I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Many years ago
He looked out through a glassless window
All that he could see was Babylon
Beautiful green fields and dreams
And learn to measure the stars
But there was a worry in his heart
He said
How could it come to this?
I'm really worried about living
How could it come to this?
Yeah, I really wanna know about this
Is it like today?
Uh, uh-uh
Then there came a day
Moved out 'cross the Mediterranean
Came to rest on isles and the Greek young men
And with their silver beards they laughed
At the unknown of the universe
They could just sit and guess God's name
But they said
How could it come to this?
We're really worried about living
How could it come to this?
Yeah, we really want to know about this
Is it like today?
Oh, oh-oh
Then there followed days of kings
Empires and revolution
Blood just looks the same
When you open the veins
But sometimes it was faith, power or reason as the cornerstone
But the furrowed brow has never left his face
He said
How could it come to this?
We're really living in a landslide
How could it come to this?
Yeah we really wanna know about this
Is it like today?
Oh, oh-oh
Then there came a day
Man packed up, flew off from the planet
He went to the moon (to the moon)
To the moon (to the moon)
Now he's out in space, hey, fixing all the problems
He comes face to face with God
He says
How could it come to this
I'm really worried 'bout my creation
How did it come to this
You're really killing me you know
It isn't just today
Oh, oh-oh
Is it like today?
Eh? Ah
Is it like today?
Oh, bang
Ooh
Many years ago
He looked out through a glassless window
Didn't understand much what he saw
He looked out through a glassless window
All that he could see was Babylon
Beautiful green fields and dreams
And learn to measure the stars
But there was a worry in his heart
He said
How could it come to this?
I'm really worried about living
How could it come to this?
Yeah, I really wanna know about this
Is it like today?
Uh, uh-uh
Then there came a day
Moved out 'cross the Mediterranean
Came to rest on isles and the Greek young men
And with their silver beards they laughed
At the unknown of the universe
They could just sit and guess God's name
But they said
How could it come to this?
We're really worried about living
How could it come to this?
Yeah, we really want to know about this
Is it like today?
Oh, oh-oh
Then there followed days of kings
Empires and revolution
Blood just looks the same
When you open the veins
But sometimes it was faith, power or reason as the cornerstone
But the furrowed brow has never left his face
He said
How could it come to this?
We're really living in a landslide
How could it come to this?
Yeah we really wanna know about this
Is it like today?
Oh, oh-oh
Then there came a day
Man packed up, flew off from the planet
He went to the moon (to the moon)
To the moon (to the moon)
Now he's out in space, hey, fixing all the problems
He comes face to face with God
He says
How could it come to this
I'm really worried 'bout my creation
How did it come to this
You're really killing me you know
It isn't just today
Oh, oh-oh
Is it like today?
Eh? Ah
Is it like today?
Oh, bang
Ooh
Many years ago
He looked out through a glassless window
Didn't understand much what he saw
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Dreamwalker
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
No Surprises
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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'
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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/
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.
Sheryl Crow has performed this, but it is originally done by World Party. Both versions are quite nice. :)
This song, to me, is about humanity over time. Over the centuries, the questions are still the same. Why are we here? What are we doing? What purpose do we have? How could it come to this?
@meggybears Indeed. Karl says he was inspired to write the song by reading Bertrand Russell's "History of Western Philosophy".
It seems like there's something significant you might have missed. In the first couple verses, it's the people looking around them, asking "How could it come to this?", but in the last verse, with man on the moon, it's actually God which speaks the chorus. "I'm really worried about my creation." That makes the line, "You're really killing me, you know" all the more powerful. It's about how we have a tendency to think ourselves the center of the universe -- the most important players on the block. There's always something larger than us.
For me, it seems like it's about recognizing that humanity is NOT all there is. We look around
I always thought of that sentence taking the perspective of the man. He is pushing the boundaries of science, fixing the world's problems, and then comes "face to face with God" e.g. religion is among the world's problems. He runs into a religious or moral dilemma and it's the man calling God "my creation" instead of the other way around.
A four verse precis of the book, "A History Of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell
Is there anyone who knows what this song ('Is it like today' by World Party) is actually about and if it is a remake of an older song? I saw that there is a version by Sheryl Crow, but have no idea if she remade this or someone else's song.
meggybears has one level. the song is a bit deeper than that - it's about the cyclic destruction man brings to the planet. The questions do remain constant - even though man advances. "Is it like today? BANG!" (nuclear war or some cataclysmic event wipes out humanity's advancement) This is the theme of the whole album.
Though literally it can be interpreted two ways. pessimisticly - as Man never learns "is this as good as it's ever gonna get?" OR optimistically - through recreation / rebirth (the last stanza) Man will be given an infinite number of chances for redemption. Knowing Wallinger's views, this is not an optimistic song...but interpret what you like.
I agree it's about us figuring things out, and really matches what an earlier responder said about Karl's intentions when writing the song, but even moreso, I get the sense it's about us messing everything up. We've fouled up this gorgeous planet that we were lucky enough to "inherit," and now we want to go to the moon and try to make things right but we'll just mess that (and space) up too! Think of all the junk in space - satellites, etc. We can't keep ourselves from messing up a good, pure thing. We think we know and understand so much - well, we TRY to understand, and we often do get there (we know more about lots of things than in the days before science and before they could just sit and think) - but that understanding somehow doesn't stop us from fouling the water and the air and killing each other and never seeming to learn or get any better as a whole. I just love this song, and I know Karl Wallinger was very earth-concious, very concerned about the planet, so this interpretation is the one I've always had and continue to think fits the song.
A fun, musical journey through history!
Love this song. Usernick has it when he mentions "A History Of Western Philosophy" by Bertrand Russell. Great melody and great lyrics. Speaking of lyrics...
First chorus is messed up, it uses "I" instead of "we". It should be:
He said How could it come to this? I'm really worried about living How could it come to this? Yeah, I really wanna know about this
Second verse is missing:
Is it like today? Uh, uh-uh
Then there came a day, moved Out cross the Mediterranean Came to rest on isles and the Greek young men And with their silver beards they laughed At the unknown of the universe They could just sit and guess God's name
And after the bang we start again at the beginning
It seems to me it's more about Man's desire to explore and to understand what is around him. First it was Babylon, then on Greece and Med, etc. The line that gets me to most is "the furrowed brow has never left his face" implying that there is never to answer to the question, only more questions. Musically I simply love the piano in this tune, even by itself its beautiful. Poetically it reminds me of the old World when Man had the time to sit around and ponder the great questions of the universe and indeed even God himself. I've always been a huge fan of Kurt Wallinger and I hope he remains around for awhile longer.