| Manic Street Preachers – Misguided Missile Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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The lyrics booklet also spells it "strum and drang". But it sounds to me like what is actually sung is "sturm und drang". Whatever, this refers to the "Sturm und Drang" artistic movement ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturm_und_Drang ). |
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| British Sea Power – No Lucifer Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| The "little lost roe deer" may well refer to BSP favourite "The Shining Levels" by John Wyatt, in which he adopts a young roe deer. | |
| Pulp – P.T.A. Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I'd generally agree with what xsvsx says, but I'd add that I have the impression that the man is actually the girl's teacher. I assume this from the fact that he met her mother at a PTA (Parent Teacher Association), she having approached him to discuss her daughter's absence, to which he replied (as a teacher might well be expected to, showing he is taking responsibility for the daughter) "I'm gonna take this girl in hand". The clear double meaning of this reply in the context of the song shows his abuse of his responsibility as a teacher. |
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| Ian Brown – Stellify Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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There seems to be a connection with the Stone Roses' song "Tightrope", firstly with the mention of the "ribbon in the sky", and secondly with the angel analogies to the person who's the object of each song's lyrics. |
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| Aphrodite's Child – Aegian Sea Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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As with many of the songs on the album, much of it is taken from the biblical book of Revelation. Specifically, in this case, chapters 6 and 7. From Revelation chapter 6: 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" 11 Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. 12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth From Revelation chapter 7: 9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. |
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| Morrissey – Drive-in Saturday Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| He sings (at least on the version on 'Swords') "stared in David Johansen's eyes", referring to the New York Dolls singer (Morrissey's connection to that band being well-known of course.) | |
| British Sea Power – Blackout Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| 'Narrow Moor' presumably refers to the moorland ridge connecting the hills of Maiden Moor and High Spy (to the west of Borrowdale) in Cumbria. (Three of the band come from Cumbria.) | |
| Friendly Fires – Paris Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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In reference to the lines: "I'll find you that French boy, You'll find me that French girl" My feeling is that they aren't literally meaning that they'll find each other *another* boy / girl. Instead, I interpret them as being more like "I'll find a French boy inside myself for you, and you'll find me a French girl inside of yourself". The line shortly afterwards "We're gonna lose ourselves" would go along with this, suggesting that they're going to lose their old personalities, in favour, perhaps, of this French ideal of a romantic couple. |
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| Simon and Garfunkel – 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Of course it's possible to look at the other items in the news report, civil rights and Martin Luther King etc. and contrast them with the spirit of "Silent Night". But to me this is first and foremost an anti-war song. The choice of "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") evokes when this carol was famously sung simultaneously by German and British troops during the Christmas truce in World War I. By placing this with the final news item on protests against the war, it asks why fighting couldn't cease in Vietnam just like it had in 1914. The album was released in late 1966, so Christmas wasn't far away. In the context of the song, the final statement "opposition to the war in this country is the greatest single weapon working against the U.S." is like a rallying cry, subverting its original meaning to tell the listener that actively opposing the war is the best way to bring it to an end. |
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| Simon and Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair/Canticle Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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As far as the lyrics go, it could be about any war. But given that it was released in 1966, and taken in context with Simon and Garfunkel's other work (eg. "7 O'Clock News / Silent Night"), it's clearly about the Vietnam War. |
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| Paul Simon – A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Lyndon Johnson'd to Death) Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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No, this is the 1965 version from The Paul Simon Song Book. The title should read as bisepost says. "Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission" is the subtitle of the 1966 version, this time with Garfunkel, and with some of the names and lyrics changed. You can find its page at: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/7379/ |
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| The Yardbirds – Climbing Through Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Although found on numerous Yardbirds compilations, this song was, I believe, actually recorded by The Authentics. | |
| British Sea Power – Be Gone Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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OK, so I see how "Floréal" and the guillotine might refer to the French Republican Calendar and the French Revolution, but how do the rest of the lyrics fit in? 'Agonic lines' and the things about the heart and the liver don't seem to bear any relation to it. And the indigo to crystalline bit seems to refer to the "Indigo children" new age thing. |
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| The Kinks – A Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It's a plea from Ray Davies to his brother Dave not to leave the band. Dave is apparently thinking that there's no point in carrying on, but Ray says "you might be through but I’ve just begun". He then goes on to tell him about Dan, a loyal fan, illustrating that their continuing to make music is not for nothing, that "it’s the only thing that gets him by". Incidentally, the song came out on the Misfits album in 1978, just a year after Elvis Presley died - hence the relevance of "the king is dead". |
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| David Devant & His Spirit Wife – Ballroom Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It's a song about a game of Cluedo. It plays up the tension (with the "All of this murder ... and manifestations" and the "Her mouth atremble" sections) and the tricks between the players ("I look to my friend and I see in his eyes" and "I pull a face to try and scare her") while bringing it down again by remembering that it's all just a game with the "He says piss off! Let's play charades" and the final classic "La la la la lead piping" lines. |
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| David Devant & His Spirit Wife – Re-invent The Wheel Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I see this as a parody of all those pop song lyrics consisting of one cliché after another. And perhaps also, with the "I want our love to be a cliché" line, a joky look at the desire (spelled out in lots of popular songs) for the 'ideal' but totally unoriginal, stereotypical relationship. |
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| The Kinks – People Take Pictures of Each Other Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think the most important parts of the song are the two "don't show me no more, please" sections. It talks about how people take photographs of all these things, "to show that they love one another", but in fact goes on to say that "you can't picture love", and that they don't really bring back "things as they used to be". The pictures bring a sense of nostalgia, and I think Ray / the narrator doesn't want to see any more as they fail to bring back his real memories of the past. |
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| The Kinks – Suzannah's Still Alive Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think it's a combination of what comedancing says. Susannah's lover / husband / partner was a soldier who went off to war. Presumably he died. She's desperately lonely and has turned to alcohol to replace the lack of someone with her. She cries every night, and it seems that she'll never escape from the misery (by dying). I interpret the title as emphasizing the fact that she's still alive, while he's died, and that she has no choice but to keep living and keep bearing the sadness - she can't win. The song isn't explicit that he died, but I feel that's the meaning which fits best. (btw the name of the song is actually "Susannah's Still Alive" with an 's'.) |
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| Buzzcocks – A Different Kind Of Tension Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The lyrics themselves are obviously just a list of opposing words and phrases. But the title suggests that it's all about the tension of making decisions in life. The vocal style suggests to me the image of the good angel over one shoulder and the bad angel over the other, offering their opposing viewpoints and competing for your loyalty. |
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| Kaiser Chiefs – Everything Is Average Nowadays Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This reminds me a lot of the Buzzcocks' song "Everybody's Happy Nowadays"... somehow in the tune as well as the obviously similar title... | |
| British Sea Power – Open The Door Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The album CD booklet includes the following text below the lyrics: Hmmm, what's going on here? Her microbes, bath robes, a big black bear. Could it be a love song? Despite everything, despite the pigeon shit, could poetry still reside in their souls? Maybe, just maybe, all of it has had some effect here. The deep snow and the forlorn old fort, blasted by the wind and the sea. Four boys loading the camper van and driving to Bohemia. The medieval French in the Montreal street signs. The full moon turning the road to silver in Finnygook. The bike rides through the thick, enveloping forest. Could it all be like when a flock of Starlings settled on the hour hand at Big Ben and stopped the clock, stopped time? On the 159 bus from Marble Arch to Brixton, the old man was talking to himself - and shouting to his fellow passengers: "You must elevate the listener! You have to put something on their plate! Something they can feed on in a dark hour!" Could this be what we have here? Have a listen while riding your bike to the fort through the forest in the snow. If it doesn't work then, it never will. |
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| Bob Dylan – Maggie's Farm Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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As losttango says, the original Dylan version clearly isn't about Margaret Thatcher, who was only a minister / shadow cabinet member at the time of its release. However, the cover by The Specials, released in December 1980, seems to apply the lyrics to Thatcher and politics in the UK at that time. |
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| X-Ray Spex – I Can't Do Anything Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| It always sounded like "Freddy" to me, qyola... I think "freedom" makes even less sense. | |
| Buzzcocks – Whatever Happened To? Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I interpret it as being a criticism of (and comment on) commercialisation, particularly that of emotions, sex, relationships etc. I don't understand the 'cow' bit though. Maybe it's just a rhyme for 'Mao'. |
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| Jeff Beck – Hi Ho Silver Lining Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I've no idea what it means, but the title surely refers to the TV series "The Lone Ranger", in which the title character used the phrase "Hi Ho Silver!" to address his horse (named Silver). The series would have been shown at the time Beck was growing up. | |
| British Sea Power – Waving Flags Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I agree with regulus43. I just wanted to add that in the CD booklet, 12 international maritime signal flags are shown above the lyrics. They spell the letters of the phrase "If not now, when?" |
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| Soulwax – NY Excuse Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Great song, and video too. I transcribed the words overlaid on the video, which I think illustrate the intention behind the lyrics: ==================================================== Excuse me! Excuse me! Excuse me! Every year we eat 7.3 billion burgers and 6570 acres of pizza. Every year we spend 18 billion dollars on ice cream. Every year we spend 50 billion dollars on weight loss programs. Every year we spend 18 billion dollars on pet food. Every year we spend $27,000,000,000 on making ourselves look good and 14 billion dollars on smelling nice. A car is born every 2 seconds. Every year we drink 500,000,000,000 litres of milk. Every day we slaughter 1,000,000 cows, 1,200,000 sheep, 2,800,000 pigs and 70,000,000 chickens. Every year we spend 260 billion dollars on cigarettes. Every year we spend 300 billion dollars on alcohol. Every year we spend 5,000,000,000 dollars on pain killers. Every year we spend 50,000,000,000 dollars on pornography, 3 billion dollars on viagra. Every year we spend 20,000,000,000 dollars on anti-depressants and 14 billion dollars on anti-phychotics. Every year we spend 161,000,000,000 dollars on breast implants. Kill people. Every day 137,000 new cars roll off the production line and we dump enough aluminium cans to build 7 jumbo jets. Every year we spend $150,000,000,000 on pharmaceutical drugs and $150,000,000,000 on street drugs. We buy 674,000,000 mobile phones and 10,000,000 cars. (fast repeat of earlier words) Every day we use 23,000,000 miles of toilet paper and 9,000,000,000,000 gallons of water to flush it away. Every hour we spend 100 million dollars on guns, bombs, mines, tanks and stuff to kill people. This is the excuse that we are making. Is it good enough for what you are paying? ==================================================== There are clearly anti-war, anti-waste, anti-drug messages from this. |
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