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Portishead – Roads Lyrics 12 years ago
As most of Portishead's songs this song emphasizes a feeling, not much the "reason" or "why" you feel it, but the feeling itself.

At first I thought it was political, like she can not accept how passive people are with humanity and its problems. But after reading some comments below I saw that this "feeling" fits in other subjects as well, not only political...

Anyway, it is pretty clear the she is defending a "cause", an "Idea", and she can not accept that she is the only one thinking about this, even to the point of asking herself if the problem is hers (How can it feel, this wrong)...

Cheers all!!!

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Portishead – Over Lyrics 12 years ago
The speaker had a fantasy (could be cheating, could be murder, could be anything, its very open and I don't think that portishead wants to define anything in this sense), tried once, and is still VERY insecure weather to keep doing it or not, because it is a big change for her, for her personality... The song is about the indecision, not the fantasy in itself.

The Videoclip is amazing, Beth is in a spotlight, crosses a path of darkness and reaches light again... like she is lost crossing this dark places but going to the light again...

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Portishead – Sour Times Lyrics 12 years ago
also check my interpretation for Glory Box, where I think that Beth more or less talks about the same things!

and check this sick version of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1594M6G5byY

TY ALL!!

submissions
Portishead – Sour Times Lyrics 12 years ago
Definitely about infidelity and a severe criticism to marriage.

To pretend no one can find
The fallacies of morning rose
Forbidden fruit, hidden eyes
Curtises that I despise in me

Morning rose is a reference to the bride, a symbol of marriage. Also the forbidden fruit the hidden eyes, all symbols of why marriage is "sacred". And the despise the she pretends to believe in all that. She despise the hypocrisy of believinf in all this things...

Take a ride, take a shot now
'Cause nobody loves me
Its true
Not like you do

Here its important to see that in the song she gives emphasis to "nobody loves me", kinda affirming that love doesn't exist, but when she softly says "not like you do" she is saying "but for you now, and only now, it does".

Covered by the blind belief
That fantasies of sinful screens
Bear the facts, assume the dye
End the vows no need to lie, enjoy
Take a ride, take a shot now

All that "cheating is a sin" are just fantasies, illusions... so just bear the facts, end your vows (of marriage), no need to lie to yourself that you believe in that and just enjoy, take a ride, do things freely...

Who am I, what and why
'Cause all I have left is my memories of yesterday
Oh these sour times

I do not need of anything to tell me who i am, don't need judgments, for all I am are my memories, she is not afraid of what people will say. Kinda saying that marriage tends to mean to much on peoples lives...

After time the bitter taste
Of innocence decent or race
Scattered seeds, buried lives
Mysteries of our disguise revolve
Circumstance will decide

A criticism to the traditional values to why people tend to get married, like race, ancestry. She forgets all that and just let circumstances decide. Nobody knows that, they are just mysteries anyway...

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Portishead – Wandering Star Lyrics 12 years ago
I think this song is about deep grief, sadness and depression.

Please could you stay awhile to share my grief
For its such a lovely day
To have to always feel this way
And the time that I will suffer less
Is when I never have to wake

She's crying for help because she can't bear her sadness. The day is beautiful, all seems right but she is still sad and it seems to her the she will only stop suffering if she dies - "when i never have to wake"= death.

Wandering stars, for whom it is reserved
The blackness of darkness forever

She is a lost soul, her fate is to suffer forever...

Those who have seen the needles eye, now tread
Like a husk, from which all that was, now has fled
And the masks, that the monsters wear
To feed, upon their prey

Even those who have achieved enlightenment now are empty and all the promises made to them were just masks of monsters. There is NO achievement, there is NO salvation. ( To explain better, "the needles eye" are the camels that went through the needle eye, they are the men that had entered the kingdom of God... as the biblical reference in many comments below, so "those who have seen the needle eye" are the men who found some illusion of salvation).

(Always) doubled up inside
Take awhile to shed my grief
(Always) doubled up inside
Taunted, cruel...

Again, she is asking for help. If not help at least some company in her despair. Her deep feelings are taunted, cruel...

Beautiful song, amazing contrast between the hard beet and the soft vocals...

submissions
Portishead – It Could Be Sweet Lyrics 12 years ago
It seems simple enough...

We are not closer because we are afraid of what could happen, after all "this life aint fair" and we could get hurt. We have to try a bit harder to be together, because we wont get something (love) for nothing. We have to try a bit harder without being afraid, even knowing that love doesn't always shine through.
Our pride, our thoughts will take tolls on our lives if we don't forget them. We have to forget the fear of hurting your pride to try to love someone, because if we do "It could be sweet" =)

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Portishead – Glory Box Lyrics 12 years ago
I'm not very good at this, but i'll give it a try...

For me, Beth does use some reference about her homosexuality but the song is NOT 100% about it,

I'm so tired, of playing
Playing with this bow and arrow
Gonna give my heart away
Leave it to the other girls to play
For I've been a temptress too long

well, bow and arrow is used by the cupid a pretty clear symbol of love. So she is kinda tired of playing of being in love, she just want to let her heart go, for "being a temptress"was her way to play the game, to find and keep their lovers...

Give me a reason to love you
Give me a reason to be, a woman
I just want to be a woman

Here she says that there is no reason to LOVE someone to BE wit someone. I just want to be a woman... I just want to stay with you, to have sex with you, to be a woman (could be man, makes no difference) without loving you...

From this time, unchained
We're all looking at a different picture
Through this new frame of mind
A thousand flowers could bloom
Move over, and give us some room

She's grown. She lost "faith"in love... even if a thousand of flowers bloom (another symbol of romance, love) we still have to move over and give ourselves some room to each other...

So don't you stop, being a man
Just take a little look from our side when you can
Sow a little tenderness
No matter if you cry

This is the part I didnt really get it. It might be where I'm completly wrong and my interpretation for the song falls apart... But i THINK she is trying to say something like "You dont have to change who you are to be with me... there's no need to a big fuss just because we are together, just be tender, even if you cry it doesnt mean that much... this is part of life."

All I want to be is a Woman

Pretty clear, I just want to be a woman and do Woman stuff like sex, like be with someone... being a woman in a social way... (again makes no difference if the phrase was "i just want to be a man", she just say woman cuz she is a female singer)

So... I think this song is about deep affection without "Love", without giving your heart and yourself completely to someone else...
Thanx all!!

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