So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Well cocaine for horses,
Not for men,
Doctor say it'll kill ya but he don't know when.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
I say the redder the berry,
The sweeter the juice,
Take a red-headed woman for particular use.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Well cocaine for horses,
Not for men,
Doctor say it'll kill ya but he don't know when.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
I say the redder the berry,
The sweeter the juice,
Take a red-headed woman for particular use.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Take a whiff on me,
Take a whiff on me,
Everybody take a whiff on me.
Well-a-hey-hey,
Baby, take a whiff on me
Lyrics submitted by King of Some Island
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Fortnight
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[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.
Nope, it is a Leadbelly song. Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly were friends and Guthrie may have done the song, but Leadbelly wrote it (possibly co-written with Blind Lemon Jefferson.) The original first verse starts with 'I'm walkin' up Ellum and headin' down Main/ Tryin' to bum a nickel jus' to buy cocaine'. Ellum refers to 'Deep Ellum' - a 'corruption' of 'Elm Street' - a street in Texas (Dallas, I believe) where Leadbelly and other folk/blues musicians of his time hung out. Also, the original says 'the BLACKER the berry, the sweeter the juice/ takes a brown-skinned woman for my particular use.'
kind of a cynical-funnyish song anyone know who hes covering?
Its by Woody Gurthie apparently...
I thought it was Leadbelly or Captain Beefheart. I'm probably wrong though. The performance of this on Under Blackpool Lights is pretty insane though.
TheAbsolutionHowl is right I think...I'm pretty sure it's a Leadbelly song
It's by Woody Guthrie, 100%, I'm listening to it right now. And it's about cocaine.