This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
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.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
What are you kidding? This is one of the best Eagles lyrics of all time. It describes the Narcissistic American freeloader. Our society has become full of professional victims. "A victim of this, a victim of that" People who get into a car wreck and sue for the legal equivalent of the lottery. Whiny wimps that don't take responsibility for themselves and expect the government to take care of them.
Yea takers of society, get over it and stop asking for free stuff.
The irony is that Henley is a big time liberal supporting the Democratic party at every turn. The same party that wants to provide freebees for everyone and extend benefits into the socialist category. The democratic party wants to keep people dependent on them. Exactly what this song is against.
I love this song. I would comment on it, but it's pretty self-explanatory.
@stoolhardy True!
I'm a big fan of the Eagles, but I think this song is just terrible. It's not only my least favorite Eagles song but one of my least favorite in general.
This is one of the eagles relatively recent songs that is telling everyone that they need to chill, stop bi*ching, stop sueing eachother over stupid stuff, and just get over it, it is their way of saying that we are getting too pessimistic in our culture and that we need to switch directions.
@pgtall aaYep, and this should become the temporary national anthem, especially now that stuff is sort of getting back to normal after Covid!
I'm really surprised more people don't know this... "Old Billy" is Shakespeare (William = Bill = Billy) and the lawyer line is from Henry VI, Part 2. The line is:
CADE: ...There shall be no money. All shall eat and drink on my score, and I will apparel them all in one livery that they may agree like brothers and worship me, their lord. DICK THE BUTCHER: The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.
In other words, Cade is proclaiming what his perfect society will be like, and Dick effectively adds, "and we'll kill all the lawyers, too!"
This song is so different from other Eagles songs, so you either love it or hate it, I think.
:idea: Here's what this is about - the Eagles are sick of everyone whining about everything that's gone wrong in their lives and telling them to... GET OVER IT!! The title is pretty self-explainatory.
It is obvious what this song is about. Anyway it is a great song, especially the Hell Freezes Over version.
"We were so sick of tabloid television- and this was eight years ago! I was so sick of professional victims everywhere you looked, all over the media....." -Glenn Frey
I think that pretty much sums it up, really.
Anyone know who "Billy" refers to in this song?
@nemt William Shakespeare. "Let's kill all the lawyers," is a line from his play "Henry VI."
nemt--I wasn't sure either, so I googled it. He's referring to William Shakespeare, from a line in Henry VI about "removing lawyers so nefarious actions could proceed" or something.