46
votes
Accepted
What does 'The Dark Side of the Moon' mean?
The moon revolves around the Earth at the exact same speed at which it rotates, due to a phenomenon having to do with the uneven weight distribution of the moon itself. Because of this, on Earth, we ...
- 7,051
37
votes
Accepted
Is the double negative in 'we don't need no education' intentional?
This is quite certainly intentional. While the double negative used as an intensified negative is considered ungrammatical in "standard" English, it is very common in many English dialects, ...
18
votes
In the song "Hotel California" by the Eagles, what are "colitas"?
The way I heard it, one of the guys on their road crew, who was Latino, told Henley and Frey that "colitas" meant "little buds" in Spanish. As in, marijuana buds. So, in that lyric they're ...
- 7,051
16
votes
The meaning of "Uptown Funk"
This song is an example of what one might call "effectively instrumental" in that the song has no lyrics that are particularly meaningful. The vocal elements are, for the most part, just another ...
- 626
16
votes
Is the double negative in 'we don't need no education' intentional?
I've been unable to find any comments directly from Roger Waters (writer of the music and lyrics of the song) on the meaning of those lines. Looking at the lyrics on Genius.com, the annotation for the ...
- 4,403
15
votes
Accepted
Du Hast - You Have or You Hate?
It's an intentional play on words.
When we hear the opening lyrics:
Du
Du hast
Du hast mich
It's unclear if they're saying "Du hast mich" ("You have me") or "Du hasst mich" ("You hate me").
It's ...
- 2,058
12
votes
What does 'The Dark Side of the Moon' mean?
And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
...
- 271
12
votes
Accepted
Do the lyrics a the beginning of Rock of Ages by Def Leppard mean anything?
Here's something from the Def Leppard FAQ:
These four words that you hear at the start of "Rock of Ages", mean
nothing, though the band sometimes jokingly claims it means "running
through the ...
- 1,570
11
votes
Was the radio talk in "Right Here, Right Now" real or created for the song?
It was real. The station, WBCN in Boston was an alt-rock station that was HUGE in the 90's but was shuttered in 2009, though it lives on online. Bradley Jay was a DJ and is currently a talk-radio host ...
- 111
11
votes
The "right here, right now" sample in "Right Here, Right Now"
Not totally authoritative, but compare for yourself
I did a quick edit/overlay for comparison.
I'd say it's close enough to be sure they are the same.
https://clyp.it/yhomglty#
Short snippet, with ...
- 7,098
11
votes
Accepted
What is meant by "Grandma Plays the Numbers"?
The "numbers" were indeed the lottery, but this was back before the government decided to get in on the action, so it was an illegal lottery run by gangsters.
Basically, it was a common, but ...
11
votes
Accepted
Who is Hozier's goddess?
It's to refer to his lover. The whole section is actually:
If I'm a pagan of the good times
My lover's the sunlight
To keep the Goddess on my side
She demands a sacrifice
It can be ...
Dom♦
- 4,290
10
votes
Accepted
In the Beatles' "I'm So Tired", why is Sir Walter Raleigh "such a stupid git"?
Sir Walter Raleigh is credited as the one who introduced tobacco to the UK from the (then) colony of Virginia. So the reference is to the cigarette in the lyrics, and the love-hate relationship with ...
- 4,920
9
votes
The meaning of "Uptown Funk"
The literal meaning of uptown is usually the more northward part of the center city, but it has connotations (via New York City) of an urban area that is more "upscale", wealthy, classy and ...
9
votes
Accepted
What is Meaning of "Aerials" by System of a Down song and music video?
Genius has a cool feature which lets users interpret song meanings cooperatively. It also allows you annotate the meaning of smaller blocks of the lyrics.
As it happens, Aerials has been interpreted ...
- 1,183
9
votes
Accepted
NOFX's song "Linoleum" - what's the meaning of this song?
As always, genius is a good source for analyzing of song meanings. This particular song has been extensively analyzed by multiple users. Having said this, most of the time a song's meaning is subject ...
- 1,183
9
votes
What is meant by "Run me like a river"?
After asking this question, it was pointed out to me that "running a river" is a way to refer to travelling down a turbulent river, usually on a raft, kayak, or canoe.
So, I think I was reading that ...
- 465
9
votes
Accepted
What kind of bird are you if you can't swim?
Prokofiev referred to the bird in Peter and the Wolf as simply 'the little bird'.
"Of course we shall have the flute as a little bird." [†Schlifstein, p.450.]
Although parakeets are smallish - ...
- 271
8
votes
Is the song "Paradise City" written about a specific city?
Wikipedia is rather vague:
Guns N' Roses' lead guitarist, Slash, states that the song was written
in the back of a rental van as they were on their way back from
playing a gig in San Francisco ...
- 2,827
8
votes
Accepted
Did the analogy "The Birds And The Bees" truly originate from the Cole Porter song 'Let's Do It"?
It seems that the phrase has multiple possible sources with none truly confirmed. I've listed the sources below:
"..poet Samuel Coleridge (1825): 'All nature seems at work ... The bees are stirring—...
- 381
8
votes
Why does "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by The Offspring start with a sample from "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard?
The Offspring used it to replace the 1,2,3,4 count that some bands (i.e. The Ramones) would start their songs off to. Of course, a few seconds after the opening, they count to 6 in Spanish....go ...
- 517
8
votes
Accepted
Rock song with lyric "walking in your shoes", gruff voice singer like Linkin Park
You might be thinking of another Linkin Park song, "Numb". Looking at the lyrics, it has a few lines very close to the ones you remembered from it (emphasis mine), but it's missing "something I am not ...
- 4,403
8
votes
Tragic 60's song with unknown lyrics by a male singer about a fallen military buddy
Is it After the War by Timothy P. Irvin? Here are the lyrics to the song, they fit your description very well:
AFTER THE WAR
My name is Billy Johnson, Indiana's my state. I turned 21 back in '...
- 536
8
votes
What is meant by the chorus of "I Am the Highway" by Audioslave
This is one of my favorite songs, it means so much to me.
The meaning is this:
It has to do with being neglected, mistreated, overlooked and taken for granted by people you care about. They might ...
- 81
8
votes
Accepted
"Ex's and Oh's" by Elle King- What is "Oh's"?
There are multiple possible interpretations according to contributors on Genius:
The metaphorical x’s (hugs) and o’s (kisses) of the relationships
haunt her, symbolizing her running away from ...
- 2,827
8
votes
Accepted
Lyrics confusion in Queen's "I Want to Break Free"
The annotations for these lines on Genius.com suggests a few potential explanations.
Annotation for "I've fallen in love/I've fallen in love for the first time".
The narrator says that he ...
- 4,403
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible