| Red House Painters – Evil Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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To me there's a definite anti-religious sentiment in these words, with phrases like "cold catholic church" and "sad reminders" being associated with Church-going. The two events that must be looked at closely here are the quotes and the narrator's subsequent emotional response to them: " 'God, do you look evil in the dark?' That made me feel good" It seems that merely questioning the morality of God brings about a positive emotional response in the narrator, as if to suggest that the mysterious aspects of life are good merely by that very quality of mystery, and not through the predetermination of religion. In the second quote: "And said, 'Mom and dad, is it a boy or a girl? Mom and dad, is it a he or a she?' That made me feel good" To me the first thought that comes to my mind on the subject of 'he or she' that is being referred to, is God itself. This is the only deduction that seems reasonable in the religious tone of this song. Also, the daughter asking her parents about this suggests that this would be a child asking this, and therefore innocent to the aspects of religion that adults take for granted (such as the gender of God). Once again religion is undermined so that the narrator can experience childhood the way it was meant to be experienced--with childlike wonder and abandon. |
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| Red House Painters – Uncle Joe Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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@[drew29:3655] read house pain tears? what? |
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| Slint – Don, Aman Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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To me this song has a hopeful ending. That "friend" in his mirror is actually himself; he's finally gained respect for himself and realizes his disconnection with the rest of society was completely through his disconnection with his own thoughts and desires. The ending also has a different vocal tone from the rest of the song. |
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| Coil – Tattooed Man Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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A hint to this song's meaning is given in the name of the album itself: "ape of Naples". What does it mean to 'ape'? It means to imitate someone absurdly, or without logic. The man with "the same tattoos" as the narrator is the one aping him, and the narrator loves him. Tattoos in this case are used as a metaphor for sexual orientation. The man with the "different set of sex aspects" (this I interpret as different sexual orientation than the narrator) is the one the narrator hates. However, an important detail here is that the one the narrator hates is also the one lying in bed (possibly with some sexual connotation), while the one the narrator loves is the one lying in a grave. This can possibly mean that certain people with specific sexual orientations don't ever get to experience the wonder of love and sex with another person of their same orientation, perhaps through circumstances out of their control. One detail that greatly seems to support the above is the phrase "pining like a dog". From google, to pine means to: "suffer a mental and physical decline, especially because of a broken heart." So the man the narrator loves is dead, either literally or figuratively (my guess is figuratively, as the whole song seems to suggest the narrator's hope for love will never reach fruition). This is confirmed with the phrase "This is the dark age of love". He wouldn't have used the term "dark age" for some temporary form of lovelessness, which is why I think the narrator suffers from a permanent affliction. Another clue to support the above claims is the stanza: "And the church bells chime the colour of wine And the angels devil fight to snatch back the lost time " The narrator's lack of love is characterized by a sense of "lost time". There is no more time for the narrator to find his love, his "ship" (another metaphor for love), and "And when the ship comes In trouble His trouble will begin". |
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| Dead Can Dance – Amnesia Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Lyrics are also very similar to "Tell Me About the Forest": http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/70141/ |
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| Dead Can Dance – Amnesia Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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for me this song is about the loss of tradition and reverence for history (and even old wisdoms) in humanity and as every new generation comes along. It references Remembrance Day to evoke honoring our forefathers that have lived their lives not only because life is good, but because we can learn some things from the way that they lived their lives. "Lest we forget the lesson Enshrined in funeral clay" There's a lesson to be learned from the way others have lived their life. Juxtaposition of the immaterial in "lessons" and the material "clay". "History is never written By those who've lost The defeated must bear witness to Our collective memory loss" Here he's suggesting that those who take part in this "collective memory loss" (forsaking tradition and history) will in fact be forgotten by history itself. Very potent imagery. "We live in the dream time Nothing seems to last Can you really plan a future When you no longer have a past" Present-day people live in a time of great promises, promises that give us lofty hopes for a perfect and ideal future, but can we really move ahead if we don't have tradition to guide us? "If we are subject to Empirical minds I wonder what lies beyond Our memory's confines" This is a little tongue-in-cheek. It seems to be criticizing modern science and philosophy, where nothing that can't be empirically proven could ever be valuable or sacred. He criticizes those who hold the ideal over the privileges that we already have, those who wish to rise above their humanity, their "memory's confines". "If memory is the true Sum of who we are May your children know the truth And shine like the brightest star" This is where he defines our histories as what will ultimately define our futures. Only when our future generations take heed of the lessons that history teaches us will they be able to reach their potentials. "All my love and all my kisses Sweet Mnemosyne All my love and all my kisses Sweet Mnemosyne Sweet Mnemosyne" The part of the song with the most pathos. Essentially he's associating our memories with the greatest joy that we can give to others, love and kisses. The conclusion is that by forgetting our past, we have forgotten how to love. Nice imagery as well with the allusion to Mnemosyne, the personification of memory in Greek mythology. The song's title is apt, encompassing all those who have forgotten how to live by their disgracing tradition and history. |
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