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"
Tomorrow you'll see it through
The clouded out disguises put you in the room
And though I wandered out alone
A thousand lights abounded on our home
And I remember every sound it made
The clouded out disguises and the grave
So yeah I know I'm still afraid
Of letting go of choices I have made
All delighted people raise their hands
And I took you by the sleeve
No other reason than to be your leading man
And you woke up with a fright
Our lives depended on the visions through the night
All we had always, all we had always wanted to before
The hurricane inclined us, grappling on the floor
All delighted people raise their hands
Still the force of nature spurned
Ideas of strength and style abated by the burning basement
All delighted people raise their hands
I'm not easily confused
The trouble with the storm inside us grew
But I had so much to give
In spite of all the terror and abuse
All delighted people raise their hands
And the people bowed and prayed
And what difference does it make?
It doesn't matter anyway
The world surrounds us with its hate
Hello darkness my old friend
I've come to strangle you in spite of what you'd like
And don't be a rascal, don't be a laughing dog in spite of odds
All I'm deciphering from the spirits in the light within
All delighted people raise their hands
In restless dreams I walked alone
The clouded out disguises left me in a dream of lightness
All delighted people raise their hands
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And what difference does it make?
I love you so much anyway
And on your breast I gently laid
Your arms surround me in the lake
I am joined with you forever
All delighted people raise their hands
I'm not easily confused
I feel alive I feel it glowing in the room
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
The clouded out disguises put you in the room
And though I wandered out alone
A thousand lights abounded on our home
And I remember every sound it made
The clouded out disguises and the grave
So yeah I know I'm still afraid
Of letting go of choices I have made
All delighted people raise their hands
And I took you by the sleeve
No other reason than to be your leading man
And you woke up with a fright
Our lives depended on the visions through the night
All we had always, all we had always wanted to before
The hurricane inclined us, grappling on the floor
All delighted people raise their hands
Still the force of nature spurned
Ideas of strength and style abated by the burning basement
All delighted people raise their hands
I'm not easily confused
The trouble with the storm inside us grew
But I had so much to give
In spite of all the terror and abuse
All delighted people raise their hands
And the people bowed and prayed
And what difference does it make?
It doesn't matter anyway
The world surrounds us with its hate
Hello darkness my old friend
I've come to strangle you in spite of what you'd like
And don't be a rascal, don't be a laughing dog in spite of odds
All I'm deciphering from the spirits in the light within
All delighted people raise their hands
In restless dreams I walked alone
The clouded out disguises left me in a dream of lightness
All delighted people raise their hands
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And what difference does it make?
I love you so much anyway
And on your breast I gently laid
Your arms surround me in the lake
I am joined with you forever
All delighted people raise their hands
I'm not easily confused
I feel alive I feel it glowing in the room
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
All delighted people raise their hands
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The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'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/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
I believe that this whole song is about the internal struggles and insanity of people, and the escape from our own frightening insides, described as an apocalypse ("the hurricane that inclined us toppling on the floor", several mentions of darkness) into dreams ("our lives depended on the visions through the night"). The song is about the idiocy of humans and the simple sadness which accompanies being part of the species. The storm inside of us is growing, and the insanity is growing; the apocalypse that will bring our doom is growing inside of us, and we can do nothing but live inside our own dreams and hope that we can never return to our own heads. "and they all prayed to the neon god they had made"- this is a reference to the golden calf which the Jews made in the bible to worship while Moses retrieved the ten commandments from Mt. Sinai, but the "neon" part is a contradiction. It makes one think of neon lights, artificial lights, and the city. This contrasts with the dreamy, drugged quality of the song- envisioning harsh city lights next to "in my restless dreams I walked alone, I walked alone". These are two ideas and two human ideals that are very similar but obviously quite different as well. The lines, "And the people bowed and prayed/Oh I love you a lot, I love you from the top of my heart/And you can see through my mistakes" seem like a God reference. Although I originally thought he was talking about a woman, reading these lyrics make it seem like he is talking to God, and remembering the great human sin in the bible, and he is telling God of his sins. He is "gently laying" on God's breast, and feels safe there, like a mother and child. "Your arms surround me in the lake"- is this his death? Is this suicide? If God is the arms, then that would be the lake drowning him. Or maybe it's only in his own head. Another great line is "And what difference does it make/If the world is a mess, oh, if the world is a mess?" The world being a mess is also referenced in the fourth song of the EP: "From the Mouth of Gabriel". Maybe it makes no difference because people are individuals and should worry about themselves, and be happy with the life they have (which is the sort of vibe I get from his other songs and albums), or maybe it's a reference to death, and that we will all die and it doesn't matter anyway (which I think is more likely). "the burning basement" would be hell, and I think in the 18th line he is saying that people think they can evade hell by being popular or strong or revolutionizing their society- evading hell by networking and loopholes, like they always have done, until it comes to God. One thing I don't really understand is the chorus, the most important part: "All delighted people raise their hands". The way it is in a major key until the last note is nostalgic and almost ironic. It sounds like a bible reference but I'm actually not really familiar with the bible at all so I wouldn't know. I'm also not very religious, but I thought the God references are references that Sufjan would make. Those are just my thoughts, I'm excited to hear yours.
Okay so this is from the first page of this sites page on the sounds of silence by Paul Simon. I know it's a Simon and garfunkel song but I have a personal vendetta against garfunkel and we all know he didn't contribute to me getting to see them this summer with his whole "strained voice i'm a pussy" thing he pulled.<br /> <br /> "The song sound of silence is a lyric that uses imagery and symbolism very heavily. The story of it is that the author has a dream about ten thousand people bowing to a god they made of neon light. The god represents the fake and shallow culture they are building on pop stars and the dollar bill. The media �talks without speaking� and the people �hear without listening� there is a cancer of silence which represents a widespred lack of meaning, in music namely. This is an extreemly well written poem and a good view on what is happening to the media. The so called artists are putting less and less art in their work.Their is mass prostitution of art happening in our culture and we all sit happily starring at the neon light and ignore the real art. I heard a good a good quote the other day i have eno idea who said it but I�ll close with it. �For the culture that tolerates shottyness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity and ignores excellence in plumbing because it is a humble activity. This is their fate. Neither their pipes nor it�s theories will hold water.� "<br /> <br /> I forgot to copy the author so this is going uncredited but hey that's what the internet is for.<br /> <br /> <br /> I just thought I'd start with that quote because this song is like half the sounds of silence (not an accurate figure).<br /> <br /> Things to say.<br /> <br />
The neon God is a modern version of the Golden calf that Aaron made.