| Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| It's about being on a heroin high. Coming down specifically. People talking is annoying, people's words entering his "little world" is painful. He doesn't need people. All he needs is in his arms, as in where the heroin goes. He just wants to enjoy the silence. Seriously, people need to stop thinking every song is about a romantic relationship. Look a layer deeper. Substance addiction can be like a dysfunctional relationship, which is why that's what songs often seem to be about. Rule of thumb: If it's not folk or country or rap, assume there are at LEAST two meanings to a song. | |
| They Might Be Giants – Particle Man Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Also, the "What's he like, it's not important" line smacks of another staple of existentialism, the idea that "Nothing really matters" (see Bohemian Rhapsody as based on the novel The Stranger by existentialist writer Albert Camus). | |
| They Might Be Giants – Particle Man Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I think it's a song about mankind's existential dilemma. We start with "Particle Man", just representing particles, which for the purposes of this song represent the smallest bits of matter (even though in reality particles are bigger/more complex than atoms). What's he like? It's not important. We don't spend too much time thinking about it. We instead focus our attention on "Universe Man", powerful, huge, but "usually kind to smaller men". This is actually a kind of Buddhist take on the universe, that it is a conscious thing, a generally benevolent provider. When all the hands of his watch, from the minute to the eon meet, all is one and right with the universe. Now we meet "Triangle Man". Someone referred to this as a representation for the Illuminati, but I think the triangle here is the Greek symbol delta (a triangle) which in the sciences indicates change. Another Buddhist philosophy is that change is the only constant in the universe. In a fight, change will always win over what it acts upon. Triangle Man "hates" Particle Man, probably said because change CAN be a destructive or degenerative force. So we've met the smallest building block of reality, then zoomed out to see reality as a whole, and seen the constant force of change that acts on it all. Finally we meet ourselves in the form of "Person Man", caught in the middle and totally at the mercy of the laws of nature (particles) and insignificant compared to the bigger picture (the universe). "Hit on the head with a frying pan, spends his life in a garbage can"-- just examples of the, some would argue, dangerous, squalid, and bizarre lives we lead. This makes us depressed, or a mess, and can make us feel totally worthless as we ask ourselves "Who came up with person man?" Are we alone? Is there a God? Is there a reason for any of this? Still we lack an answer, so we feel degraded. Here comes Triangle Man again, that unstoppable force of change against which Person Man (humanity) can't hope to win a fight against. Try as he might, Person Man is beaten by forces outside of his control (change). Classic existentialism. | |
| Ween – Big Jilm Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I had originally thought that the lyrics were "It's-a pleasin' mah weasel, BIG JILM!" which would have pointed to male ejaculate, but if the lyrics are in fact "It's a pleasel, my weasel" then I have no idea. | |
| Ween – Big Jilm Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Why is it that the lyrics say "Big JIM" when the song is called "Big JILM"? Urban Dictionary says "Jilm" is male ejaculate. If you type "Jilm" into Bing images, you get a bunch of pictures of different kinds of vegetation. Unfortunately, the lyrics don't provide any context clues as to what "Jilm" refers to in this case. Just chalk it up to Ween's cookiness. | |
| The Mars Volta – Son et Lumière Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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So I've been into lyric analysis for a while now. Not that I'm great at it or anything, but I think I've analyzed a few things pretty well so far. So I'm going to take on the lofty and overwhelming task of analyzing the work of The Mars Volta.. Obviously my interpretations are by no means the end all, be all on their work. There will always be more that can be said. I'm just gonna take a crack at it. So without further ado, I'll start with Son et Lumiere, and then proceed track by track. So I did my Deloused in the Comatorium research years ago while I was an undergrad at my university. I may be a little rusty on the full account of what happened to Julio Venegas (pseudonym Cerpin Taxt for the purposes of this album), but I believe I get the gist. Son et Lumiere begins with those really cool, eerie sounds, almost siren-like, which kind of seem to fade in and out. This combined with the title of the song, which is French for Sound and Light, makes me think of sirens on an ambulance. This is the beginning of our story in which Cerpin Taxt has attempted suicide with what I believe was a combination of drugs (I think morphine and arsenic -- rat poison, may have been two of them; there may have been more). He is between life and death, entering his coma, but not quite entering into his adventure through the dream world/world of the dead (more on that later) until the beginning of the next song. Clipside of the pinkeye flight Morphine sometimes comes in the form of a pink pill, which is either circular or oval-shaped. Never having been a part of the morphine addicted subculture, I'm not sure, but it seems that "pinkeye" could be a slang term for morphine pills. So "pinkeye flight" could be a reference to a morphine high. We also know that pinkeye (conjunctivitis) is a disease caused by a bacterial infection of the eye, usually resulting from exposure to fecal matter, and in the next song (Inertiatic ESP), of which THIS song was originally intended to be a part of, we hear of a musk that is "fecal in origin". Maybe a connection there, maybe not. My money's on morphine-related slang. So the first line of the song is probably referring to the experience immediately following the attempted morphine/arsenic overdose. I'm not ther percent you think survives May be saying that there are statistics related to attempted suicide in this nature, and he's promising that he's not one of the people who are going to come out on the other side of this. I need sanctuary in the pages of this book Not sure what "book" is being referred to here. Perhaps he's just saying that he's seeking "sanctuary", or reprieve, refuge, escape. The reality of this young man's life is too much to bear, so he is trying to escape it. Gestating with all the other rats This is a strange line, because gestation refers to the development of a fetus in the womb. TMV uses fetal/womb imagery pretty consistently in their work. So is he saying he's developing in some way? Does he feel like he's one of many unborn baby rats? Who/what are the rats, metaphorically? I have heard people speculate that the rats are the other people in the comatorium (the part of a hospital where comatose patients are held obviously), or that the rats are fellow drug addicts.. The word "gestating" really throws off a solid analysis here, at least for my novice abilities. Nurse said that my skin will need a graft Again, not really sure if this is a reference to the real life events (if Julio/Cerpin Taxt was a regular user of IV drugs, it's possible that the skin surrounding the site of the frequent injections could have been damaged and in need of a graft) or if it's intended more metaphorically. If it's in reference to real life events, then the meaning should be fairly obvious; if not, maybe it means he could still somewhat hear what was going on around him before slipping into a coma, just pointing out that he was fading out. I'm of pockmarked shapes, the vermin you need to loathe I think I remember reading how Julio's skin was covered in scars or was otherwise "pockmarked". This is a common side effect of certain hard drugs. the "vermin you need to loathe" bit may refer to his being a drug user, seen as a vermin (like a rat or other undesirable pest) by society, and a reference to his own lack of self esteem or self loathing, perhaps contributing to his desire to end his own wretched life. |
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| Kings of Leon – Milk Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Great song. It has held a special place in my heart for a few years now. Seems like the singer is describing memories about a relationship (possibly short-lived but meaningful) that ended. It is rather mournful. Salty leave: Salty leavings. Tears. He is crying (probably not sobbing uncontrollable, but having memories which bring tears to his eyes). Maybe the word choice indicates that the girl leaving is what made him cry. Stay for me: He's asking her to stay. Not sure why he chose "Stay FOR me" instead of "Stay WITH me", but it doesn't matter. Tell me the one about the friend you knew and the last goodnight that we toasted to: He's just remembering maybe a joke or an anecdote she used to tell. The second part of the sentence just refers to general good times he had with her. Good nights and toasting, celebrating, having fun, that sort of thing. We drank wine in the matinee and the spotlight showed what it chased away: Just another memory, going to a matinee show with his girl, drinking wine. The thing about the spotlight suggests watching a live play. Not sure about the "showed what it chased away" part. Maybe just added for syllabic balance or something. She saw my combover, her hourglass body: In real life the writer of this song has male pattern baldness. He may be talking about how in his mind, this girl with the great body (hourglass typically a descriptor meaning a good figure) was attractive enough to reject him based on a superficial "flaw" but didn't. This could also be hinting at a bit of an age difference.. The singer old enough to be going bald, but the girl having a good form, or more likely, the "hourglass" bit hinting at time, age, etc. Not sure. Could be. She had problems with drinking milk and being school tardy: Again, could be hinting that the girl was young. Obviously young enough to still have problems with being late to school. Usually after high school, people don't get in trouble for being late to class. I saw some people speculating that the girl in the song is lactose intolerant. That's a possibility, and he is mentioning it as just another quirk of hers, or just something about her he remembers. I want to think it goes just a little deeper than that though, because the song is called "Milk" when it could be called any number of other things. So it would seem that milk is a symbol for something which captures the real meaning of the song. Milk is white, which represents innocence (possibly another hint at young age). Typically it's mostly kids who drink milk (again, possible age difference). If the lactose intolerant idea holds any water, the song could be called "Milk" because milk is something that made the girl sick, possibly hinting that like milk, he (the singer) made the girl sick (like she got sick of him) or something. That's probably too much of a long shot, so let's move on. She'll loan you her toothbrush, she'll bartend your party: More little memories perhaps.. He spent the night with her and didn't have a toothbrush so she let him use hers. She'll bartend your party.. she likes to have a good time. Something about this kind of makes me wonder if he's not saying that she kind of has a tendency to get around, if you know what I mean. Again, probably just memories of their time together, but I like to think there's just one extra layer there. I called and called but I can't get through: Seems like something that would happen in a relationship with a younger girl. The singer was invested in this relationship, but for her it was really just an unimportant fling. One day he tried and tried to call her but she wouldn't answer his call. Sad. He's on his own but his own is you: He's alone now, but all he can think about is her and it's really depressing for him, leading him to say.. Kill me, kill me: Her loss of interest in him feels like she's killing him. OR he's kind of pleading for death rather than the pain he feels, kind of like a lot of people do when undergoing loss. Maybe a little of both. Depression stage of grief. Yup. Tale as old as time, Ulysses.. Sensitive guy falls for fun-loving and fickle younger girl, gets emotionally invested, and gets his heart broken. Have a nice day! |
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