| Counting Crows – Four White Stallions (Tender Mercies cover) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think this song is about physical abuse. "four good reasons" are the knuckles of a fist, he loved her, she was perfect, and he ended up hitting her.. she had four other men in her life who defended her and vowed to kick his ass if he ever came around her again. "four more seasons, for all that's broken to mend" ..."can't go back there again" It's been another year, he still can't get over her and move on, he still loves her, but he knows he screwed up, they are forever at war now, and nothing can take away that one moment of anger and rage. The thing that makes me believe this is what the song is about, is the fact he never answers the question, what are the "four good reasons" ..it is left for you to interpret and read between the lines. He is ashamed of his actions, so ashamed he can't even bring himself to mention it, except by saying he has four good reasons why he can't go back. That's my take on it, anyway. |
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| Jewel – Stephenville, TX Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think it is supposed to be "Goddard" instead of "Godard" (..I think it's pronounced the same.) But this was the ex-wife of Charlie Chaplain, Paulette Goddard, who was a very successful actress in many Chaplain productions, and others.. throughout her later career, she was criticized for her comedy roles as being somewhat 'clownish' and not really funny. She was married to several other male actors, and they all seemed to follow the same pattern of trying to manipulate her and exploit her talents, to which she often obliged.. Jewel is saying 'everyone thought Goddard was a clown, that ain't gonna be me.' |
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| Jewel – Satellite Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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My interpretation of this song is a very powerful message about life in the 21st century. The setting is maybe Malibu? The opening scene is a beach. "babies on beach blankets heading to Mars" is the young teen girls who are suntanning on the beach, a million miles away in their own little world. Their entire future is ahead of them, and they ponder the possibilities of what lies ahead..Mars maybe? "cute boys in crewcuts, dayglow surfboards" ..self explanatory. The pretty lady in a bikini with bright eyes and smashed out window pane teeth, is obviously a reference to herself. She's right there with the Babies and cute boys, trying to fix her dreams with all the latest fads and trends.. The refrain brings in a whole new concept, and begins to define the message of the song. I believe the actual lyric is "there's a WIDE wall, we can't see over now..." We can't see over it because it is wide. Even if we jump or climb to the top of the wall, we can't see over it, the wall is too wide. But it's okay because we are "still learning" and "mistakes are allowed" when you are a "satellite." When you think of a satellite, it orbits around something... in this case, it is the life experience we are all orbiting around, not fully understanding why we are here, what we are to do, what is the meaning and purpose... we are just revolving around life, like a satellite. In the meantime... here we are, trying to be "perfect" for who? what? why? The song goes on to challenge those with "hollow souls" ...choked from their natural spiritual requirements and caught up in the latest trends and fads. Then it finally rests on an interesting plea to someone (or something) to fix her broken heart. I believe she is saying we (as satellites) tend to revolve around whomever provides facilitation of our wants, needs, desires in life. It is a very interesting song on so many levels. |
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| Bob Dylan – From a Buick 6 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Many of Dylan's songs, like this one, are inspired by the old blues songs he loved and listened to in his youth. I can't recall the artist, or the song title, but there is a line in an old blues song about 'If I'm gone-down dyin.. she'd make up my dyin bed.' Dylan simply modified the line, but this is the same intent he is conveying as an artist. In other words, he ripped it off...but that's okay, as the great philosophers Bare Naked Ladies says...it's all been done before! :) | |
| Elton John – Madman Across the Water Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I liked both rockslider and coa4thva explanations, and perhaps this is intentional, to paint a multi-layered picture.. it is about an 'institutionalized member of the family' ...who happens to be Richard Nixon. It can draw an interesting parallel to both. The ground's a long way down but I need more. Is the nightmare black or are the windows painted? Will they come again next week, Can my mind really take it? Nixon held the most powerful office in the world...the ground was a long way down, but he needed more...power. Nixon was known to have been very paranoid toward the end, it ultimately led to his downfall, and 'is the nightmare black or are the windows painted' is classic paranoia. Will the reporters, media, etc. come again next week? Watergate. I can see a connection to Nixon here, but I loved the earlier analysis of someone in an institution as well. Maybe it's both? |
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| Bob Dylan – Ain't No More Cane Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It's actually an old prison blues song, traditionally sung by prison workers in Texas along the Brazos, where they cut sugar cane as part of their sentence. 'Go down old hannah, don'cha rise no more Don't you rise up til judgment day's for sure' Cane was loaded onto flotillas along the Brazos River, and taken to be ground into molasses. The flotillas were designed to carry a specific weight, which was measured by marks on the side, the lower in the water she sat, the closer to full she became, so "old hannah" is the flotilla, he is wishing she would go down and don't you rise no more until judgement day is over and done! 'Taint no more Cane on the Brazos! Poor "shine" was either a mule or ox, or perhaps a fellow prisoner, who literally stroked out in the heat and lost his sight. The singer is asking his captors not to work him blind in the heat. In the final verse, he is basically saying, you wake to find yourself serving life at this, hoping you get parole before you drop dead. It's really a quite sad and depressing state, and the emotional message rings through quite clear. There was always more cane on the Brazos River, there would be another flotilla to fill, the misery would continue. These songs were inspired by raw human need to hold on to hope. |
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| Bob Dylan – Ballad of a Thin Man Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I love this site, because it has given me so much insight into what others interpret in songs. To me, I have always felt this song was really Dylan singing about a woman, and he chose to 'masquerade' her as a "Mister" in the song, perhaps sarcastically, metaphorically or to invoke mystery... but then I read the 'homosexual' angle, and it all makes perfect sense. Mr. Jones is not a woman as I had always imagined, it is a gay man. That said, I think we sometimes tend to overlook the artistry of Dylan and song. Just as we can look at the Mona Lisa and proclaim it is a portrait of a woman, we can examine a Dylan song and say it's about this or that. Dylan's works are a tapestry, many layers and levels, intricately woven into an overall picture, but full of other subtleties we may not immediately see. I have listened to some Dylan songs for years, hundreds of times, then I'm listening one day, and *ding* some piece is connected that I had never seen before, and the song takes on a whole new meaning all over again. |
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| Alanis Morissette – Princes Familiar Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think it is a portrait of growth. The first stanza describes the qualities in dad she dreams of in a man, the third stanza represents the reality of what many women accept in a man, the fifth stanza is typical of how a woman justifies this acceptance, and finally, it comes full circle, back to what is foundational and important to her. It is a strong message to Dads, that your little girl, deep down, wants a man like you... whether you are a dad who is 'strangely enigmatic' or a man who is 'addicted to some substance.' THAT is what your daughter is going to view as 'ideal' in her mind. The unfinished last verse is Alanis genius. It's a point of realization, an epiphany, a moment of personal enlightenment. Almost as if she is surprised to find that she seeks a man just like her... father. |
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| Alanis Morissette – Not The Doctor Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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"mind the empty bottle with the holes along the bottom" is almost a humorous way to describe the relationship situation. She knows he will find a way to "fit her in" even though she missed scheduled visiting hours, and he will let her in because he needs her to "mind the empty pill bottle" which seems to have a hole in the bottom (can never be filled.) You want me, you'll see me whenever, because you need me to fill your needs, but your needs can never be filled. It's all too much to ask for, I'm not the doctor! Definitely the song is about a relationship, and I don't believe it is about someone in rehab or on drugs, it is merely associated with these images to draw a parallel. |
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| Barenaked Ladies – It's All Been Done Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think people tend to over-analyze songs like this. To me, it simply means to convey the idea that everything 'creative' has already been done at some point in history, and we are merely 'repeating' it in our own way. This idea is tied together in the song using the art of music as well as love. | |
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