| Toadies – Quitter Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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This song is extremely dark and very good. It battles with the interior motivations of an ex-lover who has raped the girl who has just dumped him. The first verse sets the scene - he's put a lot of energy into the relationship and feels like he's 'owed' something (Am I supposed to walk away with nothin'?), and angrily decides that he's in the right and should just take the sex he's looking for (Well I guess I won't be denied). The second verse is his self justification. He thinks eventually she'll come to see the rape as her fault - it happened as a result of her own mishandling of the relationship. Perversely we learn she was a virgin, and because of the sexual and emotional abuse she'll probably believe him. 'In the coming days the dust will cover All the evidence of your first lover I hope wherever you are now you'll wake up And see just what a mess you made of this' He is her first lover. She is the quitter. Essentially he's saying 'you made me do this'. I feel like a lot of the power from this song is how easily it is to find yourself sympathetic to the singer. I feel like everyone can relate to the feeling of being in an unequal relationship. It's such a dark song and Vaden really drags you right there to the point where hell yeah you're pissed at that girl. |
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| Tom Waits – Sins of My Father Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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@[bluesbegger123:9494] Great run down. Waits is definitely rifting on the themes of judgement and inherited debt. In my opinion it's purposely left ambiguous whether it's against the laws of God or the laws of Man, but I think it's telling that he references the American justice system as having only one eye: 'The star spangled glitter of his one good eye' as if the ancient law of an eye for an eye has already been played out. |
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| Tom Waits – Putting on the Dog Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Ok, I love this song dearly, but what do you think he means when he says 'You ain't dancing til you cross (close??) your legs"? | |
| My Morning Jacket – Bermuda Highway Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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That 'meek guy' he's referring to is Jesus, and the singer is wondering if all the listless wandering and general directionlessness described at the beginning of the song is in fact what Jesus died for. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pushing this as a christian type song. I think the opposite actually, like, what are all these people doing, their actions seem so silly, and yet here I am, waking up in a basement. I don't know, I haven't fully flushed out this one and there're a lot of mysterious lines. It's a beautiful song regardless. Christopher Denny does a wonderful cover. |
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| Townes Van Zandt – Rake Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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First, it's not about a vampire and there's no actual marriage. Most of this song is pretty straightforward - Townes is describing a life of putting off responsibility, living recklessly for the carnal pleasures, and relying on unhealthy habits to make himself feel more sharp, more in command, more full of fire. In this song the 'night' is analogous to the pleasures he derived from that life style, and the 'day' represents the consequences. For a period of time this life style was cyclical: 'every cruel day had it's nightfall', 'the turnin' of night into day, and the turnin' of day into cursin',' but it turns out to be ultimately unsustainable. The confidence he had about his exploits is eventually shattered and he sees it for the destructive illusion it was. The final verse is where it gets interesting, he is describing Tom Waits calls the Magic Bullets (Crossroads on The Black Rider). With any addictive stimulant the user feels more powerful/creative/in charge/whatever while using the drug. It's his 'magic bullet' that allows him to hit the target every time. The more he uses the magic bullets however, the worse he feels when not using, until every day is a bad day and it's the magics or nothing. Eventually the magic bullets stop working and the user is left with nothing: 'He trembles he's bent and he's broken.' In the end the things that once protected him and gave him pleasure turn on him and become sources of pain. It is in fact his proud and boastful laughter that is the harbinger of his fall. The day and all the terrifying consequences that brings is fused to the night which once was his only balm, leaving him unforgiven and with out refuge. |
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| Lucinda Williams – Howlin' at Midnight Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| two dollar rig... is that a heroin reference? | |
| Leonard Cohen – Going Home Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song is from the point of view of God (or what ever entity you choose). He is explaining that he is using Leonard Cohen to say his message, for example: 'I love to speak to Leonard... He's a lazy bastard... But he does say what I tell him.' This is backed up by the lyrics 'He will speak these words of wisdom... Though he knows he's really nothing.' Again, this is God describing the way he is using LC as a muse or messenger. And what's his message? When you die you leave your sorrow, your burden, and your 'costume' here on earth. He has instructed Leonard only to repeat this. Now, of course this song is actually written by Leonard, he's just using an omniscient point of view to try to explain his own writing inspiration. What we can take from this is maybe he set about writing some songs about 'A love song', or 'an anthem of forgiving', etc, but instead feels divinely inspired to write about the release of one's burdens with inevitable death. It's really quite beautiful. |
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