| Soundgarden – Been Away Too Long Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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As with most Soundgarden lyrics, there is a mixture of representative symbolism, (mostly) meaningless wordplay, and clever concepts posed for cleverness's sake. The first verse is more representative: obvious references to Soundgarden's reunion, perhaps of coming back to Seattle, of the journey they've been on. The chorus might deal with the many hats and musical styles Cornell has tried on, and specifically how the world has reacted to all that. I also think there's a lot of just "rock n roll" sounding words that are there to sound cool. The bridge is more interesting. "Kilos through keyholes", "widows through windows" evokes (perhaps?) the dark private lives of a lot of these Seattle musicians, and the widows a few of them (most notably, Kurt Cobain) left behind. Pilots through eyelets might just be fun rhyming nonsense or it could refer to the shrinking and flying sensations one gets on certain mixtures of drugs...I imagine feeling like I'm floating and then feeling like I'm shrinking, small enough that I can float right through an eyelet on my shoe. Tankards, flagons, snifters, and flutes are all, to some extent or another, paraphernelia evocative of late 19th century drug use. |
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| Alice in Chains – Fear The Voices Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Like so many Alice In Chains songs, this one appears to be about their record label. The first verse is about getting signed or renewing a contract, and possibly how there was disagreement about this among the label board. Second verse: "Mr. Gardner" could be a reference to one of several people who were present in the media in the early 1990s and possibly of interest to members of Alice In Chains: Howard Gardner, the psychologist who developed the multiple intelligences theory, or Booth Gardner, the Democratic governor of the state of Washington. I'm not exactly sure why either of these guys would be of particular interest to the members of AIC or why the lyrics would call Mr. Gardner a coward, but who knows. The band members weren't exactly a bunch of scholars. For a whole list of people with the last name Gardner, see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardner_%28surname%29 Putting a number on the television strikes me as something having to do with the sensationalized anti-drug propaganda that was (and still is) fashionable in the media--another topic that seems to have been a favorite of Staley's. Perhaps the number referred to the number of heroin addicts or something like that. "A messed up generation" lends credence to this theory. Bands like Alice In Chains and Nirvana often got blamed for making heroin seem cool. |
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| Soundgarden – Slaves & Bulldozers Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Essentially, I think this song is an attack on cliche anti-capitalist whining. It says "Damn right, I DO deserve what I have, because I earned it! You can sit there shaking your finger at me, but you're just as crooked as the next guy." Line-by-line: "Every word I said is what I mean Every word I said is what I mean Everything I gave is what I need" -In other words, I sacrificed for what I have, I worked hard for it, and I did honest work. "Virgin eyes and dirty looks On what I have and why I took Counting all the hands I shook" -To the people who doubt me, who pretend to be innocent just to try to make me look bad, who try to discount my accomplishments and slander me for getting to where I am... "Now I know why you've been shaking Now I know why you've been shaking" -You've obviously got a dirty little secret... "So bleed your heart out" -A reference to "bleeding-heart liberals," perhaps, but more generally, people with crocodile tears who reject the basic truth that: "There's no more rides for free" -A major flaw in liberal ideology is the idea that there is such thing as a "free lunch," etc... "Bleed your heart out I said what's in it for me" -While you're over there being a sobby liberal, I have no problem being honest about the fact that I'm motivated by self-interest. "Everything I've held is what I've freed Everything I've held is what I've freed Everything I've shown is what I feel" -See first verse. "Buying lies and stealing jokes And laughing every time I choke Biding all the time you took" -You cheat and steal to get to where you are (while I do an honest day's work). "Now I know why you've been taken Now I know why you've been taken" -This line I'm actually not sure about. If I had a better idea of WHERE the person is taken, it would be easier...of course, it could just be that Chris Cornell ran out of ideas and needed a word that rhymed with "shaken." Anyway, it's a great song, and very refreshing to see some rock music that goes against the cliche. |
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| Soundgarden – The Day I Tried to Live Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Since you're all so off-base I feel I have to set it straight. This song is about existentialism. The references are all there, if you know your existentialist literature. Existentialism at its core is about getting off your ass and living life to the fullest because there's no god and no heaven and nobody else can live your life for you and once your life is over that's it. A lot of the people who have commented seem to have very negative views toward capitalism. That's idiotic, of course: Chris Cornell is a capitalist! He makes millions of dollars off of his talents, and by buying his albums and being fans of his music you are all capitalists as well. The line "stole a thousand beggar's change and gave it to the rich" is NOT about capitalism, because capitalism (1) redistributes wealth more evenly than any other economic system and (2) is the opposite of theft, since under capitalism all exchanges are voluntary. Socialism and communism are systems which take money by force and place it into the pockets of the rich and powerful. More than anything, this song is about accepting the fact that you are a member of the animal kingdom, and in doing so, accepting both the flaws and wonders of being human. |
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