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.
You know you're gold, you don't gotta worry none
Oasis child, born and so wild
Don't I know you better than the rest
All deception, all deception from you
Your love is stag in the white sand
Wilderness for miles, eyes so mild and wise
Don't I know you better than the rest?
All deception, all deception from you
Anyway you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Any way you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Your love is stag in the white sand
Oasis child born into a man
Don't I know you better than the rest?
All deception, all deception from you
Wilderness for miles, eyes so mild and wise
Oasis child, born and so wild
Don't I know you better than the rest
All deception, all deception from you
Anyway you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Any way you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Anyway you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Any way you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Oasis child, born and so wild
Don't I know you better than the rest
All deception, all deception from you
Your love is stag in the white sand
Wilderness for miles, eyes so mild and wise
Don't I know you better than the rest?
All deception, all deception from you
Anyway you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Any way you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Your love is stag in the white sand
Oasis child born into a man
Don't I know you better than the rest?
All deception, all deception from you
Wilderness for miles, eyes so mild and wise
Oasis child, born and so wild
Don't I know you better than the rest
All deception, all deception from you
Anyway you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Any way you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Anyway you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
Any way you run, you run before us
Black and white horse arching among us
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Hayalperest
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
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."
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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 always associated this song with my best friend whom I was in love with for much of my childhood/teen years. To me, the person who know him best (Don't I know you better than the rest?), he was unique and incredibly talented. But he tried so hard to fit in with people he had little in common with; he essentially "deceived" them (All deception, all deception from you). Of all my friends I believed he was the one with the brightest future, and no matter how much he tried to blend in, he was leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of us (Any way you run, you run before us). He never believed in himself, but I always did (You know you're gold, you don't gotta worry none). We were all horses - we were all the same - and he was a zebra - unique, not "domesticated" as we were - who was trying to disguise himself as a horse - or as domesticated, someone who had been broken in by society (Black and white horse, arching among us).
this is the hell of a moving comment.
it's crazy because I was just listening to this song thinking the same exact thing about one of my best friends.. it's so upsetting, but beautiful song.
Wow. You nailed it! Exactly what this song means :)
Brilliant!
this song means so much more to me now. thank you.
I love your interpretation :) I always fall for the zebras.
It seems to be about that person you watch from the corner of your eye. Perhaps you don't know them, but you've always been intrigued. They seem melancholy or untouchable or altogether alien to you. But there's also this elusive beauty in them. Achingly so. Perhaps they aren't even aware of it themselves, and are deceiving themselves as seeing themselves as ordinary.
In admiring said person's beauty, you in turn see yourself as an ordinary horse while this exotic creature arches before you. Unaware, you are the zebra the same as they are the zebra. The tragedy is that we can't see the exquisite qualities we possess without comparing their worth or unworthiness in relation to others.
That's what it is for me.
beautiful & so true.
@Asterion Beautiful explanation.
I'm pretty sure the song is about a zebra.
that made my day :)
lol
yep - we all have important things to communicate with zebras, ha ha
@shanalee88 "born into a man" is a lyrical hint it's not a zebra
this song might be the most peaceful, and yet most haunting, song I've ever heard. if you're angry, it makes you calm, if you're sad, it tells you everythings going to be ok, if youre happy, it makes you more happy without being irritating. what a great band.
this song is incredible, but i have to say, LITERALLY the musical part during "arching before us" makes me choke up. it's such a pretty progression!
the lyrics up there are from the CD booklet.
my take is that it's someone that she knows very well who is obsessed with his/her image and she pities and understands him/her for his/her self-consciousness. think about it- a zebra looks like a regular horse except for its pattern. she probably knows this person 'beneath his/her stripes.' she is trying to comfort him/her and let that person know it's ok to be yourself (you know you're golden, you don't gotta worry none." however, it's likely that i am wrong. the lyrics are so vague it's difficult to say.
I have the lyrics from the album, here it is:
You know you're gold You dont got to worry none Oasis child born and so wild Dont I know you Better than the rest All deception from you
Your love is stag In the white sand Wilderness for miles Eyes so mild and wise Dont I know you Better than the rest All deception from you
Anyway you run You run before us Black and white horse Arching among us
Your love is stag In the white sand Oasis child born into a man Dont I know Better than the rest All deception from you
Wilderness for miles Eyes so mild and wise Oasis child born and so wild
Dont I know you Better than the rest All deception from you
This song seems to talk about image and deception. Maybe this person is an object of intrigue and is magnetic. Might not be accurate.
To me the song appears to be about a man that the narrator has known since he was were a boy. The description: "You know you're gold / You don't got to worry none / Oasis child born and so wild" I interpret as the man's cushy situation in life due to very successful parents; when the line "Oasis child" hits it makes me think that he is an only child, long yearned for and adored. But at the same time, he is isolated in many ways -- an oasis, despite its lushness, is still surrounded by desert. The isolation, resources available, and parent's spoiling enable the boy to be wild both in personality and action.
When the narrator says they know the man better than the rest, a sense of history and real knowledge of the person is shown, and later, with the line, "Oasis child born into a man" this seems to imply it's a lifelong relationship of watching the man grow up.
I'm less sure about the next verse: "Your love is stag / In the white sand / Wilderness for miles / Eyes so mild and wise". However, my guess is that the narrator is describing that oasis isolation, this time in terms of lovers and emotions. "Stag" in this context means alone but I also feel like it has several connotations (as most of the lines and words in this song do). I get a vision of this man standing in the sand looking out on all of the wilderness around him and feeling calm and satisfied like it's all his for the taking -- not that he is literally standing in an oasis looking out, but as a metaphor for how he interacts with the world, "the wilderness", which I believe to include potential lovers. This gives an underlining meaning to the phrase "Your love is stag" in the sense that he does not commit to any one person but gives his love in solo, fleeting connections. He is confident in his abilities to obtain what he wants and is skillful as a social manipulator and lover, but ultimately he is always alone and stays true to only himself.
The chorus is where the lyrics really become brilliant: "All deception from you/ Anyway you run / You run before us / Black and white horse / Arching among us".
When the narrator calls him a black and white horse, I think it's a clever way of saying that the man is two-faced. He is both black and white at the same time, all deception, never showing his real self. Saying that any way that he runs, he runs before them implies that he is both popular and constantly trying to stay one step ahead of everyone, weaving his lies and covering his deceptions. The chorus seems to be the perspective of the narrator on the man's behavior in their circle of friends -- this master manipulator, lying and charming (and probably buying) his way along from person to person. But the narrator knows him and his tricks. They watched him grow up, they know about his oasis and his black and white character.
I like pickled cheese sandwiches and blue waffle
great analysis
(@grandiloquent)
This is definitely the same impression I got from the song. The only difference being that I imagined all this about the female gender.
hey beach house, you keep sneaking up on me. i've developed a secret allegiance to your mellow/haunting yet consistently catchy evening.