Questions tagged [lyrics]
For questions about the words used in a song. Use with another appropriate tag, such as [meaning]. Note that questions asking to identify the lyrics in a song are off topic, as are questions about literary interpretation.
202
questions
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
What does 'picket fence' mean here? [closed]
Today I was listening to a song from Fall Out boy called Miss missing you.
At one point in the song, they sing the line: "Baby you were my picket fence".
I know what a picket fence is, but I ...
10
votes
4
answers
6k
views
What did Lady Gaga mean when she sang that she's heard a "sine" from above?
In Lady Gaga's song featuring Elton John "Sine From Above", she sang that she has heard a "sine" from the sky. Sine is defined as the very famous mathematical function in Cambridge ...
- 221
1
vote
1
answer
62
views
Meaning of "tint your wing" in the song Burning of Auchindoun
In the Scottish folk song Burning of Auchindoun appears the following lines:
Crawing, crawing, for a' your crouse crawin'
Ye burnt yer crop an tint your wings an oor before the dawnin
I'm interested ...
- 540
1
vote
1
answer
55
views
"Some may be from showing up" meaning in the Rose Tattoo by Dropkick Murphys
I am trying to get the meaning of the song. As far as I can tell, the man is describing his tattoos, or, rather, recalls circumstances where he's got them. I think I understand most of the verses, ...
- 291
0
votes
3
answers
62
views
Can someone explain to me the meaning of the verse "in over your chest is way too deep"?
I was listening to the song "Wetsuit" by the band "The Vaccines" when I met with these weird lines:
"Submerged, your vision's just obscured
You're a lot like me
In up to our ...
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
49
views
Literary phrasing (gold-pressed)
Gold pressed temptress of silence
Let the morning call unanswered
And ransom the day off
Song: Good Love, by Zola Blood
What exactly is gold pressed? A fictional reference or some metalsmith ...
- 101
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
"Melts all your memories and change into gold"?
"Smooth Operator" song lyrics goes like this:
Face to face, each classic case
We shadow box and double cross
Yet need the chase
A license to love, insurance to hold
Melts all your memories ...
- 1
1
vote
3
answers
471
views
Meaning of the phrase "frog-walker" in reference to a horse
The Marty Robbins song Strawberry Roan describes the story of a cowboy trying to break an old horse, the eponymous Strawberry Roan (I'm unsure of any connection to the various films of the same name).
...
- 756
3
votes
3
answers
150
views
Looking for a word about writing lyrics for the purpose of fitting the music
There is a word that I'm desperately trying to remember. I think it is used in the context of songwriting but it could be more general.
It describes the act of writing words to fit music, or to rhyme, ...
- 33
0
votes
1
answer
256
views
If "Manners maketh man" as someone said
Can someone help me unpack this part of Sting's Englishman in New York?
If "Manners maketh man" as someone said
Then he's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be ...
- 388
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
What is the term for the 'bastardisation' of common phrases and idioms? [duplicate]
Recently, I have been analysing lyrics to songs. Frequently, the writer inverts and 'bastardises' common phrases and idioms to play off of the established meaning.
I have been using the term '...
0
votes
1
answer
366
views
What is the meaning of "I get wild on you"? [closed]
What is the meaning behind the phrase "I get wild on you, baby"?
I tried to find this kind of phrasal verb "get wild on..." , but I didn't find anything. In my head, this could ...
- 1
2
votes
3
answers
90
views
"All hazards and dangers we barter on chance"
This is from the lyrics of "Arthur McBride" by Paul Brady.
...“But,“ says Arthur, “I wouldn’t be proud of your clothes
For you’ve only the lend of them, as I suppose
And you dare not change ...
0
votes
2
answers
766
views
Meaning of "thread the needle through" and "beat the devil's tattoo"?
Lyrics from the song, Beat the Devil's Tattoo:
I thread the needle through, you beat the devil's tattoo.
Does anyone know the meaning of "thread the needle through" and "beat the ...
- 11
3
votes
1
answer
605
views
Meaning of "I shut my eyes to hold my breath"
From the folk song Oh! Susanna by Stephen Foster (presumably written in slave dialect):
De bullgine bust, de hoss ran off, I really thought I’d die;
I shut my eyes to hold my bref—Susanna, dont you ...
- 630
0
votes
0
answers
501
views
What does “white spade” mean in this context?
This is a lyric in the Tom Waits song Heart Attack and Vine - “white spades hanging on a telephone wire”. Does anyone know what this means? I found online that “white spade” refers to an old type of ...
- 17
1
vote
2
answers
76
views
Generic word for a verse, chorus, or bridge of a hymn or song
I'm working on a project that involves breaking a set of lyrics into “sections,” by splitting on double line breaks. Later on in the process, each section will be categorized as a verse, chorus, or ...
- 111
2
votes
0
answers
491
views
What’s the meaning behind the lyric from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy “and the ‘68 festival wallflowers are thinning? [closed]
Elton John/Bernie Taupin’s lyric line from Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy “and the ‘68 festival wallflowers are thinning” has continued to confuse me in its meaning. I understand “‘68 ...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
461
views
And the Sultans played creole? [closed]
Here are some lyrics from the great classic Sultans of Swing:
Then a crowd a young boys they're a foolin' around in the corner
Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles
...
- 261
2
votes
1
answer
278
views
What does "beat the birds" mean? [closed]
Heard this phrase in Frank Sinatra's song.
Just say the words and we'll beat the birds Down to Acapulco Bay
Just wonder what that means. I have rough idea, just to go to Acapulco Bay. Want to ...
- 255
0
votes
1
answer
467
views
What is the grammatical nature of "wrote" in the phrase "The Wrote and The Writ"? [closed]
In the song The Wrote and the Writ by British singer and songwriter Johnny Flynn, the title uses that phrase which comes from the the last verse of the song:
If you're born with a love for the wrote ...
- 467
3
votes
1
answer
125
views
Wordsmith, singer, Leonard Cohen was perplexed as what word rhymes with orange? [duplicate]
My first question was basically, "What word, or words, rhyme with orange?
The word "tinge" was not included in any of the answers, or words presented to me. Thank you for your patience ...
- 59
1
vote
2
answers
65
views
Name of this lyrical device comparing oneself to something that's described by the same word, but in another sense of the word?
Warning: The examples contain some offensive words, but I believe that is not against the rules here?
Lately I've been listening a lot to a certain hip-hop album, in which almost every track uses a ...
- 3,295
1
vote
0
answers
117
views
What does the noun "rosy" mean in these lyrics?
What does the noun "rosy" mean in the first line of this song ?
Well there's a ring around the moon a ring around the rosy
A ring around my socks that keep my feet so cozy
Well I'm a single ...
- 29
-4
votes
2
answers
101
views
Articles in the song of the Beatles [closed]
Why there’s no articles in the phase of the song Blackbird?
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Would it be more correct to use articles before “Blackbird” and “Night”?
- 733
2
votes
1
answer
528
views
Slang: "To have a twenty on me"
So I was listening to a song (bülow - Own me), and there's this one line that I can't really understand. Which is "Got nothing but a twenty on me", and I can't really understand what it's ...
- 21
0
votes
4
answers
769
views
"I've been decided"
Is it grammatically correct to say "I've been decided"?
The idea is that I want to stress that I have not decided to do something; instead, it has been decided without me that I would do ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
524
views
Understanding this lyrics in "all of me" (John Legend) [closed]
I do not see what is going on in this lyrics (John Legend, All of me). What does it mean "smart mouth", "pin you down", or "mystery ride"? Also, the whole scene in the ...
- 189
1
vote
1
answer
162
views
Is "neither have I wings to fly" grammatically correct? [duplicate]
I came across this sentence "And neither have I wings to fly" in the lyric of the song "The Water Is Wide". Shouldn't it be "... neither I have ..."? Or it is ...
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
291
views
blessed be the mystery of love [duplicate]
Would you explain the lyric "Blessed be the mystery of love" in the song "Mystery of love" by Sufjan Stevens please? Why the song writer use the word "be" instead of &...
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
What does "girls of the world" refer to in this context?
In the 1986 rap song "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble" by "DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince", the lyrics go like this:
Listen, homeboys, don't mean to bust your bubble
But ...
1
vote
0
answers
515
views
What does "it got twisted up" mean?
I've tried to translate the lyrics of one of my favorite English-language songs into Croatian.
A part of the lyrics is: The country that you died for, mate, you wouldn't know it now. The future that ...
- 169
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
I popped one | I'm on one. What it mean? [closed]
On "Trust Issues" song, The Weeknd say it.
When he says "I popped one" it mean he ingested a drug or it mean he have no money?
When he says "I'm on one", it mean he have only one more drug or it mean ...
- 13
1
vote
1
answer
78
views
There *are* a house in New Orleans. Why "are"? Where many poor boys to destruction *has* gone. Why "has"?
On this 1933 recording
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=147kS8O59Qs
Clarence Ashley clearly sings
There are a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
Where many poor boys to destruction has ...
user6171
2
votes
5
answers
764
views
What does "dire is the horseman's wheel" mean?
This line comes from the Scottish patriotic song "Scotland the Brave".
Bold hearts and nodding plumes wave o'er their bloody tombs,
Deepeyed in gore is the green tartan's wave,
Shivering are ...
- 735
0
votes
0
answers
24
views
A question on " But guess we'll cry come first of May " [duplicate]
In the lyrics of First of May, there is a line "But guess we'll cry come first of May". What is the meaning of it? Especially, what is the meaning of "come first of May"? What will "come first of May"?...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
834
views
"One red light town" meaning
"We tore the roof off that one red light town" - from Thomas Rhett's Remember You Young.
What does "one red light town" mean? I've always assumed it's talking about how small the town is, but just ...
2
votes
0
answers
76
views
Is it correct to use "you and me" in this Beijing Olympics song?
I know we use "you and me" in an object case. But I think in this song, "you and me " is a subject. Lyrics are as follow:
You and me
From one world
We are family
Travel dream
A thousand ...
- 35
1
vote
1
answer
203
views
What does "That stick through they man through the BS with" mean?
I'm concerned with the second line of the first verse of "By a Stranger" by Black Rob:
We came to give love to our die hearted real bitches
That stick through they man through the bullshit with
...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
193
views
"Had me blind" and grammar in lyrics/poems
I'm looking at a line from the song "I Can See Clearly Now". It's the line: Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
I know that that line is in the passive voice ("the dark clouds that had me ...
- 19
2
votes
1
answer
213
views
The meaning of "April moon" [closed]
There are words in the song "Mad about You" by Sting
A stone's throw from Jerusalem
I walked a lonely mile in the moonlight
And though a million stars were shining
My heart was lost on a ...
- 121
1
vote
1
answer
501
views
What is the actual meaning of these lines and what time (Past/Present/Future) it indicates?
These lines have been taken from Shakira's Whenever, Wherever song lyric,
"Never could imagine there were only
Ten million ways to love somebody".
Thanks in Advance.
- 63
3
votes
1
answer
33k
views
What is the meaning of 'lean all in my bladder'?
This verse comes from the song 'Old town roads' and I've never heard it before, can't find a definition/explanation online either.
Thank you !
- 141
0
votes
1
answer
12k
views
Meaning of "Can you come through?" [closed]
Here are some lyrics from the song "comethru" by Jeremy Zucker
I might lose my mind
Waking when the sun's down
Riding all these highs
Waiting for the comedown
Walk these streets with me
...
- 103
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Meaning of "whip" in a song by The Fold [closed]
My kids watch the "Lego NinjaGo" series and have been asking me about the title song, called "Weekend Whip" by The Fold. As much as I tried looking for the meaning of the word "whip" in the context of ...
- 151
15
votes
10
answers
7k
views
Why did Ylvis use "go" instead of "say" in phrases like "Dog goes 'woof'"?
Why did Ylvis use the verb "go" instead of "say" in their 2013 pop song "What Does the Fox Say?"
Dog goes "woof."
Cat goes "meow."
Bird goes "tweet."
Is there some specific meaning for "go"?
0
votes
1
answer
684
views
What does "D.R." stands for in International Love song by Pitbull?
What does "D.R." stands for in International Love song by Pitbull?
"Down in DR they looking for visa"
Down in D.R. they're looking for visas
I ain't talking credit cards if you know what I mean
...
- 11
5
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Using "woman" without article: "I am woman"
I heard the lyrics of a song by Helen Reddy:
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
[…]
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms ...
- 61
0
votes
1
answer
44
views
"Direct it": which meaning is right?
Tell me your secrets, all of the creepy shit.
That's how I know it's true.
Baby, direct it, name in the credits,
like the movies do.
from "Imagine" by Ariana Grande
I have done research ...
-2
votes
1
answer
449
views
Question for song
One Month - Tegan and Sara
Video Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIwv1XdTTHc&t=32s
Q1. What does she say in 0:32 ?
