Ambiguous song lyrics

[motely36]

"I can see clearly now the rain is gone" Does that mean 'I can clearly see that the rain is gone' or 'Now that the rain is gone, I can see clearly'?

Also

"She's dancing like she's never danced before" Is it 'She's dancing better than she ever has' or 'She's dancing as if she has never danced before'?

Things that make me go hhmmmm...

Add your own if you wish.

[av8rdave]

1. Can't remember who did the 80s song "Don't Pay the Ferryman"

Was he saying, "Don't pay the ferryman," or "Don't pay the fairy, man."

[Rhythm]

2. .

:eyeroll:

'Scuse me while i kiss this guy.

[Left Is Write]

4. That was Chris De Burgh, he of "Lady in Red" fame.

[Bake]

5. "Fame" might be a bit of an overstatement.

Just sayin' ...

Bake

[Left Is Write]

9. Well, Lady In Red was pretty famous.

After all, they DID use it in a frozen dinner commercial. :P

[Bake]

11. Yeah, but I never knew who did it ... until now.

:P

Bake

[Left Is Write]

16. Well, now you do.

Just my little part in the education of America.

:patriot:

[Bucky]

3. "Hold on to the night. Hold on to the mammaries!" -- sounds like boundary issues

Or in that old rock croony song from the 70s "Torn Between Two Lovers," there's this line where Mary Macgregor explains/sings "There's just this empty place inside of me that only he can fill." Ladies, if you're gonna cheat on your fella, cheat on him... but for criminy's sake don't ever tell a man that!

[MrCoffee]

6. Should I stay or should I go?

I have no idea.

[HopeHoops]

7. "Mama's got a squeeze box. Daddy never sleeps at night!"

Um, yeah, about an accordion. "It goes in, and out, and in, and out, and in, and out, and in, and out. Playin' all night. And the music's allllll-right. Mama's got a squeeze box. DAAAADDY NEVER SLEEPS AT NIGHT!"

[CreekDog]

18. I must say that whole song is a double entendre

That said, I love Townsend's playing in it. He's pretty good at sounding rockabilly/country or whatever that sound is.

[skygazer]

8. She's always a woman to me

I don't know - I could go in many directions with that one.

[BeachBaby]

10. "But I swear that I don't have a gun".

Kurt Cobain. He fucking shot himself. Maybe that's not ambiguous, but rather he just plain lied.

[darkstar]

12. "I'm glad I'm a man and so is Lola"

intentionally so, I believe

[mcctatas]

13. She’ll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain.

who's doing the dancing? :shrug:

[darkstar]

14. good one....

:hi:

[motely36]

19. that is ambiguous

although I had to read it twice :)

[MAGICBULLET]

15. Happiness is a Warm Gun

Bang Bang Shoot Shoot

When I hold you in my arm and I feel my finger on your trigger
I know nobody can do me no harm
Because!

I love this song, it's like the perfect musical tryptich starting off mellow with an eerie rhythm, switching to a blues-like psychadelic guitar style (I need a fix...mother superior) and then the harmony leading to the end.


<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE2Vdcv9Q_o>

[SoxFan]

17. WTF is this?

From the back of my neck, oh oh oh
Wired a glass jaw, oh oh
Plantation burning your boat is coming in
Strum your jew's-harp, you're reeking gin

Running water in a sinking boat
Going under but they've got your goat
Burning down - my hands are tied my feet are bound
Burning down - can't you see that my hands are bound

[jobycom]

20. Dwight Yoakum--I'm a thousand miles from nowhere.

[njdemocrat106]

21. Sorry for the long kick, but what about "King of the Road"?

"I'm a man of means, by no means - King of the Road"

Is Roger Miller "King of the Road" because he's "a man of means, by no means", or it he a man of means, but by no means is he a "King of the Road?"