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Ever try to figure out lyrics and...?

Quadman2

Quadman2

Lunatic Member
Ever so often I come across a song, listen to the lyrics and try to make sense of them...and just can't!

Maybe it's supposed to do this to you, in order to engage the listener? On the other hand, I've also read that many song writers just free associate, and randomly put down to paper what ever comes to mind...then add a melody to it. Then there's drug element wherein the composer was so far out of it, he/she didn't really know what they were writing at the time, but it made sense to them.

I'm sure there's others who carefully craft their words so as to either hide or mask their meanings, in order to make the audience search for interpretations, as they in turn weave a kinda mystery into their tunes, and this becomes their unique signature.

Anyways, I'l get the ball rollin' with this well known tune of The Band with their rendition of "The Weight"

I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling' about half past dead
"Hey Mister, can you tell me, where a man might find a bed"?
He just grinned and shook my hand,
"no", was all he said.

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and, and) you put the load right back on me.
(You put the load right back on me)

I picked up my bag
I went looking for a place to hide
When I saw Carmen and the devil
Walking side by side
I said, Hey Carmen, come on Let's go downtown?"
And she said, I gotta go,
But my friend can stick around".

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and) you put the load right back on me,
(You put the load right back on me)

Go down Miss Moses, there's nothing you can say
It's just ol' Luke and Luke's waitin'on judgement Day
"Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee
He said, "Do me a favour, son, won't you stay
and keep Anna Lee company?"

Take the load off Fanny
Take the load for free
Take a lot off Fanny
And put the load right back on me
(You put the load right back on me)

Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fog
He said, "I will fix your rack
if you'll take Jack, my dog".
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man".
He said, "That's okay boy, won't you feed him when you can".

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And you put the load right back on me.
(You put the load right back on me)


I first tried to assess the different messages in this song, but seemed to get no where, as to where or why the different things were said. Even after looking into what others thought about this song, they also were at loose ends at to what some of the lines meant and why they were written.

There are several reasons as to why some of the lyrics were written (as shared by some the music critics), but even this composer seems hazy on the finer details of what the context really meant.

Anyways, just thought to share this and see if there are other songs/tunes out there that just sent o hang you out when it comes to understanding some of the lyrics and the meanings behind the words.


Q
 
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Simply put, it's about the Golden Rule.


Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
 
qdrone said:
Simply put, it's about the Golden Rule.


Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Click to expand...


I pretty well got that, but was wondering the finer points to be looked at.

As to time period/people engaged/the conflict/etc. What inspired the writer?

Q
 
There's many a song that has lyrics that will leave you scratching your head.

I used to like Tears for Fears Everybody wants to rule the world.
I saw an interview and they asked the guy, what does this song mean?

He replied, F**k, I don't know, I just wrote down some words.
 
Then again, there's some lyrics that leave little to the imagination.

A friend in need's a friend indeed
A friend with weed is better
A friend with breasts and all the rest
A friend who's dressed in leather

PLACEBO
Pure Morning
 
bbqjoe said:
There's many a song that has lyrics that will leave you scratching your head.

I used to like Tears for Fears Everybody wants to rule the world.
I saw an interview and they asked the guy, what does this song mean?

He replied, F**k, I don't know, I just wrote down some words.
Click to expand...


I think there's literally thousands of songs that fit this description......
 
bbqjoe said:
There's many a song that has lyrics that will leave you scratching your head.
He replied, F**k, I don't know, I just wrote down some words.
Click to expand...

Our guitar player was a great song writer, but not so much a master of the English language and he would occasionally use the wrong word in a song thinking it meant something else. Hell..., he named the group based on a book thinking that the book meant something else.

We would play progressive rock and many people would just stand there agog/transfixed, as if turned to stone. He saw the book The Methuselah Enzyme and mistaking Methuselah (lived 969 years) for Medusa (turned people to stone merely by looking at her), gave that name to the group. :cool:

51y3uFDvxAL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
 
qdrone said:
I think you will enjoy this read Quadman.
https://www.shmoop.com/the-band-the-weight/meaning.html
Click to expand...


Thanks for the read!:thumbsup:

Some of this stuff I figured out based on the words themselves...your share adds a lot to the overall message.

I remember reading about some of the phil that Robertson had gotten into at the time, and thought that it was showing up in these lyrics. If I get the chance, will try to run down some off the guys who maybe hung with him as it's in my area.

This url brought out even more sides to this tune, but maybe that's what was intended. Maybe not?:dunno:

Q
 
qdrone said:
This article blew my mind, had no idea Nantucket Slieghride by Mountain is about cannalbilism.
Click to expand...

I never realized the Howard Jones song "Assault and Battery" was about animals being eaten for food. But hey.... it got my daughter listening.... her being a vegetarian and all.
 
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Sixties and seventies music is not to be taken literally, it’s like poetry that is on a metaphoric level.....due to the strict values of the time. Young people had to write meanings that were indirect but understood by like minded people that were interested in change. Because of moral censorship, words that meant the same thing but uncommonly used were substituted.....like take a load off, or grab some fresh air. Take the load off and put it right back on me means......you don’t have to deal with life all on your own, that his shoulders can bear the responsibility of it all while taking care of all her needs or even many other people’s problems......or being part of a compassionate group that takes care of their own. Then writing songs similar to how poetry was written and popular because of how the Beats (beatniks) in the late fifties had tea house where they recited poetry and.....Puff The Magic Dragon, which is totally a metaphoric message song. It’s a bit of a hip trip if you can dig where I’m coming from....metaphorically speaking of course. It’s not the stupid Hollywood rendition of past occurrences used to make that period of time look like a total waste and that now just has to be so much better...where’s the spoon :eek:. But sometimes, it’s not good to know what protest songs mean as some times ignorance is a blessing.
 
Oh, ida know. Some of that classic rock had messages of great import, as Janis was known to say. Good reminder even today that anything to excess can be dangerous, that anything that can be done can be overdone, and some things should not be done at all.

I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's like a settin' sun

NEIL YOUNG
The Needle and the Damage Done
 
Quadman2 said:
Ever so often I come across a song, listen to the lyrics and try to make sense of them...and just can't!

Maybe it's supposed to do this to you, in order to engage the listener? On the other hand, I've also read that many song writers just free associate, and randomly put down to paper what ever comes to mind...then add a melody to it. Then there's drug element wherein the composer was so far out of it, he/she didn't really know what they were writing at the time, but it made sense to them.

I'm sure there's others who carefully craft their words so as to either hide or mask their meanings, in order to make the audience search for interpretations, as they in turn weave a kinda mystery into their tunes, and this becomes their unique signature.

Anyways, I'l get the ball rollin' with this well known tune of The Band with their rendition of "The Weight"

I pulled into Nazareth, was feeling' about half past dead
"Hey Mister, can you tell me, where a man might find a bed"?
He just grinned and shook my hand,
"no", was all he said.

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and, and) you put the load right back on me.
(You put the load right back on me)

I picked up my bag
I went looking for a place to hide
When I saw Carmen and the devil
Walking side by side
I said, Hey Carmen, come on Let's go downtown?"
And she said, I gotta go,
But my friend can stick around".

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and) you put the load right back on me,
(You put the load right back on me)

Go down Miss Moses, there's nothing you can say
It's just ol' Luke and Luke's waitin'on judgement Day
"Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee
He said, "Do me a favour, son, won't you stay
and keep Anna Lee company?"

Take the load off Fanny
Take the load for free
Take a lot off Fanny
And put the load right back on me
(You put the load right back on me)

Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fog
He said, "I will fix your rack
if you'll take Jack, my dog".
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man".
He said, "That's okay boy, won't you feed him when you can".

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And you put the load right back on me.
(You put the load right back on me)


I first tried to assess the different messages in this song, but seemed to get no where, as to where or why the different things were said. Even after looking into what others thought about this song, they also were at loose ends at to what some of the lines meant and why they were written.

There are several reasons as to why some of the lyrics were written (as shared by some the music critics), but even this composer seems hazy on the finer details of what the context really meant.

Anyways, just thought to share this and see if there are other songs/tunes out there that just sent o hang you out when it comes to understanding some of the lyrics and the meanings behind the words.


Q
Click to expand...
I won't even try to guess the meaning of the song but the lines are. "
"Do me a favour, son, won't you stay
and keep Annie Lee company?"
Take a load off Annie ect, not Fanny. ;)
 
There are a few lines in Mclean's, "Vincent" (Starry, Starry Night) that I still wonder about, as they can be interpreted more than one way. Some, I just give up on.

Anyone take these lyrics apart?

Q
 
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Was surprised to read this morning that Fogerty (CCR) said that he wrote "Looking' Out M Back Door" for his three year old son at the time.

Hmmm? :idea: What do you think based on the lyrics?

Q
 
The very picture of abstruse re: Rock lyrics: Ian Hunter, especially @ The Mott The Hoople era. Whatinthehell was ol' Ian tryin' t'say? While much Glam Rock material featured weird lyrical content, MTH, IMO, took the prize.
 
^^^ Exception: Slayed, whose lyrical content was mainly confined to various aspects of The Human Crotch.
 
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