4 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
A House Is Not a Motel Lyrics
At my house I've got no shackles
You can come and look if you want to
In the halls you'll see the mantles
Where the light shines dim all around you
And the streets are paved with gold and if
Someone asks you, you can call my name
You are just a thought that someone
Somewhere somehow feels you should be here
And it's so for real to touch
To smell, to feel, to know where you are here
And the streets are paved with gold and if
Someone asks you, you can call my name
You can call my name
I hear you calling my name yeah all right now
By the time that I'm through singing
The bells from the schools of wars will be ringing
More confusions, blood transfusions
The news today will be the movies for tomorrow
And the water's turned to blood, and if
You don't think so
Go turn on your tub
And it it's mixed with mud
You'll see it turn to gray
And you can call my name
I hear you call my name
You can come and look if you want to
In the halls you'll see the mantles
Where the light shines dim all around you
And the streets are paved with gold and if
Someone asks you, you can call my name
Somewhere somehow feels you should be here
And it's so for real to touch
To smell, to feel, to know where you are here
And the streets are paved with gold and if
Someone asks you, you can call my name
You can call my name
I hear you calling my name yeah all right now
The bells from the schools of wars will be ringing
More confusions, blood transfusions
The news today will be the movies for tomorrow
And the water's turned to blood, and if
You don't think so
Go turn on your tub
And it it's mixed with mud
You'll see it turn to gray
And you can call my name
I hear you call my name
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Well, the first half of the song is some kind of ideal with streets paved with gold and light shining around you.
The second stanza "You're just a thought that someone/Somewhere feels you should be here" suggests that being in that place is temporary or only by chance because someone else wants it and you don't really have control.
The last part is heartbreaking and is the reality of confusion, death, conflict and war. I'm sure this song was influenced by the Viet Nam war, but I can't help but think of other wars (like Iraq) that are still going on. These songs are really timeless in some ways, even if some of the hippy/trippy aspects seem a bit odd and dated at first listen.
I have loved this since it first came out. I find it interesting that it has at least three biblical references. 1) "streets are paved with gold" a reference to heaven or a perfect place 2) "call my name" salvation in both Judaism and in Christianity relate to calling upon the name of the LORD though this would involve many differing interpretations 3) "these waters turn to blood" phrase goes back to the plagues that Moses gave to the Egyptians...this involved showing The God of Israel was more powerful than the Egyptians gods.
After these three biblical illustrations you have the paradox of 1) very positive things which include the "streets paved with gold", hospitality, light, and the invitation to call "my name" 2) the very negative things that involve blood, mud, confusions
Yet in both scenes there is the common biblical theme of "you can call my name."
In the end the song. Gives comfort to both good times and bad times. You can always call us name and he hears you.
This is an Arthur Lee song but Brian McClean later converted to Christianity. This song is a lot like Dylan's early lyrics where he referred to biblical motifs to get this point across. In the end it is a song of comfort for us in good or bad times.
F. Christopher Anderson
Enter into this house of life=death. The Beginning... At my house I've got no shackles (life seems like it has no wish to control) Lights are dim all around you (life seems like will not blind or overpower)
Streets are paved with gold (life is seemingly pleasant, we are young, strong, curious)
Realization of what this life really has to offer: The Middle... You are just a thought that someone, somewhere feels you should be here (our former curiosity wanes as does our former strength. In place we develop the perception that somehow we are needed by someone)
Streets are paved with gold (we still grasp at pleasant thought to enforce our existence, as in the beginning).
Time up: The End... The water turns to blood (Reality arrives and turns all our pleasant thoughts up-side down.).
This lyric is close in meaning to 'Horse with No Name' and 'Hotel California'.
By the time that I'm through singing The bells from the schools of wars will be ringing More confusions, blood transfusions The news today will be the movies for tomorrow
these lines are amazing, as is the entire song. To me, it has no specific meaning, apart from how things are not always what they seem, how things aren't always quite as real as you expect.