submissions
| The Decemberists – A Cautionary Song Lyrics
| 14 years ago
|
It's called "A Cautionary Song." My guess is that it's Colin's tongue-in-cheek attempt at making a fictional child eat his vegetables. It's intended as a highly embellished guilt trip, sort of like, "There are starving children in China." Only instead, it's, "Your mother sells her body so you can eat those vegetables."
Certainly not an objectively heavy commentary on rape or whathaveyou. People laughed at it at the show because it's witty, not because they're heartless, insensitive, or disrespectful to women. |
submissions
| Joanna Newsom – Colleen Lyrics
| 15 years ago
|
The Inuit word for Narwhal means "He who can easily curve himself against the sky."
My theory is that Colleen is a narwhal who was turned into a woman. |
submissions
| The Mountain Goats – Love Love Love Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
"Crime & Punishment" is probably my favorite novel of all time. Raskolnikov is a university dropout who stumbles upon the idea that he and larger-than-life historical figures (like Napoleon) are "overmen," people who are remarkable and thus above the moral scrutiny and justice that govern the rest of humanity. He believes that the fruits of his labors will be so completely worth any "sins" he may commit to achieve them that those sins will be pardonable. To prove this theory, Raskolnikov decides to murder his pawnbroker.
The sickness John describes in the song is pivotal to the book. Raskolnikov follows through with the murder, but the guilt and disgust it brings him drive him to confess, thereby undoing him and his theory. Had Raskolnikov murdered the woman for money, he wouldn't have been tortured as he was, as he'd have achieved his goal of robbing the pawnbroker. Similarly, if he'd killed her for fun, he'd have satiated his bloodlust.
Instead, he killed the woman out of love: love for his own idea. |
submissions
| Bright Eyes – N'en Parlons Plus Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
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This is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. Songs like this are about those moments when something is just beyond the point of talking over, and you have to decide whether or not to "take that hand and learn how to hold on..." |
submissions
| The Mountain Goats – No Children Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
I find what classicrock said about Darnielle changing the lyrics from "I hope we both die" to "I hope you both die" at the live show very interesting.
Because I've always thought of the narrator of this song as a suprised and unwilling father-to-be. The title, "No Children," coupled with the line "I hope you both die" (mother and child) confirms this. |
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