songs that mean something to you

so this thread is for exactly what it says.
feel free to post one and come back or post a handful at a time.

try to post artist and song title, why it's important to you and/or what it means to you. feel free to post or link lyrics (if they're long or you're doing a bunch, you may want to link). i've found http://www.songmeanings.net very helpful when searching for song lyrics. i'd also suggest smooshing them down to size 1.

i'll start with one i was just listening to.


artist: low
song: in metal

lyrics:
filling holes with tiny sounds
shining from the inside out
picture of you where it began
in metal
in metal

partly hate to see you grow
and just like your baby shoes
wish i could keep your little body
in metal
in metal
in metal
in metal
in metal
in metal

this song, which was written by mimi parker of low shortly after the birth of her first daughter, is just so keenly and profoundly focused on what it means to be so wholely attached to a baby. i reconnected with this song after the birth of my son and the first few times i heard it at that time i wept. it still makes me feel really good, and brings back memories of caring for my beautiful boy at that stage when he was so small and helpless and full of potential.

Come Sail Away by Styx is a good, meaningful song:

I'm sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me
On board, I'm the captain, so climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow on every shore
And I'll try, oh Lord, I'll try to carry on

I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark my memory
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had
We live happily forever, so the story goes
But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold
But we'll try best that we can to carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said
They said come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me

I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise
They climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies
Singing come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me
Come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me [repeat and fade...]


I also like Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) by Styx:

Give me a job, give me security
Give me a chance to surviveI'm just a poor soul in the unemployment line
My God, I'm hardly alive
My mother and father, my wife and my friends
I see them laugh in my face
But I've got the power, and I've got the will
I'm not a charity case

I'll take those long nights, impossible odds
Keeping my eye to the keyhole
If it takes all that to be just what I am
I'm gonna be a blue collar man

Make me an offer that I can't refuse
Make me respectable, man
This is my last time in the unemployment line
So like it or not I'll take those

Long nights, impossible odds
Keeping my back to the wall
If it takes all that to be just what I am
I'm gonna be a blue collar man

Keeping my mind on a better life
When happiness is only a heartbeat away
Paradise, can it be all I heard it was
I close my eyes and maybe I'm already there

Styx has been known to write about real-life things, Blue Collar Man is one of the best songs to demonstrate what people are willing to do, perhaps determination is the word. The song is written about a person in an unemployment line, who is ridiculed by those around him. In the end, he is, or realizes he is, already there.

OK, this one is a little rough. When I was younger, a good friend of mine was brutally murdered (a girl). I always said that I would love to have five minutes alone with the murderer.

Hence, Pantera - Five Minutes Alone


i see you had your mind all made up you group of
pitiful liars. before i woke to face the day, your master
plan transpired. -something told me- this job had more to
meet the eye. my song is not believed? my words some-
what deceiving? now i'm unwhole.

you've waged a war of nerves
but you can't crush the kingdom

can't be what your idols are. can't leave the scar.
you cry for compensation. i ask you please just give us...

5 minutes alone

i read your eyes, your mind was made up. you took me for
a fool. you used complexion of my skin for a counter
rascist tool. -you can't burn me- i've spilled my guts out
in the past. taken advantage of because you know where

i've come [from]. my past.
you've waged a war of nerves
but you can't crush the kingdom

can't be what your idols are. can't leave the scar.
I bury your compensation. i ask you please just give us...

5 minutes alone

Artist: Big Head Todd & The Monsters (Wiki LINK)
Album: Another Mayberry
Song: American Boy

Lyrics: (LINK to hear some of the song)

He's an American boy with his hair combed back
He's gonna buy himself a nice new car
He's gonna marry one of them pretty cookin' wives
and die alone in a big old house
Oh, he was an American boy

He's gonna get a job that pays real well
Go on vacation every year
Have a fine young boy for the N.F.L.
All without having to shed a tear.
Oh, he was an American boy

Yeah, the American boy is older now
He's been shortened by the weight on his back
He finally takes a look around to see.
There were a lot of other things that he could have been.
Oh, he was an American boy.

Why: I used to listen to this song a lot as I was growing up... Just meant a lot to me for a variety of reasons... At the time I never thought any of the lyrics would apply to me, but now.... 15 years later... the vast majority of the Lyrics DO apply to my life.

Artist: GWAR
Album: RagNaRok
Song: Whargoul

Lyrics:

I'm the ******* Whargoul, I'm the ghost of Minas Morgul
I destroyed your life, I ***** your wife
I am Whargoul, I am uncool, I am Whargoul
I've been many faces, been many names
Known love and hate until they were the same
I bring ruin, I am Whargoul, am I human?
They think that they know what I know
They think they know what's best
I think that's why they killed me, that's why I joined the SS
In revenge for Malmedy, they used a blowtorch on me
Nice try, Whargoul cannot die
You blow off my arm I laugh at the pain
And after the battle I feast on the slain
Seeking my creator, taking from the strong
Yes, you see I need your strength, so I can kill the wrong
Seeking my creator, taking from the weak
Yes, you see I need you, so I can snuff the meek
Savor the silence - Whargoul
Addicted to violence
They used a bulldozer, to run my *** over
Arms to the sky, 40,000 died, but I survived
I don't care what flag that I choose, I don't care if I win or lose
I don't care if you have to die, just fight without a side, never say die!
Stalingrad 42, became a living tomb
Yes, human souls
Profit for the prophet and the creatures who control
46 I got away, from the horrid thing that I did at Malmedy
And though I gained strength at the time
Still they call for vengeance for the hatred of my crime
Then I tried to drink myself to death
40 years went by, and drunken I was left
And drunk I was when they caught me
Gagged and bagged was right where they got me
Taped to a chair feeling sore
Knowing all the answers to the question I ignore
They burned off my face with a propane torch
Then they blew up my porch
Then I fought against the USA, trapped in a trench till the bulldozers came
Changed sides, and flew the bloody warthog
Highway of death and the day of the dog
And once again, I died alive, sent home in a box but somehow I survived
Maybe you've got my face, I'm the demon of war

For some reason, in a creepy/disturbing kind of way, I feel as if this was me in a past-life.. it also reminds me of the person I really am, but choose not to be for obvious reasons. I know this is twisted sounding, but yeah... Years of pent up anger will do that to you.. I also don't like the human race as a general species.. It's the only living thing that kills because it can.. You don't see a wolf.. Or a bear kill because it can.. It kills because it has to.. It's called natural selection.. If you call human beings polluting the Earth, killing each other and this planet, natural selection, then you're even more twisted than I am.

Oh... punkr0x0r that is such a nice song... If only I would have known about it before my wedding...

Ummm.... well.... ooooh... nevermind

;P;P;P

"Let the Drummer Kick" by Citizen Cope
*I only posted the last part of the song.*

Relations (Apollo had to break 'em)
Creation (A gift, a blessing)
Incarceration (What keeps you down)
Determination (What gets you out)
Equation (When they said you could make it)
Humiliation (What you feel when they say it)
Reincarnation (N-A-V)
Situation (Why we've got to sing)
Elation (Let the drummer kick, so many in need)
Identification (Gives you the right to shoot)
Retaliation (What would it do)
Education (Gives you the right to choose)
Inspiration (Is what pulls you through)
No substitution (No subsitute)
Non-inclusion (You've got to bust through)
Drug infusion (For the chosen few)
Mass confusion (When they say that they died for you)
Solution (It can take a hold of you)
Conclusion
Inspiration (Is what pulls you through)

Let the drummer kick (Inspiration)
Let the drummer kick that (Inspiration)

This would have to be one of my personal favorites. This song came out when I was in high school, before I started playing drums. Lets just say, its the story of my adolescent angst life.

Hmm... this is a tough one! I have lots of songs that mean different things to me, sometimes even if I don't like a song to begin with I'll grow to love it because it reminds me of a certain person or moment in my life.

I guess the one that means the most to me is Ninedays - Wannabe. It was the song that I chose to have played at my Fiancee's funeral just over 2 years ago, along with his favourite song which is Goo Goo Dolls - Slide.

NineDays - Wannabe

To watch the leaves grow on the trees with you
Is out of question
I walk into this summer all alone
The usual session
You feel your instinct then you act
But was it your intention?
To leave me down and broken
Now you've ended our ascension

I still can feel the beach sand in my shoes
Remember when?
We talked along the ocean's song
'Til blue from black fade in
But that was then I learned to live
Without you far within
I ask you why you're back to try
To let me lose again

You brought me here
You wet my taste
You disappear
Without a trace
It wasn't me who made the call

'Cause now I wanna be
Where you sleep
Where you laugh
Where you breathe
And I hate to say
Still I swear
Brown your eyes
Gone away

Should I feel some closure
I deserve if that at least
And would you be so kind to show
Reasons for your release
You woke me up from a distant past
I left behind complete
The message that you sent that night
Now falls to bittersweet

Or was it me?
My honesty
You fail to show
I never know
It wasn't me who made the call

'Cause now I wanna be
Where you sleep
Where you laugh
Where you breathe
And I hate to say
Still I swear
Brown your eyes
Gone away

Goo Goo Dolls - Slide

Could you whisper in my ear
The things you wanna feel
I'll give you anything
To feel it comin'

Do you wake up on your own
And wonder where you are
You live with all your faults

I wanna wake up where you are
I won't say anything at all
So why don't you slide

Yeah we're gonna let it, slide

Don't you love the life you killed
The priest is on the phone
Your father hit the wall
Your ma disowned you

Don't suppose I'll ever know
What it means to be a man
Something I can't change
I'll live around it

And I'll do anything you ever
Dreamed to be complete
Little pieces of the nothing that fall
May put your arms around me
What you feel is what you are
And what you are is beautiful
May do you wanna get married
Or run away


Both songs I can't really bring myself to listen to yet, but the lyrics are still nice to read.

great stuff guys.

Flic (thanks for adhearing to my posting suggestions btw ), that's incredibly touching.

BALCONY BEACH
T. Shimura (Sole Sides)

Chorus: Oooo baby
We can make it happen
Make it through baby
All we need to do is begin rejuvenating
Keep it all in focus and pursue it faithfully
Do it patiently
Just the way the sea's been this evening
I came out at eight, was leaning on the railing
I kept hearing the waves crashin' beneath me
Back and forth
They just rephrased what they were saying
Over and over, doing that repeatedly
They'd crash and come back
Its just a constant thing
Every time they'd back out to sea
Its like they'd draw just a little more out of me
A lot of images and feelings
Just a limitless release
And I began to reminisce freely
It was a cinema
Featuring me and a cast of emotions
That demanded my attention immediately
I had previously put them on hold
On the back burner since earlier
I didn't want to deal with it
At that time I felt like other things were pertinent
Now I see its permanent unless I get real with it
And it ain't that I don't love to tussle
Especially mentally
'Cause I generally do win
Might not win at first, but definitely eventually
'Cause I ain't never not been a shoe-in since birth
But now, this is special though
See, this is beyond my threshold
I'm accustomed to just a conventional struggle
With two opponents
Only here the tussle's between you and the truth
So ultimately I'm gonna lose
Actually I gain though
I gotta be honest with myself, or else
I impede my personal progress
I think it's better to be depressed for a minute
Admit it, and get re-oriented
Instead of being a bitter cynic isn't it?
Chorus
I'm getting older
Everybody around me acts all sober
Lookin' poker faced
I started losing hair at the corners
Matter-of-fact, I looked up top
That whole border's jacked
Nobody's gonna chauffeur me anymore
Whatever this is, we all go through it I guess
It's just awkward
I'm not a hundred percent comfortable with
The rate that everything's developing at
It's just a little overwhelming at times
I'm dealing with hella **** to process
It's new data daily
There's really no preparing for this thing
Or, maybe it's mainly just me acting strangely
Just me facing the challenge
I doubt it though
'Cause I met thousands of people
Seen something similar in their faces
It's like the outlook is changing
I think it's called bein' a man in the making
It's burnt, I like pralines now
Long walks solo, where I can sort my thoughts out
Just what I've been taught to date
It doesn't gel well with the way that I've been feeling these days
That's coming from a ton of angles, hella places
I'm really not trying to make a political statement
But just in terms of internally inside
I'm at an interval in life where it's a turbulent time
And I could pretend that it's all good
And that I shouldn't put so much on it
Let it sit and just settle itself
Stop acting all sobby and sentimental
Besides everything's perfectly fine
But here I am on this balcony
With my thoughts just traveling randomly on some tangent And in the back of my mind
I keep hearing this lady
Her voice is beautiful, she keeps saying
Mooo baby
We can make it happen
Make it through baby
All we need to do is begin rejuvenating
Keep it all in focus and pursue it faithfully
Do it patiently

The way this guy speaks his words they flow and sound like the way drunken kung fu looks...sloppy yet intentional, drivel yet extremely poignant, I dunno, the way it sounds makes the words even better in my opinion. This track makes me consider the rate at which things have changed inside myself and how I've responded to the lesson that I've been fortunate to experience. Good tune

The Rain King (Counting Crows)

When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black winged bird
I think of flying down into a sea of pens and feathers
And all other instruments of faith and sex and God in the belly of a
black winged bird.
Don't try to feed me
I've been here before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying I've been thinking
And I am the Rain King
And I said mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone?
I can't go outside
I'm scared I might not make it home
I'm alive, I'm alive but I'm sinking in
If there's anyone at home at your place, darling
Why don't you invite me in?
Don't try to bleed me
Cause I've been there before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been lying, I've been sinking
And I am the Rain King
Hey, I only want the same as anyone
Henderson is waiting for the sun
Oh, it seems night endlessly begins and ends
After all the dreaming I come home again...
When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of dying
Lay me down in a field of flame and heather
Render up my body into the burning heart of God in the belly of a
black-winged bird
Don't try to bleed me
Cause I've been here before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been dying, I've been drinking
And I am the Rain King

why? well, i deserve a little more, so don't try to bleed me, i been there before, after all i'm the rain king...

so for those of you who haven't told us why these songs are important to you specifically, why do you think they are?

(see edit)

;P

too short

here's another...


artist: ben folds
song: still fighting it



good morning, son.
i am a bird
wearing a brown polyester shirt
you want a coke?
maybe some fries?
the roast beef combo's only $9.95
it's okay, you don't have to pay
i've got all the change

everybody knows
it hurts to grow up
and everybody does
it's so weird to be back here
let me tell you what
the years go on and
we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
and you're so much like me
i'm sorry

good morning, son
in twenty years from now
maybe we'll both sit down and have a few beers
and i can tell you 'bout today
and how i picked you up and everything changed
it was pain
sunny days and rain
i knew you'd feel the same things

everybody knows
it sucks to grow up
and everybody does
it's so weird to be back here.
let me tell you what
the years go on and
we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
you'll try and try and one day you'll fly
away from me

good morning, son
i am a bird

it was pain
sunny days and rain
i knew you'd feel the same things

everybody knows
it hurts to grow up
and everybody does
it's so weird to be back here.
let me tell you what
the years go on and
we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it
oh, we're still fighting it, we're still fighting it

and you're so much like me
i'm sorry


this one is chronologically a little past the first one i posted. it's still the father son thing, just with more realization that this little boy is just so much like his old man, and how that may not be the best thing ("and you're so much like me - i'm sorry"). but also knowing he'll see a lot of the same ups and downs and pains of growing up, and having the ultimate empathy for him. there's so much nuance and meaning to the song and how it relates to my relationship with my son, but that's the really big stuff there.

Song: He Didn't Have To Be
Artist: Brad Paisley
Album: Who Needs Pictures

Lyrics:
When a single mom goes out on a date with somebody new
It always winds up feeling more like a job interview
My momma used to wonder if she'd ever meet someone
Who wouldn't find out about me and then turn around and run

I met the man I call my dad when I was five years old
He took my mom out to a movie and for once I got to go
A few months later I remember lying there in bed
I overheard him pop the question and prayed that she'd say yes

And then all of a sudden
Oh, it seemed so strange to me
How we went from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be

I met the girl that's now my wife about three years ago
We had the perfect marriage but we wanted somethin' more
Now here I stand surrounded by our family and friends
Crowded 'round the nursery window as they bring the baby in

And now all of a sudden
It seemed so strange to me
How we've gone from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' through the glass I think about the man
That's standin' next to me
And I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be

Lookin' back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be

Yeah, I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Because he didn't have to be
You know he didn't have to be

Why: When I was younger, about 4 maybe, my parents got a divorce and my "dad (if thats what you call him, more like conciever)" said he wanted nothing to do with me or my mom anymore. Anyway, later that year or the next (i was young, dont know exact details) my mom met my real Dad and they ended up getting married and he adopted me so i would have his and my mom's last name. Everytime i hear this song it makes me think of him and how much he has done to make my life amazing. If he ever gets on (highly doubtful) to read this, im saying thanks once more...

that's really nice ste6168. went through a very similar experience. also had the having a son moment, and knowing i could never do what my biological father did (though he did stick around, he was pretty inaccessible).

ste6168, that's pretty nice. ^_^

Filter: Hey Man, Nice Shot

This song reflects my dark side. Sometimes I have to look closely at that dark side. Ha. Many times a day I look at it. Maybe looking gets me through the day.

For those who know the origin of the song, yes I've seen what spawned this song, more than once.

I wish I would've met you
now it's a little late.
what you could've taught me
I could've saved some face
they think that your early ending
was all wrong
for the most part they're right
but look how they all got strong
that's why I say hey man nice shot
what a good shot man.
that's why I say hey man nice shot
what a good shot man.

a man
has gun
hey man
have fun
nice shot

now that the smoke's gone
and the air is all clear
those who were right there
got a new kind of fear
you'd fight and you were right
but they were just too strong
they'd stick it in your face
and let you smell what they consider wrong.
that's why I say hey man nice shot
what a good shot man.
that's why I say hey man nice shot
what a good shot man.

a man
has gun
hey man
have fun
nice shot,

a man
has gun
hey man
have fun
oh nice shot man
oh nice shot man

I wish I would've met you
I wish I would've met you oh
I wish I would've met you
I wish I would've met you
I'd say
nice shot.