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.
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
Know your custom, don't speak your tongue
White man came, took everyone
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
White man listen to the songs we sing
White man came, took everything
We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
Know your custom, don't speak your tongue
White man came, took everyone
We don't need protection
Don't need your hand
Keep your promise on where we stand
We will listen we'll understand
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken
We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken
Broken
Mining companies, pastoral companies
Uranium companies of, companies of
Collected companies
Got more right than people, yeah
Got more say than people, yeah
More say than the people, oh yeah
More say than people, yeah
More say than people, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Forty thousand years that makes a difference to the state of things
The dead heart
The dead heart
The dead heart, oh, lives here
The dead heart
The dead heart, I said
The dead heart lives
It lives here
Don't serve your king
Know your custom, don't speak your tongue
White man came, took everyone
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
White man listen to the songs we sing
White man came, took everything
We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king
Know your custom, don't speak your tongue
White man came, took everyone
We don't need protection
Don't need your hand
Keep your promise on where we stand
We will listen we'll understand
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken
We carry in our hearts the true country
And that cannot be stolen
We follow in the steps of our ancestry
And that cannot be broken
Broken
Mining companies, pastoral companies
Uranium companies of, companies of
Collected companies
Got more right than people, yeah
Got more say than people, yeah
More say than the people, oh yeah
More say than people, yeah
More say than people, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Forty thousand years that makes a difference to the state of things
The dead heart
The dead heart
The dead heart, oh, lives here
The dead heart
The dead heart, I said
The dead heart lives
It lives here
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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.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Midnight Oil were known political activists, especially for aboriginal issues (see "Beds are Burning" and "Truganani.") This is possibly my favorite of their songs, it is so evocative and the horn section in the end always brings me to tears. They are talking about aboriginal culture (believed to be about 40,000 years old in Australia) and the destruction of that culture and their native lands by strip mining and environmental damage - anther major cause for Midnight Oil. Brilliant, brilliant, protest song, even though I usually don't like when white artists co-opt the struggles of minorities. Midnight Oil really get it (another great example: Paul Kelly, "From Little Things Big Things Grow", which is the story of the Gurindji people fighting for almost a decade to get the rights to their traditional land)