| Primitive Radio Gods – Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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@[somnambulance:31961] I think you've summed up the pain of existence. |
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| Vic Chesnutt – Supernatural Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| @[jankout:29830] The king here is, most likely, Jesus, but could also be any religious leader who has had "supernatural" connotations or been built up to a place of mystic leadership. | |
| Beastie Boys – Get on the Mic Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| I'm pretty sure this one is about Mike Diamond and how great he is and how he should get on the mic. | |
| Into It. Over It. – Open Casket Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think the meaning is pretty straightforward. I'm from a town like this where the people in the town don't really want anyone to get out and succeed, or just do something different. They want to stay in this town and do the same old thing, make the same old mistakes, and they resent people that leave and try to better themselves. I think that's what this song is about. It's hard to be friends with people that don't want to change and don't want you to change either. My favorite part is: "But I'd feel better as a corpse / Than a boring barely-living thing" He'd rather be dead than live this mundane, uninspired, rutty existence that his friends are living. |
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| Into It. Over It. – Open Casket Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I think the meaning is pretty straightforward. I'm from a town like this where the people in the town don't really want anyone to get out and succeed, or just do something different. They want to stay in this town and do the same old thing, make the same old mistakes, and they resent people that leave and try to better themselves. I think that's what this song is about. It's hard to be friends with people that don't want to change and don't want you to change either. My favorite part is: "But I'd feel better as a corpse / Than a boring barely-living thing" He'd rather be dead than live this mundane, uninspired, rutty existence that his friends are living. |
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| The Front Bottoms – The Plan (Fuck Jobs) Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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During the "Cause I Love you, I miss you", they sing these lines from the Built To Spill song In The Morning: "When my mind's uncertain my body decides What it will do to get through the hell of the night As I trip on the ocean that leads through your eyes" Then they end the song with repeating the first line. Just a fun little fact. |
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| Counting Crows – Shallow Days Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I think you're underestimating this song and the lyric writing abilities of Mr. Duritz. You see, it's a dual symbol pivoting on the girl's name Mary Jane and its use as slang for marijuana. Let's break it down a bit. Mary Jane says, it's all right She's just around the corner from the main light Any day now, it's all right She's standing on the precipice of big time And I know I'm a little uptight I got to go before the sun shines We're just a couple small people squeezing out a life We need a little good time This introduces two people, the singer and MJ as people They're a "couple of small people squeezing out a life", but MJ is about to make it big time in some way. Maybe they're both struggling singers, artists, etc. It sounds like it may have been a hook up where MJ is saying, "come over, my place is nearby" and Adam, later, is saying how he's a little uptight and wants to leave her place before the sun comes up. Really nothing about drugs at all. It's not far from here Mary comes and goes Drifting through the scenery Of shallow days below This is a callback in a way to how her apartment wasn't far, but also an allusion to how MJ is close-by, in and out of whatever scene, probably the local music scene, of whatever town he was in at the time. The next line really goes with the next verse so I separated it. Now that's everybody knows You follow trains out of town And they vanish somewhere under the horizon Yeah well, I saw Mary Jane drag her shadow Down the tracks, stare off in the distance It's not far from here Mary waves 'Hello' Smiling though she's sinking In the shallow days below To me this is saying that MJ tends to chase things that she can't quite attain. She goes to follow, but doesn't quite make it out after the train. She turns and waves, but she's sinking into these mundane "shallow days". Now, upon first hearing this part you think she may be a dreamer, but based on the rest of the song, I think that the trains "under the horizon" and down the "tracks" may be allusions to harder drugs that MJ is using to escape these shallow days. It will make more sense in a bit. Oh no, I can't find a way out of here Out on the road again I'm much, much too concerned about Mary Jane I'm all alone again and I like what she said but not what it means She leaves me drowning Through the shallow days down below I think this part is the part where the dual use of Mary Jane firms up a bit. Adam is on the road and he's concerned about MJ the woman and MJ the drug. He's smoking and likes how he feels and what "she" says (as the MJ speaks to him), but ultimately the high doesn't last and he's forced to drown in shallow days which is kind of a strange juxtaposition since drowning in shallow water is relatively difficult. You know I heard a band Playing waltzes in a grange hall The sun is sinking lower People staring, Mary Jane humming softly to herself And nobody really knows her Any day now it's all right She tells herself that this will be the last time Then Mary Jane pulls her hair back and wonders What she'll do with all her free time This is relatively straightforward. MJ is at a show for a band and it alludes to MJ as a person and also the use of MJ as a drug at the show (perhaps?). Nobody really knows her true nature. She's high at this show on whatever drugs she was chasing previously, I'm not going to specify what, and she wants to quit this drug and wonders what she'll do with all this free sober time she'll have once she's off. This is very telling, these last two lines, because it's often a number one fear for anyone who is trying to get sober, what do you do with all this time you suddenly have. This time that was spent getting money to get drugs to get high that repeated itself every day, how do you fill that time without drugs. This is how we know that the train tracks that went below the horizon (should really be over the horizon) are referring to something a bit more sinister than a train. Not too far from here Mary turns to go Smiling while the waltz begins Dancing down the road Hey, hey, hey, hey, Mr. Freedom What are we supposed to think? 'Cause I'm a very tiny person and it worries me She leaves the concert and, leaves the town, perhaps leaves Adam. He's left wondering what her deal is because she walked away from this party they were having. It may also point to her leaving her potential success. We know she was on the precipice of big time before, she may have left it all behind and Adam is left wondering what's up with her and, as he said before, maybe he never knew her anyway. I'm all alone again and I like what she says but not what it means She leaves me drowning In the shallow days way down below "I'm sorry", she said "I know it's not the kind of thing you want" I'm falling, falling down "I'm sorry", she said "I know I'm not the kind of girl you want" We're falling, falling, falling, falling down The end is the final breakup, so to speak, of Adam and MJ. It reflects how he may feel from breaking up with a drug (thing) and MJ as a girl since it repeats for both instances of how the term Mary Jane was used in the song. She / it is finally saying that she /it can't keep him above the shallow days because it's not really what he wants and they're both falling from that high up above the shallow days. That's my take on it anyway. I don't disagree that the use of Mary Jane is purposefully calling back to marijuana use, but it's much more than just the tale of a guy touring in a band and needing weed too much to get through the mundane parts of life. It's about the need for weed, or a girl, or harder drugs go get through and not drown in these shallow days. Ultimately, they all end up falling down. |
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| Ben Folds Five – Away When You Were Here Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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This is a great song and, as a dad who is often sad, it hits very close to home when I think of my kids. The lyrics are quite emotionally charged, but also rather straightforward. This is about a person, the singer, whose father died when they were young. The father was sad when he died and, to me, this implies that he may have committed suicide. The singer has frozen his father in this place even as he has missed the singer growing up, the father has stayed the same in his mind. As the singer grows up he sees that his father was away even when he was alive. Most likely in the depths of depression or otherwise preoccupied. The singer realizes that his father is alive in him and he was robbed of a childhood with his father, but was also blessed because of how the death of his father has shaped his life or perhaps, another interpretation may be that he was spared his father's ongoing depression. He decides that he can't just keep his father frozen in his mind, he has to forgive his father for dying (also implying suicide) and allow him to age in his mind and not assume that his father would have always been "away" or depressed, he could've grown and changed and become more engaged. The singer has come to terms with the fact that he just doesn't know but chooses to not see his father as some sad guy who (likely?) killed himself, but he has to let that go. His father doesn't have to be a failure in his mind anymore. It's ultimately not about the singer's father, but about the singer himself and how he uses what happened to shape his present and future. |
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| Elliott Smith – Pitseleh Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[jillyc:18415] I know this is an 11 year old question, but I've got nothing better to do anyway. I think that he's being sarcastic about there being a "joke" and, as the previous reply said, he's using the "dying to tell you" line as the joke because he is the silent kid looking down the barrel (of a gun) and he deeply wants to kill himself and he's kept this desire quiet during their relationship. He doesn't want to know where she is because he's suicidal and, if you're going to kill yourself, why would you care where someone was. Just my 2 cents though. | |
| The 1975 – Sex Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I have a slightly different interpretation that I haven't really seen discussed on here. The song is about sex, yes, but its about doing everything except fucking. Here, I'll explain my thoughts. So the first stanza is talking about making out in the back of this guy's van. It says she wants him to use his hands and his tongue being shared which is, to me, probably indicative of french kissing or oral sex. He's dropping her off afterward and all they talk about is sex and, like most everyone else, I have no clue about the friend in the film. Maybe it just them talking about a movie they saw that night, IDK. The next part is them in the guy's room and he's "about to fill his shoes" which I take as a euphemism for having sex, the full on intercourse, and she says no. They've done this other stuff, but she says now, she's got a boyfriend. I think that "filling his shoes" works as a metaphor for having sex with her and also filling his shoes as a boyfriend. As others have said he does want to be more than just her make out buddy and sex, to her, signifies a step beyond just casual making out our mouth stuff. Then on to another time (I'm guessing) and she's making her way down, to blow him, and he's thinking, well shit if we're going to do all this, we might as well just fuck, but she considers the full on fucking as crossing the line between what she's willing to do as long as she has a boyfriend, and also there is this level of commitment that goes along with it for her that she's not willing to give him. Which is why he mentions her pierced tongue in the very next line as she's using it on him. After that he's saying he would date her or her friends and be their boyfriend, but they've already got boyfriends and they're basically indecisive girls. I can't really put my finger on why this song is so good, but there's this sense of real youthful sexual frustration mixed with loneliness and the longing for something greater than what someone is willing to give. There's a lot of sadness and unrequited desire going on which is easily identifiable with anyone who's ever had a crush or been in a friend zone. It's quite nice to me because I feel like what could be a relatively shallow song has an underlying depth of feeling. |
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| Iron & Wine – Beauty and Family Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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The first section is about how the singer is reading a letter from someone he loved and has wonderful memories of. He is away from her, but hopes that he may get to see her in December. I always thought he said "Painted letters" like how you may paint a word on a wall, or maybe painted into the wall of your memory, but I guess it makes more sense being "reading letters" He then recall's a memory of his love with a joint in her hand running a bath and how this is his favorite memory of her that he'll remember forever. Pull the covers off the bed The paper's off the ground Now a baby Walks where you do I'm not exactly sure what the covers and papers part is, but the latter part of this stanza insinuates that the woman now has a child. The woman then takes the child's book, who is a girl since he's saying "her book". I'm assuming the woman is going to read to the child, so she has to put her teacup down. Know my hopes Lay beside you The singer's hopes are in the child. His hopes (the child) lay beside the woman who is reading to the child. That's how I interpret this section. You're camera set in motion Take a picture of the ocean Catch the seagull up above Make a whisper of your love I think the chorus is saying that people are like cameras who are capturing reality and time as it passes and to "take a picture of the ocean" is symbolically saying to take a picture of this ocean of reality that we're floating in, while also using the literal ocean since there is a seagull up above to also capture in this picture. The last line of the chorus, "make a whisper of your love", is perhaps the singer saying to hide your love in a whisper rather than shout it out loud. I think the next part may explain this a little more. The singer recalls that the object of his memory, a woman he loves, cut her hair in the past, but never let her hair grow to the floor. This time he hopes she lets it grow as she's the most beautiful person in the family. Notice he says "the family" which could mean that he's part of the family. Spend your money for the month He can't afford you more This part seems to be saying that she'll spend her money for the month, but "HE" can't afford you more. This twists the song up a bit in my mind. Who is the singer referring to? I'm thinking that it's the woman's new boyfriend or husband can afford to give her money for the month, but he can only afford so much. Maybe there are costs of being with her that are greater than money, so money is all he can give. He can't give her the love she needs, just the money. This infers that the singer is a past love, maybe the father of the child in the song, but the woman has moved on with someone else. This puts the "make a whisper of your love" line a bit more poignant as it now seems to imply that the woman still loves the singer, but keeps it a secret since she's with someone else. "Keep your courage like a memory" The last real line before the chorus repeats is kind of like the final nail in the coffin, IMHO, as it seems that a memory is a recollection of an experience that happened in the past he's saying she should keep her courage as a memory in the past. To me this is telling the woman to remember the courage she used to have because she no longer has that courage Why else would it be like a memory?. I think the singer has fond memories of her and their life together, but now she's moved on and is taken care of by some man and she's lost that courage she used to have. Unlike the seagull who flies over the ocean, she's like a caged bird. |
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| Donovan – There Is A Mountain Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[mikkii76:15166] This is some of the craziest shite I've ever heard. Me likey. | |
| Bedlam – Harvest Moon Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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While the song is about longing for change, it's also about creating change. To stop waiting and be the change. There is a rather dark overtone to the song that suggests a longing for death or perhaps the end of the world (when the angels coming soon, river rising). Also, I think the first time the singer sings about the night train he says he "drinks" night train every evening, not hears it. If you go back and listen carefully it sounds like drink, at least to me it does. The second time he sings about the night train he clearly says hears the night train. I think that's an important point to catch (if I'm right). If he's drinking Night Train every evening, then he's obviously drinking some pretty nasty stuff, not enjoying life, definitely an alcoholic. The images of the night train and the harvest moon are significant for a number of reasons depending on the interpretation. The harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, is often seen as larger than a "normal" full moon because of it's closeness to the eastern horizon, and rises more often (due to position) so that there is more light during dark hours during this time from the moon. This could represent an enlightenment of sorts, but coupled with the classic symbolic representation of the moon, it's a more intimate, mystical, or fearful kind of light in that moonlight, occurring at night, illuminates things that don't necessarily want to be seen. The reference to the night train as a train or Night Train as an alcoholic drink, which I believe both are used, allows us a lot of room for interpretation. I've already discussed the use as a drink, but the image of a train travelling at night give a sort of dark and internal sort of image, a lonely headlight chugging along in the distance coming to carry the singer away into the night. To me the two images of a night train coming in the distance and a harvest moon rising on the horizon are powerful not as much by themselves, but in conjunction with each other. It's a sad, lonely, and sorrowful image of this train bringing the angels to take the singer away. Ultimately I think that the song is about wishing for death, then finally saying, wait, we can make things better. "It's all up to me an you." |
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| Steely Dan – Time Out of Mind Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[chuckdiesel:13945] Smoking opium, not heroin I don't think. Chasing the dragon refers to smoking opium. Opium is rolled into a ball (a sphere from lhasa) and then put into the opium pipe for smoking and time disappears and miracles happen and it's all right here. That grace that we search for in church or try to capture through drugs like opium is right here all the time. | |
| Vic Chesnutt – Supernatural Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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This is Vic's meditation on what is or is not considered "supernatural". He's examining what is considered supernatural. The first stanza is referring to politicians in general although he is using the word king, which could reference people in charge in general. He is talking about the kind of person who has a lot of charisma and whose reputation and promotion to "king" is based on compliments and advertisements. These are all mundane kind of things, but the "shimmer ephemeral" is the idea created in the heads of the king's followers. In that sense, perhaps the culmination of these things combined by a natural (supernatural?) charismatic quality of this leader could be considered supernatural from the perspective of those who experience it. The followers of this king. The next is a more personal story for Chesnutt, pain killers and, drugs in general, give that euphoric effect. He tells of a time he flew around a little room because of Demerol use. The cause of this strange feeling is obviously the Demerol, but the effect, from the inside looking out, felt supernatural. Flying around a room isn't a natural thing to do. The Demerol had a supernatural effect on his brain perhaps. The perspective was supernatural to him. The last stanza is a universal experience that Vic is sharing with the audience. Most people have had the feeling of deja vu caused by a smell, seeing something, etc. This experience feels very supernatural because it feels like you've been here before or dreamt about this or what have you. The song is saying that this unexplainable feeling could be supernatural or maybe it's not. Who can say ultimately what is considered supernatural. It's all a point of view. |
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| Vic Chesnutt – Sad Peter Pan Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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The opening of this song is a little misleading and vague. The very first line introduces a "magnificent ghost" I've never really figured out what he meant by that. Is this referring to the Holy Ghost in Christian doctrine or something more universal since he says it's the plan "of most". What ghost are most people trying to discover. Could he be singing about the soul, the "magnificent ghost" that hides within us, un-perverted and innocent. Perfection of the soul, so to speak? I'm not sure, but it's one of the things I love about this song. The next part is more simple. Vic is lamenting a loss of innocence that comes with growing up. The song's subject has a grand view of a beautiful thing, but there are too many distractions for him to really focus on finding that ghost. The next part should be "Senor Babbit" which is, no doubt, a reference to Sinclair Lewis' 1922 novel Babbit about an ambitious businessman who is chasing and ultimately becomes disillusioned by the "American Dream". When he references a reluctant rebel who want's to be Aaron Neville, Vic is saying that he's different than mainstream performers, but not for the purpose of being different, he just IS different while he really wants to be more mainstream a la Aaron Neville who was popular at the time the song was written (early 90's most likely) for his duet work with Linda Rondstadt in the song I Don't Know Much. He has a crown on his head because he sees himself as a king in what he does, but a hardworking and blue-collar (denim shirt) kind of musician. The next part seems to refer to a kind of apathy towards his creative work because of bad advice from someone regarding his career. This may also mean that he's in some kind of creative fugue following this relationship. The advice-giver, whoever it is (I'm guessing it's a female) was briefly in his life and then left and left him, the titular Sad Peter Pan, in her wake. The image of a sad Peter Pan is vivid in the juxtaposition of the classic fun-loving and perpetually childish Peter Pan with the sadness of the loss of someone. It could also point to a kind of parallel with the Peter Pan story where Wendy, someone Peter wanted to stay very badly, left Never Never Land and returned to her own world which left Peter quite sad to the point where he would visit her and look through the window to her room long after she left. Of course, we can't really get this reference from the cartoon version of the story, but it's very clear in the Barrie's book. The next part is the culmination of the song's lament in that Chesnutt is swearing that he will transform. It's not clear into exactly what he will transform and it's left up to the listener to decide that for himself, but based on the predicating line in the song, it would be a transformation from a sad Peter Pan who is awkward into something greater than that. Transformation is classically moving from a lesser form to a greater form like when an ugly caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly or an ugly duckling into a swan. He may be stating that he will transform into the king he knows that he is (re:crown in the previous stanza), but I prefer to think that he's actually calling back to the first stanza (first line even) of the song which would mean he would transform into that "magnificent ghost". Regardless of what he may eventually turn into, this song resonates on many levels and really touches listeners in a very personal way and that's why I really love it. It gives the listener hope that there is a chance for transformation and redemption, even if you are feeling like you're just some sad version of Peter Pan. |
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| Alexi Murdoch – Home Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I think this song is about finding yourself. You feel something is missing, you're missing a "home", you feel incomplete, so you have to walk the roads of life alone for a while. When it's all said and done though, home was never outside of you, it was always inside. Our real home, our true identity and that thing that completes us is inside. We were already home all along, never left. The ending really seals it for me though. He starts to sing row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. The stream he's referring to is the stream of life, consciousness, time? One of those or maybe all of those. What he leaves unsaid at the end is the true nature of the song. Life is but a dream. You never left home, home in this case being the universal truth that lies in us all, the universal consciousness, and this life you live is just a dream where you can find your way back home. That's how I see it anyway, maybe I'm wrong. |
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| Iron & Wine – Communion Cups and Someone's Coat Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Okay, I love this song and I really love this site and all of the great interpretations of this song. I feel like there's a lot going on underneath the simple words in this song, so I've tried to think about it from different angles and here's what I came up with. It may sound a little nutty, but I think there's something to it. I'm not saying that this is what Sam Beam meant when he wrote the song, but this is what it says to me and what the underlying symbolism in the song represent to me. Hey, if nothing else, it's fun to think about. I think this song is ultimately about living in the now. The "she" in the song could be a woman or a girl, but I think more than that, it's a living embodiment of the universe, reality so to speak, or universal consciousness, God, what have you. With that in mind, there seems to be a more universal theme to the song. Talk of yesterday And she will show her brothers Photographed in callous clothes To me, this is talking about the sins of the past. The "callous clothes" are referencing some shameful or perhaps poor past for her brothers. Here I think it's a more universal theme of brotherhood of man (and woman), not just biological relatives. So she shows the woes of the past if you want to talk or dwell on the past. Shows you the record of the poor and callousness of her "brothers". I'm thinking war, pain, suffering, inhuman, callous acts done to one another. Say tommorow And she'll say, "Come find me on a beach And there will be no moon" This part seems to be talking about the uncertainty of the future. "Come find me.." is like saying, come and find the future on a dark beach without a moon. That's the darkness of the future that we can't see and the uncertainty of finding "her", or more to the point, finding the reality of an uncertain future. A dark beach with no moon is dark and there's really now way, except by some luck, that we'll find anything there. So she is saying, maybe if you're lucky, you'll find your way back to me, the universal consciousness or God. But say today And she will kiss your face And maybe forget Ah, finally, if you say today, that is live and do in the now, the universe may kiss your face and forget. Forget what? The past callousness of her brothers? Perhaps, but also forget her "self" and your "self"? I feel like there's a definite feeling of acceptance here and the universe will accept you and forget about things you may have done. Forgiveness. I'm not quite sure, but I think that the next part explains it. Talk of yesterday Like bargain shoe strings She will kick the car and find her friends This is saying that if you talk about past material things. Things that are a "bargain" in this case, shows a focus on money or materialism in the past. The next part is a bit different though. She kicks the car and finds her friends. Is this saying that the universe, God, the underlying workings of the universe will abandon you? I think so. It will choose those "friends" that don't focus on material possessions and money over you and you will be lost. I think that many people in the grip of materialism seem to have been forgotten (and forgotten themselves) in materialism and miss the point of living. Say tomorrow And then she'll describe Some old communion cups and someone's coat Here I think we can see that there is a definite religious overtone, but what are old communion cups, but thrown out vestments of a religious rite. This, to me, is saying that if we focus on tomorrow, "she" will show us the uselessness of religious iconography and "someone's coat". In this case, the coat is a means of protection, but it's been shed by the owner. It's just a coat. To me this is the most telling part of the song. It's saying that if you focus on tomorrow, the universe will ultimately show you the remains of religion, in this case, old communion cups. That religion is empty and used up as we move forward. It will also show you that coats will be shed and that protection and security given to you by organized, ritualized religion can be cast away like an old coat. But say today And she may look your way And lead you home Finally, we see that if you say today, live and do and focus on the now, then the universe (or whatever you'd like to call it, higher power, God, what have you) may finally see you for everything that you are right now and finally lead you home. Not a house, but home, where your soul belongs. To some it could be heaven or nirvana or enlightenment or just communion with the universal consciousness. This song, to me, is ultimately about being wholly present in the now. Living and existing outside the falseness of the past and future, but right here and right now. In that moment we can find ourselves and commune with something greater than ourselves. Spiritual, ain't it? That's my take on it and it's a very personal interpretation. I believe songs can be written with one thing in mind, but can speak volumes to the people who listen to them. It all depends on the listener and ultimately the message and meaning of everything is only a reflection of the self. That's what it means to me and I hope you liked my little interpretation. Thanks!! |
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| Blood, Sweat & Tears – And When I Die (Peter, Paul and Mary cover) Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I've always thought of the "one child born in the world to carry on" was a reference to the continuation of the soul through reincarnation. This child will "carry on" the existence of the singer into another lifetime. Just my 2 cents. | |
| Steely Dan – Peg Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Okay, this one's not really that hard, but it seems like some of the previous posters are over analyzing, reading into, and also quoting incorrect lyrics. Therefore, I will over-analyze it as well, but I'll be spelling out why I believe my interpretation to be pretty close based on the actual lyrics, song history, etc. 1. First, we know that the speaker / singer in the song knows Peg or knows of Peg. I believe the folks who said that they may have had a previous relationship are spot on. He very well could be a stalker type fan, but if it's her "big debut", then how could she be famous enough to have a stalker? Nah, she left him to pursue her dream and he's a bit pissy about it. 2. She wrote him a letter, he got her "pin shot" of her in a "blueprint blue" dress and he know's he'll love her better than the public. This adds to the stalker element, but I don't think that's right for the reason I've already stated. 3. I think that the film, very well may be, a porno, but there's really no way of knowing for sure as the nature of the film is a bit obscured. Judging by the time period in which this song was written, (1976/1977 timeframe), it very well could be a porno because at that time it was common to have pornos in more mainstream theaters because of crossover movies like "Debbie Does Dallas" which were mainstream successes and were shown in all sorts of theaters. So, it could be a porn and probably is considering the chorus of the song and the very funky bass groove which was commented on quite a bit and is one element common to most pornos of the time. Porno bass funk to accompany the sex scenes. 4. "Peg, it will come back to you." This could mean a couple of things. It could mean that her actions on screen, if it is a porno, will come back to haunt her, but it could also mean that she is remembering something. Something she has forgotten will come back to her mind. I think that this line is intentionally ambiguous and I think that either of these interpretations are likely depending on what the listener has assumed about the movie. But, if we look at "It" as being a memory that will come back, why has it gone and what is the memory that will come back? I'm thinking it's the memory of the love she shared with him, the singer or a memory of what the real world is like. At least, that's the only potential thing in the past that is referenced in the song that may "come back" to her. The memory of the man she left. Either interpretation works and they could be working simultaneously as a double entendre of sorts. 5. Okay, the most puzzling part of the song has to be: "Then the shutter falls, you see it all in 3-D. It's your favorite foreign movie." This line really hasn't been analyzed as such on this page and it's a very important part of the song. It is, in fact, the summation of the song, the ending of such. "Then the shutter falls" is obviously referring to a camera shutter, most likely a movie camera (although the pin shot camera was also referenced and could also "fall"). Here's where everything comes together. "IT" will come back to Peg, then the shutter falls (meaning the film ends, maybe the movie career ends, the picture is taken, the movie industry (whether porn or legitimate) is done with her or at least done with the movie. The camera is off "IT" came back to her. The "IT" is kind of the thing here. I think that it is the price of her fame, is to lose touch with the real wold. When this memory comes back to her, the shutter falls, and she sees the "dream come true" for what it is, a 3-D foreign movie. She has been lost in a 3-D dream world that isn't real. The reality is what comes back (or so hopes the singer of the song, I suppose). That's my take on it at least. I've not seen a better analysis of the "favorite foreign movie" line. I had a dream about this song actually, probably b/c I listen to Steely Dan too much, and the dream seemed to follow along with the above analysis. Peg had forgotten the real world, she was living a dream, but when she finally remembered, it came back to her, and when the movie shoot was done she saw it all for what it really was. A 3-D foreign movie, but one that was (no doubt) her favorite. What do you think? |
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| Weezer – The Spider Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I'm pretty sure this is about all living things being the same, the meaning of life, the afterlife, reincarnation, and the fact that no matter how we live, we have to "lose" at the end by dying. I know what the love part is about, but I'm not going to discuss that here. His life is his cell, as it is everyone's. At the end, when there is that fighting part, it's about how people that live on Earth and don't see the light of the stars (without their light) and "get it", those ignorant people that don't know of the connectedness of it all fight and act like animals which goes back to the fact that we're no better or worse than the spider. That's what I think it's about. Expand your minds. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Kingfisher Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think these are very interesting interpretations. I think that it's got a lot of meaning. I did want to point out that in reference to SanfordC's post about Moses the line: Beneath the sheeting banks of air That barrenly bore our rations? May be referencing the manna that God sent from heaven for the Israelites as they wandered the desert. Just my two cents. I believe that Kingfisher is more like Jesus, the Lamb of God sacrificed back to God and the Kingfisher or lamb, as it was pointed out previously, lies down with lions. There are also many Biblical references such as the Cypress which features heavily in the Bible (particularly in the Song of Solomon) and was the wood used for Noah's ark. I believe this song works on a few levels, one of which, is Biblical. Perhaps a crisis of faith as was noted earlier. Some more obvious connections between the word Kingfisher and Jesus is the story of the fishes and loaves where Jesus (descended from King David and often referenced as a King in the Bible) multiplied the fishes to feed the multitudes. He is closely associated with fishing as some of his Apostles were fishermen and one of the earliest signs of Jesus was the fish (as seen on cars these days). I think that using the name Kingfisher for Jesus would make sense in this context, but that's not to say I'm right. Ms. Newsom is very deep and so the name could mean many things. |
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| Andrew Bird – Armchairs Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Okay, I love the interpretations I've read about the crooked bow line. Time is a crooked bow, but I was thinking what if he meant a bow like on a present. Since he's talking about time and the future, maybe the bow is a double-meaning subtle reference to the present. Is he talking about time being a crooked bow to be placed on the present (time / moment)? I don't know, I just thought it was a different way to look at it. Also I haven't seen the official lyrics, but are we sure it's "bow" and not "beau" or "bough" as these sound the same and can also be crooked depending on how you interpret them. Just wondering. Thanks guys and gals!! | |
| Elliott Smith – A Distorted Reality Is Now a Necessity to Be Free Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I think this song can be interpreted a lot of different ways, but to me it's about the use of street drugs and the use of anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medication. The first part is about how he was on heroin and his mom told him you're either clean or not. You can't be kind of on heroin. The second stanza is about how all the other people out there are "in between" because they're on mood altering drugs, but not addicted to a drug. If they don't quite fit, they must be abnormal and must need some kind of medication to alter their brains and make them fit in. The third stanza is about how he's disappointed by the people who are raking in the money because of the weakness of the world. My favorite line is: The devil's script sells you The heart of a blackbird Which to me means that the devil's script (prescription mind altering medication) takes your human heart away and makes your heart as cold and uncaring as a blackbird. His country don't give a fuck because they're all uncaring prescription pill zombies. Take the rest for what you will, but I think that the line: "A distorted reality's now a necessity to be free" is talking about how everyone thinks that to be free and happy they have to take medication which distorts their reality by making them happy or calm or whatever. Just my take on it. What do you guys think? |
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| Iron & Wine – Beauty and Family Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I'm pretty sure he says "Joint in hand" not "Joining hands" | |
| Joanna Newsom – En Gallop Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think some of the interpretations are looking at this song from inside out or rather outside in. I prefer the version of this song from the Walnut Whales EP which has extra/slightly different lyrics. I think that this song is about the underlying reality behind the everyday "material" existence. There's a higher order that she's singing about. I think she sings about ego and attachment and some overtly Buddhist beliefs about how the truth is below the surface and isn't in the damp halls with the disembodied. To me the the disembodied in the halls are the many people trapped by the ego and attachment. She perhaps has comes from a higher education since she says the non-reality of material existence. She doesn't know because she can't know but she does know that it will all come together, the reality of material and the reality of nature, in silence eventually. I think that her references to economy are further references to man-made non-reality overlaid on the true nature of the universe. Here are the extra lyrics which I believe reinforce my view. In order to make The music Seems i must break so many things Turn over Like bracken And sea shrapnel Graced by the tongue of the beetle Green sea Let each note be A full bodied song Enough fingers Enough toes Skin to cover The wreckage, bloody beat Enough belly Enough feet I think she's referring to wrecking the "reality" in which we live in order to make songs that reference the truth behind our ego existence. She especially refers to this when talking about each note being a full song and then likening that to a body which is kind of a form of construction for the light of truth and "enlightenment" being embodied in our flesh bodies. The note is a song is a body like, in Buddhism, the Buddha nature is the basis of the light which radiates the mind and the body. Just my take on it from a slightly more Buddhist viewpoint. |
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| Andrew Bird – Darkmatter Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"The noose is loosed around our necks made of DNA" Is the neck made of DNA or the noose or both. Read like this: "The noose is loosed around our necks made of DNA" says to me that our necks are made out of DNA. What if it was like this: "The noose is loosed around our necks, made of DNA" The DNA could then refer to the noose. That's an interesting concept to me. Like the creator or whomever is choking us with our own DNA. Also, DNA is in chains/ropes/strands which fits right into the allusion of a noose. Just a thought. |
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| Björk – Joga Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Ashpash, while being hyper-verbose, has probably the best interpretation of this song I've seen. Bjork wants to be in a state of emergency aka a state of readiness aka a state of action. Her friend challenges her and pushes her forward (like a muse maybe). It's the painful, sweet, anxiety riddled need for creative outlet. She is obviously linking this state and her friend and herself into the Universal Consciousness. He friend brings her higher than a puzzling (and ego driven) emotional landscape and back into the state of emergency linking back to the Universal Consciousness. If we were all linked back into the UC like Bjork we'd see that we should be in a state of emergency. a state of action, of doing because at any second we could be dead. How's that for a state of emergency. Each moment of each minute of each day could be our last. If we dwell in the now we see the need to act in the now. |
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| Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians – Little Miss S. Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song is about Edie Sedgwick, in case you wondered. | |
| Iron & Wine – Dead Man's Will Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I love this song!! It's very straightforward in its meaning, but all of the real starkness and regret of it come through in the listening. Sam really adds a lot of depth to the song when he plays it. It reminds me of a book I read by William Faulkner called "As I Lay Dying". The book's about a dead women and her trip to the family burial plot and part of the book is actually narrated by the dead women, Addie. It's innovative and strikes the same kind of chord as this song. If you like this song and you like the idea of this song, I'd recommend reading "As I Lay Dying" (http://www.scribd.com/doc/14343079/As-I-Lay-Dying) | |
| Vashti Bunyan – Here Before Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I think it's about reincarnation. | |
| Joanna Newsom – Peach, Plum, Pear Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| This song was the first Joanna Newsom song I ever heard and I wasn't sure what to make of it at first. The harpsichord threw me at first, but after listening to her other work and going back I could really appreciate what was being said. When I first heard the song on the Milk Eyed Mender cd it sounded like she said "bold like a whore", but upon listening to my bootleg of her Elizabeth Hall performance from 04/02/05 it is definitely "bolt like a horse" which makes the most sense contextually. Either way it's a great song. | |
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