Some of the most durable love songs were not born out of love at all. They were born out of a request. A film studio needs something for a weddingContinue readingThe Meaning of “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri
Song Meanings
The Meaning of “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles
Elvis Presley died in August 1977, and then he began his real career. In the years that followed he became a national argument, a saint for some and a scandalContinue readingThe Meaning of “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles
The Meaning of “Mockingbird” by Eminem
By 2004, Eminem had spent half a decade as the most dangerous voice in American pop, a cartoon menace with a real grudge, a man who could rhyme about anythingContinue readingThe Meaning of “Mockingbird” by Eminem
The Meaning of “Rooster” by Alice in Chains
America never finished the Vietnam War. It only moved the fighting indoors, into kitchens and garages and the long silences of fathers who came home and did not talk. ByContinue readingThe Meaning of “Rooster” by Alice in Chains
The Meaning of “Raindance” by Dave (featuring Tems)
Dave has never been a rapper who chases a hit. His reputation rests on gravity, on records that read like diary entries written by a man who has thought tooContinue readingThe Meaning of “Raindance” by Dave (featuring Tems)
The Meaning of “Your Universe” by Rico Blanco
For thirteen years, Rico Blanco was the brain inside the most important rock band in the Philippines. Then, in 2007, he left Rivermaya, and the question hanging over Manila wasContinue readingThe Meaning of “Your Universe” by Rico Blanco
The Meaning of “How to Save a Life” by The Fray
Some songs arrive as consolation and some arrive as accusation. “How to Save a Life” arrives as both, which may be why it has never quite gone away. The titleContinue readingThe Meaning of “How to Save a Life” by The Fray
The Meaning of “It Might Be You” by Stephen Bishop
Pop critics have never known quite what to do with soft rock, so they mostly ignore it, which is a shame, because soft rock is where a great many peopleContinue readingThe Meaning of “It Might Be You” by Stephen Bishop
The Meaning of “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star
In the autumn of 1993, the loudest thing you could be was angry. Seattle had taught the whole country how to scream properly, and the radio was full of flannel,Continue readingThe Meaning of “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star
The Meaning of “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits
In the summer of 1985, MTV was four years old and already convinced it had invented the modern world. Then a band of tired-looking Englishmen, fronted by a guitarist whoContinue readingThe Meaning of “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits