submissions
| Big Star – Thirteen Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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no one really addresses the "Paint it Black" reference. "Paint it Black" is a song about a guy whose girlfriend dies and how that sends him into a deep depression. the line "tell him what we said bout 'Paint it Black'" confounded me for a while, but i think i get it now. i can imagine the two adolescents getting really melodramatic about their love and the boy saying that he'd react the same way if the girl died, and that that's how much they mean to each other. while conveying this to the dad via the song might not be the best choice, it shows how simple and naive they are, and it also reemphasizes that they are as in love with music and rock and roll as they are with each other. so amazing. |
submissions
| The Band – The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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While Helm helped, I've read that this was pretty much all Robertson. He wrote it out and then presented it to Helm, almost to have it proofread. In fact, there was a verse about Lincoln that Helm said was going a little overboard, and he made him remove it. |
submissions
| Steely Dan – Kings Lyrics
| 17 years ago
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This song is definitely a reference to Nixon and Kennedy. Can't Buy a Thrill (the album from which this comes) came out in October 1972, just before the 72 Presidential Election. Though Nixon would go onto win this election in a landslide, his policies were still in question, especially among the Dan and people like them. The references to "good King Richard" as an able leader refer to the fact that he ended American involvement in Vietnam, a conflict that had been enraging the nation for a decade. Nevertheless, the Dan realized that at the same time, he was ignoring problems at home such as poverty and hunger, which is where the line "And though we sung his fame/ We all went hungry just the same" comes from. The speaker is harkening back to the glory days of what was really the last great president, John F Kennedy. Very cleverly written. One of the Dan's best. |
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