8 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Peace Will Come (According to Plan) Lyrics
There's a chance peace will come in your life please buy one
For sometimes when I am feeling as big as the land
With the velvet hill in the small of my back
And my hands are playing the sand
And my feet are swimming in all of the waters
All of the rivers are givers to the ocean
According to plan, according to man
Well sometimes when I am feeling so grand
And I become the world
And the world becomes a man
And my song becomes a part of the river
I cry out to keep me just the way I am
According to plan
According to man, according to plan
According to man, according to plan
For sometimes when we have reached the end
With the velvet hill in the small of my backs
And our hands are clutching the sand
Will our blood become a part of the river
All of the rivers are givers to the ocean
According to plan, according to man
There's a chance peace will come
In your life please buy one.
With the velvet hill in the small of my back
And my hands are playing the sand
All of the rivers are givers to the ocean
According to plan, according to man
And I become the world
And the world becomes a man
I cry out to keep me just the way I am
According to plan
According to man, according to plan
With the velvet hill in the small of my backs
And our hands are clutching the sand
All of the rivers are givers to the ocean
According to plan, according to man
In your life please buy one.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Explain this to me - please buy one what? I know some will say "bible" and others will say "joint" (and a few cynics will say "copy of the Candles In The Rain LP") but there must be a less obvious answer, mustn't there...?
@imrazor I think she does not say "please buy one" but "please be one": if you listen to the song "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" you can hear that she pronounces the y somewhat typical: It sounds like rubai tuesday. Also; the text "according to plan" is (read her lips on one of the videos) followed by "according to man" (or men) which which could mean men or mankind and is also different from the lyrics as we find them here and on other places on the internet that publish song lyrics. So I think that please buy one is please be one...
@imrazor I think she does not say "please buy one" but "please be one": if you listen to the song "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" you can hear that she pronounces the y somewhat typical: It sounds like rubai tuesday. Also; the text "according to plan" is (read her lips on one of the videos) followed by "according to man" (or men) which which could mean men or mankind and is also different from the lyrics as we find them here and on other places on the internet that publish song lyrics. So I think that please buy one is please be one which means please be one of the chances that peace will come; be part of the group of people who want peace and act accordingly
A chance is a raffle. It's a simple play on words. Please buy one chance for peace.
A chance is a raffle. It's a simple play on words. Please buy one chance for peace.
During the Vietnam War, bracelets were sold with the names of individual POW-MIA's. They were a statement that the wearer was against war and would wear the bracelet until the POW-MIA returned to the US. It is possible that these bracelets are what Melanie was referring to.
@Ouija60 No that's not it. She was simply making a play on words. A chance is a ticket you buy in a raffle for a prize. She is simply making a wordplay.
@Ouija60 No that's not it. She was simply making a play on words. A chance is a ticket you buy in a raffle for a prize. She is simply making a wordplay.
The "one" in "please buy one" refers to "a chance" in the previous line. "Please buy one [chance that peace will come]". Buying a ticket in a raffle (with the hopes of winning a prize) is popularly referred to as "buying a chance".
She’s talking about the little badges with messages.
@Miguelito49 No she isn't. A chance is a raffle for a prize. Its a ticket. It's a play on words. Please buy one is saying please buy one chance for peace.
@Miguelito49 No she isn't. A chance is a raffle for a prize. Its a ticket. It's a play on words. Please buy one is saying please buy one chance for peace.
I had always thought this song (especially the "please buy one") line, referred to the Glastonbury Fayre in 71', when there was nearly an terrible riot because people thought,like woodstock, they could come through the fences without buying a ticket. Hence, getting their heads cracked by police. And in the effort to stop the riot, Melanie had quickly come up with the lyrics or maybe it was a new song,and she added that line, please buy one, referring to buying a ticket, before anyone else got hurt. Sort of like, ok... Come on. let's just be cool. Buy a ticket so we can squash this shit and have a good time. I'm not 100% sure. But it makes sense. Anyone?
@fryguy82 it kinda makes sense but just a little: why tell people who are already in to buy a ticket?
@fryguy82 it kinda makes sense but just a little: why tell people who are already in to buy a ticket?
@fryguy82 it kinda makes sense but just a little: why tell people who are already in to buy a ticket?
@fryguy82 it kinda makes sense but just a little: why tell people who are already in to buy a ticket?
@fryguy82 it's very simple. There's a chance. A chance is a contest. So you buy a ticket to participate in that contest. She is saying, Buy a ticket for peace.
@fryguy82 it's very simple. There's a chance. A chance is a contest. So you buy a ticket to participate in that contest. She is saying, Buy a ticket for peace.
I think she does not say "please buy one" but "please be one": if you listen to the song "Goodbye Ruby Tuesday" you can hear that Melanie pronounces the y somewhat typical: It sounds like rubai tuesday. Also; the text "according to plan" is (read her lips on one of the videos) followed by "according to man" (or men) which which could mean men or mankind and is also different from the lyrics as we find them here and on other places on the internet that publish song lyrics. So I think that please buy one is please be one which means please be one of the chances that peace will come; be part of the group of people who want peace and act accordingly
@BaobabBonsai No. Please buy one is a reference to the previous line. She says There's a chance peace will come. She makes a wordplay on the word chance. A chance is what you buy on a contest. You buy a chance at winning. So when she says Please buy one, she is saying Please buy one chance at peace.
@BaobabBonsai No. Please buy one is a reference to the previous line. She says There's a chance peace will come. She makes a wordplay on the word chance. A chance is what you buy on a contest. You buy a chance at winning. So when she says Please buy one, she is saying Please buy one chance at peace.
Does this song warrant a darker interpretation?
(seems to be "buy one" not "be one" based on listening to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv4DW-k7lRM and https://archive.org/details/lp_melanie-at-carnegie-hall_melanie )
There is repeated references to "man" and not just as in "humankind": According to plan, according to man but then: And the world becomes a man
and And my hands are playing the sand later becomes: And our hands are clutching the sand
and Will our blood become a part of the river
in her intro in her 1973 performance of "Beautiful People" she refers to her more innocent past, 10 years before. https://archive.org/details/lp_melanie-at-carnegie-hall_melanie/disc2/03.02.+Beautiful+People.mp3
so is this a turn toward darkness through the song, and hence the cynical interpretation of "buy one" turning on the Peace call.
In the '70s, people use to sell pencils for veterans and to support the peace movement. Pencils and little flags.