| Anberlin – Never Take Friendship Personal Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Yep. Totally amazing song. Just got the CD, and it starts off with a bang. I like the substituting "in a sense" for "innocence." The meaning of the song is also great. Never take friendship personal. You can't expect everyone to be there for you if you don't even think it's worth their while. I don't think it's about how friend just mess up your life, that would be totally counter-productive in a message, but I do think that it's saying that you can't depend on people to get you want you want. The entire CD is pretty wonderfully themed after the idea of this song. | |
| The Classic Crime – Gravedigging Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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There's no doubt that this song is about a form of suicide. It gives mention to suicidal/witchcrafty rites such as "waiting for the planets to align" and "digging my star-crossed grave," but then, it also gives more typical but still somewhat hidden references to suicide "hang my head above the mantlepiece tonight," "looking for a sign in the headlights" (compare this to TCC song "Headlights" from Albatross, he uses the same imagery to talk about suicide,) "sitting by the train-tracks," and, of course, "poison pills." It's not about physical suicide, though, because needless to say, Matt MacDonald is still alive and this song is full of a passion that is not by any means staged. This song is a continuation of the first two Silver Cord songs, "The End" and "Just a Man" in which he talks about having lived a lie as a religious icon. But now he's ready to let that icon die, to start a new life. Such a process is painful and dark, like real suicide, but it is infinitely more worthwhile. Those who commit physical suicide are really looking for this spiritual form of suicide, although they may not know it. TCC is not a Christian band, but Matt is a Christian and he sings and writes all the songs, and it shows. So I don't hink I'm out of line by saying that we can compare this to the idea of baptism. That is, dying with Christ and putting our old selves behind, then being raised from the water in order to live a new life for God. As Christians we make it a kind of a trivial ceremony, but Matt puts forth the real spirit of what I think it is intended to be. It's a kind of dark reality to have died to yourself and determined to start over. |
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| The Classic Crime – Salt in the Snow Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I agree with everything you said. Good eye. | |
| The Classic Crime – Salt in the Snow Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Amazing song. I agree that it's about God. I can't imagine saying anything like "I've piled the dirt on your name" to a girl, but you could easily say it to the God that you've treated contemptuously. The Classic Crime is not a "Christian Band" but Matt MacDonald, who writes all the songs, is Christian and the theme comes out a lot in his music, hence references to the Bible. As for this song, I think he's turning back after having tried to go it alone without God, and hoping to be redeemed from his bad choices. "I have heard that winter's cold will give way to summer's warmth" meaning that good times will come eventually to counter the struggles he's been going through. "Oh no! Like salt in the snow, I'm melted and left all alone on the side of the road." But as salt melts snow, he's found himself still cold and alone because he's neglected to come to God. He's managed to melt the snow that he hoped would melt in the "summer's warmth", but it's left him ultimately alone all the same. Perhaps it could be about a relationship with a girl, but I think it would be stretching it to say so. The kind of passion and complicated implications portrayed in this song isn't typically how a man responds to a petty break-up with a girl. |
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| The Classic Crime – Warrior Poet Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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The enemy probably is Satan by extension, but I think it's a little more complicated than that. The entire Albatross album is amazing, almost entirely war-based. The idea that this life is a fight, and we have what is worth fighting for. But I think it's also talking about the world around us. How they "hunt down the rebels and punish them wrongfully." This world doesn't want non-conformists and will do anything to make them succumb to its powers. The only really unclear line for me is "you're never alone regardless of doubt, but faith comes so easy to some. Better luck next time." I think it means that not everyone can see that the faith is worth fighting for, and that no one is really ever alone. Maybe he's talking to himself when he says "better luck next time." as he's being blinded by the war. "Watch as the tear gas burns my eyes." That is an amazing part of the song. |
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| The Classic Crime – Just a Man Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I agree. This song is about a man who made himself a religious icon, thinking he could actually save people. It's a continuation of the first song on the Silver Cord, "The End," which talks about how "I am not worthy to be called your savior, I'm not going to catch all your pain, but to warn you, some may fall on my name." Now he realizes he's just a man, and people need Jesus because only Jesus is perfect. I love the first line, the practiced sincerity he's talking about is people who seem really genuine when they're just working up fake tears, something all those Christian Televangelists do sometimes. |
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| The Classic Crime – Everything Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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People are weird these days. Physical attraction immediately equals sex? I don't see that. He's lost in ecstasy over her body, but the song has nothing to do with sex. It's a purely mental state. It is talking about his wife, but even that doesn't mean that the song must be about sex. "I throw caution to the wind and suck your sweet poison." Matt McDonald uses this imagery a lot. "Strangely poetic like a black widow's kiss" -Blindfolded "Give me your poison pills, cause I'm digging my star-crossed grave tonight" -Gravedigging "I'll drink your poison and say 'I'm still not going away'" -All the Memories It's just imagery, it's not about drugs. Throwing caution to the wind is a bit of an old saying meaning that you do something without hesitation, not a moment of caution or reluctance. But mostly I think it's funny that everyone immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's about sex. |
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| The Classic Crime – Blindfolded Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I love this song, I think it goes really deep into not only a question of how to attain happiness, but also a common religious difficulty. "The conquest for bliss is as much hit or miss as it is skimming the fat off of our beliefs." I love that. He's saying that if all you're looking for is happiness, you're missing out on the whole point of these beliefs. It's not about just trying to be happy. He goes on to talk about how "my tongue cannot be trusted" because of his "constantly spreading my fear and my shame" that is, fear of sin and shame of it. Grace exists, but still he can't be trusted to not make it sound like a law or an agreement with God because that's what we so often take into our minds for granted. My favorite line is at the end. "I found out that proof itself was not full proof." That is so true! All the evidence in the world about the existence or non-existence of God pales in comparison to the personal experiences a person can have. Even if someone were to become religious based on "proof" it wouldn't be real religion. The personal experience is what matters. I do wish there had been more stuff like this on the Silver Cord, but it was really good anyway. |
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| Copeland – 12.20.99 Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Sounds like a girl he loved who died and he dreams of her at night, holding her in his arms. And "When God over us is done, he'll bring me straight to you." But I agree, I think he also says in a way that God brought them together. I've never heard this song either. Are there any Ev Angel CD's with this song still in existence? |
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| Copeland – Adisson's Walk Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is an amazing song! I've never heard it before. Ev Angel, you say? I'll have to look it up. It seems fairly straight forward. I love the line "I'd rather be with you than without you, within you than about you, and I come to find out you want the same." That's amazing, and so true! God doesn't want us to just be 'about' him. He doesn't want us to just be typical little Christians who do whatever the norm is for us. Sometimes it's what we're taught, but none of us really like that lifestyle. God wants us to be immersed in him, baptized, if you will, to be within him completely in an exclusive relationship. It's easy to settle for less, but you never will really want to in your deepest of hearts. |
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| The Lonely Forest – Stick Upon Stick (32nd Street Swamp) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is an amazing song. It tells a whole story. There's a mother who apparently wants to shield her child from the corruption of the world around him. They live underneath the weight of this "river of sin" but she has built "dam walls" to keep him from it. But, like all sons of such a story, he longs for freedom. One day he takes his opportunity. "Down came her tail when the boy learned to swim." She fears the worst for him, that he'll be taken by wolves or bears. Meanwhile, he continues swimming. "Everything new and beautiful." He marvels at this new=found freedom. And he's been through rough times, as is told by the "scars on his back, but his strength was near gone." "The scars were mere evidence of the freedom he felt in his life, but not in his heart." Marvelous words, these. He's regretting his behavior because he no longer feels free in his heart, though his freedom to go where he likes is now complete. I wonder if this song is about a real person? Someone who was raised on 32nd street in New York by an over-possessive mother trying to keep him from the evil of the world. That would make sense for the subtitle "32nd street swamp." |
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| The Lonely Forest – Tomato Soup Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I love this song to death. Easily one of my favorite Lonely Forest songs. The part where it really kicks in around "my hands are shaking" it reminds me of a theatrical song, all the parts kicking in in a wonderful melody. The meaning is quite difficult for me, but I love to ponder it. He realizes that his music is "in style for a while" at least, I think he's speaking of his music, and he finds himself just trying to be meaningful to his listeners, "Working hard to catch the rhythm of your beating heart, your body system." But now there's a girl who's trying to take advantage of this well-meaning. "Your eyes paralyze, don't tempt me, I'm vulnerable." His "hands are shaking at the possibility of using..." of using what? Perhaps of using his hands? Whatever it is, it isn't good. "I must remember who I am and what it took to realize I can't win this alone." He's been through dark times, thinking he could do everything alone, and finally realized he couldn't after much pain. but her beauty is in his mind, and he can't get rid of it. "I will not sleep tonight." But she wasn't there when his world was burning down, or his courage drowning. So he can't decide whether or not to have anything to do with her. |
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| The Lonely Forest – God Is Dead Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is a wonderfully sarcastic song, in my opinion. The chorus basically says we don't have a reason to live because we're living alone. God is dead because we killed him (a reference to Jesus Christ, who is the subject of "Regicide" I believe). And yet, it's not true. We all know that we do have a reason to live. All the more, those of us that know the truth know that we have nothing to fear from death because "I won't die alone." It's true that churches and morals represent weakness. He speaks sarcastically Oh, yeah, let's just tear them down. But it's obvious that these things mean something to our communities and to us as individuals (most of us). This song makes me think of Mark Antony's speech at the end of the play Julius Caesar. Everything he says, he means quite the opposite and proves it by following logic. |
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| The Lonely Forest – Centennial Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This is truly an amazing song. The guitar work is quite extraordinary. The meaning is more difficult to get behind, at least for me. I kind of like these puzzling songs. The first first definitely is talking about a relationship he had that faded because his heart was "being pulled at by another" and he didn't want to tell his girlfriend and break her heart, but he knews it's the best thing he can do. She "deserves to hear it all from the start." He goes on to talk about the circumstances surrounding his new-found love. "I was on my own, I was living to love you. For the first time I was home in the world of my mother, we spoke to eachother, from the tone in your voice I foresaw. You and I were on our way out!" So just in talking to her he realizes that the relationship is fading. Now, in the song "We Sing in Time" he uses the words "Sing the Body Electric" in the context of Ray Bradbury's sense, that is, the body itself is becoming machinized because of modernization. But I wonder if he's using them here ini the original Walt Whitman sense? the poem "I Sing the Body Electric" by Walt Whitman was written before electricity was discovered. It simply meant "I sing of the body in rapid action" the poem speaks of the body under physical strain. If so, this speaks of the beauty of the body in a similar sense. My favorite part is the second verse. The greek story of Narcissus tells how he fell in love with himself by a lake and stayed there till he died. Afterward his skeleton becomes a flower. "Will I have the skeleton to show that I lived a lie decieving my lover to the day that I die?" Incredible! |
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| The Lonely Forest – Blackheart vs Captain America Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Amazing, Amazing Song! I'm not sure what the title has to do with it, perhaps it's just referring to the influence that Blackheart (or, perhaps, the devil) has over the average American (seeing as how there is an unusually hight amount of suicides in America year after year. This song is about suicide. Someone feels over come by life and by the urge to end it all. "I'd love to slip away until all the others see are photographs." He's tempted to down a pill and "let the current take mae away to Zion," or, heaven. Still, he has single-minded determination. He speaks as though lying on a battle-field with a near-fatal wound. "Light of day, it warms my wounds and I will not die here." He speaks of how relieving death could be, but then tells himself "don't be afraid to live." That's what it is, cowardice, to kill yourself. It's being afraid to live, even with the pain. He goes on to talk about all the good a person can do, and how worthy life is to be a part of it. I think the next line pertains to what many Christians believe about their religion. It's the idea that we all become identical in Christ. "Instead you stay where everybody looks the same. And you thank God for that?" That's boring!" Is what he's saying. But then he goes on about his own religious beliefs. "I long for the day when I can proudly say I never judged a face. Then I'd feast with anyone, or two, or three, from anyplace. And I thank God for that!" He's thanking God that insdeed we are all so very different from one another. With that in mind, he continues to talk about how we should help one another despite, and even because of, the differences that separate us. "PLease, God, spring up in my the need to see the importance of another's world. Neither right or wrong or here or there. Just breathing guarantees the life to voice their heart, 'I want to live!'" He's saying that others might have different religious beliefs, and that indeed, that's good. And we all have the desire to live and be of importance. "Then I turn to face the world." Perhaps to continue the war that life is, the war that brought him thus far. This was way too long an explanation, I know, but it's all I see in this marvelous song. |
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| The Lonely Forest – Idiocy Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song relates entirely a few lines at the end of "Nuclear Winter." Someone on board the ship, perhaps the hero himself, has said "We will come back to take revenge for our families, for our world gone by. Enemies must die!" This song is the realization that it was this kind of thinking that corrupted our world in the first place. The literal definition of idiocy is doing one thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That's what this song's about. "You don't want to be wise, and you don't listen." You don't realize that that same hatred is exactly what corrupted the old world. | |
| The Lonely Forest – Nuclear Winter Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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This person forgot a few lyrics near the end. "We will come back to take revenge for our families, for our world gone by. Enemies must Die!" This is a key to the seemingly meaningless lyrics to the next song "Idiocy." Anyway, as for this song, it is pretty straight forward. They're headed to the portal at the Cygnus Northern Cross where a prophetic dream tells him he will find a new world. It's a great and powerful song about the corruption of the world and the desire to escape from it all, and finally being able to do it. But also the fear of leaving all he knows behind him. |
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| The Lonely Forest – Opium Blues Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This person wants to believe in God, but doesn't know how to go to Him with their problems. The Christians seem to all tell him about this God of Love, but they do nothing for him themselves. They can't even help him take away his pain. "The drugs do what the friends cannot." It's a sad, but honest song, about how hated these people can be by the Christian crowd, and yet how they really do want to know the answer and have gone about in in a terribly wrong way. | |
| Copeland – Chin Up Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It is an amazing song. The act of keeping your chin up puts strain on your neck, but this is about a person so wanting to keep her chin up (be happy and proud) that she'd break her neck (do anything to death). In an interview, Marsh said it was about someone who kept pretending to be happy with the way her life panned out, but sadly looking at how disappointed she is on the inside. I think it's open to interpretation, though. I almost thought it was a good thing. As some others said, the determination to keep on going although life gets rough. By the way, in my opinion, the demo is soooo much better than the built-up "You are my Sunshine" version. |
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| Copeland – Careful Now Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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He's asking God to either leave him alone, or be shallow and easy to get along with. He just want God to make a list for him of to-dos, rather than insist on the whole relationship that God wants to have with his children. He realizes that he doesn't always know right from wrong, that's what he means by "I don't know how to feel." Then when he says "Careful now, you'll hurt yourself" and "someone else" he's talking to himself I believe, saying "you don't know what you're asking for." My favorite part is "when I don't know how to find myself in open air, where I'm all alone." He's talking about the confusing parts of religion "things that don't make sense." And the open air is something new to him, he's so used to shallow religion. At least that's what I see, and I relate mightily to this song. |
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| Copeland – California Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song is about Aaron Marsh's girlfriend, Paula, for whom the song "When Paula Sparks" also was written. Hence the words "starved for your attention" appear in both songs. It is an amazing song altogether. There's just a few songs that I insist on all my friends liking. This is one of them. And yes, where the guitars kick in, all rock breaks loose. It is so incredible. | |
| Copeland – By My Side Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This song isn't as straight forward as you might think. It's interesting that the song relates to "Sleep" but it's also part of the amazing concept-album, "Eat, Sleep, Repeat" which is like a whole story itself. In the context you see someone who is quite new to this kind of love who has only experienced the childish selfish sensual love that is so common these days and is finally overcome by the real passion. It's also clear that he's realizing how at fault he is, he speaks of himself as "a fool with a fondness for pain." In some ways he doesn't want to look back to where he fell in real love for teh first time because it's damaging on his old selfish pride. | |
| Copeland – Brightest Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This is an amazinng song and pretty straight forward. Copeland is truly awesome. | |
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