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| Billy Joel – You May Be Right Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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The full name of the neighborhood is "Bedford—Stuyvesant", but thank you for getting that information out there. Black people moved there mostly from Harlem for the more plentiful housing "[f]ollowing the construction of the subway line between Harlem and Bedford in 1936." [Wikipedia]. |
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| Manfred Mann – Blinded by the Light Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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I dunno -- I have a feeling it's more about the musical instrument, often used in amusement parks and simulated in merry-go-rounds and carousels, like the one mentioned elsewhere in the lyrics. The instrument is named after the muse in a typical 19th Century nod to neoclassicism.
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| Eric Clapton – I Shot The Sheriff Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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What strikes me is that it is important to hear the whole story before judging the protagonist. He states first that he did shoot the Sheriff -- he makes no excuse or apology for that. This may lead the listener to assume he is guilty of the shooting of the deputy. As well, it suggests that even if he is not guilty of the crime of shooting the deputy, he will be convicted. This is counteracted by his claim of self defense, which in most cultures will exonerate the defendant. Of course, there is still the charge of resisting arrest, but that is usually not a "capital offense". The speaker also asserts that the Sheriff (one "John Brown") exceeds his authority with prejudice, so the resistance of arrest may in some measure be justifiable.
The only missing element is the identity of the killer of the deputy, of which the speaker seems ignorant. There is no evidence I can find that this was based on any real event. It was written by Bob Marley, and it might be assumed that his version is what he intended. "Better" is a matter of taste and cannot be accurately disputed. |
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| Michael Jackson – Billie Jean Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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I'm afraid it's impossible to father only one of two twins. You're either the father of both or of neither. Simple genetics. You can be the father of one of two separately born children, but not of only one twin. |
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| Michael Jackson – Billie Jean Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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Apparently, QJ also did not think it should be titled "Billie Jean" since the listener might confuse the title character with Billie Jean King the celebrated tennis player. |
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| Michael Jackson – Billie Jean Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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I don't know about music, but in theater "in the round" means the audience completely surrounds the stage, unlike proscenium, in which the audience is beyond the pit, usually in seats on a raked (inclined) platform and the actors are on a stage in front of the audience. |
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| Men Without Hats – The Safety Dance Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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My understanding is that this is about nuclear proliferation. To "dance" means to have a nuclear weapon in this case. We can have a nuclear weapon and participate in the arms race and if other nations and their allies don't want to, they are not our 'friends' (they don't support our policies). |
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| Pilot – Magic Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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I'm not sure I agree with the placement of commas in the line:
Never believe, it's not so.
Couldn't it be:
Never believe it's not so.
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This would mean something very different. In the first case, it means "Don't believe in magic, it is not true." In the second, it means "Believe it is true" (double negative). |
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| Annie Lennox – Walking On Broken Glass Lyrics
| 21 years ago
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The person in the song has been hurt by a lover, abandoned. Their heart has been broken, and the pain is so sharp, it seems like they are walking on broken glass. The imagery is like being in an abandoned house with the windows smashed, and glass all over the floor. The person says that if the lover's intention was to hurt the partner, they succeeded. It ends with a plea to pick up the pieces and save them from the destruction of their happiness. |
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| Slade – Run Runaway Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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I'm gonna guess at this one. I'm imagining that the chameleon is love (All things to everyone) and that when it comes to you, you should let it 'run away' with you. Money, time, and self are less important. |
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| Cat Stevens – Morning Has Broken Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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Actually, it's a slightly modified version of a hymn, when words writted by Eleanor Farjeon in 1931 and the tune based on a Gaelic melody known as Bunessan. |
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| Jesus Christ Superstar – This Jesus Must Die Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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To SnuffleSniffer: I'm really glad someone took the time to put in these lyrics. Superstar is the best! Just a quick correction, if I may. I think the lyric in this song thay you have as "miracle worker, pilgrim or fool" is actually "miracle wonder man, hero or fool", but you might check the libretto to be sure. Otherwise, thanks for the effort. |
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| Clam Chowder – Tshotsholosa Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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English translation: ``Steam away, steam away over the hills, you train from Rhodesia.
You are fast-moving through hills, steam away, you train from Rhodesia.'' |
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| Boston – More Than A Feeling Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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I wonder if the writer was familiar with Shakespeare. The line "clear as the sun in the summer sky" is reminiscent of the line in Henry V spoken by the Archbishop of Canterbury: "So that, as clear as is the summer's sun.
..." |
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| Dire Straits – Money For Nothing Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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O.K., guys. Time for your friendly neighborhood librarian to wade in here. "Strait" means a narrow or tight passage, such as the "Straits of Magellan". When used in "dire straits" it means squeezed (usually financially) to the point of distress. This is not to say that a certain phonetic pun isn't meant here, though I don't know that for a fact. Just thought I'd clear things up a bit. |
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| Foreigner – Cold As Ice Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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I think the lyricist is saying to his or her lover that they are too preoccupied with making money (digging for gold) to develop the relationship, the real "fortune" in life. A warning follows that there is a price to pay when love is ignored. |
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| Eagles – Hotel California Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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It sounds to me like a bad dream. There are all kinds of images and voices. Almost like the state of schizophrenia. |
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| Pink Floyd – Echoes Lyrics
| 22 years ago
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Relating to IcedPachyderm's message of 5/7/02, "submarine" just means "under the sea". The vessel type could reasonably called a "submarine boat", since submarine is adjectival. Still, the dictionary allows its use as a noun (the boat), an adjective (undersea), and as a verb (attack or bypass as in a submarine).
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| The Bangles – Going Down To Liverpool Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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A UB40 is an Unemployment Benefit (UB) form. It seems to speak of the attitude of young people from the country (green and pleasant land) going to the city and living off welfare, wasting their lives. |
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| Yes – Roundabout Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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As I understand it, a 'roundabout' in England is what Americans call a "merry-go-round'. |
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| The Beatles – Across the Universe Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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One should remember that there is an almost nihilist bent to Buddhism. Part of the philosophy is that our reality is made of of 'skandas', which are attributes or qualities. Since a quality is only real in the mind, and the mind is not substantial, the world we see is not real. Very mind-bending (and not very practical unless you want to just hang out and vegetate), especially if you take the right drugs. ;-) |
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| Indigo Girls – Airplane Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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"Airplane" deals with what goes through the singers mind when she takes an airline flight. She makes a deal with God that she won't sin again if she can make it down safely. She'd rather be on the ground than in the air. |
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| Royal Hunt – 1348 Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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This sounds like a description of the bubonic plague epidemic that hit Europe in the 14th century. |
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| Manfred Mann – Blinded by the Light Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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No, the words (penned by Bruce "Born in the U.S.A." Springsteen) are:
"revved up like a Deuce" (pronounced 'dooss'). A Deuce is apparently a type of automobile. |
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| Gordon Lightfoot – If You Could Read My Mind Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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It's also frankly honest about his own egotism ("Like a movie star burned in a three way script"). I've been there. I loved a girl and couldn't see how my own egotism got in the way of seeing how it was killing love. Welcome to the human condition. |
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| The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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Also, how many people appreciate the orchestral sections, which give this piece the extra element of drama?
I must admit, the spoken section at the end is a bit excessive. |
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| The Police – Synchronicity II Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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I think this has to do with a certain amount of protest to modernism. The evocation of the Loch Ness monster (what other Scottish Loch?) is of things monstrous beneath the surface that we daren't admit to. |
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| Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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I used to think this was sung by Rod Stewart. Actually, the All Music Guide describes Ms. Carnes' voice as being like Mr. Stewarts. So I guess I can't be blamed. |
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| Gary Numan – Cars Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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If you sit in your car long enough, and let your mind go flabby, you really start to appreciate this song. |
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| Blondie – Call Me Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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Well, on the other hand, it was the theme to 'American Gigolo', so maybe it should be call girl ... or 'Call Me' girl. |
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| Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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I think it may be more general. I hear them saying that people in relationships may want to be abused, to abuse, use you, or be useful to others. She then absolves herself from judging ("Who am I to disagree?"). The search for meaning is the only universal. |
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| Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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I think what she's saying is that girls want to do what THEY want to do, not what Mommy, Daddy, Husband, or Boyfriend have in mind for them. They want to be able to have the freedom to do what they want, whether it's go out or whatever. |
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| Heart – Magic Man Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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This sounds like a typical "girl-comes-of-age" story, with psycho-sexual-mystical (how very Victorian) overtones. |
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| The Moody Blues – Nights In White Satin Lyrics
| 23 years ago
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OK. How many people grew up listening to this on the radio, not getting the album or seeing it in print and thinking for a long time that it was "Knights in White Satin"? |
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