Hey everyone, a couple of lyrics questions have been plaguing my brain for a while and its time to set the record straight.
Why does Liz Phair want to find alligator cowboy boots that just went on sale (or something along those lines) in Polyester Bride. Is there an actual reason for those lyrics or just the general fact that they are silly? (Yay Liz Phair by the way)
In the song Glycerine by Bush I never knew the relevance of the word glycerine, and I just figured it connotised see-through or something, but then a friend mentioned she always thought that glycerine was the girls name. That seems to make so much more sense now. What do you guys rekon?
I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean in regards to the song, but it’s not a name.
I did a little search and someone suggests that glycerine is the substance used as fake tears on TV and in movies.
Would the sort of woman who wore a polyester wedding dress marry someone wearing cut-price cowboy boots?
I’ve never entirely understood the song, because she starts by chatting to this bartender and asks him if she should date men who aren’t famous. He says that she’s lucky to know him, then asks her if she wants to get married in polyester (which I assume is a bad thing, and something the poor do), and buy the previously-mentioned dubious footwear (which I don’t know if is something for the rich or the poor). He seems to say the alternative to the polyester is to “hang your head and die”. So should she marry the bartender or not?
I can’t really be bothered explicating Bush lyrics, but glycerine is also involved in soap manufacture. It is used in make-up and also as a food additive (as a sweetener and a preservative to prevent products drying out too much). So there are a load of associations there: preserving, washing, sweetening. (And rock singers being not that bright he could have meant nitroglycerine, glycerol, glucose or thousands of other things.)
“Polyester Bride” is partially about being conventional, doing everything the way she’s “supposed” to do it – going shoe-shopping, getting married, chasing rich men. The bartender is counseling her not to do that.
Also, it’s not a polyester dress, it’s a polyester bride – she, herself, the narrator of the song. It’s a metaphor for conformity – think “plastic” or “pre-fab” as synonyms.
Might I add that while I’m glad to help out, Bjork is in a lot of trouble not only for getting this song in my head, but for making me think about the meaning of Bush lyrics in the first place. Yuck. Could you pick a non-crappy band next time?
Hey, I was being nice with Bush! I could have asked you that god damn word that annoys me in the Uncle Kracker song but I am too stubborn to look up on a lyrics website.
Is it “give me the beach boys and free my soul I want to get los in your rock and roll”
“Give me the beat boys…”
Or
“Give me the people…”
It sounds like give me the beat boys, but who are they? Give me the Beach boys makes sense.
Er, I’m guessing Uncle Cracker covered Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away”…in that case, the correct lyrics are “give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away”.