| Why? – The Hollows Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think you guys are missing the point of the song's final line: "In a crowded room project a debonair aloof impermanence be shrouded loosely in an air of indeterminates." As all of Yoni's songs are, this song is vaguely autobiographical, at least to whatever extent the character he portrays on his album is derived from his real personality. However, what he says here speaks volumes: He projects aloof impermanence, and shrouds himself loosely in indeterminable things. In other words: Yoni's lyrics largely represent highly visual phrases and snippets of poetry from scraps of paper and notebooks, sometimes loosely tied together, and sometimes intentionally obscured through phrases which have excellent aesthetic consonance. Not everything here can be deciphered, guys, because it doesn't all make sense. "As I lay me down to fall asleep with my demons dying and my pilot light weak I curse the last six months I been hiding behind a mustache, yeah and to those last ten years I been howling a paper moon: fuck you" Just a diary snippet of some sort - Yoni's trying to fall asleep, he feels as if his "inner flame" or willpower, represented by the pilot light, is growing weaker. It's a bleak sentiment. He curses the fact that he's been wearing a mustache for the past six months. It's not a Hitler reference, guys, it's pretty easy to figure out. Yoni wishes he hadn't been wearing a mustache for the past half a year. What does it mean that he's been "howling a paper moon?" I can't say for sure, other than it seems it would be in reference to his musical career up to this point. "Paper Moon" is famously a movie about a con man. Could he be cursing what he now sees as insincerity in his work? In the chorus, he doesn't proclaim anything so esoteric as some of you might like to think. He dedicates the song, essentially, to the entire human race, but especially to miscreant and seedy characters such as the examples he gives. It's like The Decemberists "Come Join the Youth and Beauty Brigade - we're calling all the light loafers, the bored bench-warmers." He calls on several specific groups to refer to a single idea of a whole. He then goes on to tell a presumably autobiographical story about his trip to Berlin, which he represents through rather unpleasant imagery. Okay...there you have it. It's not so complex, guys. Yoni's poetry is fascinating in the choices he makes and the images he paints, but it's all rather abstract and obtuse semi-autobiographical stuff. It's not about gangs or neo-nazis. |
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| Why? – Against Me Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| It's definitely "Scythe." And yes, it is pronounced exactly like that. It rhymes with "tithe" and "blithe." Same vowel sound as in "Strive." It's a weapon you can swing at someone to cut them in half. | |
| Why? – Song of the Sad Assassin Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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ronpaul2008's post = worst, most nonsensical, non-sequitur interpretation of any song ever. Who would expect any less from someone who was fooled by Loose Change? I'm not sure about the idea that this song is about the breakup of Clouddead, either. I mean, Elephant Eyelash DID deal a lot with the death of a relationship, and there IS in fact a line about a "she" looking at him and threatening to suck out his marrow. Why would this song NOT be about a girl, or the emotions she provoked? For what reason could the "body" not be a metaphor for what's left over after the death of their relationship? I don't know for sure, but I'm also confused by the degree of certitude some of you other guys are displaying. |
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| Animal Collective – Who Could Win a Rabbit Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| The lyrics marillchu789 posted from the band are correct. | |
| The Shins – Phantom Limb Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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This song is one of many that James Mercer has written from the perspective of another person. The narrator here is a young girl ruminating on the two different types of girls in her high school - the gregarious, popular type and the wallflowers. He describes these quite appropriately as the "fly" and "phantom" types, respectively. After a night of drinking with her friends and reflecting harshly on her own status, she sings at the end of the song of the fact that academics are the last interest of any teen, whether incredibly popular or not. Of course there is a disconnect between the girls in her school, and any school for that matter - they've not allowed themselves to understand one another. |
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| The Shins – A Comet Appears Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I'm always shocked at how much difficulty people have in interpreting James Mercer's lyrics. They are perfectly clear if you take the time to decipher brilliantly written poetry. This song is about growing old and realizing that one hasn't accomplished all one would have liked to...he compares trying to keep on one's feet as like trying to "hold onto a comet" - truly a shaky and painful endeavor. "Close your eyes to corral a virtue" - at this point in the storyteller's life, he feels as if the only way he can see the good in himself is to blind himself to the truth. I think the rest of the lyrics should fall pretty much into place with that concept in mind. |
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| Panda Bear – Bros Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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My immediate reaction to following along with these lyrics is that they are a dialog with Avey Tare. I could be projecting my own expectations here, but this sounds like it could be Panda reassuring Avey that although they have their differences and Panda's felt the need to go his own way now and again, they're still "Bro's." Of course, it might be a song written for his actual brother. I think these are the two most likely possibilities. Given Panda's apparent persona, I just believe it's highly likely these lyrics are actually written as a dialog with an actual person he feels to be his "Bro," rather than a fictional narrative. |
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