| Soul Asylum – Black Gold Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| I think a lot of people have some interesting thoughts here. But I think one angle of black vs. white that is fairly obvious has been completely missed. Think of an old Western movie. The good guys wore white hats. The bad guys wore black. The black and white here isn't race at all...it's good vs. evil. I also always felt it to be about the Gulf War - especially with the timing of when it was recorded. But I think it's an investigation into whether that war was "good" or "evil". And it depends on which side you were on, because, unlike the old Westerns, no one was kind enough to wear a hat to let us know. | |
| Ian Hunter – Cleveland Rocks Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Cavaliers 93, Warriors 89. Cleveland Rocks, indeed. Oh yeah - and this is a great song supposedly inspired by the rabid fans Ian Hunter would see whenever he played a show in Cleveland. |
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| Dexys Midnight Runners – Come On Eileen Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I'm surprised no one has pointed out what I believe is an error in the lyrics. It would have cleared up a lot of the early confusion about who Johnny Ray was, and why it was important to the song. Instead of: Poor old Johnny Ray Sounded sad upon the radio He moved a million hearts in mono Our mothers cried and sang along And who'd blame them? ...I believe the correct lyrics are... Poor old Johnny Ray Sounded sad upon the radio He moved a million hearts in mono Our mothers heard "Cry", sang along And who'd blame them? "Cry" was Johnny Ray's huge hit from 1952, selling 2 million copies (per his Wikipedia page...) - even a lot in today's digital age. It was arguably his signature hit. He ended up with several nicknames that played on the "Cry" theme, including the "Prince of Wails". So, there's your musical history lesson for today. Glad I could help out. By the way, I was looking at these lyrics today because my son's steel drum band has started playing this song in their set. Sounds odd, I know, but it works. |
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| Muse – Panic Station Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I agree with Shredd. I was going to say it just a little different, but the same way. Cats have "9 lives". When they hit "minus 9", they're down to zero. So, he's basically saying that when you've run out of options/run out of alternatives...that's when "You've arrived at Panic Station". Time to go get something (whatever it may be) DONE! | |
| Walk the Moon – Anna Sun Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I can't be the only one who's noticed that the name they chose to use, "Anna Sun", sounds eerily like "Anacin". I guess that fits the whole "partying in college" theme...you're gonna need some painkillers tomorrow morning! | |
| Red Rockers – China Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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1983 was a great year for music, and this was always one of my favorites. It wasn't a particularly big hit, but I think it stands the test of time, and could be a hit if released even today. I was surprised to find no comments here yet, so I'll start the discussion, and maybe in 5 years, someone will come along and add to it. I have always felt this was a song about a girl the author knew. I don't know if she was a girlfriend, or someone he was interested in knowing better, but I believe he was trying to get her to open up and talk about her past - she's perhaps been hurt. Like the country, the girl he calls "China" wouldn't share anything. She's got a secret, and she's not telling. It's driving him nuts. He wants to help, but she won't let him. Of course, it's all told from the perspective of comparing her dark secrets to that of the giant, mysterious country with a huge, great wall erected around it to keep everyone out. While not directly referenced in the song, I'm sure that's one reason he called the girl "China" - she had a similar wall around her heart to keep everyone away. But hey - that's just my take on it. Anyone in 2017 feel differently? I'll wait. |
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| A Flock of Seagulls – D.N.A. Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Trivia time, boys and girls. What song won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Insturmental in 1983? Yep, the largely underappreciated A Flock of Seagulls, with this song - "D.N.A.". That's right - a Grammy. | |
| A Flock of Seagulls – You Can Run Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I don't know if you're still out there after six and a half years, but I saw your comment today and just had to reply. The Flock was a very good live band. For all the crap they take from people who couldn't get past Mike Score's haircut, they were a strong band. I saw them live on three occasions. I only knew "I Ran" when I saw them open for the Go Go's in 1982, though my girlfriend (long since my wife) had skipped eating for a day when she spent her last few dollars on their EP, so she knew what we were in for and was appropriately geeked. The band absolutely deafened me with their sound. I had seats right in front of Frank Maudsley, and got a great chance to see how well he kept the beat going, driving the band with his bass playing. I was hooked. I saw them as part of a 5-band show at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago (drove there from Cleveland to see it) . They shared the stage with Ministry (pre-industrial Ministry was excellent!), Joan Jett, and the Fixx...all of whom were opening acts that day on the first show of the Police's "Synchronicity" tour. MTV was there filming, and the air was electric. The crowd was not appreciative of The Flock, however, and they threw stuff at them, and booed as AFOS left the stage. They didn't even play "I Ran" that day, as they were so mistreated by the crowd (who also hated Joan Jett - someone threw a trash can on stage at her - so you can see that 1983-Chicago had no taste in music at all). Also that Summer, I caught AFOS opening for the Fixx - Cleveland audiences rock, and that was an outstanding show. It was really more of a co-headlining date. Their live show was always high-energy, and non-stop. I was soaked with sweat from dancing after each of their performances. The highlight (at least at two of the shows...) was the extended version of "I Ran", featuring Paul Reynolds' amazing guitar effects. You can find a live recording featuring this intro if you look hard enough, and it's just haunting - you'd think it was done with synths, but it's just Paul slowing sliding his fingers down the guitar strings, while playing the notes with his other hand. He was an amazing guitar player, but few people seemed to notice. A sorely underrated band, but one that really hit the nail on the head so far as being in the right place at the right time. They were so completely New Wave just as that genre was starting its peak. It was amazing how well they could create the sound live, too. At the time, a lot of synth-based bands weren't able to get the sound right live, but these four were true musicians - your basic foursome of guitar, bass, synths and drums. They just happened to know how to make it all really danceable, too, which was hugely important at the time. And the sci-fi bent to their early lyrics made it all work. |
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| Echo and the Bunnymen – The Cutter Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Just a comment from someone who was around when this song came out. I think the general interpretation is correct here, but I don't think I buy the part about "cutting" applying to causing oneself physical harm. For one, we didn't call it "cutting" back then - it was just more generally referred to as "slashing your wrists". The term "cutting" didn't start being commonly applied to that particular activity until much later. The other cue is that the lyrics specifically say "spare US the cutter". To me, that means it's not entirely a song about a specific individual. I think "US" is Echo and the Bunnymen. He's hoping the band "makes the cut" and survives their new direction and succeeds with their integrity intact, which, in fact, they did. They never broke big in the mainstream, but they were huge in the Modern Rock arena - back then, we didn't yet call it "alternative", which makes the second line seem a little ahead of its time. The music industry was a very different place at the time, and bands that didn't sound like Bob Seger or Jouney were fighting a very uphill battle. Echo wanted success, but they also wanted their legacy to be one of being true artists. And I think this song captures that angst very well. Thank goodness The Cutter spared them! |
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| Sheryl Crow – A Change Would Do You Good Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I like the comments, and I think we've gotten to the heart of it. I've got one odd thought to toss out to the group here. There's a line in this song that I find odd - a little "breadcrumb" she's left for us to follow the trail to a little more meaning. I think the song is quite a personal one, and I believe it directly references her career/love-life. The line I'm focused on is "And I'm calling Buddy on the ouija board". As I recall, her breakthrough hit, "All I Wanna Do" had some lines in it about sitting in a bar drinking beer at noon on Tuesday with someone who might be named "Buddy" (even though he says his name is William"). Just an out-there theory on my part - but does that let us know this is autobiographical and that she's trying to reach back to her past - even though she realizes it's so far back, it may as well be dead (why else do you need a Ouija board to reach it)? Perhaps it's aimed at someone she dated in between the first two albums. Am I over-reaching? BTW - I also think she uses the song as a multiple-meaning comment, directed towards some of the musicians from her first album that "turned" on her (see my comments under "Every Day is a Winding Road"). Perhaps one of them stayed in her life after the first record, but then revealed himself to be "unworthy". The message being "stop dragging me down, and make a change in your own life - get over what happened and stop being so full of yourself". Again - perhaps reading too much in, but an interesting angle, nonetheless. |
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| Sheryl Crow – Everyday Is A Winding Road Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I've always thought this song was a very personal one for Sheryl. I've read that there was a lot of animosity among the people who played on her first album, "Tuesday Night Music Club". Partially this was because it was recorded by a group of musicians who were getting together at the time to "jam" for fun and record various songs when the mood arose. Sheryl had tried to record her first album, but it was scrapped and the record label arranged for her to join into this group, with the intent that they use the songs she sang as her album. But they never told the group this, so they felt that their fun little sessions had been "hijacked" and several of them blamed Sheryl in the "industry papers". With that background, I believe the "daughter he calls Easter" is Sheryl herself - she was "born on a Tuesday night" - a not-so-thinly-veiled reference to her first album's title. She also talks about being "a stranger in her own life", which could be a reference to feeling that what people were saying about her in the media wasn't true. I have felt from the time that I first heard them that this song, along with "A Change Would Do You Good" are linked, and are her responses to all that had happened and all the bad feelings that these musicians who were so crucial to getting her career started now had about her. I'm not going to claim that the song isn't about other things as well, but I think she's just expressing how all of that made her feel. It also works as a comment on the start of her career - always on the road touring - it's a "sea of anarchy", filled with stimulants like "coffee and nicotine" that keep her going from day to day. |
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| Berlin – The Metro Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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OK, Kids. The site is Song Meanings, and I'm a little disappointed in all the banter about covers and how the song rocks. Bottom line is that I've come to expect more from this group, and I don't see much insight on the song in the discussion so far. So, let's try this. Has anyone wondered why it's "The Metro"? I think it's an analogy for the relationship. The ride's exciting, but in the end, the train follows the track. It has a fixed destination, and it will arrive there, no matter what...much as the writer sees how this relationship played out. And why The Metro specifically, and not some other train? Well, The Metro runs underground, and I believe our hero is trying to use that as a metaphor, as he is trying to "bury" his feelings. I did see someone ask about the soldier, which might have been just a random memory of the train ride, except he re-appears later in the lyrics, which makes him significant. My take on that is that the soldier, who battles for life and death, is not moved or affected by the heartbreak the writer (Crawford) feels. The soldier sleeps through it, and he looks away from it. He has more important things to do than wallow in pity. The soldier may be one of two things - he may be an attempt to remind the author that no matter how bad the break-up feels, it's really just not that significant in the scheme of things - or more likely the soldier is an "alter-ego" of the writer. It's himself looking at the whole situation and starting to move on ("the soldier turned and looked away"). Lastly, let me say I enjoy the choice of musical accompaniment for the song. It's a synth loop that always ends up right back where it started. Kind of another metaphor for the lyrics - much as the train only takes him to a destination he's not happy with, the music, while upbeat and exciting as well, doesn't ever lead anywhere. Perhaps it's all of this that makes the song so great, and is why so many acts have covered it. |
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| U2 – The Unforgettable Fire Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I heard this song over the weekend...in, of all places, a casino. It SO didn't fit, it grabbed my attention and stuck in my head. Had to come here to look at the meanings, and that has inspired a mini-epiphany. Overall, I feel the group has it right. Bono writes "bigger picture" songs - especially at that stage of his career. But the inspiration is often highly personal, which is what makes his songs work so well. I believe that, in general, the song is about loss - or missing what was, and wanting it back, in some form. This could be love, or a sexual relationship, and it could easily be seen in religious light, as well. "Ice" is death, or something that is no longer there. "Water" is life, or more generally, the object that is desired. It is something that is "here". "Fire" is passion, or desire. Particularly, the desire for something that is now in an "ice" state. All good, but the thing that bugged me about the interpretations was that so many wanted to dismiss, or minimalize the Hiroshima connection. I think it's there, though at the "inspiration" level that got him thinking about bigger, wider topics. I pictured Bono standing at the photo exhibit and feeling the pain and suffering depicted in the pictures. He felt hopeless. He wanted to reach out to the victims. To comfort them. To make their lives continue to mean something - something that was extinguished by acts of men they did not know. "Stay tonight in a lie" - his "lie" was that he was looking at the pictures, thinking that he could offer the victims - the entire city, for that matter - comfort. That he could make the pain and suffering go away. But it's a lie. He can't. He's just one more person looking at pictures of what may as well be ancient history. There were good times in Hiroshima before the blast - he describes this as their carnival. But now he stands face-to-face with their images, in a "dry and waterless" place - the lifeless exhibit filled with the lifeless photos. The only part I have trouble reconciling into this epiphany is the most haunting part of the song, about the mountains crumbling. He's saying he has no regrets for what may come in the future, and yet that just doesn't fit as neatly here. I can only guess that, despite all that happened, his own, personal conscience is still clear. He knows that he did not cause this, and so he cannot regret any of his actions. Funny, though - he describes that with "not a tear" - more water. |
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| The Go-Gos – It's Everything But Partytime Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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First, let me say I told everyone back in 1981 that I was in love with five women. The Go Go's were probably the band I was most "into"...ever. So this is a note from a true fan. I recently read Belinda Carlisle's autobiography, where she said this song was about the group starting to lose their enthusiasm for the band and each other. I think she was close, but missed another level of the real meaning. I believe that Jane and Gina wrote the song about Belinda (and possibly about Charlotte, too) and her ongoing issues with drugs and alcohol. I think they were trying to reach her by making her sing the words at every show. "We're all looking for a good time" - The Go Go's were enjoying their popularity, and understand that she wants to enjoy herself "But what we get is empty rhyme" - Belinda is showing up for shows and rehearsals with less than full enthusiasm (the lyrics she was singing - the "rhyme" - were lacking emotion and investment) "When everything's right but nothing's fine" - The band's career is going great, but internally, they're unahppy with the way things are going between them "It's everything but partytime" - They want Belinda to stop partying and get serious about the band again |
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