I was missing in action
On the side of a carton
I was taken in a Datsun
From a street in Acton

I was sipping on a Rubicon
Thinking 'bout where I come
It's all this for revolution
Cutting up the coupon
Saving for a telephone
Can I call home
Please can I go home

Painted nails, sunsets on horizons
Palm tree silhouette smells amazing
Blindfolds under home made lanterns
Somewhere in the Amazon
They're holding me ransom

Hello, this is M.I.A.
Could you please
Come get me

Smoking on a Benson
Trying to get me undone
Let me go
I don't want your attention
Under submission
Out of frustration I'll do it
I'll scream for the nation

Painted nails, sunsets on horizons
Palm tree silhouette smells amazing
Blindfolds under home made lanterns
Somewhere in the Amazon
They're holding me ransom

Hello, this is M.I.A.
Could you please
Come get me

Minutes turned to hours
And became our dates
When we shared raindrops
That turned into lakes
Bodies started merging
And the lines got gray
Now I'm looking at him thinking
Maybe he's OK

Hello, this is M.I.A.
It's OK
You forgot me


Lyrics submitted by Maraja

Amazon Lyrics as written by Maya Arulpragasam Richard X

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Amazon song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

14 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    You can really hear the tension in this song. I love how each and every verse is repeated twice even tho each one has a different volume, rhyme scheme, and texture. The chorus can stand out that way. And you slowly slowly follow the lines down to the end of the fictional story and get so much joy in the final modified chorus even though the narrator isn't at all liberated. It's a lot like listening to the beginning of 'Bolero.'

    Pretty sure 'Amazon' is a song about getting kidnapped and adjusting to those material conditions in your life. To me it's about embracing your humanity at the same time you're coping with something that's enormously difficult.

    And 'Amazon'... Knowing the title doesn't matter; to my ears this song brings the Philippines, where my family and I all come from, to mind. No idea why.

    Tsuppion November 29, 2012   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,