| Robbie Williams – Millennium Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I agree with this interpretation. I was 18 in 2000 and I remember thinking that I definitely got this song. "We've been making money since the day that we were born" is not just about child stars and prodigies but also about growing up as a target market. My generation has been advertised to so hard I think most of us just might be immune. And there's a clear sense in the song of the world moving very fast. The pendulum swinging too far in each direction such as the reference to overdoses and liposuction. We are excessive in all we do. And everything is done with irony these days because we think we've seen it all and we're told it's all be done - and when we look online we find it has. But it's okay. We'll all find our place. |
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| Tori Amos – Crucify Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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While the line sounds like it could be against God, I catch an irony/sarcasm in her tone. I see her rolling her eyes as she sings the line. I think she is saying, in a pointed ironic fashion, that it is not God who is condemning and "crucifying" us. It is we who do it to each other. There's enough suffering in this world for God to deal with, why do we think it's a good idea to turn ourselves into victims of our own expectations. It's a reminder that there is nothing of God in the expectations we place on ourselves and each other so we are crucifying ourselves and it's probably not something God wants for us. |
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| Our Lady Peace – Heavyweight Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This is a love song. He's saying that life gets confusing and it can be hard to find your way. With all the chaos and varying opinions and temptations, it's hard to find the "signs" that point to what's right and help you stay true to your values. It's easy to just let go, become "weightless" and be dragged along by the rush of opinions and press and information overload. In the midst of this, the singer indicates that his partner (presumably a woman) is the heavyweight or the anchor that holds him in place and keeps him from being lost in the rush. She reminds him of who he is and what really matters in his life so that he can stay true instead of becoming weightless. |
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| Leonard Cohen – Democracy Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| This was one of the first Leonard Cohen songs I remember hearing. Like another poster, I too love the combination of cynicism and hope in this song. It cynically reminds us that America is not the democracy it claims to be: that racism and classes have not been abolished. Then he points out that while that time is not here yet, it is coming in its own time, and that America is paving its way without trying. It also makes me think that when democracy arrives, it will be those who speak of it most who will reject it without recognizing it for what it is. | |
| Bob Dylan – Make You Feel My Love Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I was surprised to discover that Dylan wrote this because it's so utterly lacking in cynicism. This is the other end of the world from It Ain't Me Babe. To me it sounds like a lullaby which makes me wonder if it's more about the love of a parent for a child than the love between lovers. "I could never do you wrong, I knew it from the moment that we met" makes me visualize that moment when a newborn is first handed to a parent and they feel the weight of the love and responsibility they've taken on. For that baby they "go hungry they'd go black and blue" and then as that child faces challenges and the "storms of change" they'd give anything to help their child navigate along to safety. They want their child to be happy and see "their dreams come true" and they'd do anything for them. The parent- child relationship (instead of a relationship with Jesus) could account for the unconditional sacrificial love described because parents tend to describe their love for their children in this way and children struggle to understand the way their parents love them sometimes. |
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| Buffy Sainte-Marie – Universal Soldier Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| A terrific anti-war song and a reminder that we are the ones with the power to end war. | |
| Buffy Sainte-Marie – Piney Wood Hills Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| She described this song as a love song to your homeland and that's exactly what it is. It's a favourite because I too feel most at home in the piney wood hills. | |
| Dar Williams – The Easy Way Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I like the fight with a partner interpretation. I always thought, though, that it's a more general sort of fight (or this is how I've projected my life onto the song, at least). Everyone's life choices face the scrutiny of others at time and if you've taken a somewhat unconventional path you often wind up in places that put you out of step with the people around you. Sometimes this makes them question your choices because it means you seem to be "behind" in life or you're not as overtly successful as people think you should be. This song is a defense of choices. |
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| Bob Dylan – Simple Twist of Fate Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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"She was born in the spring. I was born too late." When it comes to love and soulmates, timing can be everything; and it's really heartbreaking when everything is right except for the timing. |
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| Serena Ryder – Weak In The Knees Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| I agree. We all feel like this at some point and this song is so lovely and singable that I want to sing it even though I feel nothing like this right now. | |
| Melanie Doane – Song Of Bernadette Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Beautiful cover of a Leonard Cohen song that is decidedly unlike most of Leonard Cohen's songs | |
| Dala – $5 Pearls Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I first heard this song at the Mariposa Folk Festival back in 2005 and I fell in love with it. I was so excited when they finally put it on an album. I think the song is fairly straightforward about uncertainty and insecurity in what might be a long distance relationship. I really love the line "guarding the fire from the rain by holding our hands in the flames." That line alone and the way they sing it keeps me playing the song over and over. |
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| Dala – Where have all the boys gone? Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I thought this song was about the 2004-05 hockey lockout (timing works as the album came out in early 06). All the boys used to be easy to find on a Saturday when they were watching the game but since the game wasn't on and Ron McLean was suddenly hosting Movie Night in Canada they seem to have replaced it with the more private poker played at a buddy's house. If non-hockey fan girlfriends feel isolated when the game is on, poker is even less inviting. The hockey lockout interpretation comes from the references to sports bars being empty and that line about how "this fad will pass as soon as those hockey teams get off their ..." Some of the boys in question may be developing a gambling problem but it seems to be more about loneliness than about gambling issues - and the line "take your spade out of my heart" is more tongue in cheek than anything else. |
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| Peter, Paul and Mary – El Salvador Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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A song questioning the American involvement in conflict elsewhere and raising questions about who controls what country and how that leads to war. I remember listening to this a lot shortly after the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq about which were posed similar questions. There's more to the song. After "and teach the military bands to play South of the Border" it goes And kill the people to set them free Who put this price on their liberty Don't you think it's time to leave El Salvador. I think this last bit of the song has continued relevance and is worth asking any time we consider going into combat. |
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| Indigo Girls – Jacob's Ladder/This Train Revised Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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A comment on the old gospel song "This Train" but reminding us of those other trains that were bound for a horrific sort of glory during the Holocaust. They remain a symbol of the horrible things humans do to each other in the name of their feelings of righteousness as well as their personal agendas. I find this song starkly elegant. |
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| Indigo Girls – Love's Recovery Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I love this song. It is so beautiful and seems like it could mean different things at different stages of life. Right now, as my husband and I watch friends end their marriage, it seems to be a reminder that happiness isn't something that comes of life being perfect. You have to be happy or content to be "in the storm" too. Feelings of romantic love are not a perpetual thing. They come and go, and solid relationships are the ones where the couple can accept as inevitable and work with the times when "The blood of love soon neglected, Lay dying in the strength of its impurity" so that you can make it through to "love's recovery." It's the mysterious question of why some long term relationships/marriages last and why some don't. This couple with their own struggles "search for [their] absolute distinction wondering what they have that the others don't that lets them carry on and still want to be together despite the bad times." They suggest that it is an illusion that one can live a life of perpetual "fairer weather" with the right person when the reality is that the storms are inevitable. |
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| Indigo Girls – Closer to Fine Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song really appealed to me in university as a reminder that there was no one way to live, no definitive answer and no time when we are done growing, seeking, or being. I found particular resonance in the verse about the Doctor of Philosophy and the notion that people will judge you and feel they have you figured out and, for the most part, they will never be entirely right because there is always something more to us than can be analyzed, categorized and graded. And I try to keep that in mind as I interact with others. They will always surprise me. |
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| Carrie Underwood – All-American Girl Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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The song is kinda meh. I would prefer that he pull himself together and the couple both go to college. It seems to be about a lack of ambition. I liked the video though. It seemed to run counter to the message of the song showing her being all those different professions ... and I got a kick out of the news anchor segment where the story being reported is the vandalism done in Before He Cheats. |
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| Carrie Underwood – Jesus, Take the Wheel Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I like this song and think it's full of good solid Christian imagery and messages that are true to what the song intends to be and match up with Carrie Underwood's image and the whole Christian country song idea. The car accident is a good situation to use in the song. I've been in a car accident and had a moment where I felt like I was not alone in my car and I was being helped to safety (and my dad still says he's not sure how I managed to put the car through the moves I put it through to reduce the damage done to my car and the other car as much as I did) The only thing I don't like about it (from a Christian philosophical perspective) is the whole thing about her having to be in deep trouble before she let's "Jesus take the wheel". Most songs and stories on this subject present this same idea. It would be interesting for a subject of this sort of song to hand things over to her faith before getting into trouble. |
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| Carrie Underwood – Last Name Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I always figured this song was something of a joke, certainly wouldn't take it seriously and I wouldn't expect anyone else to see it as a model of something one should do. I don't get the impression this is something Carrie Underwood has done either. The whole trope of her not even knowing his last name as a symbol for him being a total stranger is played out when she wakes up married to him and realizes that not only does she not know his last name, but she married him so now she doesn't know hers either. It's silly, ridiculous and a funny way to tell it. |
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| Dar Williams – The Ballad of Mary Magdalene Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I once read a description of this song that described it as walking the fine line between spirituality and blasphemy. I think that, whatever your take on the relationship (or non relationship) between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, this song tells a beautiful story of love and suggests that were there a romantic relationship, it would not have been a dirty or shameful thing. Dar sings it beautifully. |
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| The Vanity Project – Wilted Rose Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I hadn't really thought about meaning of the song other than the sense of frustration cynicism and the reference to the "walk in the snow" which has kind of become a national metaphor for the end of influence and resignation. He is saying that he's having trouble caring about things and is wondering if he should just give up trying...if it's time to go. The comment about the rose and Quebec above makes me see another angle that may or may not be in there among the rest of what's going on. The rose is a symbol for the British Empire. Could some tiny part of the song be about the question of whether Canada should get rid of the monarchy? It comes up occasionally and often generates the kind of reaction Page describes "I almost tried to care". The royal family has separated themselves behind their walls, and the rose of the British Empire is perhaps a little tired and wilted. Also there's the line about revolution going (United States and India left under revolutionary circumstances) and the rest staying (Canada, Australia etc). It could be too obscure but some of the lyrics seem to back it up. It also could tie in with the whole notion of Empires and globalization. |
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| Harry Chapin – A Better Place To Be Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Only Harry Chapin could write an 11 minute song that flies by when you hear it because the story is so real. This is a story of 3 down and out people who find comfort in each other (not all at once). This is not triumphant love, but rather broken humans huddling together against the darkness of their nights. Harry Chapin uses some of the most beautiful words to paint this song: "I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die, and I watch the metal rusting and I watch the time go by" "I wish that I were beautiful or that you were halfway blind" The people break my heart every time and I want to sing the song over and over so they can live again. |
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| Harry Chapin – She Is Always Seventeen Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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When you're seventeen, the world is just opening up to you and you are just finding your power. You know that you can make it a better place and that the secrets are love and truth and peace. As we get older, we can lose this power and lose this simplicity. To be always seventeen is to never give up on that belief that the answer is simple (but not easy) in the end and to never stop trying to make the world a bit better even if you can only change your corner of it. May I be always seventeen. |
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| Dar Williams – You're Aging Well Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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There's lots in this song. What struck me about it recently (as I get older) is that it seems to be a call for women to not only let each other know that we're on the right paths in life (at each point in the song, the singer is comforted and assured by other women who let her know that she's not off course like the "system" would have her believe) but also to give us freedom to age well. Women today aren't supposed to age. We're supposed to fight it with creams and regimes and botox and plastic surgery. There is a freedom in telling someone and being told that you are aging well. It gives one the freedom to age. |
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| Dar Williams – I Have Lost My Dreams Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The saddest happy song out there. She's singing about how she's gotten everything she's ever wanted, those things we place before us as goals to mark our happiness. This is the point where the lovers kiss and the movie ends, but her life isn't over. So, now what? What's next? What's left to do? Dreams are what keep us going and she has none of them left. The line "everything I ever wanted stands in front of me" makes me picture her singing this song while walking down the aisle at her wedding. It's an odd juxtaposition reminding us that those happy moments where we achieve our dreams are also the moments that we are done dreaming them. |
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| Dar Williams – Dangling Conversation Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This version that she does as a duet (with Joan Baez, I believe) is one of the most hauntingly beautiful renditions of this (or maybe any song) that I have ever heard. ...and it's all about the loss of intimacy between a couple who are basically just going through the motions. It looks lovely on the surface, but that's all there is to it. Classic Simon and Garfunkel. |
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| Dala – Twenty Something Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I love this song. It seems to me like a general reflection about being in your twenties. A couple of lines that have always resonated for me are "all the things she could be if she weren't so set on being thin" which seems to be a reminder of how our obessions without our appearance can get in the way of our sense of self worth and can prevent us from doing all the things we want to do and becoming the most amazing version of ourselves we can be. I also love the line "young or old, we'll always feel this way." I'm still in my twenties but I think that's true, that who we are is reasonably formed in our twenties and we feel that way for a long time, often forgetting that we're not 28 anymore years later. |
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| Barenaked Ladies – The Old Apartment Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Like others have said, I've always thought this song was pure nostalgia. Most of us have that first miserable apartment we lived in where it was crowded and nothing worked and there were bugs or creeps in the alley and all we could do was imagine getting out of there and the hardships we have in that stage of life where we're just starting out and money is a struggle. The couple has moved on from there. They're more financially secure. They now have the dream house and possibly a car and a couple of kids too. The singer is happy with his life in general but with the new stage of life comes new challenges, possibly more complicated challenges like workplace politics, determining how to teach his children to do the right thing, drawing up a will, looking after aging in laws. He goes back to the apartment because part of him misses the simplicity of those early days when it was just the two of them living on love. He is angry that the place has changed because we're all a little narcissistic and deep down we tend to feel that we can change but other things should stay the way we left them. Deep down he felt like that old apartment would always be his. |
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| Dar Williams – What Do You Hear In These Sounds? Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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"But then the wall came down And there they stood before me With their stumbling and bumbling And calling out just like me" That moment when you realize you just might be normal after all. |
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| Dar Williams – Teen For God Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song is a delightful parody of a Christian summer camp for teens and the fanaticism that seems to be a big part of teenage Christianity (and kept me firmly in the non practising believer group throughout high school). I think Dar strikes perfect notes all the way through describing the perfect, pure girls who pray for everyone else while policing them as well, the idea that the absolute worst things you could ever do are get high or have sex, and the struggle between purity and your maturing libido which leaves you with the strong impression that perhaps sex isn't so evil after all "and the boys' skin dries in the sun." I also thought she kind of hit it dead on when describing the Teens for God who give up their religiosity in college, possibly because they wanted to get high and/or have sex. |
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| Dar Williams – Play the Greed Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I figure this jaunty song is pretty straightforward about its meaning: vote with your wallet, and reveals Dar's own positions on environmental and free trade issues. I don't know who Malcom and Rupert are in this song - perhaps I am too young? Anyone know? |
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| Dar Williams – As Cool As I Am Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This was my getting over someone song. I found so many parallels with a relationship I had in this song and I found her words just said all I was trying to say. I dated a guy who kept looking at other women while "keeping me on the hook" so to speak, and it made it difficult for me to recognize and maintain my own sense of value. I felt like he was pitting me against these other women and I knew that it wasn't their fault but it was hard not to be angry at them for being the objects of his affection when he was with me, hard to hear him wondering "is it how she moves or how she looks" and his clearly not understanding that "it's loneliness, suspended to our own like grappling hooks." or his wonderment over how beautiful other women were. When she sang about how she goes "outside to join the others. I am the others". I remember when I recognized that. That I was just another woman, not the one he really wanted, not the perfect relationship he was dreaming of. And as she says, it wasn't easy... but it was so freeing. This song also contains one of my favourite Dar lines of all time:"how I learned to dance when the music's ended." This phrase has hung around my life as a working definition of joy. |
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| Dar Williams – I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I really enjoy this song. I figure Dar wrote it while considering the whole John and Yoko thing from another angle. History tends to look at their relationship based on how she affected his career - the claim that she broke up the Beatles - but we don't think about how he might have affected hers. So here's the love story from her side and it's not the Cinderalla story of a woman finding a man who can raise her above her station in life. It's the story of a woman busy in her own life wondering if this man she's met is the right one for her. if he's good enough for her. Once she decides he is, she doesn't care what the "velvet dogs of pop star history" have to say about her. |
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