| The Sisters of Mercy – When You Don't See Me Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I think this song may be a reference to Eldritch's attempts to overcome his amphetamine addiction. Famously, some of the long and short term effects of meth abuse are hallucinations and mental instability, which would key in with some of the below ideas. 'I'm throwing off the shadow of a better man now' Amphetamine use may increase the user's sense of self worth and make performing on stage easier, so Eldritch is suggesting his drug-addled self is a 'better man', but that he hides in its shadow out of necessity. 'I don't exist when you don't see me I don't exist when you're not here' I think the 'you' in this song is Eldritch's drugged-up version of himself. So, in this context, he has become vacant of his old self to the point of reliance. I also like to imagine it may be a reference to his hallucinations. 'You can lease the peace of mind' Probably the biggest indication that this song may be about drug usage. A lease is a time-limited agreement, and it has to end at some point. Equally, drugs feel good, but there comes a point where you either have to stop, or give in. 'You never learned You bought me Everything and less' Crucially, the word 'bought' is used here, not 'brought'. As in, the narrator has been purchased by somebody else, becoming 'everything and less'. |
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| The Sisters of Mercy – When You Don't See Me Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I think this song may be a reference to Eldritch's attempts to overcome his amphetamine addiction. Famously, some of the long and short term effects of meth abuse are hallucinations and mental instability, which would key in with some of the below ideas. 'I'm throwing off the shadow of a better man now' Amphetamine use may increase the user's sense of self worth and make performing on stage easier, so Eldritch is suggesting his drug-addled self is a 'better man', but that he hides in its shadow out of necessity. 'I don't exist when you don't see me I don't exist when you're not here' I think the 'you' in this song is Eldritch's drugged-up version of himself. So, in this context, he has become vacant of his old self to the point of reliance. I also like to imagine it may be a reference to his hallucinations. 'You can lease the peace of mind' Probably the biggest indication that this song may be about drug usage. A lease is a time-limited agreement, and it has to end at some point. Equally, drugs feel good, but there comes a point where you either have to stop, or give in. 'You never learned You bought me Everything and less' Crucially, the word 'bought' is used here, not 'brought'. As in, the narrator has been purchased by somebody else, becoming 'everything and less'. |
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| The Sisters of Mercy – When You Don't See Me Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I like to take this song literally and picture it as a ghost (of a dead friend, relative, lover, whatever) talking to someone who's hallucinating them. The song then takes on a kind of creepy, angry tone; the ghost both wants to relinquish the curse of afterlife, but is also terrified of when the person he's haunting doesn't want to see him, and he ceases to exist. Line by line reasoning: *'It's not a matter of going to grow/ It's not a matter of time or how I feel'. In other words, the person who the ghost's being seen by won't grow for as long as they're stuck in the past, whilst the ghost has no decision as to whether it wants to ruin the person's life. *'I'm throwing off the shadow of a better man now'. The ghost is simply a poor replica of the man it imitates. 'Throwing off the shadow' is perhaps a reference to how shallow the ghost is; it doesn't even have a shadow. *'What you see is what you never had/Get real/Get another'. The ghost is bitter, and makes the person doubt the initial relationship they had the person when they were alive. *'You can make believe when we're apart'. When the person's not seeing the ghost (when they're talking to someone else, for example), they pretend that they haven't got a problem. *'You never learnt/You bought me/Everything and less'. The person never learnt to get over their loss. Furthermore, the deadman, who's been bought to life, has been given 'everything' (life) but with a price: their loss of freedom. |
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| The Cure – The Hanging Garden Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I was reading a poem called 'The Hanging Gardens were a Dream' and it struck me what the true meaning of Hanging Gardens were! As in, one of the wonders of the ancient world, Babylon. There's not much to say about it bar the symbolism of this archaic Garden-of-Eden-like place of beauty and perfection. I think Smith then conjures up the idea that something has happened to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon-- in the lyrics, 'hanging gardens' is no longer capitalised, as if it's lost its importance. Animals run amok, and it's dark. The end of time, as written about in other Pornography songs. |
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| Morrissey – The Youngest Was The Most Loved Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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That the key focus of the song, and the most interesting part, is not given much detail (the murder which has occurred) is a strange decision and means one of two things to me: 1/ The killing part isn't necessary because it's far in the future, and this song links to another on the album. For example, it could be You Have Killed me, and the supposed murder is in fact a romantic, overexaggerated view. 2/ Similar to how the killing is non-literal in 1/, the murder's details could be avoided because it's metaphorical. Or, it's Morrissey giving a negative opinion as to how murderers are born. Just like 'Barbarism Begins at Home', there's an element of 'bad people are borne in childhood' which Morrissey evidently must think quite strongly. Given how he was a shy, probably foul-mooded teenager, it could be semi-autographical, and referencing his past feelings towards life. I would believe this because 'there's no such thing in normal' anaphora is a biting remark at how this young man was scolded for his shyness, despite it being caused by his own family's sheltering, and put into a marriage when he isn't ready. Morrissey could've experienced similar things himself as a boy. |
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| The Cure – The Dream Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Mother who has a miscarriage, and has a dream before it happens. 'You're too far away'- she cannot physically touch her child, which is in her stomach, as she'd like to. 'This mother's love inside me hurts too much.' Referring to the pain of the child kicking against her and the want to actually touch and know the child she bears. 'Prettily waving/ Playing on the sand'- Her vision of what she will do with this child of hers. 'Dizzy dizzy dizzy As I speak Like a tumbling cat.' She witnesses, in her dream, the child die just as it dies in her stomach. On the beach, it falls over even as she speaks to it of her dreams and plans for it. 'I watch in fascination Like a vampire bat.' Since she's in a dream state, she doesn't yet realise the implications. However, as cats eat bats (theoretically), she is nevertheless being eaten by the pain of seeing her dream-child in pain. She's a vampire because her own body is eating the child within her and killing it. 'Don't do it don't do it Don't give it away We'll use it up tomorrow If we don't use it today.' She's telling the child not to die. She's already thinking in mother-talk, using 'tomorrow, love' as a way of deterring the child from ending its own life. 'Rest your head Oh just put it outside' In the dream, her miscarriage is being seen blatantly. She imagines giving birth, and the pain, and she wants the child to come out and rest its head in the outside world, however: 'All wrapped up in ribbons' Refers to the blood around its premature face as it's born. The next stanza refers to her waking up and realising the reality of the loss. |
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| The Cure – The Walk Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The sequence where the narrator sees the howling woman is a dream, as is stated. The fact that he walks around a lake in it is because it rains as he sleeps. 'Visiting time' is 'dreamworld', and that, when it's over, they 'play dead' (sleeping without REM) and wake up crying because the distinction between reality and the dreams was confused. When he's kissing the Japanese baby in his dream, he wakes up in, becomes lucid, and realises this isn't reality: it's 'visiting time'. The repetition of the same stanzas refers to how the dreams are repeating, and each time he remembers he's not truly living in it, merely dreaming it, after he's been fooled into thinking the partner he sees in his dream is the real one. Because one of the dreams features him running to stand outside his partner's door, the final stanza is 'Take me for a walk' because he wakes up and assumed that the dream will again repeat. Even when he knows he's awake, he still repeats it, because he wants to stay in the dreams [for whatever reason]. |
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| The Cure – Lament Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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One can't help but love the imagery in this song. If Robert did experience this as a boy, he doesn't seem in any way disturbed by the memory. The man who kills himself is smiling, and, although cold, seems perfectly happy to 'walk' into the water. There's no violence there. 'Two drowned fools/Smoking/Drinking water as they talked.' An allusion, perhaps, to Love Cats, a song written to be about two lovers who take their own lives. They're talking of how they love 'our lady': Mother Nature, who founded the love which they killed themselves for. Then there's the whole addition of ice cream to further downgrade the seriousness of the situation. Robert feels no sympathy for these 'fools' because they killed themselves for fleeting reasons, and, like candles, are doomed to death one way or another. They'd kill themselves at any time, for one reason or another. |
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| The Cure – Speak My Language Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The lyrics repeat 'all' a fair amount of times in the first stanza, and the use of 'MY language' a possessive pronoun does seem to single out the narrator whilst generalising everybody else, except the singular other individual. He waves to this other individual and then drops off the edge of the world. I think this quite humorously refers to the brief-as-possible interaction with someone whom we are obliged to know through work, school, prison or some other unfortunate place. 'Your white face left me blue.' The person who's spotted him is white with the fear of having to interact; the narrator is blue after the interaction because he's drained. 'How can I say all the things I have to say to you' In other words, how can I tell you to go away, when social etiquette obeys that I don't? 'The little time I spend with you We drink each other dry' They sap each other's energy in such a swift interaction. 'Mammnnarghaassstmmetc Speak my language.' Referring to the sound one might make upon spotting this colleague across the street? The narrator wants the person initiating the conversation to understand that neither of them desire it. |
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| The Cure – Siamese Twins Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I agree that the song is about prostitution. If it is, fantastic, because the way it's written would be a unique way of looking at a fairly common thing in song-writing. Prostitution is generally abused as a positive thing to highlight the narrator's dominance over sex and the opposite gender, or a horrible thing which harms the prostitute. (Roxanne.) Siamese Twins would show the guilt of using the service, and the actual lack of sexuality in the act. Consequently, most of the song's concentration is on disgusting the reader, which can lead to scenes which almost don't make sense. 'Voodoo smile', for example, is somewhat confusing. It shifts the perspective from a man and a prostitute to a higher power controlling them, presumably whatever it was which drove the narrator to get himself there. This is also said in 'Push a blade into my hands', where I assume 'blade' is a euphemism for his penis. The thing pushing the blade into the narrator surely cannot be a physical entity, like a peer-pressuring friend or a judgemental family member. So it can be assumed that the narrator is forcing themselves to do this, most-likely by alcohol. 'The walls and the ceilings move in time.' He can hardly look at the world clearly. 'Laughing into the fire.' He's in high spirits despite the depravity of what he's about to do. 'A girl at the window looks at me for an hour.' He has no perception of time. The 'Dancing in my pocket...' stanza is greatly confusing. Pornography was written in a drug-fuelled slur, so there may be no great meaning. But it would make sense if the 'worms in pocket' reference is again a metaphor for his penis and how his sexual desire is EATING his skin both in a literal, 'erection has a greater surface area of skin' idea and the 'becoming consumed by lust' one. When she 'glows and grows', the narrator is antagonising the prostitute to get rid of the guilt he feels for causing the scenario and succumbing to his drunken debauchery. The repetition of 'Is it always like this?' could be his expression of fear towards what will happen the next time he gets drunk, or feels desire. Will he repeat the process? Will he 'need' her again? |
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| The Cure – From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I like to be very aware of the context of a singer's song before thinking about the lyrics, and, honestly, Robert Smith himself has probably ventured away from his wife at times. His later songs suggest so, or perhaps he is simply comfortable/educated on the subject of adultery. But, based on the other songs on Wish, and the Cure does keep up themes on each of their albums (for example, Disintegration is very much love-based), I think drug and alcohol addiction and the woes of fame are very present. Open, Disintegration and especially End all talk about this. Should From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea be any different? I don't think so. I think it's one big metaphor for something Smith and the band is struggling with. Fame, and, primarily, drugs. Right from the start there are three characters: you, the narrator and 'her'. Obviously 'you' are the one the narrator prefers, and, in this case, 'you', I assume, are the bad part of his personality; you are the drugs he takes. 'She' is the good part, whom he lies to. His CONSCIOUSNESS, so to speak. 'I know this can't be wrong,' he says to his consciousness, deluding himself that it's alright. The phrase 'put your hands in the sky' seems to have great significance here, though, due to the fact that I think everything is purely metaphorical- he's not actually by a 'deep green sea'. It's a metaphor for getting into too deep waters. I'd say it either refers sardonically, pessimistically to raising your arms so you might inject a needle into it ( or raising a glass) or casually waving your hands about, as if everything's okay, and as means of reassurance for that panicked part of the narrator. He tells that part of him- 'her'-, essentially, that, despite him getting jumbled off his jugs, she'll always be there. Evidently, in the next paragraph, this is disproven. He's never been so high in the solar system. King of the world, piece of shite. The desperation continues as he shows an evident desire for 'you'; to permanently have that happiness, and 'she' is abandoned. 'Please stay,' he says. 'Looking for something for ever gone' could be about that relationship he had between his happy conscious, himself and the drugs (i.e. he's now lost the effects due to taking too many). When I read about 'her' hanging herself, that's when I really got the impression it's all a metaphor. Of course she doesn't hang herself in front of him. It's describing the time wherein he's desperately getting his high, but he can feel 'her' struggling to exist, but she fades and he's left with his hands in the sky, either symbolising the injection (or drinking of alcohol), and his disgust of it, or the means of happy recklessness that now seems ironic. His consciousness and complexity is gone, and he's alone with drugs. He is defined by them. The song ends rather nicely. Utter desperation. 'She' will never return. He's lost himself in the addiction. Happy days. |
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| Inspiral Carpets – This Is How It Feels Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Since this song focuses so strongly on the mum character, I would be inclined to say that it's a take upon motherhood and how mothers are very often portrayed (or feel themselves) undervalued. They, in a less-modern society, do all of the housework and look after the children without conversing with others, and it's quite easy to not appreciate the work that a mother does as a child or other family member. 'Black car drives through the town Some guy from the top estate' This whole paragraph is most-likely her reminiscing of the old times where she was desired and had her life ahead of her. The husband 'had it all on a plate' because his future is one where he's looked after and enjoys the company and achievements brought about by working. I like this song because it's sympathetic to all members of the family. It isn't the mother's fault that she's stuck in a pit. It isn't the husband's fault that he's part of a pre-decided hierarchy. It isn't the children's fault that they put such pressure on their parents. This is How it Feels is simply a guide into the family structure. |
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| The Smiths – Handsome Devil Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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In his autobiography, he mentions that a (male) teacher of his treated him mildly sexually (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24562454). Hence, the song is probably sang from a male teacher towards his male pupil. The pupil/teacher relationship is pretty much what every comment here is about, but I thought that I'd add the extra information. It's a typical Morrissey to write such a bizarre song. |
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| The Cure – Prayers for Rain Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| When I was an adolescent, I used to think this song perfectly described my feelings towards school! | |
| The Cure – The Figurehead Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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I believe this is much darker than how it first seems. A lot of people are saying it's about depression, which it probably is, but I see the song to be about murder/ kidnapping. For starters, I think that the song starts at the most recent time, and then goes sort of backwards, with the first paragraph being a year after the murder/ kidnap. He's angry, and he can't sleep due to guilt. The next few lines is him hallucinating due to lack of sleep. The next bit is set just after the murder/ kidnap. He kills a fly and thinks it means nothing, because he's -possibly- killed someone. The begining of the third paragraph ("I can can lose myself in American girls") is important for what I'm thinking of. I picture him watching an American girl, in the dark, and then chasing her. "Lose me in the dark Please do it right Run into the night" "Crimson pain" is him attacking her, and then bringing her dead/alive body with him home, with the purpose of telling her her his life story. "I can never say no to anyone but you" actually means that he can ONLY say no to her, suggesting that he feels comfortable with her, unlike with everyone else. "The same image haunts me" is the moment when he attacked the female. The last few lines are self-explanatory. I'm pretty sure that my interpretation of the song is wrong, but I like to think of like that. |
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| Franz Ferdinand – Fresh Strawberries Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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@[dpepper73:5193] Interesting interpretation. I'm a big fan of the band so I'm familiar with the album. Hm... the bit about the manual is very strange, and that's something I couldn't really figure out with this particular set of lyrics. I think you've hit it bang on with the repair manual being the Bible. Then that verse practically means: "Thieves and liars believe they've done nothing wrong. I have no opinion on that, but I'd love to see the Bible's say on the matter." I disagree with your second paragraph, though. I assume " Wouldn't it be easy to believe?" is him saying that he'd like there to be a heaven, but he doesn't believe in it. "Something to believe in that could Give us more Than here's my years" He's lived his life and then there's nothing afterwards. I wish I had Alex's number! |
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| The Cure – Pornography Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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I think the first bit is about a dream, thus the "An image of the queen Echoes round the sweating bed Sour yellow sounds inside my head " is him waking up from said dream. The person who wakes up from the dream could have the desire to kill due to his dream, so he thinks about killing his lover. At the end he realises that what he's fantasizing is wrong, so he wants fight the sickness. |
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| Franz Ferdinand – Fresh Strawberries Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| I think it's about aging. With "fresh strawberries" perhaps representing children and the following paragraphs describing aging and thus being unimportant. | |
| Franz Ferdinand – Goodbye Lovers & Friends Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned how it could be about how his opinion of his career. As in, how he had to change how his music originally was to get popular/because his manager told him to. The first two paragraphs talk about change, then the chorus is about how his fame disallows him to meet his family/friends. |
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| Franz Ferdinand – Evil Eye Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| I think it's about someone suffering from schizophrenia. | |
| The Cure – Pictures of You Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I think its about a girl who had a disease, A life threatening one. She always found comfort in the guy in the story, They would play in the snow together, She died in the snow, And the guy always looks at the pictures of him and the girl in the snow. |
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| The Smiths – Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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hm...I always thought this song was about insomnia, "See, the luck I've had Can make a good man Turn bad" Could be about him having no sleep. Y'know when you can't sleep,You are just thinking "For gods sake,Just sleep!"? |
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| The Smiths – I Know It's Over Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I think this song is about a Girl and a Boy who were best friends evry since they were little,The boy loved the girl,And she sort of loves him too,But they never tell each other. The Girl starts dating a guy,The boy still text her,but she rarely replies. She has an argument with him at her wedding with the guy,Telling if he's so funny,entertaining (E.c.t) He should go find some more friends,Instead of clinging on to her. |
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| The Cure – In Your House Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Maybe the "Pretending to swim" Is a way of mocking someone | |
| The Cure – Three Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Seems to me like the song is about a dream...Maybe he's seeing him and Simon and Lol and chasing them throughout the song,When he says "Can you help me" he's asking them to help him out of his dream.. | |
| The Cure – From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I think its about the bloke dating 2 women The first paragraph would be about Him sitting with his new lover,He's lying and saying That he loves her even though he's just dating her whilst he's on a concert tour somewhere "Surrender" "remember" "We'll be here for ever and never say goodbye" He wants the moment to last forever,Even though he knows It want The second paragraph shows the man is actually starting to love the woman,And he doesn't want to go back home because he knows that his wife will moan and he will leave his new love. The third paragraph is him going back home,his wife is saying "Let this moment last forever" And he's thinking that's what his new love said,And that she's gone forever. 5th paragraph maybe his new love died because the man never contacted her 6th paragraph his drinking himself dry,His wife knows somethings wrong,And his wife starts drinking to get rid of the pain of the man cheating. 7th paragraph he wants to leave his wife,He wants to have a new life,Just as he is opening the door to his house,his wife hangs herself and he watches her death. 8th paragraph He does the same thing,Cheating on two women and once,Hoping for one of them to be like his wife/new love But it always turns out with him in the rain,Alone. |
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| The Cure – Plainsong Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Like allot of people I think It's about to lovers having a conversation,The couple is watching the world die,There is death happening everywhere,And they decided to spend their dying moments together,They're listening to the Rain on the window. The man could start crying,the woman sees this,and says the first part of the song,About how death isn't a big deal,They were growing old with age anyway, I always imagined the last part of the song as the couple in a hospital the man/woman is dying,And the first part of he song Is a dream,She tells him about the dream,Then she was about to talk about the first part of the song,But instead of saying it she smiles,And dies |
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| The Cure – Cold Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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the first time i heard this son i thought that it was about his lover dying. "scarred your back was turned" the doctor was talking to her about the bad news "I was cold as i mouthed the words" he could be saying "are you okay" knowing the response would be bad "await the next breath" listing to her last breaths. " a shallow grave" Dreaming about her dying,and no-one caring about her. "can no-one save you" pretty much says it "as cold as silence you never say a word" that moment where her breathing stops and he's looking at her dead body. |
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| The Cure – Cold Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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the first time i heard this son i thought that it was about his lover dying. "scarred your back was turned" the doctor was talking to her about the bad news "I was cold as i mouthed the words" he could be saying "are you okay" knowing the response would be bad "await the next breath" listing to her last breaths. " a shallow grave" Dreaming about her dying,and no-one caring about her. "can no-one save you" pretty much says it "as cold as silence you never say a word" that moment where her breathing stops and he's looking at her dead body. |
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| The Cure – A Night Like This Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| I always thought this song was about Robert meeting a girl at a concert of his,They talk and he likes her,But the girl has to go somewhere,And she leaves and Roberts left trying to find her. | |
| The Cure – Open Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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It's about doing the same thing over and over until you just realize how simple minded people can be,and that drugs and alcohol are the only escape I love the line "And i laugh and i laugh" the way he sings it frames the feeling of being sick of life |
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