submissions
| Tom Russell – Blue Wing Lyrics
| 1 month ago
|
|
I don't think there is any mystery to this song. It's just a perfectly sparse story of a man and his tattoo. |
submissions
| XTC – Senses Working Overtime Lyrics
| 2 months ago
|
|
This song is a pean to the exuberance of consciousness. The world can be a beautiful, silly, violent, and horrible place but, by some insane stroke of luck, you get to experience it with all five senses. |
submissions
| Simon and Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson Lyrics
| 2 months ago
|
|
@[SnwBorder52:54537] - why would someone offer to help someone learn to help themselves in a retirement home? That definitely sounds like the sort of thing therapists say to crazy people - "we'd like to give you the tools you need to manage your own mental state". |
submissions
| Simon and Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson Lyrics
| 2 months ago
|
|
The first verse is obviously an allusion to either some sort of rehab center or a mental institution. "We'd like to help you learn to help yourself" is exactly the sort of thing they say to someone who is struggling with psychological issues. "Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home" - what kinds of places have "grounds" that you can stroll around in and feeling at home is clearly important if you find yourself somewhere where you will be staying a while (either voluntarily or involuntarily). |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Bang And Blame Lyrics
| 5 months ago
|
|
This song makes the most sense when you view the narrator as a gay man leaving a relationship with a man who isn't comfortable with his sexuality. The love interest desires the sex (and lots of it), but always feels bad afterward and blames the narrator. It's a messy situation because the relationship isn't exclusive "your secret life of indiscreet discretions" and "but so does every kiss and tell / who dares to cross your threshold / or happens on your way". The narrator has had enough and just wants out in the most drama-free way possible "I’d turn the screw and leave the screen". |
submissions
| Pink Floyd – Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert Lyrics
| 6 months ago
|
You can't understand this song outside of the context of the whole album. That is the point of an album. They can be more than just a collection of individual songs. The entire album means more than just the sum of its individual songs.
One of the main themes of the album the betrayal of the post WWII dream. People like Waters' father gave their lives so there wouldn't be any more stupid wars but, obviously, that didn't happen. The lyrics and their phrasing drive home the point that the people starting modern wars seem to do so casually. Like, "Oh, lets invade that country. Yes, why not?" A decision you might make over lunch one day. Nothing of consequence, etc. |
submissions
| Hard Working Americans – Something Else Lyrics
| 7 months ago
|
It's interesting that the song "Roman Candles" from the same album contains the lyrics
we don't leave who we fell for
we leave who we can't believe they have become
but if we're still not what you thought you wanted
well, you can't deny that we are something else
The entire "Rest In Chaos" album is interwoven with themes that show up in different forms on different songs. It's really cool. |
submissions
| Todd Snider – Looking for a Job Lyrics
| 7 months ago
|
|
This song is a pretty self-explanatory rumination on the power dynamics between boss and employee - "you might be the one running the show but / that don't mean you're in charge". People who have nothing to lose are difficult to coerce with threats because what can you really threaten them with? "I was looking for a job when I found this one", so don't waste your breath telling me how you are going to fire me. |
submissions
| Elton John – Roy Rogers Lyrics
| 7 months ago
|
@[swami7774:53643] I don't think the protagonist is happy.
"oh I'd rather have ham in my sandwich than cheese / but complaining won't do any good"
Things didn't work out the way they hoped, but they don't have the energy to do anything about. They are resigned to a life half-lived. |
submissions
| Son Volt – Creosote Lyrics
| 8 months ago
|
|
This is a Jay Farrar song so there isn't much of a chance of ever figuring out what it "means". I love this song but I experience it like a poem. The lyrics evoke images and feelings but I can't pin them to a specific idea or point of view. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – The Ghost Of Tom Joad Lyrics
| 9 months ago
|
@[ssahaisaurabh:53402] - It's a reference to quote that appears in several places in the Gospels. Jesus is telling people that, when the Kingdom of Heaven arrives, the social/economic order will be upended; the poorest and lest powerful will be on top and the rich and powerful will be on the bottom.
In the context of this song, the quote is meant ironically. Like "you've been preaching about this stuff for thousands of years, but the poor are still powerless and the rich still have all the power". How long are you going to preach about this stuff and just wait? |
submissions
| Bob Dylan – Simple Twist of Fate Lyrics
| 9 months ago
|
|
@[Sylvied:53386] This could be a reference to what is known as a "May December romance". The woman he is singing about may simply be much, much younger than him. |
submissions
| The Lemonheads – Anyway Lyrics
| 11 months ago
|
|
The first line of the bridge is actually "look at you, you're a catastrophe". This changes the meaning a great deal. |
submissions
| The Lemonheads – The Great Big NO Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
This song is really ambiguous but my sense is that it is about rejection. In your interactions with someone that you desire but who isn't all that into you might get all sorts of little "nos" (i.e. they might talk to you but won't go out with you or they might go out with you but won't sleep with you, etc.). This song is about the "great big no", the "no" that signals the utter impossibility of anything like a genuine relationship on any level. Once you get the great big no, any further attempts on your part are rightfully considered harassment and/or stalking. |
submissions
| The Amazing Rhythm Aces – Third Rate Romance Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
I hope no one has to have the meaning of this song explained to them, but I have a couple of comments. First off is how much the feeling of this song is enhanced by the impeccable timing of the vocals. The rush of all the syllables in "I've never really done this kind of thing before" and the pause before "have you?". Second is the border-guitar phrasing of the lead guitar. It gives you the sense that this story probably took place in Texas or New Mexico. Finally there is the awkward part where she asks him for the keys so *she* can unlock the door as a what? - weird bit of symbolic, sexual foreshadowing? |
submissions
| R.E.M. – These Days Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
The "scales" in "I will rearrange your scales ..." are not the scales of an animal, but the scales used to weigh things. Michael is claiming that he will change the way we evaluate and judge things. |
submissions
| Concrete Blonde – Little Conversations Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
"Small talk" is (or at least it was) a thing. Among people who don't know each other that well it is (or was) considered polite to keep your conversations confined to simple subjects that didn't carry a lot of emotional or intellectual weight. Some people, including myself and (apparently) Johnette aren't very good at small talk for exactly the reasons she outlines in this song. When given a choice between making small talk or not saying anything, we prefer not to say anything. |
submissions
| Mishka – Above the Bones Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
To "rise above the bones" is to transcend the pain of our physical existence and all the pettiness, resentments, fears, etc. that cloud our days. |
submissions
| Mishka – Above the Bones Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
To "rise above the bones" is to transcend the pain of our physical existence and all the pettiness, resentments, fears, etc. that cloud our days. |
submissions
| Aimee Mann – That's Just What You Are Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
This song is sprinkled with insanely brilliant lines like:
"And you're always telling me that it's my turn to move"
1.) This eludes to playing a game and the negative connotations of playing games in a relationship.
2.) "Move" in the sense of "change" - the subject of the song insists that it is the protagonist that has to make all the changes in their realtionship. |
submissions
| Drive-By Truckers – Outfit Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
@[Rickvee:50529] - it's a sly bit of double-meaning by Isbell. If you interpret the line in relation to the previous line, it would mean "don't let on that you are actually more important to people than Jesus". If, on the other hand, you interpret the line all by itself it would mean "don't play music for free". The latter makes sense when you consider that young bands are often asked to play for free on the grounds that it will "give them exposure" (or something similar). |
submissions
| Drive-By Truckers – Outfit Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
@[BamaGal:50528] - more specifically, I think this song is a father's advice to a son embarking on a career as a musician. His father understands that drugs are a part of the scene, but advises his son to draw a line: "have fun but stay clear of the needle". Although the son is going to be on the road a lot he should remember to "call home on your sister's birthday". The "don't tell 'em your bigger than Jesus" line is an obvious reference to Lennon's (misunderstood comment) and "don't give it away" is an admonishment to never play music for free. |
submissions
| Midnight Oil – The Dead Heart Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
@[jkw:50385] - pretty much every non-European country on Earth shared the same fate to varying degrees. White men came and took everything. |
submissions
| The Pretenders – The Wait Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
@[Stiglr:50312] I don't think she intentionally tried to make the lyrics unintelligible. It's just the combination of the words she wrote and the tempo of the song. I'm guessing they might have tried to play the song at a slower pace and it just didn't feel right. |
submissions
| Counting Crows – If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead) Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
This isn't the only song with the line "Richard Manuel is dead". When he was in the Drive By Truckers, Jason Isbell wrote a song called "Danko/Manuel" with a chorus that went:
can you heart that singing? sounds like gold / maybe I can only hear it my head / fifteen years ago they owned that road / now it's rolling over us instead / Richard Manuel is dead
The way Isbell delivers that line sort of stops you in your tracks. |
submissions
| The Replacements – Hold My Life Lyrics
| 1 year ago
|
|
I always thought of this an yet another one of Westerberg's "struggling with success" songs. "Tim" was the Replacements first album with a major label. While it wasn't a done deal, mainstream commercial success was a real possibility. The only problem was the The Replacements were the product of a culture which regarded mainstream commercial success as a sellout; an abandonment of their punk roots. So it was "time for decisions to be made". Go mainstream "crack up in the sun" or wither away in obscurity "lose it in the shade"? |
submissions
| Talking Heads – Crosseyed and Painless Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
"facts just twist the truth around"
Truer words were never said. As a society it seems we are obsessed with the idea that we need "more facts" or that "we need to return to fact-based journalism" etc. Most people don't get that facts are, by themselves, very small and useless things. Facts don't mean anything outside of some context in which to interpret them. The biggest and most successful liars pretend that they are "just conveying facts" when, in truth, they are communicating both the fact *and* providing the framework for interpreting that fact. They do the former *explicitly* and the latter *implicitly*. |
submissions
| Don McLean – Vincent (Starry Starry Night) Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
Aside from everything else, the poetry of the lyrics just takes your breath away. The words are rich and lush, but somehow also succinct and economical.
"portraits hung in empty halls / frameless heads on nameless walls"
Two lines to sum up the pathos of Van Gogh's commercial failure better than any long essay on the subject. This beautiful work that the world would later find *so* valuable, hanging up, unframed with no one paying any attention. |
submissions
| Tom Petty – Saving Grace Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
|
@[elwoood13:45880] - neither ZZ Top nor George Thorogood ever wrote lyrics like these. The music is good but when you marry it to poetry that is true it takes it to another level. |
submissions
| Tom Petty – Saving Grace Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
I don't think Petty ever wrote a song more acerbic than this one.
"and there's a guard on every door / and a drink on every floor / overflowing with a thousand amens"
Just the way he delivers the hook "don't you baby?" seems to drip with sarcasm. |
submissions
| Tom Petty – Straight Into Darkness Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
|
To me the second verse of this song really captures the essence of this song. "Man there was nothin', only black sky" You move through your life from job to job, relationship to relationship and, sometimes, you get this feeling that you are being propelled into nothingness; that everything that meant anything to you is "back there" and what lies ahead is empty and black. |
submissions
| Tom Petty – Insider Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
|
This song sounds too specific to be just something Mr. Petty invented from whole cloth but, apparently, he did. The protagonist seems divided between blaming the woman he loves, her "twisted friends", or the man she's apparently in love with. I intrigued by the lines "I bet you're his masterpiece / I'll bet your his self-control" because I have no idea what they mean but they evoke an image of someone who engages other people's emotions for purely selfish reasons. |
submissions
| Drive-By Truckers – Where the Devil Don't Stay Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
@[Tedvi:45743] - members of the owner class are sometimes referred to as "blue bloods". "Greener" refers to accumulated wealth. So to be "clean" (i.e. not engaged in illegal activities) you either have to be born rich or have gotten wealthy some other way.
I think the "blood you gave gives you away" is a reference to leaving blood evidence during the commission of a crime (i.e. robbery or murder); evidence that is used to discover and convict you. |
submissions
| Drive-By Truckers – Where the Devil Don't Stay Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
@[Tedvi:45742] - members of the owner class are sometimes referred to as "blue bloods". "Greener" refers to accumulated wealth. So to be "clean" (i.e. not engaged in illegal activities) you either have to be born rich or have gotten wealthy some other way.
I think the "blood you gave gives you away" is a reference to leaving blood evidence during the commission of a crime (i.e. robbery or murder); evidence that is used to discover and convict you. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – I Don’t Sleep, I Dream Lyrics
| 2 years ago
|
|
In addition to what was said above, I think there are layers that have to due with fame. Stipe was pretty famous when he wrote this and I think it's probable that many of the men seeking to have sex with him were attracted because of that fame. The "you looking to dig my dreams" and "deliver my demons" lines are references to the curiosity these people had about his inner life, not out of any genuine interest in him as a person but more like "what is up with this crazy rock star?" |
submissions
| Hard Working Americans – Massacre Lyrics
| 3 years ago
|
This song was written by Todd Snider around the time he was breaking up with his wife, Melita Osheowitz. The pain of breaking up has fueled many songs and, in some cases, entire albums. This song focusses on a particularly painful point where Snider apparently wasn't able to contact his wife (for some reason) and was forced to rely on what he was hearing from the rumor mill about ... ???
That being said, there are some weird bits of ambiguity in this song. Early on the writer talks about "walking away" but, soon after, says "I'm coming after you". It seems like the Snider can't decide whether he wants to stay or leave. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Begin The Begin Lyrics
| 3 years ago
|
A lot (not all) of this song is about the helplessness of the mainstream middle-to-lower classes in the face of their obvious decline and inevitable destruction.
"Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand" harkens to "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" i.e. your current level of creature comforts makes it difficult to justify rocking the boat.
"The insurgency began and you missed it" - there are revolutions taking place that you could join, but corporate media isn't going to tell you about them lest you get any ideas.
"life's rich demand creates supply in the hand of the powers" - our love of creature comforts has created an uber-class of powerful people.
"The only vote that matters" references the futility of attempting to change things via electoral politics and "silence means approval, silence means security" references the impulse to stay quiet despite everything you see going on.
"Tiger run around the tree" (a reference to Little Black Sambo) invokes the notion of keeping people so busy/distracted chasing the trends of popular culture that they don't notice what is being done to them. |
submissions
| John Mellencamp – Rain On The Scarecrow Lyrics
| 3 years ago
|
@[madman8199:43931] - people need to understand that capitalism is like a virus. It follows very simple rules and has no moral agency. The virus that sickens and kills you has nothing against you personally, it is too simple for that. It is just following the logic of viruses - "hijack cells and use them to reproduce".
Similarly capitalism follows the logic of "reduce the cost of inputs". The fact that this causes people to suffer is irrelevant to the decision making process. If you work for PepsiCo you'd be insane to spend a cent more on, say, corn than you absolutely have to because all of your competitors are buying as cheaply as they possibly can and everyone is working with razor-thin profit margins.
We have shackled ourselves to a system that treats us like livestock an we wonder why so many people are suffering. |
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.
