| Paul Simon – Graceland Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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So, there's two ways to look at this song - literal and metaphorical, just like any song really... The literal meaning of this song has been confirmed to be about a road trip Paul Simon took with his young son from his first marriage after parting ways with Carrie Fisher. As I'd assume is the case with many famous couples, their relationship was fairly turbulent and they dated on/off both before AND after their marriage...I believe the split is what provided the catalyst for doing the album. Of course, the metaphor within this song is much deeper and what makes it tangible to us as listeners beyond just Simon's personal experience. Don't we all try to get away after a bad break-up just to have it follow us in our heads and play back the many conversations or keys to why it failed? As he remembers something his lover said, he quotes her: "Losing love is like a window to your heart - everybody sees your blown apart, everybody sees the wind blow." Things that you gloss over at the time or try to ignore can end up coming back to you again and again, much like he remembers the line and hears it just a little differently each time he repeats it. Ultimately, as he approaches his destination (literally and metaphorically) he is confident that he'll be able to move past the end of something that he cannot understand or explain and just be received as he is. |
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| The Felice Brothers – Marlboro Man (Daytrotter Session) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Thought it was a shame this song didn't have at least a stab of an interpretation, so thought I'd finally join and write my first comment. Like any great set of lyrics, I think the Felice Bros. would invite you to interpret it any number of ways as it relates to you but here's how I see it: 1) The song is about smoking cigarettes at its most obvious and, perhaps as an extension, about any type of product that's so addicting it can literally take over your life, replace your relationships, keep you from eating or sleeping, all while slowly killing you (seems like they reference tobacco, TV, time, etc) 2) There's also a sense of the impact of the American marketing machine woven into these lyrics, that Mad Men concept that people/consumers need to be told what they want and what to do. I think that could be reflected in the short snapshots of classic scenes where people would be smoking in a cool or "desirable" way (workers in the shade after a long day of work, lovers in a park, etc) 3) And, finally, I thought this interpretation I read on the totally awesome DayTrotter site and their session with the Felice Bros. was worth sharing: "It's really deafening/I'm really on my way to hell," Ian sings on "Marlboro Man" and then tells the dog to get down, almost a hip-hop reference, but it sounds like a gravedigger or an alcoholic author's lament, like something Bukowski or Vonnegut would have said, but never really meant. He hints at Miss America going off with the Marlboro Man and it has the essence of the way that the band would like to see things play out, in an ideal world - the girl seeing the value in being with a guy that is All-American in ways and suicidal and depressed for everyone else in other ways. Check out the site, here: http://www.daytrotter.com/#!/concert/the-felice-brothers/20030295-3737659&playerLoadAndPlayConcert=20030295-3737659 |
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