| Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy Lyrics | 8 months ago |
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As I've said so often before, the truest meaning of this song comes from listening to it under the influence of psychedelics. Zeppelin is a creature of the late 60's early 70's acid rock culture and many of the lyrics are metaphors for things that may not be apparent to the unstoned listener. Part of Zeppelin's mystique is their being kind of mysterious and mystical but with a tinge of true evil built in by Crowleyan magical beliefs of the bands mastermind: Jimmy Page. Many of Zeppelin's tunes are cool, happy, positive, etc. But there's a sadistic and mocking side of Zeppelin that's evidenced in some of their songs like Dazed and Confused, Celebration Day (IMHO), In My Time of Dying, Friends, Gallows Pole, Whole Lotta Love, Since I've been Loving You, No Quarter and even Stairway to Heaven where Robert sings of words having two meanings. Houses of the Holy as seen through the lens of of a tripping Zep fan who's aware of their dark side could interpret the song thusly: The first two lines are Robert saying "let's have some fun tripping". It's entertainment, partying, etc. "Let me take you to the show". Same vibe - lets have some tripping fun with Zep. "Let me be yours ever truly, can I make your garden grow? More of the same vibe like "trust us. we're zeppelin. We'll make your garden grow." Now anybody who's tripped know what Robert means whenever he says "growing". When you trip, everything seems to breathe or "grow" as you stare longer. The breathing/growing will typically get stronger and more extreme as your trip ascends towards peaking. Now here's where it starts to get dicey: "From the houses of the holy, we will watch the white doves go, from the door comes Satan's daughter, and it only goes to show, ya know." A white dove is the symbol of the holy spirit. Why would they flying from or away from the houses of the holy? Because the houses of the holy are really unholy as only Satan's daughter would come forth from such a dwelling. What does this "go to show"? It shows the Zeppelin is singing about or showing something that is unholy. Then we have Robert walking through your "garden" with an angel on his shoulder and a sword of gold in his hand sowing seeds of love. He's saying that his unholy way is right and that he's the master who will make your love "grow" - that is, make you trip harder and presumably more scared as you realize what Zep is up to. This"dove"tails nicely with the next lyrics about the world spinning and being dizzy when your stoned. Let Robert and Zep take over the trip and be your master of your unstable, scared trip. Satan (Zeppelin) is the master and man is the slave. Then Robert says they're ain't no use in crying, cuz it will only drive you mad. He's saying that yes, Zep is revealed as unholy master of the the houses of the holy and are subtly pushing you towards a bad trip and/or an uncomfortable unchristian reality. Yes they are! Once you realize this, "Does it hurt to hear them lying?" Does it hurt to see see Zeppelin as liars now purposefully unmasking themselves as agents of a different force? "Was this the only world you had or planned?" Zep is saying there is more than one reality and now they've shown a different, uncomfortable one to you. So they laugh and say HAHA you want me to wander in your garden and help make it grow now you stupid-ass? Listen to Robert's voice as he sings the last couple line of the song. It's in kind of a vicious scolding mode, saying you thought I was taking you to the movie metaphorically for fun but there's more than one reality, one with which you may be uncomfortable (i.e Zeppelin being agents of a sinister force). Short and sweet. A brilliant song nonetheless pulled off with style and subtlety per usual. Also look at the album cover and inside gatefold. Cover: See all the psychedelic kids (the flower children) ascending to some glowing peak. That's us - the fan. The inside cover shows some sinister guy offering up one of these flower children to some mysterious force emanating from the castle above. WTF is that? Certainly not all rainbows and cupcakes. All will be revealed. Are these the non-sensical ravings of a lunatic mind afflicted by the general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament? Could be. But should you ever find yourself tripping, take a listen and report back. My mind is certainly bent towards mysterious, sinister interpretations of Zeppelin - probably too much so I'm easily suggestible. Jimmy knows this and that's why he's my overlord. If you're really brave, take two hits of acid and listen to the violin bow solo in the middle of the live version of Dazed and Confused on The Song Remains the Same album. Or better still find it on youtube and play the violin bow solo at 25% or 50% speed. That's kind of what it sounds like on acid. |
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| Black Sabbath – Too Late Lyrics | 8 months ago |
| Yes. It's too late to save his soul and he's damned. "GET READY FOR JUDGEMENT DAY!" as the guitar mimic's a scream. The end of the song fades out with the guitar also mimicking vain cries for help as the damned soul plunges to hell. The person who made the deal originally benefitted from the occult power granted to him by making the deal. "To wish and make it so" means the power he/she has to literally wish things and make them come true via magic(k). They feel this power growing stronger in the early days of the deal but ultimately it all fades (the spell is gone) and this time they're the fool (a reference to the tarot). The magic one referenced in the lyrics is presumably the devil who has granted this damned soul magical powers but the price is being chained to the flame (flame being a metaphor the devil) forever. But in reality it never too late to reach out your hand to Christ and offer him your true repentance. The greater the sin, the more glorious the saving. Now go turn up the volume to 11 (eleven being a magical number supposedly) and rock out. | |
| Led Zeppelin – Bron-Yr-Aur Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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Imagine walking along a small flowing river deep in the woods on a warm summer day. The river empties into a large blue lake as you sit on some nearby rocks admiring the rolling vistas of water, trees, hills and mountains far off. Feeling rested, safe and secure, you ponder the wonder of nature and briefly doze-off.... That's what this song is about. |
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| Black Sabbath – Changes Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| The title is a double-entendre. Ozzy is singing about two simultaneous changes in his life: 1. He's going through a breakup with his longtime girlfriend/wife. That's obviously a big, painful change for him. Change # 2 is the psychedelic change that's occurring to him as he's tripping balls and thinking about the breakup. This aspect of "changes" is the drug-induced hallucinations that cause the world around him to "change". That's why the song has an eerie feel and the refrain has a magnified double-tracked vocal. It accentuates the psychedelic effect to the drugged listener. | |
| Led Zeppelin – Celebration Day Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| This song has nothing to do with politics. It's about Zeppelin making fun of people who took too much acid and are freaking out, Don't you sense a kind of sarcastic, almost sadistic tone to Robert's voice? Remember, Zeppelin III opens with the Immigrant Song and declares "We are your overlords". Listen to the another song on Zeppelin III - "Friends". Does that sound happy? Friends is about someone tripping too hard and in need of a friend. "SInce I've been lovin' you" includes the lines: I'm about to lose my worried mind". "That's the way". What does Plant mean when he says "That's the way it ought to be"? What "ought" to be? Really, the only non-doomish, worry inducing songs on the album are Tangerine and Bron-yr-aur Stomp. I love Zeppelin III anyway because I accepted Zeppelin and Jimmy Page as my overlords and got used to being kicked in the teeth by them every now and again. | |
| Led Zeppelin – Celebration Day Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Don't forget the era Zeppelin was in - late 60's to mid 70's. This song must be seen through the lens of an acid trip - a bad one in this case, and how the girl in the song is on the verge of freaking out while listening to music and/or at a concert. Plant describes her emotions as she's trying to hide the fact of her impending freakout ("losing it") and the confusion resulting from her perception of the band (Led Zeppelin) as essentially laughing at her plight as she tries to reconcile their peace/love/rock n roll outer vibe with a rapacious "fuck you" you took too much acid haha hidden vibe that becomes more apparent while tripping. In fact, the whole song is Zeppelin laughing at those who are freaking out and being sarcastic about joinging the band, when that's the last thing the freaker needs. Robert knows she's headed to nowhere, | |
| U2 – With or Without You Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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No. No. No. You guys (and gals) got it all wrong. You have totally misunderstood Bono. Bono is a very religious person - specifically Christian. Many, many U2 songs are sprinkled with or are about the relationship of man to God. In With or Without You, the singer of the song (symbolically of course) is Jesus. What Jesus is saying is that he is so disappointed in your sins that he can't live with you but loves you so much that he also cannot live without you. "See the stone set in your eyes" is a reference to drugs and partying and how it keeps you away from Christ. The continued use of drugs/partying, and by extension - sex, is the "thorn sticking in your side". Doesn't matter. Christ will wait for you. "Sleight of hand and twist of fate" is a reference to sexual immorality and how the "sleight of hand" represents the little games people play to get each other to sleep with each other, when these relationships are ultimately unsatisfying (like drugs). "Twist of fate" refers to the sometimes unintended consequences of these immoral hookups - like being with a girl just because the sex is good and not really caring about her welfare. You have, in effect consigned yourself to a fate (the twist) that is ungodly and not the fate God/Jesus wants for you. So "on a bed of nails she makes me wait". The bed refers back to the sexual immorality and how the sex/hookups/etc. are really no more than a "bed of nails" (allusion to the Christ on the cross/crown of thorns) - a torture in effect, that "she" (you and me) makes Jesus/Us go through as we await salvation. "And i wait without You" - Christ is saying that as you do drugs, party, act immoral etc., he waits for your salvation - without you. So, it's a song of hope and sadness - two opposites - like with and without. The hope is that you make it "through the storm" with every last fiber of your being loving Jesus and suffering anything to get to him - although as human (imperfect) Jesus always wants more because he is perfect. So it's a struggle. "You give yourself away". You constantly fall and sin and "give away" that good things of yourself to immorality and evil. You just keep doing it even though it's bad. "My hands are tied, my body's bruised" refers to the torture Jesus endured and how we, in effect, torture him with our immoral behavior. But as humans, we have free will, so Jesus can't "force" us to do good - his hands are tied. "She got me with nothing to give and nothing left to lose" is the Bono voice reapperaing and saying sadly that "she" - not a real person, but a representation of evil and the seductive nature of it - has gotten him to give up and/or use up the good things of his life - innocence, purity, calm, peace - such that he no longer has any of these and consequently has nothing left to lose...and you give yourself away. Bono is a profound thinker and has many religious/Christian references in the songs. He uses double entendres alot. In effect, Bono is a Christian evangelist in the rock and roll world. I love U2 and urge you to see his lyrics through that prism. He doesn;t just sing about guy/girl relationships. That's far too facile for Paul Hewson. I know this sounds all crazy religious, but I really think this is closer to the truth of the song... |
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