| Dire Straits – Where Do You Think You're Going? Lyrics | 6 months ago |
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I have only recently thought about the lyrics to this song even tho I wore out a cassette of communique in my car back in the day. I don't see this as an abusive relationship scenario. The one line that stands out to me is " You say there is no reason, but you still find cause to doubt me.” So, my take…with a few references to classics with similar themes. Youngish lovers, he is serious, she is afraid or not ready to commit or wants to “be free” ala a 70’s woman. It gives him the Come and Go Blues. Been there, done that. He feels like she’s playing when he wants serious “now I’m sick of jokin.” Her playing/ wavering is making him kinda crazy and he is mature enough to note the effect on his ego/ pride. She says she does not trust him, but can’t give him a reason. So, again he is mature enough to care to discuss why she doubts him, he has tried to understand. But she can’t give him a reason and maybe even makes light of it/ jokes around with her answers. So, he eventually decides to go for the strong guy approach - ala Buddy Holly - I’m gonna tell you how it’s gonna be, you’re gonna give your love to me. I don’t see any violence in this, rather a guy taking a stand for a relationship that is up in the air. Attempting to acknowledge her desire to be free but only knowing how to be the typical strong man, whose role it is to protect his woman from the big old dark world out there. The music does start off so menacing - like the soundtrack to his anger at her indecision. But then it becomes so manically beautiful it seems like she might have agreed to “go with him." Maybe they even lived happily ever after for some time. Well, thats how I see it at least. Speaking from personal experience of maybe being indecisive at times. In the 70’s. Of course YMMV. Great song. |
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| Neil Young – Music Arcade Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| I know most of Neil's songs and this one is a standout to me. We really do walk alone in this world, no matter how many or few people we let close to us. Our thoughts, our feelings, our path is really our own - sometimes its great, sometimes it's not. But what makes us human is recognizing that we are alone while being part of the human race together. This song addresses that so well on so many levels. Feeling lost, found out, feeling good, seeing what we have in common wth the hungry man, feeling like a comet, the need to move on. Just a great song. | |
| Grateful Dead – Eyes Of The World Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| Oh of course in my babbling about sharing one of my fondest memories below I forgot to add the reason this was the song that " did it for me." To hear someone singing " Your heart has its seasons, evenings, and songs of it's own, sometimes we live no particular way but our own, ...ride on your horses, walk alone - along with the intriguing backing of the 70's era dead jazz influenced sound - well, that was just so awesomely thrilling and affirming to a youngster trying to navigate my way in the big old adult world. Decades later these words still ring true, albeit in a different way. May the music of the Grateful Dead live forever :-) | |
| Grateful Dead – Eyes Of The World Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| This is the song that dd it for me. I heard this song sitting on a couch in the second floor of a cool barn hangout sometime in the 70's. Light filtered through the holes in the boards and in the upper windows as the sun will do and left an imprint of this memory in my mind as clear as any picture on a wall. I was a super shy teenager hanging with my girlfriends and her older brothers and his friends were there, listening to this. I was so moved I had to say " what is this music" and one of them silently smiled and handed me the album cover. Ya know... the incredible one with the crow and the wheat. Of course the pot was stellar, but dang the music was even finer and that started me on a path that I am grateful for to this day. I have always said that I am forever awed and grateful that I was born in that tiny window of time where Jerry and the Dead, Hunter, Barlow, Keysey et all were in the world with me. | |
| Bob Dylan – When I Paint My Masterpiece Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| I dunno, I always loved this song as a testament to "all the things I planned to do I only did halfway" ( Robert Hunter) meaning..yeah one day I sure will get to all those dreams I planned. I'se pretty old now but, ya know, ever hopeful ! | |
| Eilen Jewell – Santa Fe Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Rare song that masters the bittersweet that is in life, love and lost love... beauty, happiness, sadness, nostalgia..and being ok with it all. My fav Eilen tune thus far. | |
| Bruce Springsteen – Reason To Believe Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[ZFT:2176] This song is just about hard stuff in life. Methinks there are few things more personally devastating to a man than his bride failing to show at the wedding. To discover the betrayal of love and trust in this setting hurts the head, the heart and the ego. It's hard enough to call off a wedding off before the event, it's just plain brutal to do a no-show the day of, when people have gathered to celebrate love. | |
| Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I - V) Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[jackmisfit:1725]...... love the word random in there because the line always makes me think of very calculated precise behavior....as in the crazed genius knew just what he was doing and got the last laugh at the expense of his peeps that were leaving him behind. | |
| Grateful Dead – Brown-Eyed Woman Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[bmwdotde:1019] I have recently started singing dead songs for others, solo with my acoustic guitar, and am constantly amazed at what happens once I start to practice and sing a song by myself a few times. Though I know the lyrics and have sung along with the songs for decades, something else happens when I have to sing them alone, I guess I do fall into a storyteller role, without exactly knowing the story when I start. Most of my singing is in front of others who are not dead fans and I loved that band, so it is important to me to really try to convey the evocative magic that is in the Hunter/ Garcia legacy and the Dead’s life work. Somehow, for me, learning to play the songs seems to transfer some kind of wisdom/knowledge to me and that is the closest thing to magic I know of. Anyhow, today I was learning to play this song, after a few times singing it, the complete story formed out of the many images and evocative feelings that I have always known as separate images. Hunter is so good at painting pictures with words. This has happened before with other songs and I am always blown away at how all of a sudden the song comes together to a complete story. When it happens I always come here to see if anyone else hears the story I hear. So, in this longwinded answer, yeahh ! this is pretty much what I got today and I am here to affirm completely, one year later, neat-o, happy new year, we are everywhere and all ! Though I did not make the connection about bristling at authority, love it, agree, and it’s probably another reason so many of us love this song. |
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| Bruce Springsteen – Thunder Road Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Ditch your past pain and have the courage to act on hope and love....who knew it would be a message for a lifetime I loved the passion in this song 40 years ago, but mannnn... does it work now for the late fifties single person dreaming of getting on the road with someone they want to travel with and doing the retirement travel driving/ camping/ hiking/ national parks thing...ha,this sounds so old but the courageous passion in this song always makes me feel younger. |
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| Billie Holiday – Summertime Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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the local fire mans band in my relatively upscale town played this today in the memorial day parade, the jaunty swing style they gave the tune bothered me as I have never thought of this a a summer celebratory song. I came here to see if anyone else thought of this song like I do and the description above is exactly how I have always heard this song. Thats an excellent point on the chosen minor chords to reinforce the somber subject. |
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| Neil Young – Like A Hurricane Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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sigh, this remind me of people whose strong feelings freak them out so much that they prefer the fantasy version of a relationship...if it gets real then its too much for them to handle. Those lines "you are just a dream, you could have been anyone to me" say a lot to me. Though I also like it how he reverses the dream/ dreamer in the next verse..meaning we all get a bit freaked out when we have strong feelings for someone. But as a female who has been bewildered and betrayed by guys who keep their overwhelmed feelings inside and let themselves be blown away, i would just like to say that that the hard work of love is both people staying with the intensity and being brave enough to stand in the eye of that hurricane. |
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| Neil Young – Mansion On the Hill Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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my friend went to a bookstore this week and came back with a couple of books, one was the new Neil book ( which I promptly stole from him :-) on the cover pic Neil is wearing a hat with a little hippie dream pin or patch... today I was playing my guitar and this song popped into my mind, no doubt influenced by that pin ...mansion on the hill, the hippie dream, its all one song :-)) |
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| The Wood Brothers – The Luckiest Man Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| thank you for this comment, great song even without knowing this, but this makes it even better. Life is full of challenges and our outlook/mind is our own best friend ....or enemy through it all | |
| Gillian Welch – The Way It Will Be Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I agree with a lot of this..and I always got the sense the choice forced upon her was between the relationship and her close work with David Rawlings). I would argue that this song is not a "dumping", but more of a complete betrayal, and this cuts to the core..hence that line about walking backward in your hometown. Betrayal by someone you love causes you to lose trust in all of humanity for awhile. I don't believe there is no way she could choose out of her work with Dave, they have something so special they know it. I believe this whole sad story eventually gave her the conviction that music is her life path. But, good lord, I hope the love that so many of us fans have for them somehow consoles the loss in this sad story. |
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| Neil Young – Mr Disappointment Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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this is a pretty incredible song on a cd I would not have bought if I had not heard this track. I don't know how anyone could write either this song, or the Loner, except in first person. This is a love song from the loner who refused to let that define him. The basic wisdom of sticking with loving another... "the beauty of loving you, is what we both been through". There is this part,around the two minute mark..where he sings, "lets say I got a habit, let's say it's hard to break. If you listen with headphones you can hear one of those grimacing sigh/ grunts right after that line...just like when you are owning up to something you'd rather not talk about. Like I've heard all great old men do. And the guitar is superbly simple killer Neil tone. Gotta love him, he is the man. |
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| Gillian Welch – Tennessee Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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this song is so gorgeous, even as it tackles a tough subject matter so many great lines about self destructive engagements, reconciled in typical Gillian fashion, with a knowing quiet smile, ..your affront to my virtue was a touch too much, but you left a little twinkle in my eye.. been there, hopefully learned from that I do hear one line differently.. why can't I go and live the Life of Riley |
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| Bob Dylan – Copper Kettle Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I dunno, to me this is an old trad love song to moonshinin', not workin a grind of a job, being outdoors, livin in the woods, a lifestyle though I love the song it really seems so undylanesque to me... what I like best is its sort of a stoners mellow ode to whisky.. if you've ever known a mean drunk who blames the bottle this song is an interesting alt perspective.... its not the whisky thats exactly to blame. |
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| Uncle Tupelo – New Madrid Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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i have heard the word " carom" to be either carrions, as in vultures.. or alternatively, cairns, as in stones to mark a grave.. either way, a word associated with death |
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| Grateful Dead – Peggy-O Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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is it just me or is there something disturbing about this song..she 'loves' him but wont marry him cause her momma will be angry, he 'loves' her but will destroy everything she loves if he comes back, since she says no to his proposal it's like money and destruction trump love, sigh |
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| Grateful Dead – China Doll Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| To me this song is a shining example of the genius of the Hunter/ Garcia legacy.I am often completely and totally blown away by some new thought about a Hunter Garcia song I have heard for decades. To me China doll is the gentle argument between the suicidal and someone questioning that choice. I have sung this song for years for my mom who took her life, never quite having the whole meaning of the song jell. Today it was the ending that blew me away...The china doll to me has come to represent an acknowledgement of the fragile ego and it is a doll because the fragile ego is often like a child who never outgrows the need for external approval. Sad, and touching. The thing that wows me as much as Hunter's lyrics is how Jerry put the lullaby ending on to it. Of course, as with all great lyrics ...YMMV. ( But really folks, the songs were not about doing drugs ... ) | |
| Grateful Dead – Casey Jones Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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recent trainwrecks and drug use in the news has made me revisit this song ..., anyone who has ever loved a person with substance abuse/ psychosis will hear this as a cautionary tale. The thing that bugs me is that people think that Hunter was literally saying Casey Jones ( the engineer from last century) was high, and thats why he crashed. I am not so sure that is even factual, but it really does not matter anyhow. I never take his words quite so literally. Robert Hunter is often more that a bit evocative in his writing. So, this one, to me, gives the feeling that when you are using you are a lot like a train going 100 mph , it's easy to lose control .. you better watch out cause the potential for a big crash is ahead. I have no idea why so many people thing Hunters lyrics, are often about espousing drug. Hunter wrote many words, taking an honest look at drug use and many of those words are not encouraging. This is a great song. The music Jerry wrote for this is stunning, as always. |
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| Grateful Dead – Eyes Of The World Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I have always described the way Robert Hunter's writing as subtly evocative.. he can bring up a feeling, of a time or a place or an idea better than anyone I know. The fact that he and Jerry found each other and we lived to know it, is such a gift. I feel a lot like you do about this song..and if you have any hope that the world can be a more beautiful or loving place it has to start withi, you have to love yourself first to see the beauty and love one another. The other central theme I see here is in recognizing the beauty of hearts and minds is unique, and thus, while we do travel with others at times, our journey often must be alone. Happy Trails :-)) |
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| Grateful Dead – Franklin's Tower Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I like both these ideas, for me so many of Hunters words are evocative of a mood, feeling or an idea. What always comes to my mind in Frankilns is rebirth, as in shake off your habits that are holding you back, keeping you stuck and keeping you from growing into the beautiful powerful force for love that I believe we are all born capable of. So easy for me to get distracted in the mundane or petty. I'll stop short of tying this into a religious relate ! The idea for me is pay attention to growing your own spirit as a force for good. |
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| Wilco – Country Disappeared Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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well it must be my state of mind but i see so many jeff tweedy songs as amazing love songs, some of them are tortured love songs, for sure... but this one is like love that you can completely count on even in at the end of the world as you know it, where you feel so cold and alone that you just want to go off alone, because well, the world has ended as you knew it... for whatever reason I do not find this song depressing, and dannng the melody is so beautiful, and the way he phrases the anchorman line....ahhh, great song |
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| Wilco – Via Chicago Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Marcussummerteeth, you wrote this.. "Cups that are cracked and hooked above the sink is our broken spirit waiting to either hold on, or shatter in the sink. Crumbiling ladder tears don't fall...they SHINE down your shoulders. This line portrays that the actor is finally reaching a moment of clarity, whereas, they find out that they are human--and do feel emotion. It is no longer something burried in the depths of their blackened soul." I have always loved that cup line, and somehow intuitively grasped an optimistic vibe with those words, without thinking on their meaning... but you articulated why, perfectly. I always thought the whole summerteeth effort smacked of a two adults in recovery, and recovery's brush paints a broad stroke that includes more than destructive substances, there are those pesky destructive thought patterns that tend to go with the addiction territory. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. |
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| Wilco – Bull Black Nova Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I came back to look at these lyrics again as I absorb this song and yeah, you right on the "pick up", the words " I keep calling" is mia in lyrics above, pick up makes plenty of sense, so, to add to my above interp... "he" is emotionally abusive to the extreme, with words/ actions meant to destroy, the abuse freaks "her" out, she leaves, refuses to pick up her phone, wisely I might add and now he's alone and freaking at what he has done, and, in the dark state, is convinced it is so bad it "can't be undone" thing about JT is he writes these disturbing songs that eerily describe disturbing experiences I been having with another gotta give him credit, he does make me feel for the killer bless those of you who read these lyrics literally, to me this means you don't have a heat seeking missile in your arsenal, and that's a good thing |
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| Wilco – Bull Black Nova Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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ayup, killed her, metaphorically though, as in sabotage, pesky destructive old habits, that threaten to destroy him too, been there, both sides makes me think of down by the river, JT is a great songwriter, great voice, and has got himself a great band too |
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| Bob Dylan – She Belongs to Me Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Funny how you can hear a song for 30 years and it might mean not much. or different things at different times. This song recently found its way into my playing rotation, here's my current take, perhaps relevant to some current experinces. Yup, he idolizes, and that means objectifies the woman, and after a bit this gets a bit tired for everybody, and he's history, the walking antique. Point to me is, what happens when you put a woman on a pedestal; it does nobody any good. You idealize her and give her superpowers to make you miserable or elated, and nobody should hold that power over you but you. Close relationships function best when folks want to learn to know each other, not worship each other and depend on them for taking away the dark and bringing the light. my .02, subject to change , of course YMMV :-)) |
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