submissions
| Father John Misty – Now I'm Learning to Love the War Lyrics
| 10 months ago
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Everyone--I mean, EVERYONE--is "on the pay-roll." If you tried to live a day without using a single petroleum-based product you couldn't do it. From aspirin to pavement, our existence so intertwined with hydrocarbons that it's impossible for anyone, from any occupation, to wash their hands of it. Whether you're a musician, a painter, or an off-grid minimalist, if you don't hunt/gather your own food you're part of the problem. Even Greta Thunberg's Malizia II yacht was made with recycled dry carbon fiber. But if we "try not to think about" it and we "try not to become too consumed" by facts like these, we can collectively deceive ourselves into thinking everything is alright. Just learn to love it; because you'll never stop it. And if our world order is just a slow-motion Armageddon, then this great species of ours will become the next dinosaur existence. Thus, when the next civilization discovers our decomposed hydrocarbon remains, maybe, they'll make something useful out of us. |
submissions
| The Tragically Hip – Wheat Kings Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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_Fully Completely_ was, arguably, the most aggressively Canadian rock album ever. So what does that even mean? "Wheat Kings" is the perfect example to illustrate. The form of the song is consistent with a Canadian tradition: the ballad. Three chords; rhyming couplets with a repeated refrain (Hello? Gordon Lightfoot anyone?). Literally, it is a snapshot of everyday life in "the Paris of the Prairies." But it's also much more: Downie's hiding the Canadian-ness of the song by using references that only Canadians would truly appreciate: "prime ministers" and "the CBC." Most Americans wouldn't even know what those things are. And here is where Canadian identity finds its foundation: through distinguishing ourselves from what we are not. Any discussion regarding the definition of "canadian" will invariably make reference to the numerous differences between our political history and that of our cousins to the south. If David Milgaard had been convicted in America he would have surely been executed. However, partly due to public opinion on wrongful convictions, Canada abolished the death penalty in the late 70s. Thus, the "rusty breezes" of national sentiment "pushed around" the political weathervane into more "Christian" direction. So on April 16, 1992, our distinct nation collectively whispered, "We always knew that he'd go free." This song is not simply about a single instance of injustice; it's about who we are and what we stand for as the "whispering" nation. We typically don't wave flags around like arrogant jingos. Rather, we quietly, and resolutely, carve out our own history. "Wheat Kings," is a meditation on this collective, on-going process. |
submissions
| Gordon Downie – Vancouver Divorce Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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I've always felt that the most important parts of a song are the opening lines, the closing lines and anything that get repeated throughout (e.g. the chorus, which usually contains the song's title). The speaker here starts by recollecting a mutually spiteful exchange about art. Then in the closing verse he regrets the removal of the colours of "your paintings." As if one's memories are still there but have lost the vividness and/or enjoyment they once had. Here too, in the final verse, lies Downie's lyrical legacy: the effective, yet subtle, use of Canadian historical references. The "last spike." Though it was actually hammered in at Craigellachie, the reference is clearly to the arduous and scandalous construction of the CPR that ultimately terminated in Vancouver (the "edge" or "end" of the world). And despite all expectations, when the relationship "terminated," there was nothing more to say and nothing more to do. Arriving at the Pacific and finalizing a divorce both feel like one has "arrived" at the end of the world; "but it's not the end of the world, of course." |
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