| Conor Oberst – Common Knowledge Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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As some of Conor Oberst's other songs this is a portrait of a person who finds it hard to cope with his reality. Bright Eyes songs like Hot Knives and I Know You comes to mind as somewhat similar. These persons seem to pity themselves so much that they lose their morals. In both "Hot Knives" and "I Know You" it's clear that the persons he is describing badly wants to be something else. In both those songs they turn to things that are quite unconventional. In Common Knowledge the person is described as someone who "says he sees what no one else can see" which is very much the same behaviour as the persons in the other songs I've mentioned. Also he seems to focus so much about himself that he fails being a good person. He also deceives himself as he seems to need some kind of affirmation(especially this comes through in the third verse) but instead of trying to be a balanced person which is very much what a good person is, he is trying to force things. "Holds on to his mind just like a kite" describes a person who is thoughtless and desperate to achieve something that makes things better immediately, like in "A good strong win can keep you honest, fill you with some common knowledge." And it's like the common knowledge is what makes one a good person and that he cannot be a good person until he is satisfied with himself, which is of course very deceptive. The third verse is a longing for affirmation in form of sex. He takes one more dance and is aiming for a woman who is drunk and wild in "One more dance, he's in that champagne room She moves like a chocolate fountain Pouring, spilling all around him Makes him wonder what else she can do" It's like he sees his chance with a woman who perhaps have had to much to drink. We know that a chocolate fountain is something that is used to dip things in, and that is exactly what main character is looking for. The last verse is also a description of a person who really tries hard to succeed but deceives himself when he is not realizing that what he really lacks is balance and judgement. And "go out with a bang like Hemingway" is of course refering to commiting suicide by shooting oneself but also that one does something loudly so that it kind of "echoes" and makes people talk about it. And the the last words "some will say your brave, some will say you aint" is of course refering to the usual discussion on wether suicide is brave or if its cowardly. And the character seems to have failed immensely with being brave enough to examine himself and come to clarity with his behaviours. |
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