Stories Behind Songs

[Scheherazade]

Often find myself wondering the stories behind some songs... Do you know any such stories?

One of my favorite songs, "The Drugs Don't Work" by Verve was written when his mother was going through cancer treatment as a way to express his helplessness in the face of her suffering. :( (heard the story on Channel 4)



"The Drug Don't Work"

All this talk of getting old
It's getting me down my love
Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown
This time I'm comin' down

And I hope you're thinking of me
As you lay down on your side
Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

But I know I'm on a losing streak
'Cause I passed down my old street
And if you wanna show, then just let me know
And I'll sing in your ear again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

'Cause baby, ooh, if heaven calls, I'm coming, too
Just like you said, you leave my life, I'm better off dead

All this talk of getting old
It's getting me down my love
Like a cat in a bag, waiting to drown
This time I'm comin' down

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

'Cause baby, ooh, if heaven calls, I'm coming, too
Just like you said, you leave my life, I'm better off dead

But if you wanna show, just let me know
And I'll sing in your ear again

Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again

Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again
Yeah, I know I'll see your face again

I'm never going down, I'm never coming down
No more, no more, no more, no more, no more
I'm never coming down, I'm never going down
No more, no more, no more, no more, no more

[Jessika]

I have heard that Metallica's "Fade to black" was based on a letter written by a man who committed suicide. Here you have it:

Fade To Black

Life it seems, will fade away
Drifting further every day
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters no one else
I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free

Things are not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly lost, this can't be real
Cannot stand this hell I feel
Emptiness is filing me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now He's gone

No one but me can save myself, but it to late
Now I can't think, think why I should even try
Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death Greets me warm, now I will just say good-bye

[subterranean]

when the tigers broke free - pink flyod

it's about the death of roger waters' father.

picture of lily - the who

it's about pete towshend's hard time dealing with gals and this lead to his "sexual problems"

[Basil]

There is a band called Neutral Milk Hotel--they are very, very good. Their album entitled "The Aeroplane Over the Sea" is wonderful. The lyrics, however, are a bit inscrutable. I looked up some interviews online with the singer/songwriter Jeff Magnum to see if he might shed a clue as to what some of the songs were about.
Sure enough, an interviewer asked him about these lyrics from "Oh Comely":

I know they buried her body with others,
Her sister and mother, and 500 families,
And will she remember me 50 years later?
I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine . . .

He answered, "Oh, that's about Anne Frank. A lot of the songs are about her."

Turns out, he read "The Diary of Anne Frank" shortly before recording this album. He said it made him cry for three days. So he wrote these songs featuring Anne Frank, some of which are sad, some of which deal with her reincarnation . . .

[Jessika]

hey Basil, nice story :)

[Stanislaw]

Rammstein Mein Teil - Based off the Cannabalism story in germany a few months ago.

„Suche gut gebauten 18-30jährigen zum Schlachten“
Der Metzgermeister

Heute treff' ich einen Herrn
Der hat mich zum Fressen gern
Weiche Teile und auch harte
stehen auf der Speisekarte

Denn du bist was du isst
und ihr wisst was es ist

Es ist mein Teil – nein
Mein Teil – nein
Da das ist mein Teil – nein
Mein Teil – nein

Die stumpfe Klinge gut und recht
Ich blute stark und mir ist schlecht
Muss ich auch mit der Ohnmacht kämpfen
ich esse weiter unter Krämpfen

Ist doch so gut gewürzt
und so schön flambiert
und so liebevoll auf Porzellan serviert
Dazu ein guter Wein
und zarter Kerzenschein
Ja da lass ich mir Zeit
Etwas Kultur muss sein

Denn du bist was du isst
Und ihr wisst was es ist

Es ist mein Teil – nein
Mein Teil – nein
Denn das ist mein Teil – nein
Yes it's mein Teil – nein

Ein Schrei wird zum Himmel fahren
Schneidet sich durch Engelsscharen
Vom Wolkendach fällt Federfleisch
auf meine Kindheit mit Gekreisch

Translation:

“Looking for a well-built 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered”
The Master Butcher [2]

Today I will meet a gentleman
He likes me so much he could eat me up
Soft parts and even hard ones [3]
are on the menu

Because you are what you eat
and you know what it is

It is my part – no
My part – no
There that's my part – no
My part – no

The dull blade good and proper
I'm bleeding heavily and feeling sick
Although I have to fight to stay awake
I keep eating while in convulsions

It's just so well seasoned
and so nicely flambéed
and so lovingly served on porcelain
And with it, a good wine
and gentle candlelight
Yeah I'll take my time
You've got to have some culture

Because you are what you eat
and you know what it is

It is my part – no
My part – no
Because that's my part – no
Yes it's my part – no

A cry will ascend to heaven
It will cut through hosts of angels
Feather-flesh will shriekingly fall
from the top of the clouds onto my childhood

[1] "Teil" means "part" or "piece", but can also be slang for "pe***", similar to "thing" in English.

[2] Only present in the single version of the song: This is a direct quote from an online posting made by Armin Meiwes, a man in Germany who found a willing "victim" (Bernd Jürgen Brandes) to slaughter. Before the deed, Brandes wanted his pe*** cut off, and they ate it together.

[3] "Weiche Teile" is a pun on "Weichteile", which means "genitals" in German.

[Taliesin]

You know, We went to a Urb brothers concert some months ago and well, they had lots of songs and lots of stories behind them.

One song was something like this:

Tenderly
singing you this song.
Life, hurring besides us
midnight train in the rain

et cetera


There are two stories behind this one.
The first one is, when Tarmo Urb was in a train in night and in rain also and he saw two punks, a boy and a girl, sleeping in each others arms and they looked so damn cute and probably had forgotten what terrorists and anarchists they were supposed to be.

The other story was, when he wanted to communicate with a little child in a foreign country, but there was a language barrier, i think. So then he remembered the train and the song came up in about five minutes.
Don't remember the story exactly though, but it was something like that.

Now We must think a bit until We remember their next story

[Isagel]

One of my favorites are "Chelsea Hotel" by leanard Cohen.

In Leonard's Greatest Hits (1997) album notes he says: "I wrote this for an American singer who died a while ago. She used to stay at the Chelsea, too." This was later linked to Janis Joplin. Later Cohen said that this was "the sole indiscretion in my professional life."

Lyrics for: Chelsea Hotel #2

I remember you
well in the Chelsea Hotel,
you were talking so brave and so sweet,
giving me head on the unmade bed,
while the limousines wait in the street.
Those were the reasons and that was New York,
we were running for the money and the flesh.
And that was called love for the workers in song
probably still is for those of them left.
Ah but you got away, didn't you babe,
you just turned your back on the crowd,
you got away, I never once heard you say,
I need you, I don't need you,
I need you, I don't need you
and all of that jiving around.

I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel
you were famous, your heart was a legend.
You told me again you preferred handsome men
but for me you would make an exception.
And clenching your fist for the ones like us
who are oppressed by the figures of beauty,
you fixed yourself, you said, "Well never mind,
we are ugly but we have the music."

And then you got away, didn't you babe...

I don't mean to suggest that I loved you the best,
I can't keep track of each fallen robin.
I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel,
that's all, I don't even think of you that often.

[Jay]

Scher, hope this helps :), my fave ever lyrics site, http://www.lyricsdownload.com/

Pink Floyd - When The Tigers Broke Free

It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four.
When the forward commander
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn.
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.

And old King George
Sent Mother a note
When he heard that father was gone.
It was, I recall,
In the form of a scroll,
With gold leaf and all.
And I found it one day
In a drawer of old photographs, hidden away.
And my eyes still grow damp to remember
His Majesty signed
With his own rubber stamp.

It was dark all around.
There was frost in the ground
When the tigers broke free.
And no one survived
From the Royal Fusiliers Company C.
They were all left behind,
Most of them dead,
The rest of them dying.
And that's how the High Command
Took my daddy from me
---

The Who - Pictures Of Lily

I used to wake up in the morning
I used to feel so bad
I got so sick of having sleepless nights
I went and told my dad

He said, "Son now here's some little something"
And stuck them on my wall
And now my nights ain't quite so lonely
In fact I, I don't feel bad at all

Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful
Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night
Pitcures of Lily solved my childhood problems
Pictures of Lily helped me feel alright

Pictures of Lily
Lily, oh Lily
Lily, oh Lily
Pictures of Lily

And then one day things weren't quite so fine
I fell in love with Lily
I asked my dad where Lily I could find
He said, "Son, now don't be silly"

"She's been dead since 1929"
Oh, how I cried that night
If only I'd been born in Lily's time
It would have been alright

Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful
Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night

For me and Lily are together in my dreams
And I ask you, "Hey mister, have you ever seen"
"Pictures of Lily?"

[subterranean]

Wow Jay, You did that for me ???? :bawling:


Oh...I'm soooooooooo touched

[Jay]

Hehe, welcome SubT, need any lyrics? Yell and gramma Jay will do her best to get em for ya ;).

[subterranean]

Oh I really really dont wanna hijacked this thread..


But Gramma Jay

Laughing my arse off :D :D :D :D




I have no idea you would calle yourself like that....

[Jay]

I was being my 'arse' self ;), sorry for almost hijacking your thread, not gonna say a word *zips mouth shut*

[Basil]

hey Basil, nice story :)
Thanks! ;)

[subterranean]

One from Radiohead. It's called Creep. It's about Thom's personal experience when he was younger, being as somekind of geek who has a little problem with opposite sex.

Creep
When you were here before,
couldn't look you in the eye.
You're just like an angel,
your skin makes me cry.
You float like a feather,
in a beautiful world
I wish I was special,
you're so ****ing special.

But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here.

I don't care if it hurts,
I want to have control.
I want a perfect body,
I want a perfect soul.
I want you to notice,
when I'm not around.
You're so ****ing special,
I wish I was special.

But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?.
I don't belong here

She's running out the door,
she's running,
she run, run, run, run, run.

Whatever makes you happy,
whatever you want.
You're so ****ing special,
I wish I was special,

but I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here,
I don't belong here.


One day, Thom got this letter from a prison inmate that read, ‘I’m the creep to that song. I killed this bloke. They made me do it. It wasn’t me, it was the words in my head.’
Then He thought; " I felt like someone had walked over my grave .

He also receieved lots of letters from fans who believed Thom knew the answers to their problems.

PS: Please excuse the swearings, but that's the original lyrics. So....

[luvjetz]

I just learned this. It is childish.

Ring around the rosy.
Pockets full of posy.
Ashes, Ashes, they all fell down.

During the Black Plague, I think, when a person caught the plague they would get a sort of rose shape of their skin with a ring around it. It stunk really bad so they would fill their pockets with posy, a flower. To get rid of the plauge they would burn, or just burn the person that had it.

[Nightshade]

I thought it was a ring of rose coloured spots?
Well then there is Londons burning that is self explanitary its about the great fire of london

Londons Burning! Londons Burning!
fetch the engines! fetch the engines!
Fire fire! Fire Fire!
Pour on water! pour on water!

And Im sure London bridges falling down my fair lady has somthing to do with queen elizabeth I but cant rember what exactly.

[Shea]

My favorite song is an Irish tune by Thomas Moore. It probably wouldn't be my favorite if I didn't know the story behind it, but a lot of Irish tunes have great stories behind them. Moore wrote this one for his wife who had contracted a disfiguring skin disease and was afraid that he wouldn't love her any more. He wrote this song to affirm his love. (It's one that I play on my harp)

Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Which I gaze on so fondly today
Were to change by tomorrow and flee from my arms
Like fairy gift fading away.
Thou woulds't still be adored as this moment thou art
Let thy loveliness fade as it will
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own
And thy cheek unstained by a tear
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known
To which time will but make thee more dear.
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets
But as truly loves on to the close
As the sunflower turns on her god as he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose.

(yes, I typed that from memory)

[starrwriter]

This is a background story not about a particular song, it's about a band which had a somewhat brief but very lucrative fame during the 1970s.

In Air Force technical school one of my room-mates was Chris, a young guy from Saginaw, Michigan. Every time we got drunk at the enlisted man's club he would ramble on about a band he played drums with during high school and for a couple years afterward. When Chris got drafted and joined the Air Force, the band found a replacement drummer and soon after that they got a recording contract. Their first album was due out soon and Chris was always crying in his beer about not being part of it. He told me the new name the band had adopted and I thought it was a ridiculous name.

I lost track of Chris after tech school, but I'll bet he did a lot more crying in his beer later on. The band was Grand Funk Railroad. For you youngsters who never heard of them, Grand Funk had two or three platinum albums in a row, toured all over the world and made millions before their popularity vanished. Chris' draft notice had cost him a fourth of all that money and fame.

I am also reminded of Jerry Santos, a starving musician I met when I first came to Hawaii. He was a guitarist and singer playing some steakhouse in Honolulu a couple nights per week and living in his car because he couldn't afford rent. He showed up one night at an apartment rented by two friends of mine and he borrowed my reel-to-reel audio recorder to cut a demo tape for a new band he was trying to put together.

Fast forward a year when I am living on Maui. I had been hearing this fantastic music on the radio from a group called Olamana. I'm in a record store one day when I pick up the Olamana debut album and on the cover is the smiling face of Jerry Santos. Olamana went on to become the most popular band in the history of Hawaii and Jerry got rich.

I was a guitarist myself in those days, but I was always on the outside watching friends either hitting it big or coming close.

[Koa]

Great thread!!!
And thanks Jay for the site, if I like it I might stick to it cos I always google for songs and get on random sites ...well always the same few actually...

The first thing that came to my mind made me feel like I was stating the obvious but noone has mentioned it yet so I'll go with a classic. The Cure's "Killing An Arab".

Standing on a beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the arab on the ground
See his open mouth
But hear no sound

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab

I can turn and walk away
Or I can fire the gun
Staring at the sky
Staring at the sun
Whichever I choose
It amounts to the same

Absolutely nothing

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab

Feel the steel butt jump
Smooth in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring at myself
Reflected in the eyes of
The dead man on the beach

The dead man
On the beach

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an arab


Yes...it IS inspired by Camus' The Stranger. I find it cute, cos when I first read the summary of that book I was like omg, this a Cure song!!! I don't remember if I have something on a magazine about how he wrote that, I'll have a look...though I find songs inspired by books to be fascinating...

[AliasX]

This is an interesting thread! Since I’m not a native speaker of English, I find it difficult sometimes to understand certain songs, so I’d like to reactivate this topic for everyone who’s got the same problem. Finding out about the story behind a song might help us comprehend it, I guess.

I’ll start with the song ’’Twist in my sobriety’’ by Tanita Tikaram. I like the melody and Tanita’s interesting voice, but I have no idea what the song is about. I’ve seen just a part of the video-clip and it seems very gloomy and pessimistic, but I still don’t get it. Could anyone help me? :rolleyes:

TWIST IN MY SOBRIETY

All god’s children need travelling shoes
Drive your problems from here
All good people read good books
Now your conscience is clear
I hear you talk girl
Now your conscience is clear

In the morning I wipe my brow
Wipe the miles away
I like to think I can be so willed
And never do what you say
I’ll never hear you
And never do what you say

Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you’ll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety

We just poked a little empty pie
For the fun people had at night
Late at night don’t need hostility
The timid smile and pause to free

I don’t care about their different thoughts
Different thoughts are good for me
Up in arms and chaste and whole
All god’s children took their toll

chorus

Cup of tea, take time to think, yeah
Time to risk a life, a life, a life
Sweet and handsome
Soft and porky
You pig out ’til you’ve seen the light
Pig out ’til you’ve seen the light

Half the people read the papers
Read them good and well
Pretty people, nervous people
People have got to sell
News you have to sell

chorus

[Misscaroline]

I only know part of this, and therefore don't really know what it's about... But I really like this part, and like to think that I know what it alone means...:

Ring the bells that still can ring-
Forget your perfect offering;
There is a crack in everything--
That's how the light gets in...

[SleepyWitch]

..... Etwas Kultur muss sein. ...You've got to have some culture

:lol: :lol: wuaaaahahahaha *rofl*
erhem, sorry. Cannibalism is no laughing matter. This song is hilarious.That's exactly what your average middleclass German guy would say (Etwas Kultur muss sein).
thanks for letting me know what's happening in German popular cutlure :) I've never heard this song.

Scher, thanks for sharing that story. I've got the song on CD but I didn't know it was about his mum. I thought it was about a wasted drug addict or something.

[Serenata]

Ode to Billie Joe
Bobbie Gentry

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And Mama hollered out the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet"
And then she said "I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge"
"Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

And Papa said to Mama as he passed around the blackeyed peas
"Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please"
"There's five more acres in the lower forty I've got to plow"
And Mama said it was shame about Billy Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billy Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And Brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
"I'll have another piece of apple pie, you know it don't seem right"
"I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge"
"And now you tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

And Mama said to me "Child, what's happened to your appetite?"
"I've been cookin' all morning and you haven't touched a single bite"
"That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today"
"Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way"
"He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge"
"And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

A year has come 'n' gone since we heard the news 'bout Billy Joe
And Brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going 'round, Papa caught it and he died last Spring
And now Mama doesn't seem to wanna do much of anything
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge

And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge


I had always wondered what Billy Joe and the narrator were dropping off the bridge. I found out that it's believed they were dropping the body of their unborn baby.

I havealways liked this song, but that little detail depresses me.

[thevintagepiper]

Most of you know about the shootings at Columbine high school awhile ago....eventually the two guys walked into the library, and Cassie Bernall and her friend Rachel were in there. They put a gun up to Cassie's head and said "Do you believe in God?" She said yes, and they killed her. They did the same to Rachel, but she didn't die. They asked her again, "Do you still believe in God?" She said yes; they shot her again and she died.

Flyleaf has an amazing (and challenging) song based on this story.

The question asked in order
To save her life or take it
The answer no to avoid death
The answer yes would make it

Do you believe in God
Written on the bullet
Say yes to pull the trigger
Do you believe in God
Written on the bullet
And Cassie pulled the trigger

All heads are bowed in silence
To remember her last sentence
She answered him knowing what would happen
Her last words still hanging in the air
In the air

Do you believe in God
Written on the bullet
Say yes to pull the trigger
Do you believe in God
Written on the bullet
And Cassie pulled the trigger

How many will die
I will die
I, I will say [scream yes]

Do you believe in God
Written on the bullet
Say yes to pull the trigger
Do you believe in God
Written on the bullet
And Cassie pulled the trigger
Do you believe in God
Do you believe in God
Do you believe in God
And I will pull the trigger

[Serenata]

I've never heard that song before, but wow.

[thevintagepiper]

I've never heard that song before, but wow.

Yeah....it's amazing. You can actually hear it on Flyleaf's myspace. (http://www.myspace.com/flyleaf) (It's very hard rock though, and when I say scream at that one point in the song, I mean really)

[AliasX]

This is an interesting thread! Since I’m not a native speaker of English, I find it difficult sometimes to understand certain songs, so I’d like to reactivate this topic for everyone who’s got the same problem. Finding out about the story behind a song might help us comprehend it, I guess.

I’ll start with the song ’’Twist in my sobriety’’ by Tanita Tikaram. I like the melody and Tanita’s interesting voice, but I have no idea what the song is about. I’ve seen just a part of the video-clip and it seems very gloomy and pessimistic, but I still don’t get it. Could anyone help me? :rolleyes:

TWIST IN MY SOBRIETY

All god’s children need travelling shoes
Drive your problems from here
All good people read good books
Now your conscience is clear
I hear you talk girl
Now your conscience is clear

In the morning I wipe my brow
Wipe the miles away
I like to think I can be so willed
And never do what you say
I’ll never hear you
And never do what you say

Look my eyes are just holograms
Look your love has drawn red from my hands
From my hands you know you’ll never be
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety
More than twist in my sobriety

We just poked a little empty pie
For the fun people had at night
Late at night don’t need hostility
The timid smile and pause to free

I don’t care about their different thoughts
Different thoughts are good for me
Up in arms and chaste and whole
All god’s children took their toll

chorus

Cup of tea, take time to think, yeah
Time to risk a life, a life, a life
Sweet and handsome
Soft and porky
You pig out ’til you’ve seen the light
Pig out ’til you’ve seen the light

Half the people read the papers
Read them good and well
Pretty people, nervous people
People have got to sell
News you have to sell

chorus


Is it possible that noone knows this song? Noone can help me? :(

[Poetess]

Usually, a song or a poem are of what the writer feels, his realistic feelings.
Behind every writing a true story, and writings differ.
As simple as this

[ollie2008]

Hi
Itried to find out about this song, "Secret Garden" written and sung by Bruce Springsteen but without success. Has anyone heard the song? Any ideas about the story behind it or can someone direct me to where I can get some background info on this song?

Thanks ollie

[Lady Raven]

After the Fire - Roger Daltrey (written by Pete Townshend of the Who, after the death of their drummer, Keith Moon)

After the fire the fire still burns
The heart grows older but never ever learns
The memories smoulder and the soul always yearns
After the fire the fire still burns

I heard a voice asking what happens after the fire
And then the sound of a breaking window and the scream of a tyre
And then the sound of a distant gun and the cry of a hungry child
The night is hot
But nothing's gonna stop
This gang going wild

After the fire the fire still burns
The heart grows older but never ever learns
The memories smoulder and the soul always yearns
After the fire the fire still burns

I saw Matt Dillon in black and white there ain't no colour in memories
He road his brother's Harley across the tv while I was laughting at Dom DeLuise
Now I'm cycling all my video tapes. I'm crying and I'm joking
I've gotta stop drinking
I've gotta stop thinking
I've gotta stop smoking

After the fire the fire still burns
The heart grows older but never ever learns
The memories smoulder and the soul always yearns
After the fire the fire still burns

The fire still burns, raging through the pain
Blackening the promises the tears and the rain
The fire will burn
'Til the wind begins to turn
And it all begins again

After the fire the fire still burns
The heart grows older but never ever learns
The memories smoulder and the soul always yearns
After the fire the fire still burns.

*******************************************

(from www.songfacts.com)

This is based on the true story of Lela and Raymond Howard, an elderly couple from Salado, Texas who drove to a nearby family reunion and kept going. She had Alzheimer's disease and he was recovering from brain surgery. When they disappeared, a reporter from the Austin American-Statesman wrote a series of articles about the missing couple. Fastball bassist Tony Scalzo came up with the idea for the song after reading the articles (the band is from Austin). He says, "It's a romanticized take on what happened" - he "pictured them taking off to have fun, like they did when they first met." However, he found out after writing the song that the couple had died. They were found at the bottom of a canyon in Arkansas about a three-day drive from their destination.

The Way - Fastball

They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going Without ever knowing the way?
They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
And when the car broke down They started walking
Where were they going without ever knowing the way?

CHORUS:

Anyone could see The road that they walk on is paved in gold
And It's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll Never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows Wandering off somewhere
They won't make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happier there today , today

The children woke up
And they couldn't find 'em
They Left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off
And left it all behind 'em
But Where were they going Without ever knowing the way?

Anyone could see The road that they walk on is paved in gold
And It's always summer, they'll never get cold
They'll Never get hungry
They'll never get old and gray
You can see their shadows Wandering off somewhere
They Won't make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happy there today , today (repeat)

One of Pearl Jam's most powerful and well-known songs is Jeremy.
The song is based on two true stories.
The first story is about a 15-year-old boy, Jeremy Wade Delle who shot himself in front of his English class in Richardson, Texas, sometime in 1975.
The other story involved a student that Eddie Vedder knew from his junior high school.

Jeremy by Pearl Jam

At home
Drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
The dead lay in pools of maroon below

Daddy didn't give attention
To the fact that mommy didn't care
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Clearly I remember
Pickin' on the boy
Seemed a harmless little f uck
Oh, but we unleashed a lion
Gnashed his teeth
And bit the recess lady's breast
How could I forget
He hit me with a surprise left
My jaw left hurtin
Oh, dropped wide open
Just like the day
Like the day I heard

Daddy didn't give affection
And the boy was something mommy wouldn't wear
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

Try to forget this... (try to forget this)
Try to erase this... (try to erase this)
From the blackboard

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today

[Scarlett1973]

You've done it all, you've broken every code
And pulled the rebel to the floor
You spoilt the game, no matter what you say
For only metal - what a bore!
Blue eyes, blue eyes, how come you tell so many lies?

Come up and see me, make me smile
Or do what you want, run on wild

There's nothing left, all gone and run away
Maybe you'll tarry for a while
It's just a test, a game for us to play
Win or lose, it's hard to smile
Resist, resist, it's from yourself you have to hide

Come up and see me, make me smile
Or do what you want, run on wild

There ain't no more, you've taken everything
From my believe in Mother Earth
How can you ignore my faith in everything
When I know what Faith is and what it's worth
Away, away, and don't say maybe you'll try

Come up and see me, make me smile
Or do what you want, run on wild

Steve Harley wrote this song after his original bandmates walked out on him. They couldn't cope with his leadership in the band. The song seems quite a happy song, and I hate to ruin it for people with nice, happy memories of it, but it was actually wrote in venom. He is basically saying to his old bandmates "You let me down. You are a bunch of sell-outs & if you came back to me I'd laugh at you".
It turned out to be a very successful song & one of their greatest hits. I bet his bandmates were devastated! (:

[Chris Marie]

The Who wrote some really good songs-"I Can See FOr Miles" is really cool.
Pink Floyd-"wish you were here".
The Beatles "Only a Northern Song."

[1n50mn14]

Love Street, by the Doors. One of my favourite Doors songs, and one that isn't just gibberish. Just watch the film 'The Doors'.

[kevinthediltz]

I dont know about anyone else, but I hear stories in music. Not music with lyrics but classical and insturmentals.
Maybe its just me, but a whole story line plays out in my head when I hear a song.