sort form Submissions:
submissions
R.E.M. – Can't Get There From Here Lyrics 8 years ago
I think Stipe is pronouncing 'college' as 'Calechee' (like Gullah, a local language), so he's saying 'college-bound'.

submissions
Blue Öyster Cult – Don't Fear The Reaper Lyrics 11 years ago
Is he really supposed to say "Yeah, it's about teen suicide"? I'll form my own opinion of "She had become like they are". I also think this is a great song.

submissions
R.E.M. – Time After Time (Annelise) Lyrics 12 years ago
Way back I somehow got the impression that this song is about Anne Frank (her full name was Annelies). The water tower was at the concentration camp. Absolutely no idea if it's about her or not but it makes this a very powerful song for me.

submissions
Joy Division – Wilderness Lyrics 12 years ago
I think "the prisons of the cross" = "the stations of the cross" from Catholicism.

submissions
Joy Division – Day of the Lords Lyrics 12 years ago
I think a lot of JD lyrics are biblically inspired. In 'Touching from a Distance' Deborah wrote that one time she found a bible in Ian's writing room where Ian had knifed up Revelation. Perhaps he had put sheets on the wall in that room.

The day of the Lord is a concept where God finally loses it. For example, in Isaiah:

See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.

Sounds like part of the song. Why it's Day of the Lords (plural) is interesting. I read somewhere that wars begin in heaven and spill over to earth. Maybe it's something to do with that - the gods fighting among themselves then bringing their war to us (obtaining our bodies).

submissions
Joy Division – Heart and Soul Lyrics 12 years ago
You take my place [at] the showdown,
I'll observe with a pitiful eye,
[And] humbly ask for forgiveness,
A request well beyond you and I.

This is referencing the Muslim belief that Jesus was not crucified but that someone else was in his place. I've read further interpretation that Jesus watched this occur from above; some accounts even have him laughing that someone was dumb enough to do the exchange. So in that verse:

You = the substitute or impostor
I = Jesus
'the showdown' = the crucifixion

Ian describes the deal then says Christ asked for forgiveness from God for doing it. Great stuff.

* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.