| Vampire Weekend – This Life Lyrics | 1 year ago |
|
This song is Ezra wrestling with the reality of human nature. He lists a bunch of life concepts - pain, dreams, war, hate, love, death - and that he thought he understood them, but truly didn't until he experienced them throughout adulthood. Outside of love, most of these surprises are on the negative end of the spectrum. He's shocked at how much pain, how much hate, how much war, etc. - which gets to the cheating part. Ezra thought he knew humanity, but it's repeatedly disappointed him. At the same time, he questions if he's done anything to truly help people and give back to improve the situation: "Oh Christ, am I good for nothing?" He feels cheated by humanity but also that he's cheated on humanity, which gets to the thesis lyric of the song: "Darling, our disease, is the same one as the trees, unaware that they've been living in a forest." This is the notion that we are all connected and in this life together, but we don't realize it, and don't act like it. |
|
| Vampire Weekend – Unbelievers Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I certainly think it's a religious song (much like most of the new album - see Ya Hey). Grace, warmth, heat, and light are all metaphors for spiritual support, and spiritual love. If I'm an unbeliever (don't believe in God) or a believer in a different religion (don't believe in the "correct" God), who's gonna save a little grace for me? Will there be an afterlife for me? We know the fire (hell) awaits unbelievers, so as an unbeliever, I'm not excited for an afterlife, but should I be? Is this the fate that half of the world (folks who believe in God, or folks who believe in a dominant religion like Christianity) has planned for me? The cool thing is that Ezra wrote one song on the album from a "believers" point of view (Ya Hey) and one from an "unbelievers" point of view. He's come a long way from writing about sleeping on the balcony after class. |
|
| Vampire Weekend – Unbelievers Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I like this interpretation, but I certainly think it's a religious song (much like most of the new album - see Ya Hey). Grace, warmth, heat, and light - are all metaphors for spiritual support, and spiritual love. If I'm an unbeliever (don't believe in God) or a believer in a different religion (don't believe in the "correct" God), who's gonna save a little grace for me? Will there be an afterlife for me? We know the fire (hell) awaits unbelievers, so as an unbeliever, I'm not excited for an afterlife, but should I be? Is this the fate that half of the world (folks who believe in God, or folks who believe in a dominant religion like Christianity) has planned for me? The cool thing is that Ezra wrote one song on the album from a "believers" point of view (Ya Hey) and one from an "unbelievers" point of view. He's come a long way from writing about sleeping on the balcony after class. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.