submissions

Sufjan Stevens – Should Have Known Better Lyrics

10 years ago

Abandonment is a big theme of this album relating obviously to Sufjan's mother leaving him as a young child. Sufjan didn't write a letter to his mom because he didn't want to burden her. He only wanted to be a relief. Such a sad sentiment repeated in various ways in other places on the album. i.e. his mom saying "did you get enough love, my little dove" on Fourth of July. The switch in the music half way through along with the more hopeful lyrics is so insanely beautiful. I came back to listen to this track after making my way through the others and it has such an impact after the bleakness (also beautiful) on the rest of the album. It's interesting that this is the second song on the album. It would have made a nice catharsis as one of the last tracks but I guess instead it's a brief respite meant to carry you through the rest of the album.

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Arcade Fire – Supersymmetry Lyrics

12 years ago

I agree with you. I think both interpretations could be true but I see this song (especially the first verse) as a simple declaration of the themes which are wrestled with the most on the album. The afterlife is constantly mentioned, both in the Eurydice myth and in other songs like Here Comes the Night Time. I'm not sure exactly how the Supersymmetry concept works but I think it's describing a relationship here between two people where one feels that the other person completes him and makes him whole. His behaviors are reflected in her and vice versa to the point where one cannot be described without the other.

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Sufjan Stevens – John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Lyrics

12 years ago

I don't think the line "in my best behavior I am really just like him" should be interpreted separately from the last line "look beneath the floor boards for the secrets I have hid." He's not saying that he's a murderer or capable of murder like John Wayne Gacy. He's saying he hides secrets underneath the surface like Gacy (who hid his victims in a crawl space "under the floorboards" in his home).

submissions

The Antlers – Rolled Together Lyrics	14 years ago
Yeah, I think hypnotic is the way to describe this song. He repeats the lyric almost like a mantra. The backing music also plays up this aspect.

submissions

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong Lyrics	14 years ago
Man, this has anthem written all over it. The feeling of "us" as misfits would have been huge in the 1990's. I think technically he may be directly referring to one person and himself as a couple that doesn't work. However, no doubt he's aware that chanting "we don't belong" over and over again is going to be viewed in a broader way by his audience.

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