This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Who can kill a general in his bed?
Overthrow dictators if they're Red?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can find a counter-agent quick?
Especially the ones, themselves, of it?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can plan a riot in Vietnam?
Who can have the troops restore the calm?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can buy a government so cheap?
Change a cabinet without a squeak?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can get a budget that's so great?
Who will be the 51st state?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who has got the secret-est Service?
The one that makes the other service nervous?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can cypher anything with zeros?
Not well known, but simply worth the heros.
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can take the sugar from its sack
Pour in LSD and put it back?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can squash republics like bananas?
Simply if they do not like their social manners?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can train guerrillas by the dozens?
Send them out to kill their untrained cousins?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can mine the harbors Nicaragua?
Out hit all the hitmen of Chicag-ua.
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can be so overtly covert?
Sometimes even covertly overt.
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who's the agency well-known to God?
The one that copped his staff and copped his rod?
Fucking-a man! CIA Man!
Fucking-a man! CIA Man!
Fucking-a man! CIA Man!
CIA Man! CIA Man!
CIA Man! CIA Man!
CIA Man!
C I A
Overthrow dictators if they're Red?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can find a counter-agent quick?
Especially the ones, themselves, of it?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can plan a riot in Vietnam?
Who can have the troops restore the calm?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can buy a government so cheap?
Change a cabinet without a squeak?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can get a budget that's so great?
Who will be the 51st state?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who has got the secret-est Service?
The one that makes the other service nervous?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can cypher anything with zeros?
Not well known, but simply worth the heros.
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can take the sugar from its sack
Pour in LSD and put it back?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can squash republics like bananas?
Simply if they do not like their social manners?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can train guerrillas by the dozens?
Send them out to kill their untrained cousins?
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can mine the harbors Nicaragua?
Out hit all the hitmen of Chicag-ua.
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who can be so overtly covert?
Sometimes even covertly overt.
Fucking-a man!
(Fucking-A! C-I-A!)
CIA Man!
Who's the agency well-known to God?
The one that copped his staff and copped his rod?
Fucking-a man! CIA Man!
Fucking-a man! CIA Man!
Fucking-a man! CIA Man!
CIA Man! CIA Man!
CIA Man! CIA Man!
CIA Man!
C I A
Lyrics submitted by othatzsokewl, edited by AClarke
CIA Man Lyrics as written by Tuli Kupferberg
Lyrics © SYNDICORE MUSIC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Night We Met
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Just A Little Lovin'
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"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Amazing
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
The Coen brothers used the song in the 2008 film “Burn After Reading”. The song was also re-released on numerous later albums, such as Virgin Fugs in 1967, Fugs 4, Rounder Score in 1975, and The Real Woodstock Festival in 1994.