| The Smiths – Paint a Vulgar Picture Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Nice work markbibby1970. I'm convinced (so much for my David Johansen theory). | |
| The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldier Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| For me it reminds me of "The Tin Drum" by Gunter Grass. It has the same sinister menace and the line "The boy never gets older". | |
| The Smiths – Paint a Vulgar Picture Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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One thing that I think is worth noting about this song... It is about pop/rock stars selling-out (and how, even if it's under pressure from their record companies, they have the final say at the end of the day). It's widely known that Morrissey was a huge fan of the New York Dolls - he was head of their fan club, organized their reunion tour etc.. The band were critically acclaimed, but after they broke up, lead singer David Johansen went on to have commercial success as "Buster Poindexter", becoming famous for his version of "feelin' hot hot hot". That song was released in 1987, the same year as "Strangeways here we come", the Smiths album on which " paints a vulgar picture" features. For me, this song is Morrissey's indictment of Johansen, in which he imagines the star's death and how his legacy will be handled by the record company and perceived by the wider critical community. This would explain the parts of the song in which the narrater appears as a fan: "I touched you at the soundcheck You had no real way of knowing In my heart I begged "Take me with you ... I don't care where you're going..."" Here he's talking nostalgically about his early infatuation with the star. Also, the last line of the song "me and my true love will never meet again" is taken from the Scottish traditional song "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond". Here Morrissey runs out of lyrics and completes the verse by stealing words from this well-known song. In so doing he scathingly mocks the vacuity of the songs performed by the sort of stars that this song is berating. |
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| Belle & Sebastian – Another Sunny Day Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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No, no. I think you've got it wrong. He's got a little midge in his eye and so he asks the girl to get it out using her tongue. Anyone ever tried this method? It's quite effective. not sure why he thinks the eskimos do this. Perhaps he's confused it with the eskimo kiss - rubbing noses. So instead of licking the midge out of his eye she slips and licks his face instead and they both giggle coyly. Aaahhh! So until the last verse I think it's just nostalgic recollections of the honeymoon period of their relationship to be taken at face value. This song reminds me of my late father. He died before I discovered Belle and Sebastian and he would've loved this whole album. I imagine a parallel universe where he's singing along in his car on the way to work. |
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| Cocteau Twins – Persephone Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| Does anyone know how the Cocteau Twins wrote their lyrics? Do they mean anything? I just can't imagine the creative process behind them. It's like they're plucked out of nowhere. | |
| Belle & Sebastian – Mornington Crescent Lyrics | 18 years ago |
| For all you non-londoners, Mornington Crescent is the notorious underground station that's perpetually closed for rennovation. Not sure what goes on above ground there. | |
| Franz Ferdinand – Eleanor, Put Your Boots On Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Well I thought it was about suicide when I first heard it and didn't know anything about this fiery furnace girl. Maybe she was suicidal before she met him. |
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| Belle & Sebastian – Asleep on a Sunbeam Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This is one of the easiest B&S lyrics to interpret. It's about a couple deciding to go on a camping trip. What a great subject for a song. No one can ever accuse B&S of being pretentious. |
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| Belle & Sebastian – White Collar Boy Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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These lyrics miss out the bit at the end where he shouts "get on yer bike, get on yer horse". a reference perhaps to 'Fat Bottomed Girls' by Queen where Freddie shouts "get on yer bikes and ride" Fat Bottomed Girl/White Collar boy |
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| Belle & Sebastian – Piazza, New York Catcher Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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Wow, I was vaguely aware of the baseball references in the words "pitcher" and "catcher" (I'm British and know very little about baseball), but after reading these comments I found more baseball references. "Confession of the bench" - do you sit on a bench when you're waiting to bat? If so it's an extension of the stadium/cathedral metaphor. "Life outside the diamond is a wrench" - isn't a baseball pitch diamond shape? is it particularly wrenching to be one of the catchers that has to wait on the edge of the field outside the diamond, because the ball never comes your way (I remember as a child playing cricket, I was always in the "deep fine leg" position - a wrenchingly boring position compounded by the fact that every 6 balls you have to change ends and walk right across the pitch). When I first heard this song it reminded me of Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" - the barage of surreal and juxtaposing images, the way characters are introduced as if we already know who they are and the mathematical way in which the lyrics are put together. |
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| Belle & Sebastian – Funny Little Frog Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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I too have to disagree with Mississippi Gary. This song can't be autobiographical for the simple reason that it's impossible to imagine any member of Band S starting fights in a club on a Saturday night no matter how devoted to music they are. Are there any BandS songs that are clearly autobiographical? I'm only familiar with four of their albums. Another thing worth noting is that - whatever the identity of the subject of the song - the narrator's relationship with her is a self-destructive one. If we take each verse to represent a different stage in their relationship, we can read the first verse of the honeymoon period where the guy's enjoying the freedom of "playing at being irresponsible". In the second verse, this permissiveness has gone to his head and he becomes a danger to himself. The third verse works if we accept the 'imaginary female' argument, as it is at this point that the fantasy starts to fall apart - the conversations are one-sided, the girl becomes a ghost in the dark, and he doesn't dare to touch her hand lest he be forced to confront the reality of her unreality. The idea of a constructed fantasy world is aluded to in the line "i'm a jester in the ancient court". Incidently, the rhyming of "court" with "throat" - which only works for certain accents - is a classic example of the whimsical playfulness that makes the bands lyrics so enchanting. |
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