| A Beautiful Silence – Big Booty Bitches Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Actually, I had been struggling to understand this line: "Whipped it out and slapped it on her face, Trojan magnums hmm how dat taste" 'Magnum' is Latin for "Great". Trojan Magnum therefore means "False Greatness". |
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| A Beautiful Silence – Big Booty Bitches Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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"I stop but my rims keep spinning, 26’s on my '96 Taurus" He is using the allegory of himself as a vehicle. He is the '96 Taurus, a relatively older vehicle. He feels he is traditional and old-fashioned. However, his "26 inch rims" represent his fame, and his persona and career have grown far too large for his simple lifestyle. He tries to slow down, but his popularity keeps spinning out of control. "Call my digits but you'll get my voicemail, hoes by my side so I'm not available" He feels like he no longer has time for the important things in his life like friends and family. All his time is being consumed by the "prostitutes" of the music industry: the hangers-on and users who are only there for what he can give to them. "Smoking on crack and rollin on dubs, rollin 26’s you know they ain't hubs" The only way he can find tranquility in his new lifestyle is by turning to drugs, even though he despises them. 26's are expensive, and representative of the upper class. Hubs on the other hand, represent the common person. He knows that he can no longer identify himself or associate with the common man, and this is leaving him feeling isolated. "I'm a pimp so what can I say, fuckin them bitches like everyday" He feels like his artistic spirit has been degraded. He likens himself to a pimp, prostituting away the deepest parts of his self-expression, for mass consumerism. His artwork is degraded on a daily basis by the Phillistine masses. "Whipped it out and slapped it on her face, Trojan magnums hmm how dat taste" The whip is a symbol of slavery, while the Trojan Horse is a symbol of a false gift, and the Magnum is a weapon. Perhaps he feels as though his fame and fortune has enslaved him. It is a false gift that will ultimately bring his destruction. "Triple x jersey gotta keep it baggy, Air Force One's vintage 1980" He wears extra-baggy clothing to hide who he really is, while simulaneously expressing his conservative character by wearing vintage 1980's clothing. Perhaps he is even holding onto the past, that there is something that happened long ago that he has not been able to let go of. "Lil John yeh he's my boy, now your fuckin with The Real McCoy" Little John is the character from Robbin Hood, a physically imposing but gentle-hearted giant. He is a noble thief who is Robin Hood's right-hand man. Perhaps the artist feels like he is Robin Hood, trying to use his wealth for the betterment of the less fortunate. "I like it rough, you better watch your back side, get on top just bounce and lets ride" He is expressing his determination to rise to the new challenges appearing in his life. He wants to bounce back from his depression, watching his back for false friends, and riding through the storm. "I like big booty bitches, I like big booty hoes" "Booty" is slang for treasure, and he expresses how he treasures the company of his many canine pets, who provide him with companionship during his solitude. He expresses as well that he accepts and treasures the companionship of all people, even the derided prostitute, as he feels solidarity with their plight. "We like big booty bitches, we like big booty hoes" He re-iterates how he likes the treasures of companionship that even the most humble of humans, and the most humble of animals can provide. "Now I'm creepin when your sleeping through your back yard, Gonna kick in your window and steal your car, and if you wanna try and stop me I'll come in your house and kick your ass and take the t.v. and I'll jump back, in yo 6-4" Again, the artist is comparing himself to Robin Hood, knowing the meaninglessness of material over-abundance, he relieves the overly-wealthy of their gains, to share among the less fortunate. "Turn up the bass and push the pedal to the floor, and now I cruising down the street" Once again, using the analogy of the car, the artist resolves to use his fame for the betterment of mankind. Now, he is not trying to hold back his popularity, but humbly accepts it. "Lookin for some hoes and some girls to meet, so you betta Get back inside cuz I'm coming to your house to take your girl for a ride" The artist pledges to help women to safely reach their destination by dropping them off at their houses. Once again, he even extends his generosity to the prostitutes, who are symbolic to him of the lowest of society, who are nonetheless deserving of human dignity. "Now were sittin, at Popeye's Chicken I'm starin at her tits and she knows what I'm thinking, then I'll bring her back to my house, flip up her skirt and then I'll tear off her blouse, and then I'll fuck her all night long smack that ass while I write this song" The female companion that he longs for will have a deep sense of empathy with him, being able to see into his soul and know his heart. He wishes to metaphorically tear off the clothing - that which hides our imperfections - and love her tenderly for who she truly is. "Smacking the ass" is symbolic of danger, as the ass, or donkey, is known to kick when startled (such as by being smacked). The artist knows that putting himself out may result in being hurt, but he is willing to put his heart in someone else's hands. Even if he is hurt, he knows that turning to his fans through song will help him to heal. "I like big booty bitches, I like big booty hoes We like big booty bitches, we like big booty hoes" Once again, the chorus, he expresses his love for even the lowliest. "The Olsen twins, Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton, bring em to my house and have em drop their drawers bend em down quick and fuck em like whores, have em screaming that I'm their edaddy rollin down the street in that black white Caddy with the white walls on the wheels, Lexus tv screens and platinum grills" Here the artist satirically and scathingly compares various media celebrities to prostitutes, also having sold their artistic dignity for mass consumption, but not having attained the same greater purpose he has. He offers to be a father figure and mentor to them. Now instead of a '96 Taurus, he has a black white Caddy, perhaps one of the later models, representing how he has allowed himself to let go of whatever past heartache he has suffered and is now living in the present. Like Robin Hood riding away with the Sheriff's taxes to give back to the peasants, the artist has many gifts to share with the world. |
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| Coldplay – Viva la Vida Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Quite a straight-forward song. "Viva La Vida" means "Live The Life", which is quite the ironic imperative, considering that the song is laced with the regret of someone who once "lived the life". "I used to rule the world Seas would rise when I gave the word Now in the morning, I sleep alone Sweep the streets I used to own" Seas rising at his command is a Biblical allegory. When Noah commanded the sea to part. The character used to think of himself as a person of wisdom and authority. Now he's alone, and his position is menial. "I used to roll the dice Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes" It sounds like he's acting as a judge, but a very bad one. He rolls dice to determine who lives and who dies. From a less allegorical sense, it sounds like he has no sense of justice, but he enjoys the sense of power he gets from ruining peoples' lives and having them fear his wrath. "Listen as the crowd would sing: "Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"" He enjoyed besting other "kings" and taking their place. Perhaps people thought that he was their liberator, but was truly just another tyrant. "One minute I held the key Next the walls were closed on me" One minute he was able to get anywhere he wanted (he had the key to the city), then he became such an outcast, the city walls wouldn't even open for him. "And I discovered that my castles stand Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand"" His perceived greatness had no solid foundation. Another Biblical reference, where a faithless man is compared to a man who builds his house on sand, and when rain comes it collapses. "I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Cavalry choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field" His life is juxtaposed to a life of faith. The bells of the holy city are ringing, calling the faithful to mass. The catholic choirs are singing to be like Jesus, to fight for and defend righteousness (not necessarily through violence) and to spread Christianity across the world. To live a humble, but morally-strong life devoted to others. These were all actions that the narrating character most certainly had never done. "For some reason I can't explain Once you go there was never, never an honest word That was when I ruled the world" The narrating character says that once he had stopped following a life of faith, he became dishonest. He felt like he ruled the world, having anything he wanted without being burdened by morality or responsibility to others. "It was a wicked and wild wind Blew down the doors to let me in Shattered windows and the sound of drums People couldn't believe what I'd become" People are realizing that they don't want him in their homes. He's become violent and aggressive (shattered windows and the sound of drums evokes the image of an invading army pillaging a captured city). People, perhaps former friends, can't believe that he has become such a vile person. "Revolutionaries wait For my head on a silver plate" Now he has made many enemies. The reference to a silver plate is a reference to John the Baptist, a Christian martyr who denounced the hedonism and faithlessness of the Judean aristocracy and was decapitated. Except this is an ironic reversal, where he is being persecuted for his hedonism and faithlessness. "Just a puppet on a lonely string Oh who would ever want to be king?" A marionette is not in control of its own actions, but is pulled around by strings. He only ever had one motivation: pride. This was the lonely string that controlled his life. He's asking a rhetorical question: "who would ever want to be king?". Everyone, of course, so perhaps he's trying to mitigate his own moral failings, but saying he only wanted the same things everyone wants. "[Chorus] I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing Roman Calvary choirs are singing Be my mirror, my sword and shield My missionaries in a foreign field For some reason I can't explain I know Saint Peter won't call my name Never an honest word But that was when I ruled the world" Saint Peter is the symbolic gatekeeper of heaven. Those whom God has judged worthy, Saint Peter will allow into heaven. The others are sent to hell. The character knows that he is wicked, and had only ever spoke lies, but that was when he "ruled the world", implying perhaps that is in the past and he is now seeking redemption. |
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| Pendulum – Propane Nightmares Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song sounds, at least superficially, like an enraged and absolutely-desperate person fantasizing and summoning the willpower to kill both himself and his wife through immolation. "Something's tearing me down and down And I can't help but feel it's coming from you She's a gunshot bride, with a trigger - Christ! I just wonder what we've gotten ourselves into" This man is utterly depressed, and he blames his wife. She forced him to marry her, and she seems to be the dominant partner in the relationship. The narrator is lamenting that he became attached to someone without understanding that he's stuck with her for life. "In a trail of fire I know we will be free again In the end we will be one In a trail of fire I'll burn before you bury me Set your sights for the sun" Through death, he'll achieve freedom from the union. In the end, both him and his wife will be ashes. Ironically, though he is trying to get away from her, they will be together forever in death. Burying someone is a gesture of love and respect, but he hates her so much, he doesn't want her love. "Mind is willing, soul remains This woman cannot be saved From the jar into the fire" He wants to perform this act, but he cannot commit the willpower to do it. He is trying to convince himself that the marriage cannot be saved, and only by fire can he escape the "jar" he is trapped in. "Anything to bring it on home, bring it on home Bring it on home, bring it on home" He's willing to do anything to "bring it on home" the point that he cannot be in the marriage any longer. "Much to weak to jump yourself Heal the wounds or crack the shell Lift yourself from once below" He admits he is a weak person. He cannot commit suicide. He cannot heal the wounds in the marriage, and he cannot break out of the hollow shell of a relationship he is trapped in. He needs to lift himself from being beneath his wife. "Praise the anger bring it on home, bring it on home Bring it on home, bring it on home" He needs to summon all his anger to commit the deed. "In a trail of fire I know we will be free again In the end we will be one In a trail of fire I'll burn before you bury me Set your sights for the sun Bring it on home" He commits suicide not just in order to be away from this woman, but he commits suicide in such a way that he destroys her too. What he wants most is to bring it on home to her that he despises her. Of course, this is merely a superficial interpretation. It could be an allegory for just about anything that a person wants desperately to be away from, that he is willing to sacrifice himself in order to destroy it as well. |
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| David Bowie – Life on Mars? Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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"It's a god-awful small affair To the girl with the mousy hair But her mummy is yelling, "No!" And her daddy has told her to go" There's the picture painted of a girl with "mousy hair" (ugly, drab, unkempt hair), who wants to go to the movies with her friend, but her dysfunctional family is getting into a fight over this. "But her friend is nowhere to be seen Now she walks through her sunken dream To the seat with the clearest view And she's hooked to the silver screen" She neglects herself, she's neglected by her parents, and now her friend abandons her too. She tries to distract herself from the problems in her life with the movie. "But the film is a saddening bore For she's lived it ten times or more She could spit in the eyes of fools As they ask her to focus on" The movie just reflects what her life is like: fighting and misunderstandings. She isn't satisfied at all-it just further upsets her-but she continues to watch it. "Sailors fighting in the dance hall Oh man, look at those cavemen go It's the freakiest show" Pointless violence. "Take a look at the lawman Beating up the wrong guy" More pointless violence. "Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know He's in the best-selling show" Though the movie is fiction, it reflects reality, as police brutality is an unfortunate occurrence in the real world. It's sarcastically asked if the police officer - not the fictional one, but the real one who inspired the movie - knows that he's been fictionalized. "Is there life on Mars?" This is something that even today, is not known for sure, and in the 70's people certainly had no clue. It's an important question that would help us better understand the universe. Nobody seems particularly interested in the answer, however. "It's on America's tortured brow That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow" Mickey Mouse was one of the world's first animated films. It pioneered an entire medium. Now it's nothing more than trivial entertainment, a corporate cash cow. "Now the workers have struck for fame Because Lennon's on sale again" Lenin is a symbol of revolution for the lower classes. However, common people are more inspired by pop stars (John Lennon) than by revolutionaries. "See the mice in their million hordes From Ibiza to the Norfolk broads" People live like mice: breeding and dying without deeper meaning to their existence. Rule Britannia is out of bounds To my mother, my dog, and clowns This is very much a song targeted at Britain, but applies almost anywhere. Nationalism (the sense of a greater community) has vanished, and imperialism is taboo - not even something that a clown can joke about. "But the film is a saddening bore Because I wrote it ten times or more It's about to be writ again As I ask you to focus on" The violent events of the film are occurring again and again in the real world. But you are asked sarcastically to distract yourself from the problems of the real world with fictional representations of the same problem. "Sailors fighting in the dance hall Oh man, look at those cavemen go It's the freakiest show Take a look at the lawman Beating up the wrong guy Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know He's in the best-selling show Is there life on Mars?" The chorus again re-iterates the idea that there are greater questions in life, but human nature: disunity and an appetite for petty distractions, are keeping us from pursuing deeper meaning, and it is ultimately unsatisfying. |
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| David Bowie – Space Oddity Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I do think this is the correct interpretation. I do think there is one element you didn't mention: "Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles I'm feeling very still And I think my spaceship knows which way to go Tell my wife I love her very much she knows"" Despite all that's changed in his life, Major Tom doesn't feel that anything is really different. He has stated in interviews that during his early years of fame, he had almost overdosed on drugs, and he had already morosely accepted that he would probably die from his drug addiction. This is expressed in his song, where Major Tom gives up control of his ship to float through space, and says his last words to his wife. "Ground Control to Major Tom Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you.... "Here am I floating round my tin can Far above the Moon Planet Earth is blue And there's nothing I can do." "Ground Control" (reality) is trying to get through to Major Tom, and perhaps it is a friend who realizes that he's not just on a normal trip, but there is something wrong. They are calling his name, desperately trying to snap him out of his reverie, but it's no use. He's overdosing and lost in his own blissful world, presumably about to die. |
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| David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think you have the right idea, but I disagree that he's ashamed of his past self. The encounter seems warm, like meeting an old friend. My interpretation is this: "We passed upon the stair We spoke of was and when Although I wasn't there He said I was his friend Which came as a surprise I spoke into his eyes I thought you died alone A long long time ago" David Bowie, during his early career, had many alter-egos and often stated that he was trying to be be who his fans wanted him to be. His first and most popular persona was Ziggy Stardust, the androgynous bisexual, which he discarded (perhaps because living Ziggy's life was too lonely for David?). Perhaps David feels as though he isn't "really there", that beneath the masks he wears, he is devoid of any real personality, and when he discarded Ziggy, he lost some of his charisma. "Oh no, not me I never lost control You're face to face With the man who sold the world" This is Ziggy speaking. Ziggy is saying that he isn't dead and gone, but in fact, he was always the one guiding David. That David was "face-to-face" with him is a subtle bit of wordplay implying that they were interchanging faces (identities). Ziggy was "the man who sold the world". He was the one who sold David to the whole world, and made him a celebrity. "I laughed and shook his hand And made my way back home I searched for form and land For years and years I roamed I gazed a gazeless stare At all the millions here I must have died alone A long, long time ago" David makes peace with Ziggy, and introspects further. He tries to determine who he really is, and who these "millions" of personas are that he invented then discarded. Had they really died? Had the "real David" died? "Who knows? Not me We never lost control You're face to face With the man who sold the world" David switches pronouns from "I" to "we". It is the composite of all his personalities that answer the question, but the answer is vague. Perhaps he realizes that there is no real David, and he is nothing more than a collection of invented identities? Perhaps he realizes that these personas were never separate from him, and that it was him all along who had the charisma to become a star? |
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