| Mark Knopfler – Stand Up Guy Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| I see this as a reluctant tribute to the skill of a master salesman. The Dr. isn't a doctor, and he isn't a stand up guy either. But he's convinced some of the people in the audience that he is. The band members raising their glasses to him is saying, "Hey, you gotta hand it to the guy. He's a total phony, but he gets people to open their wallets, and you know how we struggle with that." | |
| David Bowie – Life on Mars? Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I forgot the most important part, the title. Is there life on Mars? should be seen in the light of: there's obviously no intelligent life on Earth. Maybe there is on Mars? It's a very sad song indeed. | |
| David Bowie – Life on Mars? Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song is about the shallowness of American Hollywood culture and those it is forced upon. This is a recurring Bowie theme and I think he's right. The girl with the mousy hair has zero interest in the movie -- it's a crude, macho, prototypical Hollywood movie -- but her parents are totally into it, and she can't find her friend, so she submits and watches, only to find it's a "saddening bore". The girl has a streak of intelligence and some taste, so the movie is totally a waste of her time. The second verse if much harder to decipher, but it's clearly on the same theme. |
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| Bob Dylan – Jokerman Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song is about Ronald Reagan. 1. It was written shortly after Reagan became President in 1981 (released in 1983). 2. Reagan won the election largely because his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, was unable to free the American hostages in Iran. Curiously, the hostages were freed *on the day* Reagan was inaugurated, as if Reagan had illegally cut some deal with the Iranians. Iran, formerly known as Persia, is *famously* known as the land of the nightingale. Google it. Reagan is "dancing to nightingale tune". This line is heart of the chorus of the song. Why link the Jokerman to the nightingale and repeat it over an over? Dylan chooses his symbols for a reason. Espcecially a symbol in a chorus. It's not just some random imagery. If you can't explain why the Jokerman is dancing to the nightingale tune, you can't explain the song. 3. Reagan had a favorite, beloved, horse called "El Alemain". It was a white horse. This is a well-known fact about Reagan. Google it. You'll find pics of Reagan on the horse. This matches perfectly with one of the few clues in the song: "In the smoke of the twilight on a milk-white steed". 4. Reagan, in his prime, was a handsome, buff stud. Literally movie star good looks. Fits well with "Michelangelo indeed could have carved out your features", one of the other clues in the song. Take a look at Michelangeo's statue of David. The Jokerman is no pencil neck geek. 5. As mnonm points out, the climax of the music video is a picture of Reagan as the Jokerman! |
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