This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
The bells will ring
Church steeple's catching fire
And if you promise spring
Then I know you are a liar
Cause in the spring
Tender grasses won't burn easily
The thrushes sing
Still my lover won't return to me
Wild parsnips they still scar my lungs
While thistles will burn my feet
And if you join our chorus
You'll never fear anymore
So here it comes, just the chorus
We will meet on a fatal shore
Souverian
Souverian
The elder
Souverian
Souverian
The free
Souverian
Souverian
The felled heart
So very young
So very young
Were we
Birds were singing
Still my lover won't return to me
You promise spring
Still my lover won't return to me
Wild parsnips scar my lungs
And the thistles are burning my feet
So here it comes, the chorus
You will never fear anymore
If you join our chorus
We will meet on a fatal shore
Under the elders
the older get younger
the younger get over
over the elders
and under the elders
pretend that you're older now
Under the elders
the older get younger
the younger get older
over the elders
under the elders
bending the branches down
We were so very young
Still my lover won't return to me
Thrushes sing
Still my lover won't return to me
Wild parsnips they still scar my lungs
While thistles still burn my feet
Church steeple's catching fire
And if you promise spring
Then I know you are a liar
Cause in the spring
Tender grasses won't burn easily
The thrushes sing
Still my lover won't return to me
Wild parsnips they still scar my lungs
While thistles will burn my feet
And if you join our chorus
You'll never fear anymore
So here it comes, just the chorus
We will meet on a fatal shore
Souverian
Souverian
The elder
Souverian
Souverian
The free
Souverian
Souverian
The felled heart
So very young
So very young
Were we
Birds were singing
Still my lover won't return to me
You promise spring
Still my lover won't return to me
Wild parsnips scar my lungs
And the thistles are burning my feet
So here it comes, the chorus
You will never fear anymore
If you join our chorus
We will meet on a fatal shore
Under the elders
the older get younger
the younger get over
over the elders
and under the elders
pretend that you're older now
Under the elders
the older get younger
the younger get older
over the elders
under the elders
bending the branches down
We were so very young
Still my lover won't return to me
Thrushes sing
Still my lover won't return to me
Wild parsnips they still scar my lungs
While thistles still burn my feet
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Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
Holiday
Bee Gees
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.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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."
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I am surprised no one has pointed out a few interchangeable words that are alternated throughout the song. During the "Souverian" Chorus, I believe he is saying "So very young" on every other line; "So very young, the free". Try it next time you listen. Also, more importantly at the end, the word "Alder" is used in place of "Elder" on a few lines. It makes more sense too.
"Under the alders The older get younger The younger get over Over the elders Under the alders Bending your branches down"
It's a song about growing old and dying as well as the contrast of youth and age I believe. The trees are used to symbolize age and themes like spring are used to symbolize youth.
"Souverian Souverian the elder So very young the free Souverian Souverian we feld her So very young so very young were we"
So who is Souverian? A google search turned up a farmer named Souverian P. Frigon who was born in 1850 in Canada and immigrated to Iriquois County, Illinois (Andrew Bird's home state). Might just be a coincidence, but this Souverian being a farmer fits in with the pastoral images of parsnips, thistles, thrushes, and grasses.
Perhaps Andrew Bird is spinning a story around a real but mostly unknown figure?
My favorite part of the sing is:
"So here it comes the chorus You'll never fear anymore If you join a chorus We will meet on a fatal shore"
Obviously you think it's going to break into the chorus... and then... silence... and the song just keeps going. It's cruel, in a beautiful Andrew Bird type way. I'm not exactly sure what he means by it, but when I first heard this song that part hit me really hard.
@Soupsoncreep, I am viewing the Chorus as a group of angels, so basically, here comes the angels to take you to heaven, and if you join the chorus, you will meet the one you lost.
This song is really beautiful.
let go, perhaps?
"Under the elders<br /> the older get younger<br /> the younger get over<br /> over the elders<br /> and under the elders<br /> pretend that you're older now."<br /> <br />
This song really stood out to me on his new album, at least of what I've heard of it. It's so heartbreaking.
For some reason, this song reminds me of the Smashing Pumpkins song Today.
Etymology:From Old French soverain
Souverain= french used as noun or adjective = sovereign= Exceptional in quality.
Of course...he just could have made up the word because it sounded right too. (smirk)
Souverian is a first name (and is used as such in the song). But your etymology there may explain why he picked it for this song.
is anyone else seeing the sovay/souverian similarities here? i can already see a similar discussion unfolding on this page that seems to be following the whole "what does the word sovay come from" discussion on the sovay page
sovay=sauvee=sophie=etc, etc....
he could have just carried it out more and created souverian
i hope someone is following me here, afterall i am pretty deHIGHdrated
Ignore the title. "Souverian" is just a pretty French word Mr. Bird liked. He was asked about it in an NPR interview just before the album release.
Host: I don't know if I'm saying this right, Sou- Bird: "Souverian," yeah. It's French. Host: Oh, what's it mean? Bird: I do not know.
You know him, he'll use random words even if they don't add to the theme or message.
BTW, for the curious, "souverian" means being powerful or having control.
Haha, that definitely makes sense. But in the context of the song, it still seems to be used as a name ("Souverian the elder" "Souverian was free").
It could be about Cuthulu and Innsmouth on the shore... Mayhap he is a fan of HP Lovecraft.<br /> <br /> Or it could about acts of Hubris, the river Styx, and bending the branches down could be about Tantalus being stuck in Hades being unable to reach the fruit and water... <br /> <br /> BTW--he seems to have morphed the lyrics from the 1st stanza lately into:<br /> "The church steeples pushing higher" instead of the printed lyrics of catching fire.
A breakup song...?
Andrew Bird tends to move away from complete and explainable meaning in order to allow the listener to come to their own conclusions, or just enjoy the sound of the words. But, as he's mentioned in interviews, much of this album was written after a breakup. The lines in the verses seem to say that he can see that everything around him is supposed to be fine, but there's just a deep feeling that it will never go away.
"Thrushes sing Still my lover won't return to me..."
Andrew Bird uses a lot of plays on words, homophones ("Souverian" and "so very young"), and verbal/aural palindromes (e.g., "Oh No" and "On Ho") in his writing. Perhaps a big reason he used the word "Souverian" was because it is homophonic with "so very young." When you juxtapose different words together that sound the same, your brain tries to make some connection where there previously wasn't one... one of the great things about art.