| Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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By Van Morrison's standards it's racy. On some versions, the line of "making love in the green grass" was edited rather unconvincingly and replaced by the "laughing and a-running" line from earlier in the song. It was originally titled "Brown Skinned Girl" and about an inter-racial relationship, something that was only just gaining acceptance in society at the time. But the main theme of the song is nostalgia. It's a fond look back on years of both carefree childhood and rebellious adolescence. |
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| The Who – The Punk And The Godfather Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Quadrophenia came out in 1973 some years, some years before the punk rock movement took off. Although "punk rock" was in use in some music magazines to refer to underground music scenes, the term 'punk' would normally mean a low-life or a rebel. Despite this, the song really does feel like some sort of confrontation between a late-70's punk rocker and either Townshend or Daltrey. However, in the context of the Quadrophenia rock opera, it's about Jimmy meeting the Who. He meets his musical idols and they don't live up to his expectations - or get on with him. He tries to catch them at the stage door and they are rude to him. It's one of the many things that makes Jimmy disillusioned with the 'mod' lifestyle. The song is sung from two POVs. The 'punk' sings the verses. The 'godfather' sings the chorus ("I'm the guy in the sky...") and the bridge. What's slightly confusing is that the godfather is claiming to be "the punk with the stutter". The punk complains that the godfather isn't living up to what he claims to be. He accuses him of being out of touch with and ungrateful towards his fans. He bitterly suggestions the godfather is on the way out, as part of a "dying nation". It's an angry rant from a younger generation to the old, just like the song 'My Generation' - which is referenced. It's hard to hear, but the words "M-m-m-my g-g-g-generation" are heard in the breakdowns, processed heavily by a synthesiser. The godfather replies by saying that he might "tell lies" and be a bit out of touch, due to all the fame and status of being "the new president". But he still insists he's a rebel at heart, which is why he reminds that he is "the punk with the stutter" (i.e. the famous stuttering vocals of 'My Generation'). In the bridge he's then more open and modest. He tells the punk that "I've lived your future out" and that he's had a wild and destructive lifestyle of his own, and it's not quite over. |
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| The Who – The Punk And The Godfather Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Quadrophenia came out in 1973 some years, some years before the punk rock movement took off. Although "punk rock" was in use in some music magazines to refer to underground music scenes, the term 'punk' would normally mean a low-life or a rebel. Despite this, the song really does feel like some sort of confrontation between a late-70's punk rocker and either Townshend or Daltrey. However, in the context of the Quadrophenia rock opera, it's about Jimmy meeting the Who. He meets his musical idols and they don't live up to his expectations - or get on with him. He tries to catch them at the stage door and they are rude to him. It's one of the many things that makes Jimmy disillusioned with the 'mod' lifestyle. The song is sung from two POVs. The 'punk' sings the verses. The 'godfather' sings the chorus ("I'm the guy in the sky...") and the bridge. What's slightly confusing is that the godfather is claiming to be "the punk with the stutter". The punk complains that the godfather isn't living up to what he claims to be. He accuses him of being out of touch with and ungrateful towards his fans. He bitterly suggestions the godfather is on the way out, as part of a "dying nation". It's an angry rant from a younger generation to the old, just like the song 'My Generation' - which is referenced. It's hard to hear, but the words "M-m-m-my g-g-g-generation" are heard in the breakdowns, processed heavily by a synthesiser. The godfather replies by saying that he might "tell lies" and be a bit out of touch, due to all the fame and status of being "the new president". But he still insists he's a rebel at heart, which is why he reminds that he is "the punk with the stutter" (i.e. the famous stuttering vocals of 'My Generation'). In the bridge he's then more open and modest. He tells the punk that "I've lived your future out" and that he's had a wild and destructive lifestyle of his own, and it's not quite over. |
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| The Kinks – Living on a Thin Line Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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It seems that nostalgia for an England gone by is a common theme on Kinks songs. This song, written instead by Dave Davies, is a much darker take on that theme. When he came up with the chorus of "living on a thin line", I think he was partly thinking about how tense and stressful it had been being a member of the Kinks. But in particular, it's about the instability and uncertainly in the world around them. The first verse talks about the days of "wars that were won and lost" and when "castles are burned" are gone. It's not nostalgic and it acknowledges that these barbaric days are gone. "But inside, we're the same as we ever were." It's unbelievable how many far-right wingnuts you get commenting on this song in the YouTube comments sections. It's because of the one line "There's no England now." But the bridge section actually *attacks* that kind of demagogue, the leader who says "Break their hearts and break some heads". I wonder if he was referring to the Falklands War, that had happened two years before the song was released. Dave Davies once commented that one of the main themes of the song is his hatred of politicians. The middle verse also sums up a feeling of disillusionment with the way the world is heading, especially in politics and world affairs. "What are we going to leave for the young? / What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do..." |
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| Bruce Springsteen – Brilliant Disguise Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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It's about a marriage that's falling apart, as their love for each other is fading. This was exactly what was happening to Bruce Springsteen at the time. He had married Julianne Phillips in 1985. By the time he wrote the Tunnel of Love album two years later, the time the cracks in his marriage were showing; they divorced the following year. As to the "brilliant disguise", it's about someone's personality changing over time. He wonders (not seriously, of course) if the woman he's married to is not the same woman he married, but an imposter with a "brilliant disguise". Towards the end of the song, he wonders if a similar personality change has happened to himself. |
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| Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I initially thought this song was Elton John being disillusioned with show business. Then I remembered - of course, it's Bernie Taupin who writes his lyrics. So I'm not sure if the song is about anyone's particular experience, but just about the general feeling about getting what you want and being disillusioned with it. So the protagonist left a boring life in the countryside and travelled to the city to pursue his dreams, perhaps in show business. Like the characters in The Wizard of Oz, he believed that the "yellow brick road" would lead him to a place where he could find fulfilment in his life. But their experiences were the same. The Wizard of Oz turned out to be a puppet. In the song, the protagonist finds that the dream job what he was looking for wasn't what he imagined it would be. This song basically says 'screw you' to a person who helped him get it (e.g. a talent manager) and possibly conned him in the process. So he announces he will return home to the simple life he once tried to escape, and which he now has a new-found appreciation for. |
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| Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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This was the last song on the album of the same name. Judging by this position, it makes you wonder whether the singer is the same one from "Racing in the Street". This time though, he seems to be in an even more dismal situation, and yet still determined to carry on. I can't really thing of what "trestles" could mean, other than a type of bridge. "Fairview" sounds like a generic name for a suburb. There are at least six places in New Jersey called Fairview, but the most likely one would be an affluent community in Monmouth County, about 10-15 miles from Springsteen's hometown in Freehold. On the other hand, there's no clear clues as to where "Abram's bridge" could be. It could just be some sort of meeting point the protagonist had, but it could even imply he's homeless. In other words, "she" is living a fairly comfortable life; he is not. The song's suggesting that she escaped a rougher, more adventurous life, because after all, "the blood never burned in her veins." The song is about a man who is down on his luck. He says "I lost my money and I lost my wife / Those things don't matter much to me now". It's not clear if the woman mentioned in the first verse is his ex-wife, but it would certainly fit the narrative. Judging by the last verse, the song is about how he intends to keep going no matter what the cost, to "be on that hill / with everything I got". As for the "darkness on the edge of town", the song doesn't make it clear what it is. Maybe it doesn't need to have a clear definition. Perhaps if town is the 'safe' place, then going out of the town limits into this 'darkness' represents risky territory, in general. It's the unknown. As for the word "sonny", this appears to just be a name Springsteen uses to address the listener, just like he often uses the word "mister". |
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| Rush – Time Stand Still Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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In my view, these are the best lyrics Neil Peart ever wrote. For a while, I thought that Rush's lyrics were a bit to clever for their own good. I couldn't relate to the literature and mythology they often referenced. But I can easily relate to these lyrics. It's about wanting to make the most of what you've got, in the present. "I'm not looking back / But I want to look around me now". It's a bit of a lament about how time can pass so quickly. "Children growing up - old friends growing older" - that's happening to me, right now. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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A fitting tribute to the tragic sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzergald, which might have been forgotten by now had it not been for this song. In modern performances, Gordon Lightfoot changes two parts of the lyrics. The line "At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in, he said" is now sung as "At 7 p.m. it grew dark, it was then he said". This was after evidence was unearthed that found that there was no human error involved in the sinking of the ship. In addition, the "musty old hall" of the church is now described as being a "rustic old hall". It's not fully agreed as to what caused the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, but the most likely theory was rogue waves. The ship was crossing Lake Superior in very stormy weather, and the lake has been known to produce exceptionally tall 'rogue' waves in these conditions. The legend that Lake Superior "never gives up her dead" has a basis in fact. Normally, when someone drowns, the body will float to the surface after a few days, due to the decomposition bacteria producing bubbles. But Superior is too cold to allow these bacteria to thrive. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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A fitting tribute to the tragic sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzergald, which might have been forgotten by now had it not been for this song. In modern performances, Gordon Lightfoot changes two parts of the lyrics. The line "At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in, he said" is now sung as "At 7 p.m. it grew dark, it was then he said". This was after evidence was unearthed that found that there was no human error involved in the sinking of the ship. In addition, the "musty old hall" of the church is now described as being a "rustic old hall". It's not fully agreed as to what caused the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, but the most likely theory was rogue waves. The ship was crossing Lake Superior in very stormy weather, and the lake has been known to produce exceptionally tall 'rogue' waves in these conditions. The legend that Lake Superior "never gives up her dead" has a basis in fact. Normally, when someone drowns, the body will float to the surface after a few days, due to the decomposition bacteria producing bubbles. But Superior is too cold to allow these bacteria to thrive. |
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| Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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For the casual listener, it's probably the best song Van ever wrote. I don't think the meaning is really hidden. It's about a man looking back on the friendship and romance he had with a girl back in his youth. He's thinking with nostalgia about how they were playful ("laughing and a-running / skipping and a-jumping"), adventurous ("going down the old mine / with a transistor radio") and a bit mischievous ("making love in the green grass..."). In the last first, they're older now, they don't see each other so often and their friendship has faded somewhat. Life just doesn't seem as fun as it used to be. Originally the song was supposed to be called 'Brown Skinned Girl'. At the time, singing about an interracial relationship would have been considered a bit racy (no pun intended) so he changed it to its current title. Van Morrison doesn't really strike me as being the sort of artist who is into drugs or casual sex, despite lots of attempts to analyse it for innuendo. The line "making love in the green grass" probably is a sex reference. In some edits this is bowdlerised to "laughing and a-running". |
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| Dire Straits – In The Gallery Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| It's a song criticising modern art. Harry is a hard-working and skilled sculptor whose work gets ignored in the commercialised world of modern art. On the other hand, a trendy artist rakes in money by putting up a blank canvas. This doesn't even sound far-fetched - the 2001 Turner prize went to an exhibit featuring an empty room with a light that turned on and off. The song ends with Harry finally received the fame and recognition he deserves - after his death. | |
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