The Decemberists: The Engine Driver

The Decemberists are certainly one of the most clever and talented bands of our time. Each song is like reading a novel: clever wordplay, in depth storylines, and a vocabulary that many would need a dictionary to understand. Finding meaning in their songs is much more of finding an emotional connection rather than some hidden nugget of truth. Just as you would read a book and understand some moral that was never explicitly stated, listening to a Decemberists song is in the exact same vein.

I’ve dedicated this entry to the song “The Engine Driver,” not necessarily because it’s the best song in The Decemberists’ catalog, but because it is the song that got me originally interested in the band in the first place. The emotion in the song is prevalent and clear, and most listeners will certainly relate. If this blog is worth anything, it’s at least to expose you to great music and that is what is about to happen.

Watch your step kids, I’m about to drop some knowledge.

The song structure is important in this one. Three verses, a pre-chorus, and a chorus. Each verse is dedicated to a different character in the song. An engine driver, a county lineman and a money lender. The goal of this analysis is to see how these characters are connected.

I’m an engine driver

On a long run, on a long run

Would I were beside her

She’s a long one, such a long one

In the first verse we’re introduced to the theme of loneliness and love. An engine driver, far away from home, and it seems like he’ll be away for a while.  He’s doing his duty as he thinks of his love at home. If only he were beside her, what would he do. “She’s a long one, such a long one,” is a bit confusing. It seems like he would be talking about the girl he had just mentioned, but a “long one” of a lady doesn’t seem to make sense to me (maybe it’s an old timey turn of phrase). I lean more towards the idea that the engine driver is coming out of his reverie of his lady and referring to his trip as a long one. The lady he is with now is his train/task.

And then the pre-chours:

And if you don’t love me let me go

This pre-chorus unites the entire song, but let’s not jump ahead of ourselves quite yet.

I’m a county lineman
On the high line, on the high line
So will be my grandson
There are powerlines in our bloodlines

A county lineman is our next character. Once again, a more historic occupation. A county lineman was responsible for hanging and repairing telegraph or telephone lines. Much like the first verse we have a character who is committed to duty. He has a responsibility and will do it without exception. He takes such pride in his occupation, in fact, that even his progeny will follow after. The verse is stoic in a way; very little emotion is involved.

And the repeat:

And if you don’t love me, let me go

The last verse is this:

I’m a money lender
I have fortunes upon fortunes
Take my hand for tender
I am tortured, ever tortured

A money lender is, again, keeping consistent with this old-timey profession thing we have going on here. What I really like here is this word play. The like “take my hand for tender” can be interpreted two different ways. Tender of course being a form of money, “legal tender,” but this can also be interpreted in the way of tender meaning soft and affectionate. This seems the most likely interpretation because it is consistent with the rest of the song and the next line of the verse. “I am tortured, ever tortured,” shows that he is tortured by the thought of never being in love; loneliness envelopes him.

Up to this point I’ve skipped the chorus, but now is where I tie everything in together.

And I am a writer, writer of fictions
I am the heart that you call home
And I’ve written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones
I am a writer, I am all that you have hoped on

And I’ve written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones
My bones
My bones

This chorus seems to tie these three verses by making the song personal. I think the narrator is now speaking (the singer/songwriter). He’s written these stories or fictions in the verses of love and loneliness, and he writes these because he’s trying to mend his own heartache. “And if you don’t love me let me go,” shows his deep want to have his love return, but if she won’t all he wants is to forget her. He simply wants to stop the hurt of loneliness.

This song is really amazing. It displays perfectly how a song can be both a story and an introspective commentary. The Decemberists’ music is truly unique and should be respected at the very least.

Death Cab For Cutie: Brothers On A Hotel Bed

Courtesy of PopandPolitics.com

Sometimes songs really don’t need that much interpretation.

This is one of those.

However, there are songs in which the lyrics need to be paid attention to.

This is one of those too.

“Brothers On A Hotel Bed” by Death Cab For Cutie is quite possibly the most heart-wrenching song you’ll ever listen too. This track off of “Plans” (arguably their best album) paints a gray picture of a decaying marriage. If you listen to it in the right context in a bad mood, it might shake you off from getting hitched forever.

The song begins and ends with the line “You may tire of me as our December sun is setting, cause I’m not who I used to be.” This line will make more sense to cap off the song, but the month of December is used very purposely. December is the last month of the year and often the coldest. While it’s usually celebrated with the greatest of holidays, the rest of the lyrics, “cause I’m not who I used to be,” lets on that this might not be the carol you’re looking for.

“No longer easy on the eyes but these wrinkles masterfully disguise
The youthful boy below who turned your way and saw
Something he was not looking for: both a beginning and an end
But now he lives inside someone he does not recognize
When he catches his reflection on accident”

The singer is now identified as a man who has aged. Though his exterior has changed with time, he still remembers that youthful boy who fell in love with the girl he soon married. A beautiful girl he had not expected but was both the beginning of his life and would be there for the end. Although the memory remains, he no longer looks as he did and this pains him. This verse seems to imply that he no longer likes to even look at himself because his wife is no longer in love with how he looks.

“On the back of a motor bike
With your arms outstretched trying to take flight
Leaving everything behind
But even at our swiftest speed we couldn’t break from the concrete
In the city where we still reside.”

And a memory of better times returns. The man and his wife were once so youthful and independent. All they needed was each other as they left everything behind. The last two lines of this verse are very poignant as well. No matter how far they ran, how big their hopes were, how great things were between them, they could never get what they truly wanted out of life. They remained stagnant in the same place they started.

“And I have learned that even landlocked lovers yearn for the sea like navy men”

This simile has so much power. He seems to say that even within a marriage both partners yearn for love; yearn for change; yearn for something different.

And now to my favorite part of the song:

“Cause now we say goodnight from our own separate sides
Like brothers on a hotel bed”

Brothers on a hotel bed. How powerful is that? The married couple now shares their wedding bed as two siblings. There is love there between them, but not passionate love. All desire has left. Just as brothers are forced to share a bed on a family vacation, this man and this woman who were once so in love are now forced to share a bed as their lives come to an end. Nothing more.

You may tire of me as our December sun is setting, cause I’m not who I used to be….

Third Eye Blind: Bonfire (I was in the video!)

Courtesy of hitfix.com

So this past week I was lucky enough to see one of my favorite bands of all time, Third Eye Blind, live for the second time. The show was phenomenal and it was made even better because 3eb was filming the music video for their new single “Bonfire” at the show! Hopefully you’ll be able to see the top of my head or maybe my hand somewhere in the shot of the crowd.

This track is definitely my favorite off of the new CD “Ursa Major” and is certainly the most catchy. I decided to take a crack at the lyrics to see if I can come up with something.

So before I delve completely into the task, let’s get this out of the way: if you are asked “What is (enter Third Eye Blind song here) about?” and you answer “Sex” than you are probably correct 9 times out of 10 (i.e. “Blinded”). Stephan Jenkins (age 45) has been linked with such actresses as Charlize Theron and Vanessa Carlton, so apparently he has no problem with the ladies.

Bonfire is an exception

“A little early in spring, a bonfire ring, she’s shivering alone.” The opening line sets the scene; a nice party with friends, one we’ve all experienced whether it be on a beach in California or in the wilderness of Texas. I’m immediately thrown into this scene as I see a girl I once loved, shivering alone. “I bumped into you somehow,” it continues, as if the author didn’t really expect to see her there (yet subconsciously did).

“You can wear my duct-taped vest, it’s a party best, it’s really all I own, everything’s changing now.” Maybe one of the more interesting lines in the song, I think this symbolizes the loss the singer feels from losing this girl. Since she’s been gone he feels like he has nothing, this duct-taped vest, something broken and desperate, is all he really “has.” It’s a party best because it is what he’s known for since she’s gone; everyone can see he’s broken from this break up. She’s no longer his and it’s changed his life for the worse.

“And I’m as high as a star that’s flying; Cassiopeia; Everything’s changing now.” Cassiopeia is a constellation that, in Greek Mythology,” represented a vain queen who boasted about her unrivaled beauty” (Wikipedia. credit where credit is due). The singer feels like nothing more than a star flying past this great beauty; a constellation that he can’t be a part of.

“She said it’s alright. She said no, don’t die alone. There’s no goodbyes.” His former lover is trying to console him, saying it will be alright and he will find somebody else. It’s not like she will be completely out of his life.

And for the chorus:

Lightning comes and lightning goes
And it’s all the same to me
Let it in
Cuz I want you so
I can hardly breathe or release
Into one thousand pieces
I have broke into
Over you
The chain will soon be gone,
I keep burning on and on and on

Lightning represents all these other girls, these fleeting crushes that mean nothing to him in the end. She’s completely absorbed him and has broken his heart as she leaves for somewhere else.

If we continue to think of the song in this theme, the other verses are very easy to decipher.

A bonfire can often be a farewell party for a friend. There is something inherently symbolic about how friendships change and burn, just like a fire does to the logs. This song is about a loss of of a girl as she moves away to pursue new things. There are still feelings on both sides, yet she feels the strong need to leave while he desperately wants her to stay. The song ends with the line “Did you get what you wanted?” repeating. Many people (especially those who have had relationships post or pre college) can relate to seeing a loved one leave for a dream, while you wish they would stay for you.

Listen to it.

Jimmy Eat World “Futures”: Believe it or Not

Courtesy of GetMusic.com

So I’m aware that I’m a little late on the curve, but I recently discovered this album buried behind JEW’s “Bleed American” (which you really need to get if you don’t have). If you are like “week ago Chase” than I highly suggest you get this album. It is sure to give some kind of meaning to your quarter life crisis.

On first listen I fell in love with the opening (and title) track of the album, “Futures.” The lyrics are a bit less ambiguous than the last song I tackled, but the meaning behind it may not be as apparent.

“I always believed in futures,” the song begins. This itself is an interesting phrase. The word ‘future’ is definitely a noun, but you rarely see in in a plural form (which begs the question whether the song should actually be called futur-i). We all hope and trust that we have a future, no matter how h0peful or bleak our idea of a future might be. When the singer states he believes in futures, it’s saying he has always believed that a future exists. That the concept of everyone having a future (in this case a hopeful destiny of sorts) is real and true, and it exists for all people. This idea is confirmed in the next line “I hope for better in November.” (Pretty much exemplifies the month doesn’t it?)

The next lines, however, show the artist’s decreasing belief in these futures. “I try the same lucky numbers. It could be a cold night for a life time.” The artist is saying he keeps trying to achieve this future he’s always hoped for, yet his efforts seem to be in vain. “You can’t keep saying endlessly, how long till this affects me,” the song continues. He’s still waiting on this future, this ultimate dream to be realized that he is becoming less and less sure of.

The chorus is meant to be an ironic diversion from the verse:

“Say Hello to good times;

trade up for the fast ride.

We close our eyes as the nickel and dime take the streets completely”

This chorus is, in its essence, saying that he is no longer waiting. The artist is seeking good times now. Instead of waiting around for a future he believed would be ultimately satisfying, he is settling for the fleeting fast ride. The phrase “Nickel and dime” is a colloquial term that means to impoverish someone (“Man, that car salesman is really nickel and diming me) or to bother someone with insignificant matters (Man, my boss is really nickel and diming me with this filing while I have this big project to finish). In this particular case I would say the second definition seems to be more applicable. We close our eyes and jump into these menial tasks which cause us to give up our future. The menial tasks are what we’re reduced to as we settle for the immediate pleasures that offer no hope.

This same theme continues throughout the song. It is especially identified in the verse: “why is it so hard to find a balance between living descent and the cold and real.” This idealistic future (most likely to fall in love) is juxtaposed with the fleeting fling.

With the last verse the tone shifts, however:

“Hey now, The past is told by those who win, my darling
What matters is what hasn’t been
Hey now, we’re wide-awake and we’re thinking
My darling, believe your voice can mean something”

The artist is saying maybe there is something to believing in futures. What matters is what is to come, not the things that are easy to get now. Maybe if we can wait and work towards this future, it will all mean something in the end.

Overall, this song is about being frustrated with the waiting for future hopes and dreams, yet realizing that the waiting is always worth it in comparison to what you can have now. Being in my early 20s I certainly connect with this song cause I’m  sick of waiting for my life to take shape. However, this song is reassuring in the idea that futures are worth believing in, even when the wait is hard.

“Who Says” by John Mayer: Stoner’s Rejoice, but should they?

“Who says I can’t I get stoned? Turn off the lights and the telephone. Me and my house alone. Who says I can’t get stoned.”

The opening lines of the first single from the upcoming album  “Battle Studies” may seem like a call to all to bring out the bong and stick it to the man. And to those with that snap opinion, I can’t really blame you. I mean, the phrase “Who says I can’t get stoned?” is repeated 6 times in the song. But before you stop waiting for the world to change and decide to roll yourself a joint, let’s take a look at what John may be trying to say.

Start by listening to the song as a whole. It’s just a man and his guitar speaking his mind. Reminiscent of a Bob Dylan song. And most verses have the first and last line the same.

“Who Says I Can’t Get Stoned?”

“Who Says I Can’t Be Free?”

“Who Says I Can’t Take Time?”

Remember when you were a kid and somebody told you you couldn’t do something. Each time the response was the same: “SAYS WHO?” Kids don’t want to be told they can’t do something because they feel like they should be able to do anything. And, in a way, John is doing the same thing. Society seems to be telling him he can’t do certain things and he wants to know why? In this questioning, he’s establishing independence.

When we begin to look at it this way, we can see that, more than anything, this song is an introspective look at John’s past and his future. Why can’t he spend time alone or free from the things he used to be? What’s wrong with searching for love by meeting new girls and calling up old ones? The song holds on to the same theme of growing up that is found in many of Mayer’s songs.

The chorus brings the folk roots of the song. Mayer sings “It’s been a long night in New York City,” but it’s also been a long night in Austin and Baton Rouge. New York is a hub for the social; it’s nightlife, celebrities and glamor. Baton Rouge and Austin are music capitols, each renown for their rich culture. Each place is one that Mayer has certainly visited and played music in. And with all the pressure he experiences as an artist, he feels a bit trapped by circumstances (hence the who says). He has the celebrity life of New York juxtaposed with the organic musical roots of Austin and Baton Rouge. It’s a long night in all three because of he must balance all these aspects of his life.

Each chorus ends with “I don’t remember you looking any better, but than again I don’t remember you.” And this is where the folk-roots of this song come through. It’s almost this idea of a cowboy philosophy: a man who comes in to town, spends time with a lady, and is off to the next town in the morning. Someone who just can’t be tied down to a woman.

So let’s sum it up. Is John a stoner? I have no idea. But is this song about getting stoned. No. This song is about someone being tired of people telling him that how he feels is wrong. It’s about a man who wants to live as a man should, one who can make his own mistakes and live his own life. It’s about growing up but still feeling like the kid yelling “Says Who?!” It’s not that he wants to break the law or hurt anyone, but he just doesn’t want to be restricted.

Take a look at the music video, listen to the song, and tell me what you think? Or not.

After listening to this song I’m certainly not telling you what to do.