submissions

Elton John – Come Down In Time Lyrics

6 years ago

I don't know of another song that halts mid-sentence like this. It is trying to capture the indecision of the person in this situation. He thinks he's found true love, but he is not with her. He remembers there was a spark, she wanted him once, and he is stuck waiting, just as the listener is hanging, waiting for the song's line to complete when the singer pauses. He's hurting for sure. The birds are out of tune, and the oboe ends its phrase on a sour note, an accidental. It's an interesting dynamic isn't it? Bernie Taupin could write knowingly about relationships with women, and Elton would sing them, though I imagine he was tapping into his memories of the men he had been with to give his singing of it emotion. Listen closely to the orchestration in the original, it is masterful.

submissions

Joan Osborne – One Of Us Lyrics

11 years ago

I think the song is trying to make God relatable. When religion puts God out of reach, too perfect, too inaccessable, only the Pope can connect. God WAS one of us. That is the point of the incarnation. God got born. Born poor. Soiled his diaper, was an awkward teen, all of it. God knows our condition because he lived it. I think when the chorus says "yeah, yeah God is good" it's being sarcastic. The writer expects a backlash from the people who want to make Jesus a frozen statue again rather than a guy with halitosis in the morning.

submissions

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Wooden Ships Lyrics

12 years ago

It doesn't seem like aliens need to be involved for the song's story. I always took it as a nuclear holocaust because the food is mostly bad, I assume irradiated. Also, post-apocalyptic because sailboats need no petrol or other supportive civilization for travel. They can just go with the wind. And the common belief back then was that in a nuclear war there would be no winners, just precious few survivors.

submissions

Simon and Garfunkel – So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright Lyrics

12 years ago

Yes, has to be a goodbye to Garfunkel. Musical group breakups are often full of animosity, but this shows a lot of affection. Frank Lloyd Wright died 10 years before this song was written, so how could it be about him? Safe to say Simon never harmonized with him! But comparing Garfunkel to such a genius, to one of the greatest architects ever, is flattering. Nice to see they get together from time to time for concerts, and Simon has continued to compose great music.

submissions

Joni Mitchell – Shades of Scarlett Conquering Lyrics

12 years ago

This song is on The Hissing of Summer Lawns which Rolling Stone considered one of the worst albums of 1975. Yet, it show Joni Mitchell at the height of her lyrical powers. Who is her equal? Some in the same vicinity, like Carole King, or fellow Canadian Bruce Cockburn, but none better. I think these lyrics portray the Narcissistic Personality Disorder quite neatly. I don't just see the living in a fantasy world as harmless, men a made to pay because her world is all about her, and they get sucked dry. The blood-red fingernails a vampireish image. I think the song isn't about the movie character, but rather a real-life woman Joni can't identify out of liability, so changes the name. The whole album is very strong. Don't Interrupt the Sorrow is my fav.

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