World War 24

I can't believe no one's commented on this song! It's my absolute favourite of all Ryan Adams songs. It gives me a feeling I really can't explain, like a nice, light version of a depression you can only get on a rainy autumn night in the city. I think it also captures the London feeling, but maybe it's only because I'm an Anglophile. Although I must say I don't really get the lyrics.

haha I so get what you are saying. But I feel that about with all Ryan Adams songs - I always start listening to him From about October onwards through till gets sunny - can;t get into his music when it's sunny!

i like listening to him on long car trips in bad weather.

i listened to this album on the way home the other day after confusion with this girl. adams gets the feeling right, this guy thinks about this girl, but shes not too worried about him. she has other worries, yet theres this conflict in him. and shes got no worries. god, i love how he describes it.

I've heard this song is about his relationship with Leona Naess.

I think this song is about people just going through the motions.

"She don't even ask what time it is anymore Dressed up like it's World War 24 " sounds like Ryan's girlfriend is just drifting along, everything has happened before and nothing is new. But it kind of sounds like they like it that way.

"And if we get too high We'll burn this town

Oh, baby, bring me down I'm all yours I'm all yours"
sounds like their relationship wouldn't work if they weren't just kind of coasting along.

"sugar sweet. she loves it when it hits her teeth" sugar=cocaine. (probably. i dont really know)

but aside from whatever it may mean, i absolutely love the melody of this song. definitely one of my absolute favorites.

What's very dominant in the verse is the repeated playing of a dissonant interval (minor 2nd) that really helps dictate that sad feeling (along with the arrangements, the drums and the everything else, of course).

Anyhow. I tend to disagree that sugar is an alias for cocaine due to the rest of the sentence ("hits her teeth") and the fact that Ryan most often refers to drugs more explicitly - but it may very well be, it's not as if Ryan Adams isn't known to use alcohol and drugs...

What stick out the most in the lyrics is the emphasis of stasis ("we sleep all day", "slow response", "coma comes" etc.).

Other than that... The general feeling is easy enough to interpret, I think, but the "why", "how" and "with who" are unknown and keeps everything beyond the general feeling a personal matter.

The lyrics to this song are confusing to me too, but i agree that it just kind of hooks me and i float along with it. It's my 2nd favorite song on the album (The Shadowlands is my first)!

meyan and cookieman - awesome comments, i completely agree with both of you.

Already a ryan adams fan, i discovered this little gem rather late.

Such a good feeling when u discover a song as amazing as this one, or is it just me?