| Lemuria – In A World of Ghosts Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Wonderful song about a long distance relationship. Sheena Ozzella's voice is amazing. | |
| The Lawrence Arms – The Devil's Takin' Names Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Not every song is specifically about one concrete topic. This song in particular is a compilation of themes. Brendan paints a picture of an atmosphere with the lyrics. This song is about the feelings of awkwardness, desperation, reluctance, and acquiescence. The atmosphere starts being built with people, likely teenagers, at a social gathering; prom, or a party perhaps. The feeling of awkwardness immediately begins with "Shall we dance? Or maybe just limp around". Further reinforced with uncomfortably by the lines "These feet are clothed and beat, and strangers to the ground". This song is from the point of view of someone at a party with people he doesn't know, and not knowing how to handle himself. Tension builds with the line "The sound of the kick is arousing, the couples are sweet in their love". This does a bit for me to assume the characters in this picture are teenagers, because teenagers are horny, the sound of a kick very well might literally arouse them. Couples dancing together/making out/groping in the corner is also a common occurrence at a prom or house party. "Tonight we'll stagger up from the basement, or fall to our deaths from above" portrays a character isolating himself from the assumed social event that is possibly happening upstairs, potentially facing regret if he does not participate. This is a sort of internal conflict that a socially awkward teenager might feel. The next lines "You've got those moves and those eyes, I've got these shakes and bad breath", fit with the awkward teen character as he is possibly dancing with an attractive girl, and he finds himself nervous, and awkward about it. At this point I can't decide if the rest of the song is about drugs/alcohol, which could certainly be present at such a social gathering, or sexual acts, which are also just as likely to be occurring at such an event. It could go either way, but both those things do fit perfectly into this awkward adolescence theme. "I've never tried that, but I know I don't like it." represents a common feeling that people have when offered foreign substances. I myself have never tried heroin, but I definitely do not like it. Even if I might, I know enough about the terrible side effects and things associated with it, that I would never try the drug. And this mindset, for all drugs, is hammered into the minds of American children during their schooling days. This line could of course also be one side of a conversation where someone is asking/pressuring the character to engage in some form of sex act. "Or maybe I do but I'm just too weak to fight it" further fits into my interpretation of this stanza. The character very well could like the ambiguous substance, but perhaps would not be strong or experienced enough to resist the effects, or addiction. The next lines "Where are you? Where are you? I hate to let'em see me crying" seem so random and disconnected from the rest of the build up to this point, which makes me interpret them as our character trying the ambiguous substance, and having a bad trip. This is again where I cannot decide if the song is about drugs or sex, as the following lines fit much more into the sex theme, rather than the drug theme. "I'm gonna zip on my party suit and show y'all something, there ain't no such thing as strumpin' for nothing". "Strumping" means to thrust your pelvis to the beat of of music, so at this point I cannot deny that there are sexual themes involved with this song. For me, this is when the picture of teenagers are a house party becomes crystal clear. Everyone is hanging out, some kids are having sex, some kids are drinking and doing drugs, our socially awkward protagonist is stuck in the middle of this without the experience or social skills to function in the environment. "You can fly with us or hang on to the walls, but the Devil's taking names when the last curtain falls." The others at the party are pressuring the character to participate in these drug and sex related acts (flying high is a common idiom for drug use), or not, but it might get a little wild if he doesn't. The bit about the Devil taking names when the last curtain falls may be a call to living it up in the moment, since you're only "judged" after you die. Not entirely sure about the song's namesake here, it feels like a bit of a metaphorical stretch. As the lyrics come to the final build of tension, I further get the feeling that the character is having a bad trip, or an emotional breakdown. "I got a deep sick worry, and I don't know why. Where are you? Where are you? What are you doing tonight?" But then, the person he is with, possibly the girl he was dancing with, answers back. "Laughing and crying are almost the same, they just show everyone how much attention you're paying." To me, this is a slight commentary on how you're expected to hide your feelings in public in American society. It's socially taboo to actually answer the question "How are you?" with all of your emotional troubles. People don't want to deal with that sort of burden, you're supposed to keep those things to yourself and put on a facade when among others. Finally, as the song comes to an end we have a bit of release. The person our character is with tries to console him. "So dry them eyes, everyone else went back inside." I can't pinpoint whether this song is about reluctance to try drugs, or sexual frustration/social awkwardness. I think it's definitely a bit of both, and I think the lyrics are designed to paint a picture, and express a feeling, rather than specifically "talk" about a concept. |
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