| Amorphis – Her Alone Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[Nukenin:21842] I originally assumed it was about Louhi, but more recently I've felt it's probably about Lemminkäinen's mother, as you say. Obviously Louhi sent Lemminkäinen on all sorts of tasks and dictated a lot of his actions, but I think there's possibly a level of love implied in this song that is not present between that pair - he says he WANTS to serve her. Meanwhile, Lemminkäinen's relationship with his mother is very close, with her being much wiser than he is and often offering him that wisdom ("Birth of my knowing under her advice); in turn, he frequently disobeys her to go to war ("Only her I will defy", "My desires I fulfil by revolting") and the consequences are things like him getting shot with a snake, chopped up into little pieces and discarded in the river of death - and then it is, of course, his mother who resurrects him. I don't think there's enough in the song for anyone but the original writer to say for sure which it is but for me this song comes across more as referring to Lemminkäinen's mother than to Louhi. | |
| Sublime – Date Rape Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| @[anna118k:2294] Same here... I don't like the facetiousness of the lyrics, but as a narrator he picks the right side, and the song's fantastic. | |
| Rammstein – Mein Land Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I take it to be very much about immigration. There's a really strong vaguely nationalist anti-immigration movement through much of Europe at the moment and I think the song intends to parody the attitude. It's "Mein Land" as opposed to the immigrants' land, because there are people who believe they have a right to live somewhere and that immigrants do not, because the immigrants haven't been there as long. It's a little early to be alluding to the current wave of success such attitudes are having, but things like Pim Fortuyn List have been popping up for a while. No question there's more to it, but I think its intended most obvious interpretation was a parody of nationalistic and territorial attitudes. And I think that's a pretty general theme. The recent "banking crisis" has made for a pretty great atmosphere for nationalist and anti-immigrant crap to thrive - that's true in Germany as much as elsewhere. The divisions between East and West, and between Catholic and Protestant Germany may well have played a role too, but Germany has its own issues regarding immigration, which shouldn't be disregarded. The millions of children of the Gastarbeiter (guest workers) of the 50s, 60s and 70s still attract a huge amount of controversy in some circles, for example the Turks (around 4-5% of the German population), many of whom are said to be unwilling to integrate. That despite the fact that Germany's government has made a VERY conscious effort since 1945 to ensure that children growing up in Germany understand very well what's wrong with scapegoating and being intolerant of specific ethnic groups (a.k.a racism). So absolutely I think it's about immigration - nothing to do with "those damn immigrants", but rather "those silly nationalists" - and it's done in a slightly silly tongue-in-cheek style very much typical of Rammstein. Opposition to immigration is very much an international issue - not at all limited to the US, sadly - and I think the primary focus of the song is mocking those who think they can claim sole ownership of an area of land. America's a great example, since the folks complaining about Hispanic immigrants are guaranteed to be descended from people who came over within the last 600 years or so, and spent the next 3-400 years gradually killing off and "civilising" the actual natives. |
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| Amorphis – Black Winter Day Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| It's straight out of the Kalevala, but I'm pretty sure it's the bride's monologue from Runo XXII. | |
| Amorphis – Black Winter Day Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Just giving the exact quote (from the W.F. Kirby translation of the Kalevala, about 100 years old so the language is dated, and imitating the unusual metre of the original Finnish text so possibly slightly rearranged) I'm going to put it against the individual lines of the song to show the similarity, all the lines kept in the order they're in in the Kalevala. Kalevala: "Such the feelings of the blessed, Such the thinking of the happy" Song: "This is how the lucky feel, How the blessed think" K: "As the spring day at its dawning" S: "Like a daybreak in spring" K: "Or the sunny spring-day morning" S: "The sun on a spring morning" K: "But what thoughts do now torment me, And what thoughts arise within me?" S: "But how do I feel, In my gloomy depths? K: "Like unto a pond's flat margin" Not sure about this one, I guess it just isn't included in the song K: "Or of clouds the murky border" S: "Like the flat brink of a cloud" K: "Like the gloomy nights of autumn" S: "Like a dark night in autumn" K: "Or the dusky day of winter, Or, as I might better say it, Darker than the nights of autumn" S: "A black winter day, No, darker than that, Gloomier than an autumn night" I'd say the two are close enough that they're almost certainly translations of the same text, especially given the fact that Amorphis have done entire albums on the Kalevala (Eclipse, Silent Waters, Skyforger and The Beginning of Times). Any major differences can be justified by the 100 years between the two translations and the fact that one was translated to be a song and the other to be a direct English equivalent of the original Kalevala. |
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| Amorphis – Black Winter Day Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| From the language used (almost identical to the Kalevala translation I've read), this is translated from the monologue of Louhi's daughter after being reminded of how her life will change with her marriage to Ilmarinen. This is close enough that there's pretty much no doubt. | |
| Amorphis – From the Heaven of My Heart Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| The Skyforger album is about Ilmarinen from Kalevala. This song focuses on Runo 10. In Runo 7, Väinämöinen is told that, to win the Maiden of Pohjola, he must forge the Sampo (a gold and silver mill that provides prosperity to the land in which it is held). Returning home, he asks Ilmarinen to forge the Sampo, since the latter is the master smith. Ilmarinen refuses to travel to Pohjola to do so, but Väinämöinen conveys him there through magic (the first verse). The chorus describes how the Sampo is forged, and verse 2 refers to what happens after. | |
| Amorphis – Silver Bride Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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The Skyforger album is about Ilmarinen from Kalevala. This song clearly refers to Runo 37. Verse 1 describes Ilmarinen despairing at the death of his first wife. His "wife's slayer" is Kullervo, who worked for Ilmarinen's wife but was mistreated, so refused to prevent her death at the hands of various beasts. Kullervo later unwittingly committed incest with his sister and the pair committed suicide. Verse 2 describes how Ilmarinen forged then slept with a new wife made of gold and silver. The chorus and outro show Ilmarinen discovering that his new wife is, although beautiful, lifeless and no replacement for the girl he had married before. |
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| Amorphis – Sky Is Mine Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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The Skyforger album is about Ilmarinen from Kalevala. I think this song refers to Songs 38 and 39. In song 38, Ilmarinen attempts to capture himself a wife (his first wife having been killed by Kullervo and his gold and silver one having been lifeless) from Pohjola. The girl refuses to come with him and insults him as he forces her to accompany him home, until, in a rage, he turns her into a bird. This song, as far as I can tell, refers to Ilmarinen's mood as he returns home without a bride (Verse 1, chorus 1), then (Chorus 2) Väinämöinen telling him of his idea to seize from Pohjola the Sampo (A gold and silver mill providing prosperity to the land that holds it), that Ilmarinen had forged in return for the hand of his first wife. I think the second verse, and certainly the ending section ("From steel I made the master's sword...") refers to Ilmarinen forging Väinämöinen a new sword for the expedition, which was later used to kill the great pike from whose jawbone the first Kantele was made. |
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| Judas Priest – Breaking The Law Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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True, but KK worked for British steel at one point. Look up the British Steel Classic Albums vid on youtube. Rob talks about what the song is about there. |
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| Judas Priest – Breaking The Law Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song is 1. Epic 2. Even better live 3. About someone coming out of school/uni who feels they deserve/have been promised a job and decent success, but can't get any work or anything so turns to Breakin' the law, breakin' the law *slide* breakin' the law, breakin' the law *slide* *slide* etc. |
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| Judas Priest – One Shot At Glory Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I slightly disagree with the previous posters. I think this song is about war, but mainly (I still hear the battle cry, I still see the banners fly) the effect it has on people, for better or for worse long after it's over, and how anybody who lives through a war will never forget it. | |
| Bob Dylan – Simple Twist of Fate Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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My first impression when I heard the fourth verse was that this guy got robbed. But seriously, I think this is about the way you meet someone amazing, then you're too shy, too lazy or too confused to make that one step that seals the deal, as it were, and suddenly you've got nothing. So the guy did get robbed, by himself, not of objects but of love. |
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| Iron Maiden – Hallowed Be Thy Name Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Steve Harris said that this song is about faith and how, whatever you put your faith in, reason, god, whatever, when it comes to the end, that faith can betray you, and leave you with nothing other than imminent death. | |
| Iron Maiden – The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| The song's based on the book, and so is the film, the song and the film are separate. | |
| Iron Maiden – Die With Your Boots On Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Earth 2.0 eh? that a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference? Either way, I agree. | |
| Iron Maiden – Die With Your Boots On Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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one of the most underrated Maiden songs, I think I think it's generally "Have your wounds in the front, go down fighting, Die with your Boots on" probably one of the most self explanatory songs in history |
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| Iron Maiden – Still Life Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| you can find the backwards thing on youtube (a bit incoherent, as Nicko was drunk at the time) and I agree that this song's overlooked far too much | |
| Iron Maiden – Still Life Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| especially with the backmasking message at the start, I'd agree with that | |
| Iron Maiden – Holy Smoke Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| exactly, this is essentially an anti-televangelist song for those who never played Still Life backwards | |
| Iron Maiden – Sea Of Madness Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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While that makes sense, this song seems deeper than that. Just saying. As for Somewhere in Time being your favourite, that's because it's the best. |
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