Unheralded lines

[troublkepnyerhedup]

A said:

You press your luck
Up against his body...

I might class this one with others that are almost overpower the songs they open. "Absolution is out of the question" is another. And baby learns to crawl is crippled by the cleverness of the opener.

But I like what you say about setting the tone for the rest of the song. That's what you want from that first line.

[mrblasty]

I always liked the line "Baby learns to pray, when somebody sneeze" from Baby Learns to Crawl.

[Kathy]

paulie said:

"You can dress to the eights, you can dress to maim"- brilliant.
-kgp

I always liked the follow-up:

"Wearing too much make up/Not near enough clothes"

[Placemat]

"Your radio is playin' rather loud, & It don't sound like me"

[gravy]

ClamsCasino said:

Actually, I think it's "I ain't deservin'/to feel so disconcerted"

I think CC is right !

"trouble keeping your head up,
when your hungry and your fed up"

the best line in Valentine, overshadows some other Westerbergian gems.

"If you were a pill, I'd take a handfull at your will,
and I'd knock you back with something, sweet & strong"

&

"yeterday was theirs to say, this is their world & their time, but if tonight belongs to you, tommorrow's mine"

The fact that those 3 lines come from the SAME song,
made me almost cry when I was 15 & i heard that for the first time...

[ClamsCasino]

You left out, "Are you strung out on some face? Well, I know it ain't mine."

[Kathy]

ClamsCasino said:

You left out, "Are you strung out on some face? Well, I know it ain't mine."

I was gonna come in with that one....gotta go back to the drawing board.

[The Soup Nazi]

MORE COWBELL! Mr. Blasty, your pic made my day.

OK, back to the discussion...

[Kathy]

Ok: "Nothing to no one":

There's a world in between
Being everything
To everyone
And being nothing
To no one


very under-rated song

[Smorgasberg]

Kathy said:

Ok: "Nothing to no one":

There's a world in between
Being everything
To everyone
And being nothing
To no one


very under-rated song

Yep, that may be the closest thing I've ever gotten to personal therapeutic advice from the man.

[troublkepnyerhedup]

Smorgasberg said:

Yep, that may be the closest thing I've ever gotten to personal therapeutic advice from the man.

Hey, me too. I overload on emails, voicemails, mail mail, etc. really easy, so the idea of being nothing to no one was very comforting

that was my fave off stereo till I lost the disc

[Christy]

then there's always the ol standby....
the brilliant play on words that is almost another well known phrase or somehow a twist on a cliche...

"can you stand me on my feet?"

kind of evokes the idea of being able to stand on one's own two feet (or not), although in this context, it is literal.

[thetwilitekid]

"Take a deep breath, and blow them all away"

- Birthday Gal

[troublkepnyerhedup]

Christy said:

then there's always the ol standby....
the brilliant play on words that is almost another well known phrase or somehow a twist on a cliche...

"can you stand me on my feet?"

kind of evokes the idea of being able to stand on one's own two feet (or not), although in this context, it is literal.

i always heard:
- can you physically hold me up?
- can you tolerate me when i'm not falling down drunk?

but you may be onto something with another shading there

[Numskll]

MrBlasty said:

I always liked the line "Baby learns to pray, when somebody sneeze" from Baby Learns to Crawl.

you're half right, but that line works best when coupled with the bit that comes right before it (making it a winner in my book)

"Baby learns to hide down on her knees, learns to pray when somebody sneeze"

[TomT]

Numskll said:

"Baby learns to hide down on her knees, learns to pray when somebody sneeze"

Color me stupid but can you give me some insight into this line?

[mrblasty]

"Achoo!!!!"

"God bless you"




Not sure about the down on her knees part, though.

[ClamsCasino]

MrBlasty said:

"Achoo!!!!"

"God bless you"

Not sure about the down on her knees part, though.

Catholics pray on their knees, and Paul has used that imagery before in "A Star is Bored."

[Numskll]

TomT said:

Color me stupid but can you give me some insight into this line?

Well even though I got into big trouble interpreting PW's lyrics before I'll give it a whirl.

I think the line plays with the image of hiding (down on your knees) in a position that you normally pray and that when you someone says 'good bless you' (otr guzoontite) after someone else sneezes, that is praying; Well it is praying but most of us just do it out of social reflex.

And finally of course the whole song is about the funny things, includiing praying and hiding, the world ( parents included) teach us.

Or else it is just rhyming words and music and it means absolutely notihng to no one and I should just shut the hell up with my ramshackle namby pamby pseudo intellectual psycho babble.

Oh Oh. I've got another one.

"she shakes her hips while cleaning house"

from Dead Mans Shake.

My GF does that too and, as the song indicates, it can be very appealing. Also "cleaning House" is a metaphor for 'winning big' (gambling) or 'wide spread reform' (christian bible and folk tradition). That line makes me smile everytime I hear it.

[TomT]

Numskll said:

I think the line plays with the image of hiding (down on your knees) in a position that you normally pray and that when you someone says 'good bless you' (otr guzoontite) after someone else sneezes, that is praying; Well it is praying but most of us just do it out of social reflex.

And finally of course the whole song is about the funny things, includiing praying and hiding, the world ( parents included) teach us.

.

Thanks, that makes sense. I was raised catholic so should have picked up on it. Oh the guilt!