| Muse – Mercy Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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The meaning is fairly straightforward if you analyze it in the context of the other songs in the Drones album. In Psycho and Dead Inside, the protagonist succumbs to the disillusionment that every human being goes through, becoming every bit as jaded and psychopathic as the modern world encourages him to be. In Dead Inside, the protagonist embraces his loss of innocence -- "Now I'm dead inside" and "You've taught me to [...] kill with no remorse" -- hardening himself and becoming a callous, unemphatic human being in order to survive. He was hurt in the past; now he'll hurt others. But he doesn't see it as hurting others -- he thinks he's doing other people a favour, by ridding them of their naivete the same way he lost his. In these earlier songs, the message is that the rational thing to do while living in a psychopathic society is to become psychopaths ourselves -- it's how we adapt and survive, after all. Mercy, however, offers us a moment of rebellious self-awareness -- the protagonist realizes that his strategy for survival is hurting him. "Help me, I've fallen on the inside" -- the person that he used to be, noble and hopeful and full of life and humanity, has been replaced by one who's disconnected and incapable of true human connection. "I tried to infiltrate, but now I'm losing" -- He tried to be like the people who hurt him, but it isn't working because they'll always be better at it than him. They'll always be more jaded, more coldly rational, more psychopathic. Another line that alludes to this is "Men in cloaks always seem to run the show". Moreover, I think there's a dual meaning to the hook. "Show me mercy" can be interpreted as the protagonist asking to be saved by someone who hasn't succumbed to the psychopathic system -- anyone who's still innocent, still noble, still untarnished. It's a common theme that jaded people are attracted to the innocent, precisely because they want to be saved from the callous way of life that they've created. The dual meaning, however, is that he could also be asking for mercy in a spiritual sense. There's a few religious allusions in the song ("soul" and "absent gods"), and I think the protagonist is aware of the unfeeling things that he's done, aware of the part he's played in propagating the system -- and he's asking for forgiveness from a (possibly religious) authority figure for his sins. |
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| Metric – Dreams So Real Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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The song is about disillusionment. The languid beat, the weary lyrics, and the monotone quality of her voice are all indications of someone who's "accepted" the way of the world and is tired of making a change. It's a lesson every child eventually learns: the world isn't what we hoped it would be. We spend our youths being passionate and idealistic, but "Faster than you think, Time staggers on." |
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| Deftones – Lucky You Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I completely agree with magistar's interpretation. I think this song is about someone who is bitter and disillusioned with life seducing a young, inexperienced, and naive person to ease their own pain. It's basically about sex and misplaced affection. "Won't somebody save me" -- implies that he is miserable, but unable to help himself. He needs someone to dull the pain. "You've crossed the walls, excelled" -- person has surpassed their expectations, and crossed the 'wall' into his heart. This does not necessarily mean he loves that person; he simply takes notices of the fact that the naive person is truly devoted to him: "You always have / You always will" "Further along through their hell / All for my heart, I watch you kill" I interpret these 2 lines as the naive person hurting other people who are close to them just to satisfy their seducer. That could be breaking up with your current partner, or distancing yourself from friends/family, etc "Now spread your wings and sail out to me" whenever someone says "spread your wings", they're usually referring to a young adult who's coming of age and blossoming into adulthood. It also has a double meaning: angels have wings, and his young victim is also going to be his saviour Finally, here's my analysis of the chorus: "And if you're feeling lucky Come and take me home And if you feel loved" -- refers to the gamble that the seduced victim is making. When you bring someone home, how do you know they're not dangerous? Or a psychopath? when you fall in love with somenoe, what if you don't know who they really are? Earlier I said that this song was partly about misplaced affection, and here's where I got that interpretation. The young victim believes that they're in love, but they have no idea if they're making a mistake or not. The singer is telling them to take a chance with him and save him if they "feel lucky" -- even though it may not be a good decision... |
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