| Lou Reed – Satellite Of Love Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Because this was being performed live as early as 1969, it was written when Russia was sending satellites to Mars. Therefore, the allusion to watching satellites lift off on television was reasonable. However, the two Mars satellites sent at that specific time both failed on lift-off. Lou Reed stated this is a song of jealousy. It is about a guy watching a satellite leave Earth and suddenly realizing that his lover has left him. Lou had at least one, but likely two lovers at the time. Nico is well-known as a short fling. There are rumors of a more serious relationship that ended while he was seeing Nico. Further, John Cale, his partner, left him. Lou Reed stated that Harry, Mark, and John are real names. He originally used fake names when performing this song, but switched to real names under the influence of David Bowie. For many years, this was considered a solo work written while working with David Bowie. Then, recording of the some performed live while Reed was still with the Velvet Underground emerged. I found it interesting that the band members who performed the song generally had no memory of doing so. The end result is there was one history in which this was a solo song heavily influence by David Bowie, so it likely had no real meaning. Then, later, it was recognized as work written by Lou Reed at a time when the two events (satellites and a lover leaving him) both took place. |
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| Steve Miller Band – Space Cowboy Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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The first line is common for Miller. He is referencing his song "Living in the U.S.A." from his previous album Sailor. That is similar to how he references this song in his later song "The Joker" on the album of the same name. In the same manner, he then references his song "Gangster of Love", also off Sailor. However, this was not completely Miller's song. It is obviously a rendition of Johnny Winter's version of the song, originally written by Johnny Watson. Miller has been accused of "stealing" blues music, but many musicians cover songs by other musicians. It is well documented that the Beatles' Paul McCartney collaborated on the album that contained this song. At a point when the Beatles were recording a plethora of "All You Need is Love" songs, Miller states that he is tired of all this talk about love. He then takes a dig at the popular "help the poor" music of the time with a reference to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly that was very popular the year before this song was written. Finally, a dig at Dylan with a reference to the times changing (his song, "The Times They Are a-Changin'" was popular two years before this song was written). The rest of this song references Miller's experiences at the time. He hadn't hit it big yet. People did notice him though (Paul McCartney volunteered to play on his album). It is certain that there were "fat cats" coming in and trying to cut deals, which he obviously wasn't fond of. Miller also expresses his views of religion in general (at the time, there were many "new-age" religions gaining in popularity). He states that they keep praying, but the world keeps getting darker. His reference to military conflicts both in Vietnam and against citizens in the United States is very weak with just a mention of men in military shirts. He doesn't take a stance of good or bad, just a note that he will protect his friends. As for the "Space Cowboy", at this point in time, there was a space race. Mass media was filled with images of space slowly replacing the old westerns. Space Cowboy simply merges the two, and probably made the song more popular than if he used Astronaut Cowboy. |
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