| Celtic Woman – Danny Boy Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Danny Boy is a poignant poem of a parent whose son has just been called to serve in the military, and is desperately afraid that he will never see his son again. The pipes are CALLING, not merely playing; and they are calling FROM GLEN TO GLEN, not just the glen near Danny's home. The fact that Danny MUST GO and the parent MUST BIDE is directly related to the fact that the pipes are calling--and the only explanation is that the pipes are calling young men to war. The parent cannot accurately foretell the future, and in the first verse says that Danny may return home after the war in summer or winter--he doesn't know which season and at this time considers the possibility that they will be reunited on earth. In the second verse, the parent considers the possibility that they will never see each other again on earth. There are two possibilities: the parent could die before Danny returns, or Danny could die in the war--obviously the latter is more likely unless the parent is advanced in age or has an advanced disease. Why does the parent only consider the former possibility, especially since it has already established in the first verse that the parent cannot foretell the future. The parent obviously considers it poor taste to bring up the fact that Danny may die in the war: he wants Danny to fight with honor and courage and not fear death; yet the parent obviously knows the dangers of war. Being young, Danny probably takes a cavalier attitude toward his impending separation, but the parent nevertheless wants to impress upon Danny that they may never see each other again and projects his own death to add more gravity and meaning to their parting. |
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| Elton John – Rocket Man Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| The interpretation offered below doesn't make sense for three reasons. The wife is not packing his lunch, she is packing his bags in order for him to go on a long "vacation" (most wives wouldn't know all the things their husbands need to take for work). The mood, the minor chord and the entire situation indicates a separation, not merely leaving for work or even a long business trip. Moreover, his coming back is NOT determined by whenever he has finished his work week, rather he says "I think it's going to be a long long time till touchdown brings me round TO FIND I'M NOT THE MAN THEY THINK I AM AT HOME. In other words, his wife has a negative opinion of him, and he can only return when he has made a positive change in his life. Finally, I think that the interpretation of "high as a kite" to mean extremely happy is absurd in light of the fact that the phrase is immediately followed but how much the rocket man misses the earth and his wife. | |
| Elton John – Honky Cat Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Honky Cat is about a modern day prodigal son who leaves his rural family to live in the city, with all of its the urban temptations: prostitution, drugs, alcohol, crime etc. What is great about the lyrics is that it presents the viewpoints of both the prodigal son and the family he has left. The singer of this song must switch back between expressing the carefree excitement of the prodigal son and the stern warnings of his family. | |
| Elton John – Madman Across the Water Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I have a different interpretation. The madman is not really a madman; he is merely perceived as a madman; and he views the ones that see him as a mere curiosity as mad. The madman is a recluse comparable to "The fool on the hill." In the Beatles song, other people considered him a fool, but the fool "never listens to them, he knows that they're the fools. They don't like him. But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down and the eyes in his head see the world spinning round." The madman "can see very well," a sign of sanity, not insanity. The image he clearly sees is very significant: the boat on the reef with a broken back signifies something broken in his life and that is why he is stranded in life. The joke that he knows very well is "take my word I'm a madman don't you know." In other words, he doesn't consider himself a madman. The madman was the fool who had a good part in the play; in other words, his life had been good until misfortune (represented by the broken boat) caused him to be where he is today. Others that see him think he is insane, and that everything he says is funny; but clearly the madman does not share their viewpoint. The others quickly leave when it looks like it will "rain." probably a metaphor for trouble. Thus the madman sees these people as very shallow, and have not had the madman's depth of experience (he has had to deal with bigger problems than "rain"). Although the madman is not crazy, what drives him crazy is the in-laws treating him as a freak-show curiousity. When he asks "Is the nightmare black or are the windows painted?" he quickly follows that with another question: "Will they come again next week, can my mind really take it?" In other words, the in-laws are the nightmare and are making him crazy. Finally, the madman asks us to evaluate our own conscience. Is treating him as a freak-show curiousity the right thing to do? This is a rather sensible question for a "madman." |
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| Elton John – Tiny Dancer Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"Tiny Dancer" is a sexual fantasy. The narrator loves TD, but she is not his girlfriend or wife, as the narrator refers to the music man and the piano man in 3rd person, not 1st person. The narrator loves TD for two reasons: first, he loves her because she is a "ballerina," not literally, but metaphorically in the sense that she loves life and lives naturally and effortlessly, with no trace of awkwardness or worry. second, he loves her because she is a pagan, not burdened by the onerous demands of Jesus freaks or other religious zealots. The narrator's love for TD is more intense due to the fact that he feels inferior to her and therefore cannot really possess her (probably the narrator is awkward, worried, and burdened by life and religion). Thus the only way to possess TD is through fantasy. "And now she's in me, always with me" means that he has grabbed hold of her spirit, but not her body. When the narrator says, "but oh how it feels so real, lying here with no one near, only you," the implication is that it is not real, and she is not really lying there. TD is the narrator's ideal, but their relationship in consummated in masturbation. Be careful to explain meanings of songs by reference to real life events. Journalism is the means of communicating real life events whereas art is the means of communicating the artist's own reality according to his values. A real life event may trigger the making of art, but that does not mean the event is the art itself, far from it. The art is contained in the actual words, nothing more and nothing less. |
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| Elton John – Rocket Man Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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BAD INTERPRETATIONS OF ROCKET MAN: 1. The literal interpretation of RM being an astronaut: "And all that science, I don't understand. It's just my job five days a week" A real astronaut understands science, and his career is so competitive, only the ones the truly love this work can become an astronaut. 2. The homosexual interpretation of RM leaving his family as he discovers his true orientation: "I miss my wife. It's lonely out in space." If RM is gay, then why does he miss his wife and why is he lonely without her? And why does he worry about what she thinks about him: "I'm not that man they think I am at home." 3. The touring rock star interpretation of RM leaving his family temporarily, and able to return whenever he wants. "She packed my bags last night" If he left voluntarily, why didn't he pack his own bags? And if she didn't want him to leave, why did she pack his bags. And why is his return home (his touch down) conditioned upon them finding out that he is "NOT the man they had thought he was." RM cannot come home whenever he feels like it: RM must prove to his family that he is a changed man in their eyes. 4. The drug addict interpretation. I am most sympathetic to this one as drugs are involved: "And I'm going to be high as kite." However, drugs are only a secondary issue; the primary issue is the separation of RM from his family, which he speaks about throughout the entire song. Moreover, we cannot say that his wife initiated the separation due to drugs (drugs may be RM's response to the separation). If RM = a drug addict, and his wife left him because of his drugs, she would consider him a "rocket man." But carefully notice she does not: "I'm not the man they think at home, No No No, I'm a rocket man." The fact that RM is insisting that he is a ROCKET MAN against what she thinks, proves that the image of ROCKET MAN is not drug-related, and is in fact a positive image against the negative image that the wife has of her husband.. |
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| Elton John – Rocket Man Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Bernie Taupin is using an extended metaphor, and his ideas of rocket man, space, and Mars should not be taken literally. "She packed my bags last night preflight" indicates a separation between the "rocket man" and his wife, with the wife initiating the separation (otherwise he could have packed his own bags). Being "high as a kite" probably refers to drug or alcohol abuse in response to the depression caused by this separation. In the words "I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife," the earth is a metaphor for home, and the rocket man missing his wife is emphasized (it says nothing about his wife missing him). He is lonely "in space" but she is not lonely "on earth" with the kids. "Timeless flight" clearly indicates that the separation will last "a long long time." When will this separation end? When will the rocket man be able to "touch down"? Answer: When he can prove that he is NOT the man his wife and kids think he is. The implication here is that his wife has a very LOW opinion of him (otherwise why did she pack his bags in the first place?). There is also a strong implication that the rocket man believes that he is a better man than they think--he pleads with them: No no no I'm a "Rocket Man"--a positive image he has of himself to contrast with the "Sewer Man" image they have of him. "Mars aint the kind of place to raise the kids" means he simply cannot be a father to his kids in his separated state. The line "All that science I don't understand, it's just my job five days a week" proves that the rocket man is NOT an astronaut. An astronaut understands science, and his job is NOT just a job, but a job he truly loves. In contrast, the rocket man is ALIENATED from his work: he doesn't understand it and in fact his life has become a dull routine. Only a return to his wife and kids will cure his alienation. This is what the lyrics mean, and any other meanings attributed to this song go beyond the words that Bernie Taupin actually wrote. | |
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