submissions
| Ringo Starr – Fading In, Fading Out Lyrics
| 8 years ago
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It's about mortality, and how life and death can be both beautiful and scary. But he's come to terms with the inevitability of death("no need to fear it") and the immediacy of life("that's all right, I'm here right now").
The song sounds light-hearted and cribs a famous Beatles lyric, but the message is deceptively nuanced.
A great opener to an underrated album. |
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| Manchester Orchestra – My Friend Marcus Lyrics
| 8 years ago
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I always figured that Marcus was a repressed memory given a name. He's in the subconscious, or "basement." The repression comes from a traumatic incident(molestation is obviously implied) and by giving it a name, the speaker is trying to transfer it away from himself so as to feel that it is no longer a part of him.
It doesn't work though. He has a "broke track" because he is incomplete due to this repression. The last part is thus about reconciling with "Marcus" and dealing with the trauma. |
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| Skye Sweetnam – Awakening Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Four years later...
Edited, because the site didn't allow edits before. I probably copy and pasted from another site without double checking, but you're right, those make more sense. |
submissions
| Squirrel Nut Zippers – Ghost Of Stephen Foster Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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I didn't know the name Stephen Foster until this song(though I did hear his compositions quite often, like most everybody). I'm intrigued by the Camptown Ladies reference and the dismissive "no no no" that follows. It seems to be saying that there's something inherently dishonest about Foster's work.
I think the other comments here do a better job than I would at exploring that further, so I'll only add that the music video is a parody of the Betty Boop cartoon Minnie the Moocher. It even has a send-up of the Cab Calloway intro. |
submissions
| Patty Griffin – Tony Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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The opening of the second verse always gets to me: "I hated every day of high school/It's funny I guess you did too/Funny how I never knew"
It makes me think about how I was so miserable during my high school years I didn't even consider how many people around me were probably just as miserable, if not moreso. |
submissions
| Patty Griffin – Tony Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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The opening of the second verse always gets to me: "I hated every day of high school/It's funny I guess you did too/Funny how I never knew"
It makes me think about how I was so miserable during my high school years I didn't even consider how many people around me were probably just as miserable, if not moreso. |
submissions
| Paul McCartney – Temporary Secretary Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I just heard this for the first time, and it was so kooky I just had to love it. It's so close to being annoying, so close to being catchy, but ends up failing to be either.
I don't think there's any deep meaning to the song. It's just a guy asking for a temp.
I guess there was an actual "Mister Marks" who ran a temp agency and is the one referred to in this song. After hearing it, he wanted to use it for his own commercials, but Paul kept strict to his policy of not allowing his songs to be used for commercials(a policy he only broke just recently for the song Fine Line). |
submissions
| George Harrison – Here Comes the Moon Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Sort of complementary to George's classic Here Comes the Sun. It's about something(or someone) bright and pretty that is surrounded by darkness, which serves to make it brighter and prettier. An overlooked song that's quite lovely. |
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| Hilary Duff – Play With Fire Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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The bridge has to be about Joel. I figure the rest is about an old "flame," perhaps Aaron Carter? I don't keep up on this sort of gossip so I really don't know... |
submissions
| Frank Black – Brackish Boy Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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I'm actually not sure what the song is about, but I've always loved the line "By now you know that he was fucked." Made me laugh the first time I heard it. |
submissions
| The Beatles – 12-Bar Original Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Yeah, it surfaced on the second anthology. Basically the most interesting thing about the song is that it lists all four Beatles as composers, one of the few that did that(Dig It and Flying are the only other two I know of). |
submissions
| Ringo Starr – Early 1970 Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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Yeah, it's pretty straightforward. Basically Ringo's feelings about the beginning of the post-Beatles days, just hoping they wouldn't leave him behind.
The last verse is about himself, of course. |
submissions
| Rednex – Old Pop In An Oak Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Some of the lyrics on here are wrong, but most of the lyrics are rather nonsense anyways so it's not all that important.
I think the title of the song is referencing a father dying and being in a coffin("an oak"). The first verse seems to verify this with the woman saying she got choked up seeing him in the coffin. |
submissions
| Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Cotton Eye Joe is an American folk tune dating back to the 19th century. The chorus in this song is all that's lifted from the traditional version, though. The Rednex added new lyrics to explain why Cotton Eye Joe prevented the singer from being married, as it was never explained in the original.
This song is viciously maligned by critics, but I love it. As someone who has a deep affection for old school American folk, I realize I'm not supposed to, but I don't care.
A site that talks a lot about the history of this song:
http://www.themediadesk.com/newfiles2/joe.htm |
submissions
| The Presidents of the United States of America – Some Postman Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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Great song from a band that deserved to stay in the spotlight longer. I don't know why he yells out "1993," but if this song was released in that year it probably would have been a big hit.
I wish they didn't leave it so ambiguous as to whether the postman delivers that last package. |
submissions
| Modest Mouse – Wild Packs of Family Dogs Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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It's not just you, I thought this song was funny, too, particularly in adding "okay" at the end of horrific statements.
I agree completely with huebert about this song being about death in the family. They're "family dogs," meaning relatives, but perhaps they're "wild" because they are now dead and no longer under the rules of the living world. At the end, he's waiting for the dogs to take him, too, meaning he's waiting for death.
Or not. Modest Mouse's lyrics tend to go way over my head, but I love them anyways because they're so beautiful and puzzling. |
submissions
| The Beatles – Mean Mr. Mustard Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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"His sister Pam" was added in(I think John's original lyric had her name as Shirley or something) to fit with the medley concept. So yeah, Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam are siblings.
I love the line "always shouts out something obscene." There are so many people like that, who just can't control themselves when they get caught up in a moment. |
submissions
| Dolly Parton – Coat of Many Colors Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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I can't believe nobody else has posted to this song yet.
Dolly names this as her personal favorite of her songs. It's about how her family couldn't afford to buy her a new coat, so her mom sewed together whatever material they had available. The kids at school made fun of Dolly, because they didn't understand that material wealth isn't necessary for people to be happy. |
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| The Beatles – Lady Madonna Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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When you look over the lyrics carefully, it may not necessarily be about a prostitute...it could be a single mother whose source of money is unknown to the people around her, and so they suspect her of being a prostitute. The speaker in the song isn't Lady Madonna herself, but somebody asking her about where she's getting her money.
The clues are there, her stockings being ruined for example. Maybe the point is that we're led to these conclusions, but there could be more to the story that we don't know. Only Paul knows for sure.
The song doesn't seem to outright condemn her, at any rate. It seems to admire that she finds certain days of the week to devote to her children, and the other days to getting money, however she gets it. |
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| The Beatles – Hello, Goodbye Lyrics
| 18 years ago
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As an aside...Lennon wasn't an idiot, and Paul had many more than five good solo songs. I think all four had great solo material. In fact, Ringo's album earlier this year was great lovable pop rock, and Paul has one due in a week that might be good, too. |
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| Dolly Parton – I Will Always Love You Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I don't know about those albums you mention, but my guess would be that they were recorded before this one and only released later. This song was on the album Jolene, which was her first solo after officially leaving Porter's show, so I think it's still likely addressed to him.
And I agree, this is easily better than all subsequent versions. |
submissions
| Marcy Playground – Sex And Candy Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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My RA in my freshman year of college had a bowl in his room that contained both condoms and pieces of candy. The idea was that it would encourage safe sex, but if somebody was embarassed to ask for something like a condom, they could just pretend they were there for the candy and take both, with no one being the wiser.
Anyways, the RA labeled the bowl "Sex and Candy." So I think of that every time I hear this song. |
submissions
| Eminem – Ass Like That Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Almost nobody in the world is as funny as Triumph. That doesn't mean the FCC should come knock down our doors!
I keed, I keed... |
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| Eminem – Ass Like That Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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The Eminem haters in this thread are taking this way too seriously. The song is about how Slim isn't any more serious than Triumph, yet he gets crucified for saying stuff that people would laugh off if the puppet said the exact same thing in the exact same tone.
The "feud" between them appears to have been blown out of proportion, too. Triumph/Smigel appears in the video and gets in a few one-liners at Slim's expense, leading to Eminem decking the puppet and wrestling him to the ground. It's one of the funniest videos I've ever seen, personally, and I've seen thousands of them. |
submissions
| The Beatles – It's All Too Much Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I never heard it was about an acid trip, but that wouldn't surprise me. The Beatles did a few songs that were probably about acid(as reported in The Onion, the whole Yellow Submarine movie is about "introducing kids to the wonderful world of acid trips" ;p).
At the same time, though, I get a Zen Buddhist vibe or something likewise from the lyrics. That the world can be so beautiful it's too much to take. Remember what the Ricky Fitts character talked about in American Beauty? That's what I think George is talking about here. |
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| The Boomtown Rats – Rat Trap Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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It's about growing up in shitty surroundings and dreaming of a way out to somewhere else. An escape from the trap that is urban life decay. |
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| 311 – Come Original Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I like the verse about how bands who don't come original will eventually get found out and be a flash in the pan. It's the verse that begins "A warning to the crews out there who think they're hot."
Just look at Limp Bizshit, one of the many bands to rip off 311 and probably inspired this song. They had their run at the top, but now "the world...stands revealed with the clarity" that they're just a lame ass band with nothing to say. |
submissions
| Dolly Parton – Jolene Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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A wildly insecure song. The speaker feels that this is her one and only shot at happiness in life, so she pleads with who she feels to be the better woman to not ruin it for her. Jolene could find happiness with lots of other guys, but the speaker doesn't feel that she herself could do the same.
Dolly's voice is so beautiful. I don't think it's possible for anybody to do a cover of one of her songs that's better than the original(and that's including Whitney's butching of "I Will Always Love You"). |
submissions
| Frank Black – Speedy Marie Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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This is a love song from Black to his girlfriend. If you look at the first letter of each line in the last two verses, you'll see he even spelled out her name:
Jean Marie Walsh. |
submissions
| Pete Townshend – Let My Love Open The Door Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I think rodneyj's right about Townshend's wanting this to be a spiritual song, and he was a follower of Meher Baba.
I don't think the song sounds too fluffy, though. It might, except that you can tell from Pete's voice that he's completely sincere, which is what makes it such a beautiful song. |
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| Frank Black – I Heard Ramona Sing Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Yeah, it's a Ramones tribute. Frank Black is one of a seemingly endless list of musicians inspired by that group. What makes this song so interesting is that it doesn't actually sound like a Ramones-influenced song at all. |
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| George Harrison – Crackerbox Palace Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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When I was five or six, my dad played this song for me, and I've loved George Harrison music ever since. Every time I hear it, I still remember wanting to hear this right before going to bed, so that it would be stuck in my head as I was going to sleep.
allmusic.com has a good article on the backstory of this song, including who was the real Mr. Grief. I kind of wonder if the naming of the Pixies' character Mr. Grieves was at least partially inspired by this song. |
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| George Harrison – Brainwashed Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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What a fantastic finish to a fantastic career. I think the song is about how throughout our lives, we're given very little opportunity or encouragement to really think for ourselves.
There's also some spiritual chanting in a different language at the end of this song that's not included in the above lyrics. |
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| Ringo Starr – Never Without You Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Tribute song to George Harrison. Pretty easy to understand, just saying that even though George is no longer with us physically, his music, his legacy and his life will always be remembered.
I think George would love these lyrics. In his last studio album, Brainwashed, the booklet contains this quote from Krishna:
"There was never a time when you or I did not exist.
Nor will there be any future when we shall cease to be."
Miss ya, George. |
submissions
| The Beatles – Don't Pass Me By Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I think Grobus hit the nail on the head. This is such an underrated song because it's by the Beatles, and they set the standard so high that some of their songs don't get the attention due them. |
submissions
| Hilary Duff – Do You Want Me? Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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I probably shouldn't say this, but I think the line "I open my mouth 'cause I’m waiting for your love to fall from the sky" has some serious pornographic undertones to it. |
submissions
| Hilary Duff – The Getaway Lyrics
| 19 years ago
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Correction to the lyrics...in the chorus, it's "put the [i]pedal[/i] down," not paddle. It goes along with all the other metaphors in the song comparing driving to relationships. |
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