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One of my favorites, Right In Two by Tool

"Right In Two"

Angels on the sideline,
Puzzled and amused.
Why did Father give these humans free will?
Now they're all confused.

Don't these talking monkeys know that
Eden has enough to go around?
Plenty in this holy garden, silly monkeys,
Where there's one you're bound to divide it.
Right in two.

Angels on the sideline,
Baffled and confused.
Father blessed them all with reason.
And this is what they choose.
And this is what they choose...

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey
Over pieces of the ground.
Silly monkeys give them thumbs,
They forge a blade,
And where there's one
they're bound to divide it,
Right in two.
Right in two.

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey.
Over pieces of the ground.
Silly monkeys give them thumbs.
They make a club.
And beat their brother, down.
How they survive so misguided is a mystery.

Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here.

Cut and divide it all right in two [x4]

Fight over the clouds, over wind, over sky
Fight over life, over blood, over prayer,
overhead and light
Fight over love, over sun,
over another, Fight for each other,
for the ones who are rising.

Angels on the sideline again.
Benched along with patience and reason.
Angels on the sideline again
Wondering when this tug of war will end.

Cut and divide it all right in two [x3]
RIGHT IN TWO!

Right in two...

-------------------------
There isn't an official Tool video for this song, but here is one someone made on YouTube. Tool, IMO, has some of the best videos of all time, too bad they didn't make one for this song.



I also really like the lyrics to Vicarious.

Another two of my favorites are from a band called From Autumn To Ashes.

"Autumns Monologue"

Oh why can't I be what you need?
A new improved version of me.
But I'm nothing so good
no, I'm nothing...
just bones, a lonely ghost burning down songs
of violence, of love, and of sorrow.
I beg for just one more tomorrow!
Where you'd hold me down, fold me in
deep deep deep in the heart of your sins.

I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two
and each piece of me dies
and only you can give the breath of life!
But you don't see me. You don't.

Here I'm pinned between darkness and light,
bleached and blinded by these nights.
Where I'm tossing and tortured till dawn
by you, visions of you, then you're gone.
The shock bleeds the red from my face,
when i hear someone's taken my place.
How could love be so thoughtless, so cruel?
When all, all that i did was for you...

I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two
and each piece of me dies
and only you can give the breath of life!
But you don't see me. You don't.

I'd break in two over you
I'd break in two
and each piece of me dies
and only you can give the breath of life!
But you don't see me. You don't.

I'd break in two over you,
I'd break in two over you! Over you
I'd break in two,
I would break in two for you.
Now you see me, now you don't.
Now you need me, now you don't


Give this one a chance even if you don't like metal - at least try to make it past the first verse until the female vocalist comes in....

"Short Stories With Tragic Endings"

Here you stand seething with guilt.
Silence only justifies this act of cowardice.
The look stapled on your face cries out for forgiveness,
The one thing that I cannot give.

(Did you ever see that one person
And the way they do these things
And it hurts you so much it's like choking choking choking
Down the embers)

I can give you freedom from your guilt,
With a flick of my wrist onto yours.
I can give you peace of mind with a forced smile.
I can give you death with the look upon my face.

This is your freedom in a life of fallacy,
With no last kiss and no regrets;
You don't deserve good bye.
This is your freedom in a life of fallacy,
With no last kiss and no good bye.

Here you stand seething with guilt.
Silence only justifies this act of cowardice.

With a short story, the one you add to daily, you are the tragic loss.
No story book ending for this fairy tale of you.
Just the one composed with blood taken from your pen that you hold in your lifeless hand.
Cry for you. Shed tears. Mourn. Wish the end.
Cry for you. Shed tears. Mourn. Wish the end.

(Did you ever look, did you ever see that one person,
And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much?
So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze.
It's that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions
And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds.
You let this one person come down in the most perfect moment.
And it breaks my heart to know the only reason you are here now is
A reminder of what I'll never have
I'll never have... I'll never...
Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in.
Standing so close knowing that it kills me to breathe you in.
But this table for one has become bearable.
I now take comfort in this, and for this, I cherish you.
Did you ever look, did you ever see that one person
And the subtle way that they do these things and it hurts so much?
So much like choking down the embers of a great blaze.
It's that moment when your eyes seem to spread aspersions
And to scream confessions at the insipid sky parting clouds.
And you let this one person come down, come down.
I cherish you... I cherish you.
Just say you would do the same for me.
Just say you would do the same for me.
Say you would do the same...
Just say you would do the same for me.
For as much as I love Autumn,
I'm giving myself to Ashes.)

Clem and Vers I think you'll both dig this. Clem because of your musical knowledge, Vers because it's informative and is a breakdown of a great Steely Dan song, Deacon Blues. Make sure to watch the videos. REALLY good stuff. Enjoy.
https://www.jambase.com/article/happy-birthday-donald-fagen-digging-deep-steely-dans-deacon-blues

Yessir.... I've owned that DVD for years. Super-cool and informative.

At another point in the vid, they break down "Peg." Fagen isolates Michael McDonald singing background: "Peeeeeeeeeg... back to you, Peeeeeeeeeg back to you..."

[Fagen]: "Yeah.... I thought he'd never forgive us for making him sing all those lines..."

I highly recommend this joint for anyone who's into good music, well-crafted tunes, or studio techniques.

excellent.

The same show did a studio breakdown of the album American Beauty, with Phil Lesh and other members of the Grateful Dead. I loved it. I love these kinds of programs. It's so cool to see the behind the scenes thoughts and such of these guys reflecting back on their music decades later. You see a youthful glint in their eyes as the memories come flooding back.
You also get the 'what could have been moments' like this. This is David 'Dawg' Grisman, probably the best mandolin player to ever walk the planet, on what he would have done if allowed to play what he wanted instead of what the band wanted him to play on the song Ripple.



If you'd like to hear Dawg tear it up on a mando, with Jerry on acoustic guitar, check this out. A cover of The Thrill is Gone.

I use to own several Steely Dan 8-tracks. Man I'm going way back

Very nice. Thanks for the knowledge.

I think this is an interesting song by America. I saw them at the Front Row many, many years ago. What a great show. Is that place still open? I remember they had a revolving stage. That was so cool. Here are the lyrics of the song:



Interpretation:

A lot of people think this song is about heroin because of the references to Horse, not feeling any pain, not remembering your name, etc.

However, I don't think that is the case. I think it is more about self-discovery and a guy who wrote the song in rainy Europe while missing the sunshine in America. LOL.......I'm not kidding.

Here is a vid of the song:

An observation. I think I am the only one who has attempted to analyze the lyrics of their respective songs. That's interesting. I love interpreting things. I have a Master's Degree in English and absolutely loved interpreting poems and works of fiction while I was in college.

I only taught Math and Science in latter years because I saw this commercial........it was of this dude in front of a school chalkboard. In one hand, he was doing this huge mathematical equation while simultaneously using chalk to create an elaborate drawing. How freaking cool is that? Using both sides of your brain. Being a true Renaissance man.

Anyway people.........give interpretation a shot. It's fun. It makes you analyze. It makes you think. It makes you slow down and see things for something other than your own selfish views. It's about exploration. It's about expanding your mind and horizons. You don't have to right. And often, there is no right. Most writers don't want simple explanations for their work. They want their readers/listeners to explore many possibilities. They want their work to touch people in many different ways. One of the greatest characteristics of a great writer is to write something that has multiple interpretations.

Don't be scared, peeps. Stick your neck out there.

Here are a couple of songs for y'all.

The first is by Bruce Hornsby and The Range:



I think this song is pretty easy to figure out. There are so many people who are in need of help. And when you are downtrodden, depression and vices are likely accomplices. Those of us who are doing well in life, may look down--or past--at these people, but they are human beings in need of understanding and help. I firmly believe that many of us--not all--but many of us could easily fall prey to the same problems that these people face.

Here is the video:



Now............and this is really cool. Check out these lyrics and video. I'll post my interpretation after..........because I think that you gotta hear the song first. LOl



Video:



Interpretation:

As you probably heard, this song is a spin-off of Hornsby's masterpiece. I think Tupac is trying to tell black people that they gotta stop killing one another and that they must come together. You can sense his frustration that despite all the bad [censored] that keeps happening, not enough people learn from it and the [censored] keeps happening. Great stuff. Good lyrics and great message.

One of my favorite song writers for many reasons was Bob Marley. He had a ton of political songs. He also had a lot of happy songs that I might concentrate on in an upcoming thread. However, check this one out:




Interpretation:

I think this song is about the Rastafarians taking back their country. It started w/the British claiming Jamaica as a colony and then it continued w/American investors exploiting the poor people of Marley's homeland.

Rasta's wear dreadlocks and they view white people as "bald heads." They have been exploited for centuries by "crazy bald heads" and Marley is talking about taking his country back. Check this part out:

I and I build the cabin
I and I plant the corn
Didn't my people before me
slave for this country
Now you look at me with a scorn
Then you eat up all my corn

In other words, the Jamaicans were there first and built the country, only to have it taken over and exploited by foreign invasion. Marley wants his countrymen to take his country back and throw out the devil white outsiders.

I have no idea if this is true or not, but there is a theory out there that the CIA had Marley killed because of his outspoken beliefs and the magnitude and power of his presentation of those said beliefs.

Here is a recording of the song:

OK... I'll bite.

Joni/Mingus/'God Must Be a Boogie Man'





He is three
One's in the middle unmoved
Waiting
To show what he sees
To the other two...
To the one attacking, so afraid-
And the one that keeps trying to love and trust-
And getting himself betrayed...
In the plan, oh-
The divine plan...

God must be a boogie man!

One's so sweet,
So overly loving and gentle-
He lets people in
To his innermost sacred temple...
Blind faith to care,
Blind rage to kill-
Why'd he let them talk him down
To cheap work, and cheap thrills?
In the plan, oh-
The insulting plan...

God must be a boogie man!

Which would it be-
Mingus one or two or three?
Which one do you think he'd want the world to see?
Well world opinion's not a lot of help...
When a man's only trying to find out
How to feel- about himself
In the plan, oh
The cokc-eyed plan...

God must be a boogie man!

___________________

This is a character analysis of the great Jazz bassist/arranger/composer/bandleader Charles Mingus.

Joni got to know him during the last years of his life. They formed the kind of instant bond that only musicians/artists of like mind could.... and they collaborated on the tunes that comprised this album. It was the final project that Mingus ever did... and Joni did his legacy proud. 4 of the 6 tunes featured on the album were written by Charles... and the only one he didn't get to hear was this one. It was totally Joni- from start to finish.

Mingus was a singular character. He could be, in the same week, tender, loving, supportive... and then irascible, volatile, and prone to extreme violence. Among Jazz aficionados, the stories of Mingus' 'meltdowns' are the stuff of legend.

There is an urban legend that states that NYPD was called to Mingus' apartment, because he 'busted off a volley of caps' into the ceiling of his home-based rehearsal space... when a rehearsal of his music degenerated into chaos.

In 1969, we didn't have a clinical diagnosis for 'Bipolar Disorder Syndrome.' We didn't have a universally-recognized diagnosis in the DSM IV in 1979, when Joni dropped this joint. We still didn't have it years later, when Jaco Pastorius- the phenomenal electric bass player featured on her album- died just 9 years later, from behavior that prompted his own violent death.

In this tune, Joni is 'psychologically profiling' Charles Mingus: "He is three- one's in the middle, unmoved.... waiting to see what he sees, from the other two..."

_____________

In her brief time with Charles, she truly got to know him:
3 different personae crammed into one body- each clamoring to get out- at the expense of the other two. None having dominance over the other two. Hence- Charles Mingus' "erratic public behavior."

I recall reading an interview shortly after the release of the 'Mingus' album (and just a few weeks after Charles' death), when Joni said:

"It's the only tune Charlie never got to hear. I wrote it 2 days after he died. I think he would have found it hilarious."



It's the very first tune on Joni's 1979 album... and it sets the tone for the tribute she wrote to this fascinating, mercurial, enigmatic and supremely influential man.

Charles Mingus was a titan of His Generation. His time just happened to overlap with someone who was a titan of Our Generation. The results... pure magic. Timely... and Timeless.

A Classic.

As a musician, artist, and seeker, I'm honored to have been 'plugged in' when these two created this wonderful thing.

'Mingus' is a central part of my musical sensitivities.

____________

"God must be... a Boogieman"

Clemdawg's analysis:

God loves a 'boogie beat.'
He loves that his children have found a groove that speaks to all cultures, generations, and modes of listening.
He loves that He can take a 'flawed human vessel'... and use him to speak 'His Perfect (musical) Truth' to a world which needs His message.

_______________


Joni KILLED this one... because she knew Charles, intimately. As a Friend. I'd KILL to know this man the way she did.... even if I'd have to risk my life to do so!

I've been 'making music' since I reached the age of 'childhood cognition.' I was a musician (in heart and soul) for years before I ever knew what a cello was. I was a musician at birth.

And after 20+ years of Life On Earth, Joni's "Mingus" album dropped into my lap.

I'm a different (and better) musician because of it.

Thanks for biting. LOL

Love that stuff.

I agree that your interpretation could be correct, but please consider the following:

God Must Be a Boogie Man has real ties to Blake's poem "The Tiger." It also obviously begins w/a line from the beginning of Mingus's autobiography. There are also ties to the bible. Not sure which part, but I think it is Corinthians. Maybe YTown can help out w/that?

I think what is interesting is how Joni takes real things........well, some won't say the bible is real, but you get my drift hopefully, and combines several of them and makes a song out of them. What a freaking superior mind!

Clem, I am in awe.

Thanks so much for bringing this one up.

For the rest of you...............don't feel intimidated. You don't have to go all intellectual like Clem just did. Just quote a few lines from a song or all of the lines.........and tell us what you think the author is trying to convey. It's pretty cool. Honest.

Open up your minds and put preconceived notions behind.

"Blame it on the bossa nova
That he did so well
Oh it all began with just one little dance
But soon it ended up a big romance
Blame it on the bossa nova
The dance of love"

A late 1950s-early 60s justification for premarital sex. De-marking a generational change in attitudes and helping usher in the '60s.