| Guided by Voices – Glad Girls Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The phrase "Glad Girl" was the nickname for the character Pollyanna from the mid 1910s. Pollyanna was a little girl who seemed to be incapable of being negative, i.e. she was always "glad." She lived in a dour old town with a dour old aunt, and her cheerfulness eventually made everyone in town happy. The character was hugely popular, to the point Pollyanna and "Glad Girl" were household names at the time, which is why you occasionally hear people called Pollyanna-ish when they're (over) optimistic. There was a "Glad Game," "Glad Clubs," etc. At one point in the story, she's injured and bedridden, and starts becoming very pessimistic. But the townspeople come and visit her to tell her how happy she had made them, and eventually she cheers back up. The verse at the end: "With the sinking of the sun I've come to greet you Clean your hands and go to sleep Confess the dreams Of good and bad men all around Some are lost And some have found The light that passes though me" ...fits the Pollyanna story pretty well, i.e. she's bedridden and told the stories of "good and bad men all around." I'm sure this comes across as reading WAY too much into the lyrics, but if they aren't actually referencing Pollyanna, that would be a pretty big coincidence. Bob Pollard's extremely well read, so I'm 99% sure he'd know about all that. That said, like a lot of great lyrics, there are several interpretations, and the hot chick interpretation obviously fits. I'm also 99% sure Pollard's aware of those connotations as well (heh.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollyanna |
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| The Soundtrack Of Our Lives – Sister Surround Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I dunno that I'd say it's sour grapes about past rejections...it actually seems like a kiss-off to me. "And when you knows it´s all over, and you´re going´ insane I´m just there to remind you that I can´t feel no pain Why don´t you let it be" In other words: get over it, it's through, you screwed up. I'd also it say it reads just as well as a recrimination of religion..."Sister" Surround could well be a Nun (it would explain the "surround" part of it...i.e. God is everywhere.) "The things that you give me only show that you're blind" (i.e. your belief is empty, and it shows in your actions.) "I'm not afraid to fall" could be him telling the Nun he's not afraid of hell. Just thoughts, anyway... |
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