| My Bloody Valentine – Only Shallow Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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When I hear the song, I hear the lyrics: Sleep like a pillow Downward, there When she won't care Anywhere Soft as a pillow Touch her there Where she won't dare Somewhere Sleep like a mellow subject and think that you grow stronger Speak all your troubles She's not square Soft like raw silk Everywhere Sleep holds a pillow That's right there Then she won't dare Anyway Look in the mirror She's not there Where she won't care Somewhere |
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| Faith No More – Epic Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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First stanza is about sex. How you feel during. Second is about how you feel immediately thereafter. Talking with your partner. Third is about how you feel about the person and the fling after it's done. The chorus is pretty much two people talking about the whole thing. The "What is it?" is one of the duo asking for clarification on the chorus lyrics. Roll it up, and the song in whole: it's about infatuation. What you had, briefly, and lost. You want sex without strings. You want it all but you can't have it. It's taunting you. Plus, listen to Epic on the "Live at Brixton" album. It ends with Mike singing: "Now I'm a prayer sustained, get to your crutches now. Make my day." Could be vamping, but that sounds pretty much like a taunt to someone, directly. (Mike was around 20 when he wrote the song. The ennui of youth.) |
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| Nirvana – Radio Friendly Unit Shifter Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Sure, Kurt said it didn't mean anything. But look at his Journals and you'll find a pretty clear meaning. The song was originally called "4 month media blackout" and "9 month media blackout" but renamed to "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter," primarily, as Cobain noted, to fire back at his label. He wrote, "Boy, this will really get the A&R man's blood boiling. He'll be so pissed. Heh, heh. Clever." So, 4 month media blackout: this song centers around his utter disdain and hatred of rock journalists, whom he felt performed interviews with him and his band and then either quoting them out of context, or outright lying, to create scandalous stories that would sell magazines. (Remember, this was before the internet -- most rock journalism was to sell monthly rock periodicals.) Taking this line by line as written by Cobain: "Use just once and destroy, invasion of our privacy, afterbirth of a nation, starve without your skeleton key" - Refers to how journalists would use the band for an interview, and either them or their editors would try to destroy them to create a sensationalized story about them. Invasion of their privacy refers to how the band was being followed *everywhere* for quotes and interviews. Afterbirth of a nation refers to the freedom of the press - there's no way to stop them. Starve without your skeleton key - sounds like the band went into a media blackout while recording In Utero, and as such, they're hoping that the journalists starve without their ability to interview them. "I love you for what I am not" - Cobain wants to be normal. Not this hyper-scrutinized rockstar. "I did not what what I have got" - he wanted to play music, and instead, became supersized, and was forced into the role that he's now in. "Speak at once while taking turns" - refers to the interview process itself. "This has nothing to do with what you think, if you ever think at all." - A lot of Cobain's lyrics came from stream of consciousness writings he made in his journals, and the phrases he liked. As such, his lyrics are usually pretty easily deciphered incorrectly. "What is what I need - what is wrong with me?" - A pretty clear questioning of why he's hating being a rockstar. He needs to give media interviews to sell records, and he's not clear that he's right to question shutting out the media. "What is what I need - what do I think I think" - Questions what he really thinks the right response is to the aforementioned lyric. Anyways, rest of it seems pretty self-explanatory. To counter another "meaning" I saw here, the song structure/harmony was first recorded in '91, and played live in '90, the lyrics were in flux until it was recorded for In Utero. (Listen to a bootleg of it to hear that it's pretty different...) If you're interested in the guy himself, read Journals. |
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| Jens Lekman – An Argument With Myself Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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In regard to: "??????? twice at March ??????????????????? To make history of a love, a love like ours" I hear: "It should be this tough twice at March For just trying to be a better sparce but ended up finding sores to make history of a love, a love like ours" |
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| Circa Survive – Living Together Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Original content stanzas: It starts out like a season in reverse A way to set your mind above and over words Attached means identity Erases things so how can we record? Distress call code-word is "I wanna live" He makes it up as he goes and it goes away To places he can only hide in other peoples' minds He makes it up as he goes It goes away Your rational mind's insane Taste the sound you make The light from the sun The story that never gets old The light from the sun is your mother Attached means identity Erases things so why should we? With an effortless smile you prevade to me And in-between aisles They would say you stare to see With an effortless smile you prevade to me Always in-between aisles optimistic daring me Would you trade your soul for gold? Would you trade your soul? Would you trade? Interpretation: "It starts out like a season in reverse A way to set your mind above and over words Attached means identity Erases things so how can we record?" When we view love, we see gradual signs of it blossoming; but a season in reverse is time in regression; taken in context, with the next two lyrics ("a way to set your mind above and over words / attached means identity") the singer is stating that dependent relationships require personality change to adapt and confrom to become the person who you're attached to wants you to be. In other words: for one in this mindset, to keep a relationship healthy, they have to pretend to be the person they tell others they are. The line "erases things so how can we record" is a reflection of this; when in such a mental modality, there is no furthering of the self (e.g. recording new memories and associating them to who you are and want to be), but rather you are regressing in an attempt to fit yourself into the mold provided. "Distress call code-word is "I wanna live" He makes it up as he goes and it goes away To places he can only hide in other peoples' minds He makes it up as he goes It goes away" A police officer in distress will create a distress call; it is a number which converts to a set of code-words. For example, a code "417" is the code-word for "man or woman with a gun." The singer is stating that he is calling for help; while he doesn't want to be an empty pair of shoes, he wants to live within this relationship, so he keeps up the persona that he's created. Gradually, the call for help goes away; he has made up his personality to fit this relationship, and this persona only really exists in other peoples' minds, who think that is genuine. But for the person who makes up this persona, such work is exhausting; to maintain such a face, it drains one's emotions. As soon as the interaction is over, the fascade disappears; it goes away. "Your rational mind's insane Taste the sound you make The light from the sun The story that never gets old The light from the sun is your mother Attached means identity Erases things so why should we?" This stanza is the singer asking those who are in such a similar place to question their position. "Your rational mind's insane / taste the sound you make" is an open plea for a person in this situation to hear what they're saying -- and if they realized that they were being this massively discongruent, would they want to actually keep doing it? To view this another way: we view the sun as eternal. It never gets old, it stays constant, and it never lies to fit in. A genuine personality is healthy, nuturing ("your mother"); but if you're attached to someone, your identity is tied to what they want you to be. You become a new person, and lose the old in the process; you run against the genuine that you should be. "With an effortless smile you prevade to me And in-between aisles They would say you stare to see With an effortless smile you prevade to me Always in-between aisles optimistic daring me Would you trade your soul for gold? Would you trade your soul? Would you trade? " In this stanza, the singer reflects on the nature of why someone does this. The essential statement is that with a woman's smile, his soul is awakened; the woman stares to see if he is compatible with her. The singer sees visions of marriage when he sees her; this is why he states that it is "in-between aisles" (or, if you account for a church's architecture, in the middle aisle). It's an optimistic feeling when someone first feels like there is a connection; it's a silent plea for one partner to feel compatible with the other. Thus, the singer states: "Would you trade your soul for gold?", or to view it another way: would you give up who you are, to be with someone you are completely infatuated with? So, if you want to view the song in a more A->D comparison: view it in this order: stanza 4, 1, 3, 2. The singer sees a woman he wants to be with: he sees marriage with her, but to get there, he has to trade his soul (personality). He sets his mind above and over the words which will allow him to create the persona; but an outsider would tell the singer that he should reflect on the nonsense he's telling others. But the personality is already too entrenched; there is little chance for relief or escape, and instead will remain the person that is seen in other peoples' minds. |
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