New answers tagged lyrics
1
We are first introduced to Mary in Track 06: Spreading the Disease.
The lyrics of this track identify a new character "she", with a backstory as a sex worker:
She always brings me what I need
Without I beg and sweat and bleed
When we're alone at night
Waiting for the call
She feeds my skin
Sixteen and on the run from home
Found a job in Times ...
1
Over the years that I've heard/listened to this song I was under the impression that the "Seven" refers to the Seven Angels spoken of in Revelation 8:2
2
The song is a religious allegory, based mostly on the apocalyptic "Book of Revelations" from the Bible --with lines such as "there will be a new city, streets paved with gold" taken directly from the source.
Along those lines, the 7 are generally understood to be the Seven Deadly Sins (Greed, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Sloth, Pride) ...
0
There's a live performance on YouTube titled "Massive Attack - Teardrop with Liz Fraser" from MTV.
At around the 1:20 mark, you can lip read it. Personally, (with the audio off), I'm not seeing her tounge come up to her teeth at Feathers, so I'm going with Fearless.
edit: Also, at the 3 minute mark, you can compare the visuals on her saying ...
3
Having played a good near 50 New Years Eve gigs (miss them now!) only the first verse and chorus were played and sung, the final chorus usually ending with a pile of happy folk in a big knot in the middle. Didn't even know there were more verses!
0
In the U.S., only the first verse plus chorus are commonly sung.
1
In the original recording, it's ambiguous whether it's a cue or lyric ...
... though to my ear, it sounds like a cue. I think, however, based on later recordings, a cue to himself.
In an early live recording, though, it's clearly made part of the lyrics.
Kansas in 1978
However it started out, ...
1
I hear "Climb to life." There is a clear "f", though slightly detached from the rest of the word. It also makes since given the prior lyrics about rising and the following lyric about birth.
0
The lyrics seem pretty clear to me as a typical rap genre theme, denigrating people who steal rhymes. I don't read anything in the verses that indicate an actual person or situation, though it's fair to ask. I would just assume that as rap artists grow up and perform, others will rip off or riff on their stuff, just like stand up comedians do. It's a common ...
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