Artist: Moby
Song: Into the Blue
Album: Everything Is Wrong
All alone, I open my eyes
Wild ride
Hold your fire
I'm not about to die
Keep back
Let in some air I dare lie down
To stare at the sky
[Refrain:]
I am wide open
Reaching forever
I fly into the blue
I am wide open
Reaching forever
I fly into the blue
Flat mark
High tide
Frantic to stay afloat
Stay calm
Let in some air I dare lie down
To stare at the sky
[Refrain]
From above
I am so small
So fast
I move I move
The light the light
Here comes the tide
[Refrain]
With water surrounding me
I am wide open
Reaching forever
And I fly into the blue
Into the blue
I am wide open
I am wide open
Reaching forever
Reaching forever
I fly
I fly into the blue
I am wide open
I am wide open
Reaching forever
Reaching forever
I fly into the blue
Into the blue
I am wide open
I am wide open
Reaching forever
Reaching forever
I fly into the blue
Into the blue
Like its name this song is vague and does not have any definite meaning. Blue could be a reference almost anything - the sky, the ocean, or even the future or unknown. In fact, reading over the lyrics gives the impression that blue is meant in multiple contexts, ocean, sky, and maybe more. The lyrics, the first three verses in particular, would seem to suggest a tangible meaning. My search so far has only yielded hypothesis, nothing that I would call conclusive and plausible at a stretch.
My first theory, and I think this still seems the most potentially accurate, is that this song is about death. The "blue" we are talking about would then be the afterlife and "into the blue" would be crossing over, into the afterlife. It is quite easy to find support for this hypothesis in the song as the lyrics are admittedly ambiguous. In the first verse "Wild Ride", "Lie down", and "stare at the sky" could all deal with death. The wild ride is of course the narrators life, and then lying down and staring at the sky most likely has to do with being on your death bed and staring at the heavens, contemplating your life and what it has meant. Of course the "I'm not about to die" line is problematic, and is the biggest point against this interpretation, to be addressed later.
Verse two lends even more support than the first. A "flat mark" of occurs when your heart stops, "frantic to stay afloat" refers to someone trying not to drown - or die. In this case the narrator seems to be clinging to life. Interestingly enough the drowning metaphor adds another layer of meaning here - we discussed blue as the afterlife, but it could also be, at the same time, the ocean depths. As you drown you fall into the ocean deaths as well as crossing into the "blue" that is the afterlife.
The third verse is where things get a little enigmatic. Everything, except for the last line, does not have any strict connection with death or dying. A little bit of creative interpretation does a fair job: "From above" could be in reference to the afterlife, "So small, so fast, I move..." could be about the narrators spirit, leaving the body, and "the light, the light" would be the light of the afterlife, as it is so often described. Lastly, the tide represents the double meaning of both water and death that we described earlier. The tide has the literal meaning of the water, in which the narrator is trying to stay afloat, the the more metaphorical meaning of death.
The refrain and last large verse are the most ambiguous and can easily be interprited to fit the dying hypothesis. The "water surrounding" refers to the whole, possibly metaphorical, piece about drowning. Flying into the blue presents a different approach but one that still fits quite nicely. Interestingly enought blue in this context could also mean two different things, the blue of the sky, which is also refered to as the heavens, or the blue of the afterlife or great beyond. "Reaching Forever" and "I am wide open" are harder to interpret. Perhaps forever has something to do with the infinite amount of time that you are dead and "wide open" refers to the deceased nature of the narrators body.
As mentioned before this interpretation of the song fits very well except for the lone line in the first verse, "I am not about to die." I do not know what to think of this, it could be the narrator clarifying things: "Hey, it might look like it, but this song is not about death." Or maybe it is the narrator calming friends and family: "No, everything is okay, of course I'm not going to die." Taking on a positive attitude ahead of the inevitable. Perhaps though it is something more, maybe the narrator does not see the end of life as death, rather it is crossing over to another place, into the blue.
I would love to end on that very wise note, but my analysis demands rigor and so I must mention a few more things. If death is not the correct analysis then I think the next best guess would be dreaming. Staring at the sky and lying down could easily be associated with dreaming or day dreaming. The rest of the song could simply be about the narrator dreaming or in a dream, more creative interpretation would be easy, especially with the abstract nature of dreams. A few other postulates did cross my mind. What if the narrator in this song was an abstract object, like the sun or moon? Or maybe the narrator is some kind of sea creatureor bird? Ultimately none were as convincing or well supported as the death hypothesis. The very ambiguous nature of the song, however, allows for multiple interpretations and I doubt there is one, concrete, meaning.
Interestingly enough Wikipedia, Songmeanings.net, and Google all lacked content on this song. I might be one of the first people to have seriously analyzed it.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Blue October - Into the Ocean
Artist: Blue October
Song: Into the Ocean
Album: Foiled
I'm just a normal boy
That sank when I fell overboard
My ship would leave the country
But I'd rather swim ashore
Without a life vest I'd be stuck again
Wish I was much more masculine
Maybe then I could learn to swim
Like 'fourteen miles away'
Now floating up and down
I spin, colliding into sound
Like whales beneath me diving down
I'm sinking to the bottom of my
Everything that freaks me out
The lighthouse beam has just run out
I'm cold as cold as cold can be
be
I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down
Where is the coastguard
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I'm left behind
I'm treading for my life believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing)
Not knowing how to think
I scream aloud, begin to sink
My legs and arms are broken down
With envy for the solid ground
I'm reaching for the life within me
How can one man stop his ending
I thought of just your face
Relaxed, and floated into space
I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down
Let the rain come down
Now waking to the sun
I calculate what I had done
Like jumping from the bow (yeah)
Just to prove that I knew how (yeah)
It's midnight's late reminder of
The loss of her, the one I love
My will to quickly end it all
Set front row in my need to fall
Into the ocean, end it all
Into the ocean, end it all
Into the ocean, end it all
into the ocean...end it all
[Zayra]
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion (yeah)
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come downLet the rain come down
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
(In to space)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
(I thought of just your face)
In this song the narrator is in the ocean and seemingly drowning. Prima facie it would seem to be a metaphor for any sort of "drowning", whether it be struggling in life or relationships. A little more examination reveals that "drowning in life" is exactly what is happening. The narrator has recently lost (either to death or other circumstance) someone he loved and is not taking it very well at all. I would even come close to saying that the narrator is in fact suicidal.
Rather than go verse by verse I think we can skip around in this examination. The song starts off with the drowning imagery and continues consistently, with a few vague lines, for the remainder of the song. The clues as to the deeper story of the song come near the end with "Like jumping from the bow" and "The loss of her, the one I love." If I had to summarize the song in one sentence it would be this: The narrator has lost someone he loved and is now "drowning" in the aftermath. The "jumping from the bow" could imply either that he is suicidal or, more likely, that he had some role in whatever is causing him to drown. Although " My will to quickly end it all" would be a much stronger suggestion for his suicidal tendencies.
The ocean imagery does not need much explanation: he is treading water, trying to stay afloat, the lighthouse has gone out, etc etc. There are a smattering of lines that elude easy interpretation. The second verse is particularly elusive, what connection does masculinity have to being able to swim? Obviously swimming is a metaphor for surviving and (maybe) succeeding with his lady, so perhaps he is saying that by being more masculine he would somehow do better with the person he loves/loved. Google searches failed to reveal even a hint of meaning for the last line of the verse, "like fourteen miles away." I thought it might be a movie or book but that does not seem to be the case.
The wikipedia entry for the song describes the opening drowning sequence as a dream of suicide, revealed by the verse in which he "wakes to the sun." This interpretation seems to be pretty dead on. In this dream he is so depressed by the loss of his love that he throws himself into the ocean, and eventually drowns ("How can one man stop his ending?"). His last thoughts are of her face, and then he floats away. Without knowing that the narrator is indeed describing a dream the waking up part can be hard to explain without resorting to vague metaphors. The key verse is "midnights late reminder of, the loss of her the one I love." A midnight reminder is, of course, a dream.
The dream interpretation even more solidifies what I was saying earlier: this song is about somebody who, either depressed from life or the loss of a loved one, is seriously contemplating suicide. This makes even more sense as, apparently, lead singer Justin Furstenfeld has battled depression throughout his life.
The video is decent as far as music videos go and has a few helpfull scenes. Most telling comes at about 2:50 into the video when seductive young ladies take turns whispering "into the ocean end it all" in his ear. This is most likely done to demonstrate the "sirens call" of suicide, how it can be an appealing thought in troubling times.
One person on songmeanings.net mentioned that, in a VH1 special, this song was described as being about a mentally disabled man who thought about killing himself. One poster said that in the song the man decided to kill himself and regretted it there, floating in the ocean. Another poster said that the man ultimately decided that he had a lot to live for, and did not kill himself. Whatever the exact story the meaning remains clear: this song is about suicide.
The ending of the song is about the narrators choice to, ultimately, not kill himself. He reflects how in his dream, where he did kill himself, he saw his lovers face, and was comforted. This is his recognition that he does have a lot to live for. The song then ends on a positive, hopeful note.
Song: Into the Ocean
Album: Foiled
I'm just a normal boy
That sank when I fell overboard
My ship would leave the country
But I'd rather swim ashore
Without a life vest I'd be stuck again
Wish I was much more masculine
Maybe then I could learn to swim
Like 'fourteen miles away'
Now floating up and down
I spin, colliding into sound
Like whales beneath me diving down
I'm sinking to the bottom of my
Everything that freaks me out
The lighthouse beam has just run out
I'm cold as cold as cold can be
be
I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down
Where is the coastguard
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I'm left behind
I'm treading for my life believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing)
Not knowing how to think
I scream aloud, begin to sink
My legs and arms are broken down
With envy for the solid ground
I'm reaching for the life within me
How can one man stop his ending
I thought of just your face
Relaxed, and floated into space
I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion... yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come down
Let the rain come down
Now waking to the sun
I calculate what I had done
Like jumping from the bow (yeah)
Just to prove that I knew how (yeah)
It's midnight's late reminder of
The loss of her, the one I love
My will to quickly end it all
Set front row in my need to fall
Into the ocean, end it all
Into the ocean, end it all
Into the ocean, end it all
into the ocean...end it all
[Zayra]
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion (yeah)
Let the rain of what I feel right now...come down
Let the rain come downLet the rain come down
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
(In to space)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
Into the ocean (goodbye) end it all (goodbye)
(I thought of just your face)
In this song the narrator is in the ocean and seemingly drowning. Prima facie it would seem to be a metaphor for any sort of "drowning", whether it be struggling in life or relationships. A little more examination reveals that "drowning in life" is exactly what is happening. The narrator has recently lost (either to death or other circumstance) someone he loved and is not taking it very well at all. I would even come close to saying that the narrator is in fact suicidal.
Rather than go verse by verse I think we can skip around in this examination. The song starts off with the drowning imagery and continues consistently, with a few vague lines, for the remainder of the song. The clues as to the deeper story of the song come near the end with "Like jumping from the bow" and "The loss of her, the one I love." If I had to summarize the song in one sentence it would be this: The narrator has lost someone he loved and is now "drowning" in the aftermath. The "jumping from the bow" could imply either that he is suicidal or, more likely, that he had some role in whatever is causing him to drown. Although " My will to quickly end it all" would be a much stronger suggestion for his suicidal tendencies.
The ocean imagery does not need much explanation: he is treading water, trying to stay afloat, the lighthouse has gone out, etc etc. There are a smattering of lines that elude easy interpretation. The second verse is particularly elusive, what connection does masculinity have to being able to swim? Obviously swimming is a metaphor for surviving and (maybe) succeeding with his lady, so perhaps he is saying that by being more masculine he would somehow do better with the person he loves/loved. Google searches failed to reveal even a hint of meaning for the last line of the verse, "like fourteen miles away." I thought it might be a movie or book but that does not seem to be the case.
The wikipedia entry for the song describes the opening drowning sequence as a dream of suicide, revealed by the verse in which he "wakes to the sun." This interpretation seems to be pretty dead on. In this dream he is so depressed by the loss of his love that he throws himself into the ocean, and eventually drowns ("How can one man stop his ending?"). His last thoughts are of her face, and then he floats away. Without knowing that the narrator is indeed describing a dream the waking up part can be hard to explain without resorting to vague metaphors. The key verse is "midnights late reminder of, the loss of her the one I love." A midnight reminder is, of course, a dream.
The dream interpretation even more solidifies what I was saying earlier: this song is about somebody who, either depressed from life or the loss of a loved one, is seriously contemplating suicide. This makes even more sense as, apparently, lead singer Justin Furstenfeld has battled depression throughout his life.
The video is decent as far as music videos go and has a few helpfull scenes. Most telling comes at about 2:50 into the video when seductive young ladies take turns whispering "into the ocean end it all" in his ear. This is most likely done to demonstrate the "sirens call" of suicide, how it can be an appealing thought in troubling times.
One person on songmeanings.net mentioned that, in a VH1 special, this song was described as being about a mentally disabled man who thought about killing himself. One poster said that in the song the man decided to kill himself and regretted it there, floating in the ocean. Another poster said that the man ultimately decided that he had a lot to live for, and did not kill himself. Whatever the exact story the meaning remains clear: this song is about suicide.
The ending of the song is about the narrators choice to, ultimately, not kill himself. He reflects how in his dream, where he did kill himself, he saw his lovers face, and was comforted. This is his recognition that he does have a lot to live for. The song then ends on a positive, hopeful note.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Mae - The Ocean
Artist: Mae
Song: The Ocean
Album: The Everglow
Am I alone in this?
Never a night where I can sleep myself 'til day.
We must try to figure it out, figure it out.
It won't be that easy.
We lost it somehow.
You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Oh, the night becomes the space that's somewhere in between
What I feel and what I'm told.
Sitting on the shoreline trying to figure it out, figure it out.
To find out the meaning
And reach it somehow.
You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Fall around me now,
Like, stars that shine and brighten the way.
I need you here tonight,
Just like this night it needs the rain.
The season has changed.
The wind, it blows colder now.(colder now)
The clouds are raised,
The rain it falls harder now, all around.
You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Fall around me now.(So fall around me now)
Like stars that shine and brighten the way.
I need you here tonight,
Just like this night it needs the rain.(Rain)
(You come)Over announced,(Will you come over)
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Just like the stars that fall around me now.
Mae (an acronym for Multisensory Aesthetic Experience) is a relatively unknown alternative/indie rock band hailing from Virginia. I really like a lot of their stuff and plan to analyze several of their songs in the future.
This song is clearly about a relationship that is going through some difficult times. This is made abundantly clear from the first verse. Further I think the song really focuses on one of the people contemplating the relationship. The details, however, are a bit more tricky and think it is in the exact nature of this troubled relationship that the song becomes vague.
Does the ocean need the waves? I do not see why it would, but I doubt we need to look too much into this and think we can just go with "yes." The ocean just would not be the ocean without the waves. Therefore, in the chorus, the narrator does want the other person there, even though (she) comes over "unanounced." This makes the chorus somewhat confusing as the first line implies that he in fact, doesnt want her (I will assume that the narrator is a male) to come over when in fact the third line reveals that he does.
Despite the vague descriptions given in the chorus we are able to retain a lot more clarity from the second verse. The "space in between", "sitting on the shoreline", and clincher "to find out the meaning" are all lines that really clue us in as to what is going on. The narrator is contemplating the future of his (now rocky) relationship with the other person.
The next iteration of the chorus gives more clues to meaning than the last. He really does want her there, "like stars to brighten the way", while he is thinking things over. This would seem to imply that while he really does want to be with this other person there are factors beyond his control that are preventing it. Or maybe he does want her there and it is simply her lack of effort that is hurting their relationship. Last we have to ask if "this night" needs the rain. Clearly the "night" is just another reference to the space "in between" or "sitting on the shoreline", it is the time in which he is removed from his life, thinking about how to fix things with his significant other. It would make sense then if the rain was a reference to tears, and of course a "night" such as that would involve a lot of tears. I think we can conclude from this verse that the narrator does want the other person with him in this "night."
It seems that up until this point the song remains relatively open and the exact nature of the relationship could be up to interpretation. However, with the next verse, it would seem pretty clear that things are headed downhill. Our previous deliniation of rain as a metaphor for tears seals the deal. "The rain it falls harder now" simply means that the narrator is crying a lot, and it must be because things have taken a bad turn.
The rest of the song repeats the chorus and has no new material except for the very last line, "Just like the stars that fall around me now." This phrase is actually full of meaning and is quite a nice way to end the song. Previously the narrator mentioned (his desire for) "stars that shine and brighten the way." Here he is saying that the stars have fallen around him, which means that "the way" has been brightened or illuminated to him. In other words, he has made a decision about the relationship. Do we know what? No, not for sure. However I think we can probably assume, that after the last verse, that he is ending things. The chorus actually helps us here: the narrator really wants the other person there, but she never comes even though he keeps asking and asking (repeating the chorus).
The shoreline is a place in between, not quite the ocean and not quite the land. The same can be said of the night - it comes between our days and lives. This song is about being in between - going through that dark night and making a decision about an important relationship. Further it seems to have a bittersweet tone - the narrator wants to be with the other person, and is trying to work things out, but the feeling and effort does not seem to be mutual. In the end he makes the decision, probably to move on with his life.
Song: The Ocean
Album: The Everglow
Am I alone in this?
Never a night where I can sleep myself 'til day.
We must try to figure it out, figure it out.
It won't be that easy.
We lost it somehow.
You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Oh, the night becomes the space that's somewhere in between
What I feel and what I'm told.
Sitting on the shoreline trying to figure it out, figure it out.
To find out the meaning
And reach it somehow.
You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Fall around me now,
Like, stars that shine and brighten the way.
I need you here tonight,
Just like this night it needs the rain.
The season has changed.
The wind, it blows colder now.(colder now)
The clouds are raised,
The rain it falls harder now, all around.
You come over unannounced.
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Fall around me now.(So fall around me now)
Like stars that shine and brighten the way.
I need you here tonight,
Just like this night it needs the rain.(Rain)
(You come)Over announced,(Will you come over)
Silence broken by your voice in the dark.
I need you here tonight,
Just like the ocean needs the waves.
Just like the stars that fall around me now.
Mae (an acronym for Multisensory Aesthetic Experience) is a relatively unknown alternative/indie rock band hailing from Virginia. I really like a lot of their stuff and plan to analyze several of their songs in the future.
This song is clearly about a relationship that is going through some difficult times. This is made abundantly clear from the first verse. Further I think the song really focuses on one of the people contemplating the relationship. The details, however, are a bit more tricky and think it is in the exact nature of this troubled relationship that the song becomes vague.
Does the ocean need the waves? I do not see why it would, but I doubt we need to look too much into this and think we can just go with "yes." The ocean just would not be the ocean without the waves. Therefore, in the chorus, the narrator does want the other person there, even though (she) comes over "unanounced." This makes the chorus somewhat confusing as the first line implies that he in fact, doesnt want her (I will assume that the narrator is a male) to come over when in fact the third line reveals that he does.
Despite the vague descriptions given in the chorus we are able to retain a lot more clarity from the second verse. The "space in between", "sitting on the shoreline", and clincher "to find out the meaning" are all lines that really clue us in as to what is going on. The narrator is contemplating the future of his (now rocky) relationship with the other person.
The next iteration of the chorus gives more clues to meaning than the last. He really does want her there, "like stars to brighten the way", while he is thinking things over. This would seem to imply that while he really does want to be with this other person there are factors beyond his control that are preventing it. Or maybe he does want her there and it is simply her lack of effort that is hurting their relationship. Last we have to ask if "this night" needs the rain. Clearly the "night" is just another reference to the space "in between" or "sitting on the shoreline", it is the time in which he is removed from his life, thinking about how to fix things with his significant other. It would make sense then if the rain was a reference to tears, and of course a "night" such as that would involve a lot of tears. I think we can conclude from this verse that the narrator does want the other person with him in this "night."
It seems that up until this point the song remains relatively open and the exact nature of the relationship could be up to interpretation. However, with the next verse, it would seem pretty clear that things are headed downhill. Our previous deliniation of rain as a metaphor for tears seals the deal. "The rain it falls harder now" simply means that the narrator is crying a lot, and it must be because things have taken a bad turn.
The rest of the song repeats the chorus and has no new material except for the very last line, "Just like the stars that fall around me now." This phrase is actually full of meaning and is quite a nice way to end the song. Previously the narrator mentioned (his desire for) "stars that shine and brighten the way." Here he is saying that the stars have fallen around him, which means that "the way" has been brightened or illuminated to him. In other words, he has made a decision about the relationship. Do we know what? No, not for sure. However I think we can probably assume, that after the last verse, that he is ending things. The chorus actually helps us here: the narrator really wants the other person there, but she never comes even though he keeps asking and asking (repeating the chorus).
The shoreline is a place in between, not quite the ocean and not quite the land. The same can be said of the night - it comes between our days and lives. This song is about being in between - going through that dark night and making a decision about an important relationship. Further it seems to have a bittersweet tone - the narrator wants to be with the other person, and is trying to work things out, but the feeling and effort does not seem to be mutual. In the end he makes the decision, probably to move on with his life.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
21 and Invincible - Something Corporate
Artist: Something Corporate
Song: 21 and Invincible
Album: North
Some days go by, I wish I were famous
Or maybe religious, so I could go to heaven
Just like you
I can have a big house, complain about taxes
Payoff my ex's, ain't that living
No one makes fun of me, cause I can't stand up for myself
We're 21 and invincible
Can't wait to screw this up
We're 21 and invincible
I'm in power for the hour
I guess today's gonna blow us away
i've got a girlfriend
she tells me she needs me
and she loves me
we'll probably get married
oh no, and everyone will bit their tongues so hard they'll bleed
when mom hears this song
she'll tell me im crazy
and she'll say to me
"son you're much too young, go have some fun don't waste your youth like i did"
and whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can't wait to screw this up
and woah, 21 and invincible
i'm in power for the hour
i guess today's gonna blow us away
and it's been autumn since the day that i met you
if i had bottomed must i crawl out alone
and i dont wish you know the secrets of summer at all
and whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can't wait to fuck this up
and woah, 21 and invincible
i'm in power for the hour
i guess today's gonna blow us away
This is a song I first heard back in 2004, about a year after North came out. I chose it primarily because, like all the songs I will review, I enjoy it. Also though is that it has a relatively clear meaning, not withstanding a little detail.
As the title suggests this song is about growing up and, more specifically, the magical age of 21. Twenty one is an important age for several reasons, first, you can drink, but more importantly this is about the age you would graduate college. Even if you did not go to college by the time you are twenty one years old you are considered an adult and probably (living) on your own. Reaching twenty one years is a sign that you have come of age and this song is about dealing with being an adult for the first time. More specifically I think that it deals with the sudden exhiliration and nervous excitement that comes with reaching twenty one years old. This is especially reinforced by the fast energizing pace of the song. The aspect of invincibility might even supposed to be ironic - the nervous energy might make you feel invincible but in reality you are anything but, and I think the narrator demonstrates that throughout the song.
The chorus immediately shows the narrators nervous energy and the inevitability of him making some sort of mistake. This is the primary theme and reinforces the idea of invincibility being ironic.
The first verse seems to be the narrator reflecting on life and what it might have in store for him. He talks about houses, taxes, being famous - all things that one does or aspires to in (adult) life. More interesting is the line about going to heaven, "just like you." I think that religion fits in as another thing you are forced to think about as an adult (especially later in life) and so that would not be totally out of place, but the last little stanza about it is interesting. Is he talking to somebody else (maybe his girlfriend) or just people in general who are religious? And of course he cant stand up for himself because he is still young and learning how to live on his own.
The next two verses reflect another common element of growing up - falling in love and getting married. The biting of the tongues is supposed to reflect the bittersweet aspect of him getting married. Certainly its a beautiful thing when two people fall in love, but he is having a hard enough time managing his own life and might have trouble being married. The comment from his mother, "your much too young", is reinforcing the idea that first, he should probably wait to get married, and second, that he still has a lot to learn (about life). The fact that his mom considers twenty one years old to be his youth just adds to the conflict of growing up - he wants to start being an adult but here is mom is telling him that he shouldnt worry about that yet.
The last verse is the most perplexing of all. What does it mean, "Its been autumn since the day that I met you"? He must be talking about his girlfriend, does this imply that he met her maybe in the summer or spring and autumn has since passed? The next two lines dont make things easier to understand, did he actually "bottom out" or is it just a hypothetical situation? What are the "secrets of summer"? Further adding to the mystery is the connection to the "just like you" line in the first verse, might his girlfriends religion play some part in this verse?
My best guess is that he is being literal with that verse. He met the girl sometime in the spring or summer and autumn has since passed. He then asks that if he had "bottomed" or somehow messed up his life, would she have helped him? The secrets of the summer then are things that happened to him during the summer, probably trials of growing up, that he just doesnt want to share. One person on Song Meanings offered an interesting interpretation: Often love is compared to a summers day, and in this case he doesnt want her to know about it or maybe doesnt think their relationship is like a summers day. I reject this simply because he has already said that he loves his girlfriend and might marry her.
Other than that last verse the song seems pretty clear. The narrator is growing up and having trouble doing so, he is anything but invincible.
Someone from SongMeanings.net mentioned that, in a show, Andrew (McMahon - the writer of the song) talked about the meaning of this song. Apparently it was originally intended to be about being young and having the chances to mess up, thus being invincible. However, after Andrew was diagnosed with luekemia the song took on more of an ironic twist as he was anything but invincible. It is interesting that it was intended to be literally invincible. I think the invincible line definitely conveys more irony than anything else, but I can see how you can look at it from just the opposite view.
Also mentioned, and perhaps more correct than my interpretation, is about the go to heaven, "just like you" line. It makes more sense if he is talking too someone, a friend or relative, who has recently passed away. This would of course add to the list of worries that come with growing up.
So the meaning? It is about the tribulations of growing up and the inevitibility of making mistakes along the way. You can take the invincible line to be ironic or not - I think that it works both ways. Either you are not invincible because you make mistakes or the mistakes you make arent big enough to hurt you (yet) - and so you are invincible.
Song: 21 and Invincible
Album: North
Some days go by, I wish I were famous
Or maybe religious, so I could go to heaven
Just like you
I can have a big house, complain about taxes
Payoff my ex's, ain't that living
No one makes fun of me, cause I can't stand up for myself
We're 21 and invincible
Can't wait to screw this up
We're 21 and invincible
I'm in power for the hour
I guess today's gonna blow us away
i've got a girlfriend
she tells me she needs me
and she loves me
we'll probably get married
oh no, and everyone will bit their tongues so hard they'll bleed
when mom hears this song
she'll tell me im crazy
and she'll say to me
"son you're much too young, go have some fun don't waste your youth like i did"
and whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can't wait to screw this up
and woah, 21 and invincible
i'm in power for the hour
i guess today's gonna blow us away
and it's been autumn since the day that i met you
if i had bottomed must i crawl out alone
and i dont wish you know the secrets of summer at all
and whoa, 21 and invincible
whoa, can't wait to fuck this up
and woah, 21 and invincible
i'm in power for the hour
i guess today's gonna blow us away
This is a song I first heard back in 2004, about a year after North came out. I chose it primarily because, like all the songs I will review, I enjoy it. Also though is that it has a relatively clear meaning, not withstanding a little detail.
As the title suggests this song is about growing up and, more specifically, the magical age of 21. Twenty one is an important age for several reasons, first, you can drink, but more importantly this is about the age you would graduate college. Even if you did not go to college by the time you are twenty one years old you are considered an adult and probably (living) on your own. Reaching twenty one years is a sign that you have come of age and this song is about dealing with being an adult for the first time. More specifically I think that it deals with the sudden exhiliration and nervous excitement that comes with reaching twenty one years old. This is especially reinforced by the fast energizing pace of the song. The aspect of invincibility might even supposed to be ironic - the nervous energy might make you feel invincible but in reality you are anything but, and I think the narrator demonstrates that throughout the song.
The chorus immediately shows the narrators nervous energy and the inevitability of him making some sort of mistake. This is the primary theme and reinforces the idea of invincibility being ironic.
The first verse seems to be the narrator reflecting on life and what it might have in store for him. He talks about houses, taxes, being famous - all things that one does or aspires to in (adult) life. More interesting is the line about going to heaven, "just like you." I think that religion fits in as another thing you are forced to think about as an adult (especially later in life) and so that would not be totally out of place, but the last little stanza about it is interesting. Is he talking to somebody else (maybe his girlfriend) or just people in general who are religious? And of course he cant stand up for himself because he is still young and learning how to live on his own.
The next two verses reflect another common element of growing up - falling in love and getting married. The biting of the tongues is supposed to reflect the bittersweet aspect of him getting married. Certainly its a beautiful thing when two people fall in love, but he is having a hard enough time managing his own life and might have trouble being married. The comment from his mother, "your much too young", is reinforcing the idea that first, he should probably wait to get married, and second, that he still has a lot to learn (about life). The fact that his mom considers twenty one years old to be his youth just adds to the conflict of growing up - he wants to start being an adult but here is mom is telling him that he shouldnt worry about that yet.
The last verse is the most perplexing of all. What does it mean, "Its been autumn since the day that I met you"? He must be talking about his girlfriend, does this imply that he met her maybe in the summer or spring and autumn has since passed? The next two lines dont make things easier to understand, did he actually "bottom out" or is it just a hypothetical situation? What are the "secrets of summer"? Further adding to the mystery is the connection to the "just like you" line in the first verse, might his girlfriends religion play some part in this verse?
My best guess is that he is being literal with that verse. He met the girl sometime in the spring or summer and autumn has since passed. He then asks that if he had "bottomed" or somehow messed up his life, would she have helped him? The secrets of the summer then are things that happened to him during the summer, probably trials of growing up, that he just doesnt want to share. One person on Song Meanings offered an interesting interpretation: Often love is compared to a summers day, and in this case he doesnt want her to know about it or maybe doesnt think their relationship is like a summers day. I reject this simply because he has already said that he loves his girlfriend and might marry her.
Other than that last verse the song seems pretty clear. The narrator is growing up and having trouble doing so, he is anything but invincible.
Someone from SongMeanings.net mentioned that, in a show, Andrew (McMahon - the writer of the song) talked about the meaning of this song. Apparently it was originally intended to be about being young and having the chances to mess up, thus being invincible. However, after Andrew was diagnosed with luekemia the song took on more of an ironic twist as he was anything but invincible. It is interesting that it was intended to be literally invincible. I think the invincible line definitely conveys more irony than anything else, but I can see how you can look at it from just the opposite view.
Also mentioned, and perhaps more correct than my interpretation, is about the go to heaven, "just like you" line. It makes more sense if he is talking too someone, a friend or relative, who has recently passed away. This would of course add to the list of worries that come with growing up.
So the meaning? It is about the tribulations of growing up and the inevitibility of making mistakes along the way. You can take the invincible line to be ironic or not - I think that it works both ways. Either you are not invincible because you make mistakes or the mistakes you make arent big enough to hurt you (yet) - and so you are invincible.
Introduction
I love music and it has always been a large part of my life. Often times I will find myself listening to songs and wondering what exactly they mean. Their are many internet databases covering lyrics, but very few covering the actual meanings of songs. This blog is my attempt to investigate more thoroughly the specific songs I enjoy and perhaps derive their meaning. I intend to, at least for a few weeks, cover a song a day. Beyond that I am not sure how things will progress, it should be a fun and interesting project.
A note first, there is one significant source for material on individual songs, www.songmeanings.net. I will combine input from it and any other sources I can find with my own to create the best possible interpretation for a song.
A note first, there is one significant source for material on individual songs, www.songmeanings.net. I will combine input from it and any other sources I can find with my own to create the best possible interpretation for a song.
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