| Modest Mouse – Bukowski Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Here's my take on this rollicking gem of a song. "Woke up this morning and it seemed to me, That every night turns out to be A little more like Bukowski." To me, these lines seem to be the persona lamenting his his "rock n roll lifesytle", which is a lifestyle Bukowski was notorious for: drinking, legal issues, being a loner and heretic of all sorts, a vagabond in life and in love. And, yes, he was quite the asshole. So the persona questions whether the art Bukowski produced was worth him being such a shitheel, even tough "he's a prettygood read"; moreover, he's wondering if he too will become a Bukowski if he keeps living the same way. "Well we sat on the edge of the river, The crowd screamed, "Sacrifice the liver!" I can only assume this is a reference Bukowski's chronic alcoholism. And that the crowd (fans of the persona) demands the persona to sacrifice his physical and possible spiritual health for the sake of creating the music it so desires. This will doom him because the liver is the "purifying" organ, after all. In other words, the kind of destructive lifestyle from the first stanza that he alluded to. If God takes life, he's an Indian giver. So tell me now why, you'll tell me never. Who would want to be? Who would want to be such a control freak? Well who would want to be? Who would want to be such a control freak? Ok, this marks a major break in the lyrics in that he starts to directly reflect on theological disputes. Particularly, these lines seem to confront God's supposedly benevolent, all powerful nature with the inevitable fact of human pain and death. However, the persona seems to suggest that he doubts God is so much of an asshole that he would both grant life to humans only to take it away. All these rheorical questions here lead me to believe the person thinks some other force MUST responsible for our having to die as matter of the human condition. Or else our idea of a benevolent God is faulty. This idea is further explored at the end of the song except this time he asks, "Who would want to be such a control freak?, which to me is the persona saying that it is we (hoefully) who are masters of our fate, not God. 'Well see what you want to see. You should see it all. Well take what you want from me. You deserve it all. Nine times out of ten our hearts just get dissolved. Well I want a better place or just a better way to fall. But one time out of ten, everything is perfect for us all. Well I want a better place or just a better way to fall. Here we go!" The above lines give me trouble in that they are more vague and less driven by imagery and allusions. But, suffice to say, he's talking to someone who has a different position on these issues than the persona. "If God controls the land and disease, Keeps a watchful eye on me, If he's really so damn mighty, My problem is I can't see, Well who would want to be? Who would want to be such a control freak? Well who would want to be? Who would want to be such a control freak?" See the above section on this as a comment on free will. "Evil home stereo, what good songs do you know? Evil me, oh yeah I know, what good curves can you throw? " No idea about this one! "Well all that icing and all that cake, I can't make it to your wedding, but I'm sure I'll be at your wake. You were talk, talk, talk, talkin' in circles that day, When you get to the point make sure that I'm still awake, OK?" To me, this "I" is not the same as in the rest of the lyrics. The lines are sung in a raspy, almost menancing tone, which leads me to believe it's Death himself telling the persona he won't be there for the unions (his wedding) but only at the departures (his funeral). Death then goes on to mock the persona's attempt at understanding with all his endless pontificating and questioning about life, death and the nature of God. Basically, he demonstrates that all the persona will be able to do is talk in circles without ever actually knowing the truth. |
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| Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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First of all I wanted to say how deeply nostalgic this song makes me for the era in which it was written, especially the relative calm known as the Cold War. Basically, the lyrics are quite prescient in that the speaker reminds the listener that political liberty and the pleasures of capitalism are all relatively new to the world scene and are not permanent. The speaker desires to live to the fullest during this special time in history by taking full advantage of its many pleasures and liberties before the true nature of the world, war and change, comes 'round again at last. Thus the song is a carpe diem song and yet the speaker is troubled by all the possibilities of how to seize this day-- he is condemned to his own freedom in that he's unsure how best to make use of his liberty-- in other words, he feels the terror when one realizes although you can be almost anything, you cannot be everything. And yet he must decide because he he knows time is short. |
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