Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Lyric Analysis Master Class

Welcome to Lyrics Analysis Master Class where I will be your guide through the somewhat baffling world of popular music lyrics. Many modern artists embed hidden meanings and riddles in every lyric they write, forming a varied and rich tapestry of delight in their songs. In this class, I will take some excerpts from these popular songs and attempt to decipher the true meaning behind what has been written and recorded. I hope you will be enlightened by what the bards of our age are trying to tell you through song. Pencils ready...

“Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel

Show me round your fruitcage
'cos I will be your honey bee
Open up your fruitcage
Where the fruit is as sweet as can be


Analysis: Peter Gabriel wants to fuck a fruit cage. I can’t think of any other thing the “fruit cage” may represent, in this case.

“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become


Analysis: Coldplay shit himself after an all night binge at a two dollar buffet.

“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” by The Police

Do I have to tell the story
Of a thousand rainy days since we first met
It's a big enough umbrella
But it's always me that ends up getting wet


Analysis: Sting’s condom broke one thousand days in a row. This represents a startling instance of all-time bad luck, even for a police officer.

“Loser” by Beck

Forces of evil in a bozo nightmare
Banned all the music with a phony gas chamber
'Cause one's got a weasel and the other's got a flag
One's got on the pole shove the other in a bag
With the rerun shows and the cocaine nose job
The daytime crap of a folksinger slob
He hung himself with a guitar string

Slap the turkey neck and it's hangin from a pigeon wing
You can't write if you can't relate
Trade the cash for the beef for the body for the hate
And my time is a piece of wax, fallin' on a termite
That's chokin on the splinters


Analysis: Self-explanatory really. Open your friggin’ ears.

“Abracadabra” by the Steve Miller Band

Every time you call my name
I heat up like a burnin' flame
Burnin' flame full of desire
Kiss me baby, let the fire get higher

Abra-abra-cadabra
I want to reach out and grab ya
Abra-abra-cadabra
Abracadabra


Analysis: Steve Miller is a Vampire Magician. An alternate take on these lyrics: Steve Miller has a faulty hearing aid that combusts upon any contact with sound.

“Back In Black” by AC/DC

'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
(Well) I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black

Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back
Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
Well I'm back in black
Yes I'm back in black

hooo yeah
Ohh yeah
Yes I am
Oooh yeah, yeah Oh yeah
Back in now
Well I'm back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back
Back in black
Yes I'm back in black


Analysis: This is clearly a denouncement of the Marxist regime of the early ‘30s. Note the use of the color Black and how it relates to where the singer is located at the time (Back). The fact that the singer is wearing Black should not be lost on the listener as it clearly represents his attempts at cloaking his latent homosexuality in a color that is generally thought to make the wearer look “thinner” in this case meaning “less gayer”.

That will be all for today. Your homework for next class will be a 10,000 word essay on this lyric’s meaning (from The Beatles):

Yeah, you got that something
I think you'll understand
When I feel that something
I want to hold your hand

I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand


Please write the essay in Latin and use at least 20 sources to back up your hypothesis. Good day to you.

5 reaction(s)::

The mad woman behind the blog said...

OMG, one these are all favorite songs of mine and two, you nailed each one.
And can I just submit another song in Latin? I've got Twinkle Twinkle little star or Home on the Range.

JenJen said...

brilliant! I think this is my favorite post yet!

Gorilla Bananas said...

I could never guess what "that something" was that made him want to hold her hand. After thorough and painstaking research, I concluded that "I am the Walrus" means "I am the Walrus".

aladdinsane12 said...

stopping over from vacant mind. just read your post and laughed my ass off!

steve miller is TOTALLY a vampire magician. for sure.

UberGrumpy said...

Amazing. I've learned a few things today.

OK, now do 'De doo doo doo De dah dah dah'.

Or 'Ob la di, ob la da', I'm not fussy

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