathe. Why do I believe Stella went back to her life of drugs and prostitution after her inability to handle a normal existence? In the second verse it talks about Stella falling through the street, and how it was just like her scuba days. I think this means that the bottom fell out of her life after she broke away from the “ocean” in which she was adrift. In this situation she was left with no choice but to regress, and you can tell she’s regressed to her old behavior because Paul describes the experience as being, “just like her scuba days.” This fall back could have been precipitated by a number of things, but I believe her relationship with Paul was just too real for her to handle without having the narcotics to help her cope. You can tell that he enjoyed having sex with her, but describes her behavior as catatonic. This was probably a direct result of the fact that he had sex with her, but fervently loved her in the process. Just listen to the sincerity and the pain in Paul’s voice when he tells Stella he loves her. A love that strong would be hard for even a sane person to handle, and I can imagine this relationship being even harder for her to deal with in lieu of her mental health issues. Well, those are my thoughts. Please feel free to dissect and criticize them as you see fit. I understand that Paul is a free association writer, but he isn't the sole songwriter for Interpol, and the consistencies in the song are too prevalent to ignore. |
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