Songs of the Day #35
Sep. 9th, 2007 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urgencytobleedSongs of the Day!
So, I've been listening to my music collection on shuffle a lot lately which leads me to rediscover songs that I love but haven't listened to in a long time. Today, I give you two of these songs - they're both very high on my list of all-time favorites by anyone ever and they also both happen to be very depressing, which seems to be a theme among songs I adore. Believe me, if you haven't heard these, you need to fix that right now.
The Dresden Dolls - Thirty Whacks
Thirty licks with a belt - same old tricks on myself
And I wonder if everyone else is this way
A succession of tests, a triumphant success
Each time I'm still intact at the end of the day
Thirty drops in a glass - keep my temper and pass
With my breath held, you bastards, you lucked out again
It's not really so bad, there's still mom, there's still
Damage to do before they wrest the axe from my hands
It's no mystery: you should obviously go
Before I break everything
You're always telling me that you're dying to know
But you're not really listening
How do I manage to station myself in harm's way
And only get hit with a ticket for loitering
That I have no way to pay - and no strength to argue
My personal demons can scheme with professional flair
Oh god, they're after me
If I could shut them up just for a second, I swear
I could stop this catastrophe
Thirty-day guarantee
But they can't have meant me
After all, I was born to a childproof world
No sharp corners or glass,
Small objects or plastic bags
Please, these are death to a delicate girl
It's no mystery: you should obviously know
That I'll destroy everything
So don't go telling me that you're dying to know
'Cause you'll get what you're asking for
And I still manage to station myself in harm's way
And only get hit with a ticket for loitering
Stating I came the wrong day
Now all the demons are screaming, "This just isn't fair"
I've left a secret kept
If I could shut them up just for a second, I swear
It'd look like an accident
I could be decent yet,
Be magnificent
I could be president
And I wonder if everyone else is this way
A succession of tests, a triumphant success
Each time I'm still intact at the end of the day
Thirty drops in a glass - keep my temper and pass
With my breath held, you bastards, you lucked out again
It's not really so bad, there's still mom, there's still
Damage to do before they wrest the axe from my hands
It's no mystery: you should obviously go
Before I break everything
You're always telling me that you're dying to know
But you're not really listening
How do I manage to station myself in harm's way
And only get hit with a ticket for loitering
That I have no way to pay - and no strength to argue
My personal demons can scheme with professional flair
Oh god, they're after me
If I could shut them up just for a second, I swear
I could stop this catastrophe
Thirty-day guarantee
But they can't have meant me
After all, I was born to a childproof world
No sharp corners or glass,
Small objects or plastic bags
Please, these are death to a delicate girl
It's no mystery: you should obviously know
That I'll destroy everything
So don't go telling me that you're dying to know
'Cause you'll get what you're asking for
And I still manage to station myself in harm's way
And only get hit with a ticket for loitering
Stating I came the wrong day
Now all the demons are screaming, "This just isn't fair"
I've left a secret kept
If I could shut them up just for a second, I swear
It'd look like an accident
I could be decent yet,
Be magnificent
I could be president
This is probably my favorite Dolls song, if I was forced to choose, because I relate to the feeling it portrays extremely well. Amanda is a stellar lyricist and it often feels like she's writing only for me, to the point of being a bit scary at times. Especially the "thirty-day guarantee" verse gets to me and if I'm not already crying by that point, I will be once I hear it. It's just a gorgeous song, and probably a bit overlooked by many Dolls fans. The build-up at the end is also perfect - Amanda wailing over the drums and piano assault is so chilling and unnerving.
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Fiona Apple - Never Is a Promise
Fiona Apple - Never Is a Promise
You'll never see - the courage I know
Its colors' richness won't appear within your view
I'll never glow - the way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgements made on you
But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
I understand what I am still too proud to mention - to you
You'll say you understand, but you don't understand
You'll say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie
You'll never touch - these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
You'll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown - to you
You'll say, "Don't fear your dreams, it's easier than it seems"
You'll say you'd never let me fall from hopes so high
But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie
You'll never live this life that I live
I'll never live the life that wakes me in the night
You'll never hear the message I give
You'll say it looks as though I might give up this fight
But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
I realize what I am now too smart to mention - to you
You'll say you understand, you'll never understand
I'll say I'll never wake up knowing how or why
I don't know what to believe in, you don't know who I am
You'll say I need appeasing when I start to cry
But never is a promise and I'll never need a lie
Its colors' richness won't appear within your view
I'll never glow - the way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgements made on you
But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
I understand what I am still too proud to mention - to you
You'll say you understand, but you don't understand
You'll say you'd never give up seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie
You'll never touch - these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
You'll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown - to you
You'll say, "Don't fear your dreams, it's easier than it seems"
You'll say you'd never let me fall from hopes so high
But never is a promise and you can't afford to lie
You'll never live this life that I live
I'll never live the life that wakes me in the night
You'll never hear the message I give
You'll say it looks as though I might give up this fight
But as the scenery grows, I see in different lights
The shades and shadows undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch; I see from greater heights
I realize what I am now too smart to mention - to you
You'll say you understand, you'll never understand
I'll say I'll never wake up knowing how or why
I don't know what to believe in, you don't know who I am
You'll say I need appeasing when I start to cry
But never is a promise and I'll never need a lie
Every single time I hear this song, even though I've listened to it so many times by now, it completely blows me away. Everything about it is perfection. Fiona is an above-average pianist, but this is one of the few songs where she's truly impressed me with her skills; the melody is so driving and moving and the string arrangement also adds a lot. I would probably still love it if it was only an instrumental piece. However, the lyrics and vocal performance really make it special. I personally think she is a genius lyrically and this song is no exception. It's even more mindblowing when you add in the fact that she was only a teenager when she wrote these. Her voice is so unique, as well. She doesn't use her really high register much which makes it even more affecting when she does - especially that extremely high, shaky note at the end makes me shiver and the quiet but intense anger behind some of the lines. I could honestly go on about its amazingness forever and still not feel like I've described it well enough.
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