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.
Flies are buzzing round my head
Vultures circling the dead
Picking up every last crumb
The big fish eat the little ones
The big fish eat the little ones
Not my problem, give me some
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can?
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
This one's optimistic
This one went to market
This one just came out of the swamp
This one dropped a payload
Fodder for the animals
Living on animal farm
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Ah ah ah
Oh oh oh
I'd really like to help you, man
I'd really like to help you, man
Nervous messed up marionettes
Floating around on a prison ship
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Ah ah ah (oh oh oh)
Ah ah ah (oh oh oh)
Ah ah ah
Oh oh oh
Vultures circling the dead
Picking up every last crumb
The big fish eat the little ones
The big fish eat the little ones
Not my problem, give me some
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can?
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
This one's optimistic
This one went to market
This one just came out of the swamp
This one dropped a payload
Fodder for the animals
Living on animal farm
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
Oh oh oh
Oh oh oh
Ah ah ah
Oh oh oh
I'd really like to help you, man
I'd really like to help you, man
Nervous messed up marionettes
Floating around on a prison ship
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
You can try the best you can
You can try the best you can
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Ah ah ah (oh oh oh)
Ah ah ah (oh oh oh)
Ah ah ah
Oh oh oh
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Another way of exploring meanings of this song is from the biological / ecological / evolutionary perspective:
first verse: Everything is just trying to secure natural resources, and we should not be judgemental about it. Flies, vultures, and large critters eating smaller / weaker ones shouldn't be of any concern - everything needs the resources, including us.
second verse: All organisms are optomistic about gaining their resources (it's in our genetic programing), but we are all destined to becoming resources for other organisms - when pigs go to market, they are butchered and consumed, as old forms of life become inadequate, new forms rise up "out of the swamp." Dropping a payload is taking a dump. Even dung is a resource for other animals. We're ALL animals living on the same farm - consuming and providing resources.
third verse: "I'd really like to help you" = altruism doesn't necessarily pay off as far as my chances at surviving and reproducing. "Nervous... marionette." = We are a puppet for our DNA - our behaviors (self preservation, resource consumption, reproduction) are only a reflection of the DNA's 'desire' for replication of itself. "Prison ship" = planet Earth.
last part: "Dinosaurs roaming the earth" Despite each organisms optimism for reproduction, all species are destined for extinction. We're the dinosaurs - currently dominating the planet, but not forever.
Love your discussion on this song. If we could all see ourselves just another organism trying to survive, and we will truly understand the calls for reversing polluting our environment. Environmentalists are always being criticized and mocked as "tree huggers", but their basic motivation is "survival" with far sided vision, not just eat the fish today with luck, but able to catch fish tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and etc......<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, plenty people cares only about survival for the moment, and for that, we might drive ourselves into distinction.<br />
I still believe in certain "altruism" is necessary. Sure if I see a person's drowning, but I can't swim, I won't kill myself blindly just because altruism sounds righteous. But if I can see peace, non destructive freedom and harmony ahead of me, I'm willing to adapt for my and others' survival.