| XTC – Living Through Another Cuba Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I have a fantastic live version of this. Andy does a three-minute long exposition at the beginning when he describes the position of Britain between Russia and America - I just love it and the way he says it, he has so much wit. You can download from somewhere on xtc4u.org | |
| Thom Yorke – And It Rained All Night Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Hastalavictoria, the album cover is supposed to depict King Canute trying to hold back the oceans. | |
| Steely Dan – Everything Must Go Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I always read this song as kind of drawing an analogy between the breakup of a company (maybe specifically Enron) and the breakup of a relationship. Still, that's just how I view it, it may not be what Fagen intended. | |
| David Bowie – TVC 15 Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| It's not like I Am The Walrus, since Lennon has said that the lyrics of the song mean precisely nothing. This song does have some kind of meaning though, however obscure. | |
| Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Like any off Yorke's lyrics, it defies line-by-line analysis, it's a collection of ideas and feelings. Yorke describes it as the most angry song he's ever written, and I can see it in the song. It conveys the idea of being surrounded by all-powerful, cold bureaucrats who don't give a shit and you can't do anything about it. |
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| XTC – Wrapped In Grey Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Such a beautiful song...I think the meaning is fairly clear | |
| Robbie Williams – Making Plans For Nigel Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Jesus. I can't believe he covered this. I mean, I guess he's a pretty good singer and good performer, but for him to cover this is a crime. |
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| Radiohead – Bangers + Mash Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is awesome live | |
| XTC – Pink Thing Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| pumpkinhead, you can't simply ignore the quite clear penis references in this song. The wonderful thing about this song is the clever double meaning of the whole thing, and until you recognise both sides of it you're not really appreciating the skill of Partridge's lyric writing. | |
| XTC – Books Are Burning Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| It's in a way a comment against censorship, but it stems from Andy's love of books more than anything else. There's an interview with him about lyric writing, I can't be bothered to find a link right now, but he talks about how he often comes up with ideas for songs by turning quite mundane ideas of his around. He named this song as a case in point, about how rather than sing about how he likes books, he sings about his horror at seeing books burned. | |
| XTC – The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| lord_lacolith is correct, Peter Pumkin is in fact a carved out Hallowe'en pumpkin, although he may be interpreted as a kind of everyman for any figure in history who died trying to do good, but "made too many enemies of the people who would keep us on our knees". There are references to both Jesus and JFK ("emptied churches and shopping malls", and "plots and sex scandals failed outright" respectively, for example), but to view the song as being about any single figure is a rather narrow interpretation, and I doubt Andy Partridge (like many other great songwriters) would ever write anything so specific. | |
| Steely Dan – The Boston Rag Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Lyrics are pretty cryptic, I'm guessing Becker and Fagenwere pretty "out of their minds" too when they wrote this. Be that as it may, this remains quite possibly my favourite Steely Dan tune. That second verse on a good set of headphones is pure audiogasm. |
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| Crash Test Dummies – All You Pretty Girls (XTC cover) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Another XTC cover? I knew about Peter Pumkinhead, but not this. | |
| Crash Test Dummies – The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (XTC cover) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Yeah, they're good lyrics. Shame that they're not written by Crash Test Dummies, and the XTC version is exactly the same but better. | |
| The Temptations – The Way You Do The Things You Do Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Best Motown song ever. |
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| Elvis Costello – Pump It Up Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Well, I did once have a cello masterclass with Phillip Sheppard, who claimed that all music is about sex or death... (more on that story later) |
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| The Beatles – Money (That's What I Want) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This version is good. But the original Barret Strong version is better. | |
| Steely Dan – Time Out of Mind Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song confuses me. I was under the impression that Becker and Fagen had cut the smack at the time they recorded Gaucho. |
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| Radiohead – Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2) Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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It's about Thom's health fixation. Hard to put into prose the exact feelings he's trying to convey - like so much Radiohead, one just has to have the "feel" of it. Also, while this is one of my favourite Radiohead songs, there's no way it could have been on OK Computer; it simply wouldn't fit. It would interfere with both the lyrical and musical cohesion of the album. It's a strong opener for an album in principle, but Airbag is absolutely necessary for OKC, the way it sets the scene for our happy-go-lucky lifestyles, the way we live on a catastrophe curve. |
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| Brian Eno – Golden Hours Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Not sure about the golden showers thing. The song seems to be about growing old, and "golden hours" seems to me like a kind of frozen moment in time. It's hard to put into words, like so many of Eno's lyrics are. Interestingly, he said of writing the lyrics for Another Day On Earth (much later of course, but it seems to be present in many of his songs): "What I think lyrics have to do is engage a certain part of your brain in a sort of search activity so your brain wants to say, 'Here are some provocative clues as to what this song might be about'." |
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| XTC – 1000 Umbrellas Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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JpnGht - yeah it is about that, but it's written in a very flippant and tongue-in-cheek way, almost as if it's making fun of this kind of song. Just when I thought that my vista was golden in hue, one thousand umbrellas open to spoil the view - pure genius xD |
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| XTC – X Wires Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song is fucking mental | |
| Steely Dan – Cousin Dupree Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| This song as a bit eww. | |
| Steely Dan – BarryTown Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Seems to be quite clearly about sociological barriers and prejudices. Doesn't seem particularly cryptic to me. | |
| XTC – Dear God Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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For those of you trying to tear apart the logic in this song, try to remember that this is NOT a reasoned argument in favour of athiesm, it's an account of feelings and thoughts. Rather than "I don't believe in God because of [insert carefully reasoned argument here]", it's more of a case of "I can't believe in God because of this gut feeling I have". Taken as an argument, this song is very weak, and anyone could tear it apart in seconds - but then, the converse could be said about the Psalms, for instance. Their purpose is not to argue the existence of God - rather, it is to glorify the concept of God. Similarly, this song explains the belief of the write, rather than justifying it. |
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| Elvis Costello – Pump It Up Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Pumpkinhed - only if you're Freud. | |
| Yes – Open Your Eyes Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I don't care that much about what Yes songs mean to be honest. Most of it tends to be rather whimsical and verging on pretentious. Musically, however, is quite a different matter. This is probably one of my favourite Yes songs :) |
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| Yes – Close to the Edge Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| I think Yes have reached heights with this reached by few other bands - namely Radiohead, Pink Floyd, possibly the Beatles at times. The fact is that most popular music is not nearly as good music as most classical music, but these bands, I think, amke exceptions to that. | |
| Radiohead – Street Spirit (Fade Out) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I really can't be arsed to argue with people who come here just to slag off Radiohead, they never listen to what I say anyway. But I'm disgusted that anyone could even compare Radiohead to Oasis. | |
| Pink Floyd – Eclipse Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I think that this song is the final arrival at insanity. Everything is in it's right place in our mins, but we can't see that, because by now we're mad. "the moon" clearly represents insanity - luncacy. So, we are everything that we touch and affect, they are what define us. And we would be in tune, but insanity has clouded our brains. | |
| Pink Floyd – Any Colour You Like Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Um, could people stop arguing about drugs and please post something about their interpretations of this? I came here for ideas... | |
| Radiohead – Idioteque Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Right, well, just a word to Farhad. You clearly don't reccognise innovative, sophisticated and ground-breaking music when you see it. the fact you're even comparing Radiohead to Nirvana is proof of that. Some Nirvana songs are good to listen to, yes, depending on your tastes, but it's really very simple music. Just a guitar riff, with bass, drums and vocals. No more than that. Radiohead is waaay beyond that by now. The bends is their least good album (apart from Pablo Honey). It's pretty simple really, and it doesn't have any underlying theme or cohesion as an album. But they've moved on now, joining the ranks of Pink Floyd and the Bealtes, and no one else I can think of, really. You have to understand the difference between music which is good and music you like. I mean, I quite like Chumbawamba and Electric Six, but I agree it's really pretty crap music. Radiohead are somewhere else by now. And it's not just musically. This song, Idioteque, not only holds important messages to us today, but it's full of irony, and it's a vicious dig at meaningless, manufactured dance anthems. What music you like is immaterial, you still ought to reccognise what music is more advanced and sophisticated. There are lots of bands I don't like but I happily agree are very good musicians. Oh, and people will take you more seriously if you spell properly and learn to use punctuation. The other thing I wanted to talk about was someone mentioning the line "I have seen too much, I haven't seen enough". This has always made perfect sense to me. You know when there's something you really don't want to see, but you can't stop yourself looking anyway? Like, when I first heard about Goatse I though "God, I really don't want to see that", but I just had to look. That's what this line means. He's seen too much death and carnage, and it disgusts him, but he also has a kind of horrrified fascination for it, and in another way he can't get enough of it. |
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| Radiohead – Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Well, Radiohead and Pink Floyd are two of the three best bands of all time, (the other being the Beatles, of course). I haven't heard the Radiohead+Sparklehorse version of this song, but I really want to. I'm trying to find out where I can get it. I can't see it matching the original, simply because of the meaning the original in the context of Pink Floyd, being about Syd Barret and all. Oh, and he's not in a mental institution, he lives in Cambridge, I believe, and he paints. Musically, though, I don't think Radiohead are any less, in fact Thom Yorke is almost certainly a better singer than Roger Waters (not that Waters can't use his voice effectively, as he does ofter). It's just that there really can't be the same meaning in it when not sung by Waters. You can really feel the passion in his voice on the original. |
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| Maxïmo Park – Apply Some Pressure Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Aargh, don't mention Razorlight! They're music's not bad, but now just listening to it makes me feel physically ill ever sincs I found out that Johnny whathisface thinks he's a better songwriter than Bob Dylan or John Lennon. Aargh! I do like this song. I don't own it, but I'm going to buy the album as soon as I have enough money. I mean, it's not great music, it's not groundbreaking, but it's still good to listen to. |
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| Jethro Tull – Velvet Green Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I agree with you mainly, but I'm not too sure about the "wild oat seed" part. "The silver stream" sounds like semen, to me. That fits in with the next line, too, apart from the word "oat". Maybe that's just poetic licenese. | |
| Jethro Tull – Hunting Girl Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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That's all there is to say about it really. fairly obviously meaning. Amazing guitar fills, as well. |
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| Radiohead – Let Down Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I've always felt that OK Computer isn't so much solely about technology, more jsut about feeling alienated from society. Technology plays a major part in that, of course, but it's not everything. Airbag is about cars, really, and how we can't trust them. Paranoid Andriod is about "the dullest people on earth" - the people at the top, who tell us what to do. Subterannean Homesick Alien is about how wierd out habits would seem to a stranger to society. Exit Music is about two lovers misunderstood and rejected by the world. Let Down jsut really embodies the whole feeling of detachment from the world that pervades the whole album. Karma Police I've never quite been sure about to be quite honest. Fitter Happier says that the things we aspire to in life is really just being "a pig in a cage on antibiotics". Electioneering is about how politicians have to manipulate people in order to succeed, it's not just a question of policy. Climbing Up The Walls is really about a psychopath, I don't quite see how it fits in with the album. No Suprises could be about suicide, or rretirement, but really it's just about being sick of the fucked up values of our society - it's a last stand against the world. Lucky is similar in theme to Airbag, only this time with a plane, and it has more of an air of tragedy. Surrounded by corpses and carnage, but by a miracle you've survived, and you celebrate it. The Tourist Jonny wrote inspired by when he was sitting in a reallly beatiful square somewhere in France, and all these tourists were being rushed around trying to see everything in ten minutes, and never really appreciating any of it. So, again, it's about how are values are wrong, and we're not really seeing beauty in itself. There. You asked for an interpretation of Let Down, and you got an interpretation (albiet brief) of the whole album. Enjoy. :D |
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| Radiohead – Creep Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Well, this has probably always been said, but Creep isn't really a very good song. It's appeal is instant, but fairly shallow. The song My Iron Lung is about how Radiohead hated Creep, but had to play it at every gig just to make people come and keep them alive. On the version of Creep I have, live at Amsterdam, right at the end Jonny just plays he guitar riff from My Iron Lung once. It shows their reall feeling about having to play Creep, but of course most of the audience don't understand it and just love what he's doing anyway. | |
| Radiohead – Paranoid Android Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Well, for a start, I know that this is three songs in one. Thom said that it was originally intended to be three seperate songs, but then they thought of the Beatles songs, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, which was clearly more than one song jammed together, and decided to do it themselves. Also, I do agree, this whole album seems to be packed with references to H2G2. "OK computer" is in fact a quote from it, as is "paranoid android." Subterannean Homesick Alien also seems to me to a certain extent inspired by Ford's predicament while marooned on Earth, although it may well not ahve been intended that way. |
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| Pink Floyd – Bike Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Toolrulz, it really isn't the gayest song ever. You've clearly never heard the village people. Next time, if you don't like a song, try to explain why. Then people might take you seriously. You also might want to consider learning to spell and use punctuation. Oh, and please learn what the word "gay" means. Maybe most songs don't have hidden meanings, but I'm fairly sure that most Syd Barret songs mean something. Do you even know anything about Syd Barret at all? You've probably left the forum now and you won't even read this post, but you're total ignorance, inability to express an opinion without being abusive and your homophobia just pissed me off. |
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| Radiohead – A Wolf at the Door (It Girl. Rag Doll) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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"Dance you fucker" is a rather Electric-Six style sentiment... Anyway, this song is basically Thom summing up all his paranoia about how fucked up the world is, although there is still vitality, maybe even a spark of revolution. This is the theme throughout the album. I Will represents this very well, the idea of being defeated by the world, but not yet broken. |
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| Pink Floyd – Run Like Hell Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| In this song he continues his violence against everything outside the wall from In The Flesh. | |
| Pink Floyd – The Show Must Go On Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Throughout the last few songs he has doubts about the Wall, and they are embodied here. However, at the end he resolves he has to continue inside the wall, and destroy everything outside it. This begins with In The Flesh, until he becomes of his real self in Waiting For The Worms. He is afraid though, and equates his true self (the worms) with Nazis. | |
| Pink Floyd – Hey You Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This song is basically straightfoward; he's realised that he can no longer connect with the outside world, he is imprisoned in the wall. The one slightly puzzling lyric is the word "worm". Generally I take the "worms" as being on one hand Nazis (as part of the whole analogy of WWII to symbolise Pink's struggle), and on the other hand his true self. In waiting for the worms he is distanced from his true self and views himself as an enemy to be eliminated, like everything outside the wall; equating himself with the Nazis and the SS. In the Trial it's also straightfoward - he's being tried by himself, the Worm, although the Worm is conveyed as a threatening figure. The use of the word in this song still slightly confuses me though. I haven't seen the movie, so maybe that would help. | |
| Brian Eno – Baby's On Fire Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I think it vaguely has something to do with models. But you have to consider that a lot of the lyrics of the album Here Come The Warm Jets were chosn for phonetic rather than semantic reasons. You can't expect them to mean anything all the time - the voice is used mainly as an instrument. | |
| The B-52's – Love Shack Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I'm sure a band being gay would mean they can't write good songs, stupidkid48... JESUS, MAN! HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD OF QUEEN?! Besides, I don't think any od them were gay...it's not a terrribly gay song, at any rate. |
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| Electric Six – Gay Bar Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| This song has an absolutely brilliant filter sweep at the beginning... | |
| Yes – Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil) Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| My main description of this song would be "long". I haven't listened to it much, partly because of its length. It's good; but not one of my favourite Yes numbers. | |
| Yes – I've Seen All Good People: Your Move/All Good People Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| I can't argue that it seems to be about chess. It might be about something else, I suppose. I can't really be bothered to thematically anylase Yes songs in detail; I'm always too busy doing that to Pink Floyd and Radiohead :D | |
| Yes – Leave It Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Love this song. Quintessential Yes. No idea what it's about though. | |
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