| The Alan Parsons Project – Games People Play Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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This was the first APP song I heard and fell in love with, which I do associate personally with being a kid, but I remember loving this song, then and now. And at the time, "games" to me, meant board games. As I grew older, this song to me, along with the casino theme of the album, seemed like it was from the point of view of an aging black jack dealer or floor manager of the casino - someone who has been an employee there for several years, having seen a lot over the years, and being tired and burned out, wanting out of casino life. I imagine someone in that role would be like the furniture or a fly on the wall, unnoticed but an observer to the unsavory side of casino life (knowledge of illicit affairs, high profile clientele, prostitution, drug deals, other illegal activities, watching people come and go) and I took the "all the children have grown up" to mean he has seen generations of people come and go, either children of his co-workers, or seeing fathers, sons, and their sons come and go in the casino. In the song, the singer seems to be at a point in his life where he wants to walk away from it all, which may not be so easy to do, with everything that he knows. He seems a bit jaded, "where do we spend our lives knowing nobody gives us a damn?" He's unappreciated, overworked, and has been keeping secrets and doing his job for years in an unfulfilling job, and it has sucked the life out of him. He doesn't like the fact that these types of activities and this lifestyle is part of "business as usual". I could be totally wrong, but the fast-paced synth of it brings to mind that this song is from the point of view of an observer, not someone who is necessarily involved in the activities. Great song. Always loved it. |
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| The Alan Parsons Project – The Turn of a Friendly Card Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Anomaly57 I think you are probably right. When I first heard this song, I was in somewhat of a dark place in my youth, so I thought it meant something else entirely, but given the cover of the album (the cards) and the metaphor of poker, cards, throughout the entire album - I love most of the songs on the whole album- but I found it to mean a lone traveler who is somewhat lost, and the "turn of a friendly card" to me, was a metaphor for fate, good luck, good karma, or being in the right place at the right time. One great thing about these lyrics - so open to interpretation, but I think the "gambling" thing is the more obvious one, which fits it a little better, but I still feel it could also be applied to what I originally felt it was. Thanks for sharing. | |
| Tori Amos – Talula Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I will be honest in saying that when I first bought PELE and heard this song, I had NO CLUE what Tori was singing about. There were references to Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn - historical women who were killed or executed for speaking their minds. A lot of these lyrics sound like total nonsense, calling Big Bird "my favorite hooker of the whole bunch" is pretty funny. I don't think it's about a pregnancy even though she says "I don't know who the father is" - I think that's more a reference to who fathered these rules - who is the father of these ideals...whose idea was it to hold ourselves up to these ridiculous standards. Who decided that? I think most of the lyrics here are very symbolic, not to be taken literally. The video, although not taken literally, is more about anti-technology than anything else. The scientists are studying Tori, as if she is a piece of equipment, and she has the instinct/animal desire to get back to her piano so she can express herself - and she finds a way to do it. "Say goodbye to the old world" - at the time of Pele, 1994-95, the internet was beginning to explode, and as a society, we felt the change upon us. She's making a statement about how technology is going to change our society once again. Her comment "I've got my rape hat on but I always could accessorize" is a statement about the public knowing about her rape - so much so that they talk more about her being a rape victim than her music accomplishments, but to her the "rape hat" is just an accessory, something that happened, and so insignificant to her it's more like an accessory of clothing rather than what makes her a whole person. The historical examples she gives are about women who were misunderstood, and not listened to. They are ugly facts about human history. "It must be worth losing if it is worth something" a statement about beheading your wife, or having her executed if it's so important that a woman obeys a man's commands ("she said 1 + 1 is 2, but Henry said it was 3...") over their relationship. What kind of person are you if you have no problem putting your partner to death? and moreover, the social comment of how ugly we are as humans, that we can do that and be okay and go on with our lives. Are we really that different, hundreds of years later? "She's brand new to you" or "He's brand new to you" is like remaking history, put painting it a different color, saying you're making it better - whatever sells the stories, whatever is in the headlines, whatever people are talking about. "You little fig newton" is a stab at the people who think they're doing something different, but they're really not. A great song - I love the harpsichord, which is bringing the past into the present. The name Talula, is definitely an old name, and perhaps she is naming the soul who is reborn again and again into our society. Again, I think this song is just a comment about technology and a social commentary on how we've changed, but not that much. |
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| Tori Amos – Caught A Lite Sneeze Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I'm a HUGE Tori fan, from back in the 90s. What girl in her twenties can't identify with Tori Amos? This was always one of my favorite songs, and favorite videos. At the time BOYS FROM PELE came out, I was very much a single girl. No boyfriend in sight. (I met my husband 9 years later). The whole album has a very "goodbye to you" kind of feel to it, so I found it somewhat cleansing. It still remains one of my favorite albums. I think this song is about several different failed relationships, not just one in particular. And in all of them, she felt insignificant or small after it was all said and done. The building tumbling down - I think she just wants to get out of the way and move on but she has to watch it crumble and get through her feelings. There are several references to religion & history ("Mister St. John, just bring your son", "I'm hiding it well Sister Ernestine"). "But you've still got that belle dragging your thoughts" and I think that's a stab at herself, who seems to be "dragging her thoughts", not being able to let go and move on, ashamed that maybe the desire of wanting to be a part of a relationship or a love, was stronger than her feelings toward the object of her affection. "Boys on my left side, boys on the right side, boys in the middle and you're not here" to me is about her newfound fame. She had people all around her, respecting her, her music, talking about her, and having so many strangers who care about her surrounding her except the person (or persons) who really SHOULD be there. "I need a big loan from the girl zone" can be interpreted as a girl's night out, solace from her female friends, or maybe even a desire to have a sexual or romantic experience with a girl to "wash this boy out of my hair" kind of thing. There seems to be quite a bit of angst toward the males throughout the album, and in this song, it seems like she just wants a healthy break away from men. I'm not saying that Tori is bisexual, but it's a theme that have appeared in several other songs (Raspberry Swirl, Cloud on my Tongue, Bells For Her, etc), which I think is more about being open to any relationship with any person if he or she makes you happy. The "I made my own pretty hate machine" line I know has been linked to NIN, but I aways thought she was talking about a computer. Symbolic for technology, which takes us all away from human interaction, real connections with real people, face to face, away from the technology. (We also see another anti-technology song in "Talula") Ironically this song was not done in basic Tori fashion (girl on the piano). In this song, you barely hear the piano, it's more of an anti-acoustic song, and I think Tori does this on purpose. It's a work of genius, and I love the vocalizations she does at the end of the song (background vocals). The video shows us more than one Tori, which leads me to believe this is more than one relationship, and she's being pulled in different directions from herself, from nature, from the room spinning upside down, the furniture that's sliding across the floor (maybe she's IN the building that's crumbling down). She's in more than one place at the same time, and each relationship holds a different emotion, taking more out of her each time. It changes her, and I think that's where the angst comes from. I feel the vocalization at the end is all of her selves just screaming out of frustration as a release. The title "caught a lite sneeze" is in reference to catching a cold. If someone asks you, are you sick? 'No, just caught a lite sneeze' - it's no big deal, i'll be over it in a day or so. And maybe she's not over it. I think she's trying to convince herself it's just a small insignificant thing, but all together they are little pieces of herself being affected and it becomes something bigger, and something more that she doesn't want to look at or admit, so she wants a distraction from it ("I need a big loan from the girl zone") A song I never get tired of listening to. |
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| Genesis – The Musical Box Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I have always loved Genesis. I love Peter Gabriel AND Phil Collins, both as solo artists and also with Genesis - I know I'm a rare bird, but I love it all. This song is amazingly complex, musically epic and very disturbing at the same time. The composition is pure genius, but it's not a song I can play over and over and feel free to sing along to like "I Know What I Like". It insinuates a rape, as the soul of Henry's rage and lust enrages him. It's difficult, who to sympathize with, because the little girl was pretty evil for killing the boy and the boy who was rejected by heaven and sent back to the music box (for retribution? for revenge?) becomes a tool of evil himself as he attacks the little girl. I really miss epic and complex music like this that we saw more of in the 70s, when bands were more about the music rather than looking like a model as well as having a good singing voice. Genesis was a group of amazingly talented musicians. I can't imagine a world without Genesis, Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins. One of my favorite bands of all time. |
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| Peter Gabriel – Shock The Monkey Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Hi Rejesterd, I totally never thought about it the way you described. I've loved this song since the 80s - one of the few songs that never deterred me through overplay - and I had no clue what it was about. I only wondered now because my 5 year old twin boys heard this song, and asked me what it was about. From what I know of Gabriel, it really does make sense. Thanks for your comments. | |
| Peter Gabriel – Shock The Monkey Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Hi Rejesterd, I totally never thought about it the way you described. I've loved this song since the 80s - one of the few songs that never deterred me through overplay - and I had no clue what it was about. I only wondered now because my 5 year old twin boys heard this song, and asked me what it was about. From what I know of Gabriel, it really does make sense. Thanks for your comments. | |
| Hall and Oates – I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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I found this on UltimateClassicRock.com, in an article where John Oates talks about the true meaning of songs. Now it all makes sense to me. "Discussing the 1981 Hall & Oates hit ‘I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),’ Oates told Philly.com that what might sound like a guy telling off his significant other is actually “about the music business.” Explained Oates, “That song is really about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively. Calling it “typical of a lot of the lyrics we’ve written over the years,” he added, “It seems like it’s about one thing, but it’s really not. What we have always tried to do, and if we have any kind of philosophy for our lyrics over the years, it was to try to take a universal subject and somehow make it seem personal so that people could relate to it as if it was a personal thing.” Read More: John Oates Reveals the Real Meaning Behind Hall & Oates' Hits | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/hall-oates-song-meaning/?trackback=tsmclip" |
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