| The Moody Blues – Gypsy Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I've always liked this song, from a musical perspective...but these lyrics are pretty depressing! I found Teryt's comments interesting. I had no idea that Justin and Jon are Christians. I was always under the impression, (based on the lyrics to quite a few of their songs), that they're new agers. But anyway, the lyrics in this song, I believe, are vividly describing the experience of someone in hell. Whether it's lucifer, or someone who foolishly followed him. Perhaps, his intent was to describe a bad acid trip...not realizing he had gotten a taste of hell. | |
| The Moody Blues – Doctor Livingstone, I Presume Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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So many people go through life saying "when..." "WHEN I find the right mate..." Or, "when I get out of college and find a good job with a good company..." Or, "when I make a million bucks...THEN I'll be happy and life will be great!" Then, they fail to live, while waiting for those things to come to fruition. And, when they DO accomplish their goals, they find that it only makes them happy for a day or two. Then, they are just as empty and unhappy as they were before. Only now, they're disappointed and disillusioned, as well. To me, this song is saying that, even the most successful among us, even those who find that for which they were searching, or accomplish that which they set out to achieve...are just as empty and unfulfilled on the inside as everyone else. I spent most of my life, as this song says, "looking for someone"...only to be disappointed. I went from one woman to another, one relationship to another...and no one could fill the void. (At least, not for more than a few days or weeks...or hours.) God is the only One Who can give meaning and fulfillment on any permanent basis. |
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| Supertramp – The Logical Song Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Listening to the lyrics of this song...as well as "Bloody Well Right" and Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" makes me feel that maybe public education in America isn't so bad, after all. I mean, it does suck, no question about it. But apparently...it's a chamber of horrors in the UK. Frankly, although this is a very nice song musically, the lyrics kind-of annoy me. Were ANY of us, as kids, REALLY as happy, carefree and gay as the singer of this song claims to have been? And when was the last time anyone was arrested and locked-up for saying something "liberal"? Come on! The 60s are over! Let's take the flowers out of our hair and move on already! |
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| Supertramp – Just Another Nervous Wreck Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I agree with everything Ex Abrupto said about art being a business and what happens to artists who sell out and dumb down for commercial success. But I haven't the first clue how any of that can be inferred from this particular song. This song clearly depicts someone who was ambitiously chasing wealth and success...and somewhere, along the way, lost his drive. I really love the line, "in the mirror she admires a brand new dress." This woman is so self-absorbed, spending money on new clothes, how nice she looks in them, and what-not...and doesn't even notice the man in her life is falling apart. Since this song appears on the album "Breakfast in America," could the protagonist in this song BE America??? A first-person version of "Child of Vision" perhaps? |
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| Supertramp – Child of Vision Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Are we forgetting the title of the album upon which song appears? In case we have...it's Breakfast in AMERICA. This song is talking to America. How obvious does it have to be? | |
| U2 – I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think this song is simply a statement of, I've done it all...I've been to camp meetings, prayer meetings, had preachers lay hands on me, done all the religious rituals in search of filling that empty place in me...and NOTHING WORKED. That hole is still there. Perhaps, when you look at Bono's life, the continuation of that song is...spiritual thrill-seeking isn't the answer. Live your life to make the lives of others better. Sometimes, I wonder if the dude has a serious messiah complex. But, I can't fault him for the good work he's done |
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| Rush – Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is essentially, an Aesop Fable...with music. Those fables always had a moral. The moral of THIS one is: It takes emotion AND intellect to function in the world. Can't have one without the other. Period. As far as the thing with Cygnus...I believe this is where the continuation from part 1 in A Farewell to Kings comes it. In part 1, it left off with Cygnus in the spaceship, "headed for the heart of Cygnus..sailing into mystery." Here, in part 2, he must've died in his spaceship and ended up "a disembodied spirit" on Mt. Olympus, where the gods were at war with one another. He saw the war, and saw the havoc it wreaked upon the earth, and saw what the gods were missing...that it takes BOTH love and reason for the people to survive. |
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| Yes – Siberian Khatru Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Lots of interesting comments, although I have no more of a clue what these lyrics mean NOW than I did before I read them. LOL I would like to take exception to what ColdCat said: "progressive rock tunes largely have no meanings. That is sort of one of the defining rules of progressive rock." That's a crock, dude! Just because YOU don't understand the meaning, does NOT mean that they have no meaning! (Know what I mean?) I'm working on my first prog CD right now. And I'm here to tell you that MY friggin lyrics mean something! So do the lyrics of the music I listen to and consider as influential (Band like Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, and Porcupine Tree.) The lyrics may be obscure and difficult to unravel sometimes (Hence, the reason for websites such as this one.) But they DO have meaning. |
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| Yes – Long Distance Runaround Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Kent State? That's interesting. And I thought this was just about sadness over a relationship that ended. It's one of the few Yes songs where the lyrics actually made sense to me. NOW...I find out what I inferred was wrong. LOL |
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| Rush – Dreamline Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I love the line "learning that we're only immortal...for a limited time." I think that sums up the meaning of this tune very well. As someone just getting started in composing and performing music in his 50s...I understand that "limited time" thing VERY well. | |
| Rush – YYZ Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I'm one of "the 3 fans" who didn't know about the morse code, or the airport thing. Thanks for the info! | |
| Rush – Territories Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This song goes beyond nationalism. It's the whole "us vs them...we rule-you suck'" mentality. The line "or the color of your shirt" refers to sports teams, I think. Fans of opposing teams getting in fights at ball games over what happens in the game. How ridiculous is THAT? People living vicariously through a bunch of overppaid, steroidal prima donnas? Why? Because people have done nothing in their own lives to be proud of...so they leech onto a sports team and try to pretend they deserve some of the credit for the team's success. Not just professional of collegiate level teams. Ever see parents at little league games acting like a freaking kids' game is a matter of life and death? People do that with bands, too. For a perfect example of this idiotic mentality, just look at the first page of comments on Tom Sawyer in this very website. Pathetic! |
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| Rush – Second Nature Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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People in power? Excuse me... "No one is blameless...yet we're all without shame." How do you infer that it's talking only about people in power? Yes, I know...that open letter, in the beginning is addressed primarily to people in power, but it goes on to say NO one is blameless. The theme of this song is similar to Closer to the Heart. It's an expression of a desire for us to work together to make the world better. Don't mean to be the voice of gloom and doom here...but it ain't gonna happen. I can think of ONE time in my lifetime that people got together to make a better world...and it lasted for all of 3 days. (Woodstock) AFTER that...the Manson family happened, the Kent State shootings happened, the leaders of the movement went to jail. Icons of the movement ODed. Altamont happened. The movement was detroyed from within AND from forces without. The problem with humans cooperating to make a better world...human nature fucks it up. It's nice to have a desire and aspirations and write beautiful songs (like Closer to the Heart and Second Nature) to express those aspirations...just don't get too disappointed when it never happenes. I still love this song, though. Geddy never sounded better as a singer, and the music fits in with those great vocals perfectly. |
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| Yngwie Malmsteen – Liar Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I'm thinking this is a former bandmate who plagiarized some of his work. "I shared my art and my mind." And "you found it easier to steal than create." What else could it possibly be? Meaning of the lyrics aside, I'd just like to say...this guy is THE greatest guitarist alive! |
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| Rush – Limelight Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Which is better? "Poor me, I'm a millionaire rock star, and the people and the paparazzi won't leave me alone to spend my millions in peace"? Or is it, "Poor me, I'm a working stiff struggling to get by, just like the rest of you (suckers who are buying my records and concert tickets as fast as they can be made -- despite the fact they are overpriced and you losers can't afford them -- because I manipulate your emotions by pretending to relate to you)"? Tough call. At least, the first choice is honest. Actually, I think, more than whining about being a "poor pock star," I agree with astatusquorxiler's take on the lyrics. It's almost like an apology, "Sorry folks, I don't handle it well. I don't mean to blow off you guys (my fans), but it's just who I am. I'm not much of a people person." I love Rush...but this is probably my least favorite song of theirs. (At least, of the ones that have been done-to-death on the radio.) I really don't get the appeal. They have so much great stuff that never gets any airplay. I do agree that this is a very pop tune-style song. At least, as close to a pop tune as Rush ever gets. |
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| Rush – By-tor And The Snow Dog Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song, hinted at the "new Rush" that was to come. A move away from the British blues rock thing (that was the style of their first album)...to a more progressive direction. Although this song is musically well done, I find it a bit silly. Especially in Geddy's delivery of "By-Tor!" Sounds almost like a comic book thing. That's pretty much how I take this song. I love Rush, they are my favorite band...but it's next-to-impossible for me to take this song seriously at all. | |
| Rush – Jacob's Ladder Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I can't argue with OmegaThesis's take on those lyrics. Especially considering the name of the song is a biblical reference. But, my understanding is, that Peart is an agnostic. Not sure why an agnostic would write a song about the second advent of Christ. Unless he considers the Bible on the same footing with Greek mythology and Ayn Rand's writings, upon which some of his other lyrics are based. And, assuming that is the correct interpretation, what can we infer from it? Get right with God NOW, you miserable sinners, before it's too late? Or perhaps, It's always darkest before the dawn? I like mrbubble's closing comments about a personal war. I think that Peart's lyrics usually do have a personal meaning...regardless of how detached from the individual they appear on the surface. |
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| Rush – Roll The Bones Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Are you guys SURE it's Geddy doing the rapping? Sounds more like Alex to me. Anyway, I disagree that the tune is about atheism. It's just about, getting on with what you want to do in life, without whining about the bad things that have happened, and asking "why?" Everyone has bad things happen to them, and the difference between the winners and the losers is...the winners get up and keep going when they get knocked-down. Asking questions like why things happen and why we're here accomplishes nothing. Action does. |
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| Rush – Tai Shan Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This song is about a spiritual experience. I guess even agnostics can have them. (I think Peart is an agnostic, anyway.) But anyone who has ever had his or her breath taken away by the stars on a dark night, or being in the presence of some natural wonder (like the red rock mountains of Sedona, AZ for example), can relate to the feelings expressed here. And I disagree totally with the "no feeling" comment. This is one of the most heartfelt Rush songs I've ever heard. I said it before, I'll say it again...Hold Your Fire is the best Rush album ever. The guys were at their peak when they did this one. Especially Geddy. His development and maturity as a singer reeally shined on this album. His bass playing was nothing to sneeze at, either. |
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| Rush – Lock And Key Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I find this tune a little puzzling. It almost seems like they are saying that keeping our primal urges to kill under control is a BAD thing. Perhaps it's just a reminder that those impulses are there, and we need to be on the look-out for them surfacing. That seems lame, (especially for Rush), so it's got to be something else. That's why I came to this page, hoping someone had some insight on it. Oh well! Still a great tune. Hold Your Fire is, in my opinion, Rush's greatest album. |
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| Rush – Open Secrets Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is about as close to a love song as anything Rush ever did (since Peart joined the band, anyway). But, it goes beyond the same-old "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" crap we hear in pretty much every song on the radio. It deals with an actual issue that everyone probably faces in their relationships. So, I'll forgive them. LOL I like the line, "the things things we are concealing, will never let us grow." While we all may have secrets about ourselves that we are afraid to reveal to anyone (even our mates), those are the things that keep us, to some degree, isolated from the very people we want to get close to. |
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| Rush – No One At The Bridge Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think the title of this song, coupled with the last verse, is the key to what this song means. All the poetic imagery about ships and crews aside, this is about someone who is at the end of his rope, wants to end it all. He is ready to take that finall jump off the bridge...and there is no one there to care enough to stop him...not God, not any other human being. Overall, this is pretty fucking depressing song. And an expression of Peart's agnosticism. |
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| Rush – A Passage To Bangkok Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I think this tune had a lot to do with the anger the guys had while making this album. Their previous album, Caress of Steel, was a commercial flop. Basically, the whole 2112 album was a big "fuck you" to those who weren't happy with the new progressive direction the band had taken. So, considering their angry state-of-mind at the time, a song that was obviously about getting high makes perfect sense. | |
| Rush – Malignant Narcissism Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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As a bass player and Rush fan(atic), I GOTTA love the bass in this one. It's great! The name of this tune is interesting. I've only heard this expression used once before. It was on a Law & Order Criminal Intent episode. A mother told her psycho criminal son, "You're a malignant narcissist." It's a cool name for this song. It just fits. Most people aren't interested in hearing bass solos. This song pretty much IS a bass solo (albeit with accompaniment). It's like Geddy saying, "I don't care if your fucks want a bass solo or not...I want to play one, so you're GETTING one!" Hence the name of the tune. I saw Rush on their Snakes & Arrows tour...and saw that South Park intro to Tom Sawyer. That was excellent! I've always liked South Park. (KInda burned-out on Tom Sawyer, though.) Nice to know my favorite band likes the same TV shows I do, apparently. LOL |
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| Rush – Marathon Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I too, didn't care for the song much, at first...but it has grown to be one of my favorites. I like the live version on A Show of Hands best. That powerful ending is in full force on that one, whereas it fades out on the studio version, and can easily go unnoticed, I disagree with Number 4. I think Hold Your Fire is their best album...but Power Windows is certainly not too far behind. As far as the meaning of the lyrics goes, (the whole point of this website, remember?), I think it is pretty self-explanatory in this song. There have been a number of flash-in-the-pans in most fields of endeavor. Brilliant people who came along, with great feats...only to vanish as fast as they appeared. They allowed success to go to their heads, thought themselves invincible...and self-destructed. Sadly, not many stick around and keep producing, year after year. Rush practised what they preached in this song. They were in it for the long-haul, and did a lot in their lifetime. |
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| Porcupine Tree – Prodigal Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I disagree with bluuu on the interpretation of the "money and faith" and "capsule and smoke" lines. I think it means just what it says. He tried religion, and found it lacking. He tried drugs, and that didn't fill the void in his life, either. I agree with those who suggested that the part about the friends, is talking about a TV program. How many times have we heard in news stories, of a captured serial killer, (the theme of the CD, remember?), "He was a quiet man, who lived alone"? It's almost a cliche'. They don't have a lot of friendships, as a rule. In the rest of the lyrics, it does appear that he is contemplating suicide. But, since this is not the end of the album, he obviously does talk himself out of it. |
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| Porcupine Tree – Lips of Ashes Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song, to me, seems to be a continuation of Blackest Eyes. In that song, she is still alive, with her make-up running as she cried, knowing what was about to happen to her. Now, she has become one of the "people underneath his bed" and one of the "secrets in his garden shed." And he is now taking her out to use her dead corpse. The dude portrayed in this song/album is one seriously sick fuck. Kinda freaks me out, that I like this album so much. | |
| Yes – Roundabout Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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As with most Yes songs, I have no clue what these lyrics mean, and although I would like to...I'm not losing any sleep over it. I love Yes because their music is amazing...however obscure and incomprehensible to mere mortals their lyrics may be. I would like to address what JumpyJack said early in this thread, about the so-called "self-indulgence" of prog bands such as Yes.,, As a music fan, I don't find myself qualified to judge the intentions of the musicians who make it. I care about how good the music is. Period. And, in the case of Yes...the music is almost always exceptional. If I ever happen to meet the members of Yes, and find them to be pretentious a-holes, I won't hang out with them...but I'll continue to enjoy their music, and hang onto it as a major influence on the music I am making myself. I've never been of the mindset that mediocrity is some kind of badge-of-honor in rock and roll. To me, music is about MUSIC...not image, attitude, tattoos, teenage angst and rebellion, or any of that other crap. To me, music is something that should be played by actual MUSICIANS...not teenage rock star wannabes who may have the fuck-you attitude and trendy hairdo of the week, and lots of tattoos and piercings...but can't play more than 3 chords. But that's just me. I realize that most people prefer simple, 3 chord, 3 minute love songs...preferably with a danceable beat, and a bluesy, trilly little solo that one can air-guitar to. The reason I know that, is because that's pretty much all you ever hear on the radio. (With the occasional breath-of-fresh-air like Roundabout.) I guess that I am one of those weirdos who happens to prefer listening to GOOD music...and that's why I like Yes. |
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| Yes – I've Seen All Good People: Your Move/All Good People Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This is one of the few prog songs that made it to the commercial radio airwaves (and done-to-death on the classic rock stations). And, after hearing it at least a million and one times, AND reading all these posts...I STILL have no clue what it means. But, at least, I found all the theories interesting. Thanks folks! But, as for the chess references, "move on back two squares" does NOT refer, as someone suggested, to castling. In castling, the King DOES move two squares...but sideways, not back. The King is on the back roow, anyway. It CAN'T move back. And "make the white queen move so fast...she hasn't got time to make you a wife." Sounds like the the white queen wants to turn you into her prison bitch, or something. It's been awhile since I've played chess, but all I recall a queen in chess doing is capturing pieces...not raping them. Perhaps the song is about playing chess in prison. (That makes about as much sense as any theory I've heard yet. LOL) Jon Anderson's disclaimer, referred to by tantopat aside, I do believe this song is metaphoric for life, in some way. Why? The opening line of the first verse: "Take a straight and stronger course, to the corner of your life." If this song is really about chess, shouldn't it be, "...to the corner of the BOARD"? Just a thought. |
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| Yes – Miracle of Life Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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"Washed in blood" is a Christian reference. It is a euphemism for being born again (i.e. washed in the blood of Jesus.) If that's the intended meaning, this song appears to be a rejection of Christianity. Or, at least how it is all-too-often practised. (That is, being judgemental of others, rather than being in a state of simple, child-like appreciation of God's wonders, and the miracle of simply being alive.) Or it could mean something else altogether. Who the hell knows? It's Yes, after all! I never know what ANY of their lyrics mean...I just love their music. In my humble opinion, the artistry and complexity of the music, and the virtuoso musicianship of each member of Yes, makes them the standard for all progressive bands...all their drama, personnel changes, and changes in musical style over the years notwithstanding. |
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| The Moody Blues – I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| The subject matter of this song had a lot to do with why the Moodies broke up in the first place. People looked at them as messiahs, or gods. As Gaerem Edge said, "Because we were asking the questions, people were assuming we had the answers. But the truth is, we were just as much in the dark as anyone else." That coupled with them being together constantly, touring for years...they just got burned out. | |
| The Moody Blues – Gemini Dream Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| imaqodoc was correct. This song was, basically, the Moodies celebrating getting back together. At at least that's what they claimed in an interview in the "Legend of a Band" video. | |
| Porcupine Tree – The Sound Of Muzak Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| As has been pointed out already, this song is an obvious jab at the music industry. But, considering that the song is stuck in the middle of a concept album about a serial rapist/killer...underscores the meaning of the song. What the psychopath portrayed in this album does to his victims...the music industry does to THEIR victim (great music, that is). Perhaps the subject of this album got the idea to do what he did from following the music industry's lead? Or perhaps the entire album is metaphoric for the music industry itself, and what it does to music. | |
| Rush – Subdivisions Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Aside from the high school outcast theme, there is an underlying theme that comes in at the end. "Somewhere out of a memory...of lighted streets on quiet nights." In other words, later in life, there is a longing to return to the world one wanted to leave so badly in youth...presumably to raise kids of one's own...who long to escape the boredom of suburbia. The endless cycle of teenagers longing to escape their parents' world...only to return to it later in life when THEY themselves become parents. | |
| Rush – Distant Early Warning Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song is clearly addressed to America. The video for this song confirms it, when it shows the band perfoming, they are facing a desk, with a sign on it that reads "U.S.A." America drives Canadians crazy with the acid rain that comes from our factories, drifts north into Canada, and rains down on them. More to the point, America's military and nuclear arms, make our neighbors to the north nervous. In that video, there is also a kid taking a joyride on a nuclear missile. Whatever meaning can be inferred about America's childish fascination with war and WMD...that ride cannot possibly have a happy ending for the kid riding on it. | |
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Karn Evil 9: Third Impression Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This is my favorite tune by this amazing trio. These lyrics are poetry. Without attempting to do a line-by-line analysis of them, I'm just going to sum it up: The song begins with the narrator facing a great battle...against some evil invader. Possibly alien. The humans, led by their Captain, battle valiently, suffer grave losses...yet emerge triumphant. With all their enemies destroyed, they believe themselves invincible, with no more enemies to stand in their way. But there is...the very machine that they created to be their servants, has become so advanced and powerful...it becomes their master. This song, 35 years later, has proven prophetic. How many of US cannot function without our computers, cell phones, and GPS? | |
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Fanfare for the Common Man Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Actually, big russ, there IS a video clip for this song. They are playing in a olympic stadium and an icy cold day...and there is NO one in the stands. The stadium is completely empty except for the 3 musicians performing. What does it mean? They were playing Fanfare for the Common Man...AND NO ONE HEARD IT. The common man gets no fanfare...at least, none that anyone cares about hearing. | |
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