| Nine Inch Nails – Reptile Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I love this interpretation. It sounds absolutely spot-on. | |
| (+44) – Weatherman Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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The phrase "human shapes burned on concrete walls" is an allusion to Ray Bradbury's short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains," which is about an automated house that continues to exist after its occupants have been killed by a nuclear blast. The phrase is used pretty clearly in the story. It's pretty clear that +44 are using that reference as a metaphor for the failed life the narrator is describing in this song. He, like the house, is just going through the motions, and feels like his life devoid of any real meaning. He wants to die to get away from it all, and he's asking his lover, friends, or memories-- whatever is making him cling to life-- to let him just slip away. |
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| Greg Laswell – Sweet Dream Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I love how short the song is. Just like the dream, you wish it would go on, but it doesn't... it just cuts off too soon and leaves you wanting more. | |
| The Classic Crime – R&R Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think it's a direct reference to the veterans and survivors of the Second World War. There were many of them that saw horrific things during their time "on foreign shores"-- this is the "life" that's "thrown before their eyes." Their comrades and friends were killed right in front of them, and yet they carried on because they had to. Their souls became calloused and hollow from the losses. I think this song specifically looks at a vet after he's gotten back home. No one really understands what he's been through, and he's too proud to seek out help, so the only comfort he has is the small high he gets from his cigarettes. He's out of the military, "free to drift and die" on his own terms now and he questions why he survived and his friends didn't. I feel like the end is sort of a dark hint that he can't take the survivor's guilt anymore. "Sick with regret", he "sputters out" like his last cigarette. |
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| Ed Sheeran – The Parting Glass Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I know it's supposed to be a drinking song that was (as the story goes, at least) composed by a travelling Scot-- the "gently rise and softly call" part is him saying goodbye to his companions that were at the inn as he leaves, and the "parting glass" is that one more for the road type deal-- but I can't help but think of an alternate meaning every time I hear it. It always reminds me of death. In my mind, the singer knows he's going to die and recalls his life. Maybe he's an old man on his deathbed or a soldier bleeding out. Either way, as he goes, he's content and happy with what he's done, even though his comrades "will be sorry for my going away" and his sweethearts would "wish me one more day to stay." When he "gently rises" and goes into the "night" of death, it's bittersweet, but he doesn't want anyone to be sad that he's gone. So he wishes them joy, and passes on. I know it's not really the "real" meaning, but it just really seems to fit to me. Also, Ed's performance of this is fantastic, I have to say. |
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| Anberlin – Depraved Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| May be personal bias, but I went through something like this with one of my friends whose boyfriend of the time was abusive and demanding. This song sort of characterized the whole thing when I heard it. May not be what it's actually about, but I certainly took that message away from it too. | |
| Anberlin – Someone Anyone Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Anberlin noted on their commentary for the album that this song was loosely inspired by the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt, and that its message was essentially one of non-violence and protest against war in general. | |
| Anberlin – Little Tyrants Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| The band says this song is actually about someone they knew, and this is how they envisioned him, as someone who is somewhat like the character of Max from "Where the Wild Things Are." He marches through his own little world, not caring about anyone or anything else, a sort of "little tyrant." | |
| Anberlin – Self-Starter Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I feel like this song is talking about the hopelessness and desperation that comes from trying to find love in one night stands. Both of the people involved are lonely and want to feel close to someone, to "hold something," as the song says, so even though they're hurting each other by doing this, they're technically "on the same side in the same war." The craving for physical contact and more importantly, for the feeling of love, drives them to endlessly pursue these ultimately-meaningless encounters, and leaves them feeling empty, as the lyrics describe. Given the album's recurring theme of hopelessness and love not just meaning sex, I think this interpretation fits in quite well. |
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