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| Augustana – Feel Fine Lyrics
| 5 days ago
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@[efk121:55102] yes, my version is completely different as well (starting with the line that you mentioned). I think our version must be better, because the raw power and emotion expressed in his voice is hard to imagine being matched by anyone else—- including himself. It sounds like he’s saying “I feel fine… when I’m naked.” Am I hearing it right? Is he saying he only feels good when he’s laying beside her? I don’t know, I was hoping to find out what others heard here. But I have to admit, I’m kind of enjoying the mystery and I suspect when I find the answer (if I ever do) that I will probably be disappointed. |
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| Chicago – 25 or 6 to 4 Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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@[Hilde:46371] I agree, it’s about writing a song (according to the author), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be about other things too. The audience’s interpretation is an equally valid consideration to the authors intent. Once any artwork is published, the meaning of a piece becomes a two way street. The same thing could be said about most religions: look how many different interpretations and branches the Christian Bible has spawned, even though it is the same book. |
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| U2 – This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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This song is supposed to represent the alternative (a non-violent) version of Irish resistance to UK occupation of Northern Ireland. U2 was a big advocate of this, carrying white flags on horseback in their videos and such. So much bloodshed in the sectarian conflict failed to produce an English surrender— nor did an assassination (bomb) attack against Margaret Thatcher— so the MLK and Gandhi approach seemed logical. (Don’t fight, just surrender but don’t cooperate… and hope to wear down or guilt the occupational forces into retreat.) It may have saved some lives, but in the end, the current truce has left Northern Ireland still in Unionist hands. Alas, idealism doesn’t always work. I still like the song a lot though, one of the best on the album. |
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| Augustana – Fire Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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If the correct lyrics were posted, it would settle the debate about the sexual nature of this song. The first two lines are: “know YOU don’t cum easy, no YOU don’t cum fast.” Seriously. |
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| U2 – Iris (Hold Me Close) Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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@[bgray:45437] this was definitely NOT the writers original intent— his mom’s name was Iris and she died. But whether intended originally or not, you’re interpretation is pretty interesting and I like it! Who cares what the writer intended if the audience comes up with a more compelling or original meaning? Thanks for the input! |
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| Grateful Dead – Scarlet Begonias Lyrics
| 2 years ago
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@[skennedy97:45335] Thank you for taking the time and effort to share such a well researched and reasoned explanation. You have made an upbeat tune mean so much more to me. |
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| The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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@[xsailor367:45331] Nice write up. Another contributor pointed out that the writer of this song actually mentioned it was satin sheets for a bed that inspired this story (given to him by a lover). But I like the interpretation of the satin lining of a coffin better! (The “nights” would be the perpetual darkness from within the grave.) The fact is that any interpretation is a two-way process and it doesn’t necessarily mean the authors intention outweighs the value of the listeners or readers interpretation. What is on the page matters most, and from that standpoint, your version trumps what may have been the authors’. |
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| The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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@[xsailor367:45330] Nice write up. Another contributor pointed out that the writer of this song actually mentioned it was satin sheets for a bed that inspired this story (given to him by a lover). But I like the interpretation of the satin lining of a coffin better! The fact is that any interpretation is a two-way process and it doesn’t necessarily mean the authors intention outweighs the value of the listeners or readers interpretation. What is on the page matters most, and from that standpoint, your version trumps what may have been the authors’. |
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| Grateful Dead – Ship Of Fools Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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This is not my interpretation but one told me by a long time dead head that quit after an epiphany he had that many of the GD lyrics were warning him about the dangers of Satan. This song was a typical example:
The singer confronts the strangest Captain ever (Lucifer) to make a proposition. The singer will not work for pay, but would suffer to learn how to help others avoid the devil’s ship of fools (condemned to damnation).
Of course, the devil would never agree to teach others how to avoid his traps. (But it’s a rhetorical premise for the sake of the story/ song.)
The singer acknowledges that he was not a believer in God or the devil until later in life. But now that he knows the truth, he cannot ignore or laugh off the seriousness of the situation: believers escape to heaven and disbelievers sink below— while those who believe (but not enough to repent and try to change their lives) are condemned to float aimlessly between both places (in purgatory).
Even at 30 years, he still knows so little compared to an eternal being (one that would consider any mortal a child). He realizes that our short time of life is running out (the bottle of time and cup of life was full but is now almost empty). Most will not heed the advice, but he will still attempt to warn them: Do not climb aboard the bandwagon of sin and praise or serve the captain of death. |
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| Grateful Dead – Sunrise Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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I knew a former deadhead who traveled around passing out flyers about how satanic the Grateful Dead really was and now (as a Christian) he had learned to burn all his Grateful Dead albums. (Oh, the pain!) The most interesting part was that he had the lyrics all written out and it showed how many of the songs were biblical ripoffs that were twisted into pseudo satanic anthems (like Sampson and Delilah).
Although there are many songs that have a plethora of biblical references and there’s a little doubt that the Grateful Dead was obsessed with Biblical themes and metaphors (some very in your face, like “Friend of the Devil”), this particular song is rather evangelical. There is no tangent implying drug use or free sex, just forgiveness and love for love’s sake.
“No one is forsaken, no one is a liar, he plants the tree of life on our foreheads with water.” (I.e., baptism).
Maybe the dead lyrics were at times Satanic, and maybe their lyrics were at other times Atheist or agnostic. But if any of those other instances were accurate, than it is also safe to say that at other times their lyrics were actually Christian. (And keep in mind that much of the Bible is encouraging the belief of Satan (to scaring readers into wanting to avoid hell).)
Either way, you gotta hand it to them that they have very poetic lyrics that make you pause and think. Perhaps it’s the lack of a preachy voice that makes it so effective in making you really consider the possibilities. Like a good Shakespeare play, it allows many different interpretations. |
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| U2 – California (There Is No End to Love) Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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This is a song about death and dying. The setting sun is an obvious metaphor. The singer is reflecting on the grief of a spouse or girlfriend who is mourning the death of a loved one. But the sadness is really an expression of love that continues on even after death. All we have is the stolen days (borrowed time) that we are allotted— but one’s love is eternal. |
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| Breaking Benjamin – The Diary of Jane Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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I don’t want to take away from anyone else’s interpretation but I take this song to be very literal. He’s in love with Jane and he’s reading her diary and he seeing that he’s not mentioned at all, but other men are mentioned instead. (That’s why he’s turning the other way and burning out pages.) I like the comment that Jane has died and this is after her death. That makes it extra futile and painful. Jane could have been his wife. It’s interesting how all these rock stars write so many painful songs about unfaithful spouses and lovers. It makes you wonder if they are drawing on their own marriages and relationships… or projecting their own unfaithfulness (from all the easy sex they get from groupies). |
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| Augustana – Feel Fine Lyrics
| 3 years ago
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I have a different version on my Apple phone as well. It’s hard to make out some of the lyrics (which is why I came in the first place) but I will write down what I think it says.\n\nYou are my friend\nSo why don’t you care?\nI am afraid\nI am afraid. \n\n(Chorus)\nBaby, I feel fine.\nBaby, I feel fine.\nBaby, I feel fine.\n(Then it either says, not sure which:)\nWhen I’m with you\n(Or maybe:)\nWithout you\n(Or perhaps:)\nWhen I’m naked.\n\nRepeats chorus again.\n\nRepeats chorus again, but also repeats the last line 3 times.\n\nThis may sound like a very simplistic and repetitive song, but it’s the emotional agony and escalating energy in the chorus that makes each stanza different and delivers the powerful punch. This guy is trying to convince himself that he doesn’t need his lost love, but the louder her proclaims it, the more obvious he is lying.\n\nBTW, “Baby” might he “maybe”. And also, if he is saying “when I’m naked”, he’s being symbolic (when he is without her). Of course, it could also be when he’s literally naked and longing for the feel of her touch. (Probably both.)\n\nIt is a very painful and yet romantic song. |
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| U2 – The Troubles Lyrics
| 4 years ago
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@[monsterwax:37098] It should also be noted that the title, "The Troubles" is also how the Irish refer to the sectarian/ civil war that occurred in Northern Ireland (where U2 is from) during the late 1960s to the late 1990s. This conflict between the writer and his (former) lover has some obvious comparisons. |
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| U2 – The Troubles Lyrics
| 4 years ago
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The narrator is not accepting the blame for the abuse that his girlfriend's previous lover did to her, nor all the emotional damage it caused her. She's trying to blame HIM for all the pain she went through before-- perhaps she even expects or subconsciously WANTS more of it, because that's the pattern she associates with love. Now she's emotionally abusing him, maybe as a defense mechanism or to test if his love (by seeing if he puts up with it), or to provoke physical abuse back from him because at least that requires his time, energy, and attention. He HAS tolerated her emotional manipulation before, but not anymore. He's calling her out for her participation in the previous abuse because she enabled it to continue by not leaving the relationship with her ex-bully sooner, and he's not going to make the same mistake by continuing on with her.
It's a pretty gutsy song, considering how politically incorrect it is, but it's also right on the money. Abuse victims are often starved for love, and will do anything for it--including suffer violence. All types of addicts deserve our sympathy, but they must also own up to responsibility that they continued a path that got them into that mess to begin with. And we should not become enablers by feeling so sorry for them that we let them abuse us in a different (yet similar) manner. I'm reminded of how drug users often rob their family and/or partners blind unless those who care about them use "tough love" and refuse to tolerate the abuse. They still love the addict, but they are distancing themselves for their own protection and to also stop a new victimization cycle by the addict. That's what the writer is doing here: He still loves her, but getting into an emotionally abusive relationship out of sympathy for her previous troubles is not going to help either of them. So he's telling her why he's leaving (refusing to feel guilty about it), and hoping she'll learn from it.
"I have a will for survival
So you can hurt me
And then hurt me some more
I can live with denial
But you're not my troubles anymore" |
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| Augustana – I Still Ain't Over You Lyrics
| 4 years ago
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It was enlightening to hear someone say this isn't about an ex. It's about his current wife and he changes the dates to reflect that. That's very romantic, and puts an entirely new spin on it for me... but a song's original intent isn't always what it is "really about". Once it enters the public arena, it can become something different based on how it is heard by the listener-- and that interpretation is just as valid. From that standpoint, this song remains one of the most romantic "lost love" songs, about a woman that may have moved on, but her lover can't. And to be fair... the artist may have intended that meaning originally but after he married, adapted a new "spin" to keep his new mate happy. Either way, it's neat to think it can be viewed two opposite ways. It's happier to think it's about a current relationship, but far more heart breaking to think it's about a former relationship. For me, it will always be the latter. |
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| Okkervil River – (Shannon Wilsey on the) Starry Stairs Lyrics
| 4 years ago
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Yes, this is a song about Shannon Wilsey, the porn star who took her life right after injuring her face in a car accident. If you read up on Shannon, the song matches her life perfectly, including how she crossed the "low, long line" (went from classy to outright raunchy porn), and lives in an "old stag magazine".
The saddest parts include how she lets the "curious sets of eyes, safe behind a TV screen" pry and "pick apart and hang out to dry almost every piece of me."
Perhaps the most disturbing lines are "they ask for blood, what do you think this woman's made of? I stuck a small thin pin in my thumb." It is uncertain if she is referring to the drug use she became involved in that kept her financially (and emotionally) unstable as she became a (in)famous porn star, or if this is a reference to a faustian bargain she felt she made with the devil, who traditionally requires a finger to be pricked to sign his contract in blood. (I personally think it was both.)
She was a beautiful girl, and had a long list of celebrity relationships and flings that didn't work out, including ones with Billy Idol, Vince Neil (of Motley Crue), David Lee Roth (of Van Halen), Slash, comedian Pauly Shore, actor Mark Wahlberg. Shore was the only ex-boyfriend who attended her funeral service. When asked later why she shot herself, he said "She became Savannah. She became her (adult porn) character, who was into drugs, and needed reassurance all the time. She forgot who Shannon was. I knew she wanted out (of the porn business)." His observations sum up the song in a very sad way.
The Wikipedia entry on her is very revealing as well. |
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| The Pretenders – Birds Of Paradise Lyrics
| 5 years ago
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One of her best songs ever. It's very heartfelt and makes you wonder who she's really singing it to. It's a sentiment many of us can certainly relate to, as some of our most meaningful reunions occur in our dreams, be they with friends, relatives, or lovers. Some Indians claimed you are never dead until you are forgotten. This song supports that belief in a big way-- even if the person remembered is technically still alive-- but the earlier, less jaded and more invigorated version of them is no more. |
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| U2 – Song for Someone Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[LibertyMark:32399] Well said Mark. Having lived in Ireland, I can tell you the Irish domestic audience is very Catholic, but U2 probably realized early on that their international audience is far more secular. So they they tend to obscure their religious themes as not to provoke the non religious, or even anti-Christian /SJW types. If they had come along twenty years later, they probably would have been terrified to include ANY of that stuff, as the SJWs have become so outspoken and have dominated much of the internet (and might bash U2 for carrying water for Christianity.) The irony, of course, is that U2 is a very liberal, activist band, pushing for many of the same goals as the SJWs (just listen to "This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now")-- but when you contradict their political orthodoxy, those types can be very unforgiving and don't often "turn the other cheek." |
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| Genesis – Broadway Melody Of 1974 Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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"Sirens on the rooftops wailing, but there's no ship sailing." Some small ports literally sound sirens from rooftops to alert tourists that the ocean liners are about to leave. (So it's not necessarily the sea legend sirens.) The reference to serial robber/ rapist/ kidnapper Caryl Chessman has possible double meanings as well. It says, "Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows in a scent,You can bottle all you made." Chessman was executed in California by gas 11 years after being convicted by testimony from eyewitness victims, but he wrote four books and sold the movie rights, telling the public he was framed. (Many Hollywood "intellectuals" actually believed it.) So the line "he knows, in a scent" could actually be "he knows, innocent, you can bottle all you made." (He certainly sold the public a lot of bottles of his supposed innocence, which they drank like booze, despite multiple victims fingering him.) I'm not sure the band meant either of these double meanings, but I'd like to think they did, because this album is very rich in symbols and metaphors. |
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| Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Lyrics
| 6 years ago
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@[haloroundyourneck:32398] The second disk doesn't have the catch tunes that the first one does, but it sure is a creative way to finish the story. I usually just listen to the first 45 minutes which is so solid, any album would pale in comparison... including the second disk of the same album. |
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