| Lord Huron – Louisa Lyrics | 2 years ago |
|
I don't know if anyone else gets this feeling from this song, but I've always felt it was a toxic relationship. I don't know if it's intentional on the part of the person who wrote the lyrics or if it was intended to be romantic, but it sounds incredibly codependent. The singer basically places his whole reason for living on this one woman. The whole idea of "your love raised me from the dead" really feels like it has "I would kms if you ever left me" connotations. He's possessive over her; he doesn't want her to need anyone else, he wants her to need him and him alone. Essentially, he relies on her for his will to live. He outright tells her that she's the only reason he stays alive. It's unsettling, and feels a little sinister and manipulative. |
|
| Lord Huron – Cursed Lyrics | 2 years ago |
|
Sure, there’s the whole “love feels like a spell/curse” metaphor, but I honestly think it’s much more fun to interpret this song literally. The singer alludes to having memory loss, not knowing what he did but knowing it was terrible. “There are runes on my skin that appear when she walks in.” And a lot of other songs on the album allude to magic, curses, and the supernatural. I actually don’t think it’s too far fetched to think it’s about a literal curse. |
|
| They Might Be Giants – Climbing the Walls Lyrics | 7 years ago |
|
Pacing the floor, grinding your teeth, going nowhere, stuck in a rut… So you make a change, any change. And now you're climbing the walls, driving yourself crazy, stuck in another rut. Going from one dead end to another, never making any progress. (I like the Metamorphosis interpretation a lot, but I also wanted to add my own thoughts.) |
|
| Social Distortion – Don't Drag Me Down Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Just saw them perform this live in concert, Mike Ness prefaced it by calling Trump an egomaniac douchebag and telling him to go to hell. Still punk after all these years. Love these guys. | |
| Editors – Formaldehyde Lyrics | 7 years ago |
|
I think it's important to keep in mind that formaldehyde is both a preservative AND a toxic chemical. To me it doesn't sound like a dead relationship; it sounds like one that they're both trying to hold onto—to preserve—even though it might be toxic: "I hope we swim up out of this flood." I'm also pretty sure it's "The tissue and bone / THAT my soul has on loan." His body doesn't really belong to him; his soul is just borrowing it. I think the lyrics are trying to reconcile the complex machine of the physical body and the physical sensations of love and pain with the rollercoaster of emotion that comes from being in love, especially in a complicated relationship. |
|
| Florence + the Machine – Swimming Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| @[ambriel:19186] that was how I always interpreted it too. And for me, that singer is Flo <3 | |
| Better Than Ezra – Cry In The Sun Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
As far as meaning goes, it's pretty straightforward, but oh my God is the imagery beautiful. You can feel in the lyrics all those sensory memories that come rushing back when he finds that old photo. "The Devil's beating his wife" is a Southern expression for the weather phenomenon of rain and sunshine occurring at the same time. I don't know whether "cry in the sun" is a common term for it, but it certainly evokes that image. Part of his memory of that summer rainstorm in the shed? A metaphor for the simultaneous joy and pain of his relationship with the girl from Carolina? I think it's both. |
|
| Arctic Monkeys – Reckless Serenade Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| I see a lot of Suck It and See as being about the same girl--not necessarily in order, but a jumbled-up story of a tumultuous romance, the kind you know is a mistake before you even dive in. This song is the beginning. He's utterly hypnotized by this girl and can't stop picturing what it would be like to be with her ("the type of kisses where teeth collide"). He knows it's a mistake, but his voice of reason won't talk him out of it. | |
| Arctic Monkeys – That's Where You're Wrong Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
I agree with what some other people have said, that this is a girl he used to love who thought she could just come back to him whenever she liked, only to find that he's moved on. I also like to think, though, that this is the same girl from Love is a Laserquest. That song is about a serial heartbreaker, one that he fell hard for and never quite recovered from. In Laserquest he dreams about her coming back to him, but in this song it actually happens. And for a moment, he's tempted to take her back. When she "looks as if she's blowing a kiss" at him, all the memories of their tumultuous passionate romance flood back. But with that assumption she has, that assumption he still loves her and will take her back in a heartbeat, he realizes what he was to her: just someone else she shot down in her game of laserquest (aka laser tag). And he realizes he needs to move on. |
|
| Arctic Monkeys – Love Is a Laserquest Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| I agree with what marinafey and WPSIATWIN have said. I also think that this is a girl he can't stop thinking about and can't fall out of love with, even though she smashed his heart into pieces. He pretends she was just one in his long line of ex-lovers, but she's the one that will always stand out in his mind, and the one he always holds a candle for. He always hangs on to the hope that she might come back. | |
| Eve 6 – Here's To The Night Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
Honestly, I think the one night stand/lost love interpretation is secondary here. I think the real meaning of this song is in the chorus. In the verses he's talking to this one night stand/lost love, but in the verses he's talking to "all those who hear me all to well." The ones who struggle with the anxiety, the angst, the depression and helplessness that he's touched on in a lot of his songs. He tells us about a night he felt alive and asks us to remember the nights we felt that way. He asks us not to shy away from the pain we feel but acknowledge it, remember the good, and try to move on. And he tells us this is something he himself has trouble doing. He doesn't want to let his one night stand/lost love go, but hanging onto her will only hold him back. It's a very sad song but it's also really beautiful. I think the main point here is to address the fans who relate to his lyrics on a deeply personal level, and let them know that life is full of good and bad, and you just have to keep moving forward. |
|
| Arctic Monkeys – That's Where You're Wrong Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Someone's been listening to the Stone Roses :) | |
| Fleet Foxes – Blue Ridge Mountains Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[Eleo:15561] I definitely agree, especially because other songs by the Fleet Foxes share the same theme. He Doesn't Know Why and Mykonos both appear (to me at least) to express concern and love for a brother who has had a difficult past, and whom the singer is trying to help turn his life around. | |
| Tom Petty – Mary Jane's Last Dance Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
@[fnnkybutt:15140] I know this comment is old but I'm gonna reply anyway, because I very much agree. I've always been annoyed with people who think the song is ONLY about drugs, purely because of the name "Mary Jane"--they're clearly not paying attention to the rest of the lyrics. There's a story. I've always gotten something similar from the song, except I'm not sure whether she actually jumped to her death from the hotel room or if she only contemplated it, then snuck out to hit the road again, leaving our hero alone. I think it's pretty ambiguous and I kind of like that. |
|
| The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Am I alone in thinking that Jack White sounds a LOT like Geddy Lee on this track? Not sure if it's something he's doing on purpose... | |
| The Raconteurs – Intimate Secretary Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
Am I the only one who thinks these lyrics sound like Dr. Seuss with a deeper political meaning that I can't figure out? Nope? Just me? Okay, I'll see myself out. |
|
| Coconut Records – It's Not You It's Me Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
I think it's about a guy whose girlfriend is going through a bad time and he's not emotionally equipped to be there for her. I agree with ice2o's eating disorder theory--there's a lot of imagery in the lyrics that describes someone with food and body issues, especially the second verse: "Back by demand Do whatever you can You look older I can tell by your hands Drinks only gin, says it's how to keep thin And she’s crying after every meal Lord you don’t know how you’re making me feel." People who are undernourished often look drawn, tired, and sickly ("you look older"). Purging can leave scars on fingers and hands. The gin could be another way she deals with her pain, or it could be part of an unhealthy weight-loss method she's contrived--the image that came to my mind was her drinking to excess to induce purging. The line "crying after every meal" is a dead giveaway. This builds up to "Lord, you don't know how you're making me feel." When you love someone who has a problem like this, you feel helpless, hopeless. There's nothing you can do to fix it, and being there to support someone is emotionally exhausting. It's so tempting when someone is crying over food to just take it away and soothe them. The narrator is in this exact situation: he wants to help his girlfriend but he doesn't know how. He's not equipped to help her deal with her issues, and it's too much for him. He feels in over his head, and he "just can't go on." He realizes this is his problem, maybe thinks it's a cop-out, because he's breaking up with her at a time when she's already going through so much-- hence the title, "It's Not You It's Me." He wants her to know it's not her eating disorder at fault, it's his own inability to deal with it. That's the feel I get from the song. As someone who's been through an eating disorder and finally realized what it was like for my family, I feel like the song reflects what it's like to be someone's support system. For the narrator, it's too much and he can't do it anymore. |
|
| Blink-182 – Adam's Song Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I really, really hate Blink 182, but these lyrics get to me every time. | |
| Fastball – Damaged Goods Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| This song rings really true to me right now. I think I'm in love for the first time, but we're both about to leave for college and we'll be thousands of miles apart. I wish I could stop the world spinning around so we could have just a little more time, but I know I should let him go. But damn, that doesn't make it easy. | |
| Florence + the Machine – Various Storms & Saints Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
I think she's singing to someone (possibly herself) who has had her heart broken and blames herself for falling for that person in the first place. She wanted a relationship with this man, but when it became toxic and eventually ended she felt broken. She can't forgive herself for the end of the relationship, regardless of whether or not it was her fault. In the chorus, Florence seems to be telling this person that, while she may have made a mistake and may be hurting, she needs to learn to forgive herself and move on. She may be talking to herself, trying to convince herself to let go of the guilt from a broken relationship. Her voice is amazing in this song, and I love the subtle arrangement. Great song on a truly great album. |
|
| Florence + the Machine – Delilah Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
I think this song is about Florence Welch's recovery from her alcohol and substance abuse issues. Addiction recovery can often feel worse before it feels better, and I think that's what this song describes. Welch's lyrics talk about "climbing up the walls for that flashing light", the sun blinding her (being hungover), never being able to say no to a drink. She wants to be free of her addiction ("I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine") but knows it's not a quick process ("Maybe not tonight.") She sometimes feels she will never recover: "These chains never leave me, I keep dragging them around." I think Delilah represents whomever or whatever convinced her to seek treatment. She's "dancing with Delilah and her vision is mine," she can see a future for herself without alcoholism, but the practice is harder than the idea. The chorus, the biggest and most emotional part of the song, is about the struggle. Alcohol withdrawals can be severe and even life-threatening, they are "a different kind of danger" than drinking. Emotions also run high and some recovering alcoholics fly into rages: "pull the pillars down" could be in reference to a rage. "Calling for my mother" expresses her fear at what she's going through and the helplessness she might feel during the withdrawal. The last three lines of the chorus are some of my all-time favorite: "And my feet are spinning round Never knew I was a dancer 'Til Delilah showed me how." Through a chaotic and terrifying and insanely difficult process, she's discovering things she never knew about herself, and maybe she's not sure what to think about them yet. Amazing and powerful song, my favorite on the new album. |
|
| George – Breaking It Slowly Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
Depends on my mood, but I have a few go-to albums. (What's The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis is an album I've loved since middle school and listening to it is like rereading a favorite book. It never fails to resonate with me. Joe Strummer's last album before he died, Streetcore, is another of my favorites---not a single bad song on it. Coma Girl always makes me smile and Silver and Gold always makes me cry. I adore FatM's debut Lungs (as can probably be inferred from my screen name) and I have recently fallen in love with Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See. And, as a devoted Beatles fan, I always turn to Revolver when I feel like going old school. I've got a playlist for basically every mood, every weather, and every activity, but on the whole those are the albums that I play the shit out of. |
|
| Florence + the Machine – Girl with One Eye Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
Honestly, I don't think it matters whether this song is meant to be from a woman's perspective or a man's. Both men and women are capable of violence, cruelty, and abuse, and that is clearly what is portrayed in this song. I see this song as being sung from the point of view of someone who has been captivated by and is obsessed with a young woman: "Pretty little face stopped me in my tracks." Maybe she is attracted to the singer at first, but for whatever reason she rejects him/her, and he/she takes revenge through rape. It's really quite dark and disturbing. I love it. |
|
| Fleet Foxes – Oliver James Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
I agree with guest33, but I think there's another layer here. Rather than the couple simply being childless, I think that they have lost a baby, that the woman either had a miscarriage or a stillbirth. The second verse is the most evocative for me. I picture the woman cleaning mud from the river from the baby's face, and she and her husband recalling when she cleaned the face of her stillborn baby in the same way (rehearsed the actions). She is anxious because she carries the memories of the tragic ending of her pregnancy, and she is innocent in her pure and selfless love for this child she found. I also like to think that Oliver is the name of the grandfather who made the table, and James is the name of her brother to whose house they brought the baby. They named the baby for the two men who indirectly helped them save him. |
|
| Janis Ian – At Seventeen Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
I relate to this song so much it hurts. In high school I always felt like something was grossly wrong with me, because nobody ever flirted with me or asked me out or danced with me. I was smart and pretty and friendly--if a little shy and awkward--but no boy ever took the time to take a second glance at me. Not a lot of songs have ever made actual tears come out of my eyes. This one always does. |
|
| Midnight Oil – Power And The Passion Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Love. Those. Horns. | |
| Florence + the Machine – Blinding Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
To me it sound like her "dreaming state" is her state of mourning for this person she loved who has died, and she suddenly realized that this person that she thought she loved had been oppressing her ("it was you who held me under"). Suddenly this person is gone, and now her love for him no longer blinds her to his faults. I am reminded a bit of a short story by Kate Chopin in which a woman's husband is assumed dead, and after the sharp grief passes she discovers she has been freed from his oppression. Just my thoughts. |
|
| Tom Petty – American Girl Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| This song rings so true to me, especially the first verse. I grew up in a small town, always wanting to get out and see The Rest of The World. To me this song is about wanting to make something of yourself. It's about being desperate to achieve your dreams, about being young and passionate and a little naïve in the great big world for the first time. | |
| Oasis – Slide Away Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
I think this song is about a new relationship between people who are new to relationships. Sometimes they don't know how to read each other and sometimes they feel unsure, but they've finally found each other and every day it feels more right. They're alike in many ways, they understand each other, and it's the beginning of a beautiful love. I just started dating someone that I've had feelings for for a long time, and this song basically sums up everything I'm feeling. Neither of us has much experience with relationships, but we're a lot alike in our shyness and awkwardness and now that we have each other, we'll find a way. |
|
| Dum Dum Girls – In My Head Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I think it's about a relationship that's mostly long-distance. They're both trying to make it work--he calls her and tells her he loves her, but it isn't the same as being face to face or feeling each other's touch. The singer's love is always away, and she isn't the same without him. | |
| Belly (US) – Stay Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| To me it sounds like it's about an old couple who have been together for most of their lives, so long it feels like "hundreds of thousands of years." Solomon, the man, is reaching the end of his life, and the singer is pleading him not to leave her just yet. | |
| The Church – Under The Milky Way Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
This has been one of my favorite songs since I was seven years old. I have two beautiful memories that come to mind whenever I hear it. When I was eleven, my family got up at one in the morning, bundled up in our winter clothes, and stretched out on the hood of the car to watch a meteor shower. My dad, another avid Church fan, pointed up into the heavens with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Check it out. We're under the Milky Way." When I was seventeen, my family took a trip to Australia. One night, when we were staying at a hotel in the outback, my dad and my brother and I all put on our headphones and turned on this song and went outside to stargaze. |
|
| Fleetwood Mac – Never Going Back Again Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| This is one of my favorite songs, not just of Fleetwood Mac, but of all time. I love the affirmation in the lyrics. To me, this song sends an even more positive message than Don't Stop: even if you've been down, you can get back up again, and you have the power to keep the darkness away. I listen to this song whenever I need a pick-me-up. | |
| Foo Fighters – Everlong Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| To me, this song sounds like it's about a love that takes you to a whole other level of being. They know each other's souls and when they are together, the rest of the world disappears and they raise above it all. I hope one day I can feel a love like this. | |
| Belly (US) – Full Moon, Empty Heart Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| When I first heard the lines "Don't look at me looking back at you, out the window backwards," the first image that came into my mind was of watching someone riding away through the rear windshield of a car. I think the woman singing the song (not necessarily Tanya herself) is losing custody of her child. It has happened before ("see this child twice stolen from me") and she is trying to comfort her child by telling her/him to sleep, not to think about the separation. | |
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.