submissions
| The Beatles – Penny Lane Lyrics
| 7 years ago
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Or...to anyone who's ever been to the UK or knows McCartney's background, there's a friendly barber with pictures of haircuts on his wall, and locals stop for a chat. And there's a bank manager who drives a nice car, who pops in for a haircut. And the portrait of a queen is either on some cash in the fireman's pocket or a photo of his wife. And the nurse is selling poppies because it's close to Remembrance Day, and that's what happens in the UK.
'Finger pie' though. Yeah. |
submissions
| The Beatles – Penny Lane Lyrics
| 7 years ago
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Nothing at all to do with being gay! There's 2 explanations for the queen reference. It could refer to the queen's portrait which would be on the cash in his pocket (like a reference to 'dead presidents' in a Tom Waits song). Or since it's from and about Liverpool, it could well be a photo of his wife, often referred to as 'queen' by scousers. |
submissions
| Bruce Springsteen – The Promise Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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Where the hell did you get that idea? What has being gay or not got to do with anything in the rest of the song? There is no other reference to sex/sexuality. It could mean anything. Obviously it's open to interpretation, but it seems to me the whole song is about a promise the guy made to himself to get away and make a better life - to escape from the 'town full of losers', when he was 'pulling out of here to win'. And to my mind, that was also his secret. He was just another loser in that town, but had big dreams of getting away (as on Thunder Road and the general theme of the BTR album), and was probably laughed at when he told his mates in a bar late one night. Now it's a few years later and he's no better off - he realises he has broken his promise to himself, and his dream is over (which is the general theme of the Darkness album). So, as others have said, to me it's an unofficial sequel to Thunder Road. That makes it doubly sad, as we see what happened to the kid who was trying to persuade Mary to get in his car that night when he was younger and full of hope and optimism. |
submissions
| Jefferson Starship – We Built This City Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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I've come to this pretty late. I always thought this song was truly horrible, and still do. But I came to check the lyrics after reading the RS interview with Bernie Taupin, who wrote the original lyrics. It was originally written about the demise of the live music scene in LA, and that can still be seen in the lyrics which I'd never listened to before but which still make a point, although the song has apparently changed considerably since it was written, with the horrible production, and the addition of the voiceover which refers to SF rather than LA. |
submissions
| Jefferson Starship – We Built This City Lyrics
| 10 years ago
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It doesn't mention the name of the city, that's true. But even if you know nothing about the history of the band, the Golden Gate Bridge and 'city by the bay' could provide a tiny clue. Although according to Bernie Taupin, the song was originally about LA! |
submissions
| The Felice Brothers – Hey Hey Revolver Lyrics
| 14 years ago
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That was my interpretation.
At least it was until I saw them on their last tour, and he introduced it as a song about armed robbery! Guess not then. I think I prefer the suicide theory though! |
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