Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Just got back from the downtown palais
Where the music was so sweet
Knocked me right back in the alley
I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Oh, oh, oh, I'm ready and I'm really gonna rock tonight
Sweet little lady sings like a songbird
And she sings the opera like you ain't never heard
But she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
And she ain't gonna rock and roll
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Come on, I'll show you how to sing the blues
Now baby, come on over you got nothin' to lose
Are you ready, hey, hey, hey are you ready?
Ooh, ooh, ooh, are you ready?
I wanna show you how to rock and roll
Now listen here baby she said to me
"Just meet me at the opera house at a quarter to three
'Cause I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'm ready
I'm gonna show you how to sing the blues"
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Far, far away the music is playing
Well, we were reelin' and a rockin' all through the night
Yeah, we were rockin' at the opera house until the break of light
And the orchestra were playin' all Chuck Berry's greatest tunes
And the singers in the chorus all got off on singing blues
And as the night grew older everybody was as one
The people on the streets came runnin' in to join in song
Just to hear the opera singer singin' rock and roll so pure
I thought I saw the mayor there but I wasn't really sure, but it's alright
Where the music was so sweet
Knocked me right back in the alley
I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Oh, oh, oh, I'm ready and I'm really gonna rock tonight
Sweet little lady sings like a songbird
And she sings the opera like you ain't never heard
But she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
And she ain't gonna rock and roll
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Come on, I'll show you how to sing the blues
Now baby, come on over you got nothin' to lose
Are you ready, hey, hey, hey are you ready?
Ooh, ooh, ooh, are you ready?
I wanna show you how to rock and roll
Now listen here baby she said to me
"Just meet me at the opera house at a quarter to three
'Cause I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'm ready
I'm gonna show you how to sing the blues"
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Far, far away the music is playing
Well, we were reelin' and a rockin' all through the night
Yeah, we were rockin' at the opera house until the break of light
And the orchestra were playin' all Chuck Berry's greatest tunes
And the singers in the chorus all got off on singing blues
And as the night grew older everybody was as one
The people on the streets came runnin' in to join in song
Just to hear the opera singer singin' rock and roll so pure
I thought I saw the mayor there but I wasn't really sure, but it's alright
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
This song is hilarious.