Song meaning discussion thread

[Tj]

Recently I've been spending some time on websites devoted to discussion about song meanings. I find it really interesting, 'cause a set of lyrics can mean totally different things to different people, so it's cool to know how the words are received and interpreted by the audience. I like knowing what meanings the lyricist was/wasnt trying to convey, too, and the best thing is the subjectiveness of it all - You can tell a person they aren't receiving the words in the way the artist intended, but you can't tell them that what it means to them is wrong, 'cause it's such a personal thing.

I guess if it works at all it'll have a similar format to the various 'What song are you listening to?' type threads we've had over the years, in that it will work by one person posting some lyrics, then another person giving their interpretation before taking their turn to post some lyrics afterwards. I think it would be best if this didn't become another thread for the poets of this board to ask opinions on their own material, by the way, so maybe it's best if the only stuff that gets posted is by accomplished artists that other people may have heard of. In fact, I'll say how I think it would work best:

No material written by yourself, or a 'friend' etc...

Try to avoid it turning into a musical discussion

Try not to spend too long discussing one song in the thread before someone posts a new one?

Could be fun, and I'll start by posting this song:

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Rocket Man - Elton John

She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it's gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man

And I think it's gonna be a long long time...

So anyway, I hope this will make a good idea for a thread

[conny]

A bittersweet lament about isolation and disorientation, disillusion, finding yourself and...well, hope. If you read the lyrics. But if you hear the song, you get the feeling that the protagonist ain't to sad about his situation, he's just discovering a part of himself that was always there, like he's becoming more aware of his real nature and is like "fuck you if you don't understand, and yeah, I do know about the consequences!", you know, like trying to explain, trying to find a reason in and for his confusion, and while he tries, he realises that it makes no sense and just keeps doing what he does best. He accepted without giving in, sort of, and is now happier. Hopefully. My favourite line: "I'm not the man they think I am at home." sums up the song a bit for me.

Now I don't know if that brief reflection qualifies for what you had in mind, Tj. But here you are...?

[Lisa]

Hope this isn't too off topic but I think he had an infatuation with David Bowie at the time and like Major Tom...so many similarities, vague as they may be....including guilt he is hiding about his sexual orientation...as in the same line Conny posted...

[journey]

Matchbox Twenty - 3 A.M.

She says it's cold outside and she hands me my raincoat
She's always worried about things like that
She says it's all gonna end and it might as well be my fault
And she only sleeps when it's raining
And she screams and her voice is straining
(chorus)
She says baby
It's 3 am I must be lonely
When she says baby
Well I can't help but be scared of it all sometimes
Says the rain's gonna wash away I believe it

She's got a little bit of something, God it's better than nothing
And in her color portrait world she believes that she's got it all
She swears the moon don't hang quite as high as it used to
And she only sleeps when it's raining
And she screams and her voice is straining
(chorus)
She believes that life is made up of all that you're used to
And the clock on the wall has been stuck at three for days, and days
She thinks that happiness is a mat that sits on her doorway
But outside it's stopped raining
(chorus)


D and I were discussing this song on the phone last night. I'm not sure what he's saying (Rob Thomas). This is probably the one song I have a hard time interpreting. It seems that the girl in the song is afraid to face things. Maybe the rain symbolizes hard times and she avoids it by sleeping.

Any other ideas about it?

[D]

As I told u last night I believe its about sex

she hands me a raincoat is slang for she hands me a condom,

"she only sleeps when it's raining" is a metaphor, sleep is slang for sex rain is slang for being lonely,sad,or upset

so she only has sex when she is lonely or upset

happiness is a the mat on her doorway means she associates happiness and love with sex

and at the end when it stops raining she has a realization that love is more than having sex.



thats probably not what it is, but its my weird bizarre interpretation.

If u read the lyrics literally I think that song is very very fucking corny

however if u use my interpretation its a bit better.

[journey]

As I told u last night I believe its about sex

she hands me a raincoat is slang for she hands me a condom,

"she only sleeps when it's raining" is a metaphor, sleep is slang for sex rain is slang for being lonely,sad,or upset

so she only has sex when she is lonely or upset

happiness is a the mat on her doorway means she associates happiness and love with sex

and at the end when it stops raining she has a realization that love is more than having sex.

Get your head out of the gutter, D!? Goodness.

I think it has more to do with the revolving door relationship. They don't love each other, but they stay together, because they're used to each other. When he says, "She's got a little bit of something, God it's better than nothing", it seems that he's just settling, and not really in love.

[*Izzy*]

Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sometimes I feel
Like I don?t have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angel
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I drive on her streets
?cause she?s my companion
I walk through her hills
?cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie

I don?t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way

It?s hard to believe
That there?s nobody out there
It?s hard to believe
That I?m all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I don?t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way

Under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away
I think it's about heroin, what do you guys think?

  Izzy?

[Timothy]

Yeah it's about I believe anthonys battle with heroin.

[D]

That one was pretty easy

Someone tell my very naive woman that a Rain Coat is slang for a condom.

[Timothy]

Yes is  Rain Coat is slang for a condom.

[Tj]

Yeah of course it is D 

[AxlsMainMan]

Yeah it's about I believe anthonys battle with heroin.

The song is indeed about his addiction, his book goes into detail regarding that song extensively.

[Evolution]

Indeed, he said that he wrote that as a poem at first about it. Then the rest of the band saw it and wanted to put it to music for him.

[AxlsMainMan]

Indeed, he said that he wrote that as a poem at first about it. Then the rest of the band saw it and wanted to put it to music for him.

Anthony, much alike Axl seems to like writing his lyrics all to himself and then rejoins the group to paste it all together.

[conny]

Alright, time for another lyric I guess.

Suck on this, it should keep you busy for a while?


American Pie
Written by Don Mc Lean

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they?d be happy for a while.

But february made me shiver
With every paper I?d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn?t take one more step.

I can?t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
Singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die.
"this?ll be the day that I die."

Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ?n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you?re in love with him
`cause I saw you dancin? in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I was a lonely teenage broncin? buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died.

I started singin?,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
And singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die.
"this?ll be the day that I die."

Now for ten years we?ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin? stone,
But that?s not how it used to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from james dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king was looking down,
The jester stole his thorny crown.
The courtroom was adjourned;
No verdict was returned.
And while lennon read a book of marx,
The quartet practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.

We were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
And singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die.
"this?ll be the day that I die."

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It landed foul on the grass.
The players tried for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
`cause the players tried to take the field;
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

We started singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
And singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die.
"this?ll be the day that I die."

Oh, and there we were all in one place,
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash sat on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil?s only friend.

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan?s spell.
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died

He was singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
And singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die.
"this?ll be the day that I die."

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news,
But she just smiled and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
Where I?d heard the music years before,
But the man there said the music wouldn?t play.

And in the streets: the children screamed,
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died.

And they were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
Singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die.
"this?ll be the day that I die."

They were singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie."
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
Them good old boys were drinkin? whiskey and rye
Singin?, "this?ll be the day that I die."

*****

I don't really want to discuss this song since it is so beautiful, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

To most people this appears to be like an upbeat party song, but me it just makes me cry like a fuckin baby everytime I hear it, it's so beautiful.

Now what do you think bout this song, what do you know about it? I think everyone has heard about that Buddy Holly reference, but there's a lot more going on in that lyric.

[Neemo]

That (American Pie) is a good one. here's a web page about it http://www.don-mclean.com/americanpie.asp

As for a new one, I've always wondered what the hell this song was all about

Stone Temple Pilots - Plush

And I feel that time's a wasted go
So where ya going to tommorrow?
And I see that these are lies to come
Would you even care?

And I feel it
And I feel it

Where ya going for tommorrow?
Where ya going with that mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

And I feel, so much depends on the weather
So is it raining in your bedroom?
And I see, that these are the eyes of disarray
Would you even care?

And I feel it
And she feels it

Where ya going to tommorrow?
Where ya going with that mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it

Where ya going for tommorrow?
Where ya going with that mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
To find it
To find it
To find it

[Evolution]

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3422


I just think a lot or Weiland's lyrics are spontaneous and don't have a hell of a lot of meaning. I mean his STP work rather than his VR work btw.

[Neemo]

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3422


I just think a lot or Weiland's lyrics are spontaneous and don't have a hell of a lot of meaning. I mean his STP work rather than his VR work btw.

No way, he used to be a great lyricist, I hope he gets back to it on the next VR album, since he'll have some time to plan out lyrics and stuff, STP #4 he was really fucked up on drugs, Shangi La-Dee-Da he was going through a separation and for Contraband he was in Jail. He still managed to pull out some gems in those circumstances, Sour Girl, Days of the Week, Slither. I am thinking there will be 3-5 really good lyrical performances on the next VR record cuz when he semi had his shit together for Core, Purple and Tiny Music he was great (he went to jail, the first time, after Tiny Music was done)

[Evolution]

Crackerman actually has some great lyrics also.

[AxlsMainMan]

Plush is about racism and the lengths people go to persecute and punish those like us, only differing by mere skin colour.