Questions tagged [song-lyrics]
Questions about the literary meaning or significance of the lyrics of a song or the literary devices used in them. Should be used with either the song-writer or the band in lieu of the author tag.
150
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"I saw the thunder and heard the lightning, and felt the burden of his shame"
Wikipedia's Gil Scott-Heron begins:
Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the ...
- 276
3
votes
1
answer
90
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What does "I've mortgaged all my castles in the air" mean?
From the lyrics of "Everything happens to me", what do these 2 lines mean?
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end despair
But now I ...
user478837
0
votes
2
answers
60
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A song in Pierre Martin's "Madame le Commissaire"
In the book "Madame le Commissaire" by Pierre Martin, Isabelle has dinner with her friends.
A song by Edith Piaf plays in the background and Isabelle thinks about the meaning of the lyrics.
...
- 11
2
votes
1
answer
68
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What does "To be continued" mean at the end of Michael W. Smith's "Go West, Young Man" album?
The song 1990 (at the end of Go West, Young Man) has the following lyrics:
Oh listen when I say
What does it profit a man now
To gain a fortune
And lose his soul?
[Spoken:] To be continued
The ...
1
vote
0
answers
94
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Who is Liza in Noel Coward's 'London Pride'?
In the song "London Pride" by Noel Coward, do the lyrics "Whoa, Liza" and/or "Oh, Liza," (depending on the version) followed by a mention of "Covent Garden Market,&...
- 11
4
votes
1
answer
116
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Meaning of "sheer hulk" in the poem/song "Tom Bowling" by Charles Dibdin = "just a hulk of a ship" or "a floating crane"?
From the poem/song "Tom Bowling" by Charles Dibdin:
Here a sheer hulk lies poor Tom Bowling,
The darling of our crew;
No more he'll hear the tempest howling,
For death has broach'd him to:
...
- 2,829
8
votes
1
answer
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What words sung by Gloria Gaynor correspond to the line written in the lyrics of I Will Survive as "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart"?
The lyrics of Gloria Gaynor's song "I Will Survive" include the line "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart".
You can hear here what she actually sings. With what words ...
- 202
1
vote
1
answer
72
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Meaning of "needle sure revs in the red" from "Rest"
From Alanis Morissette's song "Rest":
All these relief-givers
The needle sure revs in the red
Alanis is known for tinkering with structure and meaning. What does this sentence mean? My ...
- 21
2
votes
2
answers
175
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Meaning of "I'm like melted ice cream" in milet's "jam"
From milet's song "jam" (2022):
Driving in the summer with your 80's playlist
I wish this night would never end like kissing in the backseat
Hey, don't be shy, now I'm like melted ice cream
...
- 21
3
votes
1
answer
185
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What is the meaning of this phrase in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"?
The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" contains the following lines:
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so my grace shall with you ...
- 786
0
votes
0
answers
102
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Did any poets or authors say that youth came after age before Bob Dylan?
In the song "My Back Pages" Bob Dylan famously inverted the usual chronological assumption of aging by poetically saying
I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.
This concept ...
- 727
2
votes
0
answers
87
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Have the lyrics of the Song of Father Dûchene (Chanson du Père Dûchene) been translated into English?
The Song of Father Dûchene (Chanson du Père Dûchene) is an anarchist song written anonymously in France, probably in 1892, and which was famously sung by Ravachol on his way to the guillotine in July ...
user8097
1
vote
1
answer
276
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What does "The Neck" mean in Herr Mannelig?
What does "the Neck" mean in the phrase "The spawn of the Neck and the Devil"?
I've met it in the translation of the Swedish song Herr Mannelig (video).
Af Neckens och djävulens ...
Dmitry
1
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0
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28
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What does “it” refer to in this song by Kensington?
To what does ‘it’ refer in "Part of Me" by Kensington? What is "a part of me"?
It is a part of me
And it breaks my heart to see
I was a part of you
When no one else could be
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1
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What does “watermarked the moon” mean?
The English lyrics of the song "A Requiem for Innocence", composed by Gao, from the soundtrack of the 2018 video game The House in Fata Morgana: A Requiem for Innocence, include the line “...
nes
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0
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Why does Matilda's "Miracle" count in the wrong order?
In Matilda the Musical's opening number, "Miracle" (link to YouTube version of London cast recording), a couple of boys sing:
My daddy says I'm his special little soldier,
No one is as ...
- 9,505
1
vote
0
answers
44
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Children's song about the onomatopoeia of the wind
When I was a young child (probably somewhere between 1985 to 1995), I remember watching a cartoon involving anthropomorphic animals (I don't remember which animals other than that I think one was a ...
- 10.3k
5
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3
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What does "I struggle with some demons, they were middle class and tame" have to do with the rest of the verse?
There's a stanza in Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker" that goes like this:
They're lining up to prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggle with some demons
They were middle class ...
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1
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0
answers
73
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What does "Mine is a watery pit / Painless with immense distance" from Alt-J “Taro” mean?
Mine is a watery pit
Painless with immense distance
Is this an allusion to something or were the lines written originally by the songwriters?
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2
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358
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In "If I Had a Hammer", what are the "out" lines meant to indicate?
In the folk song "If I Had a Hammer" by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, there's a recurring set of lyrics regarding the hammer, bell, and song that go like this:
And I'd hammer out danger
I'd ...
- 10.3k
5
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1
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Why does the painter make the shawl red in "Chadariya Jhini re Jhini"?
What does the poet want to convey with these lines?
जब मोरी चादर बन घर आई
रंगरेज़ को दीन्ही
ऐसा रंग रँगा रँग रे ले
लाल-ओ-लाल कर दीन्ही ।
jab mori chaadar, ban ghaar ayie,
rang-rej ko dinhi.
Aisa rang,...
- 151
4
votes
2
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What's the significance of Emilia's song at the end of Day 1 of the Decameron?
At the end of Day 1 of the Decameron, after the "crown" has been transferred from Pampinea to Filomena, they all have dinner together and then play music and dance. Emilia sings the ...
- 70.7k
2
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0
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Song (perhaps from around World War II) about a young woman being offered a coat, and requesting "just the sleeves"
Recently, I was recounting to my wife various songs that my grandmother used to sing, because I'm trying to ensure they get passed on to our child, and one of them popped up that I have not been able ...
- 10.3k
2
votes
1
answer
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What is the famous song about the independence of Bahia or Brazil?
Like many other novels by Jorge Amado, Home Is the Sailor is set in Bahia, one of the states of Brazil. On the second of July, one of the novel's characters organises a ceremony during which
[trumpet ...
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0
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In Halsey's "You Should Be Sad", why is the expression "alligator tears" instead of "crocodile tears"?
In Halsey's "You Should Be Sad", there's one part that goes like this:
I'm just glad I made it out without breakin' down
And then ran so fuckin' far
That you would never ever touch me again
...
- 23.2k
3
votes
2
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738
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What does "Yira" mean in "Yira, Yira" by Carlos Gardel?
In the song Yira, Yira by Carlos Gardel (which was also later performed by Los Piojos) I am curious about the phrase, well, "Yira, Yira" (full lyrics).
I couldn't find the definition in many ...
- 133
1
vote
1
answer
368
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How can the "Won't I bleed 'em in the end" line from Les Mis's "Master of the House" be interpreted?
In the Les Misérables musical, there's a song "Master of the House", in which the inkeeper sings about how he essentially scams all of his customers into paying much more than they expected. ...
- 23.2k
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1
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What does asking how to write songs with millions of views have to do with the rest of the song in "אלוף העולם"?
The last verse in Hanan Ben Ari's "אלוף העולם" (Aluf HaOlam / Champion of the World) goes like this:
אני אלוף העולם בלפצות
להתנצל ולרצות
לחטוא, להתנקות
לחשוף, להתכסות
תגידי, איך כותבים ...
- 23.2k
3
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1
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Were all the Redwall songs created by Brian Jacques, or based on some real songs?
Brian Jacques's Redwall stories contain a huge number of songs: marching songs, drinking songs, campfire songs, feast songs, all of them different and none repeated from one book to another (as far as ...
- 70.7k
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1
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Origin and significance of E-I-E-I-O in the Old MacDonald song
The well-known children's song "Old MacDonald had a Farm" has lyrics in the following format:
Old MacDonald had a farm
E-I-E-I-O !
And on that farm he had {article} {singular or plural ...
- 21.2k
0
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0
answers
87
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What does "I ween that you are better where you are" in "The Heart of the Raven" mean?
The chorus of the song "The Heart of the Raven" by the German band MONO INC. goes like this:
But here in the raven's heart
Your heart is beating on
I ween that you are better where you are
...
- 23.2k
0
votes
1
answer
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Meaning of "deliverance in time"
I was listening to Dan Bull and The Stupendium's rap battle about the game Frostpunk and I heard this sentence:
Each shiver will deliver us deliverance in time
Burn the innocents for penitence if we ...
- 111
1
vote
0
answers
2k
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What does Smash Mouth mean when he writes "fed to the rules" in All-Star?
So the first two lines of the pre-chorus of All-Star by Smash Mouth the song goes:
Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running
What does ...
- 2,216
7
votes
3
answers
2k
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What is the "color of boom"?
In Imagine Dragon's song Polaroid, there's a certain line that gets repeated throughout the song:
I am the color of boom
What is the meaning of this line? Does it mean like an explosion of color, or ...
- 2,216
1
vote
1
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What does "A stone will not need you to guess if, / You’re still going to drown." mean?
The song “Illusion and Dreams” (lyrics), by Poets of the Fall, has these lines:
A stone will not need you to guess if,
You’re still going to drown.
What is the meaning of the above lines in the ...
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2
votes
1
answer
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Meaning of “So can you name your demon? Understanding its scheming”
Poets of the Fall have this wonderful song named “Illusion and dreams” and in the last verse they sing
So can you name your demon?
Understanding its scheming
I raise my glass and say “Here’s to you”
...
- 1,525
2
votes
1
answer
177
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What is the meaning of "I see shadow and light stroking the mist" from “Moonlight Kissed”?
Poets of the Fall released their song “Moonlight Kissed” on 22nd September 2017 along with a video. However, the very first line of the song
I see shadow and light stroking the mist
is quite poetic ...
- 1,525
2
votes
2
answers
3k
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In A Whiter Shade of Pale, is the miller's tale a reference to the Miller's tale in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?
Chaucer's "The Miller's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales is a weird story about an older Miller, his young, beautiful wife who sleeps with a young Oxford student, and an admiring young ...
John Sands
4
votes
1
answer
774
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What does "steal my crown" mean in Kacey Musgraves's Butterflies?
I was enjoying a song "Butterflies" by Kacey Musgraves and in the lyrics there is "Stealing my heart 'stead of stealing my crown".
What does "steal my crown" mean? I am ...
huanah
2
votes
1
answer
149
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In Adam Lambert's "There I Said It", what does he actually say?
The chorus of Adam Lambert's "There I Said It" goes like this:
So there, I said it
And I won't apologize to you anymore
'Cause I'm a grown ass man
And I won't live again
And I'm sick and ...
- 23.2k
4
votes
1
answer
358
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Name of this lyrical device comparing oneself to something that's described by the same word, but in another sense of the word?
Warning: The examples contain some offensive words, but I believe that is not against the rules here?
Lately I've been listening a lot to a certain hip-hop album, in which almost every track uses a ...
- 187
2
votes
1
answer
127
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Why is the narrator the one leaving in "Streets of Gold"?
The song Streets of Gold by Needtobreathe contains the following lyrics:
I want you to know
I'm leaving to let you go
And someday we'll walk upon
The streets of gold
I don't remember seeing fear in ...
4
votes
1
answer
287
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Who classified Rabindranath Tagore's lyrics into the six standard categories?
The standard edition of Rabindranath Tagore's song lyrics, গীতবিতান / giitabitaan, "A Canopy of Songs", classifies the lyrics under six headings:
পূজা / puujaa, "Worship"
স্বদেশ / ...
- 21.2k
4
votes
0
answers
220
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What is the relationship between Tagore's poems and his song lyrics?
Rabindranath Tagore composed and wrote the lyrics for approximately 2,200 songs, collectively known as Rabindra Sangeet, "Rabindra music". These songs remain immensely popular in India and ...
- 21.2k
1
vote
1
answer
84
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Why does "City of Blinding Lights" say that blessings go to both those who pray and those who steal?
The song City of Blinding Lights by U2 contains the following verse:
In the city of blinding lights,
The more you know
The less you feel
Some pray for, others steal
Blessings not just for the ones ...
2
votes
0
answers
81
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How do the lyrics of "上を向いて歩こう" relate to its English title "Sukiyaki"?
The English title of the Japanese song 上を向いて歩こう is a head scratcher.
The lyrics:
上を向いて歩こう
涙がこぼれないように
思い出す 春の日
一人ぽっちの夜
上を向いて歩こう
にじんだ星をかぞえて
思い出す 夏の日
一人ぽっちの夜
幸せは 雲の上に
幸せは 空の上に
上を向いて歩こう
涙がこぼれないように
泣きながら ...
- 1,376
5
votes
1
answer
229
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What are the "garment thin" and the "prize" in the song "The Ballad of the Shape of Things to Come"?
From the song "The Ballad of the Shape of Things to Come" (lyrics link):
Triangular is the piece of pie I eat to ease my sorrow
Triangular is the hatchet blade I plan to hide tomorrow
...
- 2,829
0
votes
1
answer
1k
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Meaning of lines about the lamb in the Enigma song Rivers of Belief
A sentence in the Enigma song Rivers of Belief goes as follows:
And when the Lamb opened the seventh seal,
Silence covered the sky.
There is a Biblical reference here. But I would like to know, what ...
2
votes
1
answer
84
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What does the line "and who will bear the consequences" mean in Ishay Ribo's "Keter Melucha"?
In Ishay Ribo's song "Keter Melucha / כתר מלוכה" (Royal Crown), a song written about, essentially, COVID and lockdown, there's a stanza that goes like this:
בין תצווה לכי תישא
אסתר פורים ...
- 23.2k
1
vote
0
answers
64
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What's with the "I'ma tell 'em" in Normani's "Motivation"?
In Normani's song "Motivation" (video slightly NSFW), there's a stanza that goes like this:
You got a bad one, baby, don't you?
Got a bad one, baby, don't you
And we both know there's no
...
- 23.2k