submissions
| The Rolling Stones – Monkey Man Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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The term 'monkey man' is a term that old black bluesmen used in the 1920's and 30's to describe a homosexual black man. If someone asked 'Does he have a girlfriend ?" the reply might be "No, he's a Monkey Man". |
submissions
| Paul McCartney – Another Day Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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An interesting side-note in this song is his reference to 'As she posts another letter to the sound of five'. I investigated and found that 'The Sound of 5 a.m." was an instrumental pop hit which was played on the English radio stations in the late 40's and early 50's. McCartney mentions it because it always seemed to be on the radio his mother was listening to while working around the house. |
submissions
| The Who – Drowned Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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Actually, the song is about a man immersing himself in his love of God. I suppose it can also be interpreted as a man immersing himiself in his love for his woman. Here is the exlplanation from Pete himself, from the liner notes of Quadrophenia:
"This song, included in Quadrophenia, should actually stand alone. I think in a sense it does. When the tragic hero of Q sings it, it is desperate and nihilistic. In fact, it's a love song, God's love being the ocean and our 'selves' being the drops of water that make it up. Meher Baba said, 'I am the Ocean of Love.' I want to drown in that ocean, the 'drop' will then be an ocean itself. Anyway a tale - when recording this song it rained so hard in Battersea where our studio is that the walls were flowing with sheets of water. Chris Stainton played piano in a booth and when the take was finished he opened the door and about 500 gallons gushed out! Another glorious coincidence. The take on the album is the one." |
submissions
| The Beatles – She's Leaving Home Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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Wow. Wow. You guys are REALLY looking into this a bit too far. You are seeing stuff that is not there. A 'man from the motor trade' is an English term for....a mechanic. Yep, that's it. No hidden meaning, no trickery. "Something inside that was always denied" is not about abortion. The addition of "for so many years" should make that clear. In a nutshell, she is a young girl who has fallen in love, and wants to leave home to be with her beau. She has to run away to do that. Wikipedia the song name, you'll get the idea. |
submissions
| Rod Stewart – I Was Only Joking Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Excellent comments. I can only add that the line 'illusions of that grand first prize are slowly wearing thin' seem to be his admission that his inability to give love is what will keep him from the altar - it's about marriage and how he knows it will escape him. Some of the best lyrics I have ever
read. |
submissions
| The Rolling Stones – Sad Sad Sad Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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When I saw the Stones in 1989, this was the song they did to start the show. Sounded real nice and it was a treat to see Mick playing the guitar live, as I had not seen that before. |
submissions
| The Rolling Stones – Backstreet Girl Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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A good example (along with Under My Thumb) about how the Stones have the balls to write a song about a subject that is not very popular. They are not going to get any pats on the back for doing this song, but they don't care. The kick is that they make it a very easy song to listen to. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Highway Patrolman Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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A lot of songwriters use places and things that don't exist in their lyrics. Dylan wrote about 'the foggy ruins of time'. I'm never seen the foggy ruins of time, nor a picture of it, but I know exactly what it looks like because of the way the song is sung. Just like I can picture Michigan County and 1 car chasing another. They never existed, but you can see them in your mind plain as day. Choosing exact places and times might have been more accurate, but would not demand the use of the listener's imagination. P.S. loved your comments, msgelter. |
submissions
| The Moody Blues – Legend Of A Mind Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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The 'astral plane' part of this song fits in well with the references to Timothy Leary and the whole LSD thing. The Astral Plane was actually a plane that you could ride in. A man advertised for it in San Fransisco bay. For $10, he would 'take you up' for a trip around the bay, descibing various places of interest - sort of like a bus tour guide, but in a small plane. He would, then, of course, 'bring you down' and 'plant your feet back firmly on the ground'. (Part of the $10 fee was bringing you back to your point of origin). The Moody Blues mix this story with the Timothy Leary idea beautifully, making Leary the pilot. Brilliant. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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You are absolutely on the money. I can only add a few facts for those interested; Charlie killed a gas station attendant in 1958 in Lincoln. From there, he met Carol, who convinced Charlie to kill her 2 parents and her little brother. From there, they killed 6 more people over 13 months, until they were both caught in Wyoming. He got the death penalty (and was executed) and she got 30 to life. She was released in 1993.
This song is so intense because of the way Springsteen uses the lyrics to put you into Charlie's head ("Well, sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world") and paint a picture of how dark and serious the execution is ("midnight in a prison store room with leather straps across my chest"). Haunting, but I think that was Bruce's goal. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Local Hero Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Bruce explained the meaning of the first paragraph when he appeared on MTV's 'Unplugged'. Not sure what the rest of the song is about, but he gave a detailed explanation of the first paragraph. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Local Hero Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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The first stanza is about Bruce and Patti driving around a remote New Jersey town. just killing time, as the song says. Bruce spotted a 'Velvet Bruce' (like a Velvet Elvis, but Bruce) in the window of a small store. It was between 2 other velvet pictures, one of a Doberman and one of Bruce Lee. Bruce asked Patti to go in and buy the artwork, since he did not want to be recognized. While making small talk with the salesperson, she asked her who it was on the velvet. The girl replied "just a local hero, he used to live here for a while". Kind of a reference one makes when they are in a hurry, just trying to get you to pay for the object and get you out of the store. Patti laughed hysterically when retelling the story to Bruce a few moments later, as did Bruce. And now the Springsteen's have a Velvet Bruce hanging on the wall in their home. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – Cautious Man Lyrics
| 15 years ago
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The meaning of this song can be best summed up by reciting 2 very well-know rules of how one goes about life: (1) Don't sweat the small stuff and (2) It's all small stuff.
This song is about a guy who worries too much. "When he got there he didn't find nothing but road" is the perfect way to summarize it. All those worries he had in his head came to the fore, and when he tried to find the source of all the things he could not understand, he went somewhere that was familiar to him to find the answer -
the road. There, he found nothing, because there was nothing to begin with.
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