Reflecting on other songs...

Holocene- Bon Iver

I quite liked this song. I’m still not completely sure I understand the lyrics, but I like the line ‘and at one I knew, I was not magnificent’, and it’s a nice song nonetheless (I tend to pay more attention to the music rather than the lyrics, anyway).

For Good- Wicked

I saw this musical a few years ago, so I already knew what it was about- two girls/women saying an optimistic goodbye, singing that they’ve been ‘changed for the better’ for having known the other

Sweet Disposition- The Temper Trap

This song may be about not giving up, living in the moments and also sharing it with someone else. Again however, I think I prefer the music to the lyrics, though I do like the line ‘won’t stop to surrender’.

Iris- Goo Goo Dolls

I quite like this song. It was written for the movie ‘City of Angels’, about an angel who falls in love with a human and then gives up his life as an angel so that he could be with her. I can kind of see in places how the lyrics relate- but most of it is still a mystery to me.

Braille- Regina Spektor

This song was about a woman whose stretch marks were like braille in that they told the story of her life- being pregnant young to a young father who didn’t want to keep the baby so he left, and then growing up poor and miserable. The song seems to be questioning whether it was worth it.

O’ sister- City and Colour

This song seemed to be pretty much the singer talking about his sister (or someone else, could have been a friend etc. but he refers to them as sister) who is facing a hard period of time. He reflects on how she used to be so strong and seems to think she can make it through it, but she really seems to be struggling. To me, he almost seemed to be asking, ‘what happened? What changed?’

A Whole New World (from Aladdin) 

I really cannot stand this song, possibly because I’ve heard it much too many times but I don’t think I ever really liked it. I’ve never watched ‘Aladdin’ from start to finish, and although I like a movie here and there, I’m not a big fan of Disney.

Fond Farewell- Elliott Smith

This song seemed to be quite personal for the singer- it was unsurprising to hear that he had faced depression, the song being about how he doesn’t understand how his life turned out, the use of the word ‘friend’ being metaphorical for his own life.

Landslide- Fleetwood Mac

I’ve never heard this version of this song before (I didn’t realise the original was by Fleetwood Mac) but I have heard the song before and I suppose it’s really about how things change and life can become like a landslide- things will bring you down.