| Five Man Electrical Band – Signs Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The song's not really about signs, as such, the signs just happen to be the method of which it's being carried. Specifically, it's more focused on restrictions, rules, subdividing, and essentially, a culture based upon splitting people apart, with an endless emphasis on whot yeu CAN'T do. How many signs have positive messages? Other than ones held at rallies or marches, generally few, if any. Almost all signs are things which warn, things which note restrictions, or things which block access. Is it a 'hippie' thing to be frustrated with such? To some degree, yes. On the other hand, should we really be so complacent with a culture which is founded on restrictions and subdividing groups apart? That's pretty much the point that's trying to be made; the 'signs' are just a focal point to vent that frustration at. |
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| The Arrogant Worms – The Last Saskatchewan Pirate Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The best part about this song, that has to be kept in mind... is that Saskatchewan is a land-locked province. It doesn't touch any oceans at all. This is a large part of why it's so amusing. Instead of being a pirate on the high seas... he's a pirate going down a river, in the middle of an agricultural area, so is essentially pirating prairie farmers, instead of actual boats. It's absurd, but just about right. |
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| Chiasm – Isolated Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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There's a lot of minor nuances to this, surprisingly. Overall, it's a self imposed exile, but the way the metaphors are used, it sounds moreso like they aren't actually locked away, literally, but moreso just 'wearing a mask' of sorts, hiding their true feelings and thoughts from others. I'll never crawl again I'll never fall again Until I'm free (Crawl before yeu walk; can't fall down if yeu just lay prone and give up for the time being. Can't be knocked down, hurt or whotever, if yeu don't get up after getting knocked down) Here I stand in this room Caged and trapped inside Seems I'm damned to live a lie (Doesn't seem actually literal; the "room" seems more to imply within her own mind. May be speaking with people, and interacting externally, but it's all "a lie", the true self being locked within her mind and not let free) And I stare at light that makes me blind Internally there's nothing left for me to be (The light probably represents the 'outside' of the room, being reality in this case. Seeing it, she basically just stares longingly, wanting to be part of it, but unable to do so. Stuck in the 'room', her own mind, she's led to the conclusion she can't be herself, nor whot others want her to be, so just kind of shuts herself in) The monsters make me hide Perhaps I'll eat myself alive Internally what is there left for me to be (The monsters likely being fears, other people, judgmentalness, among other things. "eating myself alive", turning in on herself mentally, attacking her own thoughts with self destructive beliefs. And eventually questioning whot "can" she be, if she can't be herself, or whot others want her to be) I can't care for what's left me behind (She's "left out" from society, which has moved on without her, and she just doesn't care about it. On the other hand, she feels crap that she's alone, in a self imposed prison of her mind and emotions. She could leave the room at any time... in theory, but it's a lot harder to leave a prison of yeur own making, as yeu tend to bring it with yeu whereever yeu go) Most likely, she probably is isolated physically to some degree, but it's unlikely she's actually physically stuck in a room she can't escape or anything, and it's all a metaphor for her own mind. |
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| Assemblage 23 – Let me be your armor Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I've always thought of this as "The stalker song". It pretty clearly shows the thought process that goes on behind a stalker, or overprotective significant other, be it a lover, a parent, or whotever. It starts off wanting to help, but eventually goes down the road of being so scared that they may be hurt, so terrified that something bad may happen, and absolutely certain that only they know whot's best, that only they truly understand, and only they can save the target of their affections from the horrors of the real world. It's... sad, yet happens. And the music is so catchy... |
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| Sabaton – 40:1 Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The actual, official ratio for the battle in question, was closer to 66:1, not 40:1. They really were screwed from the start, and as was stated in the song, "A war unknown to the world No warning they entered that land". We think now about WW2 and how it was a huge deal that everyone knew about it... except, at the very start, the first few attacks, either no one knew, or thought it was "someone else's problem". Despite it being such a one sided battle though, they really did give it their all though. Was this true bravery, or simple desperation in the knowledge that it would essentially mean their extermination and all that they knew and cherished would be gone? One could argue, they are one and the same anyways. Point still stands though, a small group fought against odds which would have made many people flee in terror or just give up, and while it was a foregone conclusion they weren't going to win... they did make a much larger dent in the enemy forces than they had any right to with being that badly outnumbered. This plays out in history, from time to time, such as the battle which the movie and comic "300" is based on, or the war of 1812, among other examples. Sometimes, it's worth standing in the face of the impossible tide and taking it anyway. Sometimes, you even win. Unfortunately for the Polish, in this case, they didn't. It's still a fitting tribute to those who gave up their lives for whot they believed in and cherished. |
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| Mashmakhan – As The Years Go By Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Not really intended to do so, probably, the song shows just how weird the english language can be at times. So many words have multiple meanings, can be taken out of context, or mean practically anything yeu want them to. In this case, "love", despite being considered a "universal concept"... well, let's face it, how do yeu DEFINE love? This one goes through a large number of examples of how it can mean so many different things in different ways. This can cause miscommunication, confusion, or have one person saying one thing, and another agreeing to something completely different. The 'actual' point of the song, is found in the line "Now you're asking me if I love you", and he's trying to explain that it's too broad a statement, and he's trying to narrow it down and explain exactly how he feels, by showing the specific ways it could mean almost anything, but how he specifically wants it to be understood as well. |
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| Pet Shop Boys – It's A Sin Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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While originally implied to be homosexuality, it can be just as easily broadened further, due to the vague open ended lyrics, to include pretty much anything in which the person "sinned", but in that the "sin" in question is referring not to an actual "sin", so much as just not conforming to social expectations at the time. Anything which is taboo, goes against cultural social norms, and so on, would fit just as snugly into the "sin" that's phrased here. |
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| Rush – Prime Mover Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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There's a lot of ways to interpret these kinds of open ended metaphorical lyrics, as is normal for Rush. An example being: From the point of conception To the moment of Truth At the point of surrender To the burden of proof For some, this can be seen as children. For others, it may be a generic statement following the reasoning of From the point of conception (the first spark of an idea) To the moment of Truth (when it's tested to see if it'll work or not) At the point of surrender (to give in when it doesn't work, or possibly related to another rush song, Resist, which states "you can surrender without a prayer, but never really pray, pray without surrender" Given Neil's normal method of wordplay, it's probably the latter more than the former) To the burden of proof (to steal a quote from wikipedia of all places, "The philosophic burden of proof is the obligation on a party in an epistemic dispute to provide sufficient warrant for their position." seems most accurate to Neil's normal lyrical use. Just because yeu've tested the beta / prototype, doesn't mean yeu're done proving your position. If it breaks and doesn't work, then yeu need, also, to justify why yeu tried in the first place often times) The song covers so many things, but all seem to relate to making one's way in life, and the choices along the way. The point of the journey is not to arrive (the journey itself IS the point; "journey's end is an endless crime" ) From a point on the compass To magnetic north The point of the needle moving back and forth (Showing the difference between where yeu are and where yeu want to be, or where yeu're going) Alternating currents force a show of hands Rational responses force a change of plans ("Show of hands" implying the idea of poker or other game, but probably poker, to show yeur cards, whot yeu really have. Both parts of this stating that yeu may be forced to "play yeur cards early" based on the situation, or to be forced to admit that yeu really didn't have such a good idea or plan when someone confronts yeu directly with evidence to the contrary. The point here, is that yeur life has to be fluid, and decisions are not set in stone, one must always prepare for the unexpected, and change as needed when the situation warrents) I set the wheels in motion turn up all the machines activate the programs and run behind the scene I set the clouds in motion turn up light and sound activate the window and watch the world go 'round -- This entire section feels like it's one large metaphor drawn out, designed to showcase the idea of one looking at one's own life as an outsider looking in. Yeu can plan everything out, meticulously decide how things should go, and prepare all yeu want, but in the end, all yeu can do is let it happen and see if it actually works the way yeu expected or not. Literally, "anything can happen", including things which shouldn't be possible. And why should it be any other way? "Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? After all, fiction has to stick to possibilities." A very deep song, and I've probably only just touched the surface, and there's some parts I still don't fully understand yet. I've a feeling though, that the more one lives their life, the more they'll recognize how true this all is. |
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| Rush – Cold Fire Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Essentially breaks down the concept of "unconditional love" or "I'll love yeu forever" type dealies, as well as challenging traditional values. Covers everything from stating that "unconditional" is a misnomer, and that there are in fact SOME conditions. Situations such as abuse, disappointment, or a multitude of issues can cause people to either break up, cheat on one another, or whotever. Everyone has a breaking point, and though these can be extended artificially through cultural taboo, religion, or personal values, they still exist and going past that point can end a relationship. Next, it also covers some ideas such as traditional roles (husband/wife in stereotypical 'man is dominant' ideal, marriage, monogamy, etc implied), but also states that although one may 'agree' to these supposed rules, it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be followed to the letter in practice. The woman in the song, clearly is not a strict 'traditional' woman in that she is stating conditions, that she's willing to break things off if he doesn't continue to earn her love long term, and so on. The mentioning of "this is not a love song, this isn't fantasy land" shows that it's being thought of in a more realistic sense, rather than a purely emotional ideal, which 'love' is typical considered as. In fact, the whole song, including the title "Cold Fire", can be taken as a rationalization and intellectual conversation in regards to love in general. Cold Fire could very well imply that the "cold" aspect, is the cold, uncaring reasoning, with "fire" being the heat of passion and love. The pattern of moonlight on the bedroom floor (night being cold, bedroom likely implying lovemaking as passionate and heated) The flame at the heart of a pawnbroker's diamond (the cold likely relating to 'cold cash', as Rush has a habit of making subtle wordplay like this, where that cold monetary view of things being an expression of love despite that it's a material possession) The look in your eyes as you head for the door (could mean that she's just leaving in the morning after the conversation, but considering the rest of the song and the progression leading up to such, ie the engagement ring just before this bit, it likely represents her leaving the relationship anyway, and a mixture of thought and emotion behind such) Love can turn to a long, cold burn (probably directly pointing to the concept of an intense fire is generally short lived and burns out fast, but a cooler one lasts much longer. Passion tempered with reason, emotion watched over by discussion and communication simply works better long term) As per usual, Rush loves their word play, and thought provoking lyrics. |
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| Sky – Some Kinda Wonderful Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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One could claim that the imagery is metaphorical, but a few too many of the lines don't make much sense that way. More accurately, it seems likely that he's fallen in love with either a demon, or perhaps 'the devil' in female guise, which has been used in a number of books, songs and so on over the years already. This leads us to two main possibilities: A - He really doesn't care that he sold her his soul to go out with her B - He was lured into it Regardless of that, however, he does seem to enjoy spending time with her anyways, and does not appear to regret the decision, nor mind the odd looks. He does, however, clearly seem to notice something's wrong, however, with notation of the "let me hold your soul", and the fact that he mentions he does know the horns and eyes aren't exactly normal, but whether he recognizes that these mean she's demonic or not is not fully clarified. Either way, he doesn't seem to care. More interesting than that, is trying to see how many possible references to 'evil' or 'demons' there may be in the song, some of which are a stretch, but given the context, it becomes difficult to tell if they are intentional or not. - I came upon my crossroads (Meeting a demon at a crossroads for a wish is an old myth) - Eyeball bay (sounds like it must mean something but I can't figure out what; may just be related to being creepy) - We ate fish and we listened to some old time rock'n roll (Fish is listed as not edible in Leviticus in the bible; rock'n roll was long considered "satan's music" until heavier music replaced that) - "you can call me baby if you'll let me hold your soul" (various myths about demons bargaining for someone's soul as the price for a favour or wish) - She's some kinda big shot (may be in reference to being 'satan' but it's kind of vague) - She makes a mean steak (could be a reference to cooking with fire ie hell, or cows being sacred in some religions, hard to say) - Forget it snowflake she is mine (possibly a play on the "snowflake's chance in hell") - Highball Way (probably in reference to living remarkably well off, due to a 'deal with the devil') - I know the eyes are freaky (many myths of possession or demons, or other mythological creatures being able to be known as such by seeing their eyes, either from glowing, being an odd colour, appearing like an animal's, or a variety of other things) - horns are there to stay (more obvious reference to most indications of demons, or at least satan, having horns. It's kind of a give away 'evil' trait) - There could be more I haven't even seen :O Hard to say how much of that is intentional, or just supposition. So the real question is, is he dating a succubus or something that only puts up with him for his soul (or money if we're assuming metaphorical?), or is it suggesting that she can care for someone despite being seen as "evil" (which could be taken as literal or figurative)? Regardless, awesome bouncy happy song, which is so weird with the lyrics XD |
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| Rush – Resist Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Very powerful song, with strong meaning behind it. The obvious quote that's best though from it... "You can surrender without a prayer But never really pray, pray without surrender You can fight, fight without ever winning But never ever win, win without a fight " Noticed part of that was cut off in the presented lyrics but whotever. Point is something which's been stated in several of Rush's songs before. The first half basically stating that yeu can give up when there's no hope, or yeu can make yeur own hope, prayer being a common method of doing so. To truly find the inner strength needed for that hope though requires humility, that or something reaaaaally nasty to happen. Either way, yeu can't have hope without earning it in one way or another. Which leads into the second part... "You don't get something for nothing; you can't have freedom for free" yeu don't win without putting in effort; a fight doesn't neccesarily mean COMBAT, but it does mean yeu are going to have to struggle to make it, whotever it may be. Be it a job, a task, a war, or love, wherever it is yeu go, anything worth having is worth fighting for. And yeu can't just expect to have it all handed to yeu on a silver platter (personally I prefer platinum, silver's too cheap for my tastes ^.~ ), it has to be earned. The remainder of the song is basically just stating that there's alot of things that tug and pull at us, temptations abound, our vices, our desires, things we want and can't have, things we shouldn't want but know we do anyway. Yeu can train yeurself to block some of these things out, others, by human nature, are not feasably possible. If yeu see an atrocity occur before yeu, can yeu stand by and watch it happen? Some can, but we shouldn't. Can yeu compromise on yeur hopes and dreams, willing to settle for less if it's less trouble? Once again, yeu CAN, but really, SHOULD yeu? Some of these things can be suffered by some individuals, others can't neccesarily cope with the same things. Stating that they can 'resist anything but temptation' implies a human weakness, yet "I can learn to close my eyes to anything but injustice" shows great strength as well. We're a mix of strengths and weaknesses, often tied togeather inextricably. One's strength is another's weakness. To rely on others can be yeur greatest strength, and it can be yeur greatest weakness, as is often shown in movies and such, though... those tend to be weighted in certain ways to the social norm at the time. Different cultures have different values on them as well, which people have difficulties grasping since the concept of 'good' and 'evil' can be so forgien at times when hidden behind different masks. But we are the sum of our parts; we have our flaws and our strengths, make of them as yeu will. Try to cover yeur flaws, or try to counterbalance them with enhancing yeur strengths, everyone has their own individual way to face their own self. And as far as I'm concerned, this song shows a single perspective, and it doesn't claim it's right or wrong, but it does state that, in the end, yeu are left with having to have faith, hope, and be willing to fight for whot yeu want, regardless of yeur personal character. |
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| Mike Oldfield – Heaven's Open Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Some call it fate, or destiny, there's a flood of descriptions in a multitude of media and cultures, but almost all have referance to whot this song refers to: That one moment, when everything falls into place. The world opens up before yeu, and it's obvious whot needs to be done, whotever it may be. The pinnacle of one's life, whot they were born to do. No more confusion or questions, it all suddenly makes sense. The song confused me for ages, especially the "zero hour" part, and the "Heaven's open" sections, but I think I've got it now. Zero hour being almost like a countdown; 5 4 3 2 1 0; when yeu finally hit 0, it's when everything happens. Be it blast off, literal or figurative as the case may be, or the moment of truth of whether yeu make it or break it. Heaven's open being less about heaven in the literal sense, but more figuratively; the concept of perfection, be it beauty or knowledge, it's the final goal to strive for from yeur entire life. Many people spend their whole lives chasing the keys to heaven's gate, to earn a place in paradise, others seek personal accomplishments, a name in the history books, so many things, but it's all the same thing in the end in a figurative sense - the final goal. When yeu attain it, yeu can die happy. It's a powerful song however yeu want to take it, but considering the lyrics of most of his songs, and the way it's being used here, I doubt it's actually a religious song despite the normal association with heaven and such. |
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| Mike Oldfield – Magic Touch Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Love the song and the message, shame my mother hated it for the same reason (psychotic level christian... religion's healthy... to a point). Basic point being that the feeling of true love's a deeply touching thing, that can make it feel like nothing can possibly go wrong when togeather; as long as we're togeather, nothing can break our joy type dealie. Considering the healing power of love, for example a loved one sitting near one in a coma helping them make it through safely, or other cases similar, one really could state it's almost a magical connection in some ways. Of course, one could also make the argument that he's trying to state that the concept of religion and 'god' is nothing more than the search to be loved unconditionally. That or it's about god loving yeu. Hard to say really, so many ways to take such vagueities. Still a good song regardless! ^^ |
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| Mike Oldfield – Moonlight Shadow Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Quick warning: Anyone who likes this song, DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO. Seriously, this goes for pretty much all his stuff. Musical genious, especially on instrumentals, but there should be the threat of breaking his fingers or something if he tries to make any more of his own music videos. That being said, I've heard about a half dozen versions of this song from various artists, not even sure if he was the first or not. Think his was the best version of it however, despite that Missing Heart's cover was pretty good too, but think I prefer this one over the other. Love his instrumentals but it's a shame there's so many of them, the whole 'lyrics' listing is empty for most of his stuff due to it XD |
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| Mike Oldfield – Five Miles Out Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I've seen alot of explainations for the lyrics to this one, there's roumers it was something that'd actually happened to him but I'm not sure myself. Have to admit though in general, it's seriously one of the most bizzare songs ever written, with over a half dozen different distinctive vocal sections with seperate voices, and some rather odd lyrics. Only song I can think of really where the phraze "And the evil eye of the hurricane's Coming in now for the kill." actually can make sense. Being that he's stalling and has no engine going, so the heavy winds are the only thing keeping him in the air at that point, hit the eye of the storm and it goes calm, and he drops like a rock. Depends on the plane model of course, some can glide for great distances, but doesn't sound like it in this case. |
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| Chris De Burgh – A Spaceman Came Travelling Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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First off, it never mentions a light year; it's "thousand years" not "light years". Misheard lyrics 4tw. As for 'two thousand years' being a prediction well... predictions don't generally come true. Especially not ones with a timer attached, unless they're self-fulfilling prophecies. Regardless, the idea isn't that "god" himself is an alien, but that the ANGEL that visted was. This's been explored many times before, since supposedly angels were made before humans, had a little war in their home, that kind of stuff. Now, since the universe supposedly wasn't even made until AFTER this war, that seems kind of odd; one would think they lived 'somewhere' right? Soooo an easy enough explaination is that it's just a misinterpretation and that it wasn't the universe that was created after the angels' war, but rather earth itself, which would mean that angels were just an alien race as the 'first attempt that went bad'. To be honest it makes more sense than the more literal translation that's generally accepted. Also, just in referance to redcoat, the big bang's not really all that disputed; there's more than enough evidence to pretty much say that's pretty likely where things started... the question then becomes, how did it start? If it was all the matter and energy in the universe existing compacted incredably tightly, even more dense than a black hole, then WHY did it just randomly explode? One could claim that the big bang was the equivilent to god dumping out a box of lego parts onto the ground to make stuff with, and that the big bang itself was divine in nature, rather than a natural occurance. Of course that doesn't neccesarily mean it's true either, though there's only a handful of theories which even make the most vague of sense in explaining how it could even happen. Even the whole m-branes don't make total sense as it still relies on a previously infinite amount of time wherein nothing happened at all before the big bang. So was the angel an alien? Was the big bang caused by god? Or is it all just a myth like everything else people used to believe and in a few thousand years we'll just look back on this in schools as foolishness? Guess we all find out eventually, shame by that point yeu're dead and it's not very useful information anymore XD Anyways, nice song, the angel's singing lines are very nicely done, haunting and etherial, quite beautiful in their own way. Shame the lyrics only briefly touch on the concepts given, rather than exploring them more fully. But that's why it's a song and not an essay I suppose, any thought provocation at all is better than whot most artists can claim, so even if it's a bit blunt, it works well enough. |
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| Chris De Burgh – Spanish Train Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Kind of obvious that it's a simple story about 'good' and 'evil', though there are a few interesting twists to go with it. For starters, the quote "evil shall always triumph because good is dumb" comes to mind, in reference to how the devil cheats in this to win. There's also the implication that 'God' isn't truly omniscient after all, since he didn't see the cheat happen. One friend of mine I made listen to the song hated it since it creeped her out to think of the concept of one's soul, which yeu spend yeur entire life prep'ing for the afterlife, is lost on a bet of which yeu had no control over. Yeu can even take it a bit farther, and point out that it's basically a description of gambling in general, not just on the grand cosmic scale; never bet anything yeu're not willing to loose. And of course the rules of poker: 1 don't cheat, 2 if yeu cheat, don't get caught, 3 if yeu get caught, shoot first. Chris Deburgh's songs often have an influence from chistianity, and usually not in quite the way one'd expect, such as 'a spaceman came travelling' covering the concept of the angel heralding the birth of christ actually being an alien and the star was his ship. This one's not much different, a take on how 'maybe things aren't quite as we believe'. For some it'll make them think about things, for others, they'll get pissy and hate the song. Regardless, it's catchy, has an amusing story, and love the vocal work, just so much power and emotion in the words. Some will hate it, some will find it trite, and others can just enjoy it and examine the message. Being "good" doesn't always guarantee a win, people wouldn't cheat, lie, steal and so on if it wasn't profitable. It's a risk same as anything else; to cheat in gambling is as much of a risk as the gambling is; chance for higher rewards, chance for loosing more than yeu can afford. Is it worth it? One can argue that sometimes it might be, but it can just as easily take a turn far for the worse, as theft and cheating in many cases in the past, and even in some locations in the present, hold the death penalty, or other horrible punishments. Take yeur choice on if it's worth the risk, but always keep in mind that yeu have to be prepared to accept the consequences of the loss when gambling in any shape or form. |
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| Rush – You Bet Your Life Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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artistofthecentury has a good start but could've taken it a bit farther. Part of it's stating that yes, if yeu play the odds, be prepared for the odds to beat yeu, but as they also stated, the monotone chanting of the 'safe' ones, the non-risktakers, says just the same... the life not lived isn't worth examining. Being safe in a secured belief from the start can cover many walks of life, and at the same time, it can also cover each of the risk takers as well. Yeu have the option to risk it all, to go for broke, maybe yeu'll win it all too. And maybe... yeu won't. Understand the risks yeu take; a random falling piece of debris is all it takes to turn a hero who rescues someone from a fire, into a mere statistic, where they are listed as "the fire killed 3" instead of just 2. As we start life, our tasks our small, our rewards in kind, but it all leads to something larger. The choices we make, even early on in life, are truly betting with our lives. We have a hand in determining our own fate to a degree. Fate can be the roll of the dice, but yeu choose which cases to roll them, yeu don't have to take every risk yeu see. Keep in mind though... each time yeu take a chance, the law of averages creeps closer. If yeu bet yeur life, and win, the next time the chance of loosing is greater than before. "Luck can only last a lifetime if you die young" ~ Despair.com and a truthful fitting quote for this song it is. |
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| Rush – The Big Wheel Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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O.o;; Noone posted on the big wheel!? *Gasp* Always loved religious debates, so interesting... and this song works great with it to be honest. Only other song I can think of that goes into such depth on religion would be God Thinks by Voltaire. There is a mixture of both religion and love seeking though, one could argue it's looking to be loved by a higher power, i.e. God, or one could go with the reverse, that love itself is a form of religion and faith, one's lover being their angel. As such I'll cover both points of view: Love: As a love song, they start off as a child, just starting to look into the concept of love but not really understanding it, not able to play to a serious relationship yet. They decide to skip ahead of that and go for the real deal from the start, the whole "yeu'll get love when yeu're older" and after dating many times over just isn't worth it, nor are one night stands, or arranged marriages. Time goes quickly, but drags on so slowly as well; spend all the time looking for someone to truly care deep down, more than just the outer shell. As time passes, things go wrong in their life, they could've been rich, could've been famous, could've had a wonderful wife, but it all falls apart as it does to so many. The job doesn't turn out, the fame doesn't show, the love doesn't last. Still young, no reason to dwell on it, they get back up on their feet and go at it again, insistant to get it right this time. The wheel is circular though, as hard as yeu push it, yeu just end up going in circles and wind up back where yeu started. But at the same time, it means yeu have multiple chances to get it right as well; yeu learn from experience, in the end, yeu might just get it right, even if things have never worked out from the start before. Just have to keep trying until the dice land right. Religion: Starting out early in life, we're given religious views from birth quite often. A destiny to fulfill, a god, or gods, to worship, we can't truly grasp it at the time, even as adults the concept of even such a simple concept as "infinity" is beyond mortal comprehension, so to a child, did yeu ever TRULY understand religion back then? Most people can't even come close even when they do practice a faith, so really, this isn't unexpected. So the singer admits they have no clue whot to do, they don't understand, they can't comprehend a religion given to them from the start, they yearn for more, for something to believe in that isn't just hand fed to them. Too many people start off life as whichever religion, and never change, insistant that they know it all from the beginning. How can they all be right? Fact is, yeu have to give up on the idea that any organization can have all the answers. They can't. Yeu have to go out into the world and learn things for yeurself, seek yeur own god, in whichever form and shape they take. When yeu're given the option of heaven or hell, yeu can't just assumme yeu had it right from the start because yeu were born into it, the price of failure is too high, yeu have to know for certain. So yeu have to buy time while yeu do yeur research; yeu can't accept waiting for heaven, better to go for it now, try out things yeu shouldn't, perhaps carnal interests, perhaps drugs, cults, etc, anything that promises an easy out, be it in a bottle or in a lover's embrace. They get stuck knocked down, they could've had it all but things just didn't go that way. Is it their lack of faith? Perhaps, or perhaps their answer requires them to endure the trials they go through. To find the face of god is not an easy task, and many hardships will have to be faced along the way, regardless of which religion yeu belong to. Yeu try to make it on yeur own, give up on everything taught from the start and start over anew, a genesis of yeur own, hoping to get it right, that yeu'll finally reach heaven for real and not a passing bliss which doesn't last. Depends on picking the right religion this time, whether yeu get it right or wrong determines yeur fate. But really, does it truly matter? All the spokes of the wheel lead to the center, does it matter which one yeu land upon? When the end is near, and yeu have to answer for whot yeu've done, yeu can only pray yeu made the right choices, and the truth is that the answer may not be a single option... trying to strive for the right answer, and searching with an honest heart to get it right can be worth far more than just blindly accepting whotever yeu were given from the start. Maybe it was right, and yeu screwed up, but yeu tried, had yeu just accepted the 'right' answer for the 'wrong' reason, then really, were yeu deserving of the reward just because yeu lucked out from birth? Any god worth worshiping would prefer someone who made a mistake, and converted to another religion by TRYING to find the right answer, maybe they screwed up and picked the wrong one, but they TRIED to find the truth. And I honestly believe that those who just accept whot they're given from birth and never question that it may be wrong, will get nowhere. When the final judgement begins, it's not whether yeu were right or wrong, it's whether yeu tried or not. Maybe yeu chose the odd number, and maybe it was the wrong one, but yeu can still win regardless of that fact. When yeu're going around in circles in life anyway, it doesn't matter where yeu started, yeu'll always end up in the same place regardless. It's the journey around the wheel that matters more than the point yeu started at. |
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| Rush – Show Don't Tell Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Going to do a step by step breakdown. One of those songs that just deserves it, and really, someone has to make up for there being only 3 comments on this! "How many times do you hear it? It goes on all day long Everyone knows everything And no one's ever wrong Until later" True enough; people have a hard time admitting fault in general, or saying "I don't know", or just asking a simple question. The culture in general has become one of "accept no blame", we'd rather be stupid than appear stupid >.< One could even stretch this bit out to encompass a bit more as well, to things like bad parenting, or other cases of neglect, where people blame everything imaginable other than themselves. The sun's in my eyes, crappy team, violent video games, FFS take responsibility for yeur actions or lack thereof for once! Of course... in the end, the truth catches up with yeu; yeu screwed up, deal with it. "Who can you believe? It's hard to play it safe But apart from a few good friends We don't take anything on faith Until later" Trust noone. General theme of this section really, yeu generally don't believe 'everything' yeu're told, or take everything at face value. I swear, this's the reason kids are told about santa claus... so when they grow up they know better. Even so, we often will confide in a select few we can generally trust, people that if they tell yeu something, yeu know they wouldn't lie to yeu. Which can be a really big problem when they do but that's not mentioned here. Thing is though, as we age, we do become a bit more trusting in most cases, except for the rare few who just turn into well... grumpy old men XD "SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME You've figured out the score SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME I've heard it all before SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME I don't care what you say SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME" So yeu think yeu know it all like everyone else huh? Yeu better have proof to show, because I won't believe empty promises just because yeu said so. Such is sadly the way of things though, we get so used to being mislead, tricked, cheated, and lied to, that we often refuse to believe in anything after a point. And sometimes it comes back to bite us in the ass, a la boy who cried wolf style. Though that's not in that line either but still, the point is the lead up to it... unless yeu can show proof, I don't care about whot yeu have to say. Words are meaningless without action to back them up. "You can twist perceptions Reality won't budge You can raise objections I will be the judge And the jury" *and executioner. Yeu know it's implied, as much as I do. The one thing yeu can't kill is the truth. Or well, yeu can, but it'll always come back to haunt yeu. (B5 quote, had to use it ^^ ). In any case, the point here is that people DO do just this; statistics are especially guilty of it... if someone's quoting statistics, generally they have no clue whot they're talking about or they do and are trying to lead yeu astray with misleading information. Fact is though, we do in fact do the whole judge, jury and executioner thing all the time. When dealing with people on an individual basis, we aren't given fair trial. Often we're not even given trial at all. Sometimes it's guilty right from the start. Of course, this is something which was created on a matter of neccesity and convenience; if we carefully studied and evaluated every single claim made in a day, we'd never get anything done and would die of starvation since we would be too busy double checking if it really was butter or margarine. So such things have to be done, but it can lead to problems regardless. "I'll give it due reflection Watching from the fence Give the jury direction Based on the evidence I, the jury" As stated, we already do play both judge and jury, but an interesting thing to note here... is that the jury doesn't always come to the verdict the judge wants them to... in this case, the judge thinks carefully, weighing the options, and providing the information needed to grasp the situation, however the jury are just "normal" people, or in this case, one's gut instincts and subconcious; yeu can weigh a decision all yeu want, but it can still be made based on intuition, emotion and other subjective means rather than the preferred objective ones that the judge would rather use. Was this the intent of this part of the verse? Hard to tell really, but it does raise the question, that when yeu're playing judge and jury, which part of the mind is judge, and which is jury? "SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME Hey - order in the court SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME Let's try to keep it short SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME Enough of your demands SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME Witness take the stand SHOW ME DON'T TELL ME blahblahblah Let's see exhibit A " Despite the attempt to make sense of things logically, things still fall out of hand too quickly. Sure yeu'd like to make things short and sweet, present evidence and go "well this's obvious enough" but it never really goes that way in practice does it? The person telling yeu their side of the argument can often be very aggressive, using sheer force of personality to try to force a matter, demanding that they're right, raising their voice or offering threats if they have to. In the end though, the evidence must stand trial, not their demands. The song in general is mostly focusing on the blunt point of refusing to take things on face value, and insisting to see proof first, but to be honest, I'd have liked to've seen it go a bit more in depth on some of the consequences of such, but then again, then it'd wind up taking forever and we'd have another hemispheres album XD |
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| Jonathan Coulton – Skullcrusher Mountain Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Best love song ever. Really. How many movies, books, and various other media forms of stories does the villian try to 'get the girl'? A little glimpse into the 'other' side of how things are works nicely here. Yeu never get to see from the villian's point of view, and how they pretty much think they're the only sane one. Noone really thinks they're evil, everyone justifies their actions somehow. Thinks they're in the right. Mad scientists are no different; just because they want to wipe out most of the world's population doesn't mean that the world didn't deserve it! Though personally I have an aversion to monkies, so he should've just used the wolves that were on the mountain anyway. Probably more economical than importing monkies anyway. And how come I can never seem to find a BF that's a mad scientist? Really, I could totally jump in on that, all those retarded damsels are just getting in the way or flailing about wildly, if they had've just gone along with the idea, they'd probably have foiled the hero's plans, and achieved world domination. Instead, whot do they get? They get kidnapped over and over again in the sequels, or KILLED. Yeah, great reward. I'd much rather be the empress of the universe than bad-guy-bait. |
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| Trooper – Raise a Little Hell Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The meaning on this is pretty obvious as has been stated, though there is a bit past the basic interpretation as well, which's implied in the "raise a little hell" line, as well as the entire "Nobody's going to help you You just got to stand up alone And dig in your heels and see how it feels To raise a little hell of your own" line. It's not "just" about standing up for whot yeu believe in, and not just about 'doing something about it rather than crying over it', but also it implies that there's times yeu're going to have to do more than just complain, but actually go far past the line and grab people's attention in drastic ways. It's an unfortunate message that shouldn't be required, but it's true... as much as we'd LIKE for some of the most obvious things to be... well... OBVIOUS, people can be stupid, especially in large groups. Mob mentalities are ridiculous, as can near religious zeal on topics that people are INSISTANT on regardless of how much information there is to the contrary. Throwing endless amounts of facts and proof at them won't convince them they're wrong; they've already made up their mind. The only way to break that is to do something so drastic it stands out and leaves them in a state of shock long enough to get the message through their thick skulls. This can be seen all over the place in alot of forms, a semi recent example being that someone sued oreo because their cookies were unhealthy. NO, REALLY!? Oreo cookies are unhealthy!? But that's the point, it's obvious they weren't healthy, they're COOKIES. The fact that they did something that seemed so stupid it got mass media attention... and they won because they were basically doing it as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the concept of trans fats and how horribly bad they are. Publishing "stop using trans fats" articles does virtually nothing. Telling people it's unhealthy doesn't matter, people don't care if a cookie or mcdonald's hamburger are unhealthy, that's obvious. The thing is people didn't realize just HOW bad they were. This kind of shock to the system can be whot's required to jar people long enough to get the information out that yeu want to provide. And as such... "raising a little hell" is exactly how to do it. It doesn't have to be tearing down walls, killing or anything like that, but making a big enough noise to draw mass media attention, or on a smaller scale, to get people to just stop arguing long enough to listen, is often whot's required. If yeu have to stand up on top of a table in the middle of a meeting with dozens of people bickering with each other, and yell at them to all SHUT UP, then DO IT. Just being pissy that they're arguing endlessly and not listening to reason won't fix anything, they need a slap in the face, so give it to them. The song basically encourages things like protesting or awareness marches on the small scale, up to the high end of a coup to overthrow a government. Drastic action's sometimes the only thing that works, as much as we hate it. I'm highly liberal, but I'm also a realist, and just because we WANT there to be no more death, pain, etc, the fact is sometimes it's the only way to get things done. We can't live in the fantasy world of hollywood where the good guys let the bad guys go every week or movie or whotever, if yeu let that dictator free just because he saved yeur life, he's still going to just run out and kill another 50,000 the second he gets the chance to do it. Yeah it sucks, and yes the world is all screwed up, but we can either complain, or fight it. Song's got the right idea. One person raising a little hell can encourage the rest to get off their butts and follow. Do yeu honestly think political movements just 'happen'? They have to start somewheres, and it's usually with a single individual who just said "screw it, I'm not putting up with this foolishness anymore" and make a stand, and draw in others around them. It only takes a small display of power to start the ball rolling, so don't give up just because yeu're only one person, every flood had to start with a single raindrop. |
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| Voltaire – God Thinks Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Since I first heard this song I pretty much was of the opinion that anyone who wants to be religious in any way, regardless of religion, it should be mandatory to listen to this song, and fully understand it. If yeu can't grasp the meaning behind this, then yeu really have no place in worship as I can't see any god worth worshipping being pleased with those listed in this song more or less. Still, there's two main avenues of thought on this, which've both been stated above, but I'll reiterate simply because I can. So there. First off, it can be taken from the perspective of satire that it explains how everyone is on the side of "good" because "god is on their side" and obviously anything they do wrong is in god's name. It was sad watching the retardation of the afghan war... both sides were claiming the same identical reasoning... that god told them to do it, god was on their side so they must be right, and therefore righteous. I'm pretty sure killing women and children is expressly forbidden in the Qur'an, as much as "thou shalt not kill" is stressed in the bible. Yet people claim that god told them to do it. Note that I'm not using capitals when referring to god in this sense; this isn't a supreme being that's being referred to, nor even a title of such a thing, it's a thought or an idea, a "get out of jail free card". The second version is to assume a more literal translation of the ending section, which can instead be interpreted that everything listed above is true because god isn't a singular entity, but instead a combination of our own selves and everything around us. To steal a quote from Babylon 5 "we are the universe made manifest", not so much 'god' as an omnipotent being, but instead 'god' being more a singular consciousness divided and split into many smaller subsections, which would be us ourselves. If "we" are god, then everything "we" believe is "god's" belief, though generally the unreligious masses tend to think that the warmongers that use god's name are idiots, for this express reason. Yeur 'believe' is just that... a belief. NOT fact, NOT prooven. By definition 'faith' can not involve certainty, or it wouldn't be faith now would it? A faith is an opinion, an interpretation of the data at hand, and as it's an opinion, yeu have no right to enforce yeur opinions on someone who doesn't hold those same opinions. Regardless of which of the two methods yeu look at though, I think we all can agree that those who use "god told me to" as their defense are just idiots trying to excuse their behaviour, especially considering pretty much every time someone uses god's name in that way, they're doing something that whichever religious book they follow states very well that god does NOT agree with whot they're doing. But go figure, religion is a tool and a weapon more often than a valid form of expression of religious belief. And now we see why I consider myself a practicing agnostic... pretty much every religion is wrong by default because it's based on faulty information and human values; yeu can never truly know the mind of god, and organized religions by default claim to know just that. After a point, yeu have to decide, whether to continue following whot someone else tells yeu to believe, or to seek the truth on yeur own. Some people fare better at learning as a group, but personally I'm of the opinion that to truly understand the nature of the unknowable, requires a multitude of perspectives. Have to study every religion and every belief, learn as much as possible and try to figure it out from there. But that's a personal thing, though considering the tone of the song, it kind of implies the same concept; think of it from multiple perspectives, not just yeur own. Yeah yeu think god's a loving god, caring for all his creations. Others firmly believe that only a chosen few can ever hope to gain favour, which of course they're a member of. But if yeu really want to believe that... yeu're going to have to stop and think about when yeu start realizing that obviously the muslims, and the jews, and all the others, can't *ALL* be "the chosen people"... and whot are the rest of us here for? Cannon fodder? Doesn't sound like too compassionate of a god after all >.> We can assume a few basic rules though: 1: If god exists then 2: by definition, god is an all knowing, omniscient being 3: and therefore is smarter than any mortal 4: including my own self 5: If I can apply common sense to a situation 6: Therefore, god already did first due to having foresight of the future 7: As such, by default, anything I can figure out, god already did 8: So if anyone can find a flaw in yeur reasoning 9: Then yeu're wrong If god hates jews, and god hates blacks, and god hates whites, for things they didn't even personally do, then it's probably wrong. Like the myth that "god cursed the snake" because satan took the form of a snake... yeah really, because someone dressed up as a snake and did something bad, ALL the REAL snakes get punished eternally for it by having their legs taken away. This's an example of common sense needing to apply. Either god isn't all knowing and not all seeing, so didn't realize the mistake, or god's not all caring, or really just a jerk in general to punish someone who didn't even do anything. Soooo yeah, anyways I'm way off topic XD TLDR version: Noone knows the mind of god, and anyone who says they do is lying to use it to their own advantage. Also, voltaire is <3 |
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| Gowan – (You're A) Strange Animal Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This's actually my favorite song, identify well with it. The VIDEO to the song by Gowan is kind of... yeah... it interprets it as "man" as in humankind, being strange in a way. I never cared much for it myself in that interpretation and try to pretend the video doesn't exist. For my personal preferred way of thinking of it is this: The concept is to run across someone unique and special, they may be a love interest or may not, it's not really required in the context of the song. Someone who just stands out as being out of the norm, and in a good way. Clarisse McClellan from Fahrenheit 451, for example, would be a perfect example. That one individual to whom the term "I'm not insane, the world is!" actually applies truthfully. Yes, people are scared of that which is different of them. Be cautious around anything new, or potentially exciting, as it could also be dangerous. Every once in awhile though, someone who's on the edge, who COULD have been that one, comes out to the foreground and recognizes genius when they see it. When everyone else shys away in fear, there's always one who just has to understand the chaos, make sense of it all, to break the enigma of this radical element who enters their life. If yeu go with the mentality on say... the book 'Anthem' by Ayn Rand, also seen in the song '2112' by Rush, though that's actually a tribute to anthem, but the point's still there... then yeu get the concept of some larger 'them' or 'they', whoever the nameless faces in charge are, be they corporate drones, scientists or whotever, they seek to understand this mysterious person who exists outside the monotonous grey boundries set before them. The childlike enthusiasm can't be quantified, nor understood, and leaves them without the ability to truly understand. Regardless, the one person who was looking at them with actual interest, still doesn't get them either, but is still captivated regardless. The theme's carried out in multiple books and movies, and other forms of media; check for two characters; 1 shunned for their non-conformist attitude, and 1 who revels in their bizzare approach to life... the first one I can think of off the top of my head is V is for Vengeance which's perfectly fitting. It's a common theme, and a good one at that. The question now, becomes 'are yeu the non-conformist, the observer, the fearful masses, or the corporate drone?'. In case it wasn't clear enough, the song's sung from the perspective of the observer, in reference to the non-conformist, while noting the reactions of the other two upon them. |
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| Rush – Bravado Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Of all of rush's songs, I think this's probably my favorite. Same with the roll the bones album. Every song on it was good, and touching in their own way. The wings burning from flying to close to the sun is definate tribute to the myth of icarus, no denying that one. The rest... well the rest just states just how badly the failure was. In the end, we all stumble and fall, and the farther up yeu are, the farther there is to fall. To attempt greatness is to put it all on the line. How many fallen would-be heroes are listed as nothing more than a statistic? Sure we hear about the "hero" who saved someone from a burning building... and how often do we hear about "3 died in a fire" when two people ran in to try to save someone and they were all lost? There's always a price to pay, and sometimes it's steeper than we're willing to pay. Risk vs reward, people measure it differently. We need to though for the species as a whole to survive... if one person's in a burning building and 10 stand outside... if all 10 ran in there to help, chances are yeu'd just end up with 11 dead people instead of 1. Self preservation's a pretty high goal because of that. But at the same time, sending 1 person in to help out... the risk is double or nothing; acceptable odds in some cases. The sacrifices made can be worth it though, sure the dream may not come true, perhaps we'll crash and burn in the attempt, but we have to at least try. If we can't push the risks out of our minds, we can never become more than we are. Then again, to quote Despair.com... "Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea". Without risk, there is no gain, but the gain isn't a guarantee. It's a fitting tribute song though to those who took the risks for greatness, and lost the bet. The difference between courage and foolishness is knowing the risks. The difference between greatness and a statistic is a roll of the dice. Of course, with my luck, I know which way the dice are going to roll so probably better to play it safe in my case, but I'm all for those who are willing to take the chance. Someone has to after all... |
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| Ben Lee – We're All In This Together Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Love erin's comment of repetition being a double post >.> Regardless though, in terms of the song itself, yes it is repetitive, such is the point, some artforms actually rely heavily upon the concept of repetition to enforce a point, slight variations to add flavour. In the end it's true though, regardless of any self-made divisions, we all live, and we all die. We suffer and we feel joy. Well most of us do, I'm sure there's a few people that're miserable in general just for the sake of feeling miserable. Oddly enough it actually reminds me of lyrics from another song, Fleetwood Mac of all artists... "There's two kinds of trouble in this world: Living, dying" Pretty much sums up the whole thing, and can be more or less applied to this one as well. For the good and the bad, we are pretty much stuck in the same situations, even if they seem different it's just variations on a theme. Of course, meanings aside, it's still a nice song to listen to simply for the sake of enjoying that as well. Speed metal, goth-tec, trance, new age, pop, it doesn't matter really, every music has a mood and personality it matches, and in the end, I don't think anyone can say they 'hate music' as a whole, because then they could just listen to something depressing instead. So in the end, guess we really are all in this together after all. |
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| Dr Reanimator – Move Your Dead Bones Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Shame really how Zarla's comic no longer runs. Oh well. As for the song, regardless of the flash mockup, one could actually argue the song has a bit more depth than just being bouncy and catchy to listen to. Consider that it could just as easily be implying that it's not talking about 'dead' in the sense of 'death' but as in 'not living', the whole 'there's more to living than only survival' concept which's echoed through so many forms of media. It does pretty heavily imply zombies, drug use, and a few other themes, and it's kind of obvious where it's leaning, but it's possible to look a little more in depth too. Even if the message may be superficially present and not really there. Still catchy as hell. *Plays on endless loop for the next 3 hours* |
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