| The Police – Truth Hits Everybody Lyrics | 4 years ago |
| @[FridayChild:35797] I know this is near 2 decades late but that's actually a B-side to one of their later singles, IIRC. I believe it's just a session recording, not sure from my memory | |
| Siouxsie and the Banshees – Arabian Knights Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I don't think this song is really racist or over-antagonizing of Arab culture, I think like their other songs (which easily criticize Western culture in being overly misogynist) it's really just a critique of multiple things. In the same way that "Happy House" is a sarcastic romp on Western Society, Arabian Nights is a deconstruction of two viewpoints presented by the West on Arab Society. The song's name first of all is an Orientalist term; what people want the Orient or the East to be. The song portrays one side of the Arab World in a perfect fashion; That they are strange, weird, but otherwise innocent and submissive. But the second half of the song juxtaposes a realist authoritarian view on Arab Society. Both views, are present in Western Society and are what people think of them, but are extremities in them-self. Overall, I think she's portraying how we balance them between two sides; and that both of them are true to some extent. For whatever reason people like to assume that she is being deliberately ignorant on Arab Society, this isn't the case. She obviously isn't a sensationalist person, many people like to project their own views on society and like to make that be the theme of the song. It really isn't. Unfortunately, due to the clout and stereotypes people like to go on about Arabs makes discussion about this sort of stuff impossible to talk about. |
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| The Associates – Club Country Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I think this song is about a mental asylum in Dundee, actually. "Country Club" is perhaps a nickname for a former institution near where the band members lived, and as so the name refers to it. Some of the lyrics seem to imply it - "Old and sickening at the country club" probably refers to the people sent there to rot away for the rest of their lives, and "Your limitations are our every care" is probably the most obvious it gets. "If we stick around we're sure to be looked down upon" probably refers to the self-loathing the narrator has for himself and the people around him, which is what many feel about in a poor mental state (as in an institution). In it's entirety the song revolves around paranoia and insanity, just like the previous single "Party Fears Two" from the band. Additionally, "Bap de la Bap" and a few other similar songs revolve around concepts of the weak and insane, so it wouldn't be out of field to say that that's what Mackenzie was implying. You have to wonder if his songwriting was a precursor to his fate, perhaps. |
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| Simple Minds – Scar Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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It's about a car crash, nothing more. Pretty self explanatory. Like most songs before New Gold Dream the lyrics are simplistic but can tell a story. |
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| Simple Minds – Today I Died Again Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think the terms 'America / Presidents can fall' refers to how first world nations like the West can fall under terms of devastating war, with 'The Heat' referring to a nuclear war happening beforehand. The lines 'Paint me a picture, towers in sand/bodies in sand' talks about the life before the war. As said before, the singer 'Dies' figuratively because of the things he sees and the memories he has after the war. Overall it's a song about the aftermath of a devastating war. |
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| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Bunker Soldiers Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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It's an interesting song about militarism and modern warfare in the 20th century. The song is however, written in a retrospective as this was written during a cold war, an era where the warfare described never really happened (save for a few conflicts). The bloody ditches, bunker soldiers, and trained bodies are all correspondent to the nature of the Pacific / European Theaters of WW2. I've seen translation differences where the line 'I'd give my life just to fight like you' is instead 'I'd give up rice fields to fight like you', which probably indicates this song talks about the Japanese Front of WW2. The 'It's not a better way, but it's a success' possibly describes how many military tactics during the first 2 world wars were successful but led to the loss of thousands for no reason. Many older OMD songs follow this same theme, talking about warfare or a vague notion about sacrificing oneself for a bigger cause. This is what defined their music in the early 1980s. |
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| John Foxx – 030 Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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This song, like alot of other John Foxx songs, is pretty cryptic and doesn't make any sense at all, but there are general clues. I believe the song can possibly be alluding to the assassination of John F Kennedy, with crypric phases like 'Male Caucasian', 'Kennedy Hairline', and 'Missing since 1963'. Not sure what 'Lieutenant 030' means. |
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| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Firegun Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The meaning of this song is vaguely obscure, but this song was released as a B-side in 1985. It mentions a few things like martyrs in the city and 'the 7 daughters turning to fight', which sound fairly interesting considering the time period. I feel like martyrs in the city could possibly be a reference to the Middle Eastern wars of the decade (Iran) and the '7 daughters turning to fight' is an obscure cold war reference, presumably talking about 7 countries turning to fight one common enemy. Otherwise, I have no idea what this song is about. The word 'Firegun' is made up. a combination of 'Fire Gun', and the song references sisters slaying brothers and mothers slaying sons, which don't really add up. |
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| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – International Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[vulcanbiscuit:31296] I mean, isn't it true to a sense because alot of South American dictatorships were brutal? Regardless of whether communism is worse than democracy, those things still happened and alot of those dictatorships were horrible places. |
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| Throbbing Gristle – After Cease To Exist Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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For those who are wondering about the actual song it's a 27 minute instrumental which was played live paired with obscure short films. I'm not so sure about the films themselves but they're probably searchable on youtube. Composition wise, the song is a slow instrumental piece which keeps on going with various electronic sounds and bass guitars in the distance, nothing else. Occasionally you'll hear scary sounds and screams but those are from samples. It's a nice apocalyptic sounding piece which would go well with some after shots of ruins (or something). |
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| The Carpenters – Your Wonderful Parade Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think this song is about the state of the United States at the time - with the Vietnam war going on it's not hard to believe that Richard at the time felt that what was going on was wrong. The song itself talks about the parade as being how the US government hid over it's wrongdoings and masqueraded as something friendly. Certainly an odd piece for a Carpenters song and most likely the only song that was written with a presumed 'political' background behind it. |
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| The Normal – TVOD Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| T.V.O.D stands for Television Video On Demand - which is an actual thing, but in this case it refers to the singer sticking the antenna into his veins so that he gets instant Video on Demand. | |
| The Carpenters – Druscilla Penny Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| This song is about the standard stereotypical groupies who would surround rock bands during the 1970s. It is unsure if the person depicted in the song is an actual groupie who followed the Carpenters, but I believe that Richard probably encountered a few in his years of touring, so it may as well be. | |
| The Carpenters – Mr. Guder Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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While the lyrics for this are wrong (until they get corrected), 'Mr Guder' (Victor Guder) was the Carpenter's boss back when they played at Disneyland in the 60s. Because of the their 'rebellious' stance on music they got fired, which is probably why this song seemingly mocks him. Other than that, it's a more surprisingly in depth song than their normal stuff, which is just standard pop banter. If only... |
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| The Human League – The Black Hit of Space Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I once read in an article that the band made the song at the time because they were fed up with Gary Numan and his 'futuristic' electronic music, which I suppose is hypocritical because the Human League also makes that same kind of music. The song itself, does sound like it's talking about a Gary Numan song, so it could be that. It could also be a jab at how Numan had extreme popularity at the time while the Human League couldn't get 2 records on the US charts. |
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| Clock DVA – 4 Hours Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think it's about someone committing suicide, with a few hints of an existential crisis. The singer alludes to the day being a "This bleak whiteness, nothingness", and the "The eye that stares through your mirror" as perhaps his soul staring at himself. Him in his dreams being older alludes to how some dreams have you dying, and those dreams being close to dying yourself - hence being older used as a similar meaning. The singer saying "This could be New York, This could be London, I don't care anymore" is him talking about how his surroundings don't matter, which make him feel bleak about his future. The segment that comes after about him being in a black suit, black tie, could allude to funeral wear after he kills himself, or it could alternatively mean his bleak routine at work (he says he "must go to work" later on). The "piano that falls from above and smashes in front of me" refers to how close he was, or is, towards death. Finally, the last segment, "I see two figures asleep, They look older, You look older, We're all older" refers to the future in where he's dead. It makes even more sense when he says after that "Let us join them in their dreams", which obviously means that he'll kill himself and join the dead in their dreams, which also ties in with his previous dreams where he's older. The final part, which name drops, states that "We're only four hours, We're only four moments", talks about how people are on the earth for a short amount of time, in his instance, 4 hours. It takes 4 hours to kill himself, and 4 moments for the action to be done. |
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| The Residents – Margaret Freeman Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Fun Fact: The vocals were sang by Andy Partridge from XTC... It's hard to miss even though his voice is pretty distinctive. The song is about a girl named Margaret whom the singer has a crush on. This same girl, is also abused by her Mother (malnutrition). |
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| Clock DVA – Blue Tone Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| A blue note (tone) is a note that is played at a slightly different pitch than normal. In this case, he's using the idea of a blue tone as a depressing outlook, where he talks about being lonely. | |
| Wall Of Voodoo – Animal Day Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think it's just a song about how Animals feel at the hands of Humans - obviously done in a humorous way that comes off as someone reading a children's book. While the first passage sounds silly and naive, the second passage talks about how the 'animals have cars, run us over', 'hunt for humans', and 'bet at the track', which reference actions in which animals are exploited, but with Humans as their centerpiece. |
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| The Human League – Marianne Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| This song is about the failing relationship of a Father and Daughter. The Father thinks that the Daughter doesn't care about him, and while is impressed with how she turned out is rather remorseful about their memories together as they spent alot of time together. | |
| The Human League – I Am the Law Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I've read that this song was the first song made after the band broke up, which was also when they didin't necessarily make pop music yet. It wouldn't be until 'Sound of the Crowd' they would make more pop oriented songs that would make them famous. With that being said, this song sounds more like a song that would be made by the original lineup than the new one. This song is about crime from a Policeman's perspective, inspired by Phil's time as a Hospital porter. |
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| Heaven 17 – Lady Ice and Mr Hex Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I'm pretty sure 'Lady Ice' is a 70's crime film and 'Mr Hex' is a comedy film from the 40's. I've heard the song is about drug usage, with the movie names used as references. Also has a strange part with the entire 'do-do-do-lickin-do-do' segment, otherwise it's my least favorite Heaven 17 song because it sounds cheesy. |
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| Heaven 17 – We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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This song is about a religious person who doesn't care what Atheists / nonbelievers say to him when they ridicule his religion, because in the end they're all going to hell and he's going to 'Live for a very long time'. It's pretty self explanatory when you link the lyrics, but for clearance he says: "I don't care for your views Or your style of living You're going to fail the test You can argue all night I have no misgivings And I never get depressed" It means that he doesn't care for the people's views and in the end, they'll fail the test god has given them. In many religions, god gives people a test to see if they're worthy of his salvation. And he never gets depressed because, by stereotype people who believe god don't necessarily feel existential about live and don't get depressed (This, of course is false as there are many religious people who are depressed). The chorus, on one hand, says: "Come and join the fun on the way to heaven Come and talk to god on the party line If you can't be bothered, we don't need you We're going to live for a very long time" So, if you believe then you'll talk to god on the party like (A shared phone system where you can talk with multiple people), and if you don't believe then you'll be forgotten, as the ones who do believe live for a very long time (In paradise). So, the song is about a religious person who rejects all decadent ways of life and believes in god and him only. Knowing Heaven 17 and their left-wing views, this song could be possibly mocking the extremlely devout, but that is uncertain. On a final note, the groove (on some pressings) of the album tends to go in a loop, meaning the line "For a very long time" will go on and on. Maybe that was intentional by design, to permeate their belief of living forever? We may never know. |
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| Limp Bizkit – Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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It's really hilarious to see the most recent comments like this song and then sort by 'Oldest First' to see people trash it. That's how pop music works, I guess. |
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| The Human League – Blind Youth Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The song comments on the cynical attitudes punk rockers had during the late 70s. The 'Blind Youth' in particular refers to the attitudes alot of punk fans had. And so, the Human League wanted to comment about how said people should also be faithful and thankful for what they have. Phil says 'Dehumanization is such a big Word, Been around since Richard the Third' to explain that the idea of being dehumanized has been there since ages, so there's no use trying to complain about something everyone else has at one point or another. He then adds with "But if you're not a hermit, you know the city's okay" to say that it's not at all bad as many people insinuated. So, all in all, this song dissuades the negative attitudes people had in the 70s. In interest, the original title for this song was 'Optimistic Anthem', which complements the theme well. |
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| Japan – ....Rhodesia Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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This song is about the Apartheid regime in Rhodesia. Since this song was released around the late 70s, it is obviously out of date as the country name changed. The song also sports a strange use of the N-word. That probably wouldn't go well in today's music industry... |
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| Wall Of Voodoo – The Passenger Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| The song is about a hijacker / terrorist who's holding a white box and refuses to give it to the flight attendant in fear of being 'Given away'. | |
| Wall Of Voodoo – Can't Make Love Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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It's the ultimate Nice Guy song. Wall of Voodoo predicted Incel Culture before Incel Culture was (probably) a thing... It's ultimately about a man who just wants to be 'respected' and 'loved' but falls short because he only wants to date women to just have sex with them. He think's it's something to do with his head (Psychology) and decides on moving to another town where he might be accepted... And so, he moves on where the girls there will be 'easy'. Dunno if it was a good / bad thing they didn't have the internet for these people to rant their desires about... |
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| The Human League – Zero as a Limit Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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It's about a motorist hitting a pedestrian. The "QED" said throughout the song means "This has to be shown", indicating that the accident is on it's way (unstoppable). |
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| The Human League – Crow and a Baby Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[JLoDaMofo:29569] All band members were involved in the writing of their music. It was mostly members from Heaven 17, but I think Phil wrote Being Boiled | |
| The Human League – Crow and a Baby Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[JLoDaMofo:29568] All band members were involved in the writing of their music. It was mostly members from Heaven 17, but I think Phil wrote Being Boiled | |
| The Human League – Circus of Death Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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For those who are confused, there is a spoken intro on some versions : "This is a song called "The Circus of Death". It tells the true story of a circus we met. The first two verses concern the actual arrival at Heathrow Airport of Commissioner Steve McGarrett. The third emotionally describes a map showing the range of the circus. The fourth and fifth were extracted from an article in The Guardian of March the 19th, 1962. The last is a short wave radio message from the last man on Earth." Despite some considering, the spoken intro does actually talk about the various verses of the song. The first verse does indeed detail the arriving of the band with McGarret, while the second verse talks about a mental map of the circus itself. The fourth and fifth article were most likely taken from an article in 'The Guardian' dated Marth 19th, 1962. While I can't really access the article because of Issues, there does indeed exist an article from the papers on that day: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/259705680/. I doubt if it includes the actual verses, but said paper could give some hints if anyone is able to access it. The last Man on Earth, as the final part of the intro suggests, was originally a 30 minute instrumental (Which was probably based off of "After Cease to Exist", a similar 20 minute instrumental by Throbbing Gristle) that was later included on the Band's "Golden Hour of the Future" Album released decades later after the original line-up split up. So, this particular segment might be referencing that particular instrumental. The actual verses on this part are probably indicated of someone being a 'last man', but this is vague in itself as said verse mentions a family. All in all, it's very hard to figure out what they were trying to state with this piece. My best guess is that one of the band members (Phil?) was interested in Hawaii Five-O and wanted to write a fanfiction about him and the band uncovering a Death Circus. Other than that, the only thing uncovered is the guardian article. |
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| Dead or Alive – I Wanna Be a Toy Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Pretty sure it's about a "out of the closet" gay man who does 'stuff' for a living and doesn't want his dad to find out. Pretty fine, sounds like the standard Hi-HRG dance stuff that was released by this band during the 80s. |
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| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – White Trash Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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it's about an abusive husband who threatens to beat his wife over spreading rumors about him. It's a rather scary song which was called 'Repulsive' when the album came out. Of course, that was during the mid 80s just after their commercial failure Dazzle Ships, so it's not hard to understand why there was alot of hostility met towards the band. Of course, nowadays most of their material has influenced others so this statement stands flat. |
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| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Telegraph Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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it's about an Imperialistic America starting from the second half of the 1800s towards the end of the second world war. During that time, America's most used communication was the Telegraph, and as the song states, "We've got telegraphs, hand in hand" refers to how it was widespread to use them during those eras. When they talk about 'God' having a telegraph, they're referring to how God gave them that technology and that they're content to spread that knowledge to others, most notably the remaining Native Americans and Filipinos (The invasion of the Philippines was underway at around this time, as expected). The line 'God bless America', and 'They'll understand the value of the Telegraph, Hand in Hand' talks about this form of colonization that was common around the regions America attempted to reign control over. During those times, America attempted to invade these lands unjustly, and to make themselves feel better about it, they say they're 'educating' them about technology. So, in conclusion, Telegraph by OMD is about the imperialistic and condescending attitudes Americans had in relation with technology and colonization. A rather intellectual song that concerns meaningful topics at hand. |
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