| The Who – I'm a Boy Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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For decades, I assumed this song was about a boy who got treated like a girl by his crazy Mom and sisters. Only recently did it occur to me that this kid is trans. He sees himself as a boy, but his body indicates to his Mom and sisters that he's a girl. From that lens, the Mom and sisters seem not quite crazy, just uninformed and stubborn. Either way, I feel really bad for the boy. |
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| Pearl Jam – Jeremy Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Fantastic song. Listened to it for the first time in years and was struck with the final words: "Try to erase this from the blackboard." To me that sounds like instructions to the classmates who will have been scarred by witnessing Jeremy's suicide. Can you imagine being one of them trying to forget about this traumatic experience, and being reminded of it every time you encountered this song ever since? It would make you never want to turn your radio on ever again, I think. | |
| Paul McCartney – Junior's Farm Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[morecowbellz:11105] Olly Hardy was better known as Oliver Hardy, the fat member of the "Laurel and Hardy" comedy duo. | |
| R.E.M. – Green-Untitled Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[laocoon:4373] That's what I always thought. | |
| Traffic – The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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@[sleepnot:3896], this album was released when Stevie Winwood was 23 years old. So that gives him a little bit more time to be wise to the ways of the world. I like your interpretation. |
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| U2 – Vertigo Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| @[PencilNeckedGeek:2577] 14 is unexpected. When you hear a count, you expect, "1, 2, 3, 4." Bono is creating an experience of what he's experiencing, to throw you off balance. Here's a painfully literal version of what I'm saying: Let's say you're descending steps into a club, and it's too dark to see the steps. Each step is two feet long but only about 4 inches high. You make your way down the first step and it's fine. You make your way down the second step, and it's the same, so you're reassured. The third step is the same too, so now you get it, you understand the pattern here. So you confidently walk down the fourth step thinking you know what to expect, and you fall into the club because that last step is 14 inches. You're not hurt, but you're off-balance and disoriented. That's the experience created by "1, 2, 3, 14." | |
| The Who – The Song Is Over Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Love this song. One of my favorites on "Who's Next." I believe the final lyric listed here is incorrect. I believe it actually is, "Excepting one note, pure and easy. Playing so free like a breath rippling by." |
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| The Beatles – Get Back Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Freddie, I didn't necessarily mean that it was literally a response to "Wild Side," just that it was lyrically similar in style to many of Lou Reed's songs, which were often about transvestites 'n' such. | |
| Matthew Sweet – Smog Moon Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Don't know what the lyrics mean, but I sure like this song. One of my favorite MS tunes. Can't believe there are no comments yet. | |
| Pete Townshend – You Came Back Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Love this song. Townshend is awesome. It's about reincarnation. |
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| Pete Townshend – Street in the City Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Brilliant song both musically and lyrically. Comments about Fleet Street in London, as described by a homeless man taking a wry and removed perspective on all the activity. | |
| Pete Townshend – Football Fugue [Live] Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I was listening to a guitar, bass, drum thing Started hearing chairs squeak Thought I heard a gut string Then I saw a big band right on the pavement Violins and heavy boots Wondering where the wave went "You!" "What?" "I'm talking to you! You're wearing the wrong color scarf." "So what?" "Well, you're playing your tune to the terrors of the enemy hall." "Hey you!" "What?" "I'm talking to you! Concentrate on the game!" "What for?" "Well, the whistle just blew. The conductor's prone to complain." "Play the song on the wall, come on son, pass me the ball." Don't let the violinists trouble your play. Fierce looking people, but their manager's gay. Syncopation to the sound of the ball. Trouble with the ref out in the concert hall. "Hey you!" "What?" "That cellist was fouled. The conductor must be blind!" "It's a goal!" "Whoo!" "Ooh, look at the crowd. This session's run to extra time." "Sit back, or piss off and sing "You'll never walk alone." Music has arrived at the football stadium. A logical step would be Spurs at the Palladium Fifty thousand watts screaming out for a goal Why don't they blow a whistle in rock and roll? "Hey you!" "What?" "Get back to your seat. The song has only just begun." "So what?" "We need two encores to beat. And the band needs space to run." "Hey you!" "What?" "Get down off the wire. The spirit of the game's still strong." "Says who?" "Well, I'll never tire of kicking my piano along." "All you fans of the sport if you give us your support, we'll win?" |
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| The Doors – The End Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The killer awoke before dawn He put his boots on He took a face from the ancient gallery And he walked on down the hall He went to the room where his sister lived and then he paid a visit to his brother and then he walked on down the hall and he came to a door and he looked inside... Play this portion of the song to the first few minutes of John Carpenter's "Halloween." It works perfectly. |
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| Alanis Morissette – All I Really Want Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| This song sounds a lot like "Strange Days" by School of Fish, imho. Both great songs. | |
| The Beatles – Rocky Raccoon Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Anybody out there familiar with Firesign Theater? Here's their sideways reference to Rocky Raccoon, in their comedy album, "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger:" ROCKY Worthless?! Ha! Ha! Ha! (cough cough) Not to Melanie Haber! NICK Melanie Haber? ROCKY You may remember her as... Audrey Farber? NICK Audrey Farber? ROCKY Susan Underhill? NICK Susan Underhill? ROCKY How about... Betty Jo Bialowski! (organ fwah) NICK (thinking) Betty Jo Bialowski! I hadn't heard that name since college. Everyone knew her as Nancy. |
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| John Lennon – Meat City Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Lennon's most disposable song, written in a period of (for him) pretty disposable songs. |
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| The J. Geils Band – I Do (The Marvelows cover) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| So, is her name "Do?" What the heck kinda name is that? What could it be short for? "Doo-ris?" | |
| Simon and Garfunkel – The Sound of Silence Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's a song about modernity and the ironic effects of mass communication tools to isolate people. The narrator is observing people being physically so close, but spiritually and emotionally being separate, unable (or perhaps unwilling) to communicate. The narrator desperately wants to communicate to these people, to get them to recognize what's around them, including the wisdom of young rebel graffiti artists. The "neon god" is television. |
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| Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| That would be really ironic. "Girl, we gotta get out of this New Jersey hell-hole." State song! | |
| John Denver – Leaving On a Jet Plane Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I'm amazed that JD admits to fooling around on his girlfriend in a song like this. "Hey, I'm sorry I've betrayed you so many times and I'm heading out of town again and probably will do it again. But when I come back, I'm going to settle down with you and get married. How bout it?" THE PP&M version of this was one of my favorite songs when I was a kid, and still holds a special place in my heart. But the cheating part sure is bittersweet. |
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| R.E.M. – Supernatural Superserious Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think this song is a comment on how easily embarrassed you tend to be as a teenager. In a memory, the main character is a camp counselor who thinks he sees a ghost and cries out loud about it and embarrasses himself as a result. And the shame and humiliation sticks, even though nobody else really cares or remembers. It's about getting over that stuff. | |
| R.E.M. – #9 Dream Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| It's there, listed under "Seven Chinese Brothers" | |
| The Beatles – Get Back Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| After listening to this sound 50,000 times over the course of my life, it occurred to me recently that this is Paul's attempt at a Lou Reed-type song -- colorful characters with sex and drug hangups going through interesting journeys. Compare the lyrics here to "Take a Walk on the Wild Side." | |
| U2 – Kite Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I've already posted on this song a couple times, but I love it so much I now want to break it down line by line. I think it starts from the perspective of Bono's Dad, and then shifts to Bono himself.) Something is about to give I can feel it coming I think I know what it is (BONO'S DAD: "I see my demise coming.") I'm not afraid to die I'm not afraid to live And when I'm flat on my back I hope to feel like I did (BONO'S DAD: "When I die, I hope to feel like I lived my life as fully as possible.") And hardness, it sets in You need some protection, the thinner the skin (BONO'S DAD: "As you get older, you get emotionally harder to protect from your body weakening.") I want you to know That you don't need me anymore I want you to know You don't need anyone or anything at all (BONO'S DAD: "Telling his son that he'll be fine without him, and can be independent.") Who's to say where the wind will take you? Who's to say what it is will break you? I don't know which way the wind will blow (BONO'S DAD: "I don't know where you will go in life after I die, or what you will do.") Who's to know when the time has come around? Don't wanna see you cry I know that this is not goodbye (BONO'S DAD: "I don't know exactly when I'm going to die. But don't be sad, this isn't goodbye. We'll see each other again.") In summer, I can taste the salt of the sea There's a kite blowing out of control on a breeze I wonder what's gonna happen to you You wonder what has happened to me (Now time has passed since the last verse, and Bono's Dad has passed on. He continues to narrate from the afterlife: "At times I can still vividly remember the sensory experience of life I think of you as like a kite blowing out of control and I wonder what's going to happen to you And you wonder about me in the afterlife.") I'm a man I'm not a child A man who sees The shadow behind your eyes (Now it's from Bono's perspective. He realizes he's taken the place of his Dad. And when he looks at his own son, he sees his eventual demise.) Who's to say where the wind will take you? Who's to say what it is will break you? I don't know where the wind will blow Who's to know when the time has come around? I don't wanna see you cry I know that this is not goodbye (Bono is thinking about his own death, and wondering what will happen with his own kids after he goes. He doesn't want them to cry when he passes because he knows they'll see each other again.) Did I waste it? Not so much I couldn't taste it Life should be fragrant Rooftop to the basement (Bono is wondering if he's lived his life right, to the fullest.) The last of the rock stars When hip-hop drove the big cars In the time when new media Was the big idea That was the big idea (Bono recognizes that, with the disintegration of the music system, he's the last of a breed. The "big idea" was to use rock stardom to do something big in the world, and he's wondering if he's succeeded or not as he thinks about his life wrapping up.) |
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| U2 – Vertigo Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Don't know why people think these lyrics aren't deep or meaningful. It's about stepping into a seedy club in Mexico called Vertigo, nearly being overwhelmed with temptation, and resisting with faith and love in God. Here, I'll break it down for you: Unos dos tres catorce! ("1, 2, 3, 14" -- Stepping inside and feeling immediately out of your depth and overwhelmed) Lights go down, it's dark (The lights go down in the club) The jungle is your head, (Your thoughts are going mad) Can't rule your heart, (Your innocent heart is still in control) A feeling so much stronger than a thought (A spiritual feeling is more powerful than a carnal thought) Your eyes are wide (Your eyes are wide with innocence and drinking in the temptations) And though your soul It can't be bought, (You're not selling out to the temptation...) Your mind can wander (...but man, you're tempted) Hello hello (Calling out to God for help) I'm at a place called Vertigo (I'm in a club called Vertigo) It's everything I wish I didn't know (It's full of all these temptations that I wish I didn't have to know about) Except you give me something I can feel, feel (but you, God, give me something I can feel, and like I said a minute ago, a feeling is more powerful than a tempting thought) The night is full of holes (I'm surrounded with things that are wrong) As bullets rip the sky (Chaos) Of ink with gold (Money) They twinkle as (Bling) the Boys play rock and roll (Rock and roll music) They know that they can't dance (The rockers can't dance) At least they know (But it's okay, because they don't try) I can't stand the heat (It's hot in here) I'm asking for the check (I'm asking to get the check so I can pay and leave) The girl with crimson nails (Sexy girl) Has Jesus round her neck (has a necklace with a crucifix on it) Swinging to the music (The girl is dancing) Swinging to the music (The crucifix is swinging) Oh oh oh oh (I'm getting mixed signals from the symbol -- carnal lust and spiritual love) Hello hello (Calling out to God for help) I'm at a place called Vertigo (I'm in a club called Vertigo) It's everything I wish I didn't know (It's full of all these temptations that I wish I didn't have to know about) But you give me something I can feel, feel (but you, God, give me something I can feel, and like I said a minute ago, a feeling is more powerful than a tempting thought) Check mated (Voices from hell) Oh yeah (tempting me) Hours of fun (to sin) All of this, all of this can be yours (Satan tempting) All of this, all of this can be yours (Satan tempting) All of this, all of this can be yours (Satan tempting) Just give me what I want and no-one gets hurt (Satan tempting) Hello hello (Calling out to God for help) We're at a place called Vertigo (We're all metaphorically in this hellish, tempting club called Vertigo) Lights go down and all I know (When the lights go down, the thing I can rely on) Is that you give me something (Is that you, God, give me something) I can feel your love teaching me how (real that I can feel. Your love is teaching me how) Your love is teaching me how, how to kneel (Your love is teaching me how to bow down to the true master) Yeah yeah yeah yeah (Yes, God, Yes, God, Yes, God, Yes) |
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| Elton John – Levon Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Elton has garbled a lot of lyrics in his time (don't get me wrong, I LOVE the way he garbles his lyrics -- it makes them more intriguing!) -- but I think this song wins the prize for most indiscernible lyrics of any Elton song. I'm tempted to say "of all time," but any early REM song can beat on this song on that score. Most indecipherable lyric of this song: He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day When the New York Times said God is dead And the war's begun Alvin Tostig has a son today Awesome! |
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| Céline Dion – My Heart Will Go On Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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As a big fan of Titanic the movie, it's hard to separate the song from the flick. As a hater of Celine Dion, it's also hard to separate the singer from the song. HOWEVER, just taking the song on it's own merits, I LOVE the theme, both musically and lyrically. It's the polar opposite of the traditional message that Harry Nilsson captured in his song when he said, "I can't live if living is without you." This is an incredibly positive and healthy song about MOVING ON in life, despite someone you love going away. You can still love and honor the person, but you don't have to be stuck in the past. You don't have to grieve forever. You don't have to give up your life. You honor the person who went away by having a fantastic life, building on what you got from that person, and on what you continue to get from the memory of that person. |
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| U2 – Kite Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Just augmenting my previous post: My Dad is 82 years old and, though my brothers and sisters have seen it coming for quite a while, took his first serious fall recently where he couldn't get back up. I think this song is Bono's meditation on mortality, inspired both by his Dad's death and death threats that he himself received. So I think it's about his relationship with his Dad, his kids, and us, his fans. Bono's Dad wanted him to know that he didn't need him, his Dad, anymore. And Bono is telling his kids (and us) that we don't need him anymore. But I sure appreciate him nonetheless. |
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| Bob Dylan – Tangled Up in Blue Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Don't forget where her bending down to tie his laces puts her face in relation to his body. | |
| Bob Dylan – Tangled Up in Blue Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Montague Street is a famous street in New Orleans, LA. | |
| R.E.M. – Little America Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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LOVE THIS SONG. The reference to "Jefferson" is not a historical reference, but a reference to R.E.M.'s manager at the time, Jefferson Holt. Somewhere in the late 90's / early '00's, Jefferson got fired by the band, I think because of some indiscretions with a member of R.E.M.'s crew. Now when Stipe sings this song, he changes "Jefferson" to "Washington." |
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| The Monkees – Shades Of Gray Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I don't think so, I think the lyrics are "easier" not "easy." | |
| U2 – Acrobat Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Even Better Than The Real Thing Give me one more chance and you'll be satisfied Give me two more chances and you won't be denied (Give me standard sex and you'll get off. Give me head, and I'll respond in kind) … You're honey, child, to a swarm of bees Gonna blow right through you like a breeze (He's offering to service her) So Cruel Desperation is a tender trap - it gets you every time You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie (Which lips?) Until The End Of The World In my dream I was drowning my sorrows But my sorrows, they learned to swim Surrounded me - going down on me Spilling over the brim ("Going down on me." Nuff said.) Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Who's gonna taste your salt water kisses? (Salt water kisses are the ones that you get from her after she does the act) Mysterious Ways If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel On your knees, boy! (I'll leave this one up to your imagination) Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World Your lips move but you can't talk You've been trying to throw your arms around the world (You're servicing) Acrobat And you can swallow, or you can spit You can throw it up, or choke on it (Obvious) To take a cup - to fill it up To drink it slow - can't let you go (Maybe a stretch here) Love Is Blindness Squeeze the handle - blow out the candle (Okay, maybe a stretch her too, but a nice way to end this.) |
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| U2 – Acrobat Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Even Better Than The Real Thing Give me one more chance and you'll be satisfied Give me two more chances and you won't be denied (Give me standard sex and you'll get off. Give me head, and I'll respond in kind) … You're honey, child, to a swarm of bees Gonna blow right through you like a breeze (He's offering to service her) So Cruel Desperation is a tender trap - it gets you every time You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie (Which lips?) Until The End Of The World In my dream I was drowning my sorrows But my sorrows, they learned to swim Surrounded me - going down on me Spilling over the brim ("Going down on me." Nuff said.) Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Who's gonna taste your salt water kisses? (Salt water kisses are the ones that you get from her after she does the act) Mysterious Ways If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel On your knees, boy! (I'll leave this one up to your imagination) Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World Your lips move but you can't talk You've been trying to throw your arms around the world (You're servicing) Acrobat And you can swallow, or you can spit You can throw it up, or choke on it (Obvious) To take a cup - to fill it up To drink it slow - can't let you go (Maybe a stretch here) Love Is Blindness Squeeze the handle - blow out the candle (Okay, maybe a stretch her too, but a nice way to end this.) |
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| U2 – Acrobat Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Even Better Than The Real Thing Give me one more chance and you'll be satisfied Give me two more chances and you won't be denied (Give me standard sex and you'll get off. Give me head, and I'll respond in kind) … You're honey, child, to a swarm of bees Gonna blow right through you like a breeze (He's offering to service her) So Cruel Desperation is a tender trap - it gets you every time You put your lips to her lips to stop the lie (Which lips?) Until The End Of The World In my dream I was drowning my sorrows But my sorrows, they learned to swim Surrounded me - going down on me Spilling over the brim ("Going down on me." Nuff said.) Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses Who's gonna taste your salt water kisses? (Salt water kisses are the ones that you get from her after she does the act) Mysterious Ways If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel On your knees, boy! (I'll leave this one up to your imagination) Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World Your lips move but you can't talk You've been trying to throw your arms around the world (You're servicing) Acrobat And you can swallow, or you can spit You can throw it up, or choke on it (Obvious) To take a cup - to fill it up To drink it slow - can't let you go (Maybe a stretch here) Love Is Blindness Squeeze the handle - blow out the candle (Okay, maybe a stretch her too, but a nice way to end this.) |
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| Dewey Cox – Let's Duet Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Great song parodying the famous sexual tension between Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. John C. Reilly is fantastic, and man, they found the perfect voice to play his foil in this song. | |
| The Who – Quadrophenia Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think you found 'quadrophonic.' Around the time the album was being developed, quadrophonic sound systems were being developed, essentially doubling the stereo effect, so instead of 2 different layers of sound coming out of two speakers, they made 4 different layers of sound come out of 4 speakers. Quadrophenia was being designed to make the most of that effect (like the "me, me, me, me" part at the end of "Can you see the real me" was designed to rotate from speaker to speaker, around and around. Ultimately the technology went belly up, because people only have two ears and two-speaker stereo was determined to handle everything that a four-speaker system was thought to be able to do. |
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| The Who – Pinball Wizard Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Meh. | |
| The Who – Faith in Something Bigger Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| What a great interpretation, Dcba! Thanks for sharing it! | |
| The Monkees – Porpoise Song (Theme from Head) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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One of my fave Monkees songs, to be sure. I think the comments about the song being about the band changing direction are valid. Has anybody here read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books? In that series, porpoises are one of two species who are smarter than human beings, and, just before Earth's destruction, porpoises somehow leave the planet with a last communique that translates to, "So long, and thanks for all the fish." This song, with the porpoise laughing and saying goodbye, reminds me of that. |
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| The Replacements – I'll Be You Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Don't know what the song is about, but I can remember being irritated with Tom Petty when he stole the line "rebel without a clue" from this song. I think the TP song came out about a year after this one did. The line is so clever here, and so stolen there. | |
| The Kinks – Better Things Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Ray wrote this for Chrissie Hynde as they were saying goodbye to each other at the end of their marriage. "It's really good to see you rocking out and having fun" was meant literally. | |
| The Who – Early Morning Cold Taxi Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I'm pretty confident Roger wrote almost nothing. When they were working on their mid-60's album, "A Quick One (While He's Away)," the producer tried to get each member of The Who to contribute songs. "See My Way" was attributed to Roger, but it was almost entirely written by Pete. | |
| Pink Floyd – Outside the Wall Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song is all about Pink (or Roger Waters, depending upon how autobiographical you take the story of The Wall to be) being untouchable inside his wall. Loved ones -- friends, lovers, family members, fans -- all try to get through to him, but all ultimately fail. Pink is too far gone, too sealed off behind his wall. | |
| John Lennon – The Luck of the Irish Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Nobody said he was making fun of the Irish, SpongeBunny said he was making fun of the irony around the difficult situation the Irish are in and the stereotypical notion of "The Luck of the Irish." No need to leap to offensiveness. | |
| Elvis Costello – Brilliant Mistake Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I know this is ridiculous, but I feel compelled to say it anyway: In 2000, George Bush seemed like a fine idea to almost half of the American public. He was installed. He thought he was the King of America. But now, years later, we're on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and we all (well, most of us now) recognize him as a Brilliant Mistake. |
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| U2 – Desert of Our Love Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Wow. What incredible lyrics. Moving, soul-wrenching, deep. Just kidding. Obviously these lyrics were the semiconscious product of Bono singing along to a melody that U2 abandoned after noodling it in the studio for a while. |
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| U2 – The Wanderer Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I'm surprised by the number of people here who don't seem to get the big reveal at the end of the song. This is a guy looking all over for righteous, godly people, and can't find them. We think for the whole song that he is an agent of God himself and is looking for peers, but at the end we discover that he's a jerk who abandoned his wife and family. He's looking for someone to rehabilitate himself, but he can't find them anywhere. This is a story of a lost soul looking for redemption. |
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| U2 – Lady With the Spinning Head Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| One of U2's greatest B-sides ever. Fantastic opening synth riff. Didn't realize it was about gambling till I read the lyrics here. I wonder if the lyrics are right, though -- I always heard "She's got the red, she put me in the black." The colors on a roulette wheel (and in a deck of cards, come to think of it -- and in your financial books too) are red and black. | |
| U2 – The Three Sunrises Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I think it's another U2 song written to / for / about God. | |
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