submissions

Simon and Garfunkel – The Sound of Silence Lyrics

18 years ago

I haven't read Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave' but now I want to after reading a couple of the above comments. I'd always interpreted the song as being about a lack of communication as well, and the narrator-poet feeling disenchanted with the masses who follow blind faith (bowed and prayed to the neon god they made). But the Holocaust interpretation really does apply as well. I hadn't thought of that before. As for the reference to The Graduate - I am not sure if the song came before the movie or vice versa (I believe that Mrs. Robinson was written for the movie though) but I think the reason this song also plays quite a bit (as do several other Simon and Garfunkel songs) but this song in particular is about isolation. Dustin Hoffman's character feels isolated and disenfranchised with the rest of society, and come to think of it, Mrs. Robinson is also isolated and much like the masses that the narrator refers to.

submissions

Simon and Garfunkel – The Boxer Lyrics

18 years ago

This song might be about the Prodigal Son in the Bible, but I think there are probably a lot of correlations to the narrator, or probably Paul Simon himself, going out on his own as a young man. My favorite part is the following: 'When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy in the company of strangers in the quiet of the railway station running scared.' That, to me, conjures up an image of a young person who moves to the big city (NYC) to embark on his dream. He gets homesick but that's the sacrifice he made to go after what he believed in.

submissions

Patti Smith – Rock & Roll Nigger Lyrics

18 years ago

I see this song as being partly autobiographical, although Patti Smith isn't black. I think she's using the word 'nigger' as someone who is, as she says, 'outside of society,' and something of a rebel ('In my heart I am an American artist') and she does what she wants - 'I was lost in a valley of pleasure... and the cost didn't matter to me, the cost was to be outside of society.' Then she references Jimi Hendrix, Jesus Christ, Grandma and Jackson Pollock (an artist) and how they were all 'niggers,' or outcasts. I d/k what the Moslem reference is about unless she was Moslem. I know during that time in the 70s that Islam became more widespread, particularly among African Americans so maybe she is talking about a black woman. Brilliant song.

submissions

Patti Smith – Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer(de) Lyrics

18 years ago

I don't know for sure exactly what this song is about but here's my interpretation. I'm thinking it's about a guy who murders another guy (a rock star?) who had sex with his sister. There's definitely a connection between this song and Gloria where this rock star/rebel has a romantic liaison with Gloria. One of the parts that confuses me is the line, 'We had such a brainiac-amour' which could be just that they did a lot of drugs together or just were mentally in-tune but it also sounds like a couple who murdered a guy together, based on the lyrics around it. That's the part that throws me.

submissions

Patti Smith – Redondo Beach Lyrics	18 years ago
Patti Smith is popular among the lesbian community but this song is not about a lesbian couple. I have several books on Patti Smith and in one she says this song is about a fight she had with her sister. After the fight she dreamt that her sister died and this is where she got the inspiration for this song.

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