Songs you finally understand

[dougie_monty]

I’ve mentioned a gospel song titled “Rusty Old Halo,” before; for about 50 years I thought it was one of the saddest things I ever heard–some poor soul goes to heaven but his raiments are rags. But when I finally found the lyrics, on the Internet, it turned out the “poor soul” was a stingy rich man now getting his comeuppance. I didn’t have to cry anymore…

[terentii]

@Damuri_Ajashi

In Piano Man by Billy Joel

Now Paul is a Real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
He’s talking with Davy, who’s still in the Navy
And probably will be for life.

It wasn’t until recently that I suspected that it wasn’t Davy that would remain in the navy for life but that Paul and Davy would be talking for life.

Like Cliff and Norm?

Many of Joel’s songs are autobiographical. He wrote “Piano Man” when he was just starting his career, and was actually working as a lounge pianist. Most of the people he encountered found their way into the song.

[Irishman]

@Damuri_Ajashi

It wasn’t until recently that I suspected that it wasn’t Davy that would remain in the navy for life but that Paul and Davy would be talking for life.

That’s a bit of a stretch. I suppose one could force ambiguity into the sentence structure and read it that way, but the natural pacing of the paragraph reads

Paul is a real-estate- novelist, who never had time for a wife.
And Paul is talking with Davy, the guy who is in the navy and probably will be for life.

[Lamia]

@Electric_Warrior

Well, if it makes you feel better, it isn’t a real one. Written by a Jewish dude named Norman Greenbaum who wanted to see if he could write a gospel song, and dashed one off in 15 minutes.

I forget where I saw this, but apparently the lyrics are actually wrong from a mainstream Christian standpoint. It says “I’m not a sinner, I never sinned, I’ve got a friend in Jesus”, whereas Christian doctrine holds that all people sin, but are forgiven by Jesus.

You may have seen it here on the SDMB, as I believe I’ve made this point before.

I interpret that line as being a shot at the sort of self-righteous, self-satisfied Christians who brag about how holy they are, although it may well have been something Greenbaum dashed off without much thought.

[Smapti]

If ever I start to think I understand the meaning of “Blinded By The Light” you have my permission, nay request, to get a straight jacket.

My interpretation has been that the song is a semi-biographical story about Springsteen’s trying to make it in the music business. The Boss himself is the “teenage diplomat”, the “madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summer” are the E Street Band, and the “silicone sister”, “go-kart Mozart”, the “dude from Scotland Yard”, etc. are various producers, agents, and publicists he had to deal with.

Anyway, a few of my “Oh, THAT’S what that song is about!” moments;

Sunshine Of Your Love - I always mishead the lyric “give you my dawn surprise” as “give you my dull surprise”. Once I got it right I realized it was about having sex in the morning.

Rock You Like a Hurricane - Pretty much exactly the same thing.

25 or 6 to 4 - Took me forever to realize that it’s NOT about “drugs, man” like so many people had told me it was.

Somebody That I Used To Know - It was pretty obvious it was a breakup song, but I didn’t pick up on the subtext until I saw the video.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Read what it was supposed to be about in a newspaper article in 2004 about the music of Queen being legalized in Iran.

There Is A Mountain - Read about the meaning on Wikipedia. Apparently it’s a Zen thing.

[Irishman]

@Smapti

Somebody That I Used To Know - It was pretty obvious it was a breakup song, but I didn’t pick up on the subtext until I saw the video.

What subtext would that be?

Bohemian Rhapsody - Read what it was supposed to be about in a newspaper article in 2004 about the music of Queen being legalized in Iran.

Cans you 'spillane?

[phungi]

Although I had been a Pearl Jam fan since 1992, and had an inkling about the meaning of Yellow Ledbetter, I learned the full meaning in 2008 at a Vedder solo concert in Newark NJ:

(audience member shouts “what are the words to Yellow Ledbetter”)

wait, this is a little, kinda an intense moment here right now... let me gather my... after all this time, are you telling me there are words to that song? this is new information, I am trying to accept it...
you know, I guess it's... uh, I can't remember how it goes... it's... where's Mike McCready when you need him? you know, uh, "they don't wave," something about "they don't wave," "I see them on the front porch, but they don't wave"...

so, what it was about.. this was written during the Gulf war... this is papa Bush, and uh, it was about a guy who's brother went to fight in the first Gulf war, and he was kinda an alternative looking guy, like we were with our shorts and tights and long hair, whatever we had going on... but you know, activists and artists and good young people of Seattle, and smart people, weren’t all drug addicts, you know… and so it is a story about his brother being killed over there and then he gets a yellow letter in the mail, saying “your brother was killed”... and so he tries to take a walk, he's walking this off, in this little suburban neighborhood, and his mind is racing and he doesn't know what to do, and he feels like he can't take a step without falling into a deep abyss... so he's walking and walking and walking, and he sees a couple on a porch with an American flag, and he waves to them, like “you know, my brother”... and then the people look at him like "you f*cking scumbag” you know what I mean… “who are you” like they don’t know, they don’t know the inside, they’re judging him by his cover… and um, so, um, that’s what the thought was

[Smapti]

@Irishman

What subtext would that be?

The video makes it much clearer that the man in the relationship is every bit aqs much of a jerk as he’s accusing the woman of being - the second time the chorus comes around, rather than being accusatory, he’s being defensive.