@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Why burn poor and lonely?
Under a bowl
Or under a lamp shade
Or on the shelf beside the bed
Where at night you lay turning
Like a door on its hinges
First on your left side
Then on your right side
Then on your left side again
Why burn poor and lonely?
Tell all the stones
We're gonna make a building
They'll be cut into shape
And set into place
Or if you'd rather be a window
I'll gladly be the frame
Reflecting any kind words
We'll let in all the blame
And ruin our reputation all the same
So never mind our plan making
We'll start living
Anyway
Aren't you unbearably sad?
Then why burn so poor and lonely?
We'll be like torches
We'll be like torches
We'll be like torches
We'll be torches together
Torches together
We'll be like torches
We'll be like torches
With whatever respect
Our tattered dignity demands
Torches together
Hand in hand
Why pluck one string?
What good is just one note?
Oh one string sounds fine I guess
But we were once one note
We weren't lonely wheat
Quietly ground into grain
One light and momentary pain
So why the safe distance?
This curious look
Why tear out single pages,
When you can throw away the book?
Why pluck one string when you can
Strum the guitar?
Strum the guitar
Strum the guitar
Strum the guitar
With no beginning
With no end
Take down the guitar
And strum the guitar
Strum the guitar if you're afraid
And I'm afraid
And everyone's afraid
And everyone knows it
But we don't have to be afraid
Anymore
You played the flute
But no one was dancing
You sang a sad song
But none of us cried
You played the flute
But no one was dancing
And you sang a sad song
You sang such a sad song
Under a bowl
Or under a lamp shade
Or on the shelf beside the bed
Where at night you lay turning
Like a door on its hinges
First on your left side
Then on your right side
Then on your left side again
Why burn poor and lonely?
Tell all the stones
We're gonna make a building
They'll be cut into shape
And set into place
Or if you'd rather be a window
I'll gladly be the frame
Reflecting any kind words
We'll let in all the blame
And ruin our reputation all the same
So never mind our plan making
We'll start living
Anyway
Aren't you unbearably sad?
Then why burn so poor and lonely?
We'll be like torches
We'll be like torches
We'll be like torches
We'll be torches together
Torches together
We'll be like torches
We'll be like torches
With whatever respect
Our tattered dignity demands
Torches together
Hand in hand
Why pluck one string?
What good is just one note?
Oh one string sounds fine I guess
But we were once one note
We weren't lonely wheat
Quietly ground into grain
One light and momentary pain
So why the safe distance?
This curious look
Why tear out single pages,
When you can throw away the book?
Why pluck one string when you can
Strum the guitar?
Strum the guitar
Strum the guitar
Strum the guitar
With no beginning
With no end
Take down the guitar
And strum the guitar
Strum the guitar if you're afraid
And I'm afraid
And everyone's afraid
And everyone knows it
But we don't have to be afraid
Anymore
You played the flute
But no one was dancing
You sang a sad song
But none of us cried
You played the flute
But no one was dancing
And you sang a sad song
You sang such a sad song
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Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
NoLightToSeeBy... No, it's not dangerous. Aaron is a friend of mine and a fellow member of my church, and he taught my friends and I all about the fine art of dumpster-diving. :) He goes to Trader Joe's, Dunkin' Donuts, etc., right after they close at night, and gets the stuff at the top of the trash can that was just thrown away. It's all in bags, still packaged, and a lot of it is still cold or frozen. The flowers he uses at his shows are from the dumpster, too. You wouldn't believe what gets thrown away...it's such a waste. And yes, Aaron is a very cool guy. The band is recording right now...and we sure miss them in Philly.
I think this song is asking 'why live a safe but lonely and disconnected life?' It's about being too afraid to truly live your life, so you spend your time making plans instead of actually doing what makes you happy. Also feeling too anxious to connect with people, so you keep them at a safe distance. "Why burn poor and lonely? Under a bowl Or under a lamp shade" basically means "Why hide your true self because you're afraid of people who don't approve?" The point is that you don't have to be alone and afraid.
It's possible to be happy without giving in to the pressure of society to find a wife, have kids, be a productive worker bee and mindless consumer and everything else the media tells us we need to be happy. It seems like Aaron is trying to convince someone to free themselves from the bullshit pressures that are making them unhappy, and asking them to just 'burn' (live) free and open with him. Torches together, hand in hand.
Wow.
this is a great song, but for some reason when he yells "strum the guitar" it kinda bugs me, i don't really knowwhy. but i am addicted to this song and this cd...wonderful
My favorite part is when he first yells "strum the guitar"
well, i take it back, that line doesn't bug me, it just seems akward when he repeats it
alone we are week but together we are unstoppable! this is a battle cry and i love it!'
"And I’m afraid And everyone’s afraid And everyone knows it But we don’t have to be afraid Anymore"...truth, truth he speaks!
I was doing some reading and I found out what the light under a bowl means.
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Its not exactly what it says but it seems to be where he got it from.
ALSO these:
Mark 4:21-25 Luke 8:16-18 Luke 11:33-36
Good verses jaycar2a. mewithoutYou is a Christian band, I don't know who all knew that. I have found other verses that match with some of their songs (the grasshopper line in January 1979). Good song.
Oh I love this song... i had a friend eat out with this band at Taco Bell after their Dallas show and I found out that Aaron Weiss, lead singer, only eats out of the trash because we waste so much in America. Makes me love this band even more... anyway, on a more related note, I love the lines: "Or if you'd rather be a window I'll gladly be the frame Reflecting any kind words We'll let in all the blame And ruin our reputation all the same" I think Christians place too much emphasis on what people think of us. "be above reproach" is the common term which substitutes for reputation. Being above reproach is not people thinking your super dooper, its actually being blameless, seeking God's will. In the process you may or may not gain a bad reputation. But is a bad reputation in the world's eyes a bad thing? Seems counter culture to me. Jesus had an absolutely horrible reputation with the people "who mattered" at the time.
I see this song as kind of a prophetical warning against the disunity in the church. "Why pluck one string when you can strum the guitar"? If we could put aside our denominational differences and actually become ONE body as the Bible dictates, God could use us SO much more, but we wallow in our differences and create mini bodies instead.
@UnnecessaryOpinion That was a perfect comment. And I agree... The body of Christ coming alive and functional was the main thing I kept thinking about when hearing this song.