Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Periodix

Submitter

2005-10-05 10:09:15

3 Meanings

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by searchingforaband

20y ago

cadmus, a character of greek mythology, founded the city of thebes, zeus carried away cadmus' sister europa and he set out to find her, he consulted the oracle who told him to give up and follow a cow to the spot it died and build a city, which was thebes, there cadmus' sent his companions to get water but they were killed by the dragon guarding the spring water, cadmus killed the dragon and sowed its teeth, from which sprang a race of fierce armed men called spartes. thats pretty much where the song ends in the story of cadmus

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by u2ishorrible

20y ago

Dudes, this song is chillin like a villian in a holiday illin

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by Periodix

19y ago

Here are the exact lyrics for this song, transcribed from Sufjan's handwriting in the first pressing of the album. The lyrics are originally written without line breaks.

the oracle said wander: cave the Cadmus country soon. Europa's sake he drew, till the oracle said wander. Safe libation water slew, a serpent new him knew; the dragon's teeth he threw, till the oracle said wander.

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