| Metric – Speed The Collapse Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Revolving Doors is also a term used to denote the way corporate executives take up government posts, and vice versa. I.e. the revolving door from one to the other, and sometimes back again. So I'm inclined to see it as being linked to the global economic crisis and the hope (maybe at the time) that the revolving doors would crash down; that is the corporate/finance power over government would collapse. | |
| Laura Marling – Where Can I Go? Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I didn't submit the edit to the lyrics directly but I wonder if the last two lines "All I see is road" are actually "All I see is blood". Which I think ties in well with the theme of conflict in "All I see are wars" and "Better fought than won". It is definitely "road" in the earlier part of the song. |
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| John Mayer – Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967 Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Ha! I was right - people are really debating whether he lived or dies. First, it's clearly open to interpretation, so you shouldn't be dogmatic or derogatory towards those who see the opposite side of you. Respect the different perspectives. No one knows except John and whoever he's told directly. I'm not sure, myself. I can see with those who suggest his wife wasn't expecting him to live - that he was on the other line calling collect from Tokyo, and never came back but made a life for himself. But then, maybe she never expected he'd actually set off in his submarine and assumed he'd just left her. The call from Tokyo told her he did and he died. Or maybe she never expected that they would find him, and that was the surprise. If we're really logical about it, if he'd failed en route, the tides would have washed the boat up in British Columbia, and not in Tokyo. But I am doubtful John would have considered that detail. The line "they smile when they can when they talk of the man" seems to imply he didn't make it - a sort of sad remembrance. But it might be that his friends are sad they can't muster the courage and imagination to make a new world for themselves. Think about it. How many of us listen to this song and become inspired, saying "Yeah!! I'm done with this world, I'm gonna pull a Walt Grace and move on" but get no further? Turns out the library doesn't actually have books on how to build a submarine, and we're not sure what else to do...so we talk about Walt over a pint and how inspiring it all is. Despite my initial point, I caution against the suicide perspective. I personally see the song as being a metaphor about trying when things get tough. If Walt died, than I can accept the message to try even if you might die in the process. It's better to live for a day and die than to die after 10,000 days of having never lived. When he says "'Cause when you're done with this world, you know the next is up to you" - you have to take action. I don't think John is suggesting at all that people kill themselves when they are done with the world. I don't think he would. I think this is probably akin to his own journey out of a hard place and into a new perspective - when he packed up and moved to Montana. Ultimately, I like to think that Walt lives. Because of the line "For once in his life it was quiet, when he learned how to turn in the tide, and the sky was aflare when he came up for air..." seems to point towards the reward of taking action. The quiet. The sky aflare. You know ,the sky would have been aflare at the coast he left on, every day. But maybe he never saw it. It was when he left the old world, he was able to see what he couldn't before. The coming up for air could also be the indicator that he actually made it. Lived or died - Walt Grace tried while he was alive, and found peace, beauty and freedom in the process. That's the point. It is really a great song. |
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| John Mayer – Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967 Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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As much as I prefer "this", I think the lyric is "desperately hating HIS whole place" And in the last verse, I believe it is "and they smile when they CAN as they speak of the man". Perhaps John's best songwriting to date...but that may just be my bias for good folk storytelling. Question will always be (hopefully he never reveals): did Walt live or die? Everyone, I suspect, will have their views. |
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| John Mayer – Born and Raised Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think maybe it is "I cheat the light To check my face It's slightly harder than last year" Yeah, it seems he's coming to reconcile that he is who he is, becoming a mature adult, probably reconciling all the crap that came out a couple of years ago. I remember reading that Rolling Stone article and as a long time fan, being quite sickened by some of the stuff he said. At the same time, I saw him as a very broken person, and the kindredness and connection I've felt to his music, and the things he has expressed within it over the years, made me feel a compassion for him. It is nice to hear that he seems to have found a bit more solid ground in the years since. |
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| John Mayer – Born and Raised Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think maybe it is "I cheat the light To check my face It's slightly harder than last year" Yeah, it seems he's coming to reconcile that he is who he is, becoming a mature adult, probably reconciling all the crap that came out a couple of years ago. I remember reading that Rolling Stone article and as a long time fan, being quite sickened by some of the stuff he said. At the same time, I saw him as a very broken person, and the kindredness and connection I've felt to his music, and the things he has expressed within it over the years, made me feel a compassion for him. It is nice to hear that he seems to have found a bit more solid ground in the years since. |
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| Bon Iver – Minnesota, WI Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I couldn't disagree more. I *hate* when people assume the lyrics have no or lesser meaning. Having studied music in my past, the music and the lyrics are, when at their best, synergistic. They are intertwined, they become one, and the meaning of one without the other is dampened. People should be welcome to find their own meanings in the lyrics, but to say the lyrics are lesser than the music...it can be an affront to a piece of music. It's a false dichotomy to make music and lyrics distinct, if there is integrity and strength to the music, as I suspect there is here. | |
| Brandi Carlile – Caroline Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I was wondering if it was for a kid. It just had that "vibe" - like there's a different kind of connection that is expressed than from a romantic song. | |
| Brandi Carlile – Again Today Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I think sazarella84 is on to something, but I wonder if it's actually about being a singer-songwriter, and the position you are in when your music is so healing to so many. And maybe the "facade" she feels - or maybe just irony - in how the words that bring so much healing aren't there for her because she knows that it's a more complicated reality than the songs might portray. She misses her friends...she's on tour. I don't know...just throwing it out there. Great song, whatever the meaning. | |
| Brandi Carlile – Hiding My Heart Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think it's the end of "the story", as in the title track. She says in the beginning "this is how the story went"...so I think it's maybe how the end of that love story went. Sad but immensely beautiful. I only just finally downloaded this cd. It's been on my radar for such a long time, as has Brandi, but I sometimes think the moment just has to be "right". Well last night it was TOTALLY right. I've listened through a few times. When I have time I'd like to listen to the entire album. I wonder if it comes through as an entire narrative. Those are usually, in my mind, the best albums! I think the meaning is pretty straightforward - she fell in love, deeply, and then the relationship ended and with it so did her ability to open her heart again (at least up to that point). Poignant. Although I do wonder if the lines "Although I wish that you were here, That same old road that brought me here Is calling me home, It's calling me home" is a turning point. If she's back at a point where someone is catching her by surprise and opening her heart again. I have to add, I completely resonate with the opening lines. The deepest I've ever fallen is always a moment by "accident", someone I never would have anticipated, at all. And I'm blown away. It has completely tarnished my ability to settle for adequate, but I think that's a good thing. Not that being blown away means perfection - it's just an insight into the depth and beauty that a relationship can be. |
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| Johnny Flynn – Barnacled Warship Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Agreed, or at least some metaphorical warfare, rather than, at least necessarily, a literal one. | |
| Katie Herzig – Wish You Well Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I also tend to agree with all the arguments that this sounds like someone has passed away, but I can also see the break-up logic. In fact, I'm tempted to lean towards the latter, because I can't quite reconcile wishing someone who has passed "well". It's not really a traditional sentiment... emkindel offers excellent points about how breakups can be just the way it is, and not bitter, and it sounds a bit like this. |
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| Bess Rogers – Bulldozer Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Oh, I've heard Bess introduce this a few times that it's about her own tendency to be kind of neurotic. which makes me love the song a million times more than when I thought it was about some idiot in her life (though I still really enjoyed it then). Best EP ever! Thanks for posting the lyrics! |
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| Stars – We Don't Want Your Body Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I'm just going to throw this out there, but I totally think of this song as having two meanings - one is the literal, but the other is the way we are "sold" things generally - through propoganda, advertising, media, etc. There's a lot of "cheap ecstasy" (i.e. easy highs) out there, and while it might not be what they mean, if you know these folks at all, it's totally believable that they would look at these things and respond to say they don't want their bodies. I like applying this meaning, at any rate. | |
| Broken Social Scene – World Sick Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I am rethinking this entire interpretation, and you're interpretation, after listening to it today. I feel like it could conceivably be about people who repressed from living out their sexuality. I have no idea if BSS touches this theme at all, but it seems quite conceivable. And I think it's something about "ruling of what we'll be" OR "of what will be" Also wondering if "Older, we'll" is old world... |
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| Broken Social Scene – World Sick Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I kind of think the romantic interpretation fits better - since romantics are more Utopian and he's world sick so he's taking a stand, despite the odds. I think the "love is for my man" is like a "fellow man" - he cares about people and believes in people. Overall, I think he's criticizing the selfish individualistic society we've become (generating a minefield of crippled affections) at the helm of shitty patriarchal leaders who represent the old-school world of hyper-liberalism. His response is to advocate taking a stand. I rather love the song. |
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| Broken Social Scene – World Sick Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think the part about dresses is correct - more or less. I think it's a way of saying either that men have generated the world (more literal) or patriarchy even (more analytical interpretation). | |
| John Mayer – Belief Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I saw him in concert, and he made the comment that "you believe what you believe what you believe, and that's truth". I think song is about the subjectivity of truth, which is really just a belief, and the way that permeates us. So the paint on the sign, the loud voices, they all hit this virtually impermeable wall. We're not going easily. And it's an armour against that which challenges us, but it's also a sword, because when we think it's truth, we need to communicate it, we need to convince people. It's this incredible paradox. He may be singing about Iraq/Aghanistan, but I also think he's making a general philosophical statement about his world view. It's truly one of his most brilliant songs. For the line: It's like punching underwater You never hit who you're trying for I think this is just saying that beliefs don't change easily, and though we try to change someone, we can't, because of his view of the nature of belief. We tend to only influence those who share our world views most of the time; as in, preaching to the choir, not the people we'd actually like to change. And for the line: Some need the exhibition Some need to know they tried It's the chemical weapon for the war that's raging inside Some do it just because having a dominant view on a controversial issue is a way to gain in life. Others really believe something, especially if it's a huge political or social issue, and have this drive to do something about it. And some need to believe in something because of the way that life affects them, like Marx's notion that religion is the opiate for the masses. Brilliant song. I love it. And the guitar is fabulous. But it's tragic, for me, when you really think about it. I have my beliefs, and they drive me to 'need to know [i] tried', but I am starting to see that it may just be futile. |
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| Coldplay – Viva la Vida Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I should clarify - our relationships with lovers, partners, family, friends, enemies - everyone. | |
| Coldplay – Viva la Vida Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's not likely Jesus - he wouldn't have admitted to discovering that his castles (presumably his kingdom) was built upon pillars of salt (what Lot's wife became for her wickedness) and pillars of sand (a weak foundation that will cause the castle to crumble). If you look at the album as a whole, it's about love, humility and life. I think it's trying to say that if you seek power, it's elusive and finite. You may be the big fish in a little pond, until a bigger one comes along. The King falls, a new king rises, cycles; I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge; cemeteries where graves become numbers, those who are dead live in our head - how do you want to live on after you're dead; etc...there are paths you can choose in life, and there are aspects of life you can seek out - power or love in particular. And there will be some difficult times in love and life, but one day the sun will come out. I wish I could articulate this all better, but this is how I see the album, and Viva la Vida particularly. The album is fantastic - brilliant, I think, but that's probably because these are themes I think about day after day - power struggles, how they bring oppression, generate cycles, on both micro (our relationships with our lovers and partners) and macro (war, politics, etc.) scales. But in the end, we live and die, and what we do with that is what we leave behind. |
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| Ingrid Michaelson – Giving Up Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Oops - I mean greener grasses is optimistic. Sorry for double posting - will try and proof next time. | |
| Ingrid Michaelson – Giving Up Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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melissj2 - I thought the same thing - about John Mayer's "Another Kind of Green" - "I don't hit on nineteen"... But it is ambiguous - the "giving up" part; giving up and settling, or giving up on false ideas? Especially since she says she's giving up on "half empty glasses"; this is the opposite of greener grasses - half empty is pessimistic, greener grass is pessimistic. It's kind of like a state of apathy...and like whoever said, maybe an excuse for getting out of relationships all together. But it's good that it's ambiguous - it allows it to apply to more people and their individual situations. Regardless, it's beautiful, with just her and the guitar, and her voice is brilliant in it. |
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