| Peter Gabriel – Humdrum Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| The version of this song I know best is on "Peter Gabriel Plays Live," which I had in high school in the 1980s, and which I listened to hundreds of times (but not in many years). When I woke up this morning less than an hour ago, this song was in my head. I came here to find the lyrics, and this is such a beautiful, touching, melancholy interpretation. Songs and song meanings are, to a varying extent, subjective, this one more so than many others. This interpretation is how I'll see and feel this song from here forward. Thank you. | |
| Wolf Parade – California Dreamer Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I agree with most of the previous comments, especially those of MilkyBreath. One thing I've not seen mentioned is the idea of seasons and snow as metaphors. I'll explore that. I lived in California (northern) most of my life but grew up on the East Coast (north as well as south) and in my adult life have lived in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest in addition to California. While in California, a common complaint I heard from people who originated in other regions is that "there are no seasons here," meaning, the seasons don't change nearly as drastically as they do elsewhere, and certainly almost not at all in Southern California. One result is that in the heavily populated, coastal regions of California (L.A., San Diego, Bay Area) snow is so rare as to be nonexistent, and the whole year can be seen as one, long comfortable season (NorCal winter storms notwithstanding) -- "seasons that never die." Thus snow, to me, in the song represents the idea of life in a climate with colder winters, probably a smaller, less exciting place than a big city such as Los Angeles but one that nonetheless has certain "real" qualities that Los Angeles (at least its celebrity/beauty/money culture) does not. This applies especially to a relationship that has integrity and trust and is free of more superficial and temporal tendencies, as one might expect among young, beautiful, famous people concerned more with image and the perceptions of others. In "the radio waves were like snow," I see multiple meanings. It could mean, "I can no longer hear you, I'm too far away -- out here in the snow." It also could mean the singer finds it too painful to listen to his ex-lover's songs, so he tunes them out -- turns them into radio "white noise," the video equivalent of which is often called "snow." "You quietly gave away the winter clothes I made for you." Of course, because the woman in the song was bound for a place "where seasons never die," so she needs no winter clothes. She "gave away" or set aside the parts of the singer and their relationship she no longer needed before she left. The seasonal reference is literal as well as figurative -- in Los Angeles there are no hard winters (no seasons where many things die), and the people there (at least the dream goes) are always young and beautiful. Meanwhile, the singer "made angels in the snow." This, to me, is also twofold in meaning. First, he had no idea she was leaving, so he busied himself with joyful activities associated with the small town in winter. Second, the angel perhaps represents the woman or their relationship -- and (duh) I just realized this, "Angeles" is Spanish for "angels," so while he worked on a good, solid relationship in the small town (his angel/s), she dreamed of Los Angeles (her angels). I find this song so powerful that I want to continue writing about it, but I'll let this and the other good comments stand. |
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| Echo and the Bunnymen – New Direction Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I see this song as a simultaneous rejection of Christian religion but also the celebration of self and the determination to see past the rules and regulations of institutions stuck in the past. "I found out on close inspection / True imperfection" This refers to thinking for oneself, analyzing how a lot of Christian religions work, and realizing they're based on guilt and fear rather than joy and discovering the divine in oneself. "... you cannot see / That life and living are not free" Here the narrator tells the religious person, essentially, "Your doctrine makes it all so easy -- follow this rule book to the letter, and you'll go to heaven. Well, my friend, it's a lot more complex than that." "I took the word, the word was resurrection" This could not be a more obvious reference to Jesus Christ. "Kissing the spires" is a reference to a Christian church steeple. "Souls on fire" is another reference to the fear- and guilt-based ways Christianity aims to keep its people in line. The final section is a smackdown to the rituals of confession and communion. Ultimately, though, when the person representing Christian religion leaves, the narrator takes the wine and does his own type of confession. I see that not as a reference to replacing religion with the self-medication of alcohol, but rather using some of the tools and tenets of religion to one's own ends while rejecting the ones that no longer work. When he sings "start confessing," he acknowledges that life is complex and people have things they must face and, sometimes, atone for. Overall, the song has such a positive feeling to it, unlike some of the darker Bunnymen songs on "Porcupine" and "Heaven Up Here" (which I still love, but in a different way). |
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