| The War On Drugs – Burning Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Lost in the Dream is a beautiful exploration of Adam Granduciel's struggles with anxiety, depression, and self-imposed isolation. It was written the wake of a breakup and under the pressure of expectations generated by the success of Slave Ambient (The War on Drugs' prior album). Adam began seeing a therapist, quit use of all substances, became a vegetarian, and remained isolated in his home during most of the recording of this album. The context of the album is crucial for understanding the meaning behind this song. Here's an interview backing up this information, and providing some other great details: http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9509-the-war-on-drugs-inside-man/ I see Burning as the climax of the album: a triumphant anthem of one who has spent their life fighting against depression and anxiety, and knows that the battle isn't over but must be fought. It also represents a turning point for someone emerging from a period of depression: the process of evaluating and understanding their own feelings, accepting their flaws, and starting up their life again. Here are some of the strongest examples (since I don't have time to break down the whole song): "How you been, you looking back You tried to change your burning boat Until you realized what you were up against" He realizes, in retrospect, that he spent a lot of time fixated on changing small aspects of his life (I believe that the boat is a metaphor for his life), until he realized that the whole thing was on fire. "Wide awake I rearrange the way I listen in the dark Dreaming of starting up again" Wide awake (because insomnia is common with depression), he tries to better understand the things going on in his head that are keeping him awake. He is beginning to recover from his depression- experiencing the hope (dream) of "starting up again." "So if you look, you'll find yourself You're not the demon in the dark" This is about self-worth: Those with depression often focus on their shortcomings, weaknesses, or evils. Here, he's looking closer and finding himself- realizing that he isn't a "demon." He's escaping from the negative self-talk that has dragged him down for so long. "Can you rectify All the time it took you Away from choosing?" He is asking himself if he can ever make up for the time he has spent feeling bad- the time that could have been spent making life decisions and moving forward. "I'm just a burning man trying to keep the ship From turning over again" He's come to understand and accept his condition: he is a man with many problems (burning), who is just fighting to keep his life (ship) in functional condition (not turned over). "Dreaming, starting Like a stranded kid in a doorway Just burning" He no longer merely hopes to resume his life (dreaming OF starting)- he's taking control, both hoping and actually acting to start up again. He still feels lost (like a stranded kid in the doorway) and broken (just burning), but he won't let it stop him. The exhilarating pace of this song ties the whole story together by conveying the feeling of escaping from a dark, self-imposed loneliness to find beauty, hope, and possibility in one's own life again. Ultimately, I believe that this song is a masterpiece that perfectly captures the experience of emerging from depression to face the world again. |
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| alt-J – Taro Lyrics | 10 years ago |
| Ah, I see! Thanks for the insight! :) | |
| alt-J – Taro Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This song is just incredible, lyrically and musically. I especially love the chorus instrumentals... just beautiful. The comments here have really improved my understanding of this song, but there is still a question that I cannot seem to answer for myself: What is the significance of the first 5 digits of Pi in this song? (3.1415) I can't seem to fit that in properly with the rest of the piece, and it's really bugging me. If anyone reading this has some ideas, I would be delighted to hear them! Thanks to everyone here for always making my music listening a deeper and more complete experience. Cheers! |
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| The Antlers – Thirteen Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I agree wholeheartedly with BiblicallyBeyondRepentance (great user name, by the way!) The only thing I would add is that, for me, this song is one of the most crucial unifying factors for the various layers of this album. For the top layer, (the surface story), it is a cancer patient begging for help that no one can give her. For the second layer, (the emotionally abusive relationship), it is the abusive partner in one of her moments of depression. This bit only really makes sense when you listen to epilogue and get a very clear glimpse at the nature of the relationship.. she was clearly a depressive with lots of outbursts. The next part, and probably my favorite layer of Hospice, is Slyvia Plath. Here we see the reference to her early suicide attempt and her final act of shutting the kids out of the kitchen. BiblicallyBeyondRepentance already did a great job of covering these aspects, and I agree that the main intention of this song was to capture her silent scream for the help that never came. I do love how understated and simple this song is, all while being so VERY important to the album. I have heard it said that Slyvia Plath's entire life was an unanswered cry for help. The clarity of the connection to the other layers of the album is really striking to me here... because who can help a terminally ill cancer patient? |
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| M83 – Reunion Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| That is a really refreshing way to look at it! Somehow the dream aspect hadn't occurred to me, but that does definitely fit well. | |
| The Antlers – Wake Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This is one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard. I really discovered it this week, and it makes me cry every time I hear it. Let me tell you a little bit about why. When I was a kid, my aunt Nancy was my favorite person in the world: I idolized her. Her smile warmed up the room, her laugh was infectious, and she was loved by everyone. She was truly a rare and remarkably beautiful human being. Then, suddenly it seemed, she became very ill with cancer. Even throughout her vicious battle with cancer, she remained positive and wonderful. I remember the last time I saw her alive: I was 8 years old, and she was surrounded by machines in her bedroom at home. They knew that she couldn't win in the end, and she wanted to be at home with my uncle while she still could. When the ambulance was leaving with her body, I am told that my uncle chased it down the street, until he collapsed sobbing halfway down the street. In the year or so following her death, he spent a lot of time with me. He didn't want to talk about it, and he needed a friend who wouldn't make him. It turns out that doing coloring books with a kid was easier than confronting the death head on. I listen to this song, I see him chasing that ambulance. I cry because I feel like I understand his side of things better through this song. The numbness, the isolation, and that irreplaceably wonderful person that is suddenly missing... it's a story to big for words alone. Well done, Antlers. This song has encapsulated one of the most trying aspects of being human: our mortality. |
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| M83 – Reunion Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This is easily one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard. In my college philosophy class, we have spent a great deal of time talking about how the early philosophers tried to find essential definition for things like beauty, love, etc. An essential definition captures all particular instances of a thing, and is a perfect universal. It is very difficult, even impossible at times to establish perfect essential definitions. It is the work of philosophers to find these definitions because they enable us to understand reality, and to achieve wisdom about the particulars which surround us. That being said, listen to this part of the song: "Across the time and space A never-ending dance A blooming and a trance You make me feel my soul" Not just the lyrics: the instruments, the tone of the vocals, the tune... this is what love feels like. This is the essence of a feeling captured in song. "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohohoh... Will you stand in this land forever?" Will it last? We can only hope that the feeling goes on forever... but even with this song on repeat, I can't get enough. It's the greatest feeling ever. This song has actually caused me to shed a few tears of joy on a few occasions. Nobody writes songs like this. M83 is right along with Arcade Fire as one of the only bands in our time that makes soulful music which captures the essence of things. This purity of emotion distilled into music is what all musicians should aspire to create. Words alone cannot do justice to the expression of the human soul which this kind of work represents: this is a rare glimpse into the very nature of what it means to live, love, and exist. This is art of the truest form. |
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| Pavement – In the Mouth a Desert Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| No, ID is definitely correct. It's a fruedian term for a part of the human psyche, and it absolutely fits with the tone of the other lyrics. | |
| The Radio Dept. – Strange Things Will Happen Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I know that the common interpretation is that this song is about the dynamic between two ex-lovers, and while I understand that this was probably the writer's intention, the song has always been a very different story to me. To me, the artist is singing about life and death. Let me explain: In the song, the term "day" is used as a metaphor for a lifetime, particularly, that of the singer (or lyricist.) The entire song is a beautiful story of a life filled with strange occurrences and no regrets, and it playfully encourages the listener (the living) to live their lives to the fullest. 'Strange things will happen' throughout your life, and you choose how they affect you (these slight surprises when your life might twist and turn.) The ending of the song almost made me cry the first few times I heard it, because the metaphor and message were so clear and so beautiful to me: "Today I didn't even try to hide I'll stay here and never push things to the side Today I didn't even look to find Something to put me in that peace of mind You can't touch me cause I'm way beyond you today" Amazing song, no matter how you interpret it. |
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