| The Beatles – Can't Buy Me Love Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think it's very straightforward but that doesn't mean it's so simple. I see some humor and sarcasm in it that makes this type of "all you need is love" kind of song much more interesting. Isn't it curious, that he says "I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel all right I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel all right" "I'LL GIVE YOU ALL I'VE GOT TO GIVE IF YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME TOO I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you" Isn't he trying to buy some love, even unconsciously?? Come on, he doesn't really get it!! That's funny, but the point stays the same =) "Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so" See? He's trying to be politically correct, but he misses the point with all the presents he's offering to his lover. In the end, after offering all this, he goes to say "Say you don't need no diamond ring and I'll be satisfied Tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can't buy" That's better! Even for someone who says he doesn't care about money, that he would give it all away, it's better if he doesn't even need to. In the end, he gets it, after some confusion. The point is still there, but you some confusion wich makes it funnier and more realistic =) |
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| Depeche Mode – Fly On The Windscreen Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I agree with mpc996 Being obsessed with death and wanting to make the most of life right now. And like laurelinwyntre said, well, then it's probably a homage to Genesis, right? " 'Fly on a Windshield' is a song by Genesis. It is the second track from their 1974 concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." The fly and the lamb together again - definitely a reference. Is anybody here familiar with Aeon Flux (the animation) soundtrack? When he goes "come here, touch me, kiss me, now", there's this very industrial metallic sound that reminds me a lot of the metal pipes futuristic spy music from Aeon Flux. I really like it. |
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| Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Another thing, what do you make of these lines? "Mother reads the note again Sixteen candles burn in her mind She takes the blame" I think that's the mother reading the suicide letter and realizing she hadn't helped her daughter find happiness, as if the 16 years (birthday candles) were wasted, and takes the blame. But i'm not sure... |
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| Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumours Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Anyone can interpret the music the way they want, but it's still puzzling how some people can find a pro-religion meaning in ANY song, even in those that are clearly against people who take religion too seriously. Even when the guy sings "God's got a sick sense of humor" and says that's blasphemy... I wouldn't say that's the first DM song about religion, like someone said. Another nice one to check here in SongMeanings is Told You So, it's also got a take on religion. The songs tend to be pretty straightforward and sarcastic on that. I think it's about the same thing the famous writer Harlan Ellison said about god ("Harlan Ellison on God" on YouTube). I think it has everything to do with this song. "The universe for one day gives you the lottery for 16 million dollars, and the next day calls a cancer". I don't get these lyrics - as well as those from "Told You So" - as being anti-religious, rather than against people who take religion to seriously and too literally, in a silly way. If something good happens: god did it, thanks. If something bad happens: god did it, you deserved it. And if something you would never deserve happens: god did it for some reason we don't know, his ways are higher than yours... "It's always the same She goes down on her knees And prays" And going back to Harlan Ellison, he says that he finds ridiculous when a football player thanks god for a touchdown, because that would mean god was against everyone in the other team and had nothing better to do than beat the crap out of a bunch of poor football players - I think the song is about that kind of short sight. God is not making things happen, neither preventing them from happening. He goes "I don't mind people sending messages to god, what i mind is when god answers them. (...) I think it's presumptuous, i think it's silly, because it makes you believe that you are less than what you can be... as long as you can blame everything on some unseen deity, you don't ever have to be responsible for your own behavior." That wraps it up for me. |
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| Depeche Mode – Told You So Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I agree with you guys. It could be about many things, but i think they make it kind of clear about religion. It sounds pretty straightforward, the use of "brothers" and "sisters", "higher than the tall church spire"..I even thought "it's too obvious to be it", but in the end, yeah, i think it's criticizing religion in the way people take it - I love straightforward lyrics for a change. I think it's mainly about two things: First: how religion has been forever derived from its basic premises and used for the sake of war and oppression, with an especial note to "modern times". "Something went wrong Along the way" And second: how prophecies can be made to fit present events in such a blind way that if we had an apocalypse from a nuclear war influenced by religion, they would say "that's how it should be, it's all written" "Everybody's waiting for Judgment day" Then there's a joke about waiting for these prophecies in "Waiting and waiting For an overdue sign". It's all very sarcastic. I can't help but think about those old weirdoes wearing "The end is near - this time is for good" signs. "Playing Chinese whispers" (which is that whispering game also called "telephone") is another nice joke about how religious teachings, as they're passed through generations, get more and more distorted to fit their times and the ambitions of the people. That includes forgetting about compassion and other things that wouldn't fit your lifestyle.. "If things aren't suited..Then they'll get diluted" And the line "Sights set higher than the tall church spire", to me is about the singer using the music as the "gun of itching desire", which he will finally fire, taller than any church and say what he thinks. And the music extremely nice, can't stop listening to it. |
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| Jethro Tull – Aqualung Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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tullfan, I think you started great, but I don't agree with the rest. About the back cover, that's really interesting, but I don't think it's about the good-and-evil in man... that sounds just too shallow a view for a guy like Anderson.. for what i've seen from his other lyrics, he would rather be talking about the WRONG IMPRESSION of the evil in the bum... Like the music, the front cover starts by giving you the wrong impression, it's PLAYING with you, until you get to all the empathic part, not only in the lyrics, but musically AND graphically - the back cover!! And only THEN you get the full picture - that's very Ian Anderson, all against the prejudices society teaches us since we're born, all about "Hey, think again!".. that's how I see it. The part about the little girls having the "bad intent", instead of Aqualung himself, that's very appealing, but I would need to check the meaning of the other songs of the album first, in order to draw any conclusion... but it's a nice tought, though. |
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| Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick (Parts 1 & 2) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I think this song could be the anthem for Jethro Tull and Ian's view of the world, for it is about his concern with conformity, something i've seen he talking about numerous times in interviews. He talks about children being labled by their parents religion. The progRock and conceptAlbum labels as well, of course. I remember him saying he chose the flute mainly because it was different, and that he likes to use different words, and even a different accent while singing, as you can notice, etc... it's all about non conformity, being yourself. You can se him talking this stuff on interviews on Youtube easily. This music and album being about this, it was the biggest irony ever when many people regarded it as the best concept prog rock album of all time. And I must say, not only this is one of the best music ever, you guys did a hell of an interpretation, I can't add a thing... inpraiseoffolly and murphymurphy, I'm with you.. and gstormcrow's quote from Anderson's interview just wraps it all up for me.. unlike Yes lyrics (like Close to the Edge), Tull's lyrics had much to say, although not being "clear-cut" and inviting people to think for themselves. Like he says about Beethoven, you can make your own meaning, but that does not mean he wasn't thinking of one when he wrote it! But this whole thing can get very messy, I recommend you check Close to the Edge by Yes, here in songmeanings, if you like the music.. that for sure is a hell lot less clear, but nontheless people make a lot of interpretations upon it. |
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| Yes – Close to the Edge Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Here is a point of view to end up the Deep-Meaning VS Total-Nonsense: BOTH of the explanations are true, we should take both in consideration. And here is why: Some you sugested that Yes lyrics often doesn't really mean much and are chosen primarily for the sound of the words. Indeed, the confirmation to this is here: Jon Anderson himself talking about how he does lyrics, it's a vÃdeo you can see in Youtube, called "Timeshift - Prog Rock: Yes (2004)", you can search for this video title there or just take this direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChXBXdgYudg He talks about writing "in reverse", first choosing words for their sounds, and only then trying to come up with a meaning. And when he can find a meaning, he knows other people will be able to find their own. That's very interesting song writing! Weird, but i have to admit it, it's nice! In the video they talk about the lyrics moving "from the surreal to the absurd". But it's not completely without meaning, see below. To back the other side of the discussion, acording to Wikipedia, "In a May 27, 1996 interview with Elizabeth Gips on her show 'Changes' (KKUP, Cupertino, CA), transcribed in the 'Notes From the Edge' fanzine (issue #0159, August 23, 1996) [if you wanna check it out personally, here it is http://nfte.org/ search for the issue 159], Jon Anderson mentions, probably not for the first time, that the song – indeed, the whole album – is inspired by Hermann Hesse's book Siddhartha. '[We] did one album called Close to the Edge. [It] was based on the Siddhartha... You always come back down to the river. [You] know, all the rivers come to the same ocean. That was the basic idea. And so we made a really beautiful album[....]' This explanation can cast the cryptic and mysterious lyrics in a new light, tracking the awakening of Hesse's character "close to the edge" of a river (and, symbolically, of the serial lifetimes of his soul) where he experiences a spiritual awakening. According to that point of view, the lyrics are about how people can seek spiritual illumination, and find a new state of mind, living a whole life. In addition, Anderson was also concerned about how the words sounded, sometimes more than what they meant, creating, thus, verses that often don't seem to mean anything, such as 'The time between the notes relates the colour to the scenes'." Here is another part i took from the fanzine that wasn't in Wikipedia, Jon talking: "You know, I was always into that idea of having fun in life and stuff. But the mystery of life was the one thing that intrigued me. So I wanted to really, lyrically, delve into that mystery. So I started reading Hermann Hesse, you know, "Journey To The East," "Siddhartha." This was like another door that swung open." I think all of this clears everything up smoothly =) Yes, the lyrics have SOME meaning. It's probably based on Hermann Hesse, or even just inspired by his works (more than once he wrote about self-discovering, something deep that would appeal to prog rock). Although that's arguable, as Jon may have decided to attribute the meaning to Siddartha later on, but may not have thought about it when he wrote the song. I think everything counts. Let's take all of this in consideration and just not overinterpretate. And as a conclusion: SongMeaningGuy's interpretation is very nice and i like the way it goes, the self-discovering and the Siddartha concept, but some of the lyrics are really just good sounding and MEANT to be very opened to any personal interpretation. On the other hand, i find that Bpoag's interpretation is the complete opposite of what Siddartha is about. He says "Those who haven't yet acknowledged God aren't evil, but more like infants, still attached to the 'bible' of individual pursuit, and lack of internal fulfillment that only comes with acknowledging a greater power than yourself." And Siddartha - as you can quickly read in Wikipedia - is about a man who is seeking enlightment and when he finally meets the Buddha, he decides NOT to follow him, but to follow his own path in life, the "individual pursuit". From Wiki: "for words and teachings may describe the truth but are not the Truth itself; being concepts, they trap you, since enlightenment means release from concepts." And doesn't that remind you of the very lyrics of Yes???? That's just awesome. Yout can't teach the truth, you can only sugest it, and hope people will somehow take a grasp of it by their own means and points of view. Within this concept, i find the lyrics (and the very style of lyric writing) amazing and truly inspiring! And even more when coupled with that truly incredible music. Cheers =) |
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