In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
You dug a well
You dug it deep
For every wife you buried
You planted a cedar tree
The best
The best you ever had
I stand where you stood
I stand for bad or good
And I am green and you are wood
The best
The best he ever had
I dig a well
I dig it deep
And for my only love
I plant a cedar tree
The best
The best we ever had
You dug it deep
For every wife you buried
You planted a cedar tree
The best
The best you ever had
I stand where you stood
I stand for bad or good
And I am green and you are wood
The best
The best he ever had
I dig a well
I dig it deep
And for my only love
I plant a cedar tree
The best
The best we ever had
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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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
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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/
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I think this song is about different perspectives of dealing with losses. There story is quite simple - a man who's wife (possibly, wives) dies and he buries her and plants a cedar tree above her grave. The three perspectives are the outsider's, the tree's, and the man's. Only one line doesn't change, but this line means something else every time. The first perspective is the outsider, and it is judgemental: "You dug a well, you dug it deep" - you don't need to dig a well to plant a tree, or to bury someone. Digging a well to bury someone means you have something to hide, especially if you dig it deep. "For every wife you bury, you planted a cedar tree-" that is also a cold judgement of the events - a woman dies, you plant a tree: like a machine, like something emotionless. "The best you ever had" in this meaning is to blame. This verse is blaming, judging the man for the death(s) of his wife. The second perspective is the tree's: "I stand where you stood" - I'm here because you want to remember this woman who died. "I stand for bad or good," - you want to remember her forever, because I will always stand here. "I am green and you are wood" - you and me are exactly the same. "The best he ever had" - I am the most loving act you can make for you deceased wife - you cherish her memory through me. The tree's perspective is all-knowing and all-seeing: The tree sees both into the man's soul and has the grand understanding of events. The last perspective is the man, and he is, of course, crushed: Just like the first speaker, he blames himself for his wife's death, when he again repeats the well's metaphor. But he also knows it is "for my only love." wether he had one or two wives buried, this is his view, which is romantic, loving and passionate - this was his only love, he will never love another. "The best we ever had," in this point of view, means the best he can do for her - he feels helpless and mourning. In the final verse, it also becomes clear the most objective, the most beautiful and the most true perspective is not the perspective of any live people, but that of a tree, that sees all and knows the act of planting it for what it really is - the most noble act the man could have done.