| John Butler Trio – Fool For You Lyrics | 3 months ago |
| This song has to be about his wife, like some of JBT's other songs... | |
| John Butler Trio – Fire In the Sky Lyrics | 3 months ago |
| One of JBT's few anti-war songs, and how good is it!? No doubt written in the aftermath of the commencement of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, it critiques the absurdities of both war and religion (which is used to justify war). Its greatest comment is his question - "But I don't understand, how one can kill a man, in the name peace? That's ridiculous". | |
| John Butler Trio – Better Than Lyrics | 3 months ago |
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"Better Than" is a song about not being better than. Don't care for what you don't have, what people think of you, how wealthy you are (in a monetary sense). Care about your good family and friends, and what you do have. For a song written 17 years ago (before widespread Facebook use, no social media influencers etc), it is so much more applicable in today's world. |
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| Daryl Braithwaite – Up-Out Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| It is about re-evaluating where you are at in your life; doing what you love as a career, and; seeing meaning in what really matters (i.e., family - the reference to his son). Beautiful song... Great lead guitar in it as well... | |
| The Black Sorrows – Harley And Rose Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| @[miss73hayley:43019] to hazard a guess, it's a song about two people in love, perhaps married, that separated for a while and got back together over consdierable time (perhaps a life time). It details the ups and downs of long-term relationship and committment, which obviously (see divorce rates) isn't for everyone. A beautiful, contemplative, wise song. Hope this helps ;-) | |
| Gerry Rafferty – Days Gone Down Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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I am surprised no one has commented on this masterpiece yet. Has to be a reference to a band mate, or fellow friend in the music industry that they've known and grown with, and treasured... Beautiful song. |
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| John Butler Trio – Seeing Angels Lyrics | 2 years ago |
| @[ben1010510:41140] You are absolutely on the money mate. It is a beautiful song, has to be his best. I just wish he would play it more at concerts. Such a great song... | |
| Simon and Garfunkel – The Boxer Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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I have my thoughts on this song, which is probably the greatest piece of rock song poetry ever, certainly the best by Simon & Garfunkel, even though it didn’t receive the critical acclaim of songs such as the “Sound of Silence”. I just don’t think I can better the synopsis captured so accurately by “MaryBeth Donnelly” on the Quora website, dated Aug 4 2014 (see https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-the-song-The-Boxer-by-Simon-and-Garfunkel): “The boxer in the song is a metaphor: Despite having a strong memory for each and every defeat, setback, and humiliation the narrator has endured ("carries the reminder of every glove that laid him down or cut him til he cried out"), he will not give up but will persevere ("the fighter still remains"). The earlier verses show us that the narrator is particularly scarred by the experiences he has had as a young man who "left his home" and "family" when he "was no more than a boy" -- doing so under some vague pretense that life on his own would be better than wherever he came from ("a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises"). Chief among what the narrator has had to endure are loneliness, poverty, homesickness, and urban isolation ("where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me, leading me, to going home"). His overwhelming desire to overcome his isolation has led him to make some unsavory choices, in the form of seeking solace with prostitutes ("just a come on from the whores on 7th Avenue. I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome, I took some comfort there"). The narrator clearly is very desperate for some sort of connection with the human race. I've read the theories that this song was about Dylan and who knows, maybe it is. Dylan came to NYC as a young man; Simon was already there, as he grew up in Queens. I know Simon didn't care for Dylan, though he certainly seemed to emulate him. But I don't think we should ever presume to be certain who or what someone is singing about, or to think that the inspiration for the lyrics are so narrowly focused. The song raises broad themes that are pretty universal for anyone trying to make it on his/her own. For me, I've always been sure the theme was, at least in part, about Simon himself, since so many of his songs are about urban isolation (e.g., "The Sound of Silence") and hypersensitivity (e.g., "I Am a Rock"). After all, is it that hard to imagine that the guy who wrote two versions of a song called "Think Too Much" (both on the 1983 "Hearts and Bones" album) would compare his intense twenty something angst to an embittered, resilient prizefighter?” |
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| Bob Seger – Hollywood Nights Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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Another coming of age song by Seger, and doesn't he know how to write them! The Midwestern boy getting lost while chasing a dream romance in the Big City. This song could relate to any young man growing up in a small town or country/rural area and moving to the big city to follow his dream or career. A lot of the comments here capture the song well: the ideas of fast LA women; the glitz, glam and money of Hollywood (strange to him); party life; self-doubt to return to the quieter life (LA has changed him forever, lost innocence); the paradox of being lonely in a big city. Other Seger songs express similar coming of age sentiments and references, such as "Roll Me Away" (his escape trip west from Michigan) and "Against the Wind" (references to the fast life in his younger years of recklessness and searching for shelter). I'll throw another idea/possibility out there - I know Seger has stated that the song is about a woman from a magazine cover (supermodel Cheryl Teigs), but could it be that the idea of woman and love story in this song is itself a metaphor for his love affair (in which he has ultimately been left alone) with the city of Los Angeles!? If so, it is brilliant. i.e. some possible examples of metaphoric language could be - "soft eyes so innocent and blue" (appearance of the city), "she had been born with a face that would let her get her way... he saw that face and he lost all control" (the influence of the city on him), "he spent all night staring down at the lights on LA wondering if he could ever go home" (whether he could leave her/LA) and the list goes on...? Such a great song whichever way you interpret it! What a great songwriter. |
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| Simon and Garfunkel – The Boxer Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| @[UWDawgfather:27507] agree, it is a sad coming of age song, one of despair for a young man. One of the greatest ever, truly underrated, not sure why it isn't recognised more widely for what it is. | |
| Bob Seger – Against the Wind Lyrics | 5 years ago |
| *Correction in third para above, should be - "(most likely referring to married with kids life)" | |
| Bob Seger – Against the Wind Lyrics | 5 years ago |
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The song is about the 'tapestry of life'. Its ups and downs. The struggles which seem ever-present as life continues on. Not many rock songs out there capture it as succinctly as "Against the Wind". Can only think of a couple which come close, but can't think of one which beats it. Seger details his 'first love' (likely in his teens) in the first verse, he relates how most of us think during our first love in Janey's statement - "that it never would end". He captures the fanciful, often-deluded nature of our innocence in those times of first love with blissful reminiscence in the line - "wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then". He moves on in the second verse to the reality of young life (likely in the early to mid-20s) as a man struggling to find his feet, as so many of us do at that age - "so far from home", "breaking all the rules...", "find myself searching" and most poignantly "searching for shelter again and again". He was lost, directionless, most likely reflective of his early working career days, being tempted by the vices, where there is so much uncertainty for a lot of us. The third verse reflects the reality for most of us of 'settling down'. Yes, the worries of the "drifter's days are past" him gone, but the settled life (most referring to likely married with kids life) brings new worries - "deadlines and commitments". The song represents insightful life lessons - that while you may feel that all is too hard, each step is part of your journey on the "tapestry", brings a commonality to our daily struggles that we are not alone in striving forward with life as we battle the ever-present "against the wind". |
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