| Veruca Salt – Straight Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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I think it's about a girl who is bisexual, but more romantically lesbian. When she's with a guy, she doesn't get so twisted up inside over him. When she's with a girl, though, the drama of the relationship spills over into the operations of the whole band. So, Louise's bandmate has got herself a new, young girlfriend, and Louise wants her to find a boyfriend instead. I'm pretty sympathetic to the interpretation that this is about drugs, too. Particularly, the lyrics, "I'll wait till summer's over/ I'll love you through October" seem to lend themselves to that interpretation. Louise will put up with his or her drug use until the end of the tour season, but if he or she doesn't get straight after that, then Louise will have to reconsider the relationship. It might be a little of both interpretations working in there. |
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| R.E.M. – Be Mine Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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Several of the people here got it right, I think, or close to it. The person who said it means, "I want you to be my God," had it all right, but backwards. This song is saying, "I am willing to be your God. Belong to me." Let's go through it. I want to be your Easter Bunny -- I want to be the one you prepare for, and wait for. I want to be your Christmas Tree -- I want to be the one you prepare, and wait with. I'll strip the world that you must live in of all it's godforsaken greed. -- I'll make sure you get what you want, because, as your God, I will not forsake your greed. I'll ply the tar out of your feathers -- I'll help you fly, achieve your dreams. I'll pluck the thorns out of your feet -- I'll help you walk, fulfill your needs. And if I choose your sanctuary -- because a God can choose I'll want to wash you with my hair -- I'll be your shameless whore, like Mary Magdalene was to Jesus. I want to drink of sacred fountains -- Fisher King reference, supported by the Grail reference below. The God will be replenished and restored. I'll eat the lotus and peyote -- I'll be content to dream I want to hear the caged bird sing -- I want you to sing to create your freedom, be mine. I want the secrets of the Temple -- the temple of the soul is the body I want the finger with the ring -- sex, commitment, the lowest forms of unification And if you make me your religion -- obvious I'll give you all the room you need -- I'll be distant, give you freedom I'll be the drawing of your breath -- I'll be intimate. Your life will depend on me. I'll be the cup if you should bleed -- second Grail reference. I'll save what is precious that you lose. I'll receive you. I'll be the sky above the Ganges -- I'll be unreachable. I'll be the vast and stony sea -- I'll be inescapable. I'll be the lights that guide you inward -- I'll give you hope of escaping from me, in me, by drawing you into yourself. You'd have to have been really religious to understand this one. I'll be the visions you will see. You will see. You and ME. YOU AND ME. You and Me. I'll lay down my life. I'll provide. I'll inspire. I'll torture you, and give you hope. I'll build a world around you, just to hide myself from you and tease you to look for me. I'll be your God. Be Mine. |
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| Radiohead – No Surprises Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I believe his request for no alarms and no surprises means that he hopes he is not discovered merely passed-out. He doesn't want his suicide interrupted. | |
| Radiohead – No Surprises Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I think the pretty house is a mausoleum and the pretty garden is the graveyard. | |
| The Decemberists – I Was Meant for the Stage Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Exactly. Colin is an atheist, and this is his take on Jesus Christ: he was a deluded, pathetic, narcissistic weenie. | |
| Stone Temple Pilots – Pretty Penny Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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My mother's name was Penny. She died in June of 1994. This song was released in March of 1995. It was pretty shocking to hear it on the radio the first time. I thought I must be dreaming. My mom would have liked it. I cried many, many tears listening to this song. Maybe it was part of my healing. If you're reading this, Scott, thank you. |
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| Queens of the Stone Age – Fairweather Friends Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I had read, before hearing this song, that it included many guest artists, including Elton John and Trent Reznor. I guess I just started off with the assumption that it was about friends in the music industry, both musicians and suits. However, it's really about the fans. They love you while you're hot, and give you tons of money. And it was never about having the most fans, at the beginning. It was about making the best music. So, we can hope for rain every day, if that means making great music, even if none of the fans love it. We never gave a shit about them anyhow. | |
| Pink Floyd – Pigs on the Wing (Part 2) Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I'm surprised that none of the comments I've read so far have caught the meaning of "pigs on the wing." It's from the expression "when pigs fly." In the first "Pigs on the Wing," the narrator and the person he's talking to are young and are friends. They'd stop caring for each other when pigs fly. Then, we go through the whole album. Some people are dogs, some pigs and some sheep. In the end, our narrator is still ironic and humorous in his expression, but now he's turned bitter. He and his friend say they care for each other, and they will, when pigs fly. In the beginning they cared but pretended not to. In the end, they pretended to care but didn't. That's what life does to people. It's how values are spent, souls are sold and life becomes hollow. It seems cruel, but who would accept death if life remained good into old age? |
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| The Decemberists – I Was Meant for the Stage Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Additionally, he says, "I was meant for derision." That sounds a bit too truthful. But I think it does support my theory, as he was derided as King of the Jews. |
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| The Decemberists – I Was Meant for the Stage Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I agree with you, except that I think this song is about Jesus Christ, himself. His sins were pardoned at his birth and so did not have Original Sin. | |
| The Decemberists – Rise to Me Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| "Stand your ground" is a legal principle which states that a person who is attacked can fight back, even if that person has a chance to safely flee. If you rise to me, I'll blow you down (shoot you). | |
| Sinead O'Connor – I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I have all that I've requested, and I do not want what I haven't got. | |
| Tom Waits – Ruby's Arms Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| He's stealing away through her window blinds. A person couldn't do that. She's holding her pillow, indicating that he hadn't spent the night with her. Darkened hall, hobos keeping fires burning is the light at the end of the tunnel. The wind took her scarf off the clothesline, disturbed the wind chimes as his spirit passed. I never put it all together until I read your comment. You're right, he's a Soldier who has died in war, come to say his last goodbye to his love. | |
| Tom Waits – A Sight for Sore Eyes Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| I think the guy he's talking to isn't really there. There's too much affection in his voice. If the guy was really there, he'd be more gruff. | |
| Brandi Carlile – The Story Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| The great lie of this song is that the person who has been with you and grown with you-- the person that you were made for-- already knows your stories. And your stories don't mean anything if you can't tell them, and you can't tell them to the person who lived through them with you. | |
| John Cale – Cable Hogue Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| This is a song about a couple of faggot bandits, as Cale once said. It's a song about the thread of trust between men who commit crimes together, and how that thread is stretched to the breaking point by forces neither of them can control or understand. They may both understand why their separation is necessary, but that doesn't make it any easier to take. It's a song about the eventual impossibility of love in the context of a society based upon laws. Without the opportunity to break those laws together, the love couldn't be so strong. But because those laws are imperishable and inexclusive, the relationship becomes impossible in the long run. Love outlasts the relationship. And all you've got to do is go down there and open your big, fat mouth. If I saw you again, I wouldn't know whether to hug your or kill you. Love, in the end, is a messy liability, and all that makes life worth living. | |
| World Party – Ship Of Fools Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| The "Ship of Fools" written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter is a different song, performed by The Grateful Dead. This song was written by Karl Wallinger, who is the sole member of World Party. I wonder if they got it wrong for "Ship of Fools" by Erasure, too. | |
| R.E.M. – Leave Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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"The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving." -- Waking Life |
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| Depeche Mode – Little Soul Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I think you got it perfectly. Step by step, our little souls will leave footprints. | |
| The Flaming Lips – It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big, I Am So Small . . . Do I Stand a Chance? Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Every time I hear this song, I'm reminded of "All We Like Sheep" from Handel's Messiah. Wayne grew up in a Christian community, and a musical community, and perhaps sang in a choir performing that piece. It begins merrily, "All we like sheep have gone astray, and turned every one to his own way!" It's almost something you could dance to. Major key, very upbeat. Then, Handel lowers the boom: "And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Minor key, tempo grave. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3YYsKO6YAA I think Wayne did G.F.H. justice with this. I can't hear either without shedding a few tears. |
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| Neutral Milk Hotel – Untitled Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| "Untitled may also be understood as a celebration of the resurrection of the dead. " -- which, of course, is exactly what a New Orleans funeral celebration is all about. | |
| Procol Harum – A Salty Dog Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Thanks for your notes, particularly about what "we've run afloat" means, Chicco. Salty dog is an old English term for a sailor. Something to do with the typical sailor of the time being low-bred and reeking of sea salts. I came across Libertatia and James Misson in my readings, recently. Libertatia was a libertarian, communist pirate haven set up in Madagascar in the 1600s. I wonder if Reid might have been thinking about it when he wrote this song. Would a ship from England in the 1600s have traveled all the way around Cape Horn just to avoid the Cape of Good Hope? In other words, would they have sailed west to get to Madagascar? |
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| Neutral Milk Hotel – Untitled Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This is a triumphant funeral march, like a New Orleans funeral but with irish folk-based rock instead of jazz. Anne wrote about her desire to live beyond her death through her writing (not just her diary, but the career in writing she wished to have), and was able to accomplish this. This funeral march stands in contrast to The Fool. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" -- Psalm 14:1. So, Untitled may also be understood as a celebration of the resurrection of the dead. |
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| Neutral Milk Hotel – The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 and 3 Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I think Jeff really does love Jesus Christ. I mean, as an idea, anyway, what's not to love? He was a man who told people to love each other, was executed by the religious and political powers of his time and place, and went on to become incredibly famous. The fact that he became so famous for being such a good guy kinda says something good about humanity, I think. Like Jeff, I grew up in a religious family in the Southern U.S. I'm an atheist now, but I really like that he did this. What shocked me was the realization that there isn't already a hymn that just plainly states what Jeff states, here. It makes all the other religious songs sound overly-elaborate and contrived. Oh, and P.S. to the guy who reiterated C.S. Lewis' trashy argument about having to believe in the divinity of Jesus -- being the result of centuries of compilation and revision, the Bible is an unreliable source of information. I take the expressions of ideas that I like from it (such as loving your neighbor and not worrying about stuff so much and considering the lilies of the field) and take only an academic interest in the rest-- just like I do with any book. |
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| Procol Harum – A Salty Dog Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Alright. Getting deeper and more shallow at the same time. This is a song about a man dreaming of his perfect love. "All hands on deck," is the last thing any sailor wants to hear. It means there is terrible trouble about. "We've run afloat," is the opposite of what any sailor would worry about. They were bound to sea, but actually being at sea was a fearful thing. This is a man who has left his home and his mother. "Explore the ship, replace the cook," terrible freedom from Mother. "Across the straits," -Keith Reid "straight is the gate and narrow the path that leads to salvation."-- Jesus Christ. "Around the horn," horn being a symbol of fertility, referring to a penis. "How far can sailors fly?" sperm being the ultimate sailors. "A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive," the horrible emptiness of the life of a single man. "We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die," every voyage ends in the port. The port being the right vagina, in this case. "No lofty peak, nor fortress bold could match our Captain's eye," no woman can fulfill him so far. "Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call," after an eternity of searching adrift, (no seasoned sailor should ever get seasick), he found his girl. "A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all," she had white skin and blue eyes, and was so beautiful that the sailor could not believe she was human. "We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore The captain cried, we sailors wept: our tears were tears of joy," -- ejaculation, and more, an emotional connection. "Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land," they're growing old together. "A salty dog," he's unworthy of this experience. "This seaman's log," semen, penis, the account of the whole story. "Your witness. My own hand." the fact that he can dream it (and masturbate over the idea) means the reality must be out there, somewhere. |
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| Procol Harum – A Salty Dog Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Just realized I got that wrong. Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land. A Salty Dog (This seaman's log your witness-- my own hand) Is there no way to edit or delete on this thing? Sorry for the repost. |
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| Procol Harum – A Salty Dog Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Just realized I got that wrong. Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land. A salty dog (This seaman's log your witness-- my own hand) |
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| Procol Harum – A Salty Dog Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Addendum: Cape Horn is the southernmost tip of Chile. Here's the wikipedia excerpt: Cape Horn is the most southerly point of South America, and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage; for many years it was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world. However, the waters around the Cape are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and icebergs; these dangers have made it notorious as a sailors' graveyard. It was on the way to Australia from England. |
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| Procol Harum – A Salty Dog Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Still working on this. Just heard it today. They're sailing the river Styx. Their captain is Charon. But they do find themselves in Heaven at the end. "The seventh sea-sick day" -- 7 being the number of the infinite. As with most Procol Harum songs that I've heard, Christian imagery and numerology play their part, here. They fired the gun to announce their arrival, and burned the mast because they intended never to return to their port of departure. "A salty dog, this seaman's log: your witness, my own hand" is the end of the letter. In his blindness and old age, Paul had Timothy write his last epistles. Paul came in at the end to say, "I write this in my own hand," to prove to the recipients that the letter was authentic, and that Paul was still alive. It should be written like this: Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land. A salty dog, this seaman's log. Your Witness (my own hand) He felt his name was unimportant, just that he had witnessed this all, and wrote it to us as a promise. |
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