| Mumford & Sons – White Blank Page Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think it´s about real love. Real love to a special girl and also to God. But I don´t think the conflict is between God´s commandment and his own heart, it´s rather the conflict between whole, honest love on the one and half, lukewarm desire on the other hand. That´s a conflict everybody carries in his own heart. It´s about the ability to dedication or devotion to the one you love. First stanza says that it´s very difficult to love, not just addressing the body of the other, and not just uttering some void confession of love. Only if you´re able to love in this complete matter, you can say before God ("the King"): "I´m clean". I think the singer addresses this question to himself and to everybody not only to special person. He continues "But...." This means although it´s difficult, he ventured it, although it seems to be impossible, he gave his heart, even his "whole heart". And now the paradox is: his love was rejected or at least not returned and he has to justify for it ("Where was my fault?"). He has overcome the inner obstacles and shown real love (left open to whom, probably a special girl)and now is confronted with the "outward" obstacle: Real love isn´t something usual in our world. The girl´s cold calculating and egoistic response makes him angry, confused and maybe for a moment even suicidal. That´s only a sign that his love is authentic and real. Maybe the "white blank page" is a symbol for the impossibility of communication between him and the girl. This experience could have made him bitter and led him to resignation. But he doesn´t give up. He is deeply convinced that the "love with my whole heart"-way is the good and true way. So maybe the last lines "Lead me to the Truth..." are at the same time a prayer to God and a hopeful cry to a woman he still hopes to find who will also love him "with her whole heart". | |
| Mumford & Sons – White Blank Page Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I didn´t pay special attention to this excellent song for months (although I often listened to the whole "Sigh no more"-CD), but some days ago it moved right in the centre of my focus, both lyrics and music.As in many other M&S-songs many things are left open concerning the exact constellation of the people involved in the conflict described in the song. Is the singer-"I" still in a relationship with a girl presently, or have they already split up? Is there another guy addressed, is he a former or a present lover of the girl? Was there a one-night stand? Is there a hetero-, homo- and bisexual drama before our eyes (or ears)? Where does he talk to his girl, where... to another guy, where...to himself, where... to God? I think this openness to different interpretations is no lack. Here´s no special case or story told with various various details, but here is described something principal, a few strong lines are drawn, it´s a small but very intense outline. What is it about? |
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| Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Have to add: by mistake I didn´t see the last comments but only the older ones, otherwise I could have reacted directly. But it´s never too late. Never mind. | |
| Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Plenty of time has passed since the last comment was written, and maybe I´m not able to say something really new, but I like this song so much and am fascinated by its lyrics, that I have to share my thoughts. I agree with "seanpb" and "batesy predator" that the attitude of the singer-"I" is ironical or even sarcastic, above all in the chorus. But I think it´s not addressed to a girl, to a "lion woman", but to a man, it may be the alter ego of the singer but it doesn´t have to be. At least the person addressed is a person full of ugly self-pity ("Weep for yourself...")and without real decisiveness and courage ("take all the courage you have left..."), actually a coward, the straight opposite of a "lion man", a person that is used to still "learn from his mother" or to "bite his own neck". It´s very meaningful, that the singer confirms the person addressed in his lamentation, but in a very bitter way ( kinda "Oh yes you´re so poor and wretched, maybe the most miserable person ever!!!"). The chorus seems to be the strongest expression of that: Yes, you´re the poor victim, and I am guilty of it all, "It was not your fault but mine... I really fucked it up this time, didn´t I, my dear?" We don´t get any information about what happened, this is left open, maybe for the sake of an easier identification. So we can identify with both of them, with the self-pitiful person and with the person dealing with the self-pitiful person. Emotionally expressive and psychologically intelligent lyrics at the same time. And... long live the banjo!!! |
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| Johnny Flynn – The Prizefighter and the Heiress Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Oops....I´m the first to write a comment here. And the only thing I can say is: I don´t understand the meaning of this song, not at all. I think Johnny´s lyrics are not only symbolic but cryptic here. Nevertheless if someone has any deeper insight I´m interested to read it. I wouldn´t post here at all, if I didn´t like the music so much. I love the music, I even love the monotony of the music! First the slow part with the cool trumpets and the "raining" background, then the faster part with fantastic guitar rhythm and this simple, heart-moving melody. Maybe my favourite together with "The Wrote and the Writ". Johnny is a great and very gifted musician. |
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| Johnny Flynn – Barnacled Warship Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The lyrics of this song are very profound and at the same time cynical and tragic I think. As far as I understand it, the "I" of this song, the "barnacled warship", is a person that lives his life looking out for groups or "armys" he can join. He doesn´t care about the contents or the purposes, but he just wants to get active in fighting and it´s enough for him to know he belongs to a special collective: "think I´ll fight a war I don´t know what for". And so he joins the real Army and afterwards also a christian group (the Salvation Army), that doesn´t make any difference to him. And again afterwards he puts down his Bible and picks up the real gun again. And we can imagine that he still is going to change his "membership" many many times, regardless of belief or ideology. What I find most sinister about it is this quality "barnacled". Like an unintelligent burr he sticks to his "army", not as a thinking human being. He´s satisfied to stay on the doorsteps and eat some fruit and have "pillfuls of rain" like an animal. And he´s suffering ("cold fingers", "feet made of lead"). He´s left his home,he permanently leaves his home and in spite of feeling fresh and eager he feels "like going to bed", an expression for the numb und dull mood he is in. And Johnny´s bitter-naive tone as well as the mechanical stamping and pacing of the cello and also the shrill and piercing violins display this whole attitude hauntingly. It´s really art, a real masterpiece. |
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| Johnny Flynn – Tunnels Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I also like this song very much, both music and lyrics. What Johnny describes is something existential, that goes very deep and affects everyone: "We´re all digging...". And this "digging", "tunnel-making" is obviously something negative and fruitless. It leads away from the daylight, away from company and communion with others. While digging you´re alone only carrying out your digging ambitions. It seems to be a kind of fate or doom, nobody can escape from it. All human beings are "jailbirds", there´s a kind of solidarity in "tunnel-digging". "the ornamental tree" maybe symbolizes deliverance, but the way to this tree, whatever it represents, still is unknown. Interesting: in the first stanza it can really say "I was that far from the tree" and "I wasn´t that far from the tree", both make sense. "Far from the tree" may be already referring to the saving "ornamental tree", but "not far from the tree" can also by an expression for "being suicidal", which was my first intuitional interpretation. But one thing I really don´t grasp: why does it mean "far too slow". I thought the tunnel-digging itself was the problem, not the slowness. If someone has an idea, I´d be glad to share it. Terri1909 you´re right, the lyrics of this song are very rich and full of associations. |
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