| Rocky Votolato – Red River Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This song was inspired by the Louise Erdrich short story "The Red Convertible" which is about two Native American brothers who buy a red convertible and drive it all over the country. When they get back from their lengthy road trip one of the brothers (Henry) is drafted and goes off to vietnam. "He was stationed up in the northern hill country." When the brother comes home he is a shattered image of the person he once was. In an attempt to coax his brother out of his post-war funk Lyman beats the hell out of the convertible so that Henry will fix it. Henry does fix it and the brothers "started off, east, toward Pembina and the Red River because Henry said he wanted to see the high water." They get there and Henry admits he'll never be the same or okay again, and after the boys knock back a few beers and wrestle a bit Henry says he has to cool off and walks out into the river. The last words Lyman hears his brother say are "My boots are filling." Then he's gone, and Lyman runs the Red Convertible into the river as well. Rocky took a heart breaking story and turned it into a great song, he used so many lines from the short story and really captured it. You can find the short story online, google it. If you love the song it's impossible to read the story and not be covered in goosebumps at the end. |
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| Rocky Votolato – Lucky Clover Coin Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's "till the sunrise shows spring roses in water." And this song is totally about Rocky struggles with suicidal thoughts, even in the AP review of the album they specifically talk about that, but the lines "there's a world I wanna leave behind," "and with it I hoped I would disappear," and "You're keeping me alive" all serve as evidence to the fact. |
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| Rocky Votolato – Silver Trees Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Rocky is singing about giving back, commending the people who "give, when it seemed there was nothing." When you give to someone, you're getting something back, fulfilling something spiritually inside yourself. Rocky said the song was inspired by the Shel Silverstein poem "The Garden" where a man plants a diamond and jeweled fruit grows. This karma, goes around comes around idea, fits in with Rocky's love of Gandhi and his partnership with One Day's Wages. | |
| Morrissey – I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I have a different take. One of Morrissey's idols is Oscar Wilde who he has included in more than one song, "Cemetery Gates" is one song that jumps to mind, and I think this song is about Wilde as well. After a long affair with the Marquess of Queensbury's son Alfred Taylor, Wilde was imprisoned for "posing as a somdomite." Public perception turned on Wilde and a few years later when he got out of prison he was no longer welcome in London. Wilde's wife wouldn't even see him or let him see his children whom he loved fondly, having even written several childrens books for them. He left England and trooped around Eruope for a while, even met up with Alfred Taylor again but it didn't work out. Prison did a number on Wilde and he was very weak. He ended up living in Paris, where he eventually died. Wilde's imprisonment is said to be the end of the Victorian Era in Literature. Wilde would have been "in the absence of your (Alfred Taylor's) love So he threw his arms around Paris, at least that's how I interpreted the song. |
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