| Elliott Smith – Christian Brothers Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Not a mistake, but the version printed in the lyric booklet. Both are correct. | |
| Elliott Smith – No Name #3 Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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It’s worth noting that ’night’ is likely a symbol for death. The character is tired and wants to welcome the night. The ’dying day’ is blushing, embarrassed with itself, before retreating into the night, as is the narrator. As for the old-fashioned fight and a potential link to the arguments of Elliott’s mother and stepdad, check the two meanings of ’illegitimate’. |
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| Elliott Smith – Alameda Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Like the rest of this album, Alameda is at its heart a self-aware acknowledgment of the introspective alienation induced by heroin addiction. To take the first verse and chorus: “You walk down alameda shuffling your deck of trick cards over everyone” The simple explanation is that the character maintains a day-to-day existence of tricking everyone into thinking they’re OK. It’s an inclination shared by addicts and the genuinely depressed: to be discreet, avoiding attracting attention to oneself. As with card tricks, however, everyone knows, deep down, that what they’re seeing is fake. “Like some precious only son Face down, bow to the champion” I like Khalsey’s link to Abraham and his only son Isaac, who was sacrificed to God, or in this case heroin, the junkie’s God. But even if it’s not that complex, the phrase ’precious only son’ (try googling in quote marks) generally refers either to somebody who has passed away or the offspring of a concerned parent. A vulnerable person, basically. The second line paints this person’s drug-induced physical state - collapsed, face-down - as an act of worship to the drug itself, aka ‘the champion’. Smart, funny, lines like this are the reason Either/Or is considered the best album. “You walk down Alameda looking at the cracks in the sidewalk Thinking about your friends” Owing to drugs’ reliable ability to make things of passing interest immensely fascinating, the cracks in the sidewalk occupy the character’s attention. But the cracks (and drugs) elucidate something more profound, too: like the character’s friends, the pavement has been walked over so many times that, although it is a powerful, concrete structure, cracks are forming. It takes a lot of walking to make pavements crack. “How you maintain all them in a constant state of suspense For your own protection over their affection” The junkie needs his friends’ protection more than their affection, leading to their constant state of suspense concerning his wellbeing. “Nobody broke your heart You broke your own because you can't finish what you start” This kind of observation is what makes Elliott Smith a likable, rather than self-pitying, drug addict. The character acknowledges that, should his friends leave him behind, it’s his own fault for not being able to finish (give up) what he started (heroin) - a sense of perspective not associated with most users. The song was largely a mystery to me before reading these comments, but the above interpretation seems watertight. JM. |
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| Elliott Smith – Rose Parade Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Nice idea, but the song was written at least a year before his Oscars appearance. | |
| Elliott Smith – Between the Bars Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| That might read a bit odd, was originally a reply to somebody else. Will just add that anywhere I referred to the narrator as *he*, I'm not ruling out that it is some personification of alcohol or alcoholism or a facet of an alcoholic's personality. Just that to me, I prefer to interpret it as a human relationship, being one of these non-alcoholics. Also, a couple of lines prove that the narrator is too human just to be *alcohol* per se (can't find accent), so it would have to represent some kind of human *under alcohol's influence* if alcohol mentioned is actually a major part of the story. | |
| Elliott Smith – Between the Bars Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Between the Bars is about control in relationships (the most recurrent theme in his music? Certainly a key element), and is dominated by the evil male figure who narrates. This character keeps coming up in Elliott Smith's music - the last verse of Angeles, for example - making impossible promises of curing depression, fulfilling lofty ambitions and fixing inherent personal flaws. (Are you suggesting that the song is *narrated* by the alcoholic in Smith, and addresses *himself*?) In Between the Bars, the character addressed by the narrator shows signs of all these things - for example, one personal flaw would be lack of trust, demonstrated in the line '... with your hands in the air/Waiting to finally be caught' - and as well as making as if he can fix these problems, the narrator tries to cage this character in their own self-doubt. He puts them down ('the things you could do - you won't, but you might', 'the potential you'll be that you'll never see') and controls them ('Drink up with me now' said as a command, 'Do as I say' etc.). In the chorus we get that sly promise of salvation that makes the narrator so repulsive: 'They twist, shove and won't bend to your will - *I'll keep them still*'. Not much more I want to say about that, but the last verse I think emphasises everything I suggested above: 'Drink up one more time And I'll make you mine Keep you apart Deep in my heart Separate from the rest Where *I* like *you* the best (selfish) And keep the things you forgot' Awful last line. Brilliant, shocks the listener into getting the point, but y'know, you've got to be pretty awful to willfully perpetuate someone's innermost fears. Great song, anyway. Sorry if I've been labouring what you might consider an obvious point. |
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| Elliott Smith – Christian Brothers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Yeah, 'wrong' was a bit inflammatory, fighting fire with fire and all that, apologies... Well to me, Between the Bars is about control in relationships (the most recurrent theme in his music? Certainly a key element), and is dominated by the evil male figure who narrates. This character keeps coming up in Elliott Smith's music - the last verse of Angeles, for example - making impossible promises of curing depression, fulfilling lofty ambitions and fixing inherent personal flaws. (Are you suggesting that the song is *narrated* by the alcoholic in Smith, and addresses *himself*?) In Between the Bars, the character addressed by the narrator shows signs of all these things - for example, one personal flaw would be lack of trust, demonstrated in the line '... with your hands in the air/Waiting to finally be caught' - and as well as making as if he can fix these problems, the narrator tries to cage this character in their own self-doubt. He puts them down ('the things you could do - you won't, but you might', 'the potential you'll be that you'll never see') and controls them ('Drink up with me now' said as a command, 'Do as I say' etc.). In the chorus we get that sly promise of salvation that makes the narrator so repulsive: 'They twist, shove and won't bend to your will - *I'll keep them still*'. Not much more I want to say about that, but the last verse I think emphasises everything I suggested above: 'Drink up one more time And I'll make you mine Keep you apart Deep in my heart Separate from the rest Where *I* like *you* the best (selfish) And keep the things you forgot' Awful last line. Brilliant, shocks the listener into getting the point, but y'know, you've got to be pretty awful to willfully perpetuate someone's innermost fears. Great song, anyway. I'll post this under Between the Bars too, even if I have been labouring what you might consider an obvious point. As far as your last comment goes, regardless of how you think it should be written, it's a bit unfair to lay into someone for recording the 'wrong' lyrics, when these are in fact the way the lyrics were recorded by the artist, in the booklet for the album in which they appeared. You might as well be arguing with Elliott Smith himself. |
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| Elliott Smith – Christian Brothers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Hey How did you come to the conclusion that Between the Bars is about alcohol? You've watered down a perceptive, rich story to an empty, pitiful, far less interesting one. It is bad to spread wrong with an angry tone. This is the internet! As for the lyrics to this song, see my reply to SweetAddy627 above. The lyric booklet says one thing, the song says another. Ergo, both are correct. |
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| Elliott Smith – Christian Brothers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Correct, but the lyric booklet states otherwise. I guess the *perfect* meaning did not fit the melody, so now we have both possibilities to draw on. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Monkey & Bear Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Great stuff. Glad you did this so I don't have to. I think this is Joanna Newsom's clearest song in terms of its meaning, although it's still quite open to interpretation. The monkey is made out to be quite underhanded and sly - and is obviously the antagonist here. But there's no indication that the bear would be better off for escaping. When the bear finally does venture into the caves, she ends up drowning, 'lowered in a genteel curtsey' (still a slave to her domestication). There are no assumptions made about the nature of control here, just observations. I think she's quite careful not to put any obvious political slant on this. Yes, the bear dies. But was she better off experiencing this freedom and *then* dying in the wild, than she would have been had she lived a longer but less fulfilled life under control, ie. in the farm/dancing for the monkey? Brilliant song. Always entertaining. Well worth a sit down with the lyric booklet. |
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| Mclusky – Alan Is A Cowboy Killer Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Throwing it out there, perhaps the sexually abused child in the song is the son of the abuser. This song vaguely reminds me of Polly by Nirvana in that it seems quite vague but has a striking story buried within. |
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| Mclusky – Alan Is A Cowboy Killer Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Interesting. A possible play on the word 'fag' (derogatory term referring to homosexuals), which suggests the child in the song is a boy. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Sorry, I might have misunderstood what you meant... are you saying you 'know' that the song is about "a girl who couldn't blow to get them going"? If so that's a bit silly, especially as you seem to acknowledge that it doesn't specify what's being talked about and that it's written to be interpretated in different ways. There's fuckloads of things this could be about. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Sorry, I might have misunderstood what you meant... are you saying you 'know' that the song is about "a girl who couldn't blow to get them going"? If so that's a bit silly, especially as you seem to acknowledge that it doesn't specify what's being talked about and that it's written to be interpretated in different ways. There's fuckloads of things this could be about. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Sorry, don't know why it's up there twice | |
| Arctic Monkeys – The Jeweller's Hands Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Funniest thing I'e heard all day. 10/10 | |
| Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Everyone seems to assume he's singing about his own experiences. Remember he's a songwriter, not a diarist. I assumed propeller was a metaphor for being down and needing someone/something to bring you up, like when you feel as if there's only one person/thing who can make you happy. It seems to be about obsession, like a lot of AM songs. Alex Turner makes it universal by not specifying whether it's a friend, partner, drug, or whatever that's capable of making him happier. I'm not denying the sexual connotations, just saying it could be about a lot of things, but yeah, I think the gist of the propeller being whatever brings you up (as in being happier) is pretty straightforward. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Messing with smoke alarm=making him think it's his ex-girlfriend. It's just a metaphor. He's saying an alarm went off in his head when he saw someone who looks like his ex. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Messing with smoke alarm=making him think it's his ex-girlfriend. It's just a metaphor. He's saying an alarm went off in his head when he saw someone who looks like his ex. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Therefore taking advantage of the sister and upsetting the ex just to feel a little better about himself. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Also, I love the ’messing with a smoke alarm’ line. There’s excellent songwriting right across this album. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – Cornerstone Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is what I got from it: He misses this girl and sees her face everywhere. We feel sorry for him up to a point, but... It doesn’t actually mention a taxi, he’s just getting a lift from a friend when he recognises his ex’s ’scent on the seatbelt’. He assumes the worst, but instead of confronting his friend (’kept shortcuts to myself’, double meaning) he gets revenge on the girl by seeking out and having his way with her sister. |
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| Madvillain – Accordian Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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"Slip like Freudian, your first and last step to playin' yourself like an accordion." Sigmund Freud believed that dreams and 'Freudian slips' (accidently letting something slip which isn't related to what's going on) reveal something about your innermost desires and repressed thoughts. MF DOOM's telling us to analyse these things; to learn something important about ourselves from them. So you'll be 'playin' yourself like an accordion', which involves a sort of smooth flow in its playing technique. I get the impression the whole song might've been written around this line. |
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| Les Savy Fav – Reformat Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| But is the murder careless or the crew's only hope of survival which failed, leading to an unfair death penalty being handed out. | |
| Los Campesinos! – Miserabilia Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Aha, apologies. I never thought I would be one of those twats who posts snide comments on forums without doing their research. | |
| The Dresden Dolls – Coin-Operated Boy Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| You are clearly a bit of a cunt. This site is ABOUT being able to form disparate opinions on one set of lyrics, that is one of the most beautiful things about music. I think Nikkie has a far better understanding of this song than you do. | |
| Los Campesinos! – Miserabilia Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"I've cried on ashen floors of working men's clubs 96, 98, 2000, 2002, 2004 Oh my god, will it end?" england defeats in major football tournaments!" A Welsh England supporter? Seems unlikely. A lot of these lyrics don't exactly seem to pertain to the others, but it's brilliant nonetheless; sacrificing clarity for a nice rhyme/play on words is usually worthwhile in my opinion. |
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| Los Campesinos! – Miserabilia Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"I've cried on ashen floors of working men's clubs 96, 98, 2000, 2002, 2004 Oh my god, will it end?" england defeats in major football tournaments!" A Welsh England supporter? Seems unlikely. A lot of these lyrics don't exactly seem to pertain to the others, but it's brilliant nonetheless; sacrificing clarity for a nice rhyme/play on words is usually worthwhile in my opinion. |
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| The Spinto Band – Oh Mandy Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| *unlikely | |
| The Spinto Band – Oh Mandy Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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First and foremost, anamberz, there is no need to be quite so self-satisfied, you ought to think about growing up, unless you are under the age of 15 in which case I apologise, your pomposity is forgivable. Many artists try to write lyrics which are open to interpretation. Many would argue that the point of music is for the listener to take their own meaning from a song so that it satisfies whatever they are looking for from it. As well as this, the fact that the band said the song is about a mandolin doesn't necessarily make it true. I know that lots of bands say that a certain song is about something different in different interviews. This may be their idea of a joke, or merely to emphasise the different ways in which the song could be perceived. As I mentioned, even if it is about a mandolin, nobody "looked way too into this stuff". Especially on a site dedicated to discussing song lyrics, I think it is to be expected that not everyone will have researched the origins of the song's lyrics. I think that would maybe be missing the point. Finally, to throw in my two pence or whatever the phrase is, it occured to me when listening to the song recently that this could be about mood enhancing drug MDMA, commonly fondly referred to as Mandy. The song is thick with what could be references to it which I recognise from other songs known to be about drugs. For example: "I tried to chase things I couldn't get", "So dreamy, so killing, oh Mandy" "And now I know I'm at the end of my wits, Don't gotta tell me where this is going" "You’re eating brains out the back of my head, Oh yeah, that's where the money is" "Oh Mandy's completely out of reach". And based on their live performance it wouldn't surprise me if they were familiar with the qualities of MDMA. Unlike, but another posibility. |
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