| Bon Iver – Big Red Machine Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[blobtower:25817] I'm not exactly questioning whether or not these lyrics come from Justin Vernon (it would be great if he actually did submit his own lyrics to this site, but I find it somewhat unlikely). What I'm questioning is how these lyrics align with what's actually sung on the "Dark Was the Night" album. Clearly, there are some words provided here that are not sung (extra/missing syllables and different consonant sounds abound). I'm not the original artist, but I do work with audio and linguistics for a living, and here's what I actually hear on the album. Note: I've decided to include each "stanza" as a complete thought, without breaking this up into arbitrary lines: we're safe we're love/will doormen we read my mind so nervous the earth is on its cycle fucked up and puke up in his mane blue sign to slide around this circle slicing out a hole the films that you send me loving on your own body Jesus breathe in for I'm feeling shy sermon maker you're running and injured just like you ought to be to me my heart could I create it on my body with soppy mock up along with one line big red machine is all I've learned to suffer is all I've learned to suffer is all I've learned to suffer |
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| Andrew Bird – Masterfade Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Andrew Bird is brilliant and, like Eliot or Joyce, extremely adept at incorporating and unifying multiple allusions and metaphors in his songs. "Masterfade" is one of my favorites of his. Rather than trying to interpret the "meaning" of this song as a whole--which, really, is a pretty challenging task, even when dealing with much less cerebral artists--I think it'd be more illuminating to examine the allusions and metaphors of which Bird makes use. The first metaphor in the song is that of the "heavy-metal gaze" (included on this page with a dubious hyphen), which can certainly refer to a genre of rock music but has additional meaning in reference to the class of elements known as the heavy metals. The classification itself is somewhat suspect; but it has been understood to refer to those metals essential to humans, like iron, zinc and copper, as well as to metals that can be lethal, such as plutonium, lead, and mercury. The lyric seems to suggest that the person in question in the opening verse has been adversely affected by the heavy metal (or whatever it is meant to represent), the accumulation of which will have to be "measured in tons." Of significance to the rest of the song is the fact that, first of all, certain heavy metals (copper, in particular) are the greatest conductors of electricity, which fits nicely with the later image of "electrostatic rain" and the larger motif of technological devices. Another heavy metal that fits well into the themes of the song is mercury: the Greek god by this name is the patron of messages and communication (along with travel and boundaries, in a nice connection to the GPS device of later verses), as well as the one who guides souls to the underworld. So, clearly, Bird has quite a fertile metaphor with this single lyric. The zeros and ones are the clear reference Bird uses to the binary language of software and electronics--they are the Other in contrast to what we believe ourselves and the natural world to be, namely organic and/or "real." The zeros and ones have the added connotation of a deterministic reality, though it might be a stretch to consider their presence malevolent in the song. The recurring lines depicting the subject looking up and seeing only these digits speaks to humanity's current inability to detach themselves from technology and the artificial constructs we navigate. The "kewpie doll parade" seems that it could be a metaphor for or allusion to a couple of things. The fact that these types of dolls originated in the early 20th century with illustrations from the Ladies' Home Journal points to the fact that the speaker is being led to the domestic life by his partner. Further reinforcing this idea is the fact that kewpie is a reference to Cupid, the Roman's version of the god of erotic love. So, following the earlier allusion, the speaker can be seen to turn from Mercury (the "heavy metal" god effectively dragging him down to the underworld) to Cupid (the god beckoning him to love and domestic bliss). Apart from these connections, it's interesting to note that kewpie dolls were constructed for a time from celluloid, the same material long-used to make movie film. There may be a connection between watching this celluloid parade and the idea of living out a deterministic reality that is already written and is now being played out, as it were. I like that Bird uses a very clear-cut and very "American" metaphor with the lemonade that the speaker and his companion enjoy: A major theme of the song, it might be argued, is that when life gives you lemons, it doesn't make much sense to brood and tremble in your existential crisis. Even if the world is a harrowing place that we might not have the capacity to understand or control, it is still within our means to make lemonade (or not make lemonade) to enjoy with the ones we love. The master fade is the eponymous instrument by which the speaker literally feels control over something. It seems, to an extent, to be the metaphor for free will. His finger rests on the controlling dial that can amplify, diminish, or completely silence something sensory. Here's where I think the allusion to film makes more sense, if we consider that kewpie dolls were a reference to celluloid which, in turn, is a reference to film. Watching some parade of images and sound (it's interesting to think of motion pictures' use of alternating light and darkness to simulate reality as another connection to the ones and zeroes), the speaker feels that some things are still within his power. The "I could've played along" in the chorus--though it certainly could refer to playing along with music--can thus be understand as the playing along of a part or role in a movie. It might be a stretch, but the symbolism is there. I also really enjoy Bird's allusions to the game of mahjong. These seem fairly straightforward in the song: It's a very intricate game that--like life--can feel like it has everything to do with strategy and skill, but which involves a great deal of chance. The discussions of where the east wind blows is a direct reference to the game, in which there are four players who each represent a different directional wind at various times, with the East Wind being the dealer. So, in effect, not knowing where the east wind blows is asking the Big Question of "Who dealt me this hand?" (It might be Christ who knows...) The papillon parade can refer to a few things. If we're going to stick to the possible motif of film vs. reality, it could refer to the couple watching the actual film _Papillon_, which is, fittingly, about an escape from the harsh reality of a prison. I recognize that it's quite a long shot to think that Bird was thinking about the Steve McQueen/Dustin Hoffman picture when he wrote this song, but you never know. More likely is the fact that the papillon parade refers to the speaker and his companion watching a "parade" of butterflies (for which papillon is the French term). The metaphor here is practically shouting: Perhaps the speaker has found the need to transition from a caterpillar to this more beautiful form. Perhaps it's in the cocoon stage that he cannot find his happiness under that canopy of trees. The speaker must emerge as something new. Finally, the inverted compass is a great image from the song, and it clearly speaks to William Blake's and a number of other artists' depictions of God's and/or Christ's measuring out of the world. It's used in Masonic symbolism, and it speaks to God as an architect, designer, and builder. So, perhaps, the speaker of this song comes to the point of recognizing that whatever the "true" nature of reality, there is Someone beyond himself that got the ball rolling and keeps it as it is, and he still has the power over his own subjective experience and understanding of this life: he may not be able to stop the show, but he and his love can adjust it to their own preferred settings. |
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| Adam Again – Worldwide Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| That last verse, Gene clearly sings "and THE spirit weeps for all of us" not "his spirit weeps for all of us," which moves the meaning away from the idea of recently murdered Headman Shabalala's spirit crying for all people and places it on what is likely a "capital-S Spirit." One could possibly take this as the collective Human Spirit, but I have a strong feeling it's a reference to the Holy Spirit, who weeps for the bloodshed, injustice, and suffering borne and carried out by humanity. | |
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