| Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| There's matching lyrics in both parts of sprawl, giving me the impression that they're describing the same thing from two different people with two different perspectives, both present during the whole thing. They sound like boyfriend/girlfriend pair, Flatlands from his perspective, Mountains from hers. They describe the same things, like riding bikes, being in a park, and the run in with the cops. At the same time, the lyrics are almost opposites in the feelings conveyed, and even the titles are geographical opposites (flatlands vs. mountains). | |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Gold Lion Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I seem to have gotten the feeling that the "moon without a tide" is some sort of relationship that has lost many of its attractions. The Moon, it's own existence, is there, but it doesn't have that gravitation pull, or attraction, the tide. "Cold desire", or desire that has become stagnant sound about the same. | |
| Beck – Ramshackle Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song was indeed part of a music session with Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf of Bong Load, with the intention of a whole album with a similar sound. The hope was to produce and album that could prove to disparaging critics that his previous hit "Loser" was not his one trick. Before getting too far with the original projects, he opted for a collaberation with the Dust Brothers, and what we got was Odelay as we know it. Much as I love Odelay, and am very glad that we did get it, I do wish he'd go back and record a whole albu with this sound. Sea Change was somehwere along these lines, but had less bass. Still, there are two other songs that have been released from the same session; Brother and Feather in Your Cap, which are both great, Feather possibly being better than Ramshackle. | |
| Arcade Fire – Black Mirror Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Actually, I think everybody's a little bit right. The art technique I'd say holds a bit of insight into the idea behind the meaning, ie: a relfection of what things are. But I think the television theory coincides with this very well. I hadn't thought of it before, but it makes a lot of sense. The band has even said that the two major symbols in the album are the ocean and television (the ocean for an uncontrollable medium, television being the opposite, the influence that the media and consumerism has over us all). But that isn't to say that the black mirror shows us what we are, if we really look closely. The second stanza even says "caught by a security camera, you can see your own relfection." The only way to see your relfection when caught by a camera is through a television. The interesting thing here, though, is the fact that the person is "caught" by a "security camera", in effect against their will and while they're doing something criminal. Thus this is what they see reflected. |
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| Arcade Fire – The Well and the Lighthouse Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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The first part follows Jean de la Fontaine's story very accurately, albiet from the point of view of the wolf. He is seen less animalistic and more humanized, though that is not necessarily a good thing for him. He's portrayed as a greedy, selfish being who must lets his desires overcome sense and he dives into the well after the cheese which is just the moon's reflection. The interesting part to me is the ressurection in the lighthouse. The Lighthouse and the well are polar opposites. First off is the obvious structureal differences, the two being the same shape, but the well going into the ground and the lighthouse going up out of the ground, into the sky. But even moreso is the differences between why the character is there. He goes into the well for the sake of greed and selfishness; a lighthouse on the otherhand is a job that is for other's benefit and is selfless, using your own life to save others'. The main similarity is that he seems to be trapped in both. In the well, he's trapped by the obvious walls that he cannot scale. But in the lighthouse, he's trapped because he cannot leave his post, or others will die. The funny side is the overall irony of his change of conditions. It feels more like an Eastern religious Karma induced ressurection than a Christian related paradise/heaven ressurection, which is acknowledged by the fact that the lions and the lambs aint sleeping yet, ie: the future he thought he had was something different. This is possibly because he is the unrepentant criminal that he claims to be at the start. |
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| Arcade Fire – Neon Bible Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I dont think the song is ridiculing religion as a whole. It's the Neon Bible, or commercialized religion that is out to make money over helping people that they're striking against. The Bible itself, the true Bible, is held as the most upright and righteous moral guideline known to man, but the further we come to the modern age people dont want ture morality, they want to do whatever they please. They dont want to be made to feel bad over that, either, so they decide to change the morals to say what they're doing wrong is right. The churches want to make money too, so they play along and even instigate this in cases. They commercialize the Bible itself, and to do that they take out what's unpopular (morality) and replace it with something that is (flashy, glamorous lifestyles that they now say are ok). The Golden Calf goes along with this. The Golden Calf was created when the Isrealites no longer wanted to wait on Moses coming down from the mountain with the ten commandments. So they opted to make a new object to worship, and made the Golden Calf. Most importantly, however, is that they called it by the same name of their former god, so they could continue "worshipping" him, but doing it on their own terms, thus they perverted what was good and pure to make themselves feel better. The vial of hope and vial of pain, to me, sounds like a vague reference to Pandora's Box maybe, or something of the like. In the box together, or vials in this case, hope and pain look the same, so unable to tell which is which, both get poured out on the whole world. The hope comes in the form of something helpful, like the Bible, but the pain is indestiguishable from the hope, like commercialized religion at first is indestiguishable from the true form. This seems to be the theme of the whole album, and the song itself exemplifies this. They said that while making the album, they watched a lot of tele-evangalists, the kind who broadcasted hope to everybody, then took the prayer money and ran. Also, if you look at the website, they have a fake infomercial for the "Neon Bible", in which they refer to it as "not your parents bible", meaning the good thing it once was has now been changed to suit "us", the modern generation. |
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| Arcade Fire – Vampire/Forest Fire Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Well, I'd like to bring up that calling someone a vampire is used in another song, Neighborhood #2 (Laika). In it's case, they say their older brother Alex was bit by a vampire. It seems agreed that it means he's very different from everybody else, and people feel creeped out by him and label him something dangerous that he's not. I think that can kinda go with this, only he's the one labeling himself. It seems he and whom this is sung to are both scarred from the past, and the forest fire is burning their past down around them. Honestly, I hadn't thought of her sister pouring the gasoline as her sister helping the flames grow before, I had just thought that the children were altogether running away (her sister pours the gasoline to run the car as they flee). I always felt like the song keeps going from the begining of the relationship a sort of symbolic end to it. I thought the lines at the end point out as they find a house together and live in it, and finally he begins driving, but he cant find an interstate to bring him back to her (and she thinks he doesn't care). What's being said here makes a little more sense overall, though, so I'm getting the idea that they're in the car driving together and cant find the interstate to their past, and eventually just have to give up and move on. On a side note, I heard the original EP version first and thought it was okay but not their best. The fadeout is good, but I'd heard better. Then I heard their acoustic session on KCRW, and they play this live acoustic on the radio. That version is far better even than the original, and aside from Ocean of Noise is probably my favourite song by them now. |
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| My Chemical Romance – Dead! Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Has no one mentioned that this is musically based on Electric Light Orchestra's Mr. Blue Sky? This is a good song here, and they obviously had fun with turning the fun, happy, cheerful, all about loving life song into a song about sardonic death. Check out the original song, and I think there's a pleasant surprise in store for most of you. | |
| They Might Be Giants – Till My Head Falls Off Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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personally, i think David Grimmer is on the right path, but i dont think its about old age in particular. i think the person described is a guy with simply many mental issues. he's obsesive compulsive (counting the advil), overly paranoid (why do you suspiciously), short term memory loss (someone more forgetful than yourself), afraid of speaking in front of large crowds, ect... this song i dobut is about any one thing in particular, seeing as how most of their songs are nonsense. Rodan2000 |
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| Dire Straits – Communique Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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well, there's this guy who doesn't tralk to his wife and everybody starts thinking he's having an affair. by the end of it, though, he's somehow cleared. eventually he writes out his feelings in a letter, a communique. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – Memo To Human Resources Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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well, this is about suicide, i think, someone who tried to jump of a building but didn't. either that or by down, he means he did jump. i cant tell. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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i really dout there's much meaning to this song, but Jim that they mention is probably Jimi Hendrix. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – Someone Keeps Moving My Chair Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I'm more with JJ than anyone on this. although, i'm pretty sure the lyrics say the Ugliness Man, and that they were calling him the Ugliness Man, as well as Mr. Horrible. bt i always got the idea of this being at a bussiness office, with annoying co-workers. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – James K. Polk Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Darn that democrat! Rodan2000 PS, anyone who's been to the TMBG website should know what i'm talking about. |
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| They Might Be Giants – They Got Lost Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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well, this should be obvious: the John's got lost driving to one of their concerts. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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i've heard part of the original version on a documentary about the drusades, actually. the first time i found out the song was a remake. still a great song, especially the version on Severe Tire Damage. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – Boss of Me Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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well, i doubt there's really much underlying messages in this, besides that the person is obviously either really stupid, or just deosn't pay any attention. but if you want to get in depth, it may be saying that the world today is nothign but stupid people. look at it though, they've been failing curved grades (below the horizon), they just watch the blank wall where the TV was, and they dont have the answer to "the question". Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – Dead Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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i thought it was about the French Revolution, what with them cutting his head off for walking out of the grocery with a bag of groceries before the expiration date. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – Your Racist Friend Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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actually, i dont think they mean specifilly that the racist was drunk, he could be, but i think they mean that racism itself is a concept inspired by a drunken stupor. also, the line "cant shake the devil's hand and say you're only idding." i see it as in he's agreeing with the devil and condoning devilish acts, then turning to those who dont agree with the devil and saying "I'm just kidding, i'm really on your side." but you cant do that. if you shake the devil's hand, then there's no turning bac. all in all, this song is one of my favorite TMBG songs, as it exposes racism for the total crap it is. Rodan2000 |
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| They Might Be Giants – We Want A Rock Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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agreed. its about fads and how stupid they are and how quickly they shift. Rodan2000 |
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| Dire Straits – Once Upon A Time In The West Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| well, the song Wild West End was from their first album, Dire Straits, this song is from Communique. and yes, they use the term Sunday Driver and Driver's test, but i think they're using those as metaphores for the original Wild West. i take this from the fact that the song title is Once Upon a Time in the West. the song about the Wild West End, is called the Wld West End, i'm thinking the song with Wild West (not followed by End, and even named after a popular Western movie) would actually be about the Wild West. | |
| They Might Be Giants – Cage & Aquarium Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| that sounds right,. at first, i thought it was about how people have captured and endangered animals. Cage and Aquarium representing animal captivity and such to basically describe how mankind is dominating animals cruelly. but yours actually sounds better | |
| Mark Knopfler – Song For Sonny Liston Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| this song is obviously about Sonny Liston, who i've never heard of but am guessing was a boxer. the part that catches my eye is "like henry's hammer" which must refer to John Henry, the Hammerman. I know this kinda stuff, i'm way into tall tales. | |
| Mark Knopfler – Junkie Doll Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| this is somehow related to drugs, whetehr someone he knew on drugs, or him playing someone on drugs, or more specifically, someone who is now off drugs, "and I'm clean." spiked my arm (needles), and took me high (to that sense of euphoria they talk about), and other lingo in the song, primarily stuck on you (addiction). the addiction is broken. | |
| Mark Knopfler – Baloney Again Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| this song is about discrimination against African American people, from the point of someone feeling its sting, during around the time of Rosa Parks. Its a great song, and very inspirational, making discrimination and racism of any kind just seem so pointless and futile, like it really is. | |
| Mark Knopfler – Speedway At Nazareth Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| this is one of my favorite songs. its actually about Dale Earnhardt, and when he crashed into the wall. its a great song, and is one of theose Mark Knopfler thigns that only he can do, about remembering aperson like Boom LikeThat is about McDonald's (more specifically the guy who brought it over seas), and Sailing to Philidelphia is about the Mason Dixon Line. | |
| Billy Joel – The River Of Dreams Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| the story you're thinking of goes along with Great Wall of China, from the same CD, but this song i'm pretty sure is simply aboyut the River of Dreams, which is life as a whole. "we all end in the ocean, we all start in the stream, we're all carried along by the river of dreams" what he's searching for, i think is just meaning to life, but the River, being life is to wide for him to cross and really find an answer. or maybe, it soges along with the song Everybody has a Dream, meaning the River of Dreams is the whole group of the dreams and amitions of everyone in the world, and he's lost his with the rest. either way, two things are pretty much for sure. one, he wrote all the songs on this CD during his devorce, so they reflect his sadness during the time. And then there's the fact that he wanted to bring a more "spiritual" persona to the song, and not religiously, but just in a way that encompasses all life and dreams and everything. Mountains of faith, Dasert of truth, valley of fear, and jungle of doubt are definately part of this overview of the song. | |
| Dire Straits – Once Upon A Time In The West Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| this is just about life in the Wild West, where even the hero can be killed, where you have to careful for some yahoo who's driving their wagon or horses carelessly like a sunday driver, where its a dangerous, but glamourous life. the Sunday driver necer took a test, meaning he never had to pass a driver's ed class to drive his horse or wagon. even the hero gets a bullet in the chest, meaning even he can be killed, no one's invincable, its all just chaos. Mother Mary's children have been killed, and there's heap big trouble in the land of plenty, meaning that its a plentiful, opportunitous land, but its also full of danger. an overall great song, about the perils and highlights of living in the Wild West. | |
| Dire Straits – Skateaway Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| i'm not sure what happened to inspire this song, but it seems as if he saw a girl who had headphones on while she was skating by, and from the sight, he sparked the story of the girl, who listened to music, and dreamed she was part of the story of the songs. he immortalizes her by actually putting her in a song, one actually about her and her own story. | |
| Dire Straits – Expresso Love Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| its about him a girl who are very passionate about each other, and may seem like a flash in the pan romance, but is shaping out to be more. its not just an Expresso Love, a love that gives you a boost but doesn;t last, it could be more than that, but it all depends. either way, he doesn't care, he likes it. | |
| Dire Straits – Tunnel Of Love Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| i've heard its about the carnival, and how you can go there and find a girl, or guy, and hang out for the evening as a couple, and then when its over, neither care that much because though they had a passion, it was just a flash in the pan. so as they part, they give each other a "remember me" gift, a kiss, and say goodbye. then he stays at the carnival for a while, and remembers the rest of the evening. | |
| Dire Straits – Down To The Waterline Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| i'm not quite sure what this song's about, but it does seem to have the quality that its a couple in love, and the Waterline is a place dangerous to them, kor illegal to go to, or something of the like. the man gets killed or taken away somehow, and then she can remember him in everywhere she goes that's related to the waterline. something makes me think he only got arrested or maybe he's a deserter soilder and he got caught while on the waterline with his girlfriend. now he's been taken away, but she can still hear him whisper, "Lets go down to the waterline." | |
| Dire Straits – Water Of Love Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| its simple, love is water, and he''s dieing of a lack of it. | |
| Dire Straits – Walk Of Life Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| it soudns like its just about a guy who has his first girl. | |
| Dire Straits – Wild West End Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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okay, here's the wrong approach to the song that came from my dad: Its about the wild west, due to the English's love of the American Wild West. No, its not. though the American Wild West is a highly liked topic in England, this song is not about that. its about an area of London, called the Wild West End, where you can go to pick up a girl. you can do the same thing as the carnival later discribed in Tunnel of Love, and the place Wild West End is also mentioned in the song Expresso Love. |
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| Dire Straits – Romeo And Juliet Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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my language arts teacher listened to this song in class (I brought it in when we read the play) and he says that its actually the Balconey scene. it begins out setting the scene, apperently its taking the play from in a modern time, and then it continues with what Romeo wrote in the "love song that he made." currently, she's confused, and he's not going to give up on her, even though she's having thoughts of leaving him. by the end, he's probably won her over again, and then we finish the balconey scene. its very good how they took it from a standpoint of in modern times, and added almost their own story to the pre-existing one of the balconey scene. |
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| Dire Straits – Lions Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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this song baffles me, but the best i can come up with is this: It's about the fact that no one knows each other anymore. the lions were the people that everyone knew. they were respected, whoever they were, but now there are so few of them. it follows this girl through the town she's going through, a town where the lions are virutally non-existant. no more familier faces, but nobody cares. they just care about getting done their own lives. but despite this, the lions will survive. |
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| Dire Straits – Money For Nothing Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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i heard the same story as rip her to shreds. they also used a Sting song for it. BTW, the band themselves said that their name came from their normal financial state. before the music, they usually found themselves in a dire situatio of financial means. |
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| Dire Straits – In The Gallery Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| They're talking about a guy, Harry, who had a job where he helped change the lives of people, therefore people were his masterpieces, and he became artistic with them. since his masterpieces were people and not paintings, he never was in "the Gallery", or otherwise got the respect he deserved. In the lyric booklet from the CD jacket, it says he passed away in security, which means he was happy and fine when he died, and then once he was gone, he was hailed as a genius. in a more general perspective, it means we dont get the respect we deserve until its too late. | |
| Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| From what i've heard here, it seems to be a soldier dying after a battle, or during. but the term Brothers in Arms really means a Civil War, instead of any kind of battle. I'm pretty dsure it means the American Civil War, but it could be other Civil Wars. | |
| They Might Be Giants – S-e-x-x-y Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| actually, i've heard that the song is about transvestites. also, elsewhere on the same album is the song XTC vs. Adam Ant, Adam Ant had a song S-E-X AND dressed pretty girlie to boot. just follow the lines on that one there... | |
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