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.
i got the light thru the window
you've got the alcohol
i'm on the here and now
you're on the year before
i'm on a steady diet of really being here
you got a list of rules that makes things disappear
i see the moon in texas
you see a bar that's dark
i want a revolution
you wanna make your mark
but it's not guilt that i want or punishment i see
the world reorganized now in terms of people's needs
maybe tonite
we could bring the fuck into the light
maybe tonite
i can see that i don't wanna die
maybe when i turn myself away
every little thing you said
i wanna throw it all into the bay
you've got the alcohol
i'm on the here and now
you're on the year before
i'm on a steady diet of really being here
you got a list of rules that makes things disappear
i see the moon in texas
you see a bar that's dark
i want a revolution
you wanna make your mark
but it's not guilt that i want or punishment i see
the world reorganized now in terms of people's needs
maybe tonite
we could bring the fuck into the light
maybe tonite
i can see that i don't wanna die
maybe when i turn myself away
every little thing you said
i wanna throw it all into the bay
Lyrics submitted by riotkitten
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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.
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This song came out after NOFX released 'Kill Rock Stars' on 'So long and thanks for all the shoes' so i think this song is partly a response to that and myabe all the other typical punk bands around, not just NOFX. As someone mentioned above, Kathleen is pointing out the differences between their objectives maybe. Hence the title 'The punk singer' as she is subtley pointing out how typical Fat Mike is of a punk singer in a band. If you read the lyrics to 'Kill Rock Stars' by NOFX it makes sense. Also, you can see a difference in their style of writing lyrics as Kathleen is a lot more subtle in her response to the song whereas Fat Mike resorts to cheap insults.
Actually 'Deceptacon' is largely regarded as her response song, right? "Your lyrics are dumb like a linoleum floor/I'll walk on it/I'll walk all over you" is pretty much an explicit reference to 'Linoleum' by NOFX.
I thought Bikini Kill were pretty tight with NoFx. When did this feud start?
Great little punk song
it's two people who look at the same thing and see two completely different things...
favorite song of julie ruin by far
I agree with elles. But at the same time, it's about how most people just want to make a mark and want to be remembered, and don't really care about anything else.
Hence the line, "i want a revolution/you wanna make your mark"
It's about how she wants things to change, but everyone else just wants their recognition.
And honestly, if anyone has pioneered feminist music, alt. rock, and some forms of electronica, it's been Kathleen Hanna, and not enough people seem to realize this. She has done so much for music, and for the rights of women, gays/lesbians/bis/transgenders, and many other things. She's one of the only people who really sing about their lives and their beliefs, irregardless of if she thinks people will listen.
this song is more about her alter ego and how she is battling herself
This song is FANTASTIC. It's totally awesome that Kathleen Hanna wrote a song about all the hypocrites who claim to be punk, when all they want is what punk is supposed to be fighting. Punk isn't thinking about YOU all the time, it's about changing the rules because you truly feel they're unfair! Her singing's fantastic, too. This is my favorite song on this album.
I've never heard punk described that way. I doubt many would come up with an identical description of punk and/or why they dress the part. I had black/blue spiked hair for a year in college and danced 3x weekly to punk and new wave music, but I couldn't have told you then (or even now) what the official definition of punk is. To me, it was (and still is) the act of immature rebellion. Real rebellion would not be forming just another clique; acting angry; and NOT voting for actual change. (Not that all 'punks' are apolitical, of course.)
Or angry.
I found this on the web: "The British (punk) movement supposedly was started by one of the following: The ecnomic disaster that occured in the mid seventies, and the youth's lack of patience with the british government." So am I to surmise that the 'punk' movement here was more of a fashion statement than anything else??? (that's a serious question)
Love this song! Go Kathleen Hanna!
"KH: Oh, I have definitely never written anything in relation to that band [laughs]. The people that said it was about two sides of myself were in a way totally right, a lot of it is about battling addiction. You can make a choice whether to be in “the dark bar getting wasted” or to be “enjoying the moon in Texas at night” you can make that choice. It’s a lot harder if you have addiction in your life. At the same time it was directed towards the part of myself that can be a real addict. It was also directed at the fact that I was living in Olympia at the time and there was a lot of heroin and people were dying. I was really frustrated with it. I really wanted to be the one to help people; I really wanted to be somebody that helped people get rehab. In that song I am angry, I was a little bit fucking sick of it. I was singing like, look at me! I’m having this great fucking life because I’m not doing heroin and look at you, you’re stuck in this bummer situation because you’re getting wasted all of the time and you’re ruining your life and all of your friends are watching you ruin your life. That’s what it is about to me but really it’s about what anyone thinks it’s about to them. I can’t even believe that anybody listened to that song."
I may be WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY out in left field here, but it sounds as though she left alcohol behind and doesn't wish to return to it or its negative effects (re: the 2nd and 3rd lines). The last stanza would substantiate that. (Although if I'm incorrect about my initial statement than it substantiates nothing:) Oh well.
There are a lot of so-called punks out there that don't really care about important issues (such as feminism and LGBT rights) like Kathleen does. They just want to rebel just for the sake of rebelling. You know? That's what this song kind of seems to be talking about, in my opinion. It obviously also seems to be about addiction - alcoholism in particular. I think it's about both subjects though. A lot of people (not all of course) in that scene are into drugs. They kind of have that "live fast die young" kind of mentality, you know?. This song seems to be about how we should leave that kind of thing behind and focus on REALLY starting a revolution instead of just "rebelling" by becoming addicts and possibly ruining our lives. I could be wrong though. In fact, I probably am. This is just my interpretation of it.