| David Gray – From Here You Can Almost See the Sea Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song seems to indeed be about illness or, more specifically, getting older and the slow march towards death. These are the thoughts of someone near the end. From here you can almost see the sea = from here, I'm not far from heaven, I'm not far from the afterlife.\ A piece of cardboard taped to where the windowpane used to be seems to be a reference to someone in the hospital, being held together when their body clearly wants to give out. This person is "another fool in the line", waiting to die and move on to the afterlife. "Here comes the cavalry" = death is coming soon, to save the narrator from the pain they're currently in. |
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| Guns N' Roses – There Was A Time Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| My favorite on the album. Very descriptively details the demise of a relationship, possibly Seymour. | |
| Guns N' Roses – This I Love Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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While I think the lyrics are pretty weak (very amateur for Axl's standards, who is one of rock's best lyricists), I think the emotion in this song is strong, even if it is on the melodramatic side. When I first heard the song, I pictured Axl at his piano in his secluded mansion at midnight, playing this song alone to himself in the dark, in some Phantom of the Opera-esque scenario. That really is what it sounds like. Nevertheless, the melodies are there, so I listen and somewhat enjoy. Very clearly seems to be about Stephanie Seymour. It was written in 1993, right after their breakup. It's Axl, almost in denial, saying "she left me, but I know she still loves me, so if she hears this song, she'll know I want her back and I still love her." |
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| Guns N' Roses – Street of Dreams Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This seems to be Axl's moment in the album where he finally gets over the relationship that has plagued him for all these years (be it Stephanie Seymour, Erin Everly, or some other unknown woman who's broken his heart for the past 15 years). He says it very simply in the final verse: "What I thought was beautiful don't live inside of you anymore, it's only memories." I used to love you, but now you're not that person anymore. The person I loved doesn't exist anymore. "What this means to me is more than I know you believe" seems to be Axl saying to his former lover (presumably Seymour): "You think I'm such an evil man. You think I don't care, that I'm just some reclusive monster living in his mansion. But you really hurt me and this is my forum to express my pain." "What I thought of you, now has cost more than it should for me." This is Axl stating that for years he's labored over this relationship and the pain of it's demise. He's finally realized that he's worried about this shit for far too long: the whole album is about this relationship and it's taken far too long to come out. |
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| Guns N' Roses – Sorry Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think this is clearly a song directed at Slash, in particular, and all of his other former bandmates or anyone who's gone public with negative stories about him. He's saying, basically, "You tried to put me down by putting out all of these false stories in the press, because you don't want to admit that you had a part in the breakup of the old band too. You'd rather blame it all on me, since everyone else does." "You know where to put your 'just shut up and sing'": Up your ass. It's Axl's way of telling his former bandmates "don't tell me that I can't have an opinion and be a leader in this band. Don't tell me to just go onstage at 8:30 and play the show. I'll do it when I want. And don't pressure me to put out this fucking album. I'll sing it when I want to." He seems to rail against Slash for his autobiography, which "uses and confuses them, who are numb and naive", "them" of course being the fans, who have only received Slash's side of the story so far due to Axl's silence. When he says he's "sorry" for his former bandmates, it's because he's sorry for them because they've alienated those who love them (in his opinion, Axl), and now have to deal with those they can't trust (see: the demise of Velvet Revolver). It also seems to say "sorry" to the fans. He's saying "I'm not sorry for myself, I'm sorry for you, the fan, because you don't know who you can trust. You clearly trust Slash & Co, but I'm here to say they're wrong. So I feel sorry for you for believing the lies they tell you." It's Axl's most blatant reference to his former bandmates on the album. The album is about both his failed romances and failed former band. This is about the latter. |
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| Guns N' Roses – Shackler's Revenge Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song is Axl's little affirmation to himself: "you're doing the right thing". "I gotta itchy finger and there'll be Hell to pay. I'm gonna pull the trigger and blow them all away" seems to be him blowing away the competition, whether that's Slash and his new band or just the new rock bands in general or even just anyone who ever doubted him. He's saying he's going to blow them away with his new band, who he thinks is better than anything out there. The "wicked demon" whose "hunger never fades" seems to be his desire, his musical instinct. "Don't ever try to tell me how much you care for me/were there for me" seems to be his message to anyone who ever turned their back on him: "When I'm back on top, don't come crawling back to me, because you abandoned me when I was down. Fuck you." "No one is stopping you now from doing what you want to do": This line is the clearest part to me. He's saying "fuck the band. Now I don't have to listen to them or anyone. This band is mine now and we'll follow my direction from this point forward." Again, Chinese Democracy is two parts: One part analyzing his failed romances, the other part analyzing the demise of the original Guns lineup. |
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| Guns N' Roses – My World Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I like the line "Guess what I'm doing now" at the end. It's like a little teaser. Remember, this was 1991, back when Axl thought the next Gn'R album would only be a few years away. So "guess what I'm doing now" seemed to warn the fans of the extremely experimental direction he wanted to take the next album. Of course, we all know what happened next, so this line is pretty interesting in that context... |
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| Guns N' Roses – Madagascar Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song is very clearly Axl's response to those who say he's "lost it." It's him saying "fuck you, I'm not going to listen to you tell me that this new Guns N' Roses is worthless. I won't listen to you tell me I'm crazy. I won't listen to you call me names in the media. And I definitely won't let you tell me that I'll never put this album out and I'll never be able to reclaim my place in the music world again. He blesses those who tried to bring him down, but he also laments the fact that he had to lose those people, like his fans and former bandmates. He's saying "I found a way", like I've finally put together this album and gotten to this point after so many years, but why did it have to be this way? "Mired in denial and so afraid". Why did I have to lose everyone around me to get here? When he says "if we ever find it's true that we have the strength to choose, freed of all the chains, we held together", he seems to be actually opening up a window of reconciliation with his old bandmates. It's as if he's saying "Look, if the time ever comes where we can finally speak to eachother again, at least we can remember that back in the old days, we were a tight knit group." It's a sad song about a man alone, fighting against the odds. |
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| Guns N' Roses – If the World Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Seems to be very clearly aimed at Stephanie Seymour or some other past love. | |
| Guns N' Roses – I.R.S. Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This seems to be Axl's response to the media and public perception about him. "I bet you think I'm doing this all for my health", he's being very sarcastic. "Wouldn't even matter, the things that I say, you've made your mind up and gone anyway". Seems to be Axl railing against those fans who say it ain't GnR without Slash. He's saying it's useless giving his side of the story at this point, because the public perception of him is that he's a psycho, egomaniacal recluse. So he figures what's the point in trying to defend himself? The chorus seems to work against this, saying "Gonna call the president...", basically saying he's here now and he's ready to give his side of the story. After all, "there's not anymore that [he] can do". |
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| Guns N' Roses – Better Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Chinese Democracy seems to be split into two subject matters: 1. Erin Everly/Stephanie Seymour and the demise of those relationships. Half of this record is really a broken heart album, and I think this is what Axl intended it to be back in the early 90s before the original Gunners left him. 2. A response to Slash/His old bandmates/The media who doubt him. This song seems to fall in the "1" category. It's clearly about a broken relationship. Axl has said that he wants the songs on this album to be played to Stephanie Seymour's child so that the child could hear Axl's side of their breakup. It seems this song seems to be Axl, years later, trying to explain to Stephanie his position in the relationship: "I never wanted you to be so full of anger..." It seems to be about his desire to get over it. But he still, all these years later, can't get over it. It must be very haunting for a man who's seen his whole life come crumbling down for the past fifteen years. Indeed, he can't get over it: "this melody inside of me still searches for solution." And the album is the result of the inspiration from the break up: "A broken heart to provide the spark for my determination." |
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| The Killers – Goodnight, Travel Well Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I believe in Rolling Stone, Brandon described the song as being about the death of his parents. It's pretty obvious here. The first verse is clearly him standing above the grave, while in the rest of the song he observes the fact that life here on Earth is just flesh and bone, while the after life (that's GREAT beyond, not gray beyond) is so unknown (up above the world, so high). The saddest part of the song, besides the dramatic "Goodnight", is the part where he says "everything I do..." etc. It's what really hurts about losing someone: the memories they leave behind and how they stay in your head. |
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| The Killers – I Can't Stay Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think this song seems to be about Brandon and life on the road. He seems to want to come back home to his wife (a majesty) and his son (a little boy in her arms). But he's made his decision to make this band his lifestyle, and now he's making his way home from a tour. |
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