Decoding song lyrics

[Guest ii]

Okay, I thought this could go under 'poetry', but I didn't a section for it (I could have been just blind, wouldn't be the first time today. And if we don't, how about a section "poetry and plays" or something like that?) so here it is. For a few days now I've been stuck listening to this one song on repeat and I just wondered what you all would think of the lyrics? What does it mean? What's the story? It's very clear on some parts, but others are not quite so self-evident, at least to me. I'd love to hear how you interpret the lyrics. Because, quite frankly, I don't know why I'm stuck on this song!

 

 

If you want a lover

I'll do anything you ask me to

And if you want another kind of love

I'll wear a mask for you

If you want a partner

Take my hand

Or if you want to strike me down in anger

Here I stand

I'm your man

 

If you want a boxer

I will step into the ring for you

And if you want a doctor

I'll examine every inch of you

If you want a driver

Climb inside

Or if you want to take me for a ride

You know you can

I'm your man

 

Ah, the moon's too bright

The chain's too tight

The beast wont go to sleep

I've been running through these promises to you

That I made and I could not keep

Ah but a man never got a woman back

Not by begging on his knees

Or I'd crawl to you baby

And I'd fall at your feet

And I'd howl at your beauty

Like a dog in heat

And I'd claw at your heart

And I'd tear at your sheet

I'd say please, please

I'm your man

 

And if you've got to sleep

A moment on the road

I will steer for you

And if you want to work the street alone

I'll disappear for you

If you want a father for your child

Or only want to walk with me a while

Across the sand

I'm your man

 

(I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen)

[poppy]

To me this is about a guy who has cheated or broken up with his girlfriend and now is prepared to do almost anything or be anything she wants, to get her back. What do you think?

 

Leonard Cohen writes some very interesting lyrics. I've loved his music since I was a young teenager and play quite a few of his songs on my guitar. A lot of his lyrics are quite obscure.

 

ii I think this is an excellent idea, I come across heaps of lyrics that bewilder me and would love to hear people's views on them.

Edited October 19, 2008 by poppy

[Guest ii]

Okay, here I go. As I said, I've been stuck on this song, listening to it on repeat for few days now, so I've given it a lot of interpretations. But if I approach it strictly as a poem, and try to shut down my personal feelings about it and how I personally relate to the lyrics or the interpretation, this is what I've got.

 

It's about a guy who screwed up*. And as you said, Poppy, he's willing to do anything, be anything, if the girl takes her back. "If you want a father to your child / Or you only want to walk with me a while" he's happy to take what ever she can give her, whether it's the rest of their lives playing happy families or just a short moment walking on the beach.

 

The chorus bit confuses me. He cannot sleep ("The moon's too bright"). Why moon, why not Sun? Because he's up at night. "The chain's too tight". Something's choking him, making him feel anxious and tied up. Love? Panic caused by love? Does he feel tied down to her? The "chain" makes it rather negative, but is he accusing her or himself? And the negativity continues with "The beast won't go to sleep". It love the beast? Is he?

 

The way I see it the 'beast' is his love for her, his passion. He can't sleep because he's going over and over in his head of the ways he did wrong by her. But he can't walk away either. The 'chain', the pull for her, the love between them is too strong to let him walk away. So his only hope is to throw himself at her feet and take whatever she can give him.

 

And in the end, as he says, she has no choice. He's her man. He's hers, in the possessive sense, she has him. But also, he's the one for her, he's the right guy. And he's playing that card shamelessly. It doesn't matter what she wants from him, he's the right guy for everything. "I'm your man."

 

That's what I think.

 

And thank you Poppy. I though it would be a good idea too. I always pay attention to the lyrics, and I do believe they're poetry, just like "normal" poetry is. Also, as a friend of mine said, you always see the lyrics, or any poem, through the light of your own life and emotion, which makes any interpretation correct. But also, that way everyone sees it a bit different. So it's nice to hear how others see something. Maybe that helps you to understand why you feel a certain way about a text.

 

So, peope please, post song lyrics or poems that puzzle you!

 

 

*In my life that would have been me. I screwed up. Luckily noone knows about it yet.