(no subject)

[likethebeer]

cynnerth posted an entry today about how "Tears in Heaven" always gets to her. It gets to me, and I'm not even a parent. But then someone wrote in that they didn't know the impetus for the song. If anyone doesn't, I'm sorry if you find out and it completely changes the song for you. But that made me think of songs where you think they're talking about 1 thing, and they're actually talking about another thing. I'm not talking about "'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy," I mean where the underlying meaning is something totally different than what you thought.

My 2 examples are innocuous:
1.) They Might Be Giants, "Birdhouse in Your Soul". Eg:

Theres a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free
Though I respect that a lot
Id be fired if that were my job
After killing jason off and countless screaming argonauts
Bluebird of friendliness
Like guardian angels its always near

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say Im the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

That song came out when I was in college. I had no idea what it was about. It was this enormous mystery - an enigma. One night, the year after I graduated from college, I was w/my bf at the time and that song came on. He didn't know what it was about either. But suddenly, he got a corner of an edge of an understanding: the song is written by a nightlight in the shape of a blue bird, singing to his "charges" (the little kids, I suppose). Ok, there's the line "Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch/who watches over you", but unmored of any meaning, that was just a bunch of other lines that meant nothing.

Anyway, the meaning of the song is probably not news to people, but it was shocking to us. I remember driving in D's truck, and as each new section of the song started, we were like, "Oh my god!!" All of the sudden it clicked into place and made sense.

It was a really interesting experience.

2.) A song by Dear August when they were Boxelder, "Gabriel".
"She's locked me out
I scream and shout
And tell her she's my whole wide world.
She's stuck there in the driveway sitting sideways
Looking like my
Little girl."

I thought it was a love ballad to a woman. Yeah, the singer is a straight woman, but this is the new century, man. Plus, people have switched genders in songs.

Well, Gabriel's a car. "driveway" should give it away, but you know, if you're pissed, you could sit in someone's driveway and mentally lock them out.

Comments

[cursethedark.livejournal.com]

Holy shit. I had never known what 'Birdhouse' was about. Now the song makes sense.

I hope I still enjoy it.

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope you do, too. Just revel in the profound understanding that you've come to.