submissions

Van Morrison – Sweet Thing Lyrics

12 years ago

I walked down the aisle to this song at my wedding. To me it's about a love that isn't perfect but makes you feel like a child again... like nothing can ever break your innocence (and I will never, ever grow so old again...) I loved the line "And I shall drive my chariot down your streets and cry... hey, it's me and I'm dynamite and I don't know why" because that was me... the girl who didn't always feel rational, but always turned to my husband in those moments. The final verse is also about commitment in a very powerful way... not to question or looks for problems "between the lines", just to trust and "take it all." I love this song. I admit I tear up most times I hear it. And wouldn't you know it... since I bucked the tradition of the wedding march, I've been to two other weddings where they used this song, they were so moved by ours!

submissions

The Vines – Mary Jane Lyrics

12 years ago

So... no one is mentioning that Craig has full-blown autism? Not just Asperger's like his flacks say, but serious, "high-functioning" but full-blown autism. Yes, he was a major pothead (although I believe his managers worked very hard with him to get that under control once he got the autism diagnosis) and this song is probably just about pot, in all my conversations with him (difficult, difficult conversations, because he has a hard time communicating with people and understanding subtext in anything) I don't see how he could have intended the metaphor for a girl (which is there, no doubt, just completely unintended.) He really does see everything in black and white, not a lot of gray areas with him. (For the record, I knew Craig and his team a long time ago, even before they first hit it big with Highly Evolved... and I believe I was the first person to say "you know he's not just a druggie, right? I mean, that kid has autism." I had an ally in Tony Bateman, his guitar tech, who thought the same thing. Flash forward six months and his meltdown at a showcase and subsequent diagnosis was major news. I got a lot of calls from "his people" after that saying "how on earth did you know?" Not that hard when you know a few people with autism.) He's a good kid and he writes and sings great music. But I really suggest you take everything he says literally... if he's singing about Mary Jane, he's singing about pot. That's just the way his brain works. His gift is that he writes about it so beautifully it's very easy to believe it's about a girl who is like a "drug" to him. He's insanely talented. I'm not in that circle anymore (I moved to another country) but I always hope the record companies are letting Craig be Craig and do his thing, even if he doesn't work to deadline or perform brilliantly at every show... they can't work him to exhaustion like a normal nationwide tour, he just can't take it. Sweet, talented kid who deserves to be treated well by the industry, he'll keep making great songs like this if they do.

submissions

Midnight Oil – The Dead Heart Lyrics

12 years ago

Midnight Oil were known political activists, especially for aboriginal issues (see "Beds are Burning" and "Truganani.") This is possibly my favorite of their songs, it is so evocative and the horn section in the end always brings me to tears. They are talking about aboriginal culture (believed to be about 40,000 years old in Australia) and the destruction of that culture and their native lands by strip mining and environmental damage - anther major cause for Midnight Oil. Brilliant, brilliant, protest song, even though I usually don't like when white artists co-opt the struggles of minorities. Midnight Oil really get it (another great example: Paul Kelly, "From Little Things Big Things Grow", which is the story of the Gurindji people fighting for almost a decade to get the rights to their traditional land)

submissions

David Bowie – Heroes Lyrics	12 years ago
Yes, Bowie's original album version is about six minutes long and these are the full lyrics. They cut a single version that begins with the 'I, I wish you could swim..." which is only about three and a half minutes long. Much more radio-friendly and it ends up on most compilations instead of the full version, which is probably why you've only heard the shorter one.

submissions

David Bowie – Heroes Lyrics	12 years ago
Yes! Bowie has mentioned this in a couple of interviews. It makes the song so much more meaningful for me (Berlin has a special place in my heart, and I've heard so many heartbreaking stories from German friends about the "divided" years.)

* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.