| Fair to Midland – Short-Haired Tornado Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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wow...that's, in a nutshell, exactly how i feel about this song. strange...that's never happened before. I think you're absolutely right. the song is about the futility of life. it's actually a very depressing song with pretty much no silver-lining set to a very bouncy "la-la-la" rythm. It's very sarcastic fair to midland form; but in a different context...this time the lyrics themselves aren't tongue-in-cheek, they are very straight forward, but rather the depressing lyrics set to the upbeat music is what makes it so sardonic. of course there are the quintessential ftm turns of phrases. "doubting thomas deserves much more than we can give, if we win the lottery lets buy an island just for him." that line in itself is purposefully contradictory; but the essence of the song is that no matter what you do, no matter the mark you make in your lifetime, no matter how much people remember you, you will eventually be forgotten; therefore, aside from a religious afterlife standpoint (like you already said, the song is written in the context of an "atheistic death"), individual life is not building towards anything and doesn't really matter...legacies are always forgotten, and in time people always forget. |
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| Fair to Midland – Musical Chairs Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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while the lyrics are still amazing, this is one of their easiest songs to figure out. Again, i think that while it clearly calls out christianity in the second verse, it is a generalized song questioning the need for religion as a whole. "the right of way is a wild goose chase"-that sums up the song fairly well right there. The Answer, the truth, the right of way is completely unattainable, its a wild goose chase, so how can anyone profess to know it? "it makes you wonder, if shooting for stars is like darts in the dark"-great fucking line...pretty self explanatory, but the use of the phrase "shooting for stars" is perfect here. You know, you shoot for the stars, be the best you can be...but, as it relates to the song, it takes on the meaning that perhaps looking up (shooting for stars) for answers is completely pointless(darts in the dark) "if i worship the ground that he walks on, and it winds up that he has two left feet, will he be walking on water? cause you should know, we never like to get our feet wet"-best line in the song. Naturally this is the christianity part. But i think this line ties into the title of the song quite well. In true smarmy sarcastic form, this verse pretty much says that people will accept these false truths to be the sheer foundation of their lives, yet they tend to tweek these concrete "truths" to better suit their situation. It completely takes any validity out of your argument if you are willing to take something that is supposed to be holy and sacred and completely change it to meet your personal needs/wants. "will he be walking on water? cause you should know we never like to get our feet wet"...i picture like a job fair, but for religions. And each religion is trying to sell themselves to the public, and the public likes where it's going...buuuut, there's just one little catch, we don't like to get our feet wet, so maybe i can just do as you say, but not exactly as you do. Its musical chairs, you get in where you fit in. Whatever appeals to you the most, where you fit in, is automatically your solution to an unknowable question. And the problem is that religion has trained humanity to believe that through some dusty old books, and rotting old scriptures, and an extremely impressive game of telephone we somehow have a tight grasp on exactly whats going on here...but we dont. Religion is comfortable, and above all else reassuring...but it makes you wonder if the beaten path is the promise road those are my thoughts...what are yours? |
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| System of a Down – Chop Suey! Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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"one of the guitarists brother who{sic} committed suicide"? first of all, there is only one guitarist, so "one of the guitarists" wouldnt apply here. second, stop acting like you know exactly what you are talking about; If you can't grasp basic grammar, i doubt you do. Like was stated before, the song is most likely about the crucifixion of jesus. Id assume that the verbatim quotation of some of the last words of christ would hint at that. even if you despise christianity(like I), no one would be so bold as to mock someone's agonizing torture and death. It seems to be an account of(and told from the point of view of) jesus' decision to die for humanities' sins. "i don't think you trust in my self-righteous* suicide". you people called me crazy so i'll make the ultimate sacrifice in order to prove to you(again, told from the point of view of jesus, the song is by no means a pro-crhist song). |
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| Fair to Midland – Quince Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| thank god! i've been wondering about that second verse for awhile. however, i think the very last line is "clapped like a canister". with the "the breeze was light burgundy" and my "canister" lines, i get a strong war impression for this song...but hey, what do i know? | |
| Fair to Midland – Orphan Anthem '86 (pre IFS version) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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ive always thought that orphan anthem was about god, but it wasnt until i read the lyrics to this, and other pre-ifs versions that i felt that my thoughts were truly confirmed. I think that this song is darroh telling a humanistic story that parallels his thoughts on god. The orphans are essentially people who have lost their faith in god and now feel lost in the world. They lived in this place where cruelty was rampant for so long, and they had to escape. this, to me, screams religion. You are bound to something that has time-and-time again proven to be nothing but cruelty disguised as good intentions. Hence an abusive orphanage. We take you in, give you hope, "care" for you, but in the end we are still beating the shit out of you and others with what we see as right. The shotgun metaphor is very powerful in my opinion..."tell that building we are shotguns, fully loaded and made custom" The building in the story is the orphanage, but symbolically i think it is the church. The tenants are shotguns, ready to burst forth with what they've learned first hand. the auntie em line is basically someone within the church telling outsiders that conditions in here arent what they seem to be. its a cry for help, if you see her, please let her know how it really is. We are on cardboard! Powers that be tell everyone outside that everyone within is happy and taken care of, yet they are just as lost as those who have no faith. To sum up, the song is a huge metaphor about losing your faith and feeling betrayed by those who claimed to be telling you the truth and looking out for your best interest. You grow up being told that everything is taken care of, but when you finally realize that it isnt, you are faced with a big escape. You have to ditch everything and everyone you held dear in order to search for the truth. |
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| Tool – Vicarious Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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im not about to read through 16 pages of interpretation, so if this has already been suggested so what...yeah, its about how we feed off watching tragedy. We need it to feel better about ourselves and our lives...but i think the song is sung from the perspective of god. Listen through it and read the lyrics as if god was saying them...its much more poignant that way. The main reason i think this is the "from a good safe distance"(you cant get further away than god) and "you all need it too dont lie." i think the song is about how man always humanizes god so they can relate more...and then people come out and ask "why do bad things happen?"...well, if god is just like humans(or humans just like god) then god would need to look into the tragedy of others' lives in order to make his feel more important. God peering down into the world's misfortunes is exactly like us humans watching the news. Then, when people lose faith and begin to hate god he goes on to say "dont look at me like i am a monster"...cause really, if god is a monster than so is everyone. Think of it on a greater scale...god literally lives vicariously while the whole world dies. |
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| Fair to Midland – The Wife, the Kids, and the White Picket Fence Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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hm...i think this song is definitely about a broken home. however, i think the scenario in the song is that of a divorced father who remarries some woman with a child. I dont know, maybe im just relating it to my own life, but i see the song being sung from the sons point of view with a new mom and step sibling coming into the picture. "mail order brides turtle necks and trophy wives had the ways and means to breach the borders of easy street" this sets up that this whole marriage is in no way based on love, affection or even companionship...the father needs to fit into society and have a "picture perfect family" while the wife needs a meal ticket for her and her child...hence "easy street" i think the chorus is the son addressing his new step-mother..."sufficed to say there is a time and a place so i wait for the tug of war and who youll pull for"-basically he sees right through her, and knows that there will come a time when her true colors will show through and she will be forced to show allegiance to her new family, but he knows she wont. "two peas in a pod, a battle axe and a bastard child took one step more and went straight to the source"-this is explaining further the motives of the mother and her child. They took one step more, as in skipped the true meaning of marriage, and went straight to the source, as in they were in it for financial stability. Thats pretty much all i got on this song...oh, and i agree with codfish...dont post if you arent going to give an interpretation of the song. We all know its a good song...thats why we are all here. |
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| Fair to Midland – April Fools and Eggmen Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I agree that maybe there are political undertones, but as a whole i think this song is about thinking for yourself. There will be a lot of people out there trying to sway your opinion, but the only person you can trust is yourself...so dont be swayed by "april fools and eggmen" cause they are both wrong. "rest assured their weighing words in sympathetic ink"-here is the political aspect of the song, there are those out there who will lie through their teeth and pine to which ever group will hear them, as long as it makes them more popular...they weigh their words in sympathetic ink to get votes "and they dont waste their time suspending disbelief, they face the facts with thinking caps they map out and display...but thats not the only way"-basically, once they get your approval, they will then try to instill all of their morals, ethics, beliefs, etc. on you...but you don't have to listen to them, its not the only way. "common sense wont pay the rent and doesnt grow on trees, but splitting hair will get you anything you need." -instincts and common sense are good, but sometimes you need to think a little deeper to see what is below the surface. "take your own advice, before you take a side, look for NEW ground"-the bridge pretty much sums the entire song up in three lines...dont trust anyone else until you truly know what you believe...then weigh that against what these april fools and eggmen are preaching, and see if it matches. If not, look for new ground. not all lines are analyzed, but i think you get the point. |
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| Fair to Midland – Kyla Cries Cologne Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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everyone else seems to be thinking deeper than me, but am i really the only one who hears this and thinks abortion? I dont think Darroh is taking a stance on whether it is right or wrong, he is simply commenting on how hard of a decision it is for those who have to consider it. perhaps he knocked some girl up as a teenager... Some lines are much more obvious than others... "let me introduce you to a pair that strikes crude oil, but I see pyrite."-a pair, a couple...who do the nasty and make a child(crude oil...a blessing to some) but I(being the speaker or parent of the child) sees pyrite(this miracle is seeming more like a problem) "planting the seeds you've sewn, is easier than growing the rose"-this one is pretty obvious "let's go outside and it might restore us"- we need to gather our heads and truly think about this situation) "more for the fire and less for the freeze"-in the demo version of this song the lyric is "more for the 2 and less for the 3", but either way this, to me, expresses the thoughts of the parents that they might not be ready to stop their young lives to raise a child. the fire being their ambitions and dreams, and the freeze being having to stop all this to devote full attention to a baby. "so then the pair proceeded, another pulse defeated"-self-explanatory and kind of grim, the couple decides not to keep the child. "bound by the salt, not your earth, the hat mocks the rabbit"- this line talks about abortion in general, how we, as intelligent humans, no longer work inside of "god's" framework. Whether you think it good or bad, we(human beings) have gotten smart enough to actually stop a life. the hat being the womb, the rabbit being the child...the hat mocks the rabbit...it is a disappearing act. i cant really decipher the lines i left out...but these are just my thoughts. |
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