The World of Goo Boards


    
      
        The World of Goo Boards 
        (http://www.musicfanclubs.org/cgi-bin/ggd/YaBB.cgi)
      

        Goo Goo Dolls >> Goo Goo Dolls >> Which song has the most meaning?
        
(Message started by: RogueUK on Jan 16^th, 2005, 1:25am)

Title: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by RogueUK on Jan 16^th, 2005, 1:25am

This thread does what it says on the tin ;)

Right, I�ve always found that, for a lot of GGD fans, there is a real emotional connection with the songs. We don�t just LISTEN to Goo. We think about it. We connect with it. And so I�m starting this thread, because I�m really interested to read everyone�s responses. I�d like people to post which song has the most meaning for them, and the reasons why. A little analysis of the lyrics, giving us your own interpretation, is encouraged too. It�s time to get deep, my Goo brothers and sisters ;)

And since I�m here�I�ll go first. To get the ball rolling.

The song that means the most to me is Up, up, up

Seriously, I find so much meaning in this song, and whenever I feel really down it never fails to cheer me up, to make me feel that maybe there might be some hope of the situation getting better.

Are you listenin' now ?
Are you feelin' that way
Aren't you terrified?
Of wakin' up too tired to try again?

Are you happy now
That you've shut yourself down
Are you paralyzed
By all the nonsense that's gone down

First two verses. Well, I�ve certainly been in situations where I�ve felt �terrified�of waking up too tired to try again.� And I�ve been �Paralyzed�by all the nonsense that�s gone down� more than once in my life. These verses to me just mean utter helplessness�being in a situation that just crushes you. You don�t know what to do, you don�t know how to make it right. You just want to make yourself numb and hope it goes away (Are you happy now that you�ve shut yourself down)

I know you're gonna see these things some day

The song gets more hopeful from this point on� �And it�s up, up up I�m heading for this evening� is obviously about overcoming whatever the problem was, you know, coming through stuff and out the other side, and growing and learning from it, gaining strength from it.

Comin' down ain't the worst part
It only takes a second
To make a change that's gonna last

Great lyrics, just great�Robby�s pointing out that whatever the situation you�re facing, you DO have the power to change it. If you can find it within yourself to just try for a while longer, you can really make a difference and turn your life around. I love it when Robby�s all positive and stuff :)

I hope you're gonna see these things some day
So don't stop lookin' for that light along the way

These two lines might possibly be my very favourite Goo lyrics of all time.

�I hope you�re gonna see these things someday� I always thought this was about looking back after a bad period in your life and seeing things in a different light�with more clarity, and with the gift of hindsight, and maybe realizing it wasn�t so bad after all. Or even realizing that it WAS bad, but looking at the positive things that came from it�looking at what you learned from it, and how it helped you to grow as a person.

�Don�t stop looking for that light along the way� Simply put, never give up hope. There is always something to hope for, and the situation will end. Your problems can�t last forever, and if ya hang on in there things will get better. Look, Robby wouldn�t lie, you guys, so therefore it MUST be true! :D

I think the reason all this means so much to me is because I�ve been through patches in my life where I very nearly gave up all hope. Where I thought my problems where insurmountable. Even times when I didn�t want to be alive anymore. This song says to me that whatever I�m facing, I can get through it, and that out of a bad situation, positive things will happen. You�ve no idea how many times �Don�t stop looking for that light along the way� has utterly managed to change my mood, turn my day around, encourage me to think about possible solutions to a problem, ways to cope and ways to solve it, instead of just feeling helpless and, well, being �paralyzed� as the song says. Just that one line has been an incredibly positive force in my life.

And for that I guess I should thank Mr Takac. :D Because those lyrics have been a real gift to me�

Oh geez, I�m actually getting choked up now. Gonna end this post before I start crying like a baby :p

Well that�s my story. What�s yours?

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by RockStarCowgirl on Jan 16^th, 2005, 8:05am

FOr me, probably "What a Scene" - that's some serious social commentary there..... actually im now in the mood to listen to it.
i will write more about it later, cos i am sleep y as

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by girlnamedgrace on Jan 17^th, 2005, 7:35am

Ok, I'd love to just go home, listen to ALL my goo, take notes, then come back to college and write a big fat essay on which song has the most meaning. But I'm one lazy lady so I'm just gonna go with my gut here and say 'Bulletproof'

For some reason the, I dunno why, but the person John is singing about seems just so cynical and hurt and pissed off at everyone because of whatever happened to them:
Do you listen to yourself
Never live for someone else
Do you like the way you feel
Nothing hurts when no one's real
and all John wants to do is protect that person from all the shit in the world but also let them see and feel all the totally great stuff that can happen too:
I wanna bullet proof your soul
Would you like to lose control
I won't let you fall until you tell me so

That cynical person reminds me of myself at times and and, god, I dunno, by being this big bitchy thing totally distancing yourself and not forming real relationships cuz you might get hurt? it just seems to hurt those who actually care about you even more:
Yeah she wants to tear you down
And she leaves without a sound
It's like falling backwards
Into no one's arms

You're a bullet through my soul
And I'll never let you know
I won't let you fall until you let it go

Then at the end its like John tried to help this person and gave up cuz he thought they were hopeless and then when they really needed him he was like 'yea right' and now he's sorry cuz he's lost that person forever:
Should have listened when you called my name

God, went waaaaaaay to deep into that. I suppose the moral is life IS shit, but its also great and you can't protect yourself from all the crap all the time so you should just, I dunno, stop being soooo scared of not enjoying the moment and live your life.

Well there we go. I feel weird and exposed and vulnerable and stupid now. Thats the first time I've ever thought so deeply about any song. Hope I didn't freak anyone out with my craziness, I'm in a weird place at the moment.

:P ???

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by Sarah on Jan 17^th, 2005, 8:42am

girlnamedgrace, that was so awesome.

Anyway, I think I'm an odd one out here... I don't connect emotionally with any of their songs. That's just not me, y'know?

I just like the way they sound. I love how the words are put together. I just think the way they do everything fits together so nicely, and I just love hearing it.

When I listen to their music I picture it as Johnny or Robby telling a story, telling their own story in some cases. So I'm not really relating to the lyrics, but sitting there letting someone tell me something.

They put words together that just sound... good. But I especially like the lyrics in What A Scene because that's exactly how I feel about the media and such.

I love reading people's interpretations of the lyrics though. It puts a new twist on the song for me. :D

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by babsil30 on Jan 17^th, 2005, 9:14am

Acoustic #3 just nails it for me!

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by RogueUK on Jan 17^th, 2005, 10:37am

on 01/17/05 at 07:35:02, girlnamedgrace wrote:

God, went waaaaaaay to deep into that. I suppose the moral is life IS shit, but its also great and you can't protect yourself from all the crap all the time so you should just, I dunno, stop being soooo scared of not enjoying the moment and live your life.

Well there we go. I feel weird and exposed and vulnerable and stupid now. Thats the first time I've ever thought so deeply about any song. Hope I didn't freak anyone out with my craziness, I'm in a weird place at the moment.

:P ???

Hey there girlnamedgrace...that's exactly how I felt when I posted about Up, Up, Up. I think what made it worse was the fact that Up, Up, Up isn't the type of song I imagine most Goo fans think about much, or assign much meaning to...posting the way I did about it made me feel a little 'weird and exposed and vulnerable' too, so don't worry so much about that, because that makes two of us! But for what it's worth, I found your interpretation of 'Bulletproof' really interesting...and moving too. Thanks for sharing it, and getting into the spirit of the thread :)

I also have this weird, intense emotional response to 'Iris'. And it's not even the lyrics so much as just the music...especially the sort of musical interlude in the middle where the melody just kind of SOARS...hopefully you'll all know which bit I mean when I say that!

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by SassyMay on Jan 17^th, 2005, 11:32am

Yeah I'm with you Babsil Acoustic#3 just describes how crappy my life used to be.
I just love that song.

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by monessarae on Jan 17^th, 2005, 12:05pm

I am going to have to say name.
I have looked for my dad my whole life, and in september found him. Well, lets backtrack, I lived in an orphanage when I was 12-14, and in that time period they came and told me he had passed away. I didn't believe it, and kept looking, I was adopted when I was a sophmore in high school, I am now 24, and just found out that he didn't pass away then, he did, but 4 years ago, not 11. I have 3 brothers that have looked for me for 22 years. Anyway, not to ramble, but this is my special song. The moment did pass me by and I definitly can't turn away. This song has so much feeling for me. Every word of it. When you don't know anything about who you are re-runs do become your history. My dad was a musician his whole life, and the part when it says did you lose yourself somewhere out there, did you get to be a star, really discribes how I sometimes felt angry when looking back on the foster homes and the anger that I admit I felt for being left behind.
Anyway, thats my favorite and most emotional song for me.

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by blessed_by_goo on Jan 17^th, 2005, 6:24pm

Ok I'm gonna do this...I was contemplating not, but here goes... Acoustic #3. To me it symbolizes my parents �(mom & step dad)and how they treated me as a kid and how its resulted my life. They painted up my secrets with the lies they told to me....about my real father. The least they ever gave me was the most I ever knew. And now...I wonder where these dreams go cuz the world gets in my way (cuz I was never taught the proper way to cope) Whats the point in all this screamin no ones listening anyway....no one ever understood my points ( I was just a stupid little kid in their eyes) �My mother loves my stepfather.....cuz at the time she had nowhere to go (and she should've left, but didn't, but I won't go into the why's here).... he moved her up north from down south and she had noone. She wondered where her dreams went cuz the world got in her way...(havin kids) they tried so hard (ya right) to reach me but I'd fallen anyway (presumably in their eyes) And so it contiues ....yada yada yada..... phew there that was theraputic........ In case you all are wondering I broke the vicious circle and now they are the screwed up ones and I came out on top I'm married, 31, with 2 kidz of my own and life is good....so poo on em :redtongue: � and I love when Johnny does this on Music In High Places Live In Alaska it's amazing how much more feeling I get out of it I know I floated the lyrics thru there but was just trying to get the point out quickly. With all that I say Sympathy to you all... Cuz Stanger than your sympathy this is my apology (for having said it all). ........ Its hard to live the life you choose all I wanted.... I swear the lyrics to most of this stuff freaks me out. �and it's so wierd how the lyrics can match things that go on in your life, but can take a total twist and mean something entirely different to someone else.

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by Julie on Jan 19^th, 2005, 1:41pm

My choice would have to be "Name." �That song is so meaningful and haunting, and without a doubt has the best written lyrics of any song I've heard. �Especially the line, "Scars are souvenirs you never lose, the past is never far." �That song gives me the chills every time that I listen to it. �Also, "Acoustic #3" is very haunting and powerful. �Both of those songs were beautifully written and will forever be the two best songs in the world. �As a matter of fact, every single song that John has written has unbelievable meaning and power, but those two seem to really hit a nerve for me. �John has unbelievable talent and I will forever look up to him. �

Title: Re: Which song has the most meaning?
Post by RoadToSalinasGOO on Jan 20^th, 2005, 6:04pm

All Eyes On Me

This song remindes me of myself, and how I interact with other people, and how they interact with me...
..See, I am very shy and a bit antisocial, and I work really hard to not be that way, but I often feel like people are dissapointed in me, for my inability to be social and outgoing. And I have a weird cynical outlook on other people becasue of it... (mind you, I am really friendly and likeable.. but the shyness is horrendous)... This song just remindes me of that.