| Johnny Flynn – I Am Light Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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"And the swell of my seas is the call of all being" The rise and fall our emotions is the reason we exist. The cycle will always be there. We will sink and rise with the flow our lives. "And the sun brings me through and the moon drives the waves" The sun (son?) gives us reason to persist. There would be no value to that persistence without the moon to give us the motion to compare it to. There would be no high to life if the moon—the sadness—did not provide the lows. "And the pull of my heart to the stars I keep seeing" As you approach the swell, the boat points upward. Your heart longs for the sun, the stars. The stars are only apparent to you when the moon is out. And suddenly you realize you have not just your sun, but so many other suns and reasons to live. "I am light, I am dark, I am no more afraid" The cycle continues, and life will move on. You'll get through this swell, and there will undoubtedly be another one. The seas will still call you, and you will survive them. "We are off for all time, we are off and still feeling" The cycle continues and will always continue. "Praise the lord, we are one, as the night turns to day" The connection we have with our loved ones is what drives us. We are one with our family. We are the result of everything that has happened, and will be a part of everything that comes to be. Sink and float, they are still there for you. You move to help them move and they will always be there to keep your head above water. Your Sun will never sink, no matter how high the swell. "Every night as I sleep and I know that I love you You are here as I sleep, I am no more afraid" Your Sun will never sink. |
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| Red Hot Chili Peppers – Can't Stop Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I really think you're interpretation nails this perfectly. I had my theories at first, but I never really that far into the lifestyle that drug addicts have, so I don't know a lot of phrases or slang used. A few things I disagree with, though: "Go write your message on the pavement" and "go ask the dust for any answers" kind of strike me as him being face down in the dirt near death. I could be wrong, though. "Cop top" I'm pretty sure is a reference to the police, although I'm not sure in what context. Police used to be called "Copper tops" a while ago. "White heat is screaming in the jungle" seems to more reference the agony drug addicts suffer through when their bodies don't get the drugs. |
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| Iron & Wine – Upward Over the Mountain Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Oh god, your interpretation is so incredibly in tune with mine. Smart people, man. Smart people. | |
| Iron & Wine – Upward Over the Mountain Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Iron & Wine – Upward Over the Mountain Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I have this thing about interpreting songs. I do them line by line, as I feel this gives me a chance to full explain what I mean. That being said, here we go: "Mother don't worry, I killed the last snake that lived in the creek bed" I believe Sam Beam has a hidden tendency about his words. Any time he mentions "snake" or "creek", I fully believe he is referencing the male and female anatomy, respectively. Now, when he says "killed" in this line, I have a hard time interpreting it. Part of me thinks he's done trying to have kids. He's had 4 girls, and I think this song is about a silent impatience he has about not having a sun. A form of very...very hard to read irony. Either this, or his mother wishes for him to have a son, and this is him telling her it's not going to happen. "Mother don't worry, I've got some money I saved for the weekend" This is obviously him referencing his children, assuring his mother that he has enough to provide for them, and then some. "Mother, remember being so stern with that girl who was with me?" I don't believe this is him saying his mother disapproved of the woman he chose to be in his life. I believe this is him referencing his mother making (probably half-joking) demands of the woman. Give that this is entirely about "sons", I think it is very well possible that he might talking about a time in which his mother told his wife that she better produce a son. This is what I feel flows with the rest of the song. "Mother, remember the blink of an eye, when I breathed through your body?" I was happy to see that mostly everyone knew this was referencing when he was still inside the womb. How brief it was compared to raising him, seeing him grow, seeing him evolve. He's his own person now, and he is referencing how brief all memories are. They no longer exist beyond briefly remembering them, quicker than a blink of an eye. "So may the sunrise bring hope, Where it once was forgotten Sons are like birds, Flying upward over the mountain" Believe or not, the chorus is the easiest part of the song to interpret. This is one of my favorite things about Sam Beam. He focuses on content, rather than a catchy sound. The first line is entirely about looking forward to the future. Sunrise obviously meaning "tomorrow" (future). The second line is a reference to a person's desire to be independent. To build their own future. "Mother, I made it up from the bruise of a floor of this prison" I think this has a double meaning. "Floor of this prison" is a reference to not only life in general, but the poverty he was struck with earlier in life. He didn't have much when he was younger, but instead of pitying himself, he used his background to progress and learn. He made the best of what he had, basically. "Mother, I lost it, all of the fear of the Lord I was given" Him referencing his segregation from his former, religion-centered life. His mother encourage a god, and this is him explaining further his love and desire for being his own person. I believe this is also him saying that he no longer believes in a self-entitled authority over him, including herself. "Mother forget me, Now that the creek drank the cradle you sang to" This is what set it for me in believing that he is referencing the feminine side of reproduction when he says "creek". The cradle she sang is clearly a euphamism for himself, and the creek drinking him? Well. I would hate to be crude when talking about such a beautiful song, so I'll just say this is about him and his girlfriend reproducing. He's telling his mother to realize that he has his own family now, and she shouldn't express her "motherly" worry for him. "Mother forgive me, I sold your car for the shoes that I gave you" This is the part that has my brain thinking, as I'm not sure how to interpret it. If it's literal, I think he's saying "You gave me something, and I want you to finally forgive me for trading that in to return the favor." However, if it's not literal, the only thing I can possibly think it means is something immensely abstract. The car he's referencing his her raising him. Bringing him up to speed. Teaching him everything and shaping him into the person he is. The shoes he's referencing is his regret that he taught her next to nothing. He slowed her down. She did all this for him as a parent, and he had nothing to return in her favor except a slow walk while she watches him raise his own family. "Mother, don't worry, I've got a coat and some friends on the corner" This is the only line that I really can't understand. If I had to guess, I'd say he is saying "I have the necessities I need" and maybe trying to make a subtle pass that he can always ask the sketchy people he knows to help in case things turn out for the worse. That can't be right. I just don't know about this line. "Mother, don't worry, She's got a garden we're planting together Mother, remember the night that the dog had her pups in the pantry? Blood on the floor and the fleas on their paws and you cried 'til the morning." The reason I included all of these at the same time is because I believe it is all part of the same euphemism. The same story, I guess. When he speaks about the garden they're planting together, this is also another reference to his children. Him and his wife have their own family. They're raising them, helping them grow, helping them learn, protecting them. Their own little garden. And he's...*ahem*...planting them. And he is comparing this to a dog having her pups. They start off scrounging, down, in poverty. Blood on the floor, fleas in their paws, is a homage to the earlier lyrics "bruise of the floor". The blood became a bruise. It slowly got better. And again, he made the best of the situation. |
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| Radical Face – Welcome Home Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I'm actually surprised at the variance in interpretation of this song, as I thought the title of it made it pretty straightforward. I suppose we all have our own perspectives, though. I do think that anyone that mentioned it being about returning to a "childhood home" is pretty much right on the money. "Sleep don't visit, so I choke on sun And the days blur into one And the backs of my eyes hum with things I've never done" This is quite honestly the only verse in the song that I have a problem with making sense of, but as far as I can see, he is talking about just arriving at his old home, where he grew up. He can't manage to get to sleep because he's spending all his visit thinking about the memories he has of this place. "And the days blur into one" is quite obviously about his memories, all blurring into one. Never to return to again. "And the backs of my eyes" is probably referencing his brain, remembering things that he did or did not experience. "Sheets are swaying from an old clothesline Like a row of captured ghosts over old dead grass Was never much but we made the most Welcome home" Of course signifying specific memories he had of his old home. Clarifying his family's old struggles not with disdain, but optimism. They didn't have much, but they did what they could. "Ships are launching from my chest Some have names but most do not If you find one, please let me know what piece I've lost" This is about relationSHIPS, with "launching from my chest" meaning his heart. Some of them were lasting, some of them he loved, but most of them were just passing flings. The last line of the stanza I believe is him saying he wants to know how these relationships all failed. It's not that he wants them back, he just doesn't fully understand how/what happens to people to make them sever ties. I don't fully believe this is about people he dated, but moreso relationships in general, including friendships. "Heal the scars from off my back I don't need them anymore You can throw them out or keep them in your mason jars I've come home" Him telling of his past harmful experiences, those behind him. He's done fretting about them, they're not important anymore. He's in a place comfortable to him, where he is protected from his "mental" scars, or they are at LEAST kept at bay while he is here, Home. "All my nightmares escaped my head Bar the door, please don't let them in You were never supposed to leave Now my head's splitting at the seams And I don't know if I can" This stanza I believe both emphasizes the last one, and clarifies why exactly he came back. Clearly, he lost someone dear to him, most likely a parent, as the "you" he is referencing in this song is most definitely either his mother or father. He is struggling dealing with his loss. "Here, beneath my lungs, I feel your thumbs press into my skin again" This seems to be the line that everyone has the most trouble with, but as soon as I heard it the first time, I immediately knew what he was talking about. When a parent picks up their child, where do they grab them? From beneath the lungs. Their thumbs press into them. He is obviously looking back with fondness to his former life. Being home, secure, at peace. He's never surprised when someone lets him down, but he has a place to fall back on when it's too much for him to handle. |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – Fake Frowns Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This is quite obviously not about a party guilty of DWI. As always Ben is speaking metaphorically, comparing how similar ending a relationship is to judging a guilty person. The fact that "Fake Frowns" is even mention in this should have guided you to that. |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – Doors Unlocked and Open Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – Monday Morning Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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"She may be young but she only likes old things And modern music it ain’t to her tastes She loves the natural light Captured in black and white She sees mirages of mountain ranges Within the blink of her eye it changes Back to the open plain Oh no she can’t explain" Pretty simple, but extravagant and indescribable at the same time. This is just a scratch on the surface of his perception of love. "I cry out love keep your arms around me I am a bird that’s in need of grounding I’m built to fly away I never learned how to stay" Another self-explanation. It's not hard to interpret, but to truly describe and understand the concept behind this is impossible. "The night is gonna fall and the vultures will surround you" Probably a metaphor for those times we stay up at night thinking about life and how far we've come. I'm sure everyone can relate to this. "And when you’re looking in the mirror what you see is gonna astound you" Getting older, noticing different features, etc. "But all these lines and greys refine, They are the maps of our design Of what began on a Monday morning" He seems pretty keen on the idea that life and humans are essentially genetics. Our bodies progress and our minds learn based on different branches of our DNA doing different things. As far as "Monday Morning" I'm guessing he is using this to represent the start of all things, as that is when the week starts, on Monday. I'm not entirely sure as to why the song shifted gears from talking about love to genetics/evolution, but I'm almost certain he is saying we should appreciate the people we meet given that they became people we know and love and it is absolutely fascinating, the chances of finding someone who so complements and benefits your own genetic "map". |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – Doors Unlocked and Open Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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"Isolations, dotted lines Seas of concrete, wild eyes Streaking colors, blurred to one Always moving, blinding sun Blinding sun Cold discomfort, safety glass Seasons turning, dying grass California, gilded crowns Mile markers, counting down" Pretty sure this is an obvious metaphor for his life on the road as a musician. "Isolations" is probably about how lonely he feels, not being in touch with the outside world. "Dotted lines, and seas of concrete" are quite clearly a metaphor for the road. "Streaking Colors" and "Blinding Sun" are things you'll probably see a lot of on the road. "Cold discomfort" probably has a double-meaning, as I can't imagine the tour bus is all the lively or warm (air conditioning). "Safety glass"...I'm pretty sure tour busses have safety glass for windows, due to the fact that they want to remain safe from either car crashes, or God forbid, some crazed gunman on the interstate (unlikely, I know). I'm sure he sees "California" often, given his career. "Gilded Crowns" probably means he feels as some people make the band into something that it isn't, as I'm pretty sure "gilding" means you are making decorative fixtures out of objects that aren't really worth all that much. "Mile markers, counting down"? Yeah, he's definitely talking about being on the road traveling. "Somewhere down, down, down in the ocean of Sound" This goes along with the tour bus theory. He's talking about his career as a musician. "We'll live in slow-motion, And be free" Here is where it gets tricky for me. I'm not sure if he is suggesting that he feels as if he is living in slow motion and wants others to do the same, or if he is desiring to get to that point where life is slowly passing him by. As in, he feels like everything is moving to fast for him at his current stage in his career. Maybe. Like I said, that part's tricky for me. "With doors unlocked an opened" If he is still talking about his career, this is undoubtedly his remorse for signing to a label. Major labels tend to fuck musicians over in a lot of ways (that I don't necessarily care to elaborate on at the moment), and he wants to reach that point where he no longer is required to do certain things with his music. It seems like he made Music into an occupation just to become more well-known, and he is certainly looking forward to it returning to a hobby that he has full control of. |
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| Death Cab for Cutie – For What Reason Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I'm going to tackle this line by line with my interpretation. This is going based off of personal experience, and it seems to me that everything about this song fit with what happened, so that is the reason that I believe this. "This won't be the last you'll hear from me; it's just the start" Ben is obviously enraged, and firmly declares that he isn't through destroying her. He doesn't necessarily wish her any physical harm, but he is set on destroying the idea he had of her perfection. "I hope that he keeps you up for weeks like you did to me" This where he reveals the most frustrating part of his dilemma. He spent a lot of time thinking about her. What she might be doing. Where she might be. Not answering phone calls. Unexplained absences. "I will hold a candle up to you to singe your skin" He is ridding her life of her. Destroying everything he had that reminded him of her, because it hurt too much to see it. I'm particular to the Burning the Pictures theory. "Brace yourself; I'm bent with bitterness we can't foresee" This is where I am convinced that he is not speaking to her literally, but only to the Idea he has of her. He viewed her as perfect, and this image is what he is telling to brace itself. He will destroy it because he now understands that this image never truly existed (See "Only" by Nine Inch Nails) "When your apologies fail to ring true" Pretty self explanatory. She is saying 'sorry' for the transgressions she was committing (probably the lack of interest in the relationship), but it's similar to how a person says 'I'm sorry this happened to you' when someone has a bad day. They don't truly feel it is their fault, but they do feel a form of guilt for it happening. "So slick with that sarcastic slew Of phrases like 'I thought you knew'" This is quite possibly the most revealing part of the song. This girl was distant. She was distant on purpose so she didn't have to feel guilty IF (very important key word: IF) she had to eventually let him down. "While keeping me in hot pursuit" She obviously wanted and told him to keep trying. She probably said something along the lines of 'Don't let me push you away', and encouraged him to stick to that. He kept trying to get her to Truly be in the Relationship. He continued to say endearing things and loving compliments, and she accepted, despite her hidden agenda. "Tracing the plot finds Skin touching skin" This is also a key part in the song. He is looking back during this time in which she kept him in pursuit, and realizes that these unexplained absences, this Disdain that she spoke with...she wanted to/was fucking someone else the entire time. She didn't necessarily cheat on him. They may not (and probably weren't) Officially Together, but she was definitely stringing him along while she was fucking this other guy. That bitch. "Absence follows." This is probably a reference to the Disdain that the distant one speaks with towards a person that they are not truly in love with. She never respond to his calls or anything because she was either she was in the vicinity of the guy she was fucking, or she continued to lose interest in Ben, and therefore, continued to lose interest in answering his calls. "In the end I win every time This ink remains" He feels he is on the higher ground in this situation because he knows he is the mature one. While a simple "Ben, I don't love you anymore." would have sufficed, she decided to use him as a backup plan, and therefore hurt him in many ways. This line is his way of declaring that he is able to get past her because he can express this situation through written word ("The best way to get over a woman is to turn her into literature" -Henry Miller) She, on the other hand, can't mature through this, because of the vile way in which she treated this situation. "Sour tastes prevail as you play back the tape machine" This may be a reference to the message he left when he finally tells her that he knows she has been with someone else. There is that sense of dread when you have been found out. Or it may be a reference to the messages he left afterward, trying to get answers, and how frustrated she was with Ben or herself for not actually having any. "When your apologies fail to ring true So slick with that sarcastic slew Of phrases like "I thought you knew" While keeping me in such hot pursuit Tracing the plot finds Skin touching skin Absence follows " My final prospectus: He dedicated himself to her. She didn't necessarily cheat, but she was unable to return the same courtesy. She was disdainful in the end (or maybe even throughout the relationship), and it ripped him to shreds. Despite his passive nature, he was so distraught by this that he is finally letting it be known how insanely fucking petty he is towards her at the time that this song was written. She promised she had no feelings for this guy, but eventually made it too obvious through her absence in the relationship. |
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