I accidentally posted half of this earlier - here is the full version.
READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE SONGS MEANING - YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED =]
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
*This song is about how close we come in everyday life to horrible things. We must make choices - whether they are right or wrong, to continue living.
The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
*This song is about forgiving people of mistakes/bad choices made in their pasts.
Metric - Gimme Sympathy
*Here's a breakdown of the lyrics and their meanings.
*The first half refers to The Rolling Stones point of view in the song Gimme Shelter, in comparison to Gimme Sympathy.
"Ooh, see the fire is sweepin
Our very street today
Burns like a red coal carpet"
---The Rolling Stones
"Get hot
Get too close to the flame"
---Metric
"Oh, a storm is threatning
My very life today
If I dont get some shelter
Oh yeah, Im gonna fade away"
---The Rolling Stones
"Wild open space"
---Metric
~~~~~Wild open space contrasts to shelter.
"Rape, murder!
Its just a shot away"
---The Rolling Stones
"Talk like an open book"
---Metric
~~~~~Say what you want to say - life is too unpredictable to remain quiet.
"War, children, its just a shot away
Its just a shot away"
---The Rolling Stones
"Sign me up
Got no time to take a picture
I'll remember someday
All the chances we took"
---Metric
~~~~~The Rolling Stones repeat "Its just a shot away" throughout the entire song - reinforcing the fact that "War, Flood, Fire, Rape, Murder" could be an instant away.
*The second half refers to The Beatles point of view in the song Here Comes the sun, in comparison to Gimme Sympathy.
"Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it's all right"
---The Beatles
"Don't go
Stay with the all unknown
Stay away from the hooks
All the chances we took"
---Metric
~~~~~The Beatles use the sun as a metaphor for a new beginning and "the ice" represents all the choices they regret. Metric takes this idea and adds more to it - new beginnings wont come unless mistakes were made in the past (avoid familiarity/hooks and experience the unknown). No mistakes = no experience/gain/growth.
*Chorus
"We're so close to something better left unknown
We're so close to something better left unknown"
---Metric
~!~!~!~THIS LINE IS KEY IN UNDERSTANDING THE SONG (and how convenient that it is said twice).
I'll present this as if The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were both saying the same line.
The Rolling Stones - We're so close to something that we would be better off not knowing.
The Beatles - We're so close to something better, which is currently unknown.
Say the line a few times with each point of view in mind... then smile at the genius of Metric.
Thanks
I accidentally posted half of this earlier - here is the full version.
READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE SONGS MEANING - YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED =]
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter *This song is about how close we come in everyday life to horrible things. We must make choices - whether they are right or wrong, to continue living.
The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun *This song is about forgiving people of mistakes/bad choices made in their pasts.
Metric - Gimme Sympathy *Here's a breakdown of the lyrics and their meanings.
*The first half refers to The Rolling Stones point of view in the song Gimme Shelter, in comparison to Gimme Sympathy.
"Ooh, see the fire is sweepin Our very street today Burns like a red coal carpet" ---The Rolling Stones
"Get hot Get too close to the flame" ---Metric