| Mark Knopfler – Hill Farmer's Blues Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Sorry for repeat posting, but I wasn’t happy with the formatting, I hope this reads better. Read this instead if it’s bigger! I enjoyed your interpretation and also found the darkness too in some of the lyrics. Mark shows again great richness in this, another interesting character portrayal. Firstly, the man telling her to leave the dog out the back because of the fight is interesting, as you pointed out [which didn’t occur to me]. A dog is a man’s best friend, almost an extension of him, and loyal and trusting [particularly so for a farmer]. The dog is thus an expression of his hurt: the man hurts - so will the dog. So it’s as if the man is choosing to be in the doghouse by telling her to ‘leave him [the dog] be’. The dog being left out the back is like a reversal of the sleeping on the sofa idea when a couple argue, but this time the man has license to take the initiative by telling her to leave the dog alone, since he’s the wronged one. The dog and the farmer are effectively unified in their contempt of resignation against the wife. Furthermore the shared hurt of the farmer and his dog is suggested as being something that the wife won’t understand: he says ‘leave him be’ and one would think that the dog would not want to be in her company anyway, whatever she does. By saying ‘leave him be’, he’s really saying ‘leave me be’, in a nice reversal of the bright way the likes of the Beatles and Louis Armstrong [‘how do you do/they’re really saying I love you’] expressed idealised sentiments — It is a blues song after all, this one. The theme of loyalty is also in the fact that the man appears to have been so: ‘don’t get me wrong, you were the only one’. His indignation against her seems righteous and you can feel that the last thing he wants is to be made a fool of again by her having the cheek to get to have a relationship with the dog, in his absence, given what she’s done. I like how you pointed out the dark theme, which I got listening to it. I find his shopping activities typical of a man, who would want to retreat to his work and routine in order to try to deal with his hurt. The items he buys such as ‘killer for the weed’, ‘razor wire’ and ‘shells’ are interesting. One might see a less likely vision of him engaging in a murderous revenge, than what is far more likely symbolic of his therapy: he may be repairing and/or building new fences with the ‘razor wire’ in order to protect his heart or is acting to fend off who might have tempted his wife. The retreat into his work includes cathartically shooting pests on the farm and killing weeds. As to the less likely more literal interpretation, it occurred to me having been watching the Jodi Arias murder trial that the farmer could indeed have been wronged and is seeking to take revenge, like she did on her boyfriend Travis. Such a view highlights the way that writers like Mark sometimes takes inspiration from events in life, and portrays stories to not only give insights into interesting character perspectives, but also into the creative writing process itself. |
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| Mark Knopfler – Hill Farmer's Blues Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I enjoyed your interpretation and also found the darkness too in some of the lyrics. Mark shows again great richness in this, another interesting character portrayal. Firstly, the man telling her to leave the dog out the back because of the fight is interesting, as you pointed out [which didn’t occur to me]. A dog is a man’s best friend, almost an extension of him, and loyal and trusting [particularly so for a farmer]. The dog is thus an expression of his hurt: the man hurts - so will the dog. So it’s as if the man is choosing to be in the doghouse by telling her to ‘leave him [the dog] be’. The dog being left out the back is like a reversal of the sleeping on the sofa idea when a couple argue, but this time the man has license to take the initiative by telling her to leave the dog alone, since he’s the wronged one. The dog and the farmer are effectively unified in their contempt of resignation against the wife. Furthermore the shared hurt of the farmer and his dog is suggested as being something that the wife won’t understand: he says ‘leave him be’ and one would think that the dog would not want to be in her company anyway, whatever she does. By saying ‘leave him be’, he’s really saying ‘leave me be’, in a nice reversal of the bright way the likes of the Beatles and Louis Armstrong [‘how do you do/they’re really saying I love you’] expressed idealised sentiments — It is a blues song after all, this one. The theme of loyalty is also in the fact that the man appears to have been so: ‘don’t get me wrong, you were the only one’. His indignation against her seems righteous and you can feel that the last thing he wants is to be made a fool of again by her having the cheek to get to have a relationship with the dog, in his absence, given what she’s done. I like how you pointed out the dark theme, which I got listening to it. I find his shopping activities typical of a man, who would want to retreat to his work and routine in order to try to deal with his hurt. The items he buys such as ‘killer for the weed’, ‘razor wire’ and ‘shells’ are interesting. One might see a less likely vision of him engaging in a murderous revenge, than what is far more likely symbolic of his therapy: he may be repairing and/or building new fences with the ‘razor wire’ in order to protect his heart or is acting to fend off who might have tempted his wife. The retreat into his work includes cathartically shooting pests on the farm and killing weeds. As to the less likely more literal interpretation, it occurred to me having been watching the Jodi Arias murder trial that the farmer could indeed have been wronged and is seeking to take revenge, like she did on her boyfriend Travis. Such a view highlights the way that writers like Mark sometimes takes inspiration from events in life, and portrays stories to not only give insights into interesting character perspectives, but also into the creative writing process itself. |
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| Soundgarden – Blow Up the Outside World Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| i think the 1984 interpretation is interesting(maybe it's most accurate, but haven't seen the vid to the song) but that the way chris says blow up the outside world repeatedly at the end is zombie like, almost like that's what he wants to do, but it's like mind control-like, but he's now the one saying it. so even if he wants to, he kind of left without the will, only the thought | |
| Stereophonics – A Thousand Trees Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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(sorry for duplication, but I posted a reply and not a comment, being new! oops! :-0) I love the double meaning of the line 'his growing seeds don't believe why he's been away' ie the seeds in the containers are like the kids; needing nourishment and care and attention in order to grow and develop. They in their innocence don't believe why he's been away, since they are oblivious to the more serious issues that they don't fully understand or aren't aware of, having more basic needs. I agree that the emphasis in the song is more about the rumour, partly because the incident is merely alluded to. I think it's interesting that a lot of the comments mention the abuse as if it's true, which kind of mirrors the sense of the tendency of people to gossip without knowing the facts. It's a shame that the accused loses his innocent name whether he is guilty or not, which of course the song can't tell us. I like the use of the word 'match', since it both represents the start of a rumour, which can cause much destruction - and the playing fields where a football match is played, a possible breeding ground for gossip and group-think. Also, the match burning a thousand trees could be to do with how abuse itself causes many wide-reaching and terrible consequences, such as loss of faith in authority, innocence and relationships; breeds suspicion and mistrust, negative emotions such as shame and guilt - and even abuse itself. The writer(s) are clearly lamenting the small town mentalities which give rise to the damaging effects of rumour and hearsay. It is sad not just how a reputation can hang on a thread, but how the collective reality of a community can be on shaky foundations; and that more often than not, people will scapegoat an outsider, an oddball, the falsely accused, or any other unfortunate victim who upsets the prevailing belief in what's right, truthful or the norm. Truth can be the casualty and pretentiousness wins. Having said all that, this song rocks and sounds cool loud! |
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| Stereophonics – A Thousand Trees Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| ...er correction: 'accused', not accuser, p2. | |
| Stereophonics – A Thousand Trees Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I love the double meaning of the line 'his growing seeds don't believe why he's been away' ie the seeds in the containers are like the kids; needing nourishment and care and attention in order to grow and develop. They in their innocence don't believe why he's been away, since they are oblivious to the more serious issues that they don't fully understand or aren't aware of, having more basic needs. The song is a song about the loss of innocence, in different ways. The child who told her parent loses her sense that her parents can take her seriously. The accuser loses his innocent name, whether he is guilty or not. The kids can be just as open to being let down and confused by what has happened, as the parents, since when you get to know someone at face value, the real story (if true) can be bewildering. I agree that the emphasis in the song is more about the rumour, partly because the incident is merely alluded to. I think it's interesting that a lot of the comments mention the abuse as if it's true, which kind of mirrors the sense of the tendency of people to gossip without knowing the facts. I like the use of the word 'match', since it both represents the start of a rumour, which can cause much destruction - and the playing fields where a football match is played, a possible breeding ground for gossip and group think. Also, the match burning a thousand trees could be to do with how abuse itself causes many wide-reaching and terrible consequences, such as loss of faith in authority, innocence and relationships; breeds suspicion and mistrust, negative emotions such as shame and guilt - and even abuse itself. The writer(s) are clearly lamenting the small town mentalities which give rise to the damaging effects of rumour and hearsay. It is sad not just how a reputation can hang on a thread, but how the collective reality of a community is based on shaky grounds; and that more often than not, people will scapegoat an outsider, an oddball, the falsely accused, or any other unfortunate victim who upsets the prevailing belief in what's right, truthful or the norm. Truth can be the casualty and pretentiousness wins. Having said all that, this song rocks and sounds cool loud! |
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