| Billy Joel – Piano Man Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Exactly right, I think. Furthermore, "Man, what are you doing here?" seems to indicate that the piano player is stuck there himself. Maybe he could have been a big star instead of a bar player. | |
| Switchfoot – Dare You To Move Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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This may be my favorite Switchfoot song. This seems to be about someone who has royally f'd up. They have metaphorically fallen down. "Welcome to the plant", "Welcome to existence", "everyone is here" - we have all done it... welcome to life. "I dare you to move" - a challenge to move from that fallen place to a better place. "Welcome to the fallout, welcome to resistance" - mistakes have consequences. We all have experience it. "The tension is here..." - you aren't where you want to be "I dare you to lift yourself up... like today never happened" - a challenge to move on with your life and not to beat yourself up “Maybe redemption has stories to tell” – when you change course, you will have a story. It can help you and others “Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell” – you don’t have to look far for forgiveness; we can be forgiven at our worst. Obviously this is a reference to the band’s Christian beliefs (which I share). This song perfectly captures my experience as a much younger, dumber man who made a pretty pivotal mistake and moved on to become a better man. It actually gives me chills when I hear it. I will certainly share this with my kids as they make the inevitable mistakes that we all make…. “Welcome to life, boys. We all eff up sometimes. The important thing is what you do AFTER you eff up. Let’s change course and move on” |
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| Skillet – Monster Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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It may be a Christian band, but I think they are expressing a universal problem of the human condition, experienced by Christians and nonbelievers alike - a problem even addressed in the Bible a few thousand years ago. To me, one point to the song is that a Christian is not immune to these issues. Sometimes it just sucks to be human! In this particular song, it doesn't look like the singer is proposing a solution, just presenting the problem. Sometimes, misery loves company; they call it "empathy". As a Christian, I enjoy a band that addresses universal problems and acknowledges spirituality, mortality and the existence of truth consistent with the Gospel without pounding me (or nonbelievers) over the head with evangelism. After all, if Skillet applied the message with a sledgehammer, this conversation would not be happening. |
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| Skillet – Monster Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| I think it could well be about anger, or about any other "demons" (metaphorically speaking) that people face - addiction, anger, selfishness etc. What Akturin said about anger can be said about any of these. To the Christian, the answer to these impulses, demons, or whatever you call them is God, as incarnated in the Christ. I suppose the next question in a nonbeliever's mind is: how do you experience God? Unfortunately, not always in the face of many of us Christians. I suppose the best way is to (1) read what Jesus really said and did, not just what others say he said and did, and (2) find people who act like that. There are many genuine Christians out there who bear an uncanny resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. | |
| U2 – Grace Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is a nice description of the grace known by the Christian faith. Grace = God in this song. As a Christian, I have heard few preachers give a better description of God and his love for us. Bono seems to have a very deep, clear understanding of God. > "Grace, she takes the blame" (the Messiah on the cross) > "It's also a thought that changed the world" (God incarnate - the intersection of the infinite w/ the finite) > "Grace finds goodness in everything" (God passionately loves us. He sees the good in us - as a parent and child) > "She travels outside of karma, karma" (karma (bad) = you get what you deserve. Grace = you don't get the bad things you deserve. Interesting, considering the sow and reap analogy) > "Grace, she carries a world on her hips" (she cares for us as if we were her children. Jesus refers to us as the children of God) > "What left a mark no longer stains" (classic stain of sin) That is the Christian message. Plain and simple. |
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| Rush – Witch Hunt (Part 3 of Fear) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| rufusfirefly: "I need more cowbell!!!" | |
| Rush – Red Barchetta Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Great example of imagery - the sights, the sounds, the smell (well weathered leather, hot metal and oil - if you have ever changed the oil in a car, you know the smell.) Also, the syncopation during the chase makes the tempo seem rushed (no pun intended) - communicating speed. it isn't supposed to be a deep, philosophical song, the story is just a great vehicle (again, no pun) for a very sensuous poem. Ok, maybe a little libertarianism seeps in with civil disobedience. This is a great driving song. Put the top down, turn the volume up, watch out for police with radar. |
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| Rush – Witch Hunt (Part 3 of Fear) Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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perhaps the best line in all of rock and roll: "That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves. " Democracy is based on the idea that the common man can take care of himself. We seem to be diverging from that concept. |
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| Rush – The Trees Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I've been listening to these guys for 23 years. Love 'em. My adolescence was spent listening to this rock and roll instead of the "sex and drugs" variety. They helped form my libertarian leanings and inspired me to read Ayn Rand. My gain, indeed I don' think we should be too restrictive about who the oaks and maples are. They are any groups who have differences beyond their control (they can't help how they are made). One group feels the other gets what they want. Any artificial means of equalizing will make both groups equally deficient. We will not be made equally great, only equally mediocre. It is a libertarian anthem - not just about business. In whatever attribute a government tries to make people equal, it will only make them equally deficient - equally poor, equally unemployed, equally uneducated, equally victimized.... I used this song in a poetry project in high school some 20 years ago. I interpreted the differences as racial - my teacher commented that it might not just apply to race. In retrospect, I think my interpretation might have betrayed a bit of racism on my part to assume that one race was inferior to another, as the Maples apparently were to the Oaks. I love a rock song that makes me think. Few do. |
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