Sometimes they play country at the gym I go to. One song I heard, the singer was going “I treated her wrong and now she’s gone” and I was like: THANK YOU! So many times a song’s about someone leaving and the singer’s clueless as to why. This song at least was saying if you treat her wrong, she’s out of there!
Most people have no idea what songs are about.
I’m a native English speaker, but when I was a kid a Latin American relative asked me what Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was about and I was like… I dunno… something about a kid?
gibberish that sounds good.
Yeah, Sigur Ros does that too. I think Cocteau Twins did too for a while, right?
I don’t know about the cocteau twins. The whole shoegaze genre generally has lyrics with meaning. But it’s sort of the style that it’s Lo-Fi and smeared together to where it’s hard to make anything out. So I could be wrong. But I can definitely think of a number of songs where the lyrics are basically unintelligible. Sort of like Vestron vulture. Good luck making out any of the lyrics. They are there lol. But good luck. Now I’m going to have to check this later lol. I just always kind of assumed it was shoegaze.
I’m not sure if I have heard them. The cranes I know but not the swans. At least not off the top of my head. We’ll have to dig up some to listen to here in a bit and see if it Sparks any memories.
Interesting, Yeah the more I think about it maybe I was just up in my own head. Former pixie and her sister known as the Breeders, I loved their debut album and there’s no denying that Cannonball is all over the place.
Ironically Veruca Salt’s Seether seems that way but it actually has meaning ironically.
I’m not really that familiar with Cocteau Twins, I just had a friend who was kind of into some of their early stuff and would play it a lot. Looks like some of it was foreign words unintelligible to them that they just picked out of books bc they sounded nice: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/nonsense-lyrics-cocteau-twins-best-song/
Interesting. Yeah shoegaze never really clicked with me much. Most of what I know of it comes from DJing and taking requests. Not typically something I would play a lot on my own. There are some in the genre who didn’t smear the lyrics. Slowdive comes to mind. But I’m not sure whether they are an exception or rule LOL
Sometimes they play country at the gym I go to. One song I heard, the singer was going “I treated her wrong and now she’s gone” and I was like: THANK YOU! So many times a song’s about someone leaving and the singer’s clueless as to why. This song at least was saying if you treat her wrong, she’s out of there!
I’m a native English speaker, but when I was a kid a Latin American relative asked me what Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was about and I was like… I dunno… something about a kid?
Yeah, Sigur Ros does that too. I think Cocteau Twins did too for a while, right?
It’s called glossolalia. Lisa Gerrard does the same thing.
https://youtu.be/-0hxHrM6Xms
I don’t know about the cocteau twins. The whole shoegaze genre generally has lyrics with meaning. But it’s sort of the style that it’s Lo-Fi and smeared together to where it’s hard to make anything out. So I could be wrong. But I can definitely think of a number of songs where the lyrics are basically unintelligible. Sort of like Vestron vulture. Good luck making out any of the lyrics. They are there lol. But good luck. Now I’m going to have to check this later lol. I just always kind of assumed it was shoegaze.
The Swans Michael Gira tends to sing some odd lyrics.
I’m not sure if I have heard them. The cranes I know but not the swans. At least not off the top of my head. We’ll have to dig up some to listen to here in a bit and see if it Sparks any memories.
Here’s one of my favorite Swans song.
https://youtu.be/6M_K5565jSw
[Verse 1]
I am the hanging man
I hang, I never land
I steal the space between
The filthy and the clean
Healer, come here soon
Come to fill my spoon
Healer, heal my wound
I am a dog: I eat the moon
Healer, heal my lust
Fill my mouth with rust
Healer, hold my hand
Fill my mouth with sand
[Chorus]
Healer, kill this lamb!
I am the hanging man
I am the hanging man
I am, I am, I am, I am
I am, I am, I am, I am
I am, I am, I am, I am, vr… vr… vr… vr… not!
I am NOT! I am NOT!
I am NOT! I am NOT!
I am NOT!
[Verse 2]
Here I lie, abject
Healer, teeth are red
Force my legs apart:
Healer, hold my heart
Healer, cut my spine
Healer, eat my mind
Write it on the sky:
These stars reveal the lie
Hold the glowing sphere
There is no there or here
[Chorus]
Healer, hold my hand!
I am the hanging man
I am the hanging man
I am, I am, I am, I am
I am, I am, I am, I am
I am, I am, I am, I am
Vr… vrr… vrr… vrr… vrr, I am not
I am not what I just thought
I am not what I just thought
I am not, I am NOT!
I am NOT!
We are NOT! We are NOT!
NOT! NOT! NOT!
[Outro]
Who is the watcher who’s watching this thought
Whose thought is a thought that is not what he thought
NOT! SHOT! KNOT!
Interesting, Yeah the more I think about it maybe I was just up in my own head. Former pixie and her sister known as the Breeders, I loved their debut album and there’s no denying that Cannonball is all over the place.
Ironically Veruca Salt’s Seether seems that way but it actually has meaning ironically.
I like to think that he’s speaking in metaphor. It could be nonsense though.
I can definitely connect a few of the verses here and there. But yeah the whole thing is definitely a challenge.
Lyrical James Joyce.
I’m not really that familiar with Cocteau Twins, I just had a friend who was kind of into some of their early stuff and would play it a lot. Looks like some of it was foreign words unintelligible to them that they just picked out of books bc they sounded nice: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/nonsense-lyrics-cocteau-twins-best-song/
Interesting. Yeah shoegaze never really clicked with me much. Most of what I know of it comes from DJing and taking requests. Not typically something I would play a lot on my own. There are some in the genre who didn’t smear the lyrics. Slowdive comes to mind. But I’m not sure whether they are an exception or rule LOL