| The Dresden Dolls – Sex Changes Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Anyone who's has ever stopped and thought about lyrics written by Amanda Palmer will realize that her songs tend to be layered with more than one meaning. Her music is a perfect study for a site like this. I believe this song is about literal sex changes, the way things change after having sex and abortion. Sex change: "Dear Mr and/or Mrs sender, we're pleased to inform you that your applications been accepted, starting from the time you get this letter, your life will be one never ending "hope your feeling better", you get your choice of anesthetic, we need to chop your clock off" application, surgery including "chopping something off". The line "it leaves you feeling pretty hollow, it might be nice to look at, don't forget your stuck with tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" could be about both a sex change (buyers remorse actually happens post op in some people) and/or a child. Having sex, losing virginity: "Today's a very special day, the boys will murder for it but what will the neighbours say?", "you'll get more than your asking for without the right protection" STD's and pregnancy. Pregnancy/Abortion: "And how you'd love to have a little thing with which to play, But love won't get you very far, today be still your beating heart, You'll have to keep on feeding it tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow", "You'll never hear the little pitter patter pitter patter Of this little feat of engineering" It's all about the layers people. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – Slide Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I agree with you completely. Amanda is quite a lyrical genius and most of her lyrics are layered with meaning. This song has a very obvious suggestion of abuse but also of a general loss of innocence and natural aging. Obvious isn't always correct however. The song "Bad Habbit" sounds like it's about self harm but when this was mentioned to Amanda she expressed surpise as she wrote it about much more benign bad habbits such as picking dead skin etc. |
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| The Dresden Dolls – Missed Me Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I personally don't feel it's about abuse either but those could still make sense if it were, "stockholm syndrome" and "grooming" both result in a victim who has strong feelings for their abuser. | |
| Amanda Palmer – Guitar Hero Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I forgot to reply that at the end of the music video a plastic soldier is shown. | |
| Amanda Palmer – Guitar Hero Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I'm in love with this song and though I don't think it's the only theme, a large part of the meaning behind these lyrics in my opinion is war and soldiers. I had the idea briefly just from hearing the song but if I remember correctly on Amanda's website, each individual song lyric page had a picture and the picture for this song was a news paper clipping about how the US soldiers in Iraq have been given a game console with the game "Guitar Hero" for blowing off steam. I see it as a metaphor, with the guitar being a gun (which I know is obvious, or at least I hope it is). For instance "Stratocaster strapped to your back, It's a semi-automatic like dad's, He taught you how to pause and reset, But that's about as far as you got" is quite plainly father teaching his child the basics of how to shoot. "So what's the use of going outside', It's so depressing when people die in real life" is a juxtaposition of real life at war compared to video games. My favorite line, which holds such truth in my opinion: "And I could save you baby but it isn't worth my time, 'Cause even if I saved you there's a million more in line" even if one soldier were saved, there is an almost endless number waiting to take their place. "It's a hit but are you actually sure? The targets in the crowd are a blur, people screaming just like they should, but you don't even know if you're good" is another juxtoposition of Guitar Hero style playing to a live audience and a fire fight during war. I could quite easily go on, but I've made my point. I don't really see any comment on violence and video games as others seem to, the obvious themes of both Amanda's music and her career quite plainly show that she is not the type of person to jump on the "video games are evil and the cause of all shootings" band wagon. |
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| CocoRosie – Beautiful Boyz Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Quite obviously about Jean Genet (as many people have already pointed out). Famous for his memoirs, his criminal convictions, political efforts and friendship with Picasso. His mother was a prostitute who put him up for adoption. He spent time with a few families and began a long habbit of petty theft. He spent many years in and out of prison, was thrown out of the Foreign Legion for homosexual acts but eventually his writing was recognized and he was spared a long sentence when some notable figures (such as Picasso) appealed on his behalf and he never set foot in prison again. The mention of his greatest love being executed is slightly off in that he fell in love with a tight rope walker of all things who commited suicide. The "tattoos and ships and tattoos of tears" is of course a reference to well known, almost traditional prison tattoos. I almost gagged when I saw that someone posted a comment here suggesting the tear tattoos were "emo" related. Really? Couldn't possibly be the well known tradition of a tear drop tattoo representing one murder. |
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| CocoRosie – Beautiful Boyz Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| You say that like 5 people before you hadn't already pointed that out. | |
| Amanda Palmer – Map of Tasmania Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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People really need to give up on the "jumping the shark" comment. As someone else said, this song was something Amanda spun out at the last minute and it works, it's awesome and is actually a statement at the same time. The music style is something so different from Amanda's usual, true. But that shouldn't mean it's branded a last ditch effort. If you watch the live performance on YouTube where she played this song you can see she wasn't sure of the style, I can't guess why she chose this particular style but it works. |
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| Amanda Palmer – Map of Tasmania Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Exactly as ladydimitria said. Amanda has always faced flack for rarely shaving her legs and arm pits. She's an awesome, confident woman who believes in choice. I'd imagine that she has spent a large portion of her adult life being told that it's wrong for her not to shave so she's just shouting from the roof tops that either way is good, it's all about personal choice. | |
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