"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
Eyes wide shut but they know
Buried alive by the lies in their soul
Their stride of a blind man's stroll
Well for whom does the next bell toll
I'm too many years in the zone
Too many years to have built what I own
And many dumb fool try to take what I've grown
But these roots go deep and you can't blood a stone
So if you want to push, I'm a shove
If you want to spar we can do it no gloves
And if you're gonna run at me you better do it hard
'Cause I fear no fall, no brawl, no scars
I'm two pounds shy of a bomb
I'm one shade short of alarm
I'm too past wrath that I'm calm
Got two last laughs in my palms
I'm three degrees west of a hurricane
Four wheel drive with a ball 'n chain
My five foot seven is irrelevant
I'm six six six if you threaten my development
Now see a wise man learns from your mistakes
And lets the blunders of his brother serve to fill his plate
So best be on your way before the tidal wave breaks
'Cause you don't want to come to meet the Reaper that awaits
You don't want to say no more than a mime, you can't afford
And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours
And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw
'Cause trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth 'n claw
And you don't want to see inside the mind of a savage kind
And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"
But if you do decide that you are gonna play that hand and try
Just think before you act because your actions don't rewind
A man with a grudge and a case
A man with intent on his face
And if a man walks into place
Let it be known I won't hesitate
This a long time coming like a comet pass
Got 'em all fired up from the rocket blast
And if I fall on my sword turn my bones to ash
Let it clog up the sand in that hourglass
We in the title fight, blow for a blow
And you can reap the benefits of what I have to sow
'Cause I'm about that worth of which you don't appear to know
So you can take the scene while I take over the show
It's a long way down when your head is in the clouds
And all around the sirens play
Don't get in my way
Don't tell me I should bow
'Cause I'm no clown
And this is not a game
Don't get in my way
You don't want to say no more than a mime, you can't afford
And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours
And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw
'Cause trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth 'n claw
And you don't want to see inside the mind of a savage kind
And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"
But if you do decide that you are gonna play that hand and try
Just think before you act because your actions don't rewind
Poisoned by the snakes in the grass
Hoaxed by the rats out the maze
They should have never poked the lion as he pass
'Cause now it's two hawks in a cage
This a tale of a cautionary kind
This a story of that Icarus design
This a message from the hanged man's twine
This when mother nature rips apart the fault lines
And this the type of thing that make a grown man cry
When feeble of the spine crumble underneath the grind
When blessings of the meek lead to lessons of the blind
When Heaven shows its teeth and the planets are aligned
So amusing the feeling as they race off
Got 'em musing from the pressure as I chase off
Should have thought it through before he turned to face off
Now this fool sounding like he gone and turned his bass off
This an ace caught, cut the game short
You don't want to have an escalation of the maimed sort
And you don't want to feel the flame that burns pride
Now you know the reason why those sleeping dogs lie
Long way down when your head is in the clouds
And all around the sirens play
Don't get in my way
Don't tell me I should bow
'Cause I'm no clown
And this is not a game
Don't get in my way
You don't want to say no more than a mime, you can't afford
And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours
And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw
'Cause trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth 'n claw
And you don't want to see inside the mind of a savage kind
And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"
But if you do decide that you are gonna play that hand and try
Just think before you act because your actions don't rewind
They sicker than a wicked man's whip
Victims of they hype and of they sycophant's lip
And underneath the money and the power is the tip
Of something very dangerous and it's strengthening its grip
And I don't have to tell 'em that they turning pale with albinism
I am not their keepers but I keep my own morale
And isn't everything we do just a matter of decision
So if life is just a prison then I'm breaking out this minute
This an epidemic of the vultures in the playpen
Weasels with a smile and a guile that leaves 'em vacant
Businessman sticking up the layman out the gate and
Thieves wearing suits but they can never fool the vagrants
And con man bringing 'em treasures of fool's gold
CEO's grinning from swindling stocks cold
Politicians trading their morals for blindfolds
And cowards step aside as the criminal mind holds
Welcome to the jungle where deception is the code
Brother fighting brother as their avarice corrodes
See that evil, speak that evil, be that evil bold
You are not your own and love's a memory of old
One nation under fraud, the anthem you applaud
Well let this serve to warn, I won't enable or reward
And let the flies swarm, let the noble die strong
This is my scorn, new day, new dawn
Buried alive by the lies in their soul
Their stride of a blind man's stroll
Well for whom does the next bell toll
I'm too many years in the zone
Too many years to have built what I own
And many dumb fool try to take what I've grown
But these roots go deep and you can't blood a stone
So if you want to push, I'm a shove
If you want to spar we can do it no gloves
And if you're gonna run at me you better do it hard
'Cause I fear no fall, no brawl, no scars
I'm two pounds shy of a bomb
I'm one shade short of alarm
I'm too past wrath that I'm calm
Got two last laughs in my palms
I'm three degrees west of a hurricane
Four wheel drive with a ball 'n chain
My five foot seven is irrelevant
I'm six six six if you threaten my development
Now see a wise man learns from your mistakes
And lets the blunders of his brother serve to fill his plate
So best be on your way before the tidal wave breaks
'Cause you don't want to come to meet the Reaper that awaits
You don't want to say no more than a mime, you can't afford
And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours
And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw
'Cause trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth 'n claw
And you don't want to see inside the mind of a savage kind
And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"
But if you do decide that you are gonna play that hand and try
Just think before you act because your actions don't rewind
A man with a grudge and a case
A man with intent on his face
And if a man walks into place
Let it be known I won't hesitate
This a long time coming like a comet pass
Got 'em all fired up from the rocket blast
And if I fall on my sword turn my bones to ash
Let it clog up the sand in that hourglass
We in the title fight, blow for a blow
And you can reap the benefits of what I have to sow
'Cause I'm about that worth of which you don't appear to know
So you can take the scene while I take over the show
It's a long way down when your head is in the clouds
And all around the sirens play
Don't get in my way
Don't tell me I should bow
'Cause I'm no clown
And this is not a game
Don't get in my way
You don't want to say no more than a mime, you can't afford
And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours
And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw
'Cause trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth 'n claw
And you don't want to see inside the mind of a savage kind
And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"
But if you do decide that you are gonna play that hand and try
Just think before you act because your actions don't rewind
Poisoned by the snakes in the grass
Hoaxed by the rats out the maze
They should have never poked the lion as he pass
'Cause now it's two hawks in a cage
This a tale of a cautionary kind
This a story of that Icarus design
This a message from the hanged man's twine
This when mother nature rips apart the fault lines
And this the type of thing that make a grown man cry
When feeble of the spine crumble underneath the grind
When blessings of the meek lead to lessons of the blind
When Heaven shows its teeth and the planets are aligned
So amusing the feeling as they race off
Got 'em musing from the pressure as I chase off
Should have thought it through before he turned to face off
Now this fool sounding like he gone and turned his bass off
This an ace caught, cut the game short
You don't want to have an escalation of the maimed sort
And you don't want to feel the flame that burns pride
Now you know the reason why those sleeping dogs lie
Long way down when your head is in the clouds
And all around the sirens play
Don't get in my way
Don't tell me I should bow
'Cause I'm no clown
And this is not a game
Don't get in my way
You don't want to say no more than a mime, you can't afford
And you don't want to let this turn into lines of mine and yours
And you don't want to press your luck, better back up and withdraw
'Cause trust me when I tell you you don't want that tooth 'n claw
And you don't want to see inside the mind of a savage kind
And you don't want that recognition of "Oh, there goes that guy"
But if you do decide that you are gonna play that hand and try
Just think before you act because your actions don't rewind
They sicker than a wicked man's whip
Victims of they hype and of they sycophant's lip
And underneath the money and the power is the tip
Of something very dangerous and it's strengthening its grip
And I don't have to tell 'em that they turning pale with albinism
I am not their keepers but I keep my own morale
And isn't everything we do just a matter of decision
So if life is just a prison then I'm breaking out this minute
This an epidemic of the vultures in the playpen
Weasels with a smile and a guile that leaves 'em vacant
Businessman sticking up the layman out the gate and
Thieves wearing suits but they can never fool the vagrants
And con man bringing 'em treasures of fool's gold
CEO's grinning from swindling stocks cold
Politicians trading their morals for blindfolds
And cowards step aside as the criminal mind holds
Welcome to the jungle where deception is the code
Brother fighting brother as their avarice corrodes
See that evil, speak that evil, be that evil bold
You are not your own and love's a memory of old
One nation under fraud, the anthem you applaud
Well let this serve to warn, I won't enable or reward
And let the flies swarm, let the noble die strong
This is my scorn, new day, new dawn
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More Featured Meanings

Zombie
Cranberries, The
Cranberries, The

System
Mel And Kim
Mel And Kim
Just listening for the 784,654th time....and it's just perfect in every way. Just incredible. The only reason it was remade was to scoop up a boatload of money from a more modern and accepting audience. But it is a completely different song than the other one that sounds slapped together in a few takes without a thought for the meaning.
This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.
She not only stayed alive, she turned her hard beginnings around, became self sufficient, successful and someone with respect for herself. She didn't let the naysayers and judgers stop her. She's the one sitting in the drivers seat at the end.
So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.
There is a huge difference between a singer who simply belts out a song that is on a page in front of them, and someone who can convey an entire experience with their voice. Telling not just a story with words, but taking you inside it and making you feel like you are there, with their interpretation.

X French T-Shirt
Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think
This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation.
Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.

Blank Space
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
This song is Swift's response to the negative reputation the media has given her.
"I can make the bad guys good for a weekend" - the bad guys are the paparazzi to Swift, but are good to the "player" since association with Swift immediately gives publicity. Any publicity is good publicity and Swift knows this.
"You can tell me when it's over" - the tabloids rumor relationships are over before the couple announces it officially.
With this song Swift is portraying the way she is portrayed by the media.
It is a sarcastic jab at how she views herself and how her "ex-lovers" only wanted to be with her to increase their fame.
I applaud the brilliance in writing about how you always write about relationships.
It is expected so Swift is giving the media what they want and profiting off the attention.

Keep My Name Outta Your Mouth
Black Keys, The
Black Keys, The
This standout track comes off the artiste's latest reissue titled "Brothers Deluxe Remastered 10th Anniversary Edition". The track was produced by Mark Neill, Patrick Carney & Dan Auerbach. It was released via major streaming platforms on December 18, 2020.