| Angel Olsen – Sister Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[brokentelephone78:16604] I'm glad I could be of help! I actually found a podcast the other day where Angel talks more about the meaning and confirms some of my observations above. Google: Angel Olsen New Yorker Radio podcast and it should come up. She comes on around 40 mins in. | |
| Angel Olsen – Sister Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[justlikehoney1:16603] | |
| Angel Olsen – Sister Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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She stated in an interview that 'this song has nothing to do with my sister.' I think the character she refers to in this song is in fact herself - the 'sister' she is reaching out to is her vulnerable, flawed self and the 'I' is her rational, present self. I think all humans have these sides to them and you are always living both at the same time. I see this as a song about empowerment and being authentic, through heartbreak and tragedy and all the terrible things life entails. I find when she sings 'all my life I thought I'd change' over and over to be completely overwhelming because it a beautifully poignant declaration of the fact you can never be perfect and you can't help shit happening but you can be true to yourself and hopefully therefore others. There is huge comfort in that. I have no idea if this is what Angel is writing about but it is what I took from it. Thank you as always Angel for creating beautiful empowering and comforting music - this album has been a god send for me at a particularly difficult time of my life. |
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| Elliott Smith – All Cleaned Out Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Really hurts to hear him describe himself as 'the comic little drunk you call your boy'. Miss you Elliott, you were and remain golden. |
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| Cass McCombs – I Went to the Hospital Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| This song really reminds me of On the Beach by Neil Young | |
| Elliott Smith – No Name #1 Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This is definitely my favourite Elliott Smith song for two different reasons. Firstly how perfectly it expresses the great human feeling of isolation. The imagery of just a fragile teenage boy at a party is remarkably powerful, as is the repetition of 'leave alone' and 'you don't belong', which echo in your head long after the song has finished. I am a huge fan of Smith's music and also am fascinated about his life and nature. No Name #1's simple meaning tells us a lot about the man and the isolation he endured throughout his life because of how his brain was wired and because of how talented he was. Others have picked up on this quotation: 'The mighty mother with her hundred arms swept all aside' - as a direct reference to his own mother. I too interpreted it this way, it's interesting though, in later songs where a female figure that is seemingly a reference to his mother appears, they are usually portrayed as weak and feeble. Here, the 'mother' is conveyed as a strong, mythical beast. I think this could reflect where he was emotionally in the Roman Candle era, his mother and the internal conflict he suffered from past experiences with her were overpowering and throttling at this time. This could portray anger he felt for her for the pain she had caused him. As time goes on in his songwriting career, this female figure as aforementioned weakens- could this be a sign of his anger transcending into pity for his mother? No one knows truly what he experienced in his childhood, but something definitely fucked him up from it. I think this song is a very insightful view into his mind. |
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