| Bad Religion – Turn on the Light Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
i think the song is about faith, christianity, sacrifice, and death. i had a friend who kept a candle in his pocket he used to touch it when the wind was blowing high i guess it made him feel like he could buck the system and when it flickered out we laid him down to die. "I had a friend who kept a candle in his pocket" to me, this seems like the author is beginning with a quick metaphor and image of the candle to allude to the candles lit in a church when people pray for something in particular. catholic church along with many others, recognize a small monetary donation and the lighting of a candle for a special prayer... kinda like a Jesus-wishing-well. "He used to touch it when the wind was blowing high" kinda illustrates my point. People pray and light candles when they are in rough times "wind blowing high". "I guess it made him feel like he could buck the system" is doubting the friend. The system is nature and the laws of physics... which-of course-care none for the wishes and prayers of man. "and when it flickered out we laid him down to die." the friend died... unsurprisingly to the world, but perhaps unsuspectingly of the friend... after all, he lit the damned candle right? turn on the light turn on a million blinding brilliant white incendiary lights a beacon in the night i'll burn relentlessly until my juice runs dry The chorus is the theme of the song. "Pray Pray Pray... when you don't understand something, don't worry and god will figure it out. Just have faith"... blind, dumb faith. Hell, you can pray that you are immortal... and when you finally die, it must've been because you just didnt have enough faith. i'll construct a rack of tempered beams and trusses and equip it with a million tiny suns i'll install upon the room of my compartment and place tinfoil on my floor and on my walls "i'll construct a rack of tempered beams and trusses" kinda saying something about faith again and how it must be super strong for these prayer jesus-wishing-wells to work. "and equip it with a million tiny suns" a million powerful prayers, candles, hope, faith "i'll install upon the room of my compartment" pretty self explanatory up to this part, if you have bothered to catch the overall theme. "and place tinfoil on my floor and on my walls." reflective coating for the entire room, so the candles(prayers) will be the strongest ever conceived. and i'll burn like a roman fucking candle burn like a chasm in the night burn for a miniscule duration ecstatic immolation incorrigible delight Same overall theme, but the last two lines stand out the most. "burn for a miniscule duration" relative to the universe, human beings and their gods, faith, prayers, luck, talismans, and jesus-wishing-wells are but a tick mark on a mile long time line. insignificant in the grand scheme of things. "ecstatic immolation, incorrigible delight." to be happy that one is making this sacrifice, means that one must have dedicated, yet wasted their lives believing this... yet still people just don't seem to get it. |
|
| Pink Floyd – Eclipse Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
Sorry for another post, but my aforementioned topic was a bit incomplete considering I neglected the near entirety of the song. Everything in the list of perceptions that Pink Floyd lists are for Syd Barrett, in my opinion. Everything he has done, felt, loved, hated... everything is in tune under the "Sun"(Syd's prior work with Pink Floyd") and that too is being "eclipsed" by Dark Side of The Moon. |
|
| Pink Floyd – Eclipse Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
Would this song by any chance be referring to acceptance of Syd Barrett's departure? Maybe even an attempt to begrudgingly accept it? It seems to fit... considering the "sun" may refer to Pink Floyd's earlier work with Barrett - namely any one of the last tunes in which Barrett took part, "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun", "Interstellar Overdrive" or another more famous peice, "Astronomy Domine"... all three of which deal with the superficial topic of space. Of course the "moon" would refer to the album "Dark Side of The Moon", which has generated untold millions and gained more popularity and praise than any work from Syd Barrett. Thus, the Sun(Early work with Syd) has now been "Eclipsed" by the Moon(Dark Side of The Moon). |
|
| Pink Floyd – Us and Them Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
This song is about indifference. The assumptions of war, are almost hitting the song meaning, but as many of you know, Pink Floyd are a bit more metaphysical with their songwriting. The title in and of itself suggests separatism, but to understand the song, it must be divided into it’s 3 verses. Verse #1. Using war as a metaphor for the non-empathetic attitude. Being “ordinary men” and not “choosing” is a reference to the fact that 2 men in time of war are destined to try to kill one another, yet in any other circumstance they may be 2 passersby on a city street exchanging a cordial smile. The General giving orders in this verse follows the same. To the General, those “ordinary men choosing” are just numbers, a grid, and either a win or a loss. The general has no empathy towards the men dying for his cause. To him he is either winning or losing…”lines on a map moving from side to side” are indicating whether ground has been gained or lost. The fact that he is sitting in the rear doing this shows the exaggerated carefree attitude of men’s lives. Verse #2. Another metaphor. “Black and blue, which is which and who is who,” are demonstrating the indifference of people towards one another despite hardship(black and blue=conflict). The “battle of words” is also an example of conflict, in which a “man with the gun”(possibly a recruiter of some sort) is telling a “son”(young man) to join him in his own fight. Asking someone to join a side is to outwardly discard their rights to choose for themselves, thus again demonstrating the power of indifference and lack of empathy. Verse #3. Pretty much wrapping everything I have hypothesized in a neat little package. “Down and out…” is a line showing conflict and hardship abounds. “With, without…” demonstrates the separation from the socialist view of capitalism between the ‘have and the have-nots.’ To put it simply, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer thus eliminating a middle class, and therefore creating a schism between 2 groups of people(more conflict)… yet despite this “fighting”, the narrator demand to “get out of the way, it’s a busy day. I’ve got things on my mind.” This describes the blasé indifference of society to hardship. In other words, the attitude of ‘me first.’ The last lines of the song are actually the most profound. “For want of the price of tea and a slice, the old man died” demonstrates the selfish nature and indifference to whoever made the price of something minute and trivial possible. In other words, the attitude of nobody empathizing, or caring to whatever sacrifices were made for the conveniences of everyday life. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.