I think the songs about the difficulty of interpreting the world as a static thing when we are always changing, and I think he’s using the idea of translating a song,s meaning/lyrics to make this point. As Roland Barthes said, “the author is dead”. Even the the writer of the tune is sometimes not the “authority” on meaning, be it Jim James or...God? There’s nobody to turn to for truth, just keep an open mind and the world will be translated in different ways at different times, just like a song. You’ve got to keep it off the record...as in this record, the one you’re playing (or any of the writers albums). May be by a jukebox, may be in a car...
I could translate every line by this logic but, that’s just my interpretation today. You’ve got to know that my story could change, so don’t quote me, keep it off the record.
It’s really the perfect song for songmeanings.
I think the songs about the difficulty of interpreting the world as a static thing when we are always changing, and I think he’s using the idea of translating a song,s meaning/lyrics to make this point. As Roland Barthes said, “the author is dead”. Even the the writer of the tune is sometimes not the “authority” on meaning, be it Jim James or...God? There’s nobody to turn to for truth, just keep an open mind and the world will be translated in different ways at different times, just like a song. You’ve got to keep it off the record...as in this record, the one you’re playing (or any of the writers albums). May be by a jukebox, may be in a car... I could translate every line by this logic but, that’s just my interpretation today. You’ve got to know that my story could change, so don’t quote me, keep it off the record. It’s really the perfect song for songmeanings.