This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
slicing jaws a way of life
brought up to waste mankind
loki's pets his little children
deadly eyery time
trapped in swamps by gates of hell
don't ever: let them out
for if you do and they escape
you'll fight a bloody bout
piranha kill in a pack - you'll run
piranha start to attack - you'll done
if you think you can beat - deadly school
if you think you can live - vou're a fool
gates of hell are old and cracked
they tumble and they fall
out rush a bloody wall of death
to kill anything at all
their sole mission is t0 kill
strip your bones and flesh
rip out your eyes tear off your face
an agonizing death
piranha kill in a pack - you'll run
piranha start to attack - you're done
if you think you can beat - deadly school
if you think you can live - you're a fool
brought up to waste mankind
loki's pets his little children
deadly eyery time
trapped in swamps by gates of hell
don't ever: let them out
for if you do and they escape
you'll fight a bloody bout
piranha kill in a pack - you'll run
piranha start to attack - you'll done
if you think you can beat - deadly school
if you think you can live - vou're a fool
gates of hell are old and cracked
they tumble and they fall
out rush a bloody wall of death
to kill anything at all
their sole mission is t0 kill
strip your bones and flesh
rip out your eyes tear off your face
an agonizing death
piranha kill in a pack - you'll run
piranha start to attack - you're done
if you think you can beat - deadly school
if you think you can live - you're a fool
Lyrics submitted by KrudeDuse
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Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
Indigo
Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
I honestly am not sure if Exodus cared enough to craft a metaphor such as this, but I think the school of piranhas is comperable to certain metal scenes at the time. The metalheads were often at war with the punk rockers, and each stuck to their own kind. Since I was born in 88 I couldn't tell you what it was really like, but I'm led to believe that if you pissed off one metalhead you had a whole pack of them after you soon enough, especially in the San Fransisco Bay Area.
The part that throws me off is the reference to Loki. I don't know where that would fit in there.
But this song kicks enough ass for it not to matter anyway.
Thats not how it was in San Francisco in the mid 1980s,which was when Exodus where in their prime.The metalheads and punks generally got along most of the time.Skinheads where a problem though.
I'm not sure they'd make such a metaphor for this song, but you could be right. Either way, it's a great song! There's also a great cover by Sepultura.
"This song ain't about no goldfish, and it ain't about no tuna fish, and it ain't about no trout!" - Paul Baloff, 1985
This song rules. I wouldn't try and look very far into Exodus' lyrics, you're not going to find much. This song is simply about a school of piranhas eatin' some poor bastard. Thrash is largely based around violence and fury and bands would just write about stuff in that vein, because that's what the scene was calling for. So, don't really put that much thought into the lyrics; just sit back and enjoy the riffs.
It ain't about no goldfish, it ain't about no tuna fish, and it AIN'T ABOUT NO TROUT!
If violence is a common theme in thrash metal, it's possible that this song is an extended metaphor for such. I've always seen the line "If you think you can live - you're a fool" as a reference to teenage boys joining gangs or wars, thinking that it would be cool and not a fucking thing could destroy them when they really end up getting wounded, killed or traumatized by the horrors of battle. Loki is a Viking god and the Vikings were notorious throughout the Middle Ages for terrorizing and pillaging.
This song is about hell ,evil and violence.
Wicked god Loki and his demons (in this case the piranhas) and other evil creatures from hell which will cause a slaughter if escape.