Lyrics with meaning

[Crimson Ghost]

Watched "Taking Chance" today.
Afterwards, this song kept rolling though my mind.
--------------------

1916 - Motorhead

Sixteen years old
when I went to the war
To fight for a land fit for heroes
God on my side
and a gun in my hand
Chasing my days down to zero

And I marched, and I fought
And I bled, and I died
And I never did get any older
But I knew at the time
That a year in the line
Was a long enough life for a soldier

We all volunteered
And we wrote down our names
And we added two years to our ages
Eager for life
And ahead of the game
Ready for history's pages

And we brawled, and we fought
And we whored 'till we stood
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder
At thirst for the Hun
We were food for the gun
And that's what you are when you're soldiers

I heard my friend cry
And he sank to his knees
Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother
And I fell by his side
And that's how we died
Clinging like kids to each other

And I lay in the mud, and the guts and the blood
And I wept as his body grew colder
And I called for my mother, and she never came
Though it wasn't my fault, and I wasn't to blame
The day not half over, and ten thousand slain
And now there's nobody remembers our names
And that's how it is
For a soldier

[Shawnee123]

If you need a friend,
don't look to a stranger,
You know in the end,
I'll always be there.

And when you're in doubt,
and when you're in danger,
Take a look all around,
and I'll be there.

I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)
I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)
But if you wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me,
I promise, I promise you I will.

When your day is through,
and so is your temper,
You know what to do,
I'm gonna always be there.

Sometimes if I shout,
it's not what's intended.
These words just come out,
with no gripe to bear.

I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)
I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)
But if you wait around a while, I'll make you fall for me,
I promise, I promise you...

I'm sorry, but I'm just thinking of the right words to say. (I promise)
I know they don't sound the way I planned them to be. (I promise)
And if I had to walk the world, that make you fall for me,
I promise you, I promise you I will.

[Kaliayev]

Saul Williams - Act III, Scene 2 (Shakespeare)

This is a call out to all the youth in the ghettos, suburbs, villages, townships
To all the kids who download this song for free
By any means
To all the kids short on loot but high on dreams
All the kids watching TV like, "Yo, I wish that was me."
And all the kids pressing rewind on Let's Get Free
I hear you
To all the people within the sound of my voice

Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line
(Shakespeare)
Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line

I didn't vote for this state of affairs
My emotional state's got me prostrate, fearing my fears
In all reality I'm under prepared
'Cause I'm ready for war but not sure if I'm ready to care
And that's why I'm under prepared
'Cause I'm ready to fight
But most fights got me fighting back tears
'Cause the truth is really I'm scared
Not scared of the truth
But just scared of the length you'll go to fight it
I tried to hold my tongue, son
I tried to bite it
I'm not trying to start a riot or incite it
'Cause Brutus is an honorable man
It's just coincidence that oil men would wage war on an oil rich land
And this one goes out to my man
taking cover in the trenches with a gun in his hand
then gets home and no one flinches when he can't feed his fam
But Brutus is an honorable man

Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line
(Shakespeare)
Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line

If you have tears prepare to shed them now
For you share the guilt of blood spilt in accordance with the Dow Jones
Dow drops fresh crop skull and bones
A machete in the heady, Hutu, Tutsi, Leone
An Afghani in a shanty, doodle dandy yank on
An Iraqi in Gap khaki, Coca Coma come on
Be ye bishop or pawn
In the streets or the lawn
You should know that these example could go on and on and
What since does it make to keep your ears to the street
As long as oils in the soil, truth is never concrete
So we dare to represent those with the barest of feet
'Cause the laws to which we're loyal keep the soil deplete
It's our job to not let history repeat

Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line
(Shakespeare)
Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line
(Shakespeare)
Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line
(Shakespeare)
Spit for the hated, the reviled, the unrefined
The no ones, the nobodies, the last in line

So here's the plan
The Ides of March are always at hand
And when the power hungry strike
They strike the poorest of man
And if you dare put up a fight
They'll come and fight for your land
And they'll call it liberation or salvation
A call to the youth
Your freedom ain't so free, it's just loose
But the power of your voice could redirect any truth
Shift and shape the world you want
And keep your fears in a noose
Let them dangle from a banner star spangled
I'm willing and able
To lift my dreams up out of their cradle
Nurse and nurture my ideals
'Til they're much more than a fable
I can be all I can be and do much more than I'm paid to
And I won't be a slave to
What authorities say do
My desire to live within a nation on fire
Where creative passions burn and raise the stakes ever higher
Where no person is addicted to some twisted supplier
Who promotes the sort of freedom sold to the highest buyer
We demand a truth naturally at one with the land
Not a plant that photosynthesizes bombs on demand
Or a search for any weapons we let fall from our hands
I got beats and a plan
I'mma do what I can
And what you do is question everything they say do
Every goal ideal or value they keep pushing on you
If they ask you to believe it question whether it's true
If they ask you to achieve, is it for them or for you?
You're the one they're asking to go carry a gun
Warfare ain't humanitarian
You're scaring me, son
Why not fight to feed the homeless, jobless, fight inflation?
Why not fight for our own healthcare and our education?
And instead, invest in that erasable lead
'Cause their twisted propaganda can't erase all the dead
And the pile of corpses pyramid on top of our heads
Or nevermind, said the shotgun to the head

[Kaliayev]

And if you like that sort of thing, check out Immortal Technique:

Immortal Technique - That's What It Is

Yeah...Yeah...
Used to run around, gettin my fight in the streets on
Back in the day, before Harlem had a green zone
What god is a good education with no direction?
Like the right to vote with no one to vote for in an election
Like the gun with no bullets in the clip for protection
Like the crowd packed in the front, without the midsection
Used to live robbin and stealin and being reckless
It took time for my mind to put the ghetto in perspective
I used to live in the back, of a holding van
Used to be offbeat, like the white girls' shoulder dance
I wrote rhymes acappella, no beat, behind bars
Shed blood to make it like the story behind scars
I used to be a battle champion, in the meanwhile
Before some of you little fuckers learned to freestyle
Prematurely senile, underground primadonnas
I was Oliver North during Iran Contra
Cause I never snitched, and that's backed by evidence
I learned it from watchin' you, don't ever forget it bitch
Cause everybody knows how the government do
They never snitch on themselves, but they want you to snitch on you
Evolution from Australopithecus
Primitive commercial shit to hard-core lyricist
Your wax is useless
Rappers are dropping like Icarus
Technological revolution, nigga picture this


Yeah...
I told you what it was, but this is what it is now
Lyrical bullets packed to the top of the clip now
Treat it like a robbery, I'm shutting this shit down
Fellas put your hands up, and all the women strip down
That's not misogynist, you ostriches, cause I could just apocalypse
Talk politics to the populace
Or challenge what the market is
With militant caucuses
That'll smash the spirit of hip hop out the sarcophagus
This is the curse of Tutankhamen, I bring the drama on
I'm sinful, I eat you, broad daylight on Ramadan
Hip hop reparations, now we taking back Delucci
Don't tell me you spent it on coke like Danny Bonaduce
We're tired of being on the outside, looking in
Wondering what the fuck hip hop would've been
This is what it is, as opposed to what it used to be
And this is your corporate tax ID eulogy
Dominant species, the new breed, that won't let you breath
I'll make you die for what I believe
So we got nothin in common
There ain't no comparison
You got beef with niggas, I got beef with Aryans
White power, Nazi, European Americans,
Rapid poverty pimps, and fake vegetarians
The resurrection, ripping a bull through the record section
Flight connection to the gentry board of all guerrilla lessons
Fuck a middle man distributor, I got a choice now
This ain't Volume 1., I got a grown man's voice now
Toured the country four times over, I'm older and wiser
Poisonous words, you'll find strychnine in my saliva

I told you what it was, but this is what it is now
.50 caliber bullets, I don't need a clip now
Fuck your private jet nigga, we shootin the shit down
Bomb Wall Street and make the stock market dip down
I told you what it was, but this is what it is now
If you the shit nigga, I don't care about shit now
I play the role of Abraham, idols get ripped down
Melt the ice caps, and make all of this shit drown

[DanaC]

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
(George Weiss / Bob Thiele)

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Oh yeah

[Shawnee123]

"Stars"

Anyone who ever held you
Would tell you the way I'm feeling
Anyone who ever wanted you
Would try to tell you what I feel inside
The only thing I ever wanted
Was the feeling that you ain't faking
The only one you ever thought about
Wait a minute can't you see that I

I wanna fall from the stars
Straight into your arms
I, I feel you
I hope you comprehend

For the man who tried to hurt you
He's explaining the way I'm feeling
For all the jealousy I caused you
States the reason why I'm trying to hide
As for all the things you taught me
It sends my future into clearer dimensions
You'll never know how much you hurt me
Stay a minute can't you see that I

I wanna fall from the stars
Straight into your arms
I, I feel you
I hope you comprehend

Too many hearts are broken
A lover's promise never came with a maybe
So many words are left unspoken
The silent voices are driving me crazy
As for all the pain you caused me
Making up could never be your intention
You'll never know how much you hurt me
Stay can't you see that I

I wanna fall from the stars
Straight into your arms
I, I feel you
I hope you comprehend

[Sundae]

Silent House by Crowded House

Written by Neil Finn about his mother
It makes me all teary, and also makes me so grateful that although I'm not an internationally appreciated, talented, Kiwi songwriter/ singer/ genius, I do have this chance to live with the 'rents and love them for who they are. Not sure which they would choose tho'


Silent House
These walls
Have eyes
Rows of photographs
And faces like mine

Who do
We become
Without knowing where
We started from

It’s true
I’m missing you
And I stand alone
Inside your room

Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart

I will try to connect
All the pieces you’ve left
I will carry it on
And let you forget

I’ll remember the years
When your mind was still clear
All the flickering lights
That filled up this silent house

One room
Two beds
In the closet hangs
Your favourite dress

Good books
And the best that you ever had
Are in pieces now
The pages ashred

Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart

I will try to connect
All the pieces you’ve left
I will carry it on
And let you forget

I’ll remember the years
When your mind was still clear
All the flickering lights
That filled up this silent house

Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart
All the names that you can’t recall

I will try to connect
All the pieces you’ve left
I will carry it on
And let you forget

I’ll remember the years
When your mind was still clear
All the flickering lights
That filled up this silent house

Found this. And had to put it in.
I know it's not in the spirit of the thread, but although the words are beautiful (IMO, almost poetry) when set to music they grow another life. I do adore him.


For the record - if I believed in angels, they would sound like Neil Finn.

[Sundae]

PS - sorry to bang on.
But I just reread this & rewatched the YouTube clip.

Good lord, I adore this man.
I mean, really.

His voice
His musical ability (he plays SO many instruments!)
His amazing stream-of-consciousness lyrics

You know the Dinner Party game?
Neil & Tim Finn have been on my list since I was 16.
Paul Hester too. But he hanged himself.

[Trilby]

how 'bout a little les mis?


[JAVERT]
Now bring me prisoner 24601
Your time is up
And your parole's begun
You know what that means.

[VALJEAN]
Yes, it means I'm free.

[JAVERT]
No!
It means you get
Your yellow ticket-of-leave
You are a thief

[VALJEAN]
I stole a loaf of bread.

[JAVERT]
You robbed a house.

[VALJEAN]
I broke a window pane.
My sister's child was close to death
And we were starving.

[JAVERT]
You will starve again
Unless you learn the meaning of the law.

[VALJEAN]
I know the meaning of those 19 years
A slave of the law

[JAVERT]
Five years for what you did
The rest because you tried to run
Yes, 24601.

[VALJEAN]
My name is Jean Valjean

[JAVERT]
And I am Javert
Do not forget my name!
Do not forget me,
24601.

[PRISONERS]
Look down, look down
You'll always be a slave
Look down, look down
You're standing in your grave.

[VALJEAN]
Freedom is mine. The earth is still.
I feel the wind. I breathe again.
And the sky clears
The world is waking.
Drink from the pool. How clean the taste.
Never forget the years, the waste.
Nor forgive them
For what they've done.
They are the guilty - everyone.
The day begins...
And now lets see
What this new world
Will do for me!

[He finds work on a farm]

[FARMER]
You'll have to go
I'll pay you off for the day
Collect your bits and pieces there
And be on your way.

[VALJEAN]
You have given me half
What the other men get!
This handful of tin
Wouldn't buy my sweat!

[LABORER]
You broke the law
It's there for people to see
Why should you get the same
As honest men like me?

[VALJEAN]
Now every door is closed to me
Another jail. Another key. Another chain
For when I come to any town
They check my papers
And they find the mark of Cain
In their eyes I see their fear
`We do not want you here.'

[He comes to an inn]

[INKEEPER'S WIFE]
My rooms are full
And I've no supper to spare
I'd like to help a stranger
All we want is to be fair

[VALJEAN]
I will pay in advance
I can sleep in a barn
You see how dark it is
I'm not some kind of dog!

[INNKEEPER]
You leave my house
Or feel the weight of my rod
We're law-abiding people here
Thanks be to God.

[They throw him out of the inn]

[VALJEAN]
And now I know how freedom feels
The jailer always at your heels
It is the law!
This piece of paper in my hand
That makes me cursed throughout the land
It is the law!
Like a cur
I walk the street,
The dirt beneath their feet.

[He sits down despairingly outside a house from which emerges the Bishop of Digne.]

[BISHOP]
Come in, Sir, for you are weary,
And the night is cold out there.
Though our lives are very humble
What we have, we have to share.
There is wine here to revive you.
There is bread to make you strong,
There's a bed to rest till morning,
Rest from pain, and rest from wrong.

[VALJEAN]
He let me eat my fill
I had the lion's share
The silver in my hand
Cost twice what I had earned
In all those nineteen years -
That lifetime of despair
And yet he trusted me.
The old fool trusted me -
He'd done his bit of good
I played the grateful serf
And thanked him like I should
But when the house was still,
I got up in the night.
Took the silver
Took my flight!

[Taking the silver cup, he runs off, but is brought back by two constables]

[Trilby]

Touch of Grey - the Dead

Must be getting early, clocks are running late.
Paint my love a morning sky, its all cold.
Dawn is breaking everywhere, light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains I dont care, but its all right
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

I see youve got your list out, say your piece and kiss off.
Guess I get the gist of it, but its all right
Oh well anyway, sorry that you feel that way.
Every silver linings got a touch of grey
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

Its a lesson to me, the ablers and the beggars and the thieves
The abcs we all think of, try to win a little love.

I know the rent is in arrears, the dog has not been fed in years
Its even worse than it appears, but its all right

Cow is giving kerosene, kid cant read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene, but its all right
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

Shoe is on the hand that fits, thats all there really is to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit, but its all right

Oh well a touch of grey, kinda suits you anyway,
Thats all I had to say, but its all right
I will get by, I will get by, I will get by, I will survive.

Its a lesson to me, the devils and the east and the free
The abcs we all must face, try to save a little grace.

[motown01]

All you need is love

[Trilby]

Higher Love - stevie winwood


Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, Ill look inside mine
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Wheres that higher love I keep thinking of?

Worlds are turning and were just hanging on
Facing our fear and standing out there alone
A yearning, and its real to me
There must be someone whos feeling for me
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
Wheres that higher love I keep thinking of?

[Sundae]

FTR, I've seen Les Mis live a stupid amount of times.
And it made me cry every time.

I always hated the tourists for laughing during Lovely Ladies. I was fine with the song on the album, but cried buckets in the THEATRE! (was that right?) when Fantine sold her hair.

Never did get round to reading the book though.

[Shawnee123]

Nice Stevie Winwood, Bri.

Sigh...

[Shawnee123]

If you listen you can hear it
It's the laughter in the street
It's the motion in the music
And the fire beneath your feet
All the signs are right this time
You don't have to try so very hard
If you live in this world
You're feelin' the change of the guard

All the cowboys and your neighbors
Can you swallow up your pride
Take your guns off if you're willin'
And you know we're on your side
If you wanna get thru the years
It's high time you played your card
If you live in this world
You're feelin' the change of the guard

--Steely Dan (Fagen, Becker)