| The Tragically Hip – The Dire Wolf Lyrics | 22 days ago |
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I love the progression in this song, how what SEEMS to be the same verse and chorus repeated multiple times actually has minute changes each time that push the song along. We start by hearing: "Past the Dire Wolf's lair on a Newfoundland's paws close to nowhere and halfway across" Which, in the second iteration, becomes: "At the Dire Wolf's crest the Newfoundland paused desolate's best was gotten across" And finally, in the third verse, it becomes: "At the Dire Wolf's best the Newfoundland paused so desperate as to be a lost cause" I don't know what it is, but this progression literally sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. I love the pun when "paws" becomes "pause", but more specifically, we are first told that the Newfoundlander is "halfway across". By the second verse, we are told that it had "gotten across". However, in the tragedy of the third verse, we then realize that any chance of the Newfoundlander surviving is "so desperate as to be a lost cause". It goes to show how quickly victory changes to tragedy, and how bittersweet the rescue of the unfortunate sailors actually is. |
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| Metric – Doomscroller Lyrics | 8 months ago |
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“Formentera” was Metric’s Pandemic Record, and nowhere is it more obvious than in this song. In many ways, “Doomscroller” takes the listener through the all-important five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance), something that many people became very familiar with as the pandemic - very frighteningly - began to migrate from “two weeks to flatten the curve” into a much longer and more protracted lockdown. Social media and “doomscrolling” became the order of the day. Friends and family who we had become accustomed to seeing two or three times a week (or more) were now reduced to a few pixels on a Zoom or FaceTime screen. “Life wasn’t made for one” Emily Haines sings on the album’s title track, “Formentera”, and we were all very quickly discovering the truth in that sentiment. When the real history of COVID is written, possibly many years from now, it’s not going to be about the disease. It’s going to be about the isolation, that aching sense of loneliness that permeated our very souls for so long. Children going through their formative years without any contact with other children. In retrospect, it was absolute madness – but it happened. And all the while our computers, our smartphones became the absolute centre of our lives. Doomscrolling became the one activity we could all relate to. And we were in utter DENIAL of what was actually happening to the world: “Was it an act of God or an accident? An act of God or an accident?” By the time the ANGER began to set in, we didn’t know where to direct it. Should we be angry at our own governments? The Chinese? The doctor who put your father on a breathing tube last week, only to seal his fate a week later, when they finally had to turn off life-support? All we knew was that we had to be angry at someone: “Arrogance of a coward hostile Scum of the earth overpaid to rob you Scum of the Earth overpaid to rob and mock resistance.” And all the while, as we became more and more isolated, we continued to doomscroll: “Dog whistle links to a torch song Torch song links to a statue burning Moon landing links to Q Anon Rabbit in a deep hole keep on dancing.” The BARGAINING came from deep inside, and it came in the form of our own souls reaching out in the only way they knew how. “DON’T GIVE UP!” they screamed at us. Although it was very difficult to see, there WAS a light at the end of the tunnel: “Don’t give up yet, don’t give up yet, don’t give up yet, don’t give up now, Don’t give up yet, don’t give up yet, don’t give up yet, don’t give up now…” Ultimately, the pain became overwhelming. No matter how much we hopped that there would one day be a way out of this madness, the DEPRESSION seeped in on a level many of us had never experienced. The suicides began. Even when the vaccines arrived, many people (rightly) refused to trust them. The blaming got worse - not the blaming of the governments that had caused this madness, but the blaming of our fellow man: You’re unvaccinated? YOU’RE the cause of everything! You shouldn’t even be allowed to go to the doctor for anything! And my sister who gave me COVID? I’m never, EVER, speaking to her again! All we could do was feel deep, unmitigated pain. The depression was palpable, and by trying to treat it, all we seemed to be able to do was magnify it: “Take something for the pain Not something to conceal it More like a magnification mirror full-size Inner echo reflecting solace revived…” But ultimately the only way could navigate ourselves out of this insanity was by putting our differences aside and reaching out to one another. It was the isolation that was killing us, and only one emotion - love - could pull us out of the deep pit of blackness we had been living in for years now. When Metric decided to make a “pandemic record”, Emily Haines and James Shaw made it clear that they didn’t want to make an album about the pandemic itself. They wanted to make an album about getting OUT of the pandemic. And that’s why there is such a tonal shift in the final minutes of this ten-and-a-half-minute masterpiece. Emily’s voice is like that of an angel of mercy, guiding us out of these “Days of Oblivion” (which she will sing about more on the follow-up album “Formentera II”) and into that realm of ACCEPTANCE that we needed to journey through before we would truly be free: “Whatever you do Either way we’re gonna love you Never mattered Either way we’re gonna love you How many or how much more You’ve been through Come back to yourself from the battle.” |
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| The Who – Baba O'Riley Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| In a relatively recent interview with Guitar Player, Pete explained that “‘Baba O\' Riley’ is about the absolute devastation of teenagers at Woodstock, where everybody was smacked out on acid and 20 people, or whatever, had brain damage. The contradiction was that it became a celebration: ‘Teenage wasteland! Yes! We\'re All wasted!’”\n\nInterestingly, Roger has also recently weighed in on the song’s meaning, and has talked about how it can be seen as a warning to today’s youth about the hypnotizing effects of social media. “The main advice I give youngsters,” he said, “is to be very aware of what you are getting into on social media. Because life is not looking down at screens, it is looking up. We are heading for catastrophe with the addiction that is going on in the younger generation. Your life will disappear if you are not careful. You are being controlled, and that is terrible.”\n\nThe Who’s lyrics represent some of the most timeless poetry from the ‘60s and ‘70s: although their songs reference - either obliquely or directly - important events from the era in which they were written, so many of them can be re-interpreted by a new generation. The themes they explored were enduring and perennial: the inability of the older generation to understand the thoughts and motivations of the young; the dangers of drugs and other addictive elements; the inability of the current generation to see certain warning signs on the eve of disaster and catastrophe; how much can we trust our five senses, and how much do they play a part in the evolution of our works. The ageless and everlasting nature of these themes, in part, explains why “Tommy” succeeded as much as it did when it was remounted as a Broadway musical.\n\nDaltry went on to say, “‘Teenage Wasteland’ speaks to generation after generation. The bridge – ‘Don’t cry / Don’t raise your eye / It’s only teenage wasteland’ – if that doesn’t say more about the new generation, I don’t know what does.”\n\nIn my opinion, “Baba O’Riley” represents the absolute pinnacle of this polysemy. It’s as relevant today as the day it was written. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Freak Turbulence Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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Totally agree with Rozrox’s analysis: this has got to be the FUNNIEST Tragically Hip song ever written!! And it all comes down to that line in the second stanza (because, hey, it makes MUCH more sense that Gord’s lyrics are divided into “stanzas” rather than “verses” - far from being a simple songwriter, he’ll always be Canada’s unofficial Poet Laureate.) I just love how you can hear the desperation and the frantic nature in Gord’s voice when he tries to make sense of the pilot’s announcement. I’m not sure if he simply misheard the phrase “ 'I'll have you on the ground/In 25 minutes or less,” as “ 'I'll have you on the ground/In 25 minutes, unless…”, because he certainly plays around with that word “unless”. However, I always read the lyrics as meaning: “25 minutes…OR LESS???” - i.e., the only way we could be on the ground in LESS than 25 minutes is if we DROP OUT OF THE SKY!!! You can see I’ve got a bit of hangup about flying myself…????!!! However you interpret it, it’s a hysterical little ditty! And yes, the sheer terror infecting the INSIDE of the plane is totally juxtaposed with the moonlight literally caressing the outside shell of the aircraft. What a brilliant use of both lyrics AND his staccato vocals. Incidentally, when I was a lot younger, I used to mix up this song with both “Silver Jet” (from “In Violet Light”) and “Vapour Trails” (from “Phantom Power”). I guess Gord just likes singing about airplanes! |
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| The Tragically Hip – Vaccination Scar Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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@[thedirtiesthip:37429] That may be true, but it doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t discuss potential meanings. Gord’s lyrics may be obscure, but they are certainly not meaningless: far from being “word salad“ they certainly came from somewhere. But like any good poetry his lyrics can be re-interpreted depending on the situation and the person. Case in point: I’m sure this song means something very different to people since the arrival of COVID-19. I’m writing this at the beginning of the summer of ‘21, and the whole world is vaccination crazy, despite not knowing the long-term effects of Pfizer, AstroZeneca, et. al. One thing we can agree on is that the Hip are the “best band ever“! Gord is SO missed here in Canada, and yet we still got a wonderful surprise a few weeks ago with the release of “Saskadelphia”, the new E.P. that contains material originally recorded during the “Road Apples” sessions. To get what is essentially new Hip three years AFTER Downie’s death is just a huge gift to Hip fans - and far from being just the “cast-offs” from Road Apples, it’s an amazing album in itself. |
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| The Tragically Hip – It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[River:37396] Wolf It must have been, on some level. I haven’t read it myself, but I was certainly aware of the graphic novel when I first heard the song all those years ago (my god, has it really almost been 20 years since this song came out?) I’ve always assumed - given the Canadian connection - that the song was at least inspired by the graphic novel. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Silver Jet Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[Dropkick_Rover:37395] Umm…”In Violet Light” was NOT released in 1998. It was released in 2002 – the year after the September 11 attacks. | |
| R.E.M. – E-Bow The Letter Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| @[rieve:31484] and @ruiduraio It’s not an organ or a synthesizer - it’s actually...an e-bow! This little device, which produces various effects on an electric guitar, is where the song gets its title. | |
| Indigo Girls – Kid Fears Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| @[JimmyHop:31173] Totally agree with you; this is what I’ve ALWAYS thought this song was about, from the first time I heard it all those years ago. By the time we are finally faced with the sad reality of adulthood, most of us would give anything to return to innocence, even if such a return involves having to once again deal with our “kid fears“. | |
| Kenny Loggins – Footloose Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[DarkenRahl:28561] I know you posted this comment over twelve years ago, but I have to say, I haven’t been able to stop laughing since I read it half an hour ago. Thank you. I needed this tonight. As much as I love this website, sometimes we absolutely get hung up on hidden meanings and interpretation. Sometimes there’s something to be said for just enjoying the bloody song! |
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| Mark Knopfler – What It Is Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Not only my favourite Mark Knopfler song, but one of my favourite songs of all time. Just brilliant, the picture he paints with words and music. There is one slight difference between the printed lyrics and the words he actually sings: the line... And it’s cold on the tollgate With the Caledonian blues ...is actually sung as... And it’s cold on the tollgate Let the drums beat the tattoo Just a little snippet! |
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| Indigo Girls – Romeo and Juliet Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[baa04:26689] I agree. I adore the Indigo Girls, but this is too much of a departure from the original. If there’s a cover version that I think “gets it”, it’s the one by the Killers. But Dire Straits’ original is pretty much perfect. | |
| The Tragically Hip – Pigeon Camera Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[GardenWeasel:25499] The main reason I came to leave this reply was for the exact same reason that @[MajorBedhead:25500] replied about six months or a year ago: you state that you can’t imagine that any other song on “Fully Completely“ could be about the Quebec issue, but many people have interpreted “Locked in the Trunk of a Car“ as being about the FLQ October Crisis of 1970. However – and I think it’s very important to articulate this – that interpretation of that song has been challenged by many individuals over the years. While it’s very true that Pierre Laporte was indeed “locked in the trunk of a car“ and then murdered, there are many other lyrics in that song that don’t seem to necessarily point the way to Quebec nationalism. And I have to say, even if that IS what “Locked in the Trunk of a Car“ is truly about, I have to say that I really feel like you are on to something with regards to “Pigeon Camera“. In particular, your deconstructing of the opening lines (“It was handsome at the auction…etc.) is, I believe, quite profound; back in 1982, when we first patriated our constitution, everything seemed fine and wonderful. It was only the failure of both Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord that really brought back those intense feelings of polarization that had existed previously (and had, of course, contributed to the rise of the FLQ). Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I think your interpretation is extremely well thought out. Gord Downy has always promoted his lyrics in the same vein as that of a poet: their true meaning really depends on the perception and point of view of the listener. |
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| Arlo Guthrie – Darkest Hour Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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This is such a beautiful and, unfortunately, a relatively unknown song. When I first purchased Arlo Guthrie's "Greatest Hits" album, way back when I was 15 or 16 years old, I did so mainly for "City of New Orleans" and "Alice's Restaurant". Barely a song or two in, I discovered "Darkest Hour", and I fell in love. It is a song of opposites, and of dichotomies. "Her hands are holding up the skies," Guthrie sings, "As I hid my opened eyes". And it is a song about the night, and the stark beauty that comes with it. The singer's lover wears perfume that "fills up the night", and we are told that "the sounds of the night" are the only things that can be heard. These two motifs are brought together in one of the song's most beautiful stanzas: "Her father's in his chamber with his friends all gathered 'round They are plotting their enemies' demise With their last detail done, they await the coming sun While I am staring in my lover's eyes" There is also a sexuality in this song that is neither lewd nor impure. It is characterized rather by beauty and fragility, and it is in the delicate imperfection of the human countenance that the epiphany of this song is realized: "The moonlight held her breast As she easily undressed In my darkest hour" Just a stunning song. One of my favorites. |
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| Paul Simon – Under African Skies Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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This is a song about the roots of language. It is a song about music, and rhythm. And it demonstrates not only in its lyrics but in its changing tempo and the rhythm of its lines how language developed. The "story of how we begin to remember" IS the story of language. We remember – as a species – because we are able to pass our knowledge on from generation to generation. This was originally done through spoken language; writing came much later. Africa was the cradle of humanity, and as humans began to march out of the grasslands and deserts, they took the ability to communicate with them – first in music, then in song, and finally in speech. Where did words first come from? Were they random? Or was there some, deep-rooted reason why a tree is called a "tree", a river is called a "river" and why Joseph was called "Joseph"? So much of it has to do with music, rhythm and how they developed. Did the very first "name" come from somebody "falling and calling their name out"? Notice how the rhythm of the song changes between the first and the final verse. The first verse is imperfect: "Joseph's face was black as night; the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes". There are slight gaps that need to be accounted for. Certain words need to be stretched out in order to accommodate the tune. But by the final verse – essentially, a repetition of the first – this has been remedied. Now Simon sings, "Joseph's face was as black as THE night, AND the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes". We are no longer told that Joseph "walked his days under African skies"; instead, he "walked THE LENGTH of his days under African skies". The rhythm of each line has been perfected: there are no gaps or strained syllables. This is how language developed: words were needed to perfect the rhythm of speech, and so they were born. The purpose and function of language is one of the most fundamental aspects of modern philosophical discourse. The brilliance in this song is that it is not only TELLS us about the roots of language; it ILLUSTRATES it within the very fabric of the song itself. |
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