| My Chemical Romance – Helena Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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Most people have stated that this is a song is about the death of Gerard and Mikey Way's grandmother – Helena (I will assume this is true). This is a source of confusion in the comments and it seems people are struggling to understand how the lyrics square with this fact. Firstly, many people want to insert a romantic element into the song – which is quite easily done with a little reinterpretation; after all it is implied in the music video (and for all I know, the proper way to look at it). Secondly, it is more correct to say that this song is about grief. Thirdly, things become clearer when we realize who is being sung to; in one sense it is Helena herself, but in another (and projected onto her) it is death personified. Well, that's almost true. Perhaps a better name for it would be "the abyss". For this entity, as we will see, is also the source of life: the chaos out of which life emerges and into which life dissolves in death. In Goethe’s Faust, Mephistopheles (the devil) refers to Mother Night - "the darkness that gave birth to light" - and wishes to return everything to this original darkness. So when I say the singer is confronting "the abyss" - I mean this paradoxical character that is both the source of life and the encroaching darkness of death that is coming for all of us. The paradox is dealt with in this song as an accusation of hypocrisy. The lyric that best illustrates this is "Came a time when every star fall brought you to tears again". This is perfect when you realize that all the atoms necessary for life were created in supernovas. It is the death of stars that makes life possible. One could think of her tears as the river of life. So there is this image of life continuously emerging out of death. In the following line "We are the very hurt you sold" there are two ideas at play. One - that life is suffering. Two - life as death’s rejection (Mother Night abandoning her child - out of which could arise a suicidal desire to return to this original wholeness and nothingness). If we read the song as being addressed to Helena, we could just say she loved watching shooting stars (or something like that), and the joys she gave them whilst she lived are now turned into pain in the wake of her death. And let’s not forget the literal fact that she is the source of her grandchildren’s lives (Grandmother Night, eh?). Mixed in with this is an anger at her abandonment by dying; an unfair and irrational accusation, perhaps, but that doesn't stop their feelings. One of the main themes of the song is a struggle with suicidal ideas in the wake of deaths pain and inevitability. Out of this confrontation and struggle, the decision is clear and ironic: "So long and goodnight". The abyss is being rejected for now, he decides to choose life. Why? "Well, if you carry on this way - things are better if I stay". It is not stated directly, and is up to interpretation, but it is implied that he believes that his premature death would only cause more pain and grief to those around him. That the grief he is suffering (that he blames Helena for) would only be multiplied on others if he were to leave. It is also a goodnight to Helena who is now part of that abyss (for she has returned to it). It is also possible that he is rejecting Helena by saying goodnight – but, if so, it is probably because of the projection of the image of death. Part of the reason there is much debate about whether the second line repeats or changes to "So long NOT goodnight" is because the song works either way. "NOT goodnight" can be read in two ways. One - he is rejecting "goodnight" as a euphemism for death. Two - it is the recognition of the inevitability of death (that it is not truly a goodbye either to death or Helena). Deaths (and Helena's) paradoxical nearness and remoteness is also referred to many times in the song. In one sense death is far away but we could possibly die at any moment. In terms of grief, the loved one is as far away as possible and yet the memory of them can be constant if the grief is strong. I think that the persistence of Helena in memory is what the opening lyrics refer to “Long ago, just like the Hearse you die to get in again, we are so far from you”. He seems to be blaming her for his persistent rumination of her death. In his mind, she is dying again and again and again. Separation, both in time and space are referred to here. Later in the song he asks “Can you hear me? Are you near me? Can we pretend to leave and then we'll meet again when both our cars collide”. Again, we can interpret him asking either the abyss or Helena these questions. This is, in essence the same thing, because he is asking when they will be reunited in death. I find the line about pretending to leave very poignant – either way it is interpreted. On the personal emotional level, it is connected to the idea that those we love never leave us. On a metaphysical level, we can ask if there is anything really separating us from the chaos that we will inevitably return to. I’m not sure how to interpret the idea of cars colliding, except beyond the obvious implication of death by car crash. Perhaps they just wanted a visceral image for death. Perhaps the cars are a symbol of destiny. Maybe the car is a hearse (I quite like this one, but I admit it’s a stretch). I haven’t analysed every line in the song. It should be clear now how the line “Burning on just like the match you strike to incinerate the lives of everyone you know” fits in with the ideas I expressed above. I will leave by saying one of my favourite lines in the song is “And like the blade you stain - well, I've been holding on tonight”. This image is at once life-denying and life-affirming. In this symbol, he is a blood stain on the (metaphorical?) knife that killed Helena. Despite the grief of someone he cares about turning him to thoughts of death (and nihilistically comparing himself to a stain) he has decided it is better to hold on. Well, what’s the worst that he can say? |
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| Coldplay – Yellow Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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This is a nice little bittersweet song. I think the colour yellow has a strong meaning in this song even if Chris Martin denies a consciously intended meaning. The fact that it "sounded right" to him means it had an unconscious significance. Any nonsense word could fits the rhythm but "yellow" fits the feeling of the song. The colour yellow evokes a soft and nice warmth felt towards someone. The colour itself often appears temporarily like the bright glow of a candle, or the brief shine of light. It rhymes with mellow and this song feels mellow. (I'm not listing every association of the word yellow, only ones that also fit the song: cowardly, for example, does not fit here). Contrast this with the divine associations of the stars. Stars last a very long time. This love feels temporary; at least by contrast. And the merely finite flesh (skin and bones) transform into something akin to this divine quality by turning into something beautiful. I don't think the love in this song is built to last, but this shouldn't be interpreted negatively. People come in and out of our lives, but this song makes me think of someone I occasionally think about fondly. Someone who shined bright for a moment and just passed though my life. This is what I mean when I say this song is bittersweet. Although the person is gone (or will be gone) they will not be forgotten; by the singer or the stars. Perhaps this is even about some loved ones whole life, for even life is temporary. The song is also about what we do and what we would do for someone whilst we have the time. Writing songs for someone may be an attempt to immortalize them. Also doing great and bold things for a person (I swam across, I jumped across for you). We don't know what the person crossed but we can imagine that it is something significant in their lives. "Draw a line" could be what we do not let ourselves do out of love for someone i.e. not abandoning them. I see a few dark interpretation of the line "For you I'd bleed myself dry". Whilst this is certainly an extreme literal action I would interpret it more figuratively. That one would be willing to use all of ones energy for someone. But even taken in the extreme that you would be willing to die for someone, such an action would be done only in an extreme situation. Imagine someone you love about to be hit by a car, would you dive to push them out of the way and risk your own life if you could? It's only a dark line if it is not done out of a genuine sense of love. Though it does seem true that the sentiment of "dying for someone" can be a romanticism of a suicidal impulse. This a very unfortunate misuse of the phrase, draining the love out of it and leaving a black hole in its place. At the end of the song, the stars continue to shine for the person. The stars will continue to shine for billions of years. Like the memory of a person long gone but still remembered fondly and with love. It is good, every now and then, to recall a person you had positive feelings for. Not to dwell, but to let them shine in your mind in the moment they occur to you. And may you too shine. |
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| Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I really like Roberta Flacks interpretation of this song about a song. Although in real life "Killing me Softly" is based on Lori Lieberman's experience of Don McLean's "Empty Chairs", here the song takes on an unknown mythical status (rather like Tenacious D's "Tribute"). And this song has a profound effect upon our protagonist; it both reflects and destroys her, but also makes her grow as a result. The protagonist was made to feel small, like her entire life could have been encapsulated in something as simple as a song. Hence the contrasts between "my pain/ his fingers" and "my life/ his words" as if the former was no match for the latter, even though the song was sung "softly". In the first verse there is an emotional distance between her and the singer: "I heard he sang a good song/ had a style". These are very chill reasons for being at the concert. Also note the laid-back "to listen for a while" which could imply that she wasn't even planning on staying for the whole performance. Describing him as a "young boy", also implies a lack of life experience (as if he shouldn't be so wise). All of this makes it easy to sing this entire verse with a bitter sarcasm (try it), but in Roberta Flack's performance it feels like she is expressing the unexpectedness of what happened. She wasn't prepared for this. The second verse reveals that she felt a sudden need to explain her unexpected reaction to herself. She tried to defend herself from the revelations in the song, wishing he would stop, but she felt powerless against the onslaught. It's like he was gently tearing up the "letters" she refers to. Letters which were very personal and meaningful to her were exposed to be some kind of cliché in his ability to replicate them. In the last verse her defences were proved useless and she was exposed "in all (her) dark despair". And yet while she felt so exposed, she also felt invisible when he "looked right though" her. This connects to what I was saying earlier about her feeling small. And yet she is the subject of his song in her mind. So at this point she doesn't feel like her own person; she has been replaced by a song which has been sung many times before and could be written without her. Of course, being a person, she is more than this, at least in potential, but her old conception of who she is had to die before she could grow. Once the verses are over, the last thing we hear before the chorus repeats is a long cry of pain and sadness. It is not shown in these lyrics but it is sang as a series of "Oh's" and "La's". What I hear is the mourning of her old self. But she can grow because she has accepted this death instead of clinging to her old way of being. The song feels like it is sung by someone who has begun to mature and deepen due to this experience. So although it is a sad song it is one that lays the foundation of a new hope and a new life beyond the old one. |
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