The Meaningful Lyrics Thread

2028 Views 26 Replies 14 Participants Last post by BranchMonkey, Mar 7, 2018

Hollow Man

Discussion Starter · May 8, 2015

Pick a song and talk about the lyrics that are meaningful to you. You could even talk about how certain lyrics are delivered physically or how they sound. Why is the song significant lyrically or other wise? Is it mysterious and hard to interpret? What are some questions you have? What is meaningful about the lyrics or what's not said?

Recently I've been wanting to do this with specific songs I like or just going in more depth instead of just passively listening to songs without putting too much thought into the lyrics or arrangement.

The song, "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might be Giants is simultaneous one of the most fun songs melodically even with really moving cathartic chords, but lyrically is incredibly lonely and kind of mundane in a way but yet still creative and interesting. It's a song about a bird night light....lol. It's really weird how it works dynamically in opposites like that. One of the song-writers of TMbG is probably an XNTP.

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Copper North

· #2 · May 8, 2015

I'll do some heavy thinking and come back to this thread with a lot more examples and specifics, but, for now :

REM - 1988 - Green - "World Leader Pretend"
I played half of 'Green' in the car yesterday, and I keep getting lost in this particular song.
Anyone taking in a work of art to their senses will see / hear it in their own unique way.
As an INFJ, I embrace it more each time as a song about a hard decision - - to either let people into your world or keep them out.

Michael Stipe has the kind of imagery in his lyrics that age their way from 'WTF' to 'Wow'.
Songs like 'Hope' off of Up still have me absolutely perplexed.
'The Boy in the Well' off of Around the Sun deserves some mention, too, but sometime later, instead.

Ray Davies deserves a great deal of mention, too (later).
Over the years, I've come to see him as a Top 3 songwriter (right up there with Bob Dylan) for his insight and observations of the world.
I would almost guess with certainty that he is an INFJ (or INFP) based on this gift.
In fact, I'd be terrified sitting across from him on a subway, because I would get the impression that he could read right into my own soul within 22 seconds and write a song about the irony within it.

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Copper North

· #3 · May 8, 2015

Open Every Window said:
Pick a song and talk about the lyrics that are meaningful to you. You could even talk about how certain lyrics are delivered physically or how they sound. Why is the song significant lyrically or other wise? Is it mysterious and hard to interpret? What are some questions you have? What is meaningful about the lyrics or what's not said?

Recently I've been wanting to do this with specific songs I like or just going in more depth instead of just passively listening to songs without putting too much thought into the lyrics or arrangement.

The song, "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might be Giants is simultaneous one of the most fun songs melodically even with really moving cathartic chords, but lyrically is incredibly lonely and kind of mundane in a way but yet still creative and interesting. It's a song about a bird night light....lol. It's really weird how it works dynamically in opposites like that. One of the song-writers of TMbG is probably an XNTP.

I was going to respond about REM songs in your other thread, but picking a favorite would be like having nine of your children in the room and have someone say, 'Pick just your two favorites'. I couldn't narrow them down to 30 if I tried.

On the subject of lyrics, I did want to ask a question.

When REM did 'Nightswimming' on Automatic - 1992, it was the first time the lyrics came first, with the music chosen and layered around it later on.
As far as I know, throughout all of 1981 - 2011, this was the only song that REM ever put together without the music already formed as an instrumental.
Do you know if there are any others from your own listening ?

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Copper North

· #4 · May 8, 2015 (Edited)

[double post]

Hollow Man

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 8, 2015

Copper North said:
When REM did 'Nightswimming' on Automatic - 1992, it was the first time the lyrics came first, with the music chosen and layered around it later on.
As far as I know, throughout all of 1981 - 2011, this was the only song that REM ever put together without the music already formed as an instrumental.
Do you know if there are any others from your own listening ?

Hey! I didn't know that was how Night Swimming was written. I've heard that the music parts are made up first by the Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and (maybe?) others then it's sent to Michael to write melodies and lyrics over. I know that "All the Right Friends" was composed by just Peter Buck and Michael Stipe before the band really began.

I agree...haha..I am such a huge R.E.M. fan...there isn't really just a few favorites...there isn't an album I don't like that they've released now for me personally. There usually at least five great songs on each album. Maybe that's an exaggeration a bit.

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Copper North

· #6 · May 8, 2015

Open Every Window said:
Hey! I didn't know that was how Night Swimming was written. I've heard that the music parts are made up first by the Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Berry and (maybe?) others then it's sent to Michael to write melodies and lyrics over. I know that "All the Right Friends" was composed by just Peter Buck and Michael Stipe before the band really began.

I agree...haha..I am such a huge R.E.M. fan...there isn't really just a few favorites...there isn't an album I don't like that they've released now for me personally. There usually at least five great songs on each album. Maybe that's an exaggeration a bit.

I wish I could get my hands on an out-take set of any of these sessions, just for the variety of alternates (a lot like the one I've got of George Harrison doing 'It Don't Come Easy', before he gave it to Ringo).

The story with Nightswimming is that they tried laying the lyrics over the instrumental accompaniment of 'Drive' and 'Try Not to Breathe', but it didn't gel very well.
They started something completely new on the piano, and it flowed out almost immediately, exactly the way we hear it today.

'Losing My Religion' was apparently just as natural. They had spent little more than four hours on it, and required almost zero effort to make it into the finished product.

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Hollow Man

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 8, 2015

Copper North said:
I'll do some heavy thinking and come back to this thread with a lot more examples and specifics, but, for now :

REM - 1988 - Green - "World Leader Pretend"
I played half of 'Green' in the car yesterday, and I keep getting lost in this particular song.
Anyone taking in a work of art to their senses will see / hear it in their own unique way.
As an INFJ, I embrace it more each time as a song about a hard decision - - to either let people into your world or keep them out.

Michael Stipe has the kind of imagery in his lyrics that age their way from 'WTF' to 'Wow'.
Songs like 'Hope' off of Up still have me absolutely perplexed.
'The Boy in the Well' off of Around the Sun deserves some mention, too, but sometime later, instead.

Ray Davies deserves a great deal of mention, too (later).
Over the years, I've come to see him as a Top 3 songwriter (right up there with Bob Dylan) for his insight and observations of the world.
I would almost guess with certainty that he is an INFJ (or INFP) based on this gift.
In fact, I'd be terrified sitting across from him on a subway, because I would get the impression that he could read right into my own soul within 22 seconds and write a song about the irony within it.

Lots of great stuff here, man! Thanks for sharing.

I got the impression that Ray Davies is an INFP, but I could be wrong. Strong Fi and Si in there. Yeah, I've been a Kinks fan since I was in high school and bought the Kink Kronikles kollection. The songs had such a great sense of humor and interesting textures that didn't always go for the rock....there's something classy and very English about this particular collection of Kinks songs that I haven't heard before in a rock type of band. "David Watts", "Holiday in Waikiki", "Village Green Preservation Society", "Victoria" and "Berkley Mews"....great melodies too of course...lol.

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Copper North

· #8 · May 9, 2015

Open Every Window said:
Lots of great stuff here, man! Thanks for sharing.

I got the impression that Ray Davies is an INFP, but I could be wrong. Strong Fi and Si in there. Yeah, I've been a Kinks fan since I was in high school and bought the Kink Kronikles kollection. The songs had such a great sense of humor and interesting textures that didn't always go for the rock....there's something classy and very English about this particular collection of Kinks songs that I haven't heard before in a rock type of band. "David Watts", "Holiday in Waikiki", "Village Green Preservation Society", "Victoria" and "Berkley Mews"....great melodies too of course...lol.

I'm (annoyingly) a completist, so once I started buying the Kinks CDs, I had to get every single one of them.
The funny part of it is that, beforehand, I had thought the Kinks output had ended around 1970. What an error on my part.

One of the first I had, too, was the Kronikles set, and I got wrapped around songs like "Days", "Waterloo Sunset" and "Apeman".

I bought each of the consecutive CDs with a growing appreciation of the way Ray Davies could handcraft a song around an observation he had made.
Nowadays, we would call that 'Taylor Swift Syndrome' - - "Be careful and mind your manners at all times, or else they might write a song about you someday". :shocked:

I still laugh about my first listen of 'Low Budget' ('79) and 'State of Confusion' ('83), completely overwhelmed that I was hearing something great by the Kinks beyond 'Sunny Afternoon ('66).

I had a lot of the same experiences when I started collecting REM, Pink Floyd, The Smiths, Genesis, and even The White Stripes.
Once I was pulled in by a certain chord, I was buying everything in their catalog. :laughing:

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Functianalyst

· #9 · May 12, 2015 (Edited)

I would encourage all TP types over 35 to listen while you read the lyrics and listen to the song with your Fe

Well there's too many windows in this old hotel
And rooms filled with reckless pride
And the walls have grown sturdy and the halls have worn well
But there is nobody living inside, nobody living inside

Gonna pull in the shutters on this heart of mine
Roll up the carpets and pull in the blinds
And retreat to the chambers that I left behind
In hopes there's still may be love left to find, still may be love left to find

Seek inspiration in daily affairs
Now your soul is improper and requires repairs
And the voices you hear at the top of the stairs
Are only echoes of unanswered prayers, echoes of unanswered prayers

Well there's too many windows in this old hotel
And rooms filled with reckless pride
And the walls have grown sturdy and the halls have worn well
But there is nobody living inside, nobody living inside

Dan Folgelber "Heart Hotels"

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Hollow Man

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 20, 2015

One of the my favorite Pavement songs because of the melancholy and the idea of hiding mistakes/regret.

"I can't sing it strong enough"
"What does it mean a mistake or two?"
"You think it's easy, but you're wrong."

Zurich...Swiss bank accounts...and the the infinite amount of melancholy within the song...imo....that is biased...

Maye

· #11 · Jun 16, 2015

so far, my favorite meaningful lyris are:
"Put your faith in what you most believe in...'' from the openning song in Disney's Tarzan. The fact i'm a 6 probably shows why:dispirited: Its really a motif i my life.

"Don't be afraid of what you've learned'' from Furr by Blitzen Trapper. When i learn something new, i should accept it instead of being overly cynical and seeing it as a threat to my mental security.

''In your precious heart, you're feeling that you've got it all. Believe it. If you fall get up oh ohh, when you fall get up eh, eh...'' from the song by Shakira, i think called ''its time for Africa''

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Hollow Man

Discussion Starter · #12 · Oct 12, 2015

Bob Dylan's "As I Went Out One Morning" laments getting a label or becoming something that is not who you are. It used the metaphor of a pretty lady("I spotted the fairest damsel to ever be in chains"). On the surface, it may seem to be about a real relationship with a woman, but it's actually more related to him being hailed as "a voice of the generation"(the lines with Tom Paine relate with this idea). It's Dylan expressing how it's brought him more pain and notoriety than he wanted. The melody, lyrics, and harmonica really convey the reluctance, hesitation and pain of the song and situation. There's also an assertiveness to the song that is inspiring ("'Depart from me this moment', I told her with my voice/She said"But I don't wish to"/Said I," but you have no choice.")

"I offered her my hand, she took me by the arm, I knew that very instant, she meant to do me harm *severe harmonica*"

Morn

· #13 · Nov 10, 2015

As a Te user, I adore this song:

I'm the operator with my pocket calculator
I'm the operator with my pocket calculator
I'm the operator with my pocket calculator

I am adding
And subtracting
I'm controlling
And composing

I'm the operator with my pocket calculator
I'm the operator with my pocket calculator

I am adding
And subtracting
I'm controlling
And composing

By pressing down a special key
It plays a little melody
By pressing down a special key
It plays a little melody

I'm the operator with my pocket calculator
I'm the operator with my pocket calculator

I am adding
And subtracting
I'm controlling
And composing

By pressing down a special key
It plays a little melody
By pressing down a special key
It plays a little melody

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Morn

· #14 · Nov 10, 2015

Pet Shop Boys are one of my favourite groups, and this song has a commentary on modern society which I agree with:

You live in a world of excess
where more is more
and less is much less
A day without fame
is a waste
and a question of need
is a question of taste

You're so flamboyant
the way you look
It gets you so much attention
Your sole employment
is getting more
You want police intervention
You're so flamboyant
the way you live
You really care that they stare
And the press deployment
is always there
It's what you do for enjoyment

You live in a time of decay
when the worth of a man
is how much he can play
Every day
all the public must know
where you are, what you do
'cause your life is a show and

You're so flamboyant
the way you live
and it's not even demeaning
You're so flamboyant
It's like a drug
you use to give your life meaning
You're so flamboyant
The way you look
It gets you so much attention
Your sole employment
Is getting more
You want police intervention

Every actor needs
an audience
Every action is
a performance
It all takes courage
You know it
Just crossing the street
well, it's almost heroic
You're so flamboyant

There you are
at another preview
In a pose
the artist and you
To look so loud
may be considered tacky
Collectors wear black clothes
by Issey Miyake

You're so flamboyant
the way you look
It gets you so much attention
Your sole employment
is getting more
You want police intervention
You're so flamboyant
The way you live
You really care that they stare
And the press deployment
is always there
It's what you do for enjoyment

You're so flamboyant
You're so flamboyant

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Morn

· #15 · Nov 12, 2015 (Edited)

Pet Shop Boys is an extremely NT group.
Here is another example, Integral.

If you've done nothing wrong
you've got nothing to fear
If you've something to hide
you shouldn't even be here
You've had your chance
now we've got the mandate
If you've changed your mind
I'm afraid it's too late
We're concerned
you're a threat
You're not integral
to the project

Sterile
Immaculate
Rational
Perfect

Everyone has
their own number
in the system that
we operate under
We're moving to
a situation
where your lives exist
as information

One world
One life
One chance
One reason
All under
one sky
unchanging
one season

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Hollow Man

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 13, 2015

Song of faith with a message about addictions and escapes. "They're in the business of inventing saviors". It's interesting who the they is in this statement...is it the crazy individual or the culture in general that where certain behaviors are generally accepted as normal or good.

Alternating verses...one of being addicted/ one of faith/ one of becoming too comfortable/ one of faith..."There's always troubles/...the safety abounds"

Cephalonimbus

· #17 · Nov 14, 2015

I've always liked Mr. Bungle - None of them knew they were robots

The wacky cartoon big-band rockabilly sound is offset by some rather ominous lyrics. They're somewhat impenetrable, but appear to be (at least partially) about dogmas, seemingly posing the idea that perhaps hardline reductionist/materialist beliefs aren't really as different from religious dogmas as they may seem. It's hard to write a song about this without being unbearably pretentious, but fuck me if they haven't pulled it off beautifully.

Mendel's machines replicate in the night
In the black iron prison of St. Augustine's light
He's paying the bills and they're doing him proud
They can float their burnt offerings on assembler clouds

With omega point in sight
The new Franklins fly their kites
And the post modern empire is ended tonight

From history
The flood of counterfeits released
The black cloud
Reductionism and the beast
Automatons gather all the pieces
So the world may be increased
In simulation jubilation
For the deceased

Spray-on clothes and diamond jaws
Wrinkles smoothed by nanoclaws

With my machines I can dispatch you
From this world without a trace
Our nostalgia ghosts are ready to take your place

Content-shifting shopping malls
Gasoline trees and walk-through walls

None of them knew...

I feel the gray goo boiling my blood
As I watch the dead rise up out of the earth
Try to hide from the lies as they all come true

Deus absconditus
Deus nullus deus
Deus nisi deus

I feel the grey goo boiling my blood
As the fenris wolf slowly bites through his chain
Try to hide the myth as it becomes a man

None of them knew they were robots

Buying an X or an O
In state craft tic tac toe
Cats game for Joe Blow

Post industrial bliss
A binary hug or kiss
Can be wrung from utility mist

They stole the great arcanum
The secret fire
Moloch found his gold for the new empire
Once again
The necrophage becomes saint

Lindy hop around the truth
Jump back! Wolf pack attack!
Swingin' up there in the noose
Slap back! White shark attack!

Phased array diffraction nets
From full-wall paint-on TV sets
Migratory home sublets
And time shared diamond fiber sets
Recombinant logos keys
Bitic Qabalistic trees

I feel the grey goo boiling my blood
As leviathan and his bugs freeze the sea
Try to save the world by immolating myself

From history
The flood of counterfeits released
The black cloud
The resurrection of the deceased
Automotons gather all the pieces
So the world may be increased
In simulation jubilation
For the builders
Of the body of the beast

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Acrylic

· #18 · Feb 15, 2016 (Edited)

.

Aya the Abysswalker

· #19 · Feb 18, 2016

I know not if fate would have us live as one
Or if by love's blind chance we've been bound
The wish Iwhispered, when it all began
Did it forge a love you might never have found?

WhereverIMayRoam

· #20 · May 1, 2017

Annie, are you ok?
So, Annie are you ok
Are you ok, Annie
Annie, are you ok?
So, Annie are you ok
Are you ok, Annie
Annie, are you ok?
So, Annie are you ok?
Are you ok, Annie?
Annie, are you ok?
So, Annie are you ok, are you ok Annie?

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