| U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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My apologies to F.Z. because I'm using his post to save people going through the multitude of posts to get the meaning of this song - though the point above is relevant. This song is simple to understand. I'm Irish and know somewhat the history behind it's origins. There are two incidents which the song directly refers to, both named 'Bloody Sunday' ->The first was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total, 31 people were killed — fourteen British, fourteen Irish civilians and three republican prisoners. ->The second was on January 30, 1972, soldiers from the British Army's 1st Parachute Regiment opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilian demonstrators in the Bogside, Derry, Ireland, near the Rossville flats, killing 13 and wounding a number of others. This was not the beginning or the end of the 'Troubles' in Ireland, around the time but before this song was written, 1981/1982, Irish Nationalists who were imprisoned as Prisoners of War (P.O.V.s) had undertaken a hunger strike, which basically meant they refused to eat until their demands were met. Not wanting to be seen as weak the British prison system refused to give in and created martyrs out of the protesters, most notably Bobby Sands. Not wanting to bore the pants off you I'll quit the Irish history lesson. Other world events were occurring at the same time, civil unrest in El Salvador and Nicaragua also Beirut was under siege by Israeli troops. These events were televised on the news hence the lyrics "Can't believe the news" and "TV a reality". You simply couldn't escape the horrors of war and conflict and 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' is a call for the end of it all. It is an Irish song in origin but should be adopted by everyone. I hope that helps and saves you an arduous trek through all the comments because some of them are embarrassingly bad and so far off the mark. P.S all covers are rubbish that I've heard especially Paramore who sadly just don't get it. |
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| Radiohead – House of Cards Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I've read most but not all comments as there are simply too many. Most people believe it is about adultry or a swingers party. While I have no authority to say what the truth is I feel people have picked up on metaphors but not explored them. I interpret the song, much like the rest of you, to be about a relationship, however I don't see "Throw your keys in the bowl, Kiss your husband goodnight' as a literal statement much like Yorke is not talking literally about a 'house of cards'. It's what that represents. Firstly lets think what a 'House Of Cards' is and could be; a fragile structure, something we show but has little support - like the games we sometimes play when we flirt or more in the case of the song the keeping up of appearances/projecting a certain image. Is it possible to see 'Forget about your house of cards' as the writer asking for the other person to abandon the protocol/game playing and he will too, because he is fed up playing games. Right at this moment, he knows he wants the other person and that is all that matters to him. Let's not forget Mr. Yorke is married with children and though I don't speak from experience, I understand the dynamics of a relationship changes with both marriage and children. Parents find it difficult to pursue reckless abandonment. And I think this is key to interpreting the 'swingers' reference. Asking for the person to throw their keys in the bowl is metaphorically like asking them to be carefree and saying "Kiss your Husband goodnight" could easily be seen as a Husband/Father/Yorke asking their wife not to see them as a Husband, Father of their children or even their 'friend' but as their lover. In this incidence, the lines "I don't want to be your friend, I just want to be your lover" explain everything. Often in life with titles comes responsibilities i.e. Manager, President, Husband, Father, etc. It's hard to be everything you are perceived to be all of the time. And that is what I take from the song, the escapism of a married couple who have responsibilities to see each other as lovers even if it is only for a fleeting moment and stop denying(hence the refrain: "Denial") their own needs before they collapse like a house of cards under pressure. The song is about lust. |
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