| Future Islands – A Song for Our Grandfathers Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[mikec:3280] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lZcJG3AsxE start around 28:30 | |
| Future Islands – A Song for Our Grandfathers Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Sam Herring had such a poetic intro to this song: "This one is a Song for Our Grandfathers. This song's about burn-out tobacco fields of the south east and an understanding that one way or another there is a past that far precedes us and is pushing us into this very moment..." source: http://youtu.be/1lZcJG3AsxE?t=28m32s |
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| Passion Pit – Where We Belong Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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It's gotten cold in here But a solemn warmth draws near -- And then I'm lifted up/ Out of the crimson tub -- Never did I think that I'd be lifted to the whitest clouds Never did I ever think I'd find out all the things I've found It's hard to keep on living when your heart weighs but a million pounds All I've ever wanted was to be happy and make you proud |
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| Passion Pit – Constant Conversations Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This song is completely devastating. For those who haven't read Pitchfork's story on Michael Angelakos' mental-health issues, I can't recommend it enough: http://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/8893-rite-of-passion/ The meaning of the song becomes more clear as you read the story. His drinking got out of hand, the dark times became a lot darker, and he was relying more and more on his fiance to balance-out his bad habits. |
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| Passion Pit – Constant Conversations Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This song is completely devastating. For those who haven't read Pitchfork's story on Michael Angelakos' mental-health issues, I can't recommend it enough: http://pitchfork.com/features/cover-story/8893-rite-of-passion/ The meaning of the song becomes more clear as you read the story. His drinking got out of hand, the dark times became a lot darker, and he was relying more and more on his fiance to balance-out his bad habits. |
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| Bon Iver – Towers Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Source: http://thealchemyindex.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/child-of-winter-child-of-sun-justin-vernon-bon-iver-interview/ Interviewer: The place name’s on the album, do they relate to the content of the songs at all? Justin Vernon: Yeah, they all do, take ‘Towers’ for example: ‘Towers’ is the name of the dormitory that I lived in in college; it’s made up of these two towers — North and South — my girlfriend lived in one and I lived in the other. It’s about falling in love, but also about what happens when you’ve long fallen out of love and those reminders are still there. You drive by them, these two buildings, and you look, and you realise that we really built that up. That we really built that love into these things, and for a long time afterward looking at them really made me feel sad; to see these empty buildings that I don’t go in to anymore. But then, as time goes on, they start to become kind of joyous in their own way: you can look at them and think ‘that love was great and these buildings still stand tall’. But there’s also an element of the fact that they’re just buildings — they’re gonna fall down one day, and they’re not that important because there’s new love in your life and you’ve got to break things down that get built up. |
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| The Tallest Man on Earth – Thousand Ways Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| agreed, but what is the answer? | |
| Band of Horses – For Annabelle Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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nice interpretation. also, the video of Ben singing to his daughter is endearing, and definitely sheds light on what this song is about. for those who haven't seen the official video, it's very beautiful and still: http://odetoboh.net/2010/06/03/for-annabelle-video/ |
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| Delorean – Seasun Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I asked Ekhi last week what the lyric was, and he said: "the sun it hits my face/ hits my face/ and i will never be the same again." | |
| Bon Iver – RE: Stacks Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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There have been some fantastic analysis of Stacks, but I'd like to offer one more quote from Justin Vernon which synthesizes the song perfectly: "We were talking about how much people go through in certain times of their lives. I think this song is about knowing you have to understand when you're in a tough place, and believe that it's not going to last forever." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onFTuTG6NYs |
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| Okkervil River – Listening To Otis Redding At Home During Christmas Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The last stanza kills me: "And I hear that song sometimes and imagine us much more than friends - like if we stayed in this town, bought the first house that went up on sale, and how each Christmastime would bring in-laws and snow days and holiday mail." He imagines life with her but knows it will never happen; and that's what makes the subsequent reality sound so profound its simplicity: "your dad says you've been living in Georgia, since last September." I imagine him visiting her house over Christmas, finding out she's not home. |
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| Girls – Lust for Life Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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"When I wrote Lust For Life, I was as jealous of my ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. We had just broken up and she had this new, cool boyfriend and seemed really happy about it. I was like, honestly jealous of it, and was thinking it would be cool if I had a boyfriend too. I would have felt happy. It's just about loneliness and stuff. I was kinda quoting all the things she had that I didn't have. It was the things I generally felt at the moment, I don't like censor myself. With all my songs, I like to say exactly how I'm thinking at that time even if I don't understand." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ZPSaH0aas |
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| Miracle Fortress – Hold Your Secrets To Your Heart Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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With only four lines, he turns this song into a poetic masterpiece. Songs like this excel over all other love songs for its ability to articulate incredible devotion without simply saying "I love you". And he mixes the boldest of emotions with the simplest of hurt; "where the love can build its heat/ where it hurts when we're apart." Songs like this make me think maybe love is effable. |
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| Pearl Jam – Wasted Reprise Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is what Vedder said about this song in Rolling Stone: "When you leave that funeral, that drive is as important as any single stretch of road you'll travel on. You've got a renewed appreciation for life. And I think that feeling can last through the day, through the week, but then things start getting back to normal and you start taking this living and breathing and eating thing for granted. I think that song is there to remind you, 'This is that feeling.' " "The truth is - I'm a little sensitive and this is a close, personal relationship. I'll just say it. F--k it. Right up front. Half the record is based on the loss of the guy who turned out to be the best friend I ever had on the planet. And that was Johnny Ramone." |
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| The National – Start a War Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Many of Matt Berninger's lyrics refer to his now wife Karen, especially during the times they (presumably) were not together. Most obviously, "About Today" channels similar emotions to "Start A War". And it's no coincidence that when playing live, "Start A War" would often follow "About Today" in the setilst. Lyrically, we’re hearing the fate of a precarious relationship trying to balance out. Berninger’s decision to be plain-spoken rather than metaphorical gives the song its profound tension. Most singer-songwriters would kill to articulate the fall-out of a relationship as well as him. And personally, I hear no political undertones whatsoever in this song. The melody too close, the lyrics too intimate, and the singing far too personal to be about anything but the singer and his emotions. |
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| Animal Collective – Chocolate Girl Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It seems clear there are no fixed lyrics to this song. It's evolved tremendously over the years, and even since the 2008 performances, the general tones, sound and lyrics have changed (and improved). The version they’ve been playing throughout 2009 is stunning: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103811402 I recommend listening to it over all others. The indiscernible and sometimes obtuse lyrics make it difficult to ascribe song meaning. But it seems that the song is about watching a girl, whether a friend, sister, daughter, etc., grow and fall in love. The relationship with the girl seems platonic, mainly considering how elated Avey Tare sounds when he sings “She met a pretty boy!” And I love the lyric about the chocolate girls' relationship with that boy: "he kept around while was changing/ she would think that he woudl tell his friends about the girl!" I love how the lyrics merge the mundane with the nonsensical; it adds to the incredible charm. (“She met a pretty boy/ and they would twirl around the curtains/ and she would cream until the wine she bought had settled in”). In short, I see this as a peculiar, platonic love song. |
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| Passion Pit – Eyes as Candles Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| you obviously are jumping to conclusion. I received an advance copy of the album from the label directly, and most of the songs were mislabeled. | |
| The Antlers – Atrophy Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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stunningly vivid imagery. The relationship between the Narrator and the Patient really takes off with Atrophy, and Silberman describes the scenario impeccably. What's most interesting to me is the music during the coda. "Someone oh anyone tell me how to stop this," is played to the exact same melody as "Wake". (In the same vein as Bear to Epilogue.) |
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| Okkervil River – Love to a Monster Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Few songs capture the simple resentment after a relationship's end as this song does. Will Sheff perfectly describes every frustration and emotion that goes into that traumatic times -- the possibility of becoming friends, hoping her new boyfriend won't work out, on one ending wanting to be the bigger man but still hoping she'll be "hurt and have the hardest of landings". He even plans to hurt others emotionally such as the ‘blonde in the bleacher’. He’s grown numb and jaded. But at the end of the day, he’s resigned to his own depression and loneliness — “I don’t want the earth new.” I highly recommend “All My Little Words” by the Magnetic Fields if you like this song, it captures a similar sentiment. |
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| Animal Collective – No More Runnin Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Simply stunning. Certainly, it's become clear that a good portion of Merriweather regards relationship commitment -- the narrator riding himself of fears and reservations, and embracing his girlfriend/wife no holds bar. Anyone know if it's Panda or Avey singing the "It's what I hopes for" and the "No more running"? |
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| Miracle Fortress – Fortune Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I wish I could better explain what this song could mean. But in some ways, it's appropriately oblique. Graham's lyrics are abstract and strange. Maybe it has something to do with a relationship fall-out? The theme to me is "if you didn't do all of this" -- something this person did has changed their relationship forever. And this song feels like the quiet contemplation of such. He's resigned to a "light mixed into night" | |
| Miracle Fortress – This Thing About You Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song is a beautiful and unabashed declaration of love. The lyrics perfectly (and accurately) encapsulate the feeling of euphoric love ("we're smiling for no reason", "even things that are wrong about you/ make my will too strong to doubt you"). The lyrics also show how naive young love can be - the expectation that it will never end. And that's not to say the emotions are disingenuous; rather, that love can be a fleeting thing (as Graham said in an interview the album was written about a girl he was in love with, but it didn't work) | |
| The Magnetic Fields – All My Little Words Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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These lyrics drive home the futility of unrequited love. You can make the person 'rue the day', you can hurt them horribly, you can make them feel like shit, and you can tell them you hate them -- but at then end of the day, they won't come back to you. What is beautiful about this song is that the futility covers each end of the spectrum. Even if you wrote 'the sweetest song you ever heard', they would not return. Or alternatively, if you hurt them, it will still do nothing. |
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| Bon Iver – RE: Stacks Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I interviewed Justin a few weeks back, and I made sure to ask him about this song (as it is my favorite off this album). He did not delve into specific lyric meanings; as they are deliberately (and appropriately) oblique. However, he did mention the last lyrics "this is not the sound of a new man/ or a crispy realization/ it's the sound of the unlocking and lift away" best described those months in the cabin. He said it was his liberation, and this song reflects it. Who knows what many of his meanings refer to, the chorus certainly puzzles me. However, it is not hard to sense that this song represents his accomplished catharsis. "everything that happens is from now on ..." A beautiful, beautiful song. |
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| Atlas Sound – Requiem for All the Lonely Teenagers with Passed Out Moms Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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this seems to be poignantly evoke the feeling of being an insecure teenager, especially in a sexual way. at that age, sexuality is a form of validation for boys and girls. those who fall behind are stigmatized as weird. i'm guessing bradford is referring to his years of being an awkward teenager. this song shrewdly captures the rejection of being that awkward guy: the girl telling you no, the feeling that you'll never be attractive, the feeling that it's "nothing new", and of course the acceptance "i can handle it". |
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| The National – You've Done It Again, Virginia Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This song seems to be about the futility in the end of a relationship; when both parties still love each other, but circumstances have become too pressing and their end is near. It is not due to an unrequited love, rather it feels like this song was the product of months of a bad relationship. The couple lie in bed, and know they'll have to talk, and end things officially. When I saw them, they transitioned About Today into Start A War. It seems like Start A War is either an epilogue to this track, or just a reiteration of it. |
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| Counting Crows – Chelsea Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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lostinspace hit it dead on. It so poignantly deals with the aftermath of a relationship regardless of how it ended, and the pain that inevitably comes with it. No matter what, it is inescapable and each side is bound to feel lonely and depressed. Chelsea feels like it is all about coping with those feelings and the mixed emotions as a result. The depression about seeing the buildings in Chelsea and how they obviously represent more, the reality that the 'light in her eyes goes out', and the line "never had light in my eyes anyways" seems as if the narrator is trying to convince himself he should recover from the depression he is in, because things are over. The line about dreaming in New York feels as if Adam is returning to the places which remind him of the relationship days, and despite his best judgement, these type of memories bring back all the feelings of loneliness. Unbelievable song. |
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| Antony and the Johnsons – Hitler in My Heart Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I hate the beginning of the song, the rapid piano is so unappealing to me. And even though I find the lyrics to be intriguing, the beginning just feels to obnoxious. The last half, on the other hand, is sadly gorgeous. Antony's declaration grow from the corpses" is such a beautiful statement to make regarding such unspeakable horrors. Simlpy stunning. |
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| Charlotte Martin – Every time It Rains Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Charlotte wrote this song about a good friends' suicide while she was at college. I remember reading that his suicide came as a great surprise to all and had a dramatic affect upon Charlotte's life. In some ways, this song is about love. However, not necessarily in the conventional relationship way. This song stands as more a plea to her friend to call for help, rather than take his life. I've always interpreted the second verse as a response to the suicide itself, and waiting by the phone although fully aware that her friend is gone. The chorus feels like a declaration of morality and despite lifes seemingly unbearable hardships, each individual can overcome their deamons. It stands as a gorgeous angst-ridden proclamation that she will keep moving. |
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| Amos Lee – Arms Of A Woman Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I didn't catch the Oedipus Complex either. It seems that it tells the story of a man, who quite simply, needs the presence of a woman (a significant other, most likely) to make him feel complete. Lee seems to parallel this desire to the childhood need of a mother. Either way, the song is gorgeous and sadly poignant. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AppqIxmBDes&search=sufjan%20stevens prepare to be amazed. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is based off a Christian hymn by Robert Robinson and John Wyeth from the 18th Century. Sufjan changed up some of the lyrics and I believe that the first verse isn't repeated at the end in the original. I looked it up and there is a passage in the Bible: "Samuel took a stone and…named it Ebenezer, saying ‘Thus far has the Lord helped us." 1 Samuel 7:12 | |
| Pilate – Into Your Hideout Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Good Lord this song is phenomenal, so emotional. I don't think think this song has one literal meaning, rather it seems to be speaking of loneliness. While it seems clear that it has love-connotations to it, the song seems to be much more broad than that alone. The last verse portrays helplessness ("my legs fail me, distant lights are calling ... tearing my heart out"). From a lyrical stand point, this song is incredible, and its lyricism is certainly matched with the other songs on the album. | |
| Bonnie 'Prince' Billy – Bed Is For Sleeping Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This is song is fantastic. It begins softly with a perfect lead-up to the "Where are you going part" with Matt Sweeney offering stellar backups. The song seems to be about a failed relationship (or marriage) from the happy moments to the depressing. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This song is simply incredible. There is absolutely a religious undertone of the song that seems to be the source of the lyrics. Sufjan's incorporation of Christianity in his songs is so perfectly touching and unoffensive, even to those of us who aren't Christian. It is obvious that his faith in God drives many of his songs, but he sings in more of a manner of describing his own personal relationship with religion, rather than a way of preaching. | |
| Sufjan Stevens – Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Sufjan has a way of incorporating religion into his songs that seems so unobtrusive as compared to the majority of religious (Christian) music. This song seems to be about the need for God, especially during times when someone feels alone and isolated. Lyrics such as "oh Lord, say somehow, the devil is hard on my face again ... there's no other man who could raise the dead" give an image fo someone in desperate need of the presence of God or religion. Mike |
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| Sufjan Stevens – Romulus Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This song is phenomenal. I agree that is seems to be about a disinterested relative, most likely a mother whose children want her affection. Sufjan sings the song so quietly yet there's such a powerful delivery of the last line 'I was ashamed of her'. | |
| I Mother Earth – Good For Sule Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This song is genius. I think Brian's extradorinary lyricism is shown in Good for Sule. The lyrics could not compliment the soft and powerful melody better. The meaning of the song seems to match up with the story above, a man who must return somewhere for the good of others. Each line of this song seems more poetic then the next, and concluding the song with Brian shouting 'Good for you Sule' is perfect. | |
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