| Iron & Wine – The Trapeze Swinger Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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This song is about is a dying person, with their life flashing before their eyes. The dying person is remembering glimpses of different, disjointed parts of his life (playing as kids, when he was a baby, one Halloween, being taken to the circus, being in love, etc.), and hoping all the people in his life will remember him. This is all mixed with images of heaven and the afterlife which captures the fear of the dying person as they approach the unknown. Lyrics like "I'll do my best to make a drawing" and "Tell my mother not to worry" speak to his promise to try his best to let those still living know he's OK, should he reach heaven. |
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| The Decemberists – January Hymn Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| This is a song about the cycle of the seasons, and how in the winter he wishes spring (April) would return. He misses it and thinks of all the things he wish he had done before it left. But he realizes that wishing time moved faster is pointless, instead he should just "let it be", and "maybe it will all come back to me", as in being accepting of the inevitable turning of time, and spring will return as she (it) always does. | |
| Radiohead – You and Whose Army? Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I think this song is clearly about Masada. Story goes that about 900 Jewish rebels holed up in a mountaintop fortress and held off the entire Roman army until the Romans finally breached the walls, to discover that all the Jewish rebels had committed suicide. If you read the lyrics it is told from the point of view of one of the rebels... they are in a hopeless situation but still defiant. |
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| Radiohead – Knives Out Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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So this song to me is clearly about a mean-spirited parent talking to their kid, who they feel is a weakling. The parent clearly looks on the kid with disdain and disgust. The basic message is: "READ MY LIPS, kid. Life sucks, everything dies and you'd better get used to it... you either kill or be killed. You either eat or get eaten". |
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| The Decemberists – June Hymn Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I actually thought it was "card in all maroon" also until I read the lyrics in the CD. I don't think "cardinal maroon" makes as little sense as you seem to think... he is looking out his window on an early summer day and sees a cardinal. I don't think it has to actually be IN his living room, he is just enjoying the beauty of nature and the arrival of summer. |
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| Radiohead – High and Dry Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think this is a song written from the perspective of the wife/girlfriend of a daredevil motorcycle jumper. She is asking him to stop jumping, before he kills himself or paralyzes himself in an accident. He is killing himself for recognition, but the fans don't really care about him, they will hate and spit at him once he is injured and can no longer entertain them. "The best thing that you ever had" - is his wife, his family, his health. She wants him to realize this before he kills or maims himself. |
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| Dream Academy – Life In A Northern Town Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song is amazing, never gets old no matter how many times you hear it. I know it is about Nick Drake but for me personally this song makes me think of walking down the street in Reykjavik... it just has that feeling of being in a far-off northern place |
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| Bruce Springsteen – Bishop Danced Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| This is really just a nonsense singalong, could almost be a fractured sort of kids story... awesome nonetheless because you can tell how much fun Bruce has performing it | |
| Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Looks like this is the title track of Bruce's new album! Great song - love how it starts out as a cute little tribute to Giants Stadium (was written and performed when Bruce was playing the last shows before it was demolished for the new stadium next door)... but in the end the song becomes Bruce's royal eff-you to old age. Awesome. |
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| The Decemberists – June Hymn Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Keeping in mind that the word "hymn" is a song of praise or joy... seems clear that this song is a simple ode to spring (as January Hymn" is an ode to winter). These songs are obviously bookends in a sense and have different feelings to them, just as spring and winter do... although they both have the sense of looking back and remembering with fondness. In the second verse of January Hymn, the narrator strikes me as an old man looking back fnodly to his childhood memories of winter... while in this song he is a younger man singing of the joys of Spring and wondering if he will still feel that joy as an old man... |
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| Neutral Milk Hotel – April 8th Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Actually I think it is written from the lonely man's point of view, who is looking at the widow's window and wishing she would invite him up so he could not be lonely anymore. I don't get the sense of a happy ending - I feel that he is imagining a happy ending as he stands in the street, but will in fact remain alone for his whole life. | |
| Neutral Milk Hotel – A Baby for Pree Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Saw Jeff Mangum perform this song the other night, and he said it was a song he wrote for his friend who had a baby. I think this is really just a beautiful, happy song about the beauty of motherhood and childbirth... the loveliness of a woman who is pregnant, the force of life coming from within her... the way each little baby will now be the heart of her life ("she will be swimming in them all forevermore"). The imagery is of pregancy, conception, labor, birth, and love... it is not about deformed babies or abortion or any other such thing IMO. |
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| The Decemberists – January Hymn Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Surprised so many think this is about a woman or a relationship. Seems clear to me he is singing about being sad about winter and how far off spring seems. What were the words I meant to say before you left? When I could see your breath lead where you were going to - I meant to do more before summer ended... as summer changes to Fall you can start seeing people's breath... Maybe I should just let it be and maybe it will all come back to me Sing oh January oh! - Just be in the moment, stop pining for the Spring and it will come back (remember seasons is a main theme of King is Dead). |
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| Modest Mouse – Missed the Boat Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song IMO is about people obsessing over what happens after death, and completely "missing the boat" on what really matters - life. By the time we realize it (when we are at the point of death) - it's too late. The whole "tiny man tells a little joke" part... basically the anti-climactic end to life. There is no big eternal reward (or better said, there is no way to be sure, hence the "I'm certainly uncertain" part). You get a wake, people tell some jokes and stories about you, and then they go on with their lives. |
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| Radiohead – 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Yorke just repeats "You have not been paying attention" over and over again... not sure where you are getting "I needed attention" and "Yeah I love it, the attention" from.... |
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| Radiohead – A Wolf at the Door (It Girl. Rag Doll) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I agree with JohnBearClaw - this song is in essence a stream-of-consciousness littany of a father's endless fears for his children. The fears never stop (the lyrics reflect his racing mind), to the point they almost can drive him crazy ("call a doctor, put me inside"). He tries to keep the wolf at bay (keep bad things from happening to his family) but no matter what he does the fears are always there. I think this song is one of Radiohead's most amazing. |
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| Radiohead – Everything in Its Right Place Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This is probably way off-base, but the part where he keeps repeating "What was that you tried to say?", there is weird keyboard music playing in the background (sounds like "baaaa-ba-ba-ba"). Those sounds keep getting faster and more frantic as he keeps repeating "Tried to say"... In my mind I get the image of someone trying to communicate frantically to someone else, but they can't understand them. As if someone is saying "Help me" or something like that. |
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| Radiohead – Idioteque Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I have seen too much I haven't seen enough You haven't seen it I think this is him thinking about the children... he (as an adult) has already seen too much but still feels like he hasn't seen enough. The children haven't seen anything, and yet they will die in the bunker (the bunker being a metaphor for nuclear war, which is what it will be like when the entire planet dies from climate change...) Ice age coming Ice age coming Let me hear both sides Let me hear both sides Let me hear both Ice age coming Ice age coming Throw it on the fire Throw it on the fire Throw it on the I think this is Thom's frustration at the endless debate over global warming... everyone wants to "hear both sides" and endlessly debate and do nothing while the planet is dying. He is saying they can take all their stupid debates, and try throwing them on the fire when it is too late. Here I'm allowed Everything all of the time Here I'm allowed Everything all of the time The stupidity of humans... we think we can have everything with no concern to the impact on the planet. |
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| The Decemberists – The Bagman's Gambit Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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My interpretation is different than many of the others that have been posted here... I take it to be a story of one-sided love, with the spy character using the narrator for his own selfish purposes. The narrator falls in love with the Russian spy and basically spends his life doing things for him (I agree that it is likely 2 men). Whenever the spy gets in trouble he calls him, because he knows he'll do anything for him because he is so in love. However I do not get the sense that the love is returned. The narrator dreams of his love, and imagines him as a picture of perfection. He is so infatuated he cannot see he is being used. At the end, he sees him one more time in a car after 10 years... and the spy just waves an arm and keeps going. The spy is living his life and has pretty much forgotten about the narrator. He no longer needs any favors. Even the refrain "They'll never catch me now", seems to hint at the spy's selfishness. Notice it is not "they'll never catch US now" - he was never really planning a future for the two of them, only himself. |
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| The Decemberists – Eli, the Barrow Boy Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I interpreted it that Eli loved this woman from afar, perhaps she was from a higher class and so he could never approach her Hence he wished he had the money to buy her the things she was used to. Then she died, and he killed himself over a broken heart. The fact that they were buried separately made me think that perhaps they never actually met, and that she was buried in a fancier family plot while he was laid in the poor folks' church yard. Love this song... |
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| Neutral Milk Hotel – Two-Headed Boy Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I do think this song is about 2 young lovers separated because the girl (Anne Frank?) is in a concentration camp. The boy could represent Peter, or another boy, or even Mangum himself. Some of the verses are from the girl's point of view - she is thinking of him and telling him she can hear him from her cell, and she is imagining they are playing music and dancing together as they used to. Others verses are from the boy's point of view - he is also thinking of her in the night, but his thoughts of her are mixed with the morbid and tragic thoughts that come to him, as he combines thoughts of his love for her, with visions of what may be happening to her in the camp. So he starts out thinking of making love to her ("In the dark we will take off our clothes"), but his mind quickly flashes to her starved body being manhandled by Nazi guards ("And they'll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine"). He imagines playing sweet music for her ("Creating a radio played just for two, In the parlor with a moon across her face, And through the music he sweetly displays, Silver speakers that sparkle all day"), but then quickly his mind flashes to horrific thoughts of her being gassed to death ("Made for his lover who's floating And choking with her hands across her face") All in all one of the most heartbreaking songs ever written, it literally moves me to tears every time I hear it. |
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| The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"Stand up straight at the foot of your love I lift my shirt up Stand up straight at the foot of your love I lift my shirt up" Very ambiguous lyrics, but for me it presents a collection of images from childhood... the image of a young boy standing at his mother's feet. His mother telling him to stand up straight. Him lifting his shirt up to show his belly to his mother (something little boys love to do). "I still owe money to the money to the money I owe I never thought about love when I thought about home" I think he is now an adult and thinking about all his parents did for him, and how he can never possibly repay them. He didn't realize it before. |
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| Arcade Fire – Modern Man Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Definitely seems to be a commentary on the dehumanizing effect of the modern technological age we live in. "And you feel so right But how come you can't sleep at night? In line for a number but you don't understand Like a modern man" The lyrics actually bring to my mind the lines of people waiting in line at an Apple store for the latest gadget. You think getting the latest thing will make you happy, but in reality all the technology only makes you feel stressed and isolated. We can't understand why the technology doesn't make us happy of fulfilled. |
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| Arcade Fire – Rococo Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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There is a brief clip of this song in the preview for the MSG show on 8/5 (which will be streamed LIVE on Youtube!). Check it out it is an awesome promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AtDLr1cJf4 |
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| Arcade Fire – In the Backseat Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"My family tree's Losing all its leaves" slowly one by one her family members are dying "Crashing towards the driver's seat The lightning bolt made enough heat To melt the street beneath your feet" this most recent death of Alice was the most traumatic, like a bolt of lightning made her finally realize that everyone she has depended on as a child will eventually die, and that she has no choice but to take the wheel and finally drive (live her life on her own). |
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| Arcade Fire – (Antichrist Television Blues) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Good point, I catch that meaning also, especially from the "How come nothing tastes good?" line. The point I get is that this creepy parent is trying to fulfill his dreams of glory through his kid. Even when he gets what he wants, there is no satisfaction because a) it is not his talent but his kid's so there is no accomplishment and b)he knows he is pimping out his kid for his own gain. |
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| Arcade Fire – (Antichrist Television Blues) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song really gave me new appreciation for Win's vocals. The way he changes his voice when he is addressing the daughter, soft and fake-protective... and then the venom with which he spits out the final verse ("Any idea where I was at your age?"). Pretty amazing vocal performance. As for the lyrics, I think the 1st couple of verses, about working downtown, are about the father who doesn't want to be a working stiff in some lame non-descript office building with underground parking. He is thinking of all those suckers who got killed on 9/11, while working their sad and dreary office jobs... he plans to use his daughter to avoid that same fate. |
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| Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #2 (Laika) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I am probably way off base, but I interpret the song to be about a rebellious older brother who sets out with grand plans and who basically has no use for his family (they are too staid and boring for him). Then, something happens, such as a tragic illness or accident, and Alex is forced to return home and live with his family. Because he resents now having to depend on his family, he starts fights with them. For some reason I imagine him paralyzed or in a wheelchair, and since he can no longer dance, he enjoys watching the neighbors, imagining them to be "dancing in the police disco lights". Like I said, I'm probably way off - but either way an amazing song. |
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| Pink Floyd – Time Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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"Home, home again I like to be here when I can When I come home cold and tired It's good to warm my bones beside the fire Far away across the field The tolling of the iron bell Calls the faithful to their knees To hear the softly spoken magic spells" I think this part is about how when you get old, and you realize you can't run any more, you turn to religion to face the fears of death. |
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| Pearl Jam – Off He Goes Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song is about an old friend who is too restless to stand still. He can't just be happy living the same regular life most people live. He thinks his happiness must be "out there" somewhere. So he's always traveling, always searching, unable to put down any roots. The last verse explains it. His friend comes home, and for a while things seem ok... but then he sees that same restless look creep into his friend's face. Immediately he knows that his friend has already decided to leave again. Even though his friend is still sitting there in body, in spirit he is already gone. ("Before his first step, he if off again.") I've known people like this, who just can't make themselves fit into regular life, and so spend their live searching. It reminds me of the main character from Into the Wild. |
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| Fountains of Wayne – All Kinds Of Time Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This song is about youth and growing older. "All kinds of time" is obviously a double meaning. The QB feels young, strong, invincible, immortal. His whole life of possibilities lay out before him. It seems to me a sad and wistful song. Perhaps it's being sung by an older person who is watching the QB and thinking back to when he was young, his whole life was ahead of him, and he still had "all kinds of time". |
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