| Tune-Yards – Manchild Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| It's about sexual harassment...anddd domestic violence? | |
| London Grammar – Stay Awake Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
This sounds like, perhaps, a prostitute's perspective of her work or maybe an emotionally jaded and consequently distant individual- who craves for some type of attention, but is too afraid of being vulnerable. "I am the blank page before you I am the fine idea you crave"... "I don't have a skin like you do To keep it all in like you do I don't have a soul like you The only one I have Is the one I stole from you" Is the conforming of herself so that she will be accepted by the listener- too afraid of letting her own self be known so as not to face rejection. Yet she pleads for the listener to "stay awake" with her and to come and find her... All in all, a gripping song. |
|
| Tune-Yards – Rocking Chair Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
So i think this entire album is incredible- she seems to be commenting on a lot of social issues within America. So hearing this song at first had been a bit confusing- it sounds so simple, how could it possibly tie in with the rest of the songs? What first hit me about this song is how it's musically structured. My grandparents are from North Carolina and I grew up raised in a Methodist then Baptist church. The sort of call and response structure- the acapella harmonizing and lack of instruments besides the clapping and the lone southern fiddle are very reminiscent of the south and my time with my grandparents in their churches. Then I thought of what it was like growing up and it hit me- this song is probably referencing Alice Walker's "The Color Purple". I made a correction to the lyrics and Merrill isn't singing "the sleet coming made the flowers dead" but "the smell of me made the flowers dead". The Color Purple is about a young woman coming of age in the South- turning into a woman and her new experiences as she begins to explore her sexuality and et cetera. At one point the main character is restless at night and can't get to sleep and a female companion comes and goes to bed with her- giving her her first pleasurable sexual experience. The lyrics seem to be alluding to Purple as they describe this grappling with turning into a woman. "The smell of me made the flowers dead"- to me this sounds like a metaphor for menstruation. Classically, flowers were used to represent lady parts or virginity. Furthermore, when one menstruates, such lady parts can often grow smelly quickly. This line to me is the singer growing into a lady and thus, the death of her childhood and innocence. "The weight of me broke the rocking chair" describes another scene of growing into adolescence. A child is usually rocked to sleep in a rocking chair but now that she's become older, she has figuratively broken the rocking chair- since it cannot physically hold two adults. Also- the imagery the verse provides continues to remind me of the south where people often sit on their porches in their rocking chairs. Another allusion to the Color Purple, I suppose. |
|
| Tune-Yards – Rocking Chair Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
*The stink of me made the flowers dead NOT the sleet coming made the flowers dead. |
|
| The Blow – Come on Petunia Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Khaela's gay, so... | |
| The Blow – The Long List of Girls Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I think the guy in this song is indecisive. He wants to be in love, he wants to have a meaningful relationship, but just doesn't seem able to settle- so he has multiple ones, trying to decide. The intentions are well- there wouldn't be a long list of girls who love the shit out of him if he wasn't a cool, decent guy. But how he goes about everything is wrong. It's not fair to everyone- playing with their emotions and pretty much teasing them. He's here and there- so no one expects him to be a certain way or do anything, but the hope still resides in 'hopefully he'll choose me one day' "we know what not to expect it's about what we'll get out of you". The singer is settling on that, and just being on the long list- pretty much, she's in limbo with a guy who's in limbo. Which sucks. |
|
| Vampire Weekend – Step Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
i've been waiting for VW to come out with their new album--it's almost here!!!!! XD but about this song. I'm not quite sure about what it could all mean. Koenig does a fine job riddling his lyrics with many many references, yet still maintaining a certain amount of ambiguity. I think that's why they get a lot of flack for being pretentious at times. if i could attempt at deciphering what this could all mean, i think that perhaps this song isn't about a girlfriend-guy/boyfriend relationship that i was assuming upon first read and listen. instead i see it as a general cautionary tale about growing up- how things have changed/are changing both culturally- externally and internally. the first verse honestly evades me so i'm not quite sure what the heck he's talking about. even a brief search of the places and things he's talking about don't lend much..oh and btw its DAR es Salaam. Not Das. But the second verse seems to be commentary about 'outsiders' - perhaps they're friends, family members, society in general - people who have come before and supposedly 'know more'. These "ancestors" don't seem to approve of the relationship choices of the speaker. He chooses to ignore the negative comments, opting to call the reminiscent "back in my day.." conversations as stale. "They didn't know how to dress for the weather." This is an interesting sentence- it represents to me a wholly solid introduction to two ideas within this song of otherness and a growing introspective maturity. Throughout the rest of the song, there is an unidentified 'they' that is being confronted; they didn't know how to dress for the weather- they were unprepared for particular occurrences. Perhaps they're unprepared because they're caught in the past "all the tales of a past life". But what has made the speaker so different compared to 'them'? Is it his newfound relationship? And what is his relationship with- another person? A deeper understanding of himself? It's obviously not approved of/recommended and is scoffed at, thus, alienating him from 'them'. Eventually, he moves on and yet he can still "still see them there huddled on Astor"- stuck in their weather [the snow is falling]... I don't want to dig too deep into the last verse- there's a lot that could be unloaded, but it's also saying a lot by itself, straight forward enough. But to continue with my themes, the lines: "We saw the stars when they hid from the world You cursed the sun when it stepped to your girl" are worth paying attention to. Considering the stars- they are 'otherworldly'- "coming out" at night, and not so bright, compared to the sun of course. Again, the imagery connotes an otherness of speaker and 'them'. Most people go to sleep at night and often don't get to see the stars- in a backwards way, you could say that the stars were 'hiding' from the world. And that the world in this verse is representative of the 'they' from the previous verse. Perhaps Koenig is saying that, given enough time and patience, a completely different perspective emerges. The phrase 'we saw the stars' in and of itself is just a great phrase- connoting whimsical/magical feelings..images...Yet, compared with the 'you' in the next line, that could also be the 'they' being confronted, when their relationships- their 'girls' are in question, the sun is cursed. the very thing around to "enlighten", per se, the larges masses of the world. Finally, considering the chorus and how it mentions the gloves are off and the wisdom teeth are out; gloves are used to protect against outside elements- in some cases, put up a 'front' between person to person- like how a doctor wears gloves during a physical. wisdom teeth don't actually supply wisdom when they come in- for most, they're a source of great pain and must be removed. The surgery to remove them can be considered a sort of coming of age moment; you were not as wise before them as a child as you are without them as an adult. These actions show that the speaker has or is reaching a point of introspective maturity. He's willing to 'take the gloves off' and deal with people. Even in not-so-pleasant situations. The wisdom teeth are out- this can dually be seen as a sort of sign of humility- yes. They mark a point of coming of age. But equally, the phrase itself can be translated as saying 'i did come this far and have grown this much, but there is still something missing; i'm not all together'...this idea is echoed by the line "I can't do it alone, I can't do it alone". "I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones I'm stronger now, I'm ready for the house" He can feel himself growing, maturing- he's, quite simply, stronger, he can make big life decisions for himself now... There are also some religious references to be noted in this song (among many many other things), but I didn't feel like digging any further, so I'm stopping here. Plus, I'm sure more people will soon comment on those anyway. But those are my few cents, for now.... |
|
| Allen Stone – Unaware Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
ALL OF THE BEST SONGS HAVE THE FEWEST COMMENTS!!!! So let me be the first. I love this kid and his voice and his band. Great stuff. About this song, I always considered it to be about a relationship with him and a girl, but upon further listening as of late, and listening to a few interviews, the lyrics' ambiguous mentioning of 'you'- the person under scrutiny of being a caring person- coupled with every stanza mentioning something about his father- the song sounds a lot like he may be singing about a broken relationship with his dad. From the few interviews I've listened to, i know that he grew up under his dad being a preacher and Allen would sing in the choir of his dad's church, singing gospel- hence why he's an R&B singer today. And considering how a lot of preachers kids grow up often under strict and painful circumstances, this song may be reflecting that time (this is a stereotype, I'm aware, as well as general speculation but that doesn't mean it doesn't hold any truth...) The religious world is often criticized as being hypocritical since it claims to be a people of God yet they commit some very ungodly actions. And how Stone pairs his verses claiming this "you" figure is out spending money when he doesn't have any, then breaking his back to make ends meet trying to I guess save face by saying that it's the land of the free, being ignorant or even simply ignoring the fact that taxes are increasing and our country is becoming enslaved to our monetary system...Boiled down, it sounds like Stone trying to live up to his father's expectations and advice as he quotes him but resolves that he can't. Because he lives a hypocritical life contrary to all that he preaches about- and it's tearing the family apart. Family members are pushed away. The dad probably pulls away. And ultimately, the family is torn and they can't keep stretching the blanket of acceptance over him any more over his destruction actions. It's hurting everyone. But I don't think this is a song stemmed in spite- there may be a lot of hurt feelings, but I think, because Stone sings "You say that you care", it's a song of recognition and time of confession- for the dad that doesn't seem to be aware of the deep cuts he's digging into his family, and from Stone's side of being able to express how much his dad had done that's hurt him and yet how he tried to live up to his father's expectations and advice but found that he couldn't anymore. there still sounds like a bit of readiness to forgive, despite the sarcasm, hypocrisy, pain and doubt. |
|
| Digable Planets – Rebirth of Slick Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!! I can't believe there aren't that many comments on this classic hip hop track oh my goodness- They're doing so much lyrically here. I enjoy how they've structured their verses, for the most part, they begin with: we, them, us, you he, she, our, they who, where, why, when, what, how what? cause or some variation of these pronouns/5 w's... there's a fun, lighthearted poetic language and structure to this, outside of it being rap and filled with a lot of slang. as well, the fact that they also supply great metaphors and claim to be the coolest hip hop group on the scene [IN the coolest, least overbearing way "ask butta how i zone, man Cleopatra Jones"]- set against one of the chillest bass lines- yeah. they rebirthed slick. I love this group (and shabazz palaces for that matter too)... |
|
| alt-J – Intro (This Is All Yours) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I like your interpretation Wooperdoop, but if these lyrics are written correctly, the canon you seem to be referring to is a CANNON, with two 'n's and the one described in the lyrics is: "a standard; criterion" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/canon?s=t). Despite this, your interpretation still stands- and I wouldn't put it past Alt-J to, in the context of listening to the song instead of reading it, used the word's homonymity to reference both definitions. I love these guys though and cannot give them enough praise; what they're doing lyrically, they remind me a bit of ee cummings. Funny enough, this quote also popped up on dictionary.com, made my Pablo Picasso, and I think it appropriate for this discussion. "Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don't start measuring her limbs." |
|
| The Black Keys – Everlasting Light Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I LOVE this song. This entire album is incredible. I don't usually try to look for God in every song I listen to, but it does seem blatantly obvious in this one. I agree with what itaintmebabe is saying (and great scripture btw) plus- i think it even more about God's love simply because you can't love someone everlasting...since we don't live forever. And, objectively speaking, its inevitable for our human love to be conditional at times when even we don't expect it to be. Its just nature. Furthermore, I think it slightly weird for Auerbach to be singing about such an incessant love (if it indeed where about him and another person) just before title tracks like "Too Afraid to Love You" or even "Ten Cent Pistol". Perhaps, even if he doesn't believe in God, he starts such an album like this off with a song like this to contrast such types of love. Maybe he's yearns for something like this? Maybe he yearns for something like this from his 'earthly' relationships? Idk- But I still think it highly spiritual. | |
| Vampire Weekend – Horchata Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
I agree with most everything said- what with balaclava definitions, etc and I also believe this to be about some sort of relationship starting to deteriorate..what stood out to me after giving this a good listen to were the lines, "Those lips and teeth that asked how my day went Are shouting up through cracks in the pavement" I remember somewhere reading that Ezra has a "preference" or whatever for Kate Nash? These seemed to me almost a direct reference to her's 'Foundations', which also was a song about a relationship going sour. "My fingertips are holding onto The cracks in our foundation And I know that I should let go, but I can't And every time we fight, I know it's not right"..... Just my two cents |
|
| Kings of Leon – Milk Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
Oh goodness i love kings of leon. hadn't listened to this cd in awhile and in the past hadn't really paid much mind to the lyrics. but someone had posted an interesting comment on youtube about this song which has changed my mind completely... "salty leave" could very well mean semen or tears from crying. However, with the further context of this song, I personally think it's tears (theres so few words, why would they need to repeat this imagery? i think sex is a great part of this song, but not the focus) "tell me the one about the friend you knew and the last good night that we toasted too." Because this girl is crying and trying to go, he's trying to calm her down, talk to her a bit and keep her from going. "Salty leave, stay for me, stay for me" She's still crying, so he plainly says it- stay for me. "We drank wine in the matinee and the spotlight showed what I chased away" i interpret this in two different ways. first, "regular" wine (like red) isn't necessarily a celebratory drink (like champagne would be(and i specify this simply because it isn't))- it's usually drunk for pleasure or health- and in this case, a spotlight came on- he realized something- that she isn't healthy and she probably shouldn't be drinking the wine in the first place. and that health "problem" was induced by him. OR, he purposely wanted to drink wine with her intending and hoping for this girl to get drunk and now (sober- he can see the [spot]light), after realizing his mistake, he's already chased this girl away. "She saw my comb over, her hourglass body she has problems with drinking milk and being school tardy She'll loan you her toothbrush she'll bartend your party" I think this part is very important to as why this girl wont stay. Someone on youtube gave a great point about being school tardy--first of all, we can all now agree that with references to the body, like her hourglass shape or even the probable reference to semen by salty leave- that 'she had problems with drinking milk' is not something as arbitrary as lactose intolence but that she doesn't like swallowing cum. with that, being school tardy sounds ALOT like her just being late. on her period. (school not referring to her own age, but to the kid inside her) which now gives light to the rest of the song. she's crying because of this. she won't stay with him because this was only intended to be a one night stand- 'she'll loan u her tooth brush'. he realizes when they were drinking wine that she probably shouldnt be because of the baby. or that he 'chased away her health'. or just chased her away in general by impregnating her. see how she takes notice of his comb over? probably another reason she may be telling herself to leave- 'he's too old'. and also, SHE'S the one who notices her own hourglass body- probably in regret? in fear? "Kill me, kill me I called and called, but I can't get through, said he's on his own, but his own is you" he's trying to call her, get back to her (or talk her out of this decision) and she apparently says that he (most likely the baby) is on his own. she got an abortion? or gave the baby up for adoption? and caleb instinctively says, 'on his own?' 'his own is YOU' that baby is not only your own flesh n blood and needs you to survive, but you're his mother, in every sense of the word. and this regret/sorrow obviously pains caleb to the point of him expressing 'killllll meeeee' quite simply, these guys are brilliant artists. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.