| The Knife – Marble House Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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This is my favourite song by The Knife; it's very complex and multi-dimensional, and it's very interesting to read many different interpretations of it from many people. I think user Kol has done a very good job summing up the meaning of the lyrics: "I like to think of it as love and Marriage, and how it can be beautiful, but it can also feel like a trap, it can intimidate, become abusive and ultimately collapse." Nevertheless, this song has been very important to me and it's forever intertwined with a great love I once had - it's always been the perfect depiction of a strong relationship, full of passion and neglect and questions and friendship and trouble and bliss... well, love at its very core. Here it goes: "I cut your nails And comb your hair I carry you Down the stairs..." We look after and we cherish one another - I fix you up and groom your hair like a child, and you carry me down the stairs like a baby. We are always there for each other no matter how tedious or unpleasant life gets, the way parents are there for their kids; the way it is in a family. "I wanted to see right through From the other side I wanted to walk a trail With no end in sight" I married you: I wanted to see and know more, to see things from your perspective - and to know all that experienced, wise and older people seem to always do. We entered a long road you can see no end of, and from which you can never return to how things were. "The moment we believe that we have never met Another kind of love, it's easy to forget When we are all alone then we do both agree We have a thing in common, this was meant to be" Sometimes we get caught up in the daily struggle and rut - we see all other people and other lives, and we start questioning what happened to us, our choice and we ask ourselves, what if we've missed out on another love - we wonder what it would be like, and maybe it still can be, and we get bitter and lonely. But when there's just the two of us again, we couldn't agree more - it was the right choice, we do belong together and it was meant to be. "You close my eyes And soothe my ears You heal my wounds And dry my tears" We protect each other from the vicious blows dealt by the outside world, and when we do get hurt - the other wipes our tears and helps us heal. "On the inside of this marble house I grow And the seeds I sow Grow persistent too/ Will grow up prisoners too" This marble house we've built is so solid it can almost feel like a trap at times, but within it - I grow as a person. The seeds I sow - the attention and care I've put in this relationship, the children we brought to the world, the projects and endevours and personal goals I've worked on while in the marble house - they grow on with us both. Interestingly, according to the other concept as to the lyrics - it is our children, the seeds we've sown, will grow up in this safe, solid house of marble with us, yet from their perspective as the kids - it will feel like prison, at least initially. Does it not feel like that for us two sometimes, either...? "The moment we believe(...)" "Now where's your shoulder What is its name What's your scent Say it again" When things get tough, who do you lean on? Who will be your shoulder to cry on? Whose scent do you carry? Will it be me, our family scent? "If it goes faster can you still follow me? It must be sane when it's on TV..." When things go down the hill, can you still follow me? Will we keep up with one another when life gets hectic and difficult? Our TV culture and everyone around teach us that this is the right path to take, they must know someting... don't they? "I raise my hands to heaven for curiosity I don't know what to ask for What has it got for me The others say we're hiding It's as forward as can be Some things I do for money Some things I do for free" I pray that we do make it, that we find the strength, and the will and the curiosity to make each of our days count and to face our challenges. How should I know what's round the corner...? Other people will say we've lost it and that we're pretending, keeping up appearances, but it's actually obvious: yes, we do some things out of the habit and not to stir up trouble and out of obligation, but other things... I do voluntarily, for my own and for your pleasure and happiness, and for love. Hardly ever does this song not leave me crying, even after all these years. :) |
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| Sandra – Maria Magdalena Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I don't think that this is an outright comparison to the Biblical Maria Magdalena and her being a prostitute - in that, to me, the protagonist of the song isn't necessarily a prostitute herself. I think she refers to Maria Magdalena because this character used to be a promiscuous woman who was at the same time afraid of her sexuality; she gave up her old lifestyle and left behind her demons to become saved. To me, the protagonist is a girl who is neither promiscuous or vulgar, but neither does she consider her sexuality as something dirty and sinful. She won't be Maria Magdalena, because, first, she isn't a "slut", and secondly, she won't abandon her identity and sexuality to please anyone or to earn salvation from anyone. I think in the first verses she sings about how the man she loves demands her - if she loves him indeed - to devote herself to him completely and be "nice" She has her demons though, and she isn't perfect, she's her own person and it would be crazy for her to pretend to please him - if he hurts her, he'll understand that she's not always sweet and obedient. She won't identify herself with Maria Magdalena and she feels she has nothing to apologise for, and that she shouldn't abandon her nature. She's torn between being sexual and tough, and being the sweet kind of girl who needs love - therefore, she's a victim of the fight. She's not going to lie and pose for someone she's not to win his approval - she's been there and she knows what "the game" goes like. To me, this is a song about the modern woman who is neither a dirty harlot nor an overly sweet and silly bae, but lives in a world that keeps sending her mixed signals - on one hand, she's deemed as filthy and expected to behave, on another, she's meant to be desired and playful and successful. A very good piece. :) |
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| Bat for Lashes – Bat's Mouth Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Such a beautiful and delicate love song; yet another proof that you can sing about sexuality and desire without being vulgar and trivial, showing the beauty and complexity of passion instead. | |
| Sinead O'Connor – You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Such a powerful and compelling song; it somehow makes you think of courage, and there is certain sweetness and romance in it, which is pretty unsettling and incredible for a song about a girl who killed her boyfriend (in order to steal his heart). | |
| Grimes – Oblivion Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| "See you on a dark night" :D | |
| Grimes – My Sister Says the Saddest Things Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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It does generally make an impression of a random set of words, expressions and rhymes that just fit together and complement the melody/beat well. :D But It may or may not actually be about sisters and the love and secrets they share. They might be real sisters, they might as well be sisters by choice or a metaphorical generalisation: best friends, girls, women as all. They walk about after dark together and sing, not giving away a glimpse of the secrets they keep, of the problems or fears or things that happened to them - you would never tell. They hold each other's hand in the dark, they've known one another since early childhood. I think the part about the 4th of July might be about the idea of conforming, going with the flow... What interests me is the last and most powerful line. Is it the end of their friendship? Has the sister died? Or has she become distant, or for whatever reason eventually their union simply broke? Is it just a graceful and smart play of words to finish off the lovely song? "And that, my friend, is the end". :D |
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| Norah Jones – The Story Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I'm not an English native speaker, so here's my question: "And now those sprangs in the air" - what are they? Haven't found anything sensible in the net. I love the song and I like the lyrics; I can say so about any other Jones's song, the lyrics are always give a lot to think about, aren't just shallow rhymes to amuse the public :) |
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