Analyze the Lyrics!

BTW, I don't want to reserve this topic just for one specific issue about that song... use this board to post questions about any weird or misheard lyrics you might want cleared up. Or make it a discusion about Spam, I don't care, I'm not a moderator...
;)

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Don't forget to eat, SM. Or change yer undies.

ok, I don't have the lyric sheet in front of me, but are you sure that it is, literally, about time-travelling lovers?

the line "I met you, before the fall of rome" could easily be BNL clever-lyric shorthand for "I met you a long time ago."

There are the guys that brought us "You Can be My Yoko Ono." I don't think that was bout being John Lennon. See what I'm sayng?

Theorize away.
-rmariamp

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If I knew what the song was about, I wouldn't need the Teeming Millions to analyze it, would I? :)

I don't have the CD or anything, just an MP3 of "It's All Been Done". I thought maybe it was also a statement on how relationships haven't changed much in 2000 years, but maybe you're right, rmariamp, it's just a clever lyric. I jsut wondered if it was connected to some story or something

OK, this topic seems to be lagging. So answer me this: How many parodies has Weird Al Yankovic done since his debut? Has anyone gotten mad at him? [saying this while listening to [I]Amish Paradise[\I] I realize that this has very little to do with lyrics, but..
who cares?

Dang, I was sure I had that UBB code right! What did I do wrong?

Yes, in fact with the song you were listening to. It is Al's policy to get permission from whoever he is parodying. Apparently, though, Coolio had said no, but his record company gave the permission anyway. When asked about it, Coolio said "I hope they make a lot of money, just stay away from me."

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Saint Eutychus
www.disneyshorts.org (http://www.disneyshorts.org)

Wrong slash, sanibelman

How's This?

All Right, time for a new topic. Since so many of us have questions about song lyrics, I thought I'd start a new topic for discussion. Is there any significance to the lyrics of the Barenaked Ladies' "It's All Been Done", appearently about time-traveling lovers? Is it based on a story, or is it just a good example of songwriting?

BTW, I only discovered this messageboard a few days ago, and I would like to say that I am now suffering from insomnia. Thank you very much. :)

SanibelMan

Yes, in fact with the song you were listening to. It is Al's policy to get permission from whoever he is parodying. Apparently, though, Coolio had said no, but his record company gave the permission anyway. When asked about it, Coolio said "I hope they make a lot of money, just stay away from me."

Note that though Yankovic's policy is to ask permission to use the music, he is under no legal obligation to do so. You can add your own lyrics to an existing tune and record it, so long as you pay the usual licensing fees. The Supreme Court upheld this a couple of years ago (Acuff Rose vs. 2 Live Crew).

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www.sff.net/people/rothman (http://www.sff.net/people/rothman)

I have to agree with rmariamp. The song isn't about time travel. The "before fall of rome" and "before the west was won" lines are hyperbole, or poetic metaphore. The song is basically about a relationship that's gotten so stale that there are no surprises left. The two lovers are just going through the motions. The main clue is in the bridge:

If I put my fingers here,
and if I say "I love you, dear"
And if I play the same three chords,
Will you just yawn and say....

Interestingly enough, this is pretty much the same theme as "One Week". Hmmmm.....

Interestingly, despite their typically peppy & upbeat sound, BNL have a large number of songs that are about the lead singer acting like a jerk in relationships.

Like that song that goes:

"A is for asshole..A is for Acting A is for Abhorrently" etc etc.

-Rmariamp

Huh, I haven't heard that one. I don't think I will.

I love the Barnaked Ladies "Stunt" album! I find their lyrics and musicmanship to be quite ingenuitive. Just a personal taste thing.

And i share in agreement that "It's All Been Done" is speaking in analogous hyperbole. I personally like "Alone and bored on a 30th century night/Will I see you on The Price is Right?/Will I cry?/Will I smile?/As you run down the aisle..."

Meanwhile, the final CD cut of "One Week" is apparently missing a few lyrics (they appear on the lyric sheet, but not on the song). Reading them, I think I understand: "like Andrew Lloyd, I've got a big show/Mine's about a back-hoe/There'll be a big sound from the pavement" then it breaks into the "Gonna make a break and take a fake..." Later, after the "Samuri" line, it shows "Like Skywalker, got a big hunch/Hey, that's my lunch/Yoda's a really, really old guy." Umm...okay...



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"Me fail English? That's unpossible!"

"English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England."

ANYWAY...I have a lyric for ya'll to analyze, too...I asked about it a year or so ago, but will try again...(it may just be one that no one gets):

From Alanis Morissette's "Not the Doctor:"
Visiting hours are nine to five
But if I show up at ten past 6, well I
Already know that you'll find someway to let me in, and Oh,
Mind the empty bottle with the holes along the bottom
You see, it's too much to ask for and I am not the doctor

What the hell is the bottle line about?? For context--The rest of the song is about her breaking free from basically a waaaay too dependent, Mommy me/Doctor me/Fix me relationship. I've had one of those, so I particularly love this song. :)

Any ideas what a bottle with holes along the bottom is??

I have that CD from Alanis Morrisette, and I have no idea what a bottle like that is. Also, I know now that the BArenaked Ladies are not nearly as... deep as I would have liked in their songs. I just thought that it might have been a reference to a story or something, but appearently it's just another reference to a bad relationship... [sigh] ;)

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Your mother was a hamster, and your father smells of elderberry!

Also, I certainly hope that "The Price Is Right" doesn't last until the 30th century. My 2¢

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Your mother was a hamster, and your father smells of elderberry!

quote:
Also, I certainly hope that "The Price Is Right" doesn't last until the 30th century. My 2¢
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Why the hell not? Can you imagine the Dice Game with about 30 digits?
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Are White Zombie's lyrics supposed to be incoherant, or do I just not get it?

quote:
Also, I certainly hope that "The Price Is Right" doesn't last until the 30th century. My 2¢
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Why the hell not? Can you imagine the Dice Game with about 30 digits?

All I mean is I hope that in 1000 years, our culture has advanced significantly that we no longer need entertainment such as The Price Is Right, or for that matter, The Straight Dope Message Boards ;)



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Your mother was a hamster, and your father smells of elderberry!

What are the lyrics of White Zombie? I've never heard them, or of them (make any sense?)

This thread has gotten buried, so I'll repeat:
What are the lyrics of White Zombie? I've never heard them, or of them (make any sense?)

White Zombie? Rod Zombie leads the GROUP, White Zombie. If there is such a SONG, I am not aware of it. Even being aware of it would not fit my resume, anyhoo. Rod's band is of a heavy metal bent, and Rod (hizz badd seff)is a growler and a screamer, who relies more on rhythmic phrasing than what we musicologists call melody. In other words, this dreadlock-shrouded biker-dude swings his matted hair about, while flash pods electrify the ultrabadass sinister stage mayhem.
I will confess to liking him only because he has taken two of the genres I like least and mutilating them both to the point where I find myself applauding the timely death of both styles.
Strangely enough, if W. A. Mozart were alive today, he would probably BE Rod Zombie. Maybe the gods DO have a plan.

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Outfreaker

OK, so what's so strange about White Zombie's lyrics?

- - - I noted recently that heavy metal and rap seem to be converging - heavy metal has more "spoken-word" style lyrics, and rap has more guitar thrashing. I don't quite know what to make of this. I'm not fond of either, so I'm not too concerned but I wonder if I should be.
- - - But that's not why I posted. Anybody know of any sites that can search pop/rock song lyrics by a few words of the song? I had one some time ago, but my hard drive lost it somewhere. I have a few words of a song I like, but all I know is that the singer is female. - MC

lyrics.com has a search engine & can give you the title but not the lyrics

lyrics.ch (NOT lyrics.com) used to have all lyrics, but they got sued, now they claim to slowly be adding more songs. You might try there, or search in Altavista with what you know in quotes.

"Obviously".. what? How do you drill a hole in a glass bottle? Argh. I've heard some whoppers in my day, but that one is really stretching it.

I used to think that the refrain for "Blue Tail Fly" was: "Gimme that corn, and I con't care; the Master's throwing it away!

It's Rob Zombie not Rod... he said picking nits...


OK, I got one. I'm really starting to get into Dream Theater... What does "Love in a space-dye vest" mean? I know what the song is about, but I just don't understand that particular reference...

Obviously, Alanis was masturbating with an empty glass bottle. The bottle created a vacuum, and to get it out, holes had to be drilled.

Am I the only one who remembers this particular legend?

That Alanis post of mine refers to an urban ledgend I heard some time ago...

A woman was heard screaming in a mall bathroom. Someone came in to help and was surprised to find a woman mastrubating with a glass bottle. The bottle created a suction and the woman was unable to remove it because the suction was pulling on... well, nevermind that. But anyway, so the story goes, [a maintenence man/an EMS crew] was called in and drilled a hole in the bottom so that the suction was broken.

Of course I don't believe it at all, but just because I don't believe it doesn't mean I can't spread it. And nobody else has put forth anything more plausible...

I've never heard this urban legend...

It doesn't really fly, though. Common sense dictates that the suction would have to be enormous to prevent simple removal from orifices and tissues unspoken and there's no mechanism to generate any significant amount of 'suction' in this 'configuration'.

I think that it would be hard to find a popular band and song which has deep lyrics. Generally if they are singing about an issue they will pretty much spell it out.
Of course it doesn't help if the band in question is just out to have fun.


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What's the ugliest part of your body?
Some say your nose, some say your toes,
But I think it's your Mind - Frank Zappa

I know this has been discussed on the SD before (so don't spank me), but has Don McLean ever revealed the true meaning behind the lyrics of American Pie? I've heard many interpretations, but never from him directly.

I did read part of a recent interview where he stated that "American Pie" was not the name of the plane that was carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper when they crashed. However, he never did say what it meant, at least in that particular interview.


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>^,,^<
KITTEN

He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius

Mind the empty bottle with the holes along the bottom


Perhaps this is referring to the new type of incense holder?

I've been seeing these lately - they're a bottle (usually painted) with holes around the bottom & a clip that lays on top of the neck. You fasten a stick of incense in the clip, light it & drop the stick into the bottle. The holes are necessary for air flow - the incense won't burn long if they're not there.

I've never heard this urban legend...
It doesn't really fly, though. Common sense dictates that the suction
would have to be enormous to prevent simple removal from orifices and
tissues unspoken and there's no mechanism to generate any significant
amount of 'suction' in this 'configuration'.

Says the guy who has never met Di"squeak"ane.


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>^,,^<
KITTEN

He who walk through airport door sideways going to Bangkok. - Confucius

I have no clues as to the meaning of the lyrics of "American Pie," but you may want to read McLean's comments printed in "Return of the Straight Dope."

Dave Barry wrote a book in which he said that it sounded as though the opening lyrics in the Beach Boys'song "Help Me, Rhonda" were:
"Well, since she put me down
There's been owls pukin"in my bed."
Barry said, "I hope those lyrics are wrong, because if they're RIUGHT, the singer's not going to get Rhonda to go anywhere NEAR him."

Okay... lyrics, right. I've had this song in my head since I heard the beat in a Lee Press-On and the Nails song (they're jump/swing... song is Mississippi Darling) and I haven't been able to find *anything* about it. My first thought is that I don't remember the song right. But can anyone help me find out what it is/origins/meanings, etc.

Here's what I remember:

My grandma [or grandpa] and your grandma sitting by the fire
My granma and your grandma gonna set your soul on fire
Won't you say hey now (hey now) hey now (hey now)
[phonetically]
eye-co eye-co yon-kay
My grandma and your grandma
[phonetically]
jack-o-mon-feen-no-ay

I figured this was a lyrics topic, right? :}

Scott, check out this link.

http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/songfile/IKOIKO.HTM

You'll find more info if you look around. There's a band called Iko Iko. The Grateful Dead used to perform this song a lot. For these and other reasons you get a lot of hits by searching for "Iko Iko."

Alanis:
Mind the empty bottle with the holes along the bottom

My interpretation:
Filling up an empty bottle with holes along the bottom is pointless. It makes a huge mess.
Trying to invest emotion in (filling up) a lonely person (empty bottle) who has greater psychological issues (holes along the bottom) is pointless. It makes a huge mess.

So mind the empty bottle with the holes along the bottom.

Although, the "Don't masturbate with an open glass bottle" message is important, too.

Thanks for the info and the link to Iko Iko. Now, one question remains:

What does "Iko Iko all day, jockomo feno na na nay, jockomo feena nay" mean? I understand the "all day" part :}

Well, when the Dead played it, it was referred to as "Aiko Aiko." God knows why. The Dixie Cups' version of "Iko Iko" is very nice.

I think Iko Iko and the following gibberish is what happens when Cajuns write a song, and then non cajuns try to sing it, and then grandchildren of non cajuns try to sing it...

There may be a cajun somewhere who culd make a good guess as to what it means.

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If men had wings,
and bore black feathers,
few of them would be clever enough to be crows.

- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher

dougie_monty-

I've always believed that American Pie was referring to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Richie Valens.

P.S. Hope someone gave Barry the "straight dope" on that one.

OK here's one for you...

Beach Boys..."Heroes & Villains"

The bridge starts with

"Heroes & Villains,...."

Anybody know what the rest of the lyric is?

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"Man, the 60's must have been real good for you!"
George Carlin..."Outrageous Fortune"

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"
Dorothy..."The Wizard of Oz"

Dave Barry notwithstanding, I know Don McLean filled "American Pie" with allusions to Buddy Holly--refer to "Return of the Straight Dope" for this. LA radio personalityh Geoff Edwards commented on the air that it was (allegedly!) "on a date with Dick Butkus." (lol!)

Here is the straight dope discussion for Don McLean's American Pie as the name of the plane urban legend.

http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000105.html

It's in the comments about Cecil's columns section of this web-site.

In the Sixties, Nancy Wilson sang a song titled "How Glad I Am." A line at the end of each verse was, "And you don't know, you don't know, you don't know, you don't know...how glad I am." It sounded like she was singing "And you don't know... how the hell I am."

to understand the plus lyrics you only need to look at the next line:
When the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?

Saying that will someone with more perception be able to tell someone is lonely when they put on a good show... this is even more evidenced by the preceeding lyrics:

Where ya going to tomorrow?
Where ya goin' with the mask I
found?

A girl is leaving, she's disguising her hurt and he's wondering if someone more perceptive, like a dog's keen sense of smell, could tell if she was lonely even if she was hiding behind a "mask"


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To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.

The title of Steve Lawrence's song "Footsteps" always sounded like "Quicksand."

Thanks Burn.

It still seems pretty obscure to me. What about the line "When the dogs find her."

The smelling and finding part makes me think of search dogs sniffing out a stinky, rotting, dead body.

Although I love this song, especially the acoustic version, the lyrics just fly over my head.


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>^,,^<
KITTEN

Coarse and violent nudity. Occasional language.

lets try it this way:

And I feel that time's a wasted
go
So where ya going to tomorrow?
And I feel that these are lies to
come
Would you even care?
And I feel it
And I feel it
(basically feeling like the whole relationship they were in was a waste of time as they break up. And knowing even if he asked her questions she'd lie to him about where she was going or what she was doing)
Where ya going to tomorrow?
Where ya goin' with the mask I
found?
And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell
her
Will she smell alone?

(Again she is leaving, and he can't even tell she's upset because she's "masked" ans he wonders if anyone else could tell she was lonely using some other sense)
And I feel, so much depends on
the weather
So is it raining in your bedroom?
And I see, that these are the
eyes of disarray
Would you even care?
(ramblings about lost love and how much it is just seemed like chance they split, like the weather, no one can predict. He doesn't know what she's doing hence the "is it raining in your bedroom" and that he has difficulty seeing and sorting it all out but surmises she doesn't care)
And I feel it
And she feels it

Where ya going to tomorrow?
Where ya goin' with the mask I
found?
(same as chorus above)

And I feel, and I feel
When the dogs begin to smell
her
Will she smell alone?
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time, to wait for
tomorrow
(This is referring to, when the other guys come "sniffing around" and finally find her alone, will they be able sto sense she's not with someone.)

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To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.

How about these Grateful Dead lyrics to the song China Cat Sunflower:

"Look for awhile at the China Cat Sunflower
proudwalking jingle in the midnight sun
Copperdome Bodhi drip a silver kimono
like a crazyquilt stargown
through a dream night wind

Krazy Kat peeking through a lace bandana
like a one eyed Cheshire
like a diamond eye Jack
A leaf of all colors plays
a golden string fiddle
to a double-e waterfall over my back

Comic book colors on a violin river
crying Leonardo words
from out a silk trombone
I rang a silent bell
beneath a shower of pearls
in the eagle wing palace
of the Queen Chinee"

Plush by the Stone Temple Pilots. "When the dogs begin to smell her."

What is that?


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>^,,^<
KITTEN

Coarse and violent nudity. Occasional language.

that's easy... drugs.. straight up drugs man.

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To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.

mm Maybe my age is showin' here but for lyrics it's gotta be Dylan. 'Brother's in the basemint talkin bout the guvamint...' "...look out kid they keep it all hid'
once new a 'dancer' who swore that Janis was singin, "my friends all ride horseys I must make amends."

Thanks Burn. I think I get it now. I think I read too many true crime paperbacks, I couldn't get past the idea that dogs were sniffing out a dead, rotten body.

Okay, now what about A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn or Closer by NIN? ;)


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>^,,^<
KITTEN

Coarse and violent nudity. Occasional language.

well diane how about you come up to seattle and I show you <smile>

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To deal with men by force is as impractical as to deal with nature by persuasion.

well diane how about you come up to seattle and I show you - Burn

You know, Seattle is one of my most favorite cities and is only an 1 1/2 flight away.

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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&gt;^,,^&lt;
KITTEN

Coarse and violent nudity. Occasional language.

Sorry about that!! I must have pushed a key twice to get this message posted twice--shades of the BBQ Pit...

Okay, what about that stupid ass song about Nookie. What the hell does it mean when he says...

I did it all for the nookie,
So you can take that cookie,
And shove it up your ass.

That is the dumbest song I've heard in a long time.

Oh yeah, what about White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. I love this song, but there is one part kind of in the middle where it sound like she is saying:

One man on the chessboard
Gets up and tells you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving wrong

Go ask Alice
I think she'll know

(and here is the part I can't understand. It sounds like: )

When logic and proportion
have fallen and the swan is dead...

What the hell is she saying?

dkgreath - "When logic and proportion
have fallen and the swan is dead..."

I always knew it as "When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead"

All I mean is I hope that in 1000 years, our culture has advanced significantly that we no longer need entertainment such as The Price Is Right, or for that matter, The Straight Dope Message Boards

No SDMB? Blasphemer!!! Off with his head!

Anybody remember the motorbike song "Little Honda" from the Sixties? It sounded like the refrain went, "Her ears is all right..."

Anybody remember the motorbike song "Little Honda" from the Sixties? It sounded like the refrain went, "Her ears is all right..."

About "Iko Iko"...not challenging anything, but I always heard the "jokomo" part as "talkin' 'bout." I had no idea what came after that...I just figured that my grandma and your grandma were talkin' 'bout feenahnay. Or something.

Then again, I heard the line from "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (by Deep Blue Something) not as

"She said I think I remember the film," but as
"She said I think I remember the bell-mime."

Not a clue what a bell-mime is. Just trying to resolve the sounds I heard into something slightly intelligible.

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"I'm just a manifestation of your imagination." -- Me.

About "It's All Been Done."

I don't think it's about time-travelling lovers, per say, but rather about re-incarnated lovers. Compare it to "What do you Dream About?" (I think) on the same album... This song is quite clearly about the narrator's son remembering about his past lives.

-Alex

[dougie_monty]

In the 1969 song "And When I Die," it sounds like, at the end of one verse, the singer is saying "The hell I don't!"
Another ambiguous verse from "Help Me, Rhonda:"
A relative thought "help me, Rhonda, Help help me Rhonda" was "Happy Hanukkah, Hap-Happy Hanukkah..."