| The Shins – Pam Berry Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Just saw The Shins in San Diego a couple of weeks ago, and James sang this lyric live: "...is widely known to have spat in her teachers GLASS" (which actually makes more sense than spitting in the teacher's lap). And oh yeah, the show was GREAT. |
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| The Shins – Phantom Limb Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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wutdahellz, Because you asked for feedback with regard to your "women in combat" thesis -- well, here it goes. wutdahellz said: i think this song has to do with women in the military and the trials and tribulations they face from people who believe they dont belong. i think it also has to do with our troops being over in the middle east and Mercer's discontent with the whole situation. elvisatemydonuts response: I think that music is subjective, and lyrics can mean different things to different people when filtered through their own experiences or unique world view. You seem to be very focused on women’s issues and the war on terror. I disagree with your military/war conclusions because if that was Mercer’s intent, he’d have written,“...girls of the West”, not the North. (If we were at war in Venezuela, “...girls of the North” would fit, but we’re in Iraq and Afghanistan where we are known as "The West"). The main, (and most obvious), reason I’m sure you came up with incorrect assumptions about the song’s meaning, is because you started off basing your conclusions from incorrect lyrics. Examples: wutdahellz said: frozen in two coats-->metaphor for having two selves..being a woman and being an officer...and how its impossible to segregate the two. But with the correct lyric: frozen winter coats--> Well, there goes that metaphor of “two selves” (which in my opinion was a huuuge stretch anyway). wutdahellz said: fire past one fire the one-->guns. correct lyric: file past one five and one-->NOT guns. I will say this wutdahellz; You have a very fertile imagination! It’s much more likely that he is recalling his school days in England, (he spent part of his youth growing up in England), where “The North” is a common phrase referring to the working-class cities and/or the lower-middle class. But even though that is slightly more likely, it's still impossible to say what the true meaning of this song is without asking James himself, because each line is more ambiguous than the next and seems to have little to do with the previous lines. Perhaps this song was all a stream-of-consciousness effort where he drops the following huge hint that there is no actual cohesive meaning to this song, but only random thoughts: "Follow the lines and wonder why there's no connection." Of course, I may be wrong. |
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| The Shins – Turn On Me Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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amh1010, Interesting take. I know that lyrics are open to many interpretations, but I don't see him singing to a girl at all, but to an old friend who he had a hurtful falling-out with. I guess we all filter lyrics through our own personal life experiences, and come to see them in that light. I think of this song as a continuation of the song "Mine's Not A High Horse." The last lyric in this song, "...now get back on that horse and ride" may not just be a snide parting comment, but also a hint to a connection between the two songs. It's certainly the same subject matter in both. Here, it seems he had a friend who was dominant and controlling, ("you always had to hold the reigns", "so I took your licks at the time"), and now with some distance and reflection, he just needs to vent his frustrations about the experience ("the stars are leaking out like spittle from a cloud, amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound"). But just like the message in "Mine's Not A High Horse", ("...will you remember my reply when your high horse dies?") I think the message is the same in both songs. Because what was his "reply" in the first song? "One finger parallel to the sky." Of course I'm probably wrong, but that's how I hear it. |
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| The Shins – Phantom Limb Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Bakismaki, I seriously doubt he'd be talking about L.A. or Miami (because they are the last places where anybody would use a spray-on tan). They both have lots of natural sunlight (even in winter). |
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| The Shins – The Past And Pending Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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As someone sets light to the first fire of autumn (As summer ends) We settle down to cut ourselves apart. (Here comes our break-up) Cough and twitch from the news on your face (His reaction to the realization that he is about to be dumped) And some foreign candle burning in your eyes (And his recognition that she is already in love with someone else) Held to the past too aware of the pending (He still loves her, but that doesn't change the hard fact that it's ending) Chill as the dawn breaks and finds us up for sale. (After a long emotional night, it is offically over. He's now single again) Enter the fog another low road descending (Enter a phase of uncertainty and depression because his life has been uprooted by a final decision that he had absolutely no choice in) Away from the cold lust, your house and summertime. (Leaving behind a relationship that had cooled down -- and now he knows why. But he still cherishes the memories of all the good times with her) Blind to the last cursed affair pistols and countless eyes (Damn, he never saw it coming!!!) A trail of white blood betrays the reckless route your craft is running (Depression over lost love can rob you of time and your life's direction) Feed till the sun turns into wood dousing an ancient torch (Some people turn to food to help them forget...but that is a stretch. I really have no idea what that line means, but it sure is poetic -- and considering it was written by James Mercer, it's probably really deep) Loiter the whole day through and lose yourself in lines dissecting love. (Sit around all day and write lyrics or poetry -- maybe even these very lines -- about the many aspects of his lost relationship and the break-up) Your name on my cast and my notes on your stay (The word cast has so many definitions, and so many of them work here, so I won't guess which one he's refering to, but the part about keeping notes about the times they shared shows a rare sentimentality for a guy) Offer me little but doting on a crime. (Was she under the age of consent??) We've turned every stone and for all our inventions (This relationship had a lot of problems that they really tried to work on -- before she finally met someone else and decided to move on) In matters of love loss, we've no recourse at all. (Once she's made up her mind, it is over pal) Well, that's my take on this song, but I'm probably wrong. It sure is a beautiful lyric either way, and it's likely as close to a perfect song as you'll ever hear. God, I love the Shins. |
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| The Shins – Phantom Limb Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Yeah Th0rn, personal listening. I have been listening for a few weeks now, and I am so addicted already. James Mercer is such an amazing songwriter, and he never fails to blow me away with his brilliant lyrics. | |
| The Shins – Turn On Me Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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When an old one-sided friendship goes south, sometimes there are no words, but thanks to James Mercer, these will do. I think this song may be directed to the same guy (an ex-friend of James Mercer) that the song "Mine's Not A High Horse" was written about. It's a continuation of the theme of a lingering resentment toward someone you once considered a friend, but they ended up treating you with disrespect and contempt. |
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| The Shins – Split Needles Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Here are the correct lyrics: I've earned myself an impossible crime Had to paint myself a hole and fall inside It gets far enough in sight and rhyme I get to wear another dress in counting time Oh won't you do me the favor man Of forgiving my poly-morphing opinion here And your vague outline Found myself another burning gate A pretty face -- a vague ideal -- I can't relate And this is what you get for pulling pins Another hole inside the hole you're in It's like I'm perched on the handle bars of a blind man's bike No straws to grab just the rushing wind on the rolling mind la la la da da ... They want you to decide -- eventually it happens Some gather on one side with all their pearly snapping They close the basement door -- it sets our teeth to chatter You never saw it before -- but now that hardly matters You're old enough boy -- too many summers you've enjoyed So spin the wheels, set you up with some odd convictions 'Cause you're finally golden boy It's like I'm perched on the handle bars of a blind man's bike No straws to grab just the rushing wind on the rolling mind |
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| The Shins – Sphagnum Esplanade Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Here are the correct lyrics to this brilliant song: Sphagnum Esplanade sphag·num (sf?g'n?m) n. Any of various pale or ashy mosses of the genus Sphagnum, the decomposed remains of which form peat. es·pla·nade (?s'pl?-näd', -n?d') n. A flat open stretch of pavement or grass, especially one designed as a promenade along a shore. How lovely i find what's entered my mind along this mossy trail how coyly it hides the truth about how it is we can't ask how crowds jump to their deaths from the bridges i drive by tonight they miss out on it all, the whole gist there as they fall you're not expected to know why in such a short time and there are stanzas never meant to rhyme Far better i find it is when we try to span the weird divide with no real rationale we step out of bounds and think and escape their lie We've marched so long and we've much farther than we've gone to go we'll make a new ship and christen it for the trip with a toddler at the helm this time and there are things we never will define crowds jump to their deaths from the bridges i drive by tonight they missed out on it all, the whole gist there as they fall you're not expected to know why in such a short time and there are things we never will define |
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| The Shins – The Past And Pending Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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As someone sets light to the first fire of autumn (As summer ends) We settle down to cut ourselves apart. (It's finally time bring this relationship to an end) Cough and twitch from the news on your face (His reaction to the realization that he is about to be dumped) And some foreign candle burning in your eyes (And his recognition that she is already in love with someone else) Held to the past too aware of the pending (He still loves her, but that doesn't change the hard fact that it's ending) Chill as the dawn breaks and finds us up for sale. (After a long emotional night, it is offically over. He's now single again) Enter the fog another low road descending (Enter a phase of uncertainty and depression because his life has been uprooted by a final decision that he had absolutely no choice in) Away from the cold lust, your house and summertime. (Leaving behind a relationship that had cooled down -- and now he knows why. But he still cherishes the memories of all the good times with her) Blind to the last cursed affair pistols and countless eyes (Damn, he never saw it coming!!!) A trail of white blood betrays the reckless route your craft is running (Depression over lost love can rob you of time and your life's direction) Feed till the sun turns into wood dousing an ancient torch (Some people turn to food to help them forget...but that is a stretch. I really have no idea what that line means, but it sure is poetic -- and considering it was written by James Mercer, it's probably really deep) Loiter the whole day through and lose yourself in lines dissecting love. (Sit around all day and write lyrics or poetry -- maybe even these very lines -- about the many aspects of his lost relationship and the break-up) Your name on my cast and my notes on your stay (The word cast has so many definitions, and so many of them work here, so I won't guess which one he's refering to, but the part about keeping notes about the times they shared shows a rare sentimentality for a guy) Offer me little but doting on a crime. (Was she under the age of consent??) We've turned every stone and for all our inventions (This relationship had a lot of problems that they really tried to work on -- before she finally met someone else and decided to move on) In matters of love loss, we've no recourse at all. (Once she's made up her mind, it is over pal) Well, that's my take on this song, but I'm probably wrong. It sure is a beautiful lyric either way, and it's likely as close to a perfect song as you'll ever hear. God, I love the Shins. |
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| The Shins – Mine's Not A High Horse Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The last line is actually, "...one finger parallel to the sky." (The eff off remains the same). |
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| The Shins – Australia Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| James regularly alters his lyrics at his live shows/radio visits. I wouldn't read too much from differing lyrics in his live takes, as many of his lyrics are ever-changing live. | |
| Flake Music – The Shins Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Here are the correct lyrics: Is it too near when they're nice? is that why there's sand in their eyes? you should wake up, 'cause they're nothing at all blow me a kiss and i'll try wade through the mud and return wearing white hangin' my clothes on a line no way for you to spend all your time waiting like grapes on a vine all of the goals you have yet to design wheels are off the track i'm dripping everywhere eyes are in the clouds while they pull the rug out pull me to the track i'll give this a try down's the wrong way out footsteps left to climb when you look back and wonder why what made it so hard to decide? when the difference is in black and white i guess i will always have to fight for home is it too near when they're nice? is that why there's sand in your eyes? don't wait it's hard to get around when you're old blow me a kiss and we'll try we'll scale the walls that go 5 miles high we'll scale the walls that go 5 miles high wheels are off the track i'm dripping everywhere eyes are in the clouds while they pull the rug out pull me to the track i'll give this a try down's the wrong way out footsteps left to climb when you look back and wonder why what made it so hard to decide? when the difference is in black and white i guess i will always have to fight for home wheels are off the track i'm dripping everywhere eyes are in the clouds while they pull the rug out wheels are off the track |
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| The Shins – Those To Come Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"Those to come" are all the countless people yet to be born/conceived. There are references to very early pregnancy (eyeless, shifting skin, climb inside us), but the song mostly focuses on those myriad lives yet to be conceived (those waiting in the ether to form). Ultimately, I think it's a meditation on life, death, and reincarnation. Of course, I could be wrong. |
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| The Shins – Turn On Me Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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These are the correct lyrics: You can fake it for a while Bite your tongue and smile Like every mother does an ugly child But the stars are leaking out Like spittle from a cloud Amassed resentment pelting ounce and pound You’re entertaining any doubts ‘Cause you had to know that I was fond of you Fond of Y-O-U Though I knew you masked your disdain La da da da da I can see that change was just too hard for us Hard for us You always had to hold the reigns But where I'm headed you just don't know the way So affections fade away And do adults just learn to play The most ridiculous repulsive games All the faith in ruddy sons And the double-barreled guns You better hurry rabbit run run run 'Cause meeting you was fun And there's a lot of hungry howlers in this one cell All taking it over Their brittle thorny stems They break before they bend And neither one of us is one of them And the tales will never mend ‘Cause you had it in for me so long ago Boy I still don't know I don't know why and I don't care Well hardly anymore And you'd always seen yourself hating me Hating me When I've been so much more than fair But then you’d have to lay those feelings bare One thing I know still got you scared You're all that cold iron And never once erred of a dare You had to know that I was fond of you Fond of Y-O-U So I took your licks at the time fa da da da da And to change like that is just so hard to do Hard to do Don't let it whip-crack your life And I'll bow out from the fight ‘Cause old pal your sisters were right The worst part is over Now get back on that horse and ride |
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| The Shins – Phantom Limb Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Th0rn, Your guess about "the GOAT-head tunes" referring to death-metal is more likely a reference to the famous Rolling Stones album, "Goat Heads Soup." |
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| The Shins – Phantom Limb Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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These are the correct lyrics: Frozen winter coats White girls of the North File past one five and one They are the fabled lambs of Sunday ham The ancient snow And they can float above the grass in circles if they tried A latent power I know they hide To keep some hope alive that a girl like I could ever try Could ever try So we just skirt the hallway signs A phantom and a fly Follow the lines and wonder why There's no connection A week of rolling eyes and cheap shots from the tribe And we're often in Marcus’ porch again Another afternoon with the Goat Head tunes and pilfered booze We wandered through your mama's house And the milk from the window lights family portrait circa '95 This is that foreign land of the sprayed on tans and it all feels fine Be it silk or slime So when they tap our Monday heads to a zombie-walk in our stead This town seems hardly worth our time And we'll no longer memorize or rhyme Too far along in our climb Stepping over what now towers to the sky With no connection Oh whoa oh whoa oh Oh whoa oh whoa oh Oh whoa oh whoa oh Oh whoa oh whoa oh So when they tap our Sunday heads to a zombie-walk in our stead This town seems hardly worth our time And we'll no longer memorize or rhyme Too far along in our crime Stepping over what now towers to the sky With no connection |
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| The Shins – Pam Berry Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This lass, some fifteen odd years, is widely known to have spat in her teacher's lap (and will not take it back) And now I see, how after all the crap, she rightly came to that |
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| The Shins – A Comet Appears Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Like a dart stuck square in your eye dart = dot |
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