| Jack Johnson – At Or With Me Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think that the song is about lying to people, and telling them what they want to hear. It's similar to what Jackmumfews said, about people thinking that fitting in is more important, but it's about being liked. You tell people what they want to hear because everybody has such a thin skin anymore. I share Jack's view of the situation - I'm not going to lie to you, I'm going to say just what I mean. If those shoes are ugly, I'm going to tell you that they're ugly shoes. Apparently, that means that I'm a jerk according to most people. This is also one of the few songs where Jack is talking poorly about a girl: Oh baby.. = to girl ...great shoes = lie I'm so happy now = lie I think this is a better you = LIE The second verse is more about society in general, and it starts with the same kind of subverted message, Don't put your money where your mouth is... = sarcasm, 'putting money where your mouth is' is the opposite of trash talking. He's saying that everybody says what they'll do, but they never go off and really go for it. ...we don't want to see you choke = 'Choke' as in mess up, drop the ball, fail, whatever. People are so afraid of people laughing AT them, that they won't risk new experiences anymore because they're afraid they might look silly/stupid in front of someone. Just like the shoes, is it really such a big deal? Nobody's joking / no dance shoes = nobody wants to have fun these days. Most people lack the confidence to dance in public (grinding doesn't count, it's what people do because they can't really dance), so they don't dance anymore. Nobody's broken high scores = same as the 'money where your mouth is'. Nobody wants to try to push themselves to new heights, because they're afraid of failure. As nice and fun as this song is, it's sort of Jack's way of being a drill-sergeant to the world. Saying "hey everyone - stop worrying about what we think about you, you're not that important. Just live your life and be happy." |
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| 311 – Sometimes Jacks Rule The Realm Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"Sometimes jacks rule the realm" reminds me of the phrase 'Every blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes', which is basically saying that even an idiot can have a good idea. Jacks in a deck of cards are the Jesters, the 'fool' who is there to entertain royalty. It's the same phrase - every so often an idiot might get himself into a good spot. Nick says "took it as a compliment." So rather than imagining that the person was calling him an idiot, he looks at the jack as a form of minstrel or troubadour, men who have no other talent other than music/performance, and who wander the realm using this performance to scrape a modest living. He chooses to see it as a bit of encouragement - sometimes, jacks are in charge. The end of the first verse reinforces this, with the allusion to 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' in some versions of the story, it's the jester who sets him up for failure. Either way, if the person was really attacking him, the guy was probably just an idiot himself and attacking Nick because he had nobody else to deride. Next part is looking at it as a heartfelt compliment and encouragement, but saying that the delivery was all wrong. They didn't want it to come out sounding like a promise, just encouragement, and they phrased it that way - wound up sounding like an insult. Nick doesn't mind, it's the thought that counts. Second half of the song is Nick consoling someone, or Nick being consoled. He's not sure how to look at the phrase, as an intended jealous insult, or as a genuine compliment. Life is cruel, but the pain fades, and then comes back again - the speaker is genuinely concerned for whoever addressed them, regardless of the reason (why are you jealous, or why won't you just compliment me). Nobody is going to be able to fix the problem until they can figure out why the person is acting this way. |
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| Arcade Fire – My Body Is a Cage Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The album is about the war in the middle east. I think that the song, therefore, is about a crippled veteran, but has a dual meaning about attaining peace. For the soldier part of the message: "My body is a cage...the one I love" - quite possibly paralyzed from his injuries, or otherwise incapacitated in a major way (no legs, etc), and obviously can't dance with his wife/girlfriend/lover. "I'm standing on a stage ... but they'll clap anyway" - people look at wounded vets and think that they're heroes for carrying on, that they're so brave and such incredible people. He's saying that it's all just an act, and a barely passable one at that, but they'll still think those things. "Living in an age that call darkness light" - obvious enough yeah? We look at war and the soldiers who fight it as a noble and heroic thing. To us it's a good thing. He knows it's not. "My language is dead, though the shapes fill my head" - he was a trained soldier, but now he can't fight (the "language" of his craft). Yet, he still has flashbacks and memories of being in battle. "We take what we're given... don't mean you're forgiven" - he's broken, and he's got to live with it now and take what he's given. Even if he puts the anger and pain behind him and forgets about it, it won't fix his crippled body - as though his wounds are a punishment. "I'm living in an age, realizing I'm dancing with the one I love" - he comes to the realization that in this age, we love inflicting pain and suffering on each other. Every day that he carries on that act, up on that stage in front of the world, he's dancing with that pain and suffering. It's sort of admitting that you reap what you sow. The end is him asking to die. Just get me out of this bed/chair/body and let me die so that in my spirit I can be free to dance and love again. The religious/peace tone has already been touched on, and goes along with some of the soldier stuff about 'dancing with suffering' and the like. Sort of saying that there's peace out there, we can have it, but we're too tied up in the physical world (or maybe too crippled to deliver the message, in the soldier's case) to ever attain it. |
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| Jack Johnson – F-Stop Blues Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Well, most of you guys know that JJ was a pretty accomplished pro surfer himself, before he started playing music and the likes. My guess is that when he talks about "how many years since you tasted anything remotely close to all the things you boast about" he's talking about being away from that. During September Sessions, he was filming all these other guys out in the water killing it, and he was just sort of left there thinking "yeah, I was that guy once". He certainly hasn't stopped surfing, but still, it's got to be hard watching other people out there without you. | |
| Audioslave – Cochise Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I know that there's not a lot of meaning to the song - it's tied somewhat to Cochise the Chief. The coughing is probably typhoid and the other diseases that ran rampant within the confines of the reservations, meanwhile, Cochise is telling everyone that he's outside still enjoying a free life. The "killing yourself" means that those tribes/people who were willing to go to the reservations were doing so at the cost of their own health and livelihoods, as well as the settlers dying to try to fight him. He's offering a last chance to his native kin - come and fight him, kill him or put him on a reservation, so that "the indian wars" can stop and the US can hopefully end their prejudice against the Native Americans. I like the song because I feel it relates to my life - and probably a lot of yours as well. People around me are bringing themselves down, making stupid decisions and ultimately causing their own demise, or at least, it's not *my* fault they're in trouble. But they all seem to vent their anger on me, and I've come to accept that. If that's what gets you by, go ahead, swing away. Just understand that I'm not going to swoop in and try to fix your problems for you. I'm just as happy to watch you drown and die in your own misery, but if hurting me helps you cope, then that's cool too. |
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| The Decemberists – Shanty for the Arethusa Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song is based partially on the play, and partially in fact. The HMS Arethusa was a real ship, captured from the French by the British Navy or British Privateers. This song therefore is NOT about Pirates. Just because they cleared out the bars and hotels doesn't make them pirates, in fact, pirate crews were almost always volunteers. The crews in the Navy, on the other hand, were almost always press-ganged into service, because the Navy was a horribly bleak job back then - very few men actually survived their terms of service, and afterwards, they had hardly anything to show for it. This is why so many crews mutinied and/or willingly joined pirate crews when their ships were captured. This song also lacks any 'deep' meaning. It's a shanty, which were just songs that the sailors would sing to pass the time. Usually they were pretty bawdy, talking about how manly the sailors were, remembering the women back home, and sharing superstitions or folk-tales about the ships or places they were going. So that's where you end up with each of the 3 verses. Verse 1- A 'packet' is just ship. The sailors are saying where they're from, letting everyone know that they were pressganged, probably mostly from Bowery. Then they go on to warn you that they're manly men, with manly needs, so you shouldn't let your daughters wander around tonight or they might end up as a plaything for the sailors. Verse 2- Jews were notoriously slandered in this period. The Jewess is most likely a prostitute, the Mandarin Chinese boy is something exotic, probably acting a servant for her in an opium den where she serves her customers. They're just remembering the girls back home. Verse 3- Australia was NOT a penal-colony like so many people think, but it was a common enough belief that several folk songs (even from that time) reference it as such. Ironically, Georgia here in the US actually was a penal colony. Anyways, they're just going to Australia, which was a dangerous journey. They're sharing information and telling ghost stories, "I hear there are blacks in Australia," "Yeah, well I hear all the women are young virgins," "Hey, did you hear the story about how this ship is haunted?" -just a bunch of guys sitting around passing the time. Great song all the same, I love the way that the effects are so good, you can hear the sounds of a wooden ship creaking at night in the background. To me, that's a peaceful sound (except for the scream in the beginning), but the song does make it quite spooky. Remember, there are plenty of chains and groaning boards on legitimate ships as well, not just slavers or pirate ships. |
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| Third Eye Blind – I Want You Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Cool find Amanda. I think that a *lot* of what is being said in the comments jives with what Stephan is saying. The poem, 'To His Coy Mistress', is "romantic literature that highlights the glory of life by focusing on mortality" - as was almost all 'Cavalier Poetry' or the 'carpe diem' poems that people keep mentioning. Vampires are the same way - even before Twilight they were creatures of sexual desire, and their deepest and most troubling aspect was their immortality and how it set them apart from more wholesome mortal creatures. Jenkins did have a LOT of drug problems, even their biggest hit (Semicharmed Kind of Life) was about finding a drug that was better than the one he was taking. But I think that this could be a genuine love song, since Love is a drug (oxytocin), so he's simply vocalizing it in a way that he can relate to. The image in the last verse, of he and his lover curled up in a quilt beside an open window, with a prayer candle burning, has got to be one of the sexiest things I've ever read. I can only somewhat relate, having been entirely outdoors at night in similar condition, but still- good stuff. Love the song. |
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| Porcupine Tree – Trains Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The song is about him (or possibly the serial killer in the album story) remembering his childhood because of a train. He sees it, or hears it, and he remembers being in his cousin's bed during the summer time. The chorus marks the end of that summer, a passage of time, closing of a chapter, whatever. "60 tonne angel, falls to the Earth" - MIR space station. It weighed 60 tons, and fell to the Earth when it was put out of orbit in 2001. He's attaching a date to the song, giving it a place on the timeline. He thinks back to either that time, or possibly any date between 1986 (start of MIR) and '01, and remembers things - scars in the countryside (railroad tracks? MIR rubble?) and this girl. Chrous marks the passage of time again, end of that summer. The next verse and the last lines are about the memories he attaches to the sound of the train. They're kissing, etc. The last line ties the song in with the serial killer motif of the album. It changes the song to be about one of the killer's victims. "You're tying me up, I'm dying of love" - Dennis Rader is known as the BTK killer, a famous American serial killer. BTK is "Bind, Torture, Kill" and while he wasn't known for raping his victims, the story isn't about him exactly, it's only based on famous killers. He falsely claimed to have grown up by railroad tracks- the person in this song is looking for him, as the train passes, she sees him (I'm in luck) and he does his thing (you're tying me up) but she actually wants this to happen (I'm dying of love, it's ok). BTK's victims were almost all female, with the exception of two male/female couples. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Crying Lightning Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song seems DIRTY as HELL. I mean, really, there's a lot that could be said about this. I'm not trying to just toss out a bunch of jokes here, honestly, but I think that the meaning is definitely along sexual lines. "My thoughts got rude" yeah, definitely him getting turned on. And probably not a 'we should kiss and hold hands' sort of way. "You're mistaken if you're thinkin that I 'aven't been called cold before" she has a reputation for being a difficult girl to hook up with, and just not caring about guys/people "...attention in the form of a gobstopper" she's just tossing him her leftovers, rather than really investing anything in him. Although it's interesting that it's really *Everlasting* Gobstopper, so maybe she really is committing to him. "Crying Lightning ... on rainy afternoons" literally, she's yelling about lightning, driving everyone inside and losing the icecream man business. Figuratively, she's giving a sudden false alarm (I have a headache/cramps/don't feel like it) and suddenly leaving him frustrated (I shouldn't have to make the allusion to licking an icecream cone) "The next time ... thinking of excuses to postpone" he knows that being involved with this girl is a bad idea, but he can't stop himself. "Your profile does not hide ... approaching your throne" she's got him completely enslaved, 'approach the throne' is what peasants or servants would do when begging royalty. "You occupy the bench like toothache" the bench, in a courtroom, and she's there- you can't ignore her. "Puff your chest out like you'd never lost a war" she's very proud, she's always gotten what she wanted. This line also makes me think of Americans, who brag that they've never lost a war. "And though ... indignity of reaction ... or gaps to hold" whole line, basically, she's sticking her chest out, he's trying not to get turned on by looking at her breasts (she's NOT showing them on purpose) but there's nothing else he can do BUT look and be aroused. The indignity = Awkward erection. "Hate that ... icky man on rainy afternoons" now we get the reference from the first chorus- he's kinda mad now, so he drops the sarcasm, and replaces Icecream Man with 'Icky', dirty/sticky everything unglamorous about sex. "Uninviting but not half as impossible" back to the 'been called cold before'. She's a bit intimidating and she doesn't seem to actively go after anybody, but at the same time, she's not impossible to get along with. Sort of a "once you get to know her, she's not so bad" line, which is a common phrase you hear from most people who are in a bad relationship: 'dude, your girlfriend is a bitch' 'oh, she's not so bad once you get to know her' 'but she *beats* you man' "Your pasttimes consisted of the strange, twisted, deranged..." she enjoys toying with guys' emotions, in a very twisted and sadistic sort of way. ------------ So think about it, the song is about that one girl that everyone knows, who's just bad news. She's a tease, she knows how to use her charms/sex to make men do whatever she wants them to. The guys even know that she doesn't love them, she's just tossing them little bits of free time here and there, but she's too hot/good-in-bed to turn down. You don't *want* to see her and let her play you like that, but you can't help it. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Only Ones Who Know Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's really neat- I heard a girl cover this song, and it was an entirely different meaning. Like a break up song, where she was singing about him, to the girl that he left her for. Pretty cool. I know that's not the meaning though, since Alex is a guy and all (would be nice if there was a girl with this much talent and feeling though- no offense to you ladies) I think some of the lines are a little wrong though- namely, "We" instead of "He" in the second verse, and "All the little promises [well?] THEY" instead of the "that". Pretty sure SlightlyInsane and Sedders have it right though, about it being about him meeting a couple who are obviously very much in love. I think of it as being a little darker though. The guy is trying to get away from the life that he had, to one that he's more satisfied with. Juliet really is the icing on the cake, and he's glad that he can validate all the sex by convincing himself that they really are in love, when obviously it's doubtful (the lines about hoping they're still together in a few months, and promises don't mean much). The last two verses about being shown the life he wants, but being able to make it better - he's never satisfied, they could give him everything he's asking for, but he's always going to say "but I could make it better if I'd just do ____" and then he repeats the whole story somewhere else, with a new girl, in a new place. |
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| Alex Turner – Hiding Tonight Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Arcticsquirrel11 - from the point of view of someone whose done exactly what this song seems to be talking about, yeah, it's bittersweet. They show it over the montage of his time with Jordana, but why is he really with her? I mean yeah, so he could score and get that sex he wanted to so badly, but also because he's running away from his problems. You can hang out with someone and drown your problems in sex and trivial relationship stuff just like you could drown them in alcohol or drugs. It's the same thing really. Maybe he's hiding from real life, like, "I don't want to the think about mum and dad splitting up, or the asshole I've become, or any of that- I just want to think about this time we have together" I've been checking in on the replies to these songs. Without a doubt, Alex Turner and 'The Arctic Monkeys' went from being a band that I liked, to one of my favorite bands ever. I wish I could just strike the 90% of the 'Everything You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' album from the record, because they're so much better than the punk-pop shit that made them famous. |
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| Alex Turner – Stuck On The Puzzle (Full Version) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's pretty easy to see where the stars being jealous comes into play. "I'm not the kind of fool who's gonna sit and sing to you about stars girl, but last night I looked up in to the dark half of the blue, and they [the stars] had gone backwards. Well something in your magnetism* must've pissed them [the stars] off, forcing them to get an early night." *They may not be jealous of her actual beauty, I suppose I may have misspoke. However, they're jealous of how she somehow attracts attention. Going back to the book/film, the song is definitely about Oliver's girlfriend, Jordana- the one he's trying to have sex with. She's definitely bad news, and intoxicatingly cute. She gets Oliver into a lot of trouble with his peers because she tries to use him to make her ex boyfriend jealous, then turns around and leaves Oliver for another guy. Seems to me that she'd "be used to being told that [she's] trouble." "Fingers dimming the lights" when Jordana has sex with Oliver for the first time, he tried to dim the lights and light some candles. I don't remember if she dimmed adjusted the lights or not, but that's likely where the line came from. The 'Puzzle' that Oliver is stuck on, is why she's left him for this other guy. "Nobody I asked knew how he came to be the one," probably sets this song at the point in the film when he goes to the beach and finds Jordana with another guy, especially since it is definitely placed *after* he falls in love with her, since he's speaking about her fingers dimming the lights in the past tense. If you've read the book, and probably even if you just copped out and saw the movie, you can pinpoint where a lot of these lines come from. Still, I love the song, very stylish and sexy, it fits with the movie, and it fits a lot of other meanings for different people- even for me. Does that help you? |
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| Alex Turner – Stuck On The Puzzle (Full Version) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's true, he might really be the one that should good noticed and end up with the girl, but it doesn't always work out this way. And besides, the irony of the situation is that he ends up singing about the stars to her anyways. The girl in the song also seems really dangerous. The whole part about other guys forgetting the girls they're already with whenever this one enters the room could definitely qualify her as a bit of a seducer. The imagery of "your fingers dimming the lights, like you're used to being told that your trouble" has got to be one of my favorite 'sultry' lines, just because while so many other "artists" talk about boobs and other obvious notables, he's really making a statement about this girl's beauty *and* her seductive nature. I keep saying that Alex is (if he hasn't already) going to surpass John Lennon as a songwriter. |
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| Alex Turner – Stuck On The Puzzle (Full Version) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's definitely that one, perfect girl that everyone is utterly smitten with, and the singer (probably Oliver, in the case of the book/movie) can't have. Worse yet, she decided to leave this party with some guy that has surprised everybody because he doesn't seem a good match for her. "I'm not the kind of fool who'll sing to you about the stars girl" - all these other guys who are swooning over her are playing the romeo and singing her shitty love songs. He's setting himself apart by *not* doing that. "The stars got an early night" - 'an early night' means they went to bed early. The stars are jealous of how beautiful she is, and how much attention everyone pays to her (magnetism) instead of them. "Fingers dimming the light like your used to being told that you're trouble" - dimming the lights is usually a way to 'set the mood'. She's used to being told that she's trouble, because everyone thinks she's always rushing for the bedroom, so she's playing along. "Stuck on the puzzle" is just him wondering why she's dimming the lights, and/or why she's going out with the guy I mentioned earlier. "Any man that wasn't taken to another room- made him drop whoever's hand he was holding" - this girl is so gorgeous, the others want her so badly, that they completely forget about the girl's they're with. At least, those who's girlfriends didn't lead them away before they could catch a glimpse of this girl. "Tried to swim to the side - stuck on the puzzle" - you guys are right, he does try to get away. He knows that this girl will destroy him, he should leave, she's not interested. But she's too beautiful, and he keeps hoping that maybe he stands a chance, so he gets caught in the middle. He's stuck on the puzzle because he's wondering if this other guy will really work out, maybe she's kidding around, maybe he has a chance, and that's the puzzle. I love this song. It really seems like it should fit with 'The Bakery', being about that girl everyone wants so badly but can't have, and she doesn't notice you. |
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| Alex Turner – Hiding Tonight Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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When was there ever fear that Alex lost his talent? The Arctic Monkeys are great, getting better with every release, and Alex's solo work is so beautiful that it breaks me down crying. I think this song is about procrastination though. To sum it up, he's promising his girlfriend (or himself, or anyone for that matter) that he'll be a better man *tomorrow*. But of course, tomorrow is always just over the horizon, so he never actually changes. First he's hiding today, then he's hiding tonight. But he's hiding with her, "but if you are, I'm quite alright, hiding today". And it's not necessarily a good thing. In the book and film, this kid's life is falling apart, he needs to work something out, but instead, he's running off and hiding himself away from it all, promising that he'll fix it tomorrow. He's lying to himself about it too- "I'll win a prize even if it's rigged" - he'll settle for false victories, he's totally given up in trying for a genuine escape. It's actually a very depressing song. |
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| Alex Turner – Glass In The Park Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Yeah, I think a bit of this is wrong: "a STORM to stop" "to jump your PALLISADES" (pallisades means walls) and I don't think you need the quotations. I think it should be: -you tell me, how can I put you off when you're a matter of urgency- as in, "tell me how I could just put you off" Remember that the book and film are about a kid (Oliver) trying to lose his virginity while simultaneously avoid a divorce between his parents. I think that yes, it's a love song, but Oliver's also saying that he's got more than his fair share of broken pieces in his life. He's offering the girl, yes, go ahead, play around with my emotions and make me wait for you, I'll just keep covering up all these rough edges so I don't hurt you. Waiting like he's waiting for a storm to stop - when it's storming, you can't go play outside. He's waiting for her to arrive, so that he can finally have fun (get laid). The whole story is about hearing from a girl that wants to have sex with him, but not just yet. He's got to wait. you tell me, how can I put you off when you're such a matter of urgency? - easy, the kid's struggling like hell to get laid, so how is he supposed to wait for her when he wants to get laid so badly? I like this song, I know where he's coming from - I'm going through a painful breakup right now, but she's offering me to wait a few months and see if we could try again. |
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| Alex Turner – Piledriver Waltz Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| A Piledriver is a machine that's used to drive piles into the ground, most frequently down into riverbeds to build bridges. A 'pile' is a long post, like a telephone pole. | |
| Alex Turner – It's Hard To Get Around The Wind Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The main conflict of the book is Oliver's struggle to keep his parents together while also trying to lose his virginity. The song is about struggle, I thought at first that Alex singing to Oliver, telling him that he's trying to grow up too fast, and that if he'd stop "peppering the pill" with his worry about his parents, he'd probably have a better chance with the girls. The whole thing is about him keeping his head up even when it's hard - "get around the wind" resonates as a nautical term to me, it's difficult to sail into the wind even if you can anticipate it. The last verse though is about Oliver's parents. "They want the world on a dessert spoon" they want it all to be easy, but it's not, so their going through this divorce. "It always sounds like their fighting, or if that's what they're about to do" is pretty self explanatory. Oliver can hear them fighting all the time. "It doesn't hurt now, but it's gonna hurt soon" they're not done yet, but they're going to be soon, and Oliver's world is going to change. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Fire and the Thud Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I read into it as a song about tripping, didier12 did. I'm not sure that's the actual meaning, I can imagine that it could well be about Alexa, a fight he had with her, or her moving to NYC. Neither a drug addiction nor the news about Alexa is particularly personal though, so I'm sure that it means something entirely different to Alex. The kid's a damn genius though, I love his music, he can write about whatever he damn well pleases. Sort of seems like Acid/LSD. For example, "You're hiding in my soup" Timothy Leary's pink drink, you can ingest LSD and trip. "You're splashing in my eyelids" taking LSD in the form of an eye-drop makes the trip stronger Other lyrics that point to romance can also point to addiction, like in "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed, sounds like he's singing to a girl, but he's singing about heroin. "Everything I touched... it would be better shared with you" that whole idea of 'this would be so much better if I tripping face right now' "Will the teasing of the Fire be followed by the Thud" he could be asking if he's going to crash when he comes down. Will the teasing of this awesome feeling be followed by me going face-down into depression? As for the last angry lines? Could be angry that everyone's trying to pin him with these drug habits when either A) he's pretty explicitly including them in the Humbug and the likes. B) he could amaze them with the epiphanies or inspiration he's had while on the drug. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – The Bakery Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think this song is about a guy longing after a girl that he can't have, possibly because he's already in a relationship. I love the song because I can relate to it in my own life. "and the more you keep on looking the more it's hard to take love, we're in stale mate to never meet is surely where we're bound" I interpret this that she actually *does* see him, and keeps glancing, but neither of them make a move. Maybe she doesn't want to, or maybe there's just something keeping them from doing so, but either way it's driving him up the walls, because it looks like he's never going to get a chance to tell her how he feels. "there's one in every town just there to grind you down" Every small town has that one girl, the one that everyone wants to be with but aren't good enough for. You can date whoever else you want, but all the while, she's going to be there wearing on your sanity and making you wonder 'what if'. "well maybe I did and I missed it too busy with a mind on clever lines" I don't think this has to do with the band lyrics, per-se. I think he's actually so intent on what he'd say if he *did* meet her, that she could've walked right by. Sort of goes back to the first part- even when they do see each other, he's too busy thinking of what to say to actually say anything. "Clever Lines" = Pickup Lines "Just had to go and wait until tonight so give me the invite don't worry it's alright" It should read "TO give me" not "So". Anyways, this is why I love the song. He figures that she'll never be interested in him, and he moves onto one of the other girls in town, and then she finally takes interest. This might actually be the same girl he references in No Buses when he says that girls aren't interested until a guy's taken. He thought he'd finally moved on, but now he's right back where he started, wishing he'd seen her in bakery and know she probably wouldn't have paid any attention. |
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| A Perfect Circle – The Nurse Who Loved Me (Failure cover) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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When I first heard this song I thought that it was a hidden track from 'eMotive' or something, then I checked back with my album and realized it was on 'Thirteenth Step'. I guess I got the idea that it's 'eMotive' because that whole album is about the cruelty of war, and every time I hear this song, it reminds me of a soldier pining for a nurse. To put it into musical/pop terms, think about the scene with the guy in the hospital from "Across the Universe". I imagine a guy literally face down on a rug, probably on some kind of drug- morphine maybe, for the soldier reference (has nothing to do with actual meaning, I'm just sticking with it). He's face down, which is uncomfortable, and he's not moving, so he probably can't. If you've ever tripped (not be high, but seriously tripped-face on acid) sometimes you really can't seem to move. "The shrinking in your brain" - the onset of a trip. You start getting light headed, and you lose your sense of self and start to just 'melt in' with everything around you. So now he's official F'ed up, and starts the song about how he's in love with the nurse. "The apples on the ground.. etc" is possibly everything he once knew and loved passing him by. He notices it now ("its even more a part of your life now") because he'd been taking it for granted, and now he's either too high to get up and stop them from leaving, or because (soldier reference again) he's somehow crippled. It comes full circle, back to him staring at the rug as the drugs start wearing off and he remembers where he is again- face down, on the rug, not moving. |
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| Oasis – Idler's Dream Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I looked up the Kinks song referenced, 'Shangri-La', and here's the description for that song: "The song describes a man named Arthur, the title character from the album. Arthur lives in a house which is called, somewhat sarcastically, a Shangri-La. In the beginning of the song, the Shangri-La appears to be a true paradise but, as the song continues, it becomes clear that Arthur's house is as much of a prison as it is a haven." That's actually Dave Davies' description of the song. 'Idler's Dream' is a parallel of 'Shangri-La'. In the beginning of both songs, the character thinks that they have everything they could ever want, and everything is perfect. By the end of the song though, it's completely changed. In the second verse he foreshadows a coming nightmare "Don't wanna scream out loud and wake up on my own". The last verse is that exact nightmare. Everything is going great "and as I close my eyes, and the sky turns red". That seems like a nightmare. Sure enough he wakes up. And the last thing he remembers of the girl is her singing "Shangri-La". |
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| Bring Me the Horizon – It Never Ends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It makes sense when you look at it while keeping Oli's intentions for the song in mind. "It started as a one-night stand and lingered to a fling" could be a literal relationship with a fan, or could be fame. Most bands start off as an experiment with some friends, but his got famous, and turned into something larger. "Hide your fangs... you're up to no good" yep, fans. He's telling us all that we can try to convince him that we really do just mean 'Hey Oli, good job', but he can't believe it because of all the times they've said it before. "Take my hand..." It's a cry for help. We (himself and the band) are beyond saving at this point. They've turned into celebrities and can't get out. "One more nail in the coffin... how has it come to this" Could be two things- either he is refusing fans, and severing ties, which can be the death of a band, or the fans are cutting him down more and more all the time. He wants to know why it's not like the days when the band formed. "I've said it once... because you never leave" He's wracking his brains over this. He tries telling himself that he's just insecure, that his fans really do care about him, but whether it's paranoia or not, he can't believe it- so he feels like he's being suffocated by his fans, they won't leave him alone. "You say this is suicide? ...this is a war that I can't win" It would be suicide to walk away from his fans, or walk away from his fame, but he doesn't care- he wants people to understand. Right now, nobody gets it, and instead of learning, the "war" keeps going, and it's going to kill the band. They say "Oli, we love you" but that's not the kind of love he wants. "Everything I loved, became everything I've lost" again, he's wondering what happened to 'the good old days' when the band was first starting. Those were the things that he liked about making music, and now those things have been stripped away by fame. "Every second... it never ends" He's famous enough now to be dealing with paparazzi, so he's constantly worried about his image and who will see him and fans asking for autographs. It's not just on the stage anymore, it in his every day life. --- I hate hearing about artists who feel like this. I just recently discovered this band, and hearing messages like this makes me worry that they're going to quit, or that Oli is really reaching out to help. I hope that somebody does actually tell him that he's doing well, and starts treating him like a person and a friend instead of a celebrity- if this song is an indication, it sounds like he really needs that from a fan. |
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| Monster Magnet – Space Lord Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Lovecraft is awesome. For a moment, I thought you were going to tell me to look up the annoying RPG, but you're at least credible- good link back to the Mutha of all Space Lords. All of the translations are good, although the Drug-deal and the Birth ones seem a little far to me. I think of it as the darker side of himself singing (not sure if he even has a good side, but that's aside the point) to him. From a psychological standpoint, your sex-drive is influenced a lot by your "Id", which is the most base and primitive of your egos. Like most of MMs songs, there are a lot of drugs going on at the same time as all of this, which means that some of the lyrics probably don't even make much sense to him anymore. Parts that stand out to me though: "I've been stuffed in your pocket... " -- whole first verse is about things to come. 'Polish your rockets' is pretty self explanatory, and swallowing pills will definitely get you hooked up to do some dirt. "You been drinking my blood, but I've been licking your wounds" -- he's been siphoning strength from his dark side, which is fueled in return by the damage done to his self-esteem. "I drink from your tit... now give me the strength to split the world in two" -- he's been feeding this dark side for a long time. Now it wants him to just give it that last little shove, so it can take over and raise serious hell. "I've ate all the rest..." this wickedness has cost him everyone else, and now it's become self destructive. His Id is going to take over and devour him entirely and for good. Milking my nightmares... drowning in love" -- he fears the same things that his ego fears, and he uses these 'urges' as an excuse for doing wrong. Stabbing the Cortex goes back to the "blood drinking" line and idea. The part about hump-drive? Yep... sex. No matter how romantic you think you are, you're just an animal at the point of orgasm. |
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| Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Although I doubt it, because Mumford and Sons have a lot of positive Christian messages in their songs, I like this song because it seems a retort to religion. Don't get me wrong, I'm spiritual, but I tend to laugh when others push their idea of 'religion' on me. "Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine" - talking to Jesus as he leaves the cave on the 3rd day. 'Mind your own business' sort of thing. "Together we can see what we will find, don't leave me alone at this time, because I'm afraid what I will find" - at this point, he wants Jesus to hang around. 'Let's see how they've moved on in the 3 days without us.' "Cause you told me that I would find a hole, Within the fragile substance of my soul And I have filled this void with things unreal, And all the while my character it steals" - He's scared to let go of Jesus, because Jesus told him that he was broken and accused him of filling that gap with 'things unreal', which is basically anything but Faith. Jesus says this lack of faith is robbing him of character. So far, so good... "Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think? And yet it dominates the things I see" - This is where the holyman starts to overstep. He calls this void and mortality 'darkness' which seems to offend the singer. Especially considering that if the singer sees it everywhere, how can it be so wrong? Maybe it's just reality. "It seems that all my bridges have been burned, But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart, But the welcome I receive with the restart" - The chorus breaks the song for the first time, just before this- indicating a passage of time. Now, he's followed Jesus and left it all behind 'burning his bridges'. Jesus tries to reassure him that that's how "this grace thing" (kinda sarcastic) is supposed to work. Then he goes on to try to tell him that basically it's not the Journey, but the Destination... which is contrary to the term 'It's not where you're going, but how you get there'. "Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think? And yet it dominates the things I see Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think? And yet it dominates the things I've seen" -Second verse, it changes this time around to 'all the things I've seen'. He's been on the road with Jesus for a while, and there's still all this "darkness" in the world. "Stars hide your fires, These here are my desires And I won't give them up to you this time around And so, I’ll be found with my stake stuck in this ground Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul" - He's made up his mind. Those things in his soul at the beginning are his desires, the things that he wants, and he's not about to lay them aside for anyone this time. So he puts his foot down (marks his territory) and starts in on Jesus... "But you, you’ve gone too far this time You have neither reason nor rhyme With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine" - pretty self explanatory. You have no grounds to take my soul, it's mine, and I'll do with it as I please. I've dealt a lot with this. Religion and religious people coming in and telling me that I can't do something just because they think it's not right. I know where I stand, and that I'm a good person. I just don't fit the mold, that's all. |
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| Mumford & Sons – The Cave Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I love this song, as it really reflects the way I feel about myself and others. I've moved on in life and picked myself up by the bootstraps after a tough adolescence. Now I find myself trying to help my girlfriend, whom I've dated for almost 2 years now, pick herself up- although she won't even try. I can't just leave her there to "choke on the noose around her neck", but at the same time, my life comes first. She can "make [her] siren's calls, and sing all [she] wants" but I'm not going to fall for those same old tricks "Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how, to live my life as it's meant to be". |
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| Queensrÿche – Silent Lucidity Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's definitely about Lucid Dreams. They tell you it's about Lucid Dreams. Now, it may involve a parent passing this information onto their child- the band did say that it has to do with children and parenthood. For those of you who say it's an Acid trip- I would be willing to say that yes, it could be. To have this kind of experience though, you have to drop LOTS of LSD in one go. Full blown hallucinations, with added realities and the likes, aren't a very pleasant experience. You don't really go exploring or tearing down walls when you're tripping like that. You're pretty much a slave to whatever the hell your brain wants to toss your way. |
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