| Dishwalla – Counting Blue Cars Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Wow what a discussion on this one, thanks for all the inputs. I just had an idea: I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of the little statements that comes across in a flash in the video of this song, like "chance must be systematically explored"? It might be interesting to look at all of them together. |
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| Train – Get To Me Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I would think of the spiritual symbolism in a even more general way, that what is to "get to me" is just love itself. The butterfly can be seen as someone that has been transformed this way and carries that love. In that context then all the things mentioned would be ways to be touched by love, and that without love you don't have a lot, but with love you've got everything. | |
| Dishwalla – Mad Life Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Silentsailor, while I understand the sentiment of gratitude regardless of good or bad, I think that philosophy is extremely dangerous and often just makes for what has been called "anesthetized egos." Even the lyrics here talks about GIVING, from what I've seen this kind of hip modern spiritual philosophy tends to have people NOT be concerned about that. Not to be preachy about that but it IS a part of the meaning of the song, and I've just seen way too much of it. The angst expressed here is clearly over whether we can "give enough" and the frustration that results in "feeling faded" and the question of whether we can give enough before we come undone. In contrast to this kind of living in the moment and being grateful for the experience kind of philosophy, it is active and not so passive, it is concerned about others and not just your own experience. Besides, that kind of appreciate the experience of life as if you're a bystander IS a belief - and the song very clearly says in the beginning that it's insane how we try to find what to believe in. It's a fairly simple point and has some truth to it, but the people who are into it latch on to it and repeat it far too often when the situation (which is always different) calls for something specific to THAT moment. All the people that preach this kind of understanding of the "be here now" philosophy can learn a lot just from this song. |
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| Dishwalla – Nashville Skyline Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I like this one too but a few others on Opaline too, as far as I'm concerned maybe 4-5 of them are classics. I like that here there is an option for comment type and that they give you the option of interpretation or meaning, since that really is a good distinction. In a way interpretation and meaning is about the same thing, but I guess I like meaning because it's more of what it means to you since meaning aside from that is an interpretation, but what something means to us is just how it is naturally for us and not an X=y kind of dry interpretation. I think often something can be meaningful to us without us really being able to interpret why it is, which is more.. meaningful! I mean, you can interpret anything right, but the interpretation may not be meaningful to you if you don't think it's a good song, but you CAN say something is meaningful to you without being able to put your finger on it like an interpretation. Anyway back about the song, I think it's one of those you'll actually LOSE meaning if you try to interpret it in a literal way. Like you can ask what does he mean by being free? What scene, what is the dream and so on - but the basic idea is pretty clear. I think it can apply to lots of situations in life, or life in general even. But the main point I think is what Tom said, and where the lyrics said "You yourself are - Forevermore is the love that you need to believe" which is pretty clear. Sorry to write so much, but if I was to try and put it in a nutshell I guess it's just like it says ".. don't go on, looking for the love in the illusion of it all .. underneath it all, you yourself are free.. you yourself are forevermore the love that you need to believe." If you want something more concrete, then it's like don't be caught up in appearances, the love is underneath it all - and you yourself are the love that you need to believe. And if you do, you are free from all the confusion. |
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| Rush – Distant Early Warning Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Here is a link with interview quotes with Pert talking about the Absalom reference: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3333 |
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| Rush – Distant Early Warning Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Excellent coverage about the interpretation already, I just wanted to chime in and express my appreciation. As far as meaning it works on many levels as one poster already pointed out, and of course one would be hard pressed to find people who really appreciate the words "Who can face the knowledge that the truth is not the truth?" in todays world. | |
| Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Sorry I forgot to say, the reason I think they take too much of a leap for the guarded position idea is because of Isaiah 21:5-9 which is noted on Wikipedia. | |
| Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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saidthejoker you have a point but I'd found that site in searching this song and I think their interpretation is also a bit too literal, in that they assumed a guarding position of the castle. It would be good to approach interpretation of something like this as almost like a mathematical formula, understand the terms involved (the archetypes of joker and thief) as well as the known biblical influence and go from there. Given all these elements and the fact that the princes keeping watch is just that, to beware, (as Jimi adds in his cover, though easily missed) it is more appropriate to simply regard the two riders as a duality - whether you want to think of it as separating the wheat from the chaff or in some other basic fundamental sense I leave for you to interpret, but there again to equate them with the joker and the thief as the reasontorock site article does is too much of a leap. As for the joker and the thief as archetypes, it is fairly self explanatory and anyone can look it up, but consider the part "businessmen they drink my wine - ploughmen dig my earth" it is reminescent of the blood and wine of the mass, and in this case the flesh and blood of the earth itself if we think of oil, and in a less literal sense wine of course intoxicates. Further "none will level on the line - nobody of it is worth" indicates a kind of deception, which of course is also in line with the Joker archetype but here he is saying he can get no relief. The Thief of course distinguishes "us" (that is, he and the Joker) from those who thinks that "life is but a joke." He notes "you and I have been through that, and this is not our fate - so let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late." So the play of appearances that is the function of the Joker is coming to an end, and again in a biblical context it reminds one of the day of judgement coming "as a thief in the night." |
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