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.
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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 ...
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2
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0
answers
81
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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 ...
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4
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Why is the king 'baffled' in "Hallelujah"?
At the end of the first verse of "Hallelujah"...
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
I take it the king is referring ...
3
votes
1
answer
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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 ...
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3
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Summer Wine: what was the 'unfamiliar line' with which the girl reassured her lover?
The song "Summer Wine", written by Lee Hazlewood, describes a girl seducing a man with her 'summer wine'. At some point the man tells us "She reassured me with an unfamiliar line".
What can it ...
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1
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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 ...
3
votes
1
answer
123
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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 ...
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2
votes
1
answer
72
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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 ...
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0
votes
2
answers
65
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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.
...
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1
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0
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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,&...
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3
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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 ...
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4
votes
1
answer
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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:
...
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7
votes
3
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872
views
What is the nature of the friendship in Don Henley's "My Thanksgiving"?
The first verse My Thanksgiving by Don Henley (from Inside Job) reads as follows:
A lot of things have happened
Since the last time we spoke
Some of them are funny
Some of 'em ain't no joke
...
5
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1
answer
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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,...
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1
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What does 'gonna send a flood' mean in "This Is Me"?
I was recently listening to the One Voice Children's Choir's cover of "This Is Me" by Keala Settle:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uhzi7Shi2H0
Part of the chorus goes like this:
When the sharpest ...
6
votes
2
answers
180
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What does "I'm with the Switzerland wolves we bout to spit some jewels" mean?
In Snowgoons "Get Off the Ground" there's the following line:
I'm with the Switzerland wolves we bout to spit some jewels
What does that mean?
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2
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Who is the speaker in Leonard Cohen's song, "Avalanche"?
I understand that some of Cohen's songs have religious context, so when I heard the lyrics of this song that stated, "You strike my side by accident," I thought it could be symbolism of Jesus being ...
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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 ...
8
votes
3
answers
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Does Rush's "Tom Sawyer" promote an anti-religious view?
Rush's Tom Sawyer includes the following line:
No, his mind is not for rent
To any God or government
Always hopeful yet discontent
He knows changes aren't permanent
But change is
Is this ...
2
votes
3
answers
643
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What are the "hands of love" in Exit?
The song Exit (from The Joshua Tree by U2) repeatedly refers to "the hands of love." The full lyrics are below:
You know he got the cure
But then he went astray
He used to stay awake
To drive ...
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1
vote
1
answer
87
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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 ...
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1
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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 ...
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2
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What is the Myth of Fingerprints?
In Paul Simon's album Graceland there is a song, "All Around the World". This song has a repeating theme in its verses, always some variation of:
There was no doubt about it,
It was the ...
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1
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2
answers
422
views
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 ...
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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
vote
1
answer
75
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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 ...
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votes
2
answers
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What's the meaning of "a knife in your throat held after dark" in the Silly Walk Song?
The so-called Silly Walk Song by the Monty Python troupe (lyrics and video here, lyrics in text form here) is mostly a lament of the tedium and futility of a life of money-induced drudgery. But there ...
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What's the meaning of a pink carnation, as mentioned in these songs?
Several songs mention pink carnations.
"A White Sport Coat (and a Pink Carnation)" by Marty Robbins
A white sport coat and a pink carnation
I'm all dressed up for the dance
A white sport coat ...
2
votes
2
answers
190
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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
...
- 53.5k
4
votes
1
answer
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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 ...
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12
votes
1
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When was young Cosette's bedtime?
While the song "Come to Me" was probably not intended as a treatise on astronomical timekeeping or 19th-century French child-rearing, some of Fantine's lines (taken at face value) fit together for a ...
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3
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What are the thousand churches in "In your eyes"?
In your eyes by Peter Gabriel contains the following verse:
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway (in your eyes) to a thousand churches
...
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0
votes
0
answers
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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 ...
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1
answer
321
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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 ...
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2
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What is the meaning of the Gaelic lines in the song "Tír na nÓg"?
The song "Tír na nÓg", like many of the Celtic Woman songs, is partly in English and partly in Irish Gaelic. Unlike many of those Celtic Woman songs, this one doesn't seem to be based on a ...
2
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0
answers
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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 ...
CommunityBot
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0
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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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91
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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 “...
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0
answers
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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 ...
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votes
2
answers
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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 ...
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4
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Why does Cat Stevens's Moonshadow talk about losing legs and eyes?
Cat Stevens's Moonshadow talks about losing body parts:
And if I ever lose my hands, lose my plough, lose my land
Oh if I ever lose my hands, oh if.... I won’t have to work no more
And if ...
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2
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What, exactly, is the "Perfect Beast"?
The song Building the Perfect Beast by Don Henley repeats the following phrases several times:
Soon he will be released
Glory hallelujah!
We're building the perfect beast
Why does this include ...
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3
votes
2
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571
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Why did Bob Dylan choose Highway 61 for "Highway 61 Revisited"?
Highway 61 is an actual highway that goes north from New Orleans and ends up in Minnesota.
Why did Dylan choose this particular highway, and how does it affect how we understand the song lyrics?
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1
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In "Close Every Door", why does 'for I know I shall find' change to the plural the second time?
In perhaps the most famous song of the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, "Close Every Door", we see these lyrics:
Close every door to me
Keep those I love from me
Children of Israel ...
1
vote
0
answers
75
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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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vote
2
answers
992
views
What is meant by "strength" in Anathema's "One Last Goodbye"?
The second stanza of Anathema's "One Last Goodbye" goes as follows:
I know you didn't want to leave
Your heart yearned to stay
But the strength I always loved in you
Finally gave way
...
CommunityBot
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votes
2
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What does Nuvoletta's disappearance signify in Finnegans Wake?
I am studying Samuel Barber's art song "Nuvoletta", whose text is adapted from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. I have not studied Finnegans Wake. The music is very beautiful.
As I understand it, ...
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0
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64
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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 ...
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2
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302
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Did the recipient receive twelve partridges or just one?
In the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, did the recipient receive a single partridge or did they receive one partridge each day for twelve days?
Here are the relevant lyrics:
On the First day of ...
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2
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1
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48
views
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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