Lyric Interpretations

[divine_torture]

Pretty simple...Choose a song that you really like, and give an interpretation of what you think the lyrics mean. Or ask other members what they think. Try to comment on others if possible, otherwise it's just people posting lyrics with ideas about them, and no discussion. I'll start with something pretty easy, but if this thread goes well, I'll do more deep lyrics:

Katatonia-'Brave'

If you didn't know/All the moments/When I lose myself This line says that if you cared, or if I meant something to you like you say, you should know that something wrong. 'When I lose myself' means when I hurt. Probably talking to a woman, but 'you' you could mean 'I'.

I would tell the world/I'm catching flies by now-Suicide. 'Catching flies' is something corpses do

Speaking to someone/Breaking the windows/This house is dead-things are happening, but it's all unimportant and he is jaded to the world. Talking, violence, whatever...everything around him is dead. Or, 'house' is him.

The sound of falling/When the pictures are moving/Between the memoriesIt's what he pictures of his own accord in his thoughts that matter. The actual memories are hazy and, to him, worthless. The 'sound of falling' is him becoming jaded.

The sound of falling/When the pictures are moving/Dead in time-'Dead in time' because it happened, and he can't let it go. It is not specified (betrayal, death, heartbreak, etc...)

Brave, try the meaning of loss/I know your smile is deadly at this point/Wherever you are I am not-I'm not cool because of how I act. I act how I do because I hurt. Your smile is deadly because you plan to betray, so I will distance myself from you. You are a fake person...aimed at multiple people. Not just a girl. So called 'friends', women, family, whoever.

If you didn't know/All the moments/When I lose myself/I would tell the world-Setting up to tell the point of his lyrics in this song

I guess I should know/The limits of the world/There are moments I find myself/Not breathing at all-He complains and writes lyrics, but he knows that life is full of pain. And he no longer cares. 'Not breathing' is not being effected; being jaded. He said all this, but realizes that, in reality, he doesn't give a damn...death is fine. Pain is fine. Who cares?


So that's my thoughts on this song. It's much easier compared to some things I would do (like songs from Smashing Pumpkins or Alice In Chains), but I think it's a good start. Anyone else? Also, alot of songs tell the story through the music/atmosphere as well.

I'd really like to hear what you have to say about this one, and what you think about other lyrics. Yay!

 

[The Ozzman]

I approve of this thread

 

[divine_torture]

I think it should go alright. I don't think most here will go AS in depth as I like to, but even some thoughts are worth a read.

 

[Blind Guardian]

Nice thread. I'd like to see someone have a go at Nick Drake's Riverman. I can't really formulate myself appropriately enough to describe my interpretation.

 

[divine_torture]

Give me a little to listen/read and I'll give it a shot.

 

[Blind Guardian]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idcaRTg4-fM&feature=fvst[/ame]

Betty came by on her way
Said she had a word to say
About things today
And fallen leaves.

Said she hadn't heard the news
Hadn't had the time to choose
A way to lose
But she believes.

Gonna see the river man
Gonna tell him all I can
About the plan
For lilac time.

If he tells me all he knows
'bout the way his river flows
And all night shows
In summertime.

Betty said she prayed today
For the sky to blow away
Or maybe stay
She wasn't sure.

For when she thought of summer rain
Calling for her mind again
She lost the pain
And stayed for more.

Gonna see the river man
Gonna tell him all I can
'bout the ban
On feeling free.

If he tells me all he knows
About the way his river flows
I don't suppose
It's meant for me.

Oh, how they come and go
Oh, how they come and go

 

[divine_torture]

I almost have to say heroin.

The first two parts, Betty (or himself/someone he knows, not specifically someone named betty) is normal. Thoughtful. Almost positive. 'choose a way to lose' meaning the choice to try drugs...most likely H like I said.

'River man' is a dealer, someone who brings 'peace'. 'Lilac time'=poppy flower=heroin. 'Summertime', 'sun', 'sunlight', 'candles'-almost always metaphors for heroin.

She then prays for the sky to blow away...or she isn't sure. That's because the world around her doesn't matter anymore. It's hard to explain to anyone who hasn't used H, so forgive me for not properly explaining.

'She lost the pain and stayed for more'...obvious. She lost the pain by becoming jaded through H. But H's biggest effect is to bring forth everything that hurts you , all those fun dark thoughts, and magnify them into a blissful depression.

'I don't suppose it's for me'-He's planning to die. Realistically, he'll never be happy, so why bother living?

That's what I get from it. I don't know if he was a drug user or what have you, but this is just a first thought interpretation.

 

[Einherjar86]

"Song For Adam" by Jackson Browne

"Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not kno him well.
He was alone into his distance, he was deep into his well.
I could guess what he was laughing at, but I couldn't really tell.
Now the story's told that Adam jumped, but I'm thinking that he fell."

Obvious playing on the theme of the Fall of Man; this verse relates Adam as a close friend of the narrator, but also makes reference to the Biblical story of Adam in Eden.

"Together we went traveling as we received the call;
His destination India, and I had none at all.
Well I still remember laughing, with our backs against the wall,
So free of fear we never thought that one of us might fall."

This is the only part of the song to refer to an actual location on Earth (India), and thus grounds the story a bit, making it seem more like a personal ode to the narrator's friend.

"I sit before my only candle, but it's so little light to find my way.
Now this story unfolds before my candle, which is shorter every hour
As it reaches for the day...
But I feel just like a candle in the way,
I guess I'll get there, but I wouldn't say
For sure."

The chorus of the song; clearly there's some reference to a wider story arc. The narrator makes note that the story gets shorter each night as he reads, and as the night draws towards day; but he's unsure whether or not he will ever get to the end. Perhaps the story can be analogous with the Fall of Man archetype, and thus he doesn't know whether he (or we) will ever find salvation.

"When we parted we were laughing as our goodbyes were said,
And I never heard from him again as each our lives we led;
Except for once in someone else's letter that I read,
Until I heard the sudden words that a friend of mine was dead."

I want to know: whose letter? I love that line. Anyway, another very personal verse here; he makes reference to Adam as a friend again. We begin to see the shock and effect of this Adam's death. In a way it seems to not only have a personal effect, but a communal, epochal one as well.

"I sit before my only candle like a pilgrim sits beside the way.
Now this journey appears before my candle,
As a song that's growing fainter the harder that I play;
But I fear before I end I'll fade away
But I guess I'll get there, though I wouldnt say for sure."

The chorus again, but the words are changed. Here the "story" is equated with a journey and a song, as is stated directly by the narrator and also by his choice of the word "pilgrim." Here the Biblical tone seems to be much stronger. I, personally, love the line about fading away before reaching the end of the song, or journey. The sense of loss is immense, and the listener gets the feeling that since Adam has died, so has a sense of meaning and purpose.

"Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him long,
And when I stood myself beside him, I never though I was as strong.
Still it seems he stopped his singing in the middle of his song;
Well I'm not the one to say I know, but Im hoping he was wrong."

Here the narrator establishes Adam as a person of some high status or regard, yet also admits to hoping that he was "wrong." Is this defiance, or fear? Have we come to lack of faith?

The final chorus:
"I'm holding out my only candle, though it's so little light to find my way.
Now this story's been laid beneath my candle,
And it's shorter every hour as it reaches for the day.
Yes, I feel just like a candle in the way;
I hope I'll get there, but I never pray..."

 

[divine_torture]

Very good stuff. I'm curious as to what 'Adam' is referring to exactly. It's hard to tell...himself? An actual friend? The world? Or he literally means the biblical story? I like those lyrics, regardless of the song itself (I've not listened to it yet).

I personally like this line:
"Well I still remember laughing, with our backs against the wall,
So free of fear we never thought that one of us might fall."

I like your description of the last verse, too.

 

[Pessimism]

Anal Cunt - I Sold Your Dog To A Chinese Restaurant

I was on my way to turn in illegal aliens to the INS
And your stupid fucking dog was barking at me
It sounded like a singer from a gay death metal band
I wanted to kick it in the fucking face

I sold your dog to a Chinese restaurant

After I beat the fucking shit out of it
I wanted to throw it through your fucking window
But I needed money to buy some more whiskey
So I sold it to a Chinese restaurant

Your family ordered a pu pu platter
You didn’t know what you were eating
It was your fucking gay faithful dog
While you were at the restaurant I lit your house on fire

As the gentleman of the local neighborhood came to the rescue of Americans nationwide (as made prominent by doing his civic duty of turning in those who would unjustly pilfer our governments vaults), he had been aurally assaulted by a beast with diminished intellectual capabilities (possibly Glen Benton). In response to this aggressive behavior, said gentleman could only avenge himself by placing an uncompromising leg-thrust to the engorged frontal lobe of the obstreperous villain.

Thus, the man acquainted his newfound enemy with Asian cuisine.

To court such a creature would have been preposterous and to leave such a frothing beast unchained would have been ludicrous; whether flown through crystal or hung with hemp, the benign homicide surely would go unbeknownst to the authorities if turned into delicious orange chicken; but only if his thirst could be sedated with raw Toddian water.

If only the megalomaniacal owner of said beast knew what had come to fruition! If only they new the the replacement of that MSG laden dairy roll! O', fortuna had not smiled upon those of evil intent that day, for not only was consumption the diet for said day, so was a warm living quarters!

 

[Cythraul]

 

[Blind Guardian]

That's what I get from it. I don't know if he was a drug user or what have you, but this is just a first thought interpretation.

He did take antidepressants, actually he eventually died from it, so you may be correct.

 

[divine_torture]

Bump. I'd like to add more, but if no one besides Einherjar is going to contribute songs, this won't get anywhere.

@Runk: Heroin. Anitdepressants. Close. Thanks for the confirmation though.

 

[divine_torture]

Tool-'Jimmy'

What was it like to see
The face of your own stability
Suddenly look away
Leaving you with the dead and hopeless?
-Basically a long way of saying he grew up. The innocence of being a child was tainted with age and understanding.

Eleven and she was gone
Eleven is when we waved good-bye
Eleven is standing still
-Most likely an incident that happened at age 11. Probably a death (standing still is the implication of death)

Waiting for me to free him
By coming home
-Read: Waiting for ME to become okay by dying/heroin

Moving me with a sound
Opening me within a gesture
Drawing me down and in,
Showing me where it all began,
Eleven
-This is part of why he began using H. 'Sound' means thought. 'Gesture' means offer. 'Drawing me down...' is obviously a syringe. 'All began' is when he became aware of what life really is. Pain.

He was too strong to realize that
You you were the voice that was calling me back home
-'He' is I. Because 'you' are gone, I want to be gone too. Everyone else is going to die/abandon me. I don't want to be here anymore.

Under a dead ohio sky
-Maynard is from Ohio, I believe

Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
-I have been in pain and understand the true nature of things. Hurt/pain/etc. 'Where the hell have I been' means 'Why am I still alive'

Sleeping, lost, and numb
So glad that I have found you
I am wide awake and heading home
-All blatant references to H and overdosing/dying

Hold your light,
Eleven
Lead me through each gentle step by step
By inch by loaded memory
-H makes you relive every single painful thing you would avoid sober. 'Hold your light' means something similar to 'head toward the light'. 'Lead me through' to death by od. 'Loaded memory' is what I was referring to with the reliving thing.

I'll move to heal
As soon as pain allows so we can
Reunite and both move on together
-'I'll move to heal' means he will die so that he no longer hurts and so that he quits hurting others. The rest is more death stuff.

Hold your light,
Eleven
Lead me through each gentle step by step
By inch by loaded memory
-Already explained

till one and one are one, eleven,
So glow, child, glow
-Die, die, more die

I'm heading back home
-more die stuff

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

I'm not too sure Maynard was ever a heroin addict. I also don't think every song has to do with heroin

 

[waif]

ITT D_T projects.

 

[-CC-]

Meshuggah - Sum
Vision will blind. Severance ties. Median am I. True are all lies

It's about how they played a show in Memphis many years ago and a fan threw his underwear at Jens Kidman's face, and he became severely disorientated for a few minutes and had to give the mic to Tomas Haake to entertain the crowd until he regained his senses...apparently the underwear smelled so rancid it nearly knocked him out

 

[False Joe]

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
A metaphor for a heroin addict begging his dealer. Wool obviously standing in for heroin. The dealer described as a "black sheep" because only my pals sell drugs.
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
Informing the desperate druggie that he does indeed have heroin.

One for my master,
One for my dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
They end the song by informing the addict that infact, all three bags already have been accounted for selling wise. One for his master (What with being black and all), one for his missus, who only stays with him for the next hit, and the heartbreaking child who is already addicted at a young age.

 

[Einherjar86]

I'm not too sure Maynard was ever a heroin addict. I also don't think every song has to do with heroin

Well, just because he was never an addict doesn't mean he can't write a song about it. The entire A Perfect Circle album The Thirteenth Step is about overcoming addiction, as Maynard has gone on the record saying.

Also, @d_t: Tool is really influenced by lots of occult, astrology, gnosticism and numerology sources; I'd be willing to bet that the number 11 holds greater significance than just an age in that song.

EDIT: you should look into the lyrics of the song "H."

 

[Badbird]

Here my interpretation of Tool-Sober.
there's a shadow just behind me,
shrouding every step i take,
making every promise empty,
pointing every finger at me.

Religon is a part of this.Stuff like pointing fingers at people and promises empty are all parts that religon has done to people.

waiting like a stalking bulter who upon the finger rests.
Murder now the path called must we just because the son has come.

This part is about that because god son,Jesus has come you must follow all of the bible says in order to go to heaven.

jesus won't you fucking whistle
something but the past and done?

This is crusing demand at jesus and saying the beginning and the end of times.

why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start over.
Why can't we drink forver.
I just want to start things over.

This is easy.That line is about a religon person having drinking problems that want to start all over again in order to be a good christian.

I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
i will work to elevate you just enough to bring you down.

Someone like a god or a priest will tell all made up stuff to make you believe in them but you then see them as fairy tales.

trust me.Mother mary
won't you whisper something
but what's past and done.
Trust me.I want what I want.

God want you to trust him and give him what he wants from the beginning of times to the end of times.