| Grateful Dead – Ripple Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| "Harp unstrung" probably means a harmonica, AKA a french harp. | |
| Pink Floyd – Fearless Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Very underrated song I think its just about, well, being fearless. doing what you want without worry. i think this song is pretty literal as far as Pink Floyd goes. someone is reprimanding someone else for doing a task that seems too hard. they would "like to see them try" in the sarcastic sense. the other person responds saying that theyll do, just name when and wait for the right day. then, when the time comes, they accomplish the task and look back on all those who said they couldn't do it. next, someone deemed an idiot faces a large crowd, without fear. some high power is displeased, probably because they wanted the idiot to fail. really, the powerful figure is the fool. do whatever works best for you and you can accomplish anything, and everyday is the right day to do it (callback to the first stanza.) all you have to do is rise above the fear of doing it. when you look back, you will see that most people were rooting for you the whole way (fade to a cheering crowd) |
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| Pink Floyd – Brain Damage Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I agree with and have even been influenced by a lot of people in these comments, but I thought I would give my two cents! The album as a whole is about human life. More specifically, how absurd and full of nonsense it is. Brain Damage in particular tells how our society dictates the so-called "proper" ways to behave. The first stanza describes a person standing on grass, likely alluding to "keep off grass signs," yearning for their youth when everything was fun and carefree. They are not obeying the boundaries set by society -- deviating from the norm if you will. Through society's lenses, this person is a lunatic and must be kept "on the path," literally meaning the sidewalk beside the grass and figuratively representing staying in line with what is deemed acceptable. The second stanza again mentions lunatics, but this time they are said to be "in the hall" and "in my hall," meaning that so-called “crazy” people are everywhere around us, even in our own homes. The next verse goes: "the paper holds their folded faces to the floor, and everyday the paperboy brings more." I don't think this is depicting people being stuck to the floor with pieces of paper, but rather how people read newspapers; their heads craned down "to the floor." This line is about the media telling us how to think, with a constant wave of information being forced upon us everyday through news, magazines, advertisements etc. The dam breaking in the next part of the song is likely meant to represent a catastrophe that society is unprepared for. In this situation, only those deemed most valuable by society's rules are kept safe "on the hill" while everyone else is left out to drown in the flood. Even without such an event happening, people can be overwhelmed with grim thoughts and the stresses of modern life. If these things happen, you'll end up "on the dark side of the moon." But what is the dark side of the moon? Unfortunately I have yet to fully develop my interpretation of this verse. I think that throughout the album the sun and moon represent spiritual light and dark. For the context of this song, I think the dsotm represents the unknown, as in "if the dam breaks/your head explodes, we don't really know what will happen to you. I think we all agree that the next stanza depicts a metaphorical lobotomy. The "lunatic" in the singer/narrator's head is their uniqueness and individuality that steps out of line from the norm. The singer's mind is indefinitely reconditioned to be "normal," and the singer laments how this new personality is not who they truly are. Then, another stanza describing catastrophe. This time a “cloud bursts thunder in your ear.” I think this is meant to convey how society can occasionally screw you over and how individual struggles usually go unnoticed, thus “you shout and no one seems to hear.” The next part of the stanza seems to be interpreted as a Syd Barrett reference, but I personally don’t see it that way. I’ve always thought the band playing different tunes resembles the world changing rapidly and certain people not being able to adjust. Once again, you’ll end up on the dark side of the moon, in the unknown. Ultimately, I think it is amazing how one song can inspire so many interpretations. It just goes to show that lyrics resonate with everyone in different ways. After all, we’re all lunatics! |
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