submissions
| Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Billie Joe Lyrics
| 5 years ago
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@[greg100869:33934] The relationship was secret because the narrator's parents were angling to match her up with Brother Taylor (the young preacher.) If they knew she was having any sort of relationship with Billy Joe, they'd forbid her from seeing him, so she had to keep it on the DL.
That's why Mama mentions that Brother Taylor would be joining them for supper on Sunday. She's giving her notice to get fixed up for potential romance. Don't be too hard on Mama, though. Marrying off her daughter to a preacher would be a great way to ensure a secure future with a "good man" for at least one of her children. |
submissions
| Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime Lyrics
| 5 years ago
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The intro to this song crops up as bumper music for a lot of televised sports events, especially championships, because they're "once in a lifetime" opportunities. Next time you're watching sports, see if you can catch it. |
submissions
| Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime Lyrics
| 5 years ago
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@[despondent:33602]
Knowing the type of person David Byrne is, I don't think you're far from wrong. That having been said, this song was written when he was a lot younger and a lot less up his own ass. I'll extend him a little benefit of the doubt on his earnestness and sincerity for this one. On the other side of the coin, "Like Humans Do" from his 2001 solo album "Look Into the Eyeball" does pretty much exactly what you're accusing him of in this song, so you've definitely got a pretty good read on him. |
submissions
| Sugarloaf – Don't Call Us, We'll Call You Lyrics
| 5 years ago
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I think the lyric might be "all night preacher on Stereo 92." Radio preachers were a slam dunk for advertising sales back in the day, and not every radio preacher was actually a legit clergyman. Some were just DJs doing overnight religious broadcasting as a gig to get them through to the next job.
The "all night preacher" was just a DJ doing a preacher gig. That's how he "used to work" with the A&R man the singer is speaking to. |
submissions
| The Beatles – Polythene Pam Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[rita:33031] meter
The "News of the World" is (or maybe was) a newspaper in the UK, known for sensationalist stories, similar to the National Enquirer. It also featured a topless model on page 3... the kind of a girl that makes the "News of the World." |
submissions
| The Beatles – Helter Skelter Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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The Beatles came right up to the edge of heavy metal with "Helter Skelter," and flirted with very early punk on "Polythene Pam." |
submissions
| The Beatles – Helter Skelter Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[Exobscura:33030]
The White Album was released in 1968. Pretty good trick having a song on it that hadn't been written yet. Was there anything the Beatles couldn't do?! |
submissions
| Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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I remember 2008, when everyone and everything was gay. I know y'all were excited to be able to express who you were and enjoy widespread acceptance, but not everything is secretly about being gay.
I was over at "Jane Says" and there's an entire essay over there about Perry Farrell being gay. He was married for years and had several children, and is currently in a relationship with another woman.
It's OK not to be gay. |
submissions
| Ed Sheeran – The A Team Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire The A-Team. |
submissions
| Steve Martin – King Tut Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[Zaphod:32739] B. IV Arizona is a big desert, like Egypt. When Martin wrote the song, the US was on an Egyptology kick, partially inspired by the touring King Tut exhibit. Byy saying he was "born in Arizona," he's making an excuse for Americans to be so interested in a guy they would otherwise have nothing in common with... for humorous purposes.
Let me give you a different example... I'm from Kansas. There are people here who love the Eagles because Joe Walsh was born in Wichita. The fact that he was literally only born here and departed immediately has no effect on their affection for him. Kind of the same thing, but with King Tut. |
submissions
| Steely Dan – Peg Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Whatever this song was about, it is now about Peg the Blind Bowler. |
submissions
| R.E.M. – Radio Song Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Strangely, it wasn't much of a "radio song."
It only charted in Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK, and only reached the top ten in Ireland. It failed to chart at all in the US.
Then again, not many radio stations are going to play a song about how much they suck. |
submissions
| Don Henley – The Garden Of Allah Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Collective Soul's self-titled album competed head-to-head with Don Henley's "Actual Miles" (on which this song appears. "Collective Soul" (the album) was triple-platinum, and spawned two huge hits, "The World I Know" and "Gel." Collective Soul continues to release albums, and has widespread airplay around the world.
They're hardly some "pop group of the time." They're still around touring and making albums. When's the last time Don Henley did anything but try to squeeze the last few drops of milk out of the Eagles' udders? |
submissions
| Stevie Wonder – Superstition Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Things don't become superstitions at random. For example, opening an umbrella in the house makes breaking something much more likely - bad luck. Something to keep in mind before you just write off superstitions. |
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| Stevie Wonder – Superstition Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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You know, by 2019 the "edgy atheist" thing is total cringe. I know it was OK back in 2007, but you've embarrassed yourself in the future. |
submissions
| Jane's Addiction – Jane Says Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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It's absolutely "...kick tomorrow," and "eight," as in "She goes to the store at eight [o'clock]."
You must want to punch a lot of people. I don't like to pick on people for their interpretation of lyrics, but your insistence on this is ... just wrong. It's like saying the song is "Snappy Birthday to You." |
submissions
| John Mellencamp – Pink Houses Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[kickstart71:32522] If you had seen post-war suburban L.A. you would have seen them. The recession in the 70s turned a lot of East L.A. into the hood. It didn't start out like that. Compton and Long Beach were once considered nice places to raise a family. |
submissions
| John Mellencamp – Pink Houses Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[UnpopularPoet:32521] Ooh... Steve. I like what you said about using poor people as props. I think there was a lot of that going on in the mid-80s, both in the media and in politics. Everybody talked about helping farmers and went around posing on farms and in small towns, but nobody really did anything concrete to change things. |
submissions
| Toby Keith – American Ride Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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"Infa-Miss Ameria" is a very clever lyric. (Infa-miss for "Infamous".) You don't see a lot of wordplay in country lyrics - especially in the more patriotic stuff. Though, I think there's a lot of irony here. It reminds me a bit of Springsteen's "Born in the USA," which was adopted as this big, patriotic anthem but was really a litany of the problems being faced by the Boomers at the time. Maybe more akin to "Pink Houses," by John Mellancamp - it addresses the issues, but still celebrates American life in the end.
Man, didn't think I had that much to say about this. |
submissions
| Eagles – Get Over It Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[nemt:32519] William Shakespeare. "Let's kill all the lawyers," is a line from his play "Henry VI." |
submissions
| Selena – Bidi Bidi Bom Bom Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Greetings from late in the year
Where you'd think Smollet no longer appears
The lady D.A.
May get put away
And Jussie may end up in arrears
And Liz Warren thought Jussie's plan was alright
So she, too, claimed that she had a fight
She claimed she was fired
When in pregnancy mired
Her old boss put her lies into light
So you see, we won't soon forget him
As long as we reward being a victim
The way to acclaim
And fortune and fame
Is to claim that you're held down by "them."
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submissions
| Guided by Voices – The Flying Party Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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No there aren't.
Your definition of "nazi" belittles the real suffering of millions of people.
I'll give you $1000. On 31 Dec 2030, you have to give me $5000. Should be a no-brainer, right?
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
The accused have rights for a reason
Refusal to apologize for existing isn't supremacy
Reality is an objective experience. Your perception does not alter reality.
I imagine, to you, everything does. |
submissions
| Jerry Reed – Amos Moses Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Matter of fact... check the end of Oleander Drive in Chauvin, LA on Google Street View. That's about 45 minutes SE of Thibodeaux, and that looks like it could be the actual residence of Amos Moses, lol. |
submissions
| Jerry Reed – Amos Moses Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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I don't think it's predicated on being exactly southeast by compass. I think he means a 45 minute car trip to the southeast of Thibodeaux, which would put you near Houma or Bayou Cane... both being great places for sheriffs to get lost trying to take one-armed gator hunters into custody. |
submissions
| Charlie Daniels Band – Every Time I See Him Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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1. It should be "big plans / businessman" - not "be this man." That doesn't even make sense.
2. For years, I assumed this was a cover of a Jerry Reed song. It's eerie how much it sounds like a Jerry Reed composition from the "claw" style stuttery guitar to the lyrics and overall subject of the song. The guy in "Everytime I See Him" could be any of the ne'er-do-wells from Jerry Reed songs. I didn't even realize it wasn't a cover until I went and checked Jerry Reed's discography to find the original... and it wasn't there. Then I checked the writing credits. |
submissions
| Travis Tritt – Modern Day Bonnie And Clyde Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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I don't think they were aiming for Richmond specifically. I think they were meandering around the mid-South committing robberies. They were apprehended somewhere near Richmond, which is where they were booked into jail - which is why he's headed to Richmond with the sheriff at the end of the song.
"A long way to Richmond" is a way of saying, "It's a long way to the end of this caper." |
submissions
| Billy Joel – Leningrad Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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The sentiment is nice and Joel is making an attempt to express a complicated concept. It goes wrong with the Boomer impression of the Soviet Union. A lot of them seem to think the sun never shines, the grass is all dead and nobody ever smiles or laughs in Russia.
Joel manages to convey that life in the United States has its issues, but he hangs too much misery on the USSR. Yes, their government left a lot to be desired when it comes to the freedom of the individual, but was Victor's life in "some Red Army town" all that different from some private in the U.S. Army being sent off to a military base in Alaska for a few years? (The U.S. is one of the very few nations that doesn't have conscription, by the way.) |
submissions
| Billy Joel – Keeping The Faith Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Ok... the entire album "An Innocent Man" was a collection of songs done in tribute to various 50s and 60s artists. This song closes the album and explains it. He's saying, "If you think I'm just on some sad nostalgia kick, that isn't true. This album was a fun look at the past, but it's time to start looking forward."
His next studio album was "The Bridge," which was the appropriately named, serving as the bridge between the 80s Joel and the very different direction he took in the 90s starting with "Storm Front." |
submissions
| Billy Joel – C'Etait Toi (You Were The One) Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Just gonna throw this out there.... C'etait toi means "It was you," not "You were the one." That would be "Tu l'etais" (literally "you were it,") "The one" has more of a "the winner" connotation in French... "Tu etais celui" or "Tu etais le seul" is more of a "you were the ONLY one" meaning.
A foreign language doesn't cut across to a one-for-one translation. They just don't have the romantic meaning for "the one" that English does. Consider it like this, you can translate "put your ducks in a row" into Latin (Anates in ordine ponere), but that wouldn't mean anything to Roman. |
submissions
| Elton John – Philadelphia Freedom Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[MadmanMario:32507] Right?! I would have just moved on, but when I saw that, I had to comment.
"Piece of mama daddy never had," sounds really gross. |
submissions
| Elton John – Nikita Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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I agree. It was pretty easy to travel between the United States and the Soviet Union. I did it once. Going back and forth between East and West Germany, on the other hand, was a dicey proposition even for Americans who allegedly have "the most respected passport in the world." |
submissions
| Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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I agree, and the movie "Rocketman" makes this exact argument. (Given that the film was made by EJ himself, I'd say the interpretation is on point.) After Bernie and Elton "break up," Bernie gets the second verse for himself. |
submissions
| Elton John – All The Girls Love Alice Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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Finding an openly lesbian woman ANYWHERE prior to about 1982 was pretty much impossible. Let me put it this way, only 100 years before this song was written, Queen Victoria refused to believe lesbians even existed.
I mean, of course they've existed as long as humanity has. But while gay men started achieving small measures of acceptance in the 1970s, lesbians had a few more years to wait. |
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