| Regina Spektor – On the Radio Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Why does she say styrofoam though? until it got so warm that none of us could sleep then all the styrofoam began to melt away we tried to find some worms to aid in the decay I really have no idea what she's talking about with melting styrofoam... something about putting things on tombstones? |
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| Regina Spektor – On the Radio Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Oh man, this made this song, which I was already crazy over, even BETTER. Someone correct the lyrics! But then I relistened to this version (the official youtube one) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHAhnJbGy9M And she clearly says "NO this is how it works". Before I thought it was just two cool versus describing some features of human existence. Oh dear, I'm rambling. Let me summarize why I find this so wonderful. In the beginning she's talking about facing death, mortality, disease, and she’s trying to face it with like, defiance. “laughing up a storm, etc” But this is uncomfortable. It’s too warm, and “a million ancient bees” sting at you. I’m going to reach a bit and say these ancient bees are all the reminders we have of our mortality. For example, remembering the millions that have died before us. So now, she’s set out the problem which this song tackles. She begins to foreshadow the solution by dropping the November Rain reference. Let me quote a piece of that song and see if it resonates with anyone… “… It’s hard to hold a candle/ In the cold November rain/ We’ve been through this such a long long time/ Just tryin’ to kill the pain/ But lovers always come and lovers always go/ And no one’s really who’s letting’ go today/ … We can still find a way/ ‘cause nothin’ lasts forever Even cold November rain Don’t ya think that you need somebody Don’t ya think that you need someone Everybody needs somebody You’re not the only one You’re not the only one” So, like our singer and her friends at the beginning of the song, they’re trying to face the pain they find in life. The cold rain. And how will they do it? Love! But nothing so naïve as storybook romance. Let’s get back to On The Radio. Once we get past the intro, we’re into these two main verses, which are so great. The first one explains the pain. Let me rephrase: You grow old. You stop loving people sometimes. You sometimes fail. If you’re happy, you’re going to be sad. If you’re sad, you’re going to be happy. You’ve got to keep doing all of the above… Until you die. Cheery, huh? But THEN, just as in November Rain, there’s a solution. No, THIS is how it works. I don’t think I can put it better than Regina here, so I’m not going to try. no THIS is how it works you peer inside yourself you take the things you like and try to love the things you took and then you take that love you made and stick it into some-- someone else's heart pumping someone else's blood and walking arm in arm you hope it don't get harmed but even if it does you'll just do it all again So, maybe you don’t have one great love which you have for your whole life, but you do bond with others, in order to get through the pain. And even if you do get hurt, you keep going… The first verse says that the world is full of pain, and that the world works in this way, while the second verse says no, there’s this other option. ‘cause nothin’ lasts forever Even cold November rain… Thank you for hearing me out. What an amazing song. |
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