submissions
| They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul Lyrics
| 8 years ago
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@[scandor:19165] He always of course says he's plugged into an outlet.
I like to think he misspells "light" because he's a nightlight so of course he doesn't know how to spell very well. |
submissions
| Tom Waits – Come on Up to the House Lyrics
| 8 years ago
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@[elbufalo:19027] Holy crap. While I adore it, the meaning of this song has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I just ran through the lyrics with your comment in mind, and every line makes sense in the light of that interpretation. The song is practically written in the language of AA (mixed, naturally, with that of an old fire and brimstone preacher, and a quirky smartass singer-songwriter). It's right there in the 12 Steps, which are all about recognizing that your life has become hopeless and you need to seek help from something higher, whatever that means to you. The more I think about this, the more certain I am that you're right. Thank you for helping me finally understand one of my all-time favorite songs. |
submissions
| Phil Collins – Take Me Home Lyrics
| 9 years ago
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@[actionfrankdoll:15883] Sort of reminds me of Pearl Jam's "Alive." What Eddie Vedder wrote as a song about a desperate and damaged man spinning out of control got embraced by people who found themselves inspired by it in dark times, to the extent that the meaning of the song changed to some extent even for Vedder himself. |
submissions
| The Commodores – Easy Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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@[michael14:1481] Yeah! He's easy not necessarily because it's his nature, but because he's made the decision to walk away and he's not worried anymore. It's about the weightless feeling you get when you're free of both something that's causing you unhappiness and from the indecision that has kept you in that situation up until now. |
submissions
| Toad the Wet Sprocket – Stupid Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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I was expecting and hoping to find a lot of comments on what this song is about, because it's certainly intriguing. It seems to be about knowing a guy and eventually realizing he's not what you thought he was - he's something wrong, something troubling, a bigot, or a wifebeater. Quite possibly a rapist. It definitely gives off the impression that it's about a real and specific person. Again, intriguing. Great tune. |
submissions
| Pharrell Williams – Happy Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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Plus what little content there is in the song is kind of horrifying if you think about it. It's basically just "Screw all the unhappiness in the world, I'm just gonna not think about it and be happy. Lalalalalalalala." Gross. |
submissions
| Public Enemy – Can't Truss It Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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This song is about comparing slavery and the state of black people in America today, or rather showing that one is a continuation of the other - slavery ostensibly ended, but oppression continued all the way up until today. The slavery stuff is notable because it's not just a mention, which you would usually get from PE, but a harrowing deep dive into the brutal details of what it means to be owned by another person. It's also interesting that throughout the song he shifts between the slavery stuff and the point of view of a black person today, giving a context for his point of view. "That's why it's hard for the black to love the land."
I also think it's interesting that he points out that black Africans betrayed other black Africans by capturing them and selling them to the white slaveowners. It's a theme he's addressed several times: Black people being complicit in the oppression of their own people.
This is a damn powerful song, one of my favorite PE cuts. |
submissions
| Spin Doctors – Little Miss Can't Be Wrong Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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This is a pretty vicious little song! It was pretty ubiquitous back in the 90s, and when I finally got around to paying much attention to the lyrics, I was a little shocked by how nasty it was, and here it is disguised as a bouncy little funky hippie-dippie pop rock song. Great tune. |
submissions
| Morphine – Scratch Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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This song always makes me think of my dad after my folks got divorced when I was 15. He frequently talked about just what is said in this song, just his whole life taken away all at once, all his happiness (whatever happiness there was by the time they finally divorced), his home, all his possessions. He had to buy a new tv, for god's sake. Straight back to square one, right where he was when he got out of the Army when he was twenty or whatever. |
submissions
| Morphine – Thursday Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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I always thought the ending of this was really ominous, the way he pointedly refers to her in the past tense, like the husband killed her or something. |
submissions
| Morphine – All Your Way Lyrics
| 11 years ago
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Any man who's ever been in an argument with a woman doesn't need to ask what this song is about. |
submissions
| Beastie Boys – Egg Man Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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The sample actually does say "blood clot," which is a Jamaican swear, a really strong one as I understand it. I'm not sure what the sample is from, but I would guess some reggae or dub song, or maybe the movie The Harder They Come. |
submissions
| The Beach Boys – God Only Knows Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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I once heard somebody observe about this song that when it comes to songs written by Brian Wilson, even the happy ones are sad. This is a beautiful love song that starts out "I may not always love you." Even as a declaration of lasting love, it starts out on a sad note. |
submissions
| Jonatha Brooke – Everything I Wanted Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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If I'm reading this right, it's about being an unhappy newlywed. Very sad and depressing song. The desperation in her voice is devastating. As with all the best Jonatha Brooke songs, she always seems about to completely lose control of her voice and her emotions. |
submissions
| Jed Whedon and the Willing – To Be Money Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Such a hauntingly negative song... As far as I can tell, it's about being raised by rich parents, who don't care about anything but money, to not care about anything but money. It's one of those songs where just seeing the lyrics tends to diminish them, but they're a lot more effective when you can hear the music and the delivery of the lines. When he says "the chest is hollow," man... just devastating. |
submissions
| Stone Temple Pilots – Crackerman Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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Nah, it was definitely a reference, even if only a casual one used to get a rhyme. That song is iconic, and Weiland would definitely know it very well. |
submissions
| Stone Temple Pilots – Plush Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This song is about suspecting or knowing that your girl is cheating on you or will cheat on you. The bit about the dogs smelling her is a reference to dogs smelling a bitch in heat, and knowing she's ready to mate, and using that as a metaphor for guys picking up a vibe from her that she's available. "Will she smell alone" - he's asking if she's giving off that vibe. "So where ya going to tomorrow? And I see that these are lies to come" - she's lying to him, or he suspects she is. It's a dark song, but it's not about rape or murder, unless the guy got so jealous he murdered the chick. |
submissions
| Barenaked Ladies – When I Fall Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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This song is just about having to do something that scares the hell out of you. The specific fear it talks about is fear of heights - and you can tell the songwriter knows a bit about that, because any acrophobe will instantly recognize the feeling conveyed in lines like "hang onto your rings" - but more generally it's just about dealing with fear, of any kind. Not sure why people think it's about suicide. Just because he's on a building? He's up there because it's his job and he needs to pay his bills, but he would clearly rather be anywhere else. He's a window washer, but suffers from acrophobia. Such a neat idea for a song, who would think of such a thing. |
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