| Savoir Adore – Beating Hearts Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I think I fixed it all, except maybe the "Give me every tragedy" verse. That one is tricky to hear. | |
| The Dutchess And The Duke – Mary Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I think it's obviously directed toward a mother. Also, it's probably no coincidence that "Mary" is the most maternal name in history. | |
| Joy Zipper – 1 Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Lying naked in the sun Making eyes at everyone You're the one Later on, you'll stand alone Below an empty moon With an empty heart In your empty hands And the flowers and the trees All laugh when you walk by And the neighbor's kids Run and hide If they only knew You were really one of them But you're not You're the one One, one, one, one, one... The one Could it be, we're alone And the moon was full of gold Your heart was filled with blood And the sun was in your hands The sun that burned you then Now warms your empty heart People come and go But you're the one One, one, one, one, one... The one |
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| Meg & Dia – Bandits Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I like this cut a lot -- a bit feistier than Meg & Dia's usual lyrics. I'm 99% sure they've never actually been dragged off by the cops, but it's a sweet metaphor. The distance and driving references make me think perhaps the touring is a strain on the relationship, but that's just a small dividing force. | |
| The Hold Steady – Separate Vacations Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Surrounded in a car park in Hostile, Massachusetts Waiting on your savior, listening to music All this dark talk is making me itchy These guys with no shirts are making me sweat it And it's been getting kind of hectic You're hot and you're scared that there's not enough air So faithful and pure that you're not even there You're hot and you're scared that there's not enough air This is the cross that we carry Met some blue blood dude down at the harbor He called me his brother, he tried to sell me his daughter These east coast kids are such tricky talkers Got caught by a cop up in Boston Common Oh the lipstick, oh the mascara We're dried up like blood and we're stuck to the ground That's how we know we'll be sticking around We're tied up like kites but we drift into trouble There will nights when we suffer Such is our struggle Via Dolorosa It started with mimosas It ended with relations Mr. Minnesota Stuck her between stations Watched her through the passion And went back to his cabin You're hot and you're scared and there's not enough air So faithful and pure that you're not even there You're hot and you're scared and there's not enough air So faithful and pure that you're not even there You're hot and you're fried and there's not enough light Your friends think you're settled; you're scared that they're right You're hot and you're fried and there's not enough light Your friends think you're settled, and now you're taking separate vacations Now you're taking separate vacations Now you're taking separate vacations |
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| Santigold – Say Aha Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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A biblical reference: "Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha." -- Psalm 40:15 Praying your enemies will wake up and see how wrong they are, and feel sick for having mistreated and laughed at you. ... But if that doesn't work, and they simply won't see the light, then they should go to hell. |
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| Joseph Arthur – A Smile That Explodes Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think this clearly has a strong drug-use theme. "Waking up at dawn" is what junkies face when they "come back down" from heroin. "Pin my arm" is a reference to intravenous heroin injection, after which you'll feel "too gone". | |
| Motion City Soundtrack – Skin and Bones Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Left alone with your existential thoughts, will you self-destruct? Can you make it through this spell of depression? | |
| The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Seems nobody's touched on these lines yet: and the band plays some song about forgetting yourself for a while and the piano's this melancholy soundtrack to her smile Given that it's based on actual events, I'm lead to believe he's referring to Radiohead's song 'Karma Police' being played-- which features gorgeous piano and the repeated line "for a minute there, I lost myself". |
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| The Mountain Goats – Sign of the Crow (Part 2) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I believe it's "purest heart" -- like a relic of goodness | |
| The Decemberists – O New England Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| The line is obviously "ill-gotten foal-colored souvenir" -- ill-gotten as in shoplifted, foal-colored referring to horses | |
| Duels – Forgotten Babies Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The struggle to find worth in yourself when you've never been handed anything. If nobody carved out a place for you, you have to escape into your own world. Usually, your "Best Case Scenario" is still rather grim. It starts off young, at school -- the small differences between "forgotten babies" and normal children. The girl's father didn't teach her to be wary of boys, and she is naturally pretty, which will only exacerbate the other problem and lead to more bad things. But maybe fuck-ups can make it through together. Forgotten babies don't have a proper family, but share a connection that normal people don't get. So fuck the normal people and love each other, all the while drunk and muddling through a life you're surprised to have held onto. |
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| Azure Ray – Displaced Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"I know that no one, no one survives" Perhaps an obscure reference to Margaret Atwood's poem "Roominghouse, Winter": I said, In exile survival is the first necessity. After that (I say this tentatively) we might begin Survive what? you said. In the weak light you looked over your shoulder. You said Nobody ever survives. |
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| Lifter Puller – Roaming The Foam Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| "YayYo" should be "yeyo" -- as in cocaine. | |
| A Fine Frenzy – Come On, Come Out Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| On the surface, the song paints a lovely visual picture of a gorgeous sunny day, one which should be enjoyed outside. Because of the choice of phrase -- "Come on, COME OUT" -- I could see it being a subtle gay anthem. | |
| The National – Trophy Wife Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| cynical in that really biting TRUE way | |
| The Hold Steady – Cattle and the Creeping Things Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I love when Craig changes the line to "I heard Gideon FUCKED you in Denver" more venom! | |
| The Mountain Goats – All Up the Seething Coast Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| You see your old life moving on, and you're still there, but you're not a part of it. You know the dangers, that addictions is wrong and deadly, but you can't stop. | |
| Veruca Salt – Salt Flat Epic Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I think these are some of Louise's best lyrics. I know the song was written much prior to IV's recording. I think it's definitely about Nina and their falling out. It's the weird simultaneous feeling of loving someone but being done with someone. The friendship is over, and she's left with all of these feelings that have nothing to do with the band or the songs, but with how they were together and friends and just as people. Weird mixed feelings that she just has to forget and move on from now. So sad. | |
| Ben Lee – American Television Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This could deal with him dating Claire Danes for many years. She rose to fame as a teenager on the American TV show "My So-Called Life". Ben has always said his songs aren't that black-and-white though, so I assume that's not the only influence at work. He seems to enjoy pop culture in general, which this is an ode to. | |
| The Mountain Goats – Alpha Double Negative: Going to Catalina Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Another moment in the lives of the Alpha Couple. It's that moment when the one person is yelling and trying to pick a fight, and the other just doesn't even care enough to fight back. They've had the same argument so many times and the love has drained out of the relationship. They're not the same people now, so why bother going on? Why listen anymore? | |
| Ryan Adams – Off Broadway Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| That moment where you remember where you came from, and you miss it. You realize you've been so many places that nowhere is "home" anymore. He used to be so certain and he clings to those memories, even though they're long gone and he's worse for wear. | |
| Ryan Adams – The Sun Also Sets Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| He knows the relationship is over, but he still wants to talk to her. He wants to know things are going, how it all worked out... even though he's "faded out" of the picture. | |
| Rufus Wainwright – Another Believer Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| bad reputation maybe, but still got some love to give and just enough charm to win someone over | |
| Landon Pigg – Tin Man Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Like the Tinman, he's missing his heart. He does terrible things just because it's easy and he can. He experiences beautiful scapes but feels no emotion. He feels like happiness, friendship and love are all close to him, and he knows he should value them, but he can't connect. He wants to be better, but he's stuck in a void. | |
| Bright Eyes – Untitled Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Conor is fighting over a girl with another guy, except he's tired of fighting. It seems he didn't realize she was otherwise romantically engaged ("Could it be I am mistaken, have I stolen somebody’s baby?") but whomever she was with before Conor obviously didn't treat her that well and left. Conor waited around for a year as the girl of his desires was broken-hearted by this other guy. But then, "absence leads to adoration" and suitor #1 decided he loves her again. But Conor wants it all to be done with; he's never even had his chance. That other guy hurt her, so he truly believes that he deserves her for himself and that she should stop carrying on with that other guy. He dresses it up with platitudes like "it’s nobody’s fault" because he knows it's the right thing to say, but in all actuality he wants her to just make up her mind -- and most importantly, to chose him. | |
| Ryan Adams – Two Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| It sounds like he's going through a rough time and realizes he needs help. It used to take one, he was independent, but now he needs someone in his life. But because he's been hurt so much and is down on his luck, he realizes he's not the best bet for someone to be with. But he needs to anyway. | |
| Ryan Adams – How Do You Keep Love Alive? Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| He knows it isn't what it's supposed to be, because love is "supposed to make you happy" and they're miserable. But how can he go about cliche breakup phrases when their relationship is so much deeper than that? She's in his blood, his love for her predates her existence. He's asking if there's some other way, one that would keep their love alive because he can't just abandon it. | |
| Ryan Adams – Wish You Were Here Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This is about being a mess and falling for someone just as bad as (if not worse than) yourself. The situation is "totally fucked up" because they're both fucked-up indivduals. He hates that everyone knows what a mess it is, because they don't get it. His surroundings are boring him and people just don't understand miserable, fucked-up relationships. He wishes he could just be with his wreck of a lover, with their bad drug-using habits because at least it's more entertaining. | |
| Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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To me, when he says "steal my records"... it's like a desperate cry for her to want him. He wants her to want ANYTHING from him, even if it's just his stuff. He wants her to be thinking of him, when she passes stores and the like. He just wants to be haunting her like she's haunting him, even though it's an unhealthy desire. It's like when my girlfriend left me, I had this intense hope that she wouldn't give me my stuff back. I hoped she'd want to keep it. That way she'd always be thinking of me, and she wouldn't be letting go and moving on. This song is about not being able to move on. |
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