| Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I get the feeling that the song is about anyone you've ever loved, who has loved you back. What a beautiful face I have found in this place That is circling all round the sun What a beautiful dream That could flash on the screen In a blink of an eye and be gone from me Soft and sweet Let me hold it close and keep it here with me Really talks about when you are in love, and how fragile it is. Anything could happen to take it away from you, and so it's a beautiful, amazing thing to find on this speck of mud floating in the infinite sea of our universe. And one day we will die And our ashes will fly from the aeroplane over the sea But for now we are young Let us lay in the sun And count every beautiful thing we can see Love to be In the arms of all I'm keeping here with me This verse is a sort of acknowledgement of the previous point; sure, everything will be gone from us one day, but for now let us enjoy it while we have it. It is precious, and can't be wasted. What a curious life we have found here tonight There is music that sounds from the street There are lights in the clouds Anna's ghost all around Hear her voice as it's rolling and ringing through me Soft and sweet How the notes all bend and reach above the trees This is usually referenced when talking about Anne Franke and the apparent Holocaust theme throughout the whole album. But it also sets up the bridge. It can be about some love lost, or the afterglow of love, even, when you are not with your lover but can still feel his/her warm glow in your heart. Now how I remember you How I would push my fingers through Your mouth to make those muscles move That made your voice so smooth and sweet And now we keep where we don't know All secrets sleep in winter clothes With one you loved so long ago Now he don't even know his name Now the bridge is a statement of nostalgia. The first half is remembrance, but the second half is more interesting to me. "With the one you loved so long ago…Now he don't even know his name" seems to talk about when you reach old age, those that you loved so long ago might be dead or losing their minds. This really flows into the final verse: What a beautiful face I have found in this place That is circling all round the sun And when we meet on a cloud I'll be laughing out loud I'll be laughing with everyone I see Can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all Which is, of course, when you die. If you believe in an afterlife of sorts, this verse is looking forward to meeting those past lovers in the end, celebrating and remembering the past for what it was. Not only for what it was, but for what it can be enjoyed as now that life is over. What seemed like regrettable actions or rough patches, arguments, etc, in life now fade away into the eternal background of the afterlife and are meaningless. It really is one of the greatest love songs ever written, I think. |
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| Portugal. The Man – The Home Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I think it's vaguely about remaining an individual as we grow older and as people start expecting us to contribute to or become a part of society. | |
| Little Joy – Next Time Around Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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In a very general, nonspecific way, I think this song is about being patient, not taking on more than you can handle, etc. The Portuguese part and these two bits give me that feeling: One too many goals That measure out your worth To seek your weight in gold Its not enought to set the terms if nothing ventured, nothing learned But then the rest of the lyrics are more specific, and I'm not entirely sure about what. To me it sounds like being patient with some manner of a long distance relationship: Sat by the ivory sill the further out you look the further out you'll be > Implying distance, he's sitting at a window watching someone leave ("the further out you look / the further out you'll be" is just a way of describing something shrinking in the distance). Settled on your own swepping dust from stones with a letter home >Whoever it is has settled, etc. This part is pretty clear. Back where the hours long the simplest things invite a thrill If just by noticing at will >Perhaps implying that the wait is unbearable, the hours drag, and so on Finally, this part ties together the general idea of patience with the theme of a long distance relationship. It's just mentioning how patience and a positive outlook can be important in that situation. I wouldn't think the lyrics here are supposed to be ironic, since the music itself doesn't totally give me that impression. In time I'll belong to you that's how its meant to be And how it's always been |
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| Portugal. The Man – Once Was One Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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At first, it sounds like it's about an older brother/relative/friend(?) that died young. The line "We all, we all, we all turn on, we all, we all, we all turn off" seems to be about the idea that everyone dies eventually, which Gourley also discusses in other songs and on other albums. Can't say anything about the gorillas or spacemen. But then, the part "Of all us he had to know he'd never grow / He'd never climb, he'd never love like the love I know" makes it sound like it was a suicide rooted in hopelessness or low self-esteem, etc. Particularly low-self esteem because "of all us" makes it sound like the thought of never growing or changing is only seen in the mind of that person. The lines "In time, saw your future is not burning so bright / But if we live too long you'll live less like mine" explains the logic behind a suicide. The person might have killed themselves because they couldn't cope with the idea that they would never achieve their dreams or meet their own standards. This type of thinking could easily be attributed to low self-esteem or learned helplessness. Specifically, "But if we live too long you'll live less like mine" can be simplified to "Your dreams will only drift further away the longer you live." Once again, this is the logic attributed to the suicide, as thought by the victim. I wouldn't say it was suicide when the person in question was 10 (and Gourley was 2), but Gourley is just pointing out the age difference when he says "When you were ten and I was two." Really, that could just be a device for the purpose of writing good lyrics, instead of simply saying "oh hey, he was eight years older than me." If it is about suicide, it probably would have happened later. Just speculation really, but I think it makes some sense. |
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| River City Extension – There and Back Again Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Safe for my closet* Minor correction, but makes more sense |
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| Grouplove – Colours Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I definitely think this song is about self-acceptance, like plenty of others have said, but I also think it goes a little deeper than that. It's not just acceptance of who you are, but also who you used to be, and to accept the fact that you have changed and will probably continue to change for your entire life. I also get a feel that there's a bit of outward acceptance here (of other people, or that other people change), but that's probably just me because I can't really point to any specific lyrics. |
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| Matt & Kim – Ready? OK. Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I think the general meaning of this song is that he's living on almost no money, but he's ok with it. | |
| Starfucker – Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I don't necessarily agree with the idea that it's about love or relationships, but that it's more generally about any kind of continuity in life that eludes you. Then again, the fact that it can take on any meaning depending on the listener is the beauty of the song. | |
| River City Extension – South For The Winter Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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So I asked Joe once about the part "I'm not in love, I'm not inspired by today" and he told me that the meaning of love here isn't just romantic love, but also love for life, etc. Also, I think the verse "Sometimes all I want is a job, and a god, and a wife Oh lately I've been thinking some stability would probably be nice" can also be taken more generally, with a job referring to a purpose, a god referring to faith (in anything), and a wife obviously referring to some kind of romance. |
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| Little Joy – With Strangers Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think the meaning is pretty clear: basically he's in love with someone who isn't in love with him, but with someone else. | |
| Neon Indian – Polish Girl Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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================================================ It's been at least another year And still I haven't got the chance to say Always rolling off the tongue Never said but nearly sung about a million ways Every photograph and story Trickled through the lengthy web of friends I overthought but understood Distant looks but looking good And not the other way But you, you, fail to remember But you, you, fail to remember Do I still cross your mind? Your face still distorts the time ================================================ Basically he talks about an old love (like chattenoir said), or some type of love that was left without any closure. To me, it's almost like there was love between two people that never quite came to the surface, and then was cut short by something (could be distance, whatever would make sense, really). The whole "But you fail to remember / Do I still cross your mind?" makes me think that the subject of the song has moved on, or at least makes it seem like they have. "Your face still distorts the time" just re-emphasizes the time that's passed. ================================================ With heat struck afternoons long through Those idle dreams go back to you The echo seems so low displaced Everything that's not your face, I'm drifting off to ================================================ I think this is just talking about nostalgia and how he misses her/those memories. ================================================ (?) of infiltrations That what was made of constellations that I've saw Was this only in my head Just like most things go misread When overthought ================================================ Can't say much here other than it seems like he's starting to doubt whether there really was anything to begin with; that he was just overthinking it the whole time. This could also go the other way: he might have at first believed there wasn't anything between them, but now he realizes he was overthinking things and it's clear that they had some chemistry (or whatever). "I overthought but understood / Distant looks but looking good" from the second verse also expresses this doubt/realization. |
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| Neon Indian – Polish Girl Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I don't think it necessarily means the only way he expresses his feelings to this girl is via song. "nearly sung about a million ways" could also more generally mean that he insinuates his feelings but never outright says them. | |
| River City Extension – (I Had Thought About This In) March Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Those five lines sung in the background at the end...holy shit. The last two lines: And though I clutch you in my fingertips, The callous makes you nothing to my skin Make me think that at least part of this song is about being loved by someone that you may/may not love back, but being so closed and pessimistic about things and not realizing it. |
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| Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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My first impression from this is that it's a song about being happy through living your life with what you have instead of trying to acquire new things all of the time. Basically - everything you need to be happy is right there, you just need to love unconditionally, sow your seeds, and keep clapping to the rythm. |
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