| Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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The interpretation that reads drug use into the lyrics is credible, and I do not wish to discredit it. However, I have an alternate interpretation: namely, the game of love. Both drugs and love are viable as the subject of this song - perhaps Josh meant for both to work! Anyway, here is my interpretation: "We get some rules to follow That and this These and those No one knows" => The rules of courtship. A man is supposed to do "x", a woman is supposed to do "y". "X" and "y" are: "That and this / These and those", viz: men are meant to do a certain thing and women are meant to do a certain thing as well. Notice the juxtaposition: THAT versus THIS, and THESE versus THOSE. He pairs"that" (a desire or a wish; an object you are drawing attention to) and "this" (something readily at hand; something nearby). Namely: what you want and what you have. This could apply to drugs, sexual attraction or money. He also juxtaposes "these" and "those" - it's the same idea except in the plural: "these" things I have versus "those" things I want. Notice the clever inversion: in the first line, he has that/this (what I want/ what I have) and in the second line, he has these/those (what I have/ what I want). The inversion and sense of confusion that these lines bring leads to ... NO ONE KNOWS! "No one knows" perfectly captures the sentiment that the first three lines introduced: there are many arbitrary rules in the game of love; we know what we have to offer a partner and what we want in a partner, but no one really knows what they're doing. We're all just evolved apes colliding in one great shared experience. "We get these pills to swallow How they stick In your throat Tastes like gold" => Again, a literal reference to drugs, or an oblique reference to love/sexual desire. It could be a golden pill leading to euphoria, or a metaphor for fellatio. Furthermore, these lines capture the frustrating and arbitrary nature of the dance of love: it is a pill to be swallowed - a set of random rules, but it tastes like gold: the sweetness of attraction and the eventual fulfilment of that attraction. "Oh, what you do to me No one knows". => This is fairly straightforward. The object of his desire exercises tremendous force on his mind, but he bears it all in secrecy, so he pangs with desire in silence. Thus, no one knows about it. This could apply to cravings for drugs or for sex/a partner. "And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I Ah" => Drugs and sex work here. You think you control drugs and your use of them, but really, they control you. Or, this is a comment on the folly of externalising yourself on a parter, and thinking that you have been validated because you've "conquered" them, when really, they are a separate individual from yourself and you are a fool for believing that a moment of pleasure can allow you to define yourself or own someone else. These lines could also refer to the intensely subjective nature of desire, whether requited or unrequited. He's dealt with this theme before (in terms of unrequited love) in "You Can't Quit Me Baby", so it wouldn't surprise me if he was putting a dark edge on sexual desire, considering it a game of possession where you are the fool because you possess nothing but your fantasies. "I journey through the desert Of the mind With no hope I found low" => Is he in a dry patch? He's longing for something; the desert probably brings water to mind. But what is this desert? It is a desert of the mind. He is longing for the fluid bliss of sex, where la petit mort dissolves the conscious for a brief, blissful moment. But there is no hope. Is he afraid that he won't be able to consummate his overriding attraction? "I drift along the ocean Dead lifeboats in the sun And come undone" => Notice the shift from arid desert to fluid ocean. He is encompassing the extremes of emotion that come with desire. He and his object of affection are as dead lifeboats the ocean, and he is praying that the current will pull them together - maybe even close enough to knock together and make some magic - maybe come undone and experience each other on the deepest level. "Pleasantly caving in I come undone" =>Perhaps he finally has her, or perhaps his fantasies have wound him up too tightly, and he is masturbating to ease the tension, all while envisaging his idealised other ("PLEASANTLY caving in"). "And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool I Ah". => Already explained, but this time, the theme changes. Beforehand, the chorus spoke of the game of love, now it precedes the moment of culmination. He has caved in - either pleasuring himself or giving in to desire and pursuing this girl (maybe both). Since it's the chorus, we can imagine that his pursuit was successful, and that he's finally won her over. "Heaven smiles above me What a gift here below But no one knows" => The intensely personal pleasure of the sex act. In the moment, heaven itself seems to smile, and here on earth, what he has just experienced feels like a gift from God; however, no one knows: this is a special experience that is known only to him and his partner. "A gift that you give to me No one knows" => This confirms it. After all of his longing, the gift has been given to him by his object of affection, but no one knows the divine bliss that they have shared together. The whole song moves from the vague impressions of lust ("that ... this", "these ... those") to unbearable desire (poetic images of the desert and ocean, and caving in to it and pleasuring yourself) to a more specific impression and/or memory of what actually happened, with heaven smiling and the pleasure shared by both parties remaining unique to them. |
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| Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
The interpretation that reads drug use into the lyrics is credible, and I do not wish to discredit it. However, I have an alternate interpretation: namely, the game of love. Both drugs and love are viable as the subject of this song - perhaps Josh meant for both to work! Anyway, here is my interpretation: "We get some rules to follow That and this These and those No one knows" => The rules of courtship. A man is supposed to do "x", a woman is supposed to do "y". "X" and "y" are: "That and this / These and those", viz: men are meant to do a certain thing and women are meant to do a certain thing as well. Notice the juxtaposition: THAT versus THIS, and THESE versus THOSE. He pairs"that" (a desire or a wish; an object you are drawing attention to) and "this" (something readily at hand; something nearby). Namely: what you want and what you have. This could apply to drugs, sexual attraction or money. He also juxtaposes "these" and "those" - it's the same idea except in the plural: "these" things I have versus "those" things I want. Notice the clever inversion: in the first line, he has that/this (what I want/ what I have) and in the second line, he has these/those (what I have/ what I want). The inversion and sense of confusion that these lines bring leads to ... NO ONE KNOWS! "No one knows" perfectly captures the sentiment that the first three lines introduced: there are many arbitrary rules in the game of love; we know what we have to offer a partner and what we want in a partner, but no one really knows what they're doing. We're all just evolved apes colliding in one great shared experience. "We get these pills to swallow How they stick In your throat Tastes like gold" => Again, a literal reference to drugs, or an oblique reference to love/sexual desire. It could be a golden pill leading to euphoria, or a metaphor for fellatio. Furthermore, these lines capture the frustrating and arbitrary nature of the dance of love: it is a pill to be swallowed - a set of random rules, but it tastes like gold: the sweetness of attraction and the eventual fulfilment of that attraction. "Oh, what you do to me No one knows". => This is fairly straightforward. The object of his desire exercises tremendous force on his mind, but he bears it all in secrecy, so he pangs with desire in silence. Thus, no one knows about it. This could apply to cravings for drugs or for sex/a partner. "And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I Ah" => Drugs and sex work here. You think you control drugs and your use of them, but really, they control you. Or, this is a comment on the folly of externalising yourself on a parter, and thinking that you have been validated because you've "conquered" them, when really, they are a separate individual from yourself and you are a fool for believing that a moment of pleasure can allow you to define yourself or own someone else. These lines could also refer to the intensely subjective nature of desire, whether requited or unrequited. He's dealt with this theme before (in terms of unrequited love) in "You Can't Quit Me Baby", so it wouldn't surprise me if he was putting a dark edge on sexual desire, considering it a game of possession where you are the fool because you possess nothing but your fantasies. "I journey through the desert Of the mind With no hope I found low" => Is he in a dry patch? He's longing for something; the desert probably brings water to mind. But what is this desert? It is a desert of the mind. He is longing for the fluid bliss of sex, where la petit mort dissolves the conscious for a brief, blissful moment. But there is no hope. Is he afraid that he won't be able to consummate his overriding attraction? "I drift along the ocean Dead lifeboats in the sun And come undone" => Notice the shift from arid desert to fluid ocean. He is encompassing the extremes of emotion that come with desire. He and his object of affection are as dead lifeboats the ocean, and he is praying that the current will pull them together - maybe even close enough to knock together and make some magic - maybe come undone and experience each other on the deepest level. "Pleasantly caving in I come undone" =>Perhaps he finally has her, or perhaps his fantasies have wound him up too tightly, and he is masturbating to ease the tension, all while envisaging his idealised other ("PLEASANTLY caving in"). "And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool I Ah". => Already explained, but this time, the theme changes. Beforehand, the chorus spoke of the game of love, now it precedes the moment of culmination. He has caved in - either pleasuring himself or giving in to desire and pursuing this girl (maybe both). Since it's the chorus, we can imagine that his pursuit was successful, and that he's finally won her over. "Heaven smiles above me What a gift here below But no one knows" => The intensely personal pleasure of the sex act. In the moment, heaven itself seems to smile, and here on earth, what he has just experienced feels like a gift from God; however, no one knows: this is a special experience that is known only to him and his partner. "A gift that you give to me No one knows" => This confirms it. After all of his longing, the gift has been given to him by his object of affection, but no one knows the divine bliss that they have shared together. The whole song moves from the vague impressions of lust ("that ... this", "these ... those") to unbearable desire (poetic images of the desert and ocean, and caving in to it and pleasuring yourself) to a more specific impression and/or memory of what actually happened, with heaven smiling and the pleasure shared by both parties remaining unique to them. |
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| Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows Lyrics | 9 years ago |
|
The interpretation that reads drug use into the lyrics is credible, and I do not wish to discredit it. However, I have an alternate interpretation: namely, the game of love. Both drugs and love are viable as the subject of this song - perhaps Josh meant for both to work! Anyway, here is my interpretation: "We get some rules to follow That and this These and those No one knows" => The rules of courtship. A man is supposed to do "x", a woman is supposed to do "y". "X" and "y" are: "That and this / These and those", viz: men are meant to do a certain thing and women are meant to do a certain thing as well. Notice the juxtaposition: THAT versus THIS, and THESE versus THOSE. He pairs"that" (a desire or a wish; an object you are drawing attention to) and "this" (something readily at hand; something nearby). Namely: what you want and what you have. This could apply to drugs, sexual attraction or money. He also juxtaposes "these" and "those" - it's the same idea except in the plural: "these" things I have versus "those" things I want. Notice the clever inversion: in the first line, he has that/this (what I want/ what I have) and in the second line, he has these/those (what I have/ what I want). The inversion and sense of confusion that these lines bring leads to ... NO ONE KNOWS! "No one knows" perfectly captures the sentiment that the first three lines introduced: there are many arbitrary rules in the game of love; we know what we have to offer a partner and what we want in a partner, but no one really knows what they're doing. We're all just evolved apes colliding in one great shared experience. "We get these pills to swallow How they stick In your throat Tastes like gold" => Again, a literal reference to drugs, or an oblique reference to love/sexual desire. It could be a golden pill leading to euphoria, or a metaphor for fellatio. Furthermore, these lines capture the frustrating and arbitrary nature of the dance of love: it is a pill to be swallowed - a set of random rules, but it tastes like gold: the sweetness of attraction and the eventual fulfilment of that attraction. "Oh, what you do to me No one knows". => This is fairly straightforward. The object of his desire exercises tremendous force on his mind, but he bears it all in secrecy, so he pangs with desire in silence. Thus, no one knows about it. This could apply to cravings for drugs or for sex/a partner. "And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I Ah" => Drugs and sex work here. You think you control drugs and your use of them, but really, they control you. Or, this is a comment on the folly of externalising yourself on a parter, and thinking that you have been validated because you've "conquered" them, when really, they are a separate individual from yourself and you are a fool for believing that a moment of pleasure can allow you to define yourself or own someone else. These lines could also refer to the intensely subjective nature of desire, whether requited or unrequited. He's dealt with this theme before (in terms of unrequited love) in "You Can't Quit Me Baby", so it wouldn't surprise me if he was putting a dark edge on sexual desire, considering it a game of possession where you are the fool because you possess nothing but your fantasies. "I journey through the desert Of the mind With no hope I found low" => Is he in a dry patch? He's longing for something; the desert probably brings water to mind. But what is this desert? It is a desert of the mind. He is longing for the fluid bliss of sex, where la petit mort dissolves the conscious for a brief, blissful moment. But there is no hope. Is he afraid that he won't be able to consummate his overriding attraction? "I drift along the ocean Dead lifeboats in the sun And come undone" => Notice the shift from arid desert to fluid ocean. He is encompassing the extremes of emotion that come with desire. He and his object of affection are as dead lifeboats the ocean, and he is praying that the current will pull them together - maybe even close enough to knock together and make some magic - maybe come undone and experience each other on the deepest level. "Pleasantly caving in I come undone" =>Perhaps he finally has her, or perhaps his fantasies have wound him up too tightly, and he is masturbating to ease the tension, all while envisaging his idealised other ("PLEASANTLY caving in"). "And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool am I And I realize you're mine Indeed a fool I Ah". => Already explained, but this time, the theme changes. Beforehand, the chorus spoke of the game of love, now it precedes the moment of culmination. He has caved in - either pleasuring himself or giving in to desire and pursuing this girl (maybe both). Since it's the chorus, we can imagine that his pursuit was successful, and that he's finally won her over. "Heaven smiles above me What a gift here below But no one knows" => The intensely personal pleasure of the sex act. In the moment, heaven itself seems to smile, and here on earth, what he has just experienced feels like a gift from God; however, no one knows: this is a special experience that is known only to him and his partner. "A gift that you give to me No one knows" => This confirms it. After all of his longing, the gift has been given to him by his object of affection, but no one knows the divine bliss that they have shared together. The whole song moves from the vague impressions of lust ("that ... this", "these ... those") to unbearable desire (poetic images of the desert and ocean, and caving in to it and pleasuring yourself) to a more specific impression and/or memory of what actually happened, with heaven smiling and the pleasure shared by both parties remaining unique to them. |
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| Stone Temple Pilots – Sin Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[jdieqZX:10154] Great analysis. Your close reading of the "... shackled to the shadow" line is very interesting. If your interpretation is correct, then the song becomes very powerful: religious fanatics are bound (shackled) to illusions (shadows). They are simply worshipping (God, Jesus) and condemning (Satan, Judas) ghosts - non-existent, imaginary ideas. Of course, it is possible that Scott did not intend to write lyrics with such a meaning, but nonetheless, your interpretation is fascinating. |
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| David Bowie – Dollar Days Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[antihexe:9495] There's really nothing to add. You summed it up perfectly: art at its finest, |
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| Incubus – New Skin Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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@[MistaTwista:6434] Buskminster Fuller. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller Ctrl+f & search: "electro". The quote is about halfway down the page. |
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