Interpreting Songs

Have you ever heard a song you really liked, but couldn't quite understand what the singer was saying? Then you look up the lyrics on the internet, and find some interesting but confusing lyrics, lyrics that makes you wonder many things? That makes you wonder "What the hell is this guy/girl talking about?"

Well I thought it would be interesting if we would interpret as a group a song, to see what kind of discusion can occur. So let us interpret this song first;

White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small

When men on the chessboard
get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving slow
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's off with her head
Remember what the doormouse said:
"Feed your Head
Feed your Head!"

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.n...256BF40008120A

If you have never heard this song, then perhaps you could try and get it through Kazza or Limewire. As for my interpretation, I'm at a lost. What is this band talking about? A pill that makes you bigger? Are they talking about drugs?

Oasis - Wonderwall

Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

Oasis - Champagne Supernova

Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

Oasis makes no sense .

@ Jesus the Inane

The song is talking about Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll. I'm not sure what the pills represent, but they may be hinting at Alice's change in size in some parts of the movie. (At the doorknob in the beginning she became small; when she was with the flowers she became bigger) It says Alice was ten feet tall, so it is probably that.

The white rabbit she was chasing is one of the main characters, who is always rushing and claiming that he is late. There is a hookapilar, as I like to call it :original:, who fits that description.

The men on the chessboard are the card guards of the Queen of Hearts, whom Alice meets and angers her by beating her at croquet. The Red Queen is also the Queen of Hearts (kind of redundant by now )m and I'm not sure what the doormouse is. I'm trying to remember more, but that's all I can pull out from my memory of Disney's Alice in Wonderland and wiki right now. Hope that helps.

But my beloved Spartacus, before we go on to another song, we must first interpret my song! :sweatingb Else I'm afraid this thread will have no discussion but only weird songs!

Ah Septimius Severus, I never thought that this song was dedicated and about Alice In Wonderland! facinating. I don't recall well, as I never finished the movie; but what was the message of the movie?

Originally Posted by Jesus The Inane

Ah Septimius Severus, I never thought that this song was dedicated and about Alice In Wonderland! facinating. I don't recall well, as I never finished the movie; but what was the message of the movie?

That your imagination can bring you anywhere? If you want better one, I'll use Wiki again.

The tale is fraught with satirical allusions to Dodgson's friends and to the lessons that British schoolchildren were expected to memorize.

So there we have it. And on the topic of weird songs, the Beatles' song "Hello, Goodbye" contains words that sound something like this at the end:

Hey-la, hey-la loaba.

Is there any significance to that? (If your question has not been fully answered yet, please feel free to ignore this one)

Originally Posted by Septimius Severus

@ Jesus the Inane

The song is talking about Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll. I'm not sure what the pills represent, but they may be hinting at Alice's change in size in some parts of the movie. (At the doorknob in the beginning she became small; when she was with the flowers she became bigger) It says Alice was ten feet tall, so it is probably that.

The white rabbit she was chasing is one of the main characters, who is always rushing and claiming that he is late. There is a hookapilar, as I like to call it :original:, who fits that description.

The men on the chessboard are the card guards of the Queen of Hearts, whom Alice meets and angers her by beating her at croquet. The Red Queen is also the Queen of Hearts (kind of redundant by now )m and I'm not sure what the doormouse is. I'm trying to remember more, but that's all I can pull out from my memory of Disney's Alice in Wonderland and wiki right now. Hope that helps.

The pills mentioned and musrooms are drugs, basically they talk about drug trips, and they say "ask Alice" in the sense that she has done those trips. So they say that in the story, Alice is stoned.

All I know about that song is that Lewis Carroll's poem about a Walrus (Forget what it is called ) has some influence on it. It seems to be Lewis Carroll time here.

The poem is about the walrus and the carpenter who represent capitalism. The carpenter is absent from the Beatles song, but the Walrus is the one from the poem, and the first verse is a direct reference to the poem (in the poem the Walrus and the Carpenter make friend with clams and then eat them all which is what the first verse refers to) and after eating the clams, one of them cries, I think it was the carpenter though, in regret. As for the rest, I think it contains various random quotes from draft songs that Lennon just blended together.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...93179243241083

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...emical+romance


I think the reason why White Rabbit wasn't all that understandable was because Jefferson Airplane was a psychadelic rock band, which means they were on drugs like LSD while doing performances. Same with Iron Butterfly and they're song In A Gadda Da Vida. The song was supposed to be called "In the Garden of Eden", but the singer made it sound like In A Gadda Da Vida, so the song was called that. Personally, I understood White Rabbit perfectly, except for the last part which sound like "hare" instead of "head".

I agree with Septimius, it's not metaphorical, it's all about the Carroll book.

Here's an interesting one that I've heard plenty of times and have absolutely no idea what its about. I'm sure you've heard it too.

I Am The Walrus by The Beatles

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
I’m crying.

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody tuesday.
Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.

Mister city policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row.
See how they fly like lucy in the sky, see how they run.
I’m crying, I’m crying.
I’m crying, I’m crying.

Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog’s eye.
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,
Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.

Sitting in an english garden waiting for the sun.
If the sun don’t come, you get a tan
From standing in the english rain.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob.

Expert textpert choking smokers,
Don’t you thing the joker laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty,
See how they snied.
I’m crying.

Semolina pilchard, climbing up the eiffel tower.
Elementary penguin singing hari krishna.
Man, you should have seen them kicking edgar allan poe.
I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob.
Goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob g’goo.

Help me out. What is this song about?

Originally Posted by crazyhorse

Here's an interesting one that I've heard plenty of times and have absolutely no idea what its about. I'm sure you've heard it too.



Help me out. What is this song about?

John Lennon would invent a lot of stuff because people tend to overexamine their lyrics. So that's that, gibberish/nonsense.

Here's a song that eludes meaning/explanation. It involves payphones, but nothing much is clear. Even the explanations in the internet. Anyone wanna give a shot?

Rem - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite Lyrics

This here is the place I will be staying.
There isn't a number. You can call the pay phone.
Let it ring a long, long, long, long time.
If I don't pick up, hang up, call back, let it ring some more.
If I don't pick up, pick up... The sidewinder sleeps, sleeps,
sleeps in a coil

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.

There are scratches all around the coin slot
Like a heartbeat, baby trying to wake up,
But this machine can only swallow money.
You can't lay a patch by computer design.
It's just a lot of stupid, stupid signs.

Tell her,
Tell her she can kiss my ass, then laugh and say that you were
only kidding.
That way she'll know that it's really, really, really, really
me.

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.

Baby, instant soup doesn't really grab me.
Today I need something more sub-sub-sub-substantial.
A can of beans or blackeyed peas, some Nescafe and ice,
A candy bar, a falling star, or a reading of Doctor Seuss;

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.

The cat in the hat came back, wrecked a lot of havoc on the
way,
Always had a smile and a reason to pretend.
But their world has flat backgrounds and little need to sleep
but to dream.
The sidewinder sleeps on his back.

Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
I can always sleep standing up. Call me when you try to wake
her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
I can always sleep standing up. Call me when you try to wake
her.
Call me when you try to wake her up. Call me when you try to
wake her.
I can always sleep standing up. Call me when you try to wake
her.
I can always sleep standing up. Call me when you try to wake
her.

We've got to moogie, moogie, move on this one.

:sign_ques

Well the Beatles were famous for crazy lyrics and people interpreting them. My favorite has to be this one though. I dont think there is any interpretation of it. But lets see if anyone care to give it a try. Its a little diddy called "Come Together"

Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola
He say I know you, you know me
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me

He bag production he got walrus gumboot
He got ono sideboard he one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me

He roller-coaster he got early warning
He got muddy water he one mojo filter
He say one and one and one is three
Got to be good-looking ’cause he’s so hard to see
Come together right now over me

All I know about that song is that Lewis Carroll's poem about a Walrus (Forget what it is called :sweatingb ) has some influence on it. It seems to be Lewis Carroll time here. :laughing:

Well I'm satisfied.

I'm currently downloading Spartacus pick, "Oasis - Wonderwall."

]http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...hemical+romance

Did you make the video? It was... eh... artful... And the first link didn't work for me.

EDIT: Spartacus, theres seems to be something wrong with your post. Here is the entire lyrics for Wonderwall;

http://www.lyrics007.com/Oasis%20Lyr...%20Lyrics.html

I suppose the song is about a girl who is gonna be dissapointed at something, "Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you" so I suppose she'll suffer a misfortune or something... Then the singer talks about how he likes her, I suppose... I think this is the type of song that has no message but is rather dedicated to someone? Perhaps to that person it has a message.

I thought that the part with the "I'm not okay" was the best. I'm not croquet, that was good. :laughing: And I'm glad that most of your questions were answered.

The Seleucid Empire - Septimus Severus, are you the say person?

Yes, a few months ago I had logged off for a few weeks and forgot my password. When I went to retrieve my account, I discovered that my e-mail address (yahoo) had been deactivated, and when I tried to reactivate it a problem occurred, so I figured I would just make a new account. I tried again today and was able to reactivate it and reset this account's password.

Loaded like a freight train
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Feelin' like a space brain
One more time tonight

(look out)
Well I'm a west coast struttin'
One bad mother
Got a rattlesnake suitcase
Under my arm
Said I'm a mean machine
Been drinkin' gasoline
An honey you can make my motor hum
I got one chance left
In a nine live cat
I got a dog eat dog sly smile
I got a Molotov cocktail with a match to go
I smoke my cigarette with style
An I can tell you honey
You can make my money tonight

Wake up late honey put on your clothes
Take your credit card to the liquor store
That's one for you and two for me by tonight
I'll be
Loaded like a freight train
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Feelin' like a space brain
One more tonight

I'm on the nightrain
Bottoms up
I'm on the nightrain
Fill my cup
I'm on the nightrain
Ready to crash and burn
I never learn
I'm on the nightrain
I love that stuff
I'm on the nightrain
and I can never get enough
I'm on the nightrain
Never to return - no

Loaded like a freight train
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Feelin' like a space brain
One more tonight

I'm on the nightrain
An I'm lookin' for some
I'm on the nightrain
So's I can leave this slum
I'm on the nightrain
And I'm ready to crash an' burn
nightrain
Bottoms up
I'm on the nightrain
Fill my cup
I'm on the nightrain

Whoa Whoa Whoa Whoa yeah
I'm on the nightrain
Love that stuff
I'm on the nightrain
An I can never get enough
Ridin' the nightrain
I guess I
I guess, I guess, I guess I never learn

On the nightrain
Float me home
Ooh I'm on the nightrain
Ridin' the nightrain
Never to return
Nightrain

Now that's a hidden meaning and a half if you arnt clued up on your cheap fortified wine skills :wink:

To Rush Limbaugh: The Beatles made some songs crazy and full of nonsense just because people interpreted them. They usually had no story or point to them, they were just a grouping of words. (I.E.: I Am the Walrus) It was probably something funny for the Beatles, but it probably frustrated many of their listeners. The song Come Together, however, seems to promote the idea of unity while describing the features of a "good looking" man. That, or I could just be saying things again.

One song by the Beatles which really strikes me as "deep" is Eleanor Rigby

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie, writing the words
of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

I never get tired of it. I listened to it 6 times straight today.

Ah, yes, good ol' Eleanor Rigby. I'd have to say that song is in my top 10. (#1 is Something, and I doubt any other song will ever knock it off. ) If you want to know what it is talking about, it comments about the hardships of old age. Also, I can't help but notice that the majority of the songs here are from the Beatles. What if a poll was made asking for this forum's favorite band? I imagine they would be one of the top picks. Or, at least, I would hope. :laughing: