| Katy Perry – E.T. Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I've listened to this repeatedly and thought long and hard about what deep metaphor this could possibly be making . . . but, honestly, I think it is literally just about boinking an alien. | |
| Wiz Khalifa – Black and Yellow Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Pretty sure this is about his car, but I really want it to be the Hufflepuff House Fight Song :-P | |
| Baha Men – Who Let the Dogs Out Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The greatest mystery of our time: Who DID let the dogs out? I'll always be fond of this song, though. It came out when I ran cross country in middle school. Our mascot was the Huskies, so before races we would sing "Who let the Huskies out?" and make the appropriate woofing noises. It seemed so clever at the time. |
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| Avenue D – Do I Look Like a Slut? Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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On the one hand, this song is so fun and remarkably catchy for being so simple. I just can't help but laugh at the dramatic irony of the two girls defending their "classy" Daisy Dukes. On the other, I almost wonder if there's not some deeper social commentary going on. For instance, the line: "Just because I like to freak each and every night of the week, don't mean I can't resist temptation" points out the fact that people often mistake sexual liberation as "sluttiness" and may believe a woman who has many partners is be sick and desperate and unable to say no-- failing to realize that she might in fact ENJOY uncommitted sex (the way men are entitled and often PRAISED for enjoying it) and may have her own standards that are just different from other girls'. "I don't give a damn about my reputation." Good for her, I say! It's also sad but salient that these girls who are accused of being sluts in turn accuse others of the same thing: "I'm not a fuckin' slut you fucking cock sucker, your mom's the one letting everyone fuck her. Everyone knows she's a fuckin' ho, sucks dick on the corner for a little blow." "Slut" is a weapon used against women, a way to make someone look and feel better about themselves in comparison. It's just as they say: "But don't judge me by what I do, 'cause baby you know you want to hit it too. Shit, you know they all want to hit it. Yeah, they're just talkin' shit 'cause they want it." It's others' insecurity, plain and simple. If you can't get-- or if you can't BE it-- you go all sour grapes and say that it's nothing something anyone should want in the first place. Even if the song is intended to be lighthearted, it hits on some pretty intense issues! |
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| Rihanna – Russian Roulette Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think what makes this song so great is it is pure metaphor, rather than just simile. The song describes what could just be a literal game of Russian roulette. But of course it can (and does) go much deeper than that-- and I think the genius is that it could go many different ways! I'm sure Rihanna has her own personal interpretation, but there are so ways to interpret it that fit equally well. Like poopygill, I initially thought of gang initiations and real-world violence, like child (or adult) soldiers. Conversely, it could be about love in general-- taking a risk to give your heart away but never knowing what the result of your risk could be. It could also just be about being pressured to have sex, especially if that situation is borderline-rape-- she doesn't really want it, but she is consumed by the pressure to do it anyway, which makes it a rather manipulative and abusive situation. Which leads me to my next point . . . Especially considering Rihanna's relationship with Chris Brown, the abuse interpretation seems very apt: She's playing a deadly game with someone who's never lost (and therefore whose partners have never won), and it's only a matter of time before one of them is destroyed. I'll admit it's hard for me to see the suicide interpretation, since clearly there is another person mentioned in the song; there's clearly some sort of manipulative relationship going on, whether it's political, social, or romantic. But if you've found a way to make that resonate with you, then why not? I think the fact it is so minimalist-- low on specifics, high on emotion-- is precisely what gives it its power. |
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| Within Temptation – Pale Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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It's been said, but I think the song is clearly about pulling oneself from suicide/suicidal thoughts. The only thing I'm a little ambivalent about in regards to the song is that the "angel who calls my name" is "THE reason" she has to stay. For those who don't necessarily have one particularly person to pull them from their misery, it makes the song less applicable when it otherwise could be highly relatable and inspiring. I suppose it could be the HOPE of a person worth living for arriving someday, though . . . |
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| Loreena McKennitt – Dante's Prayer Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I would hazard, considering the title, that the song is to do with Dante's Divine Comedy. I see the words meaning to be sung to his famous unrequited love, Beatrice-- who serves as his guide into Heaven. The song would therefore be about divine redemption AND love as he implores her not only to lead him along that right path but to remember him as the man who loved her, as well. I suppose in a way Beatrice was like a spiritual guide to Dante, a courtly-love turned divine, so I see no problem with Rinyavie wanting to apply it to her own. |
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| Fort Minor – Kenji Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Even more than I love this song, I love the fact that this song was even MADE. People rap about politics, but seldom about historical stories. You can tell it's very personal (I mean, he's got quotes from family members!) and it tells an important story. (One which I've always been very interested in). It can definitely apply to modern politics just because of its truth; it doesn't have to come out and say it or force anything. The only thing I'm a little iffy about is the bit: "and supposedly/Some men went out for the army /signed on/And ended up flying to Japan with a bomb" He does say "supposedly," but the pilots of neither the Enola Gay nor the plane that flew over Nagasaki were Japanese. (I think the US purposely kept the Japanese-American regiment-- because all of them were divided up by race back then, *sigh*-- in the European theater). Regardless, though, this is an amazing song. |
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| Evanescence – Lacrymosa Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This song strikes me as slightly vague, but that means it's more applicable, and I like that (particularly in this album, some songs are so specific I just can't relate and hence I'm not very attached). In a way it reminds me of "Give Unto Me"-- but sort of the opposite; she wants to shoulder the burden once again, this time while exiting a relationship rather than while entering or during it. The relationship cannot go on without becoming destructive ("Grieving the things I cannot repair;" "I cannot change who I am;" "I won't lie to keep you near me;" "My love wasn't enough"), but rather than pointing the blame at them or dividing it, she's taking it all (probably because she still cares about him). Maybe that's a little unhealthy from a psychological point of view, but it's something a lot of us do, and therefore it makes a powerful song. | |
| Evanescence – Lithium Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I think everyone pretty much covered it, but . . . Lithium is typically a treatment for bipolar disorder (though not all forms of bipolar disorder include major depression in their cycles, most do and lithium is certainly more poetic than singing about treatments for major depression-- oh, SSRIs, MAOIs . . . you get the idea, lol), and oftentimes a fear preventing the taking of them is that they'll alter emotions too much, so that one doesn't know themselves anymore; we've let ourselves be defined by our depression. More potent than the fear of the side effects of a specific drug, however, is change, period (which can still be accredited to the drug). As anyone with a long-standing mood disorder can attest to, it IS comfortable to slide back into the old ways of coping, the "familiar darkness." There's definitely a conflict between wanting to get better but fearing the unknown (however unpleasant, it's familiar, and familiarity is always more comfortable). As for the verses about coming to bed and forgiveness-- I'm not so clear, but my perception right now is that there's someone who's loved her during her darker hours, perhaps because of them. In my experience and observation, depression seems to lead to unusual attachments one otherwise might not have, and so sometimes losing the depression can change or even destroy the relationship. This is definitely a powerful song, especially in being able to capture this emotion which is more pervasive than I'm sure many suspect. |
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| Evanescence – Goodnight Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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There's something very eerie about this song . . . though soft and lullaby-like, there's an edge to it (one of my friends is actually scared of it). It makes me think of seducing someone to go to sleep with promises of love, even though they're really dying or something . . . Maybe I'm just paranoid . . . |
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| Evanescence – Anywhere Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This was another song I equated with Romeo and Juliet. After all, it's about love that must be hidden away, taken away some place far away. Yet look at the details: "I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you when at sweet night you are my own."-- the balcony scene, the morning-after scene. "Take my hand; we're leaving here tonight. There's no need to tell anyone, they'd only hold us down, so by the morning light, we'll be halfway to anywhere . . . " "I have dreamt of a place for you and I; no one knows who we are there"-- the (intent to) flee to Mantua. " . . . where love is more than just your name."-- "WHAT'S IN A NAME?" after all? ^_^ The instrumental passage always struck me as the marriage scene, as they prepare for their hopefully-happy future. Then, I think, the song should end at 5:20, and the little reprise should reappear after their deaths, as they are finally free to go to their "Anywhere" together . . . |
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| Evanescence – Solitude Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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It's like the Evanescence version of "On My Own," lol . . . It's very easily related to: She loves him, but he loves someone else. They're close (good friends, perhaps closer than even the pair of requited lovers)-- he tells her he loves the other girl, she stands by him silently and probably pretends to be happy for him, though deep down she's bitter, and has been for a long time ("all along, it was me"). The lyrics imply this has happened before (perhaps he's had many girlfriends, or this one for a very long time). Waiting for him ("only you")-- or at least unlucky in other loves ("how many times have I done this to myself? . . . everyone leaves me stranded, forgotten, abandoned, left behind") she's left all alone. This is the perfect song for unrequited love of friends-- which is so sadly common. |
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| Evanescence – Give Unto Me Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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It's unselfish love-- at this point, either unrequited, misunderstood, forgotten, or somehow unreachable. The singer wants to alleviate a pain that is too heavy for their lover, purely unselfishly. They want to let their love be the relief the other needs-- even if they have to suffer for it ("I'll drink your deadly poison," "I'll have your nightmares for you"). Oddly, after seeing The Notebook, I thought of this song-- just the genders were backward. The husband wants to take away the wife's pain, but he can barely reach her. |
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| Evanescence – October Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is a religious song. I tried viewing it as a song about a relationship at first, and that just scared me-- it sounded like an abusive one ("I fall before you," "I give up; you're my only strength."), particularly with the softness of her voice. Yet then I realized it made sense in a religious context. "Giving in" to God is more about trust than submission, and then passages like "I'm too alive" and "take me home" make all the much more sense. It's obviously about losing God, and then the soft joy of returning-- a little bit of guilt and regret, but mostly renewal and joy in recreating that relationship. I too was confused about the October bit; I would also just hazard a guess it's about a relevent time in the songwriter's life. |
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| Evanescence – Field Of Innocence Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I actually find this one of the saddest Evanescence songs, but that could just be because I find loss of innocence so tragic. That's what it's about, losing the innocence of childhood, the optimism and trust and dependence. They've become bitter and cynical-- most likely through death, as suggested by the Latin chanting, reminiscent of a requiem mass. One of the things I've always loved about Evanescence is their generalizability. This could be as much about the average modern high schooler who's loathe to grow up as it could be about a child in a war, in any time in history. |
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| Evanescence – Tourniquet Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Clearly this song is about suicide and the religious stigma attached to it. She has already begun the process of killing herself (I always envision something more dramatic, like wrist-slashing-- it is both relatively slow and involves bleeding), and it's going slowly, so that there's time for the thoughts (unless the song takes place in some sort of purgatory) that accompany it. The actions are pretty straightforward. They're dying, and now they're regretting having taken that action. Particularly, the regret centers around religion; in the Christian tradition, suicide is a condemning sin. However, the second verse implies that the suicide victim has been "lost" long before their suicide. They once knew God but fell away from it, but return now at the hour of their death. The last verse sums it up: They want to die, but they don't want to be condemned as an unsaved sinner-- they want deliverance, and genuinely. The result is unclear by the lyrics and the sudden cut-off ending into a soft, mournful elegy. They could be sadly saved in death, or bitterly denied. |
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| Evanescence – Whisper Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song is part of five Evanescence songs I assembled to be in a suite relating to Romeo and Juliet; when I first heard it, when the Fallen album came out in 2003, it represented to me the scene where Juliet takes the potion Friar Lawrence gives her to feign death until she wakes in the tomb to run off with Romeo. It implies fear, prayer, ghosts, the beckoning of death-- all thoughts running through Juliet's head in her speech in the play. I've attempted to "act" it out, to the music, too, and it fits; there's perfect opportunities for the drinking of the potion (at one pivotal "DON'T turn away" after the instrumental section), and then her unconscious fall to the bed (where the Latin chanting begins). The chanting continues on as her family would find the body and begin to mourn over their supposedly dead daughter. If anyone has heard the 2002 edition (which I JUST did, long after I had already highly established my theory above!) one would note that it opens with the themes of "Juliet's Requiem" from the 1996 Romeo+Juliet movie (the one with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio). That particularly song plays as Juliet takes the potion in that movie. Whisper 2002 then goes on to "O Verona," the on-running operettic theme from the movie-- which cannot be misconstrued in any way. It then finally goes on to the Whisper we all know from the Fallen album. Clearly, Evanescence had the same idea about this song when they wrote it! |
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| Evanescence – Breathe No More Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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To me, this song has always had a self-mutilation subtext. I have always felt as if the lyrics symbolically described a lot of the feelings leading to that sort of behavior. For instance, the feeling many cutters get, of being "outside one's self," relates very well to the mirror imagery. The only way she can go back into herself ("when I try to touch her") is to cut, etc . . . ("and I bleed . . . "). The second verse begins as her first as her outside self trying to reach her inner self, and the difficulties arising, but then I think goes on to imply that there is an outside party that wishes to help her, one that does not understand what she is going through. Terms like "sickness" and "reflection" can be construed as references to the this order. Maybe I'm reading way too much into this (and being very dramatic, besides) but I was struck very strongly with this idea the very first time I heard it, and it's always stuck. |
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