| Lemon Demon – Redesign Your Logo Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| The song takes the cocky pretentiousness of modern corporate marketing and ratchets it up to a ludicrous degree that is nevertheless only modest parody. Lemon Demon was almost certainly influenced by an infamous leaked PowerPoint presentation on the recently-redesigned Pepsi logo, which was also jam-packed with absurdly grandiose rhetoric of the sort seen in this song. | |
| The Velvet Underground – The Gift Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| There's a real strong theme of cruel indifference running through this story. Marsha is indifferent to Waldo's feelings, Waldo is indifferent to how his clinginess makes Marsha feel, Bill is indifferent to Marsha, Sheila is indifferent to the parcel, and thus ultimately Waldo's life. Everyone is too self-centered and ignorant to care about the consequences of their actions. | |
| The Modern Lovers – I'm Straight Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I really interpreted this as being a song about homosexual prostitution. A "straight" guy calls up a hooker he's seen recently, and had a very awkward and defensive conversation. | |
| Lou Reed – Last Great American Whale Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
It's kind of a haunting song about Native Americans rising up to overcome injustice, only to ultimately be thwarted again by the very forces that brought them down in the first place. There's a lot of symbolism in how the Whale, which is intended to be this sort of supernatural, majestic, mythical Native creature, rises up to save one of its people, only to be unglamorously shot by some white racist douchebag. |
|
| Lou Reed – Good Evening Mr. Waldheim Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
Kurt Waldheim was an Austrian politician who served as Secretary General of the UN during the 1980s; it was later revealed he had been involved in Nazi activities as a young man which he covered up to help his political career. Jesse Jackson, who is still very much around today, was a black civil rights leader who sought the Democratic nomination in 1984 and 1988. He won a few primaries, but was considered a bit of an extremist, particularly for some off-color things he said about Jews, and his apparent uncritical embrace of the Palestinian cause. This song, as I see it, is mostly just calling out these self-righteous figures for their hypocrisy. I am not sure if the mention of the Pope (Pontiff) are in specific reference to anything unfolding at the time, or just a general dislike of papal pomposity. |
|
| TV on the Radio – Robots Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I think Lucre is pretty spot on. The song is clearly having a lot of fun with the sounds of language, and really emphasizes how absurd and grotesque the various catch-phrases of our consumerist culture sound when delivered in such a dead and passionless monotone. "Netti Fritti" is a similar song from the same album in the sense that it also uses distorted language to emphasize some of the grotesqueries of modern culture. |
|
| The Mountain Goats – Tyler Lambert's Grave Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Tyler Lambert was a real guy. He was the son of "Diff'rent Strokes" star Dana Plato, and committed suicide at the age of 25. I don't know much about him beyond that, but the lyrics of this incredibly morose song clearly have a suicidal tone to them. | |
| The Magnetic Fields – When My Boy Walks Down The Street Lyrics | 13 years ago |
|
I feel like the song contains some subtle commentary on how society perceives homosexuality, as well. The speaker lists a number of absurd metaphors for love, and how awesome his lover is. And then he talks about how he wants to make the guy "my wife." Using "wife" in this context, to describe a man, sort of comes off as absurd, too. So, in a way, the lyrics can be read as a sort of a provocative challenge to the idea that homosexuality is fundamentally weird or ridiculous or whatever. Same-sex attraction, in other words, comes off as no weirder than love in general. |
|
| LCD Soundsystem – Pow Pow Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
"Fact magazine," which is mentioned, is a contemporary British music magazine. The line about the black president strikes me as the sort of response one might give to an uppity anti-American European. |
|
| Portal – Still Alive Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
Wow, I didn't even know this song was from a game. I just heard it on Rockband and thought it was quite interesting. Obviously it makes more sense in the context of the game, but when viewed independently, it's still a rather disturbing song of passive aggression. |
|
| OutKast – Dracula's Wedding (feat. Kelis) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Basically, the only thing that scares Dracula is the concept of commitment. | |
| Atom and His Package – Punk Rock Academy Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| At one point it samples "Take me home tonight" by Eddie Money. | |
| Atom and His Package – It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Lib Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Also, the chorus is based on the chorus of "the Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell. Same basic lyrics and tune. | |
| Atom and His Package – It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Lib Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song is based on the children's game "Mad Libs" where one is given a story with a lot of blank spaces and kids must fill in their own words to make a silly story. In practice, Mad Lib stories usually turn out very nonsensical and/or obscene, much like the lyrics to this song. | |
| Cake – Cool Blue Reason Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
Personally, I always thought the song was about some sort of hostage situation, which the song's speaker as the husband/father of two of the hostages. The line "there's one more dead in kansas/texas" sounds like something you'd hear on the news, and since hostage takers often kill without mentioning who, it seems logical that the speaker would have to keep guessing. Also, the "eight more hours to go" line could refer to the period before the hostage deadline approaches, which would seem agonizingly long for the speaker, hence why the minutes drag on like seasons. |
|
| Wall Of Voodoo – Mexican Radio Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I asked one of my Spanish-speaking friends what the mumbled Spanish radio clips in the song mean. He said they're hard to understand, but one sounds like "estudiante de ingles que tan necesaro es" which means " student of the English language that is very useful." He told me they sounded like clips from a "learn English" infomerical. Which would be somewhat ironic considering the subject matter of the song. | |
| Cake – Mexico Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| In reality, "Cinco de Mayo" is a Mexican holiday on the 5th of May that celebrates the Mexican victory over the French imperial forces in the 19th century. I don't think it's relevant to the song, but I just thought I'd point it out for those who were curious. | |
| Ben Folds Five – Philosophy Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Yeah, I think it's pretty clearly about Objectivism. It's a song about a self-confident guy who builds buildings and has little time for his critics. His "black and white" philosophy on life provides him with guidance. It's not necessarily a pro or anti Objectivist song, but I think it's pretty obviously inspired by Ayn Rand novels, at least in the abstract sense. Does anyone know what Ben's political views are? | |
| Ben Folds Five – Battle of Who Could Care Less Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I didn't know what the Franklin Mint was at first, but now I've learned that they are some company that makes collectable plates. So now the "fine pewter portraits" line makes sense. And apparently "Whatever and ever Amen" is actually the title of a Ben Folds Five albulm. Who knew. | |
| Big Moe – Purple Stuff Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| "Purple stuff" is slang for codeine mixed with juice or something, right? | |
| Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Billie Joe Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
Good analysis Sir_Larrikin. Pretty insightful. Cloverleaf mentions a movie, and it's true in the 70's they did make one based on this song. From what I understand, in the film Billy Joe jumps because he thinks he's gay and what he throws off the bridge is a doll. There's nothing in the song that implies either of these things. I don't see the film as offering the "true" meaning of the song's story. |
|
| Murray Head – One Night In Bangkok Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
The character who narrates this song is the Chess champion from the play who is going to Bangkok, Thailand for a tournament. Bangkok is well-known for being a city a haven for sex tourists, because it has so many prostitutes and brothels, etc. The guy in the song is essientially just saying "woah, I'm just here for the chess!" |
|
| Cake – Wheels Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| The "mighty Bosphorus" is a big river in Turkey, for all who don't know. | |
| Pink Floyd – The Trial Lyrics | 19 years ago |
|
Because Pink Flyod are British, this song has some British legal terms in it, and whoever transcribed these lyrics got some of them wrong. Like at the start, the prosecutor says "Good morning, worm your honour, the Crown will plainly show..." on these lyrics it says "crowd" which makes no sense. In Britain, the state prosecution is called the "crown" because it represents the side of the so-called "Queen's government. " And then when the mother talks she says "M'lord I never wanted him to get in any trouble...." these lyrics say "m'red." In Britain they sometimes call judges "My lord" along with "Your Honour." And over the years "My lord" has become contracted into one word, "M'lord" or "Millud." It's a clever song |
|
| Cake – Frank Sinatra Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think it is sort of a song of hopelessness. The idea that an old man is still planning to "be rich someday" is kind of a sad statement. | |
| They Might Be Giants – Purple Toupee Lyrics | 20 years ago |
|
This is a song about a stupid guy who barely remembers any of the history of the 60's, despite the fact that he grew up in the decade. All sorts of famous events are sort of mushed together and remebered incorrectly. Like he refers to "Selma and some blacks" obviously a confused memory of the famed civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. Other things he mentions: Johnson's wax, which was a brand of glue, and not the ear wax of President Lyndon Johnson. The book depository, the place from where Oswald allegedly shot President Kennedy. There is no "King of Cuba" but there is President-for-life Castro, who came to power around the same time. Chinese people fighting in the park is probably a reference to the riots in the "People's Park" in California, which has a sort of Communist-sounding name. Martin X is obviously supposed to be Malcom X, a guy who was concerned with black power, not bell bottoms. And the Expo 67 was a horrible fair they had in Canada, not some sort of rebel group, like the Chicago Seven. I am not quite sure what purple toupee means, though... |
|
| Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Billie Joe Lyrics | 20 years ago |
|
I love this song. It is sad and slow and touching. I think the implied message is that the speaker of the song, the teenage girl, was in love with Billy Joe. One possible interpretation is that they were going out, and she dumped him the day before he killed himself. This would be what the preacher would have been refering to. |
|
| Dead Kennedys – California Über Alles Lyrics | 20 years ago |
|
Jerry Brown was Governor of California in the 70's, and had a reputation for being somewhat of a left-wing kook, into the hippie culture. He was nicknamed "Governor Moonbeam". In 1976 he tried to unseat Jimmy Carter as the Democratic nominee for President, but to the surprise of no one, was unsuccessful. Basically, this is a satirical song imagining what a Jerry Brown presidency would be like. It's funny to imagine a laid-back guy like Brown trying to forcibly assimilate the entire country into his laid-back hippie culture using Nazi-esque tactics, with "suede denim secret police" and "organic poison gas" etc. That's the message. If you don't know about politics, you won't understand this song. |
|
| Cake – Pentagram Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| Peer pressure, as I see it. Doing crazy things only because other people are doing it and then getting in too deep. | |
| They Might Be Giants – Someone Keeps Moving My Chair Lyrics | 20 years ago |
| I think it's basically about a guy, a businessman of some sort I assume, who is being bothered and frustrated by a bunch of annoying co-workers, probably his superiors. They meet with him, and are totally rude and insensitive. But the guy can't protest about any of the things that really bug him, so he just feigns outrage over his chair being moved. | |
| Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London Lyrics | 20 years ago |
|
Lon Cheney (actual spelling: "Chaney") was a famous silent film actor, he played a bunch of monsters in horror movies. His son, Lon Chaney Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and also appeared in horror films. I suspect they both played werewolves at some time in their careers. I remember my dad told me about the "meaning" of this song a long time ago. He said it was about foreigners taking over England or something? I forget now... but it makes sense, talking about the Chinese menu, and the American film stars hanging with the Queen... |
|
| They Might Be Giants – Your Racist Friend Lyrics | 21 years ago |
| The song is basically about a guy at a party who dislikes having to pretend to agree with his friend's (the host's?) racist friend. The racist friend is apparently drunk (He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking) and when the singer starts to leave, he begins to apologize for what he said. | |
| They Might Be Giants – Exquisite Dead Guy Lyrics | 21 years ago |
| It COULD be about Lenin.... he sees him in the glass casket, then after the curtin falls he sees one of the statues being torn down, on a skyhook. | |
| Tool – L.A. Municipal Court Lyrics | 21 years ago |
|
This song is kinda freaky, like most of TOOL's "spoken" songs. The contrast between the pleasant voice of the woman and the blaring, harsh background music is quite disturbing. |
|
| Cake – Mr. Mastodon Farm Lyrics | 21 years ago |
|
Okay, since you insisited: This song just describes how this dude lives in an apartment, where he can watch the birds "fall from the window ledge" through his window. Because he is on a high floor, he does not see the birds actually fly, unless he goes up to the window and looks down. Thus, it appears, from his point of view, that the birds are commiting suicide, and just falling to their deaths. The speaker in the song views the birds as a metaphor for his own life... or something. It might also be that the tradition of watching the birds has become so entrenched in his daily routine, he is afraid that if he doesn't continue to do it, his life could fall out of order. |
|
| Bloodhound Gang – Mope Lyrics | 21 years ago |
| "Falco" is actually refering to the band, Falco, who originally did the "Rock me Amadeus" song that is sampled in "Mope" | |
| The White Stripes – The Union Forever Lyrics | 21 years ago |
|
I respect this song a lot more know that I know the Kane connection, too. Until I saw the movie, I thought that "there is a man..." bit was just a rip-off from the Simpsons. |
|
| The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil Lyrics | 22 years ago |
|
A very good song indeed. It refers to a bunch of historical happenings that have demonstrated how evil appears to be a constant in human society. The events mentioned are (in order): -The crucifixion of Jesus -The communist revolution in Russia -World War 2 -The Hundred Years War -The assassination of JFK / RFK and something about troubadours, which like Lilavati, I don't quite understand. |
|
| Cake – Commissioning A Symphony In C Lyrics | 22 years ago |
|
The nobleman is also a real pessimist. "You're sitting there thinking your thoughts They are not about what is but what is not" He listens to the symphony, but only hears what is wrong with it, not what is good. "You are sitting there breathing in your breath You are seldom breathing life but mostly death" A metaphor for pessimism, just like the "is the glass half full" question. Do we spend each moment on Earth living, or do we spend each moment just getting closer and closer to death? |
|
| Cake – Commissioning A Symphony In C Lyrics | 22 years ago |
|
This is probably my favorite Cake song. It's very haunting, and moody, and I like the lyrics. I'm not sure I totally understand the lyrics, but I think it's about how it's not the creatOR that is remembered, but rather the creatION. In this case, the Symphony is enjoyed by all, and will live on, even after the self-centered "nobleman" dies. |
|
| Cake – Italian Leather Sofa Lyrics | 22 years ago |
| It's pretty much just about two really superficial people, who are only together for selfish reasons. The woman likes the man's money, and the man likes the sex. They could care less about anything else. | |
| Cake – I Bombed Korea Lyrics | 22 years ago |
|
This is a song about a guy who fought in the Korean War, and is somewhat "shell-shocked" about the ordeal. He seems to regret bombing the civilians, but he admits that at the time, he wasn't thinking about whether it was "wrong or right", probably because he was quite young. Now, as a veteran, he gets more recognition than he wants. He is not proud of his days in the war. |
|
| Cake – Nugget Lyrics | 22 years ago |
|
"Heads of State" most likely refers to Governors or Presidents, whose governments can slice up budgets and harm individuals through lack of funding. Verse two refers to, as MorningStar said, bureaucrats whose "nimble fingers" can cause further damage to people's lives, through their unfair rules and regulations. Verse three, to me at least, seems to refer to how people in today's society are more emotionally involved with trivial things (clever feet = dancing?) than with serious issues, such as "burning planets" (the environment, global warming...) |
|
| Boney M – Rasputin Lyrics | 22 years ago |
|
This is a pretty accurate biography of the famed Russian priest, Gregori Rasputin. The song says it all, Rasputin was part of the Russian's Czar's inner circle, and gained a lot of political influence due to his supposed miraculous healing powers. When Czar Nicholas went off to fight the Japanese, Rasputin and the Czar's wife (the Russian Queen) became very close, due to Rasputin's alleged powers that the Queen believed could heal her son, the Prince, who had some sort of deadly disease. It is widely believed the two had an affair at some point during the Czar's absence. Finally, because of all the reasons listed in the song, the other Russian politicos tried to kill Rasputin repeatedly, through poison, drowning, and finally shooting. He is infamous for taking a long time to die, supposedly because of his close connections to God. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.