| Wall Of Voodoo – Far Side Of Crazy Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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Great song that appears to be about sociopaths - and possibly the duality of their nature. In the first verse the first-person character is both Pontius Pilate (who showed little apparent concern for Jesus, just like a sociopath) and Jesus himself. In this the suggestion seems to be that the sociopath sees himself as victim as well as perpetrator. In the second and third lines the singer claims to have cried when (John) Lennon was assassinated, but he also envied Lennon's killer. That's the shock twist in the song, right from the very beginning. The singer is not emotionally upset by the loss of Lennon so much as he is upset that he didn't have that opportunity to kill Lennon for himself. When he describes himself as "the mortal enemy of man", he speaks to our violent nature. We are our own natural predator. And sociopaths and psychopaths, by their random strikes and rogue nature are especially dangerous and terrifying. We don't know when they'll hit, or the victim. In the second verse he acknowledges knowing right from wrong, but is seduced by vanity, of being recognised in public for his crimes. When he strokes the shaft of his guitar, there's a metaphoric hint of psycho-sexual arousal from the violence he's picturing. There's a mention of "psychopathic poet", to explain how he sees himself somehow producing a poetic work when he kills. It seems to be common for killers to believe they're creating a work of art when they kill. In the third verse, he refers to (US president at the time) Ronald Reagan, a former actor, who was shot but not killed by a sniper who was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster. For the last two lines in the chorus ("No hundred dollar cure will save me" and "Can't stay a boy in no man's land"), the former is an observation that antidepressants won't treat or cure his learned sociopathy or his congenital psychopathy. The latter seems to be a self-visualisation of himself as worthless until he takes action - and kills someone for the first time. While the song reads almost like a homage to sociopaths and psychopaths, it's really taking a strong stance against remorseless killers like these. The language is very clear ("crazy", "devil's bastard son"), making it clear where the writer of the song stands. |
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| The Script – Hall of Fame (feat. will.i.am) Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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This song begins by listing all the mighty tasks you could complete to make it into a hall of fame, but in the second half it's saying in essence that you could be a 'hall of famer' even if what you do won't make it on to the front pages of the world's newspapers. The song is just asking that you do what you want to do or like to do, to the best of your ability. That way you'll earn the respect and esteem of your family, friends and colleagues. You could be a student - someone still finding their way in life - and end up in an abstract hall of fame, admired by your peers. You could be a teacher - a vocation often tarred with the aphorism 'those that can, do; those that can't, teach'. But if you're an exceptionally good teacher, and love your work, you will be a hall-of-famer in the minds of your students and colleagues. As for preachers, politicians and astronauts... well even they must have a pecking order. |
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| Reef – Set The Record Straight Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| It reads like an argument between the singer/songwriter and a person (girlfriend?) he's trying to impress, but she doesn't like the music he does. He seems to be saying that the only thing that matters is how it makes you feel on the dance floor. He's pretty unapologetic about his opinions ("I put a foot in my mouth sometime"), but he's also trying to convince the someone "I adore". He also seems to be telling her not to be influenced by others who are "born to criticise". This song is really up-tempo to get the blood pumping and was also the theme for TV drama 'Redcap'. Great piece of music. | |
| Boston – Don't Look Back Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I agree with all the comments made about this song, but also, on a different tangent, I like how the song title fits with the design of the album cover. The designer seems to have been familiar with James Blish's science fiction theme of cities flying into space. If you were a resident of one of those cities there would be no looking back... | |
| Mark Seymour – Westgate Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| This song is the first-person narrative of a worker on the Westgate Bridge in Melbourne, Australia. The bridge collapsed while under construction in 1970. 35 construction workers died when a span collapsed on the west side. I have actually stood underneath it, where there is now a plaque afixed, commemorating the disaster. | |
| Pink Floyd – Eclipse Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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One thing that strikes me about this song is that the moon is a much smaller celestial body than the sun, yet it can block virtually all the sunlight from reaching earth. Using the eclipse as a metaphor, it's almost as if our perspective can be skewed, distorted or just plain hindered by relatively small issues. The way I tend to interpret the song is that most things in life make sense, but we think they don't because we 'sweat the little things', rather than paying attention to the big picture. I agree with Gormster that this song is not nihilistic and Eclipse14's views seem quite valid too. I also wonder whether this song provided an inspiration in some way for Douglas Adams and the 'Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. |
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| Yes – I've Seen All Good People: Your Move/All Good People Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Interesting to read some of the remarks concerning this song. I'm entirely open to the suggestion that the chess scenario is a metaphor and this is what I actually think is the case, but with 'Yes', who knows? It may well be an anti-war song and the 'Instant kharma' and 'Give peace a chance' references seem to be both tribute to John Lennon and an echo of his anti-war stance. According to Lennon's discography, the former was released in February 1970 and the latter in July 1969, so they both pre-dated the Yes song by at least a year. |
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| Yes – I've Seen All Good People: Your Move/All Good People Lyrics | 22 years ago |
| As far as I can tell, it's about chess tactics. I think the lyrics are told from the perspective of a black bishop, since there's reference to making the "White Queen run so fast" and also "Move me onto any black square". 'He' is singing to either the Black King or Queen, because he sings "Don't surround yourself with yourself" - the second 'yourself' being the army of pawns or the body politic. I think it's more likely the Queen, since it's the Queen's mobility that is her greatest strength. If she were surrounded by pawns, she would be hampered, whereas the King needs all the protection he can get. That's my best guess... | |
| Midnight Oil – Short Memory Lyrics | 22 years ago |
| It's all about imperialism, colonialism and the repression of weaker races in their homelands. Hiroshima and Cambodia were places subjected to the most horrific aerial bombardment in the past sixty years. No mention of Dresden though. The song title tells it all; how quickly we forget the lessons of the past. This is an excellent song - one of about 75% of the 10...1 Album that could have been or were successful singles in Australia, way back in 1983. | |
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