| The National – Light Years Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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Simple, stunning, sad. It's a short tale of a man who never knew what he had until it was gone. I see a bright, energetic woman who dragged a casually interested man around... for a while. The metaphor of distance (I was always ten feet behind you from the start/light years away from you) is surely something that anyone can relate to. A delightful addition to a family tree of heartwrenching National ballads that includes Guilty Party, Conversation 16 and Val Jester. |
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| Lana Del Rey – National Anthem Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[kaylawardle:22235] Mate. Nailed it. Great analysis. | |
| The Bronx – Inveigh Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Good spot - it's the climax of the whole song! "Never break down, follow, or blindly obey! INVEIGH!" Inveigh VERB [NO OBJECT] (inveigh against) Speak or write about (something) with great hostility: "he liked to inveigh against all forms of academic training" |
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| The Bronx – Inveigh Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Good spot - it's the climax of the whole song! "Never break down, follow, or blindly obey! INVEIGH!" Inveigh VERB [NO OBJECT] (inveigh against) Speak or write about (something) with great hostility: "he liked to inveigh against all forms of academic training" |
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| Arcade Fire – Flashbulb Eyes Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Sure the camera "steals the soul" is relevant. But if you tie it in with the Reflektor idea of social media overload, then it's angled more at how people bare their souls all the time now. People didn't used to photodocument every night out, every dinner party, every lunch. Now it's selfies and airing all your dirty laundry in public. Hence "What if the camera / Really do / Take your soul" and "You know I got nothing to hide". Followed up with "You know I got nothing" because most of what people document is utterly, utterly banal. The title "Flashbulb eyes" makes me think of two things: one is that "trout-pout" look that high street fashionistas effect whenever within 2 metres of a finger poised over an iPhone screeen. The other is those red-eye pictures you get, which people often joke makes the subject in the picture look demonic. So what I get from this is, "are we all vain, self-obsessed demons, or empty shells"? |
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| Wild Beasts – Bed Of Nails Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Close. The line ties the idea of their love being "Frankenstein" (i.e. hodge-podge and/or man-made, possibly artificial) with the novel's author Mary Shelley and her lover, the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley; also weaving the idea of both couples' (the Shelleys and the singer-"Ophelia" pairing) "first time together" with literal electricity, the method used to animate Frankenstein's monster, and the metaphorical sexual electricity that brings their unusual love to life. | |
| Portishead – The Rip Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song reminds me of Norman MacCaig's 1954 poem "Party", which runs as follows: "Watching your face That makes an emptiness of this crowded place, I stand, not speaking, terrified to see You grown more lovely, and still lost to me." I see the song telling of the surge of deep and conflicting emotions that tear (rip) at the central character upon seeing a former lover, like rip tides that surge beneath apparently calm surfaces of water. "Love flows" like the sea. But which will surge stronger, the love that might drag the darkness (of negativity) away, or the bitterness that resulted from the relationship's end? |
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| Karma To Burn – Patty Hearst's Closet Mantra Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Numb I lay all day, oh. [Repeat] Hour of religion has past and gone, All this desire still remains, Hell and God on the run; Another winter's on its way. They like to suck the dead to life, smell the rot inside. (They feel their) Hearts, hands, eyes. Eyes, Eyes, Eyes. Too many people have lost their souls, damned to a life of decay. Been a lover for far too long, without the power to refrain. [Chorus] Numb I lay all day, oh. [Repeat] [Chorus] - I fucking loved this song when I discovered it in 1997, and now I just rediscovered it today. Still amazing. |
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| The National – Sorrow Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Sorry but Lost was rubbish. It was cliffhangers-by-numbers. The televisual equivalent of saying "You won't believe what I just heard! Actually, I can't say..." I stopped watching in earnest after about 4 episodes, but my flatmate persevered with about 3 series before concluding that I had in fact been right and the show was just stringing the viewer along with cheap narrative hooks. There are probably about a dozen shows that beat the hell out of Lost on various fronts including complexity and intricacy, from Twin Peaks (which was better btw - 30 eps doesn't mean anything) to Star Trek TNG, the X-Files, Seinfeld, Arrested Development, the Simpsons... PS why do premium programming shows suddenly not count? That's an arbitrary cut-off point. "I think Britney Spears is the greatest musician in the world, tell me one person who's better (not including bands with instruments, men, or Lady Gaga)"... |
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| Arctic Monkeys – My Propeller Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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There's something to be said for both (or all 3) arguments, the "mood" people are describing could be equally applied to frustration of a sexual nature or a creative, and he needs the addressee to get him going. As for the bald eagle metaphor: a beak is slang for nose, which implies drugs however it is also rigid, which implies sex bald implies impotence (or virility) eagle implies flight and majesty (drugs) I might be going out on a limb here, but are the Arctic Monkeys not known for their lyrical ambiguity? (ie Flourescent Adolescent "her Bloody Mary's lacking a tabasco" = dull life / boring sex life / menopause) |
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| Life of Agony – Seasons Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Estranged father and son, one or other or both with a substance problem ("running on fuel"); but the son's ready to welcome the father back even though he's "lost in the mountains"; which could be distance, coldness, pride; but it doesn't matter: "come crumble on top of me"... | |
| Peter Gabriel – We Do What We're Told Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I recently saw a BBC documentary where one of the 37 was tracked down and asked about the experiment. He bravely admitted his moral compass went out the window during the experiment (although he did protest and enquire after the "subject"). Worth a watch if you can find it, I can only find the original experiments on Youtube (he's the guy at 6:52 on the second link, that goes on to the third link). Here's the links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PGnHHnRMk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzYAdGl_0mA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSiMM_GIiyA&feature=related |
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| The Bronx – Knifeman Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Dunno if perhaps the "borderline" they refer to is the divide between the "art" that he mentions in the first verse and the popular acceptance that he alludes to in the rest of the song. It sounds like he suggests that the cost of reaching your dreams of getting your message/music/art out there in the public domain is that you are "condemned" by the very dream you desired. Deprived of the fire that drove you, your motivation wanes ("we used to be gifted / and persistent"). It sounds like the essay I've been reading on "The Culture Industry" (Adorno & Horkheimer 1947)*, where they critique the processing of artistic talent into mass commodity, that makes everything essentially the same: "We'll all be damned if this machine turns life into routine." *Link: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/Adorno-Horkheimer-Culture-Industry.pdf |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The previous post got it right. OK, I know half of you ARE teenagers, and it's called Flourescent *Adolescent*, but if you listen closely, the lyrics say: "Oh [Flo / flow], where did you go?" Which like many of the lyrics are ambiguous (Mecca dobber / Mega dobber; Betting pencil; what someone else said about Bloody Mary & lack of Tabasco = No menstrual blood). In its first sense it's a name Flo, but in the second its "flow", as in menstrual, and it's referring to the menopause. See also "Tabasco" implication: which is why she'd "rather just forget it" and why it's "Bingo (her) OR Betting (him) OR sex (implied/forgotten)" [see Mecca dobber, above]. So it's about a middle-aged woman remembering her Flourescent Adolescent days wistfully. |
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| Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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No, what Bazmeg says is right, because another line that everyone missed is: "Oh Flo/flow, where did you go?" The woman is in her menopause, and where she's "not coming back" from is her boring de-sexed life... |
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| Arctic Monkeys – This House Is a Circus Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Everyone's focus seems to be on a house party, but it could equally be opened up to a pub or nightclub. The line "Aimlessly gazing at the faces in the queue" seems to have been completely overlooked: does this not suggest some kind of official venue? I just feel people are taking the word "house" too literally. MaxpowerandButterflies makes a lot of good points, from which I will further add this: it's about a moment of clarity in the middle of a hedonistic session (house or club), where "the voice" realises that what's going on around him is "crazy" or "wild", but not necessarily in the good way that people are talking about. This explains the references to pretend memories (altered states), desire for feelings (drugs) not to end, people's performativity (acting up for an audience, either for sex or due to drugs), the search for sex, and the lack of fulfillment which follows over-indulgence. But that's just my opinion. |
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| Spiritualized – Come Together Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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^What he said. "The tracks of time, these tracks of mine" clearly refers to 'track marks' , defined in Urban Dictionary as "the line of bruised needle holes in the arm of a junky produced as he shoots up at a slightly higher point on his arm..." http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=track%20marks See also the cyclical nature of addiction in "dulls the pain that kills the joy" and "Every time that Johnny ate / the little fucker fed the ache". |
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| The XX – Fantasy Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Lines 3-4, I get: And I hate that tomorrow's December This collision came mid-bloom No? |
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| She Wants Revenge – Monologue Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Sure it's not: "On the edge of an answer, you WEIGH lust, beginnings are made"? Weighing up lust against something else, conscience, morals? |
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| Nirvana – Pennyroyal Tea Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Kirk. Ha. | |
| Placebo – Special K Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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It's about Ketamine but it's also about love. Duh. |
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| Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Whatever. Someone was wiped out by the government... :D |
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| Radiohead – All I Need Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I don't know if I can spell special? | |
| Radiohead – All I Need Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Divided Pie, that's a beautiful and interesting interpretation. On a very basic level, consider this is the "anti-Creep". Contrast wishing "I was special / you're so fucking special"... With I "only stick with you/ because there are no others". |
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| Jeff Buckley – Corpus Christi Carol Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I reckon he's trying to be too smart. I just stumbled across the original Medieval Carol in the Norton Anthology of English Literature and it says "hall", but its rhymed with "pall" (in the original) whereas it's clearly "hold" and "gold" in the Jeff Buckley version. Beautiful anyway... | |
| Radiohead – Myxomatosis. (Judge, Jury, & Executioner.) Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| I still say it's one of their most under-rated efforts... | |
| Björk – Bachelorette Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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My flatmate's insistence on watching the video drew me to this and all I can say is "Amazing!". I'd forgotten how much I love people who can use their voices as instruments. Outstanding. |
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| Oasis – Slide Away Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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OKAY. It's: Hold me down, WHILE all the world's asleep I need you now, you've knocked me off my feet I dream of you, AND we talk of growing old But you said please don't ! Slide in baby - together we'll fly I've tried praying BUT I DON'T KNOW what you're saying to me Now that you're mine WE'll find a way Of chasing the sun Let me be the one that shines with you In the morning WE don't know what to do Two of a kind We'll find a way To do what we've done Let me be the one that shines with you And we can slide away. Slide away - and give it all you've got My today - fell in from the top I dream of you - and all the things you say I wonder where you are now? Slide in baby - together we'll fly I've tried praying and I know just what you're saying to me Now that you're mine WE'LL find a way Of chasing the sun Let me be the one that shines with you In the morning, WE don't know what to do WE'RE two of a kind, we'll find a way To do what we've done OH, LET ME BE THE ONE WHO SHINES WITH YOU AND WE CAN SLIDE AWAY... (DON'T KNOW, DON'T CARE ALL I KNOW IS YOU CAN TAKE ME THERE) SLIDE AWAY ***************************** This tune is one of the most under-rated rock songs of the nineties. I say it's one of the fucking best! |
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| Underworld – Dirty Epic Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Nice one, whybother?. I was almost going to post that the song had no real meaning beyond themes of sex, porn and murkiness, but in one listening you've pulled me round to your view. I love this tune because of the bleak and murky vibe. It does exactly what it says on the tin. Does nobody else love the line "I get my kicks on channel 6"? |
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| Interpol – NYC Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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No-one's mentioned the crucial word which is omitted from the posted lyrics, which demonstrate the irony of the chorus: "...I know you've supported me for a long time Somehow I'm not impressed >[BUT]< New York Cares New York Cares..." The "but" makes the "New York Cares" statement very ironic, given the complaints about the porno and the mess... |
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| The Verve – Life's An Ocean Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I hate to use exclamation marks and smilies, but: "Imagined the future Woke up with a scream I was buying some feelings From a vending machine" BEST LYRICS EVER!!! =) |
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| Arcade Fire – Windowsill Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"A house on fire / Or a rising sea", to me, is like keeping your blinkers on in a troubled country or opening yourself (doors and windows) to a flood of different troubles... It's US-style paranoia... |
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| A Perfect Circle – The Hollow Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"The Hollow" is the hole we feel in our lives, based on sexual desire. Whether the songs are written with "more than one meaning" or not, the fact this song references "a sexual being" and "libido" are pretty obvious. PS It's "Run, desire, run A sexual being, run him..." |
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| The Verve – A Northern Soul Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Obviously I love this track but £500 Monopoly money to anyone who can figure out the muttered mantra in the background behind "Too busy staying alive" at the end. All I can make out is something like "... people trapped, having heart attacks..."? |
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| The Verve – A Northern Soul Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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No time for old fashioned potion I WANNA SEE IF YOU KNOW ME Take a look into my eyes I tell you so many lies and then I'll let you go into the night I'M ALIVE WITH SOMETHING INSIDE OF ME And I don't think I'm coming down I'm alive with something inside of me... And I can't seem to get it out |
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| The Verve – History Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| There's nothing uplifting about History except it's beauty. It single-handedly got me into my favourite band of all time. | |
| The Verve – Stormy Clouds Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Only one comment and such poor interpretation. ...I'm tearing up inside Don't be scared, come on inside She BRINGS THE RAIN/ WEARS THE RING THESE new horizons SEE THROUGH THE PAIN New horizons... ...New horizons (UNDERNEATH) A new horizon (???SOLD IT CHEAP???) A new horizon (STORMY CLOUDS) (I'M LIVING FREE) A new horizon (STORMY CLOUDS) (HOLDING ME DOWN) The heavens are breaking It's raining You're thinking I'm walking TO TRAIN AND This boy won't come back again Say it one more time S'NOTHING ON MY MIND NOTHING ON MY MIND It's an amazing track - the guitar summons thoughts of stormy clouds. |
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| Manic Street Preachers – Kevin Carter Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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^^^^Balls! Just Google it if you need to. :( |
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| Manic Street Preachers – Kevin Carter Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Copy and paste for the picture: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kevin_carter/hungry%2520child_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kevin_carter/sudan_child.htm&h=698&w=556&sz=201&tbnid=BG1J5T3UDW5-MM:&tbnh=139&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkevin%2Bcarter%26um%3D1&start=1&ei=L6eMRtmdJpeGQKnQ8L0M&sig2=9hzxCsKUb1ncK9BlysHg5g&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=1 It's the most horrific thing I've ever seen and if I had that on my conscience I'd have killed myself too. |
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| VAST – Thrown Away Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"I like..." meh! The way that he sings "Precious one, you have abandoned meee-a-heeee!" is great! |
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| Stone Temple Pilots – Plush Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Come on guys, I knew what this was about in 1994 when I had it on constantly on the jukebox at the pub we drank in. And while this site's about what songs mean to people, if I said it was about "Green Giraffes from Croatia", I'd be "WRONG". |
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| Radiohead – The Bends Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"...to blow me sk-ayyyyyyy HAIGGHHHHH!" Yes! |
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| Editors – Camera Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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"You fall from grace, we fall with such grace." The bass-line and synth before and during these lines are amazing. It breaks my heart every time for absolutely no reason... |
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| The Verve – On Your Own Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I read an interview where he said that it was all about loneliness. "You come in on your own and you leave on your own" = You're born screaming into this world by yourself and you'll die by yourself (a la Donnie Darko: "Every living creature on earth dies alone." ). Sorry to be bleak but it's true... |
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| The Verve – Sonnet Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Some beautiful interpretations there guys. Despite being a huge Verve fan, I thought it was a simple love song, but you've all made me think again. :) x |
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| VAST – Flames Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Sirius1: "I was at a funeral arrangement where two people I knew (who were lovers) had died in a car crash and this was the song that was chosen for them, as it was their favourite. The room was just in silence." I sincerely hope that's true because that story just made me cry. |
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| The Verve – Velvet Morning Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Stick this on after a night on the nonsense with some close friends and TRY and tell me this isn't one of the greatest songs ever written. | |
| The Verve – No Knock On My Door Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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One of my least favourites on "A Northern Soul" and it's still f*cking brilliant. It ups the ante perfectly after History. |
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| Editors – Distance Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It's "These things I never seem to MEAN" It's about putting "Distance" between yourself and your ex because you continuously hurt each other whether you mean to or not. Without meaning to put the entire meaning on my relationship with my ex, it's a eulogy for a relationship that's ended with some harsh words and bad situations despite the fact that there are still tender feelings involved. Whenever I was with this object of my affections, I sometimes spitefully hurt her because of the pain she caused me when she ended it. And in the end I realised I couldn't be her friend like she wanted, because deep down I hated her for hurting me so badly. I love this song because it's tender, dark and full of sorrow like the situation it portrays. |
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| The Verve – No Knock On My Door Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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One of my least favourites on "A Northern Soul" and it's still f*cking brilliant. It ups the ante perfectly after History. |
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