| Garth Brooks – Standing Outside The Fire Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I agree with Philomathetes. Kyriel, you seem to have misunderstood that “hot” or “dancing within the flame” and “cool” or “standing outside the fire” are primarily metaphors for the intensity of one’s passion, and only secondarily comments on one’s social standing. “Dancing within the flame” (hot) means being full of passion, taking risks romantically, and putting one’s heart and soul on the line for love. It may be foolish, it may make one weak, vulnerable, it may lead to sorrow and shame, to getting the opposite of what you hoped to get. “Standing outside the fire” (cool) means playing it safe romantically, always staying in control of oneself, protecting oneself and one’s feelings, and always carefully thinking things through. It may successfully prevent one’s heart from being damaged, lead to a fierce independence and internal strength, or prevent someone from getting emotionally destroyed. However, despite the risks involved with “dancing within the flame” and the judgment of many that it is better not to take romantic risks and “face the world alone,” Garth advocates taking the risk, letting one’s passions soar, and putting one’s heart on the line for love. While one has to be a tough person to risk being rejected or having their heart broken or being destroyed by their uncontrollable romantic passions, these are the only people who truly LIVE. Surviving, by never letting oneself feel passionately about another or by being too cautious, is not living. “Life is not tried, it is merely survived, if you’re standing outside the fire”. One should get in touch with that fire in one’s own soul, the love which, while uncontrollable and dangerous, is what gives life purpose, direction, and meaning. Those who try too hard to control their love are bound to miss the best things that real living has to offer. |
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| Michael Bublé – Everything Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The song's meaning in a nutshell: You are rare, unique, and beautiful (You're a fallen star). You are the one who gets me out of trouble (You're the getaway car). You are the one who keeps me from transgressing the appropriate boundaries (You're the line in the sand/When I go too far). You are the one who gives me relief from my discomfort and my problems (You're the swimming pool/On an August day). You are the one who makes me feel like I'm intelligent and clever (And you're the perfect thing to say). You pretend that you are less than the amazing girl that you are, but deep down you know better. I find this very attractive. You can tell how I feel about you and how much I love you. You know the affect that merely being who you are has on me. You can see this in my eyes (And you play it coy/But it's kinda cute/Oh when you smile at me/You know exactly what you do/Baby don't pretend/That you don't know it's true/'Cause you can see it when I look at you). You are fun to be around and make me feel like a kid again (You're a carousel). You make me feel hopeful about the future (You're a wishing well). You turn me on and make me feel good about myself (And you'll light me up/When you ring my bell). You are someone that, regardless of your wonderful qualities, I admit that I do not fully understand. Because of this you intrigue me and captivate my attention all the more. (You're a mystery/You're from outer space). I think about you all the time and I care more about you than anything else (You're every minute of my everyday). It is unbelievable, given who you are, that you love me too. That I get to be together with you (And I can't believe that I'm your man/And I get to kiss you baby just because I can). Our love is so strong, so deep, so powerful, that any problem we have in the future can be overcome (Whatever comes our way/We'll see it through/And you know that's what our love can do). These are tough times. Times that tend to make one not feel special, not feel unique, not feel in control, not know what one's limits are, not feel safe, not feel intelligent, not feel hopeful, not feel that one is able to relax and have fun, not feel excited, not feel able to connect to the mystery of life, not feel like one is able to have something to which one should dedicate oneself. (And in this crazy life/And through these crazy times) It is my love for you that gives meaning and purpose to my life. This song that I sing, all the songs that I sing, every line I say, every word I utter, all that I am is imbued, is inspired, is made wonderful by you. You are the real song and the song that I am singing and its words are merely a reflection of you. It is you, who you are, that is the greatest thing in the world. My song is merely my attempt to "sing along," to join in revealing the incomparable person that you are and the transforming affect that you have on my life (It's you, it's you/You make me sing/You're every line/You're every word/You're everything/You're every song/And I sing along/'Cause you're my everything). |
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| John Mayer – Belief Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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“Belief is a beautiful armor but makes for the heaviest sword. Like punching underwater, you never can hit who you're trying for. Some need the exhibition; some have to know they tried. It’s the chemical weapon for the war that’s raging on inside.” I believe this verse is the most difficult to understand and the most important one in the song, so I will try to explain it. JM is suggesting that beliefs, especially deeply held beliefs are “beautiful armor”—they protect those who hold them from being penetrated by others. Beliefs give us an inside, an identity. They allow us to be somebody, enclosed and protected in ourselves, this is their power and this is why “everyone believes”. They also give us a place from which we can resolutely defend ourselves when we are attacked. Nonetheless, like armor they can prevent us from really engaging with the beliefs of others, from being wounded by what is legitimate about what others believe. The real problem with beliefs however is when they are used as a sword, a weapon to attack others. The problem is that beliefs are “the heaviest sword” they are unwieldy, inaccurate, and dangerous when you try to use them to violently change others. Beliefs used as a sword are destructive—one can easily be led to kill innocent people, engage in unjust wars, oppress minorities, and torture unbelievers. Beliefs used as a weapon can be self-destructive as well— they "never can hit who you're trying for". When one wages war with one's beliefs, one often undermines everything that one holds dear. One weakens their country financially, morally, and politically. One destroys oneself and everything that one stands for. Why do people use beliefs in this aggressive, reckless way? Why do they believe that it is legitimate to violently force others to accept their beliefs? Why do people wage wars of aggression to try to force others to change their beliefs? Some have a deep need to exhibit what they believe to others; some have to feel like they are improving the world. But the road to hell on earth is paved with these good intentions. Trying to violently force one’s beliefs on others is really a symptom of a deep dissatisfaction and dividedness in oneself, a sign of the “war that’s raging on inside”. Those who at bottom are not really satisfied with who they are and not entirely confident in what they believe actually tend towards fanaticism and irrationalism which blinds them to the dangers of trying to impose their beliefs on others by means of violent force, jihad (in the bad sense of the term), preemptive war, etc. These people externalize their own internal battles in ways that lead to horrific consequences for themselves and innocent bystanders. Beliefs then, according to JM, are both good and bad things and very, very dangerous. They are the fire with which we must play to have an identity and, yet, they can easily destroy our identity and lead to horrific moral and political disasters, such as the war in Iraq, which JM mentions and alludes to several times in the song. |
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