 Genius Lyrics
|
|
Vampire Weekend – M79
|
|
“M79” features orchestral strings, name-drops whose ability to be understood directly correlate with the number of polo shirts you own (read: preppy), and a hint of surf-rock
|
|
Vampire Weekend – This Life
|
|
“This Life” was released with “Unbearably White” on April 4th, 2019 as the third and final pair of singles before Father Of The Bride was officially released.
In his Soundcheck
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Harmony Hall
|
|
Along with the track “2021,” “Harmony Hall” is the first single released from Vampire Weekend’s fourth album Father of the Bride, their first since 2013.
The song breezes along
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Step
|
|
“Step” is inspired by “Step to My Girl” by Souls of Mischief. Per the band:
“Souls Of Mischief I’ve always loved. I kind of associate them with the first time that I really
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Obvious Bicycle
|
|
“Obvious Bicycle” depicts the life of a man who has lost hope in life while growing, believing he is so small in a vast world, and that he has no importance.
One could see this
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Finger Back
|
|
“Finger Back” is about an Orthodox Jewish girl falling in love with an Arab falafel shop employee, as indicated in the bridge.
In this interview with Face Culture, Ezra Koenig
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Unbelievers
|
|
“Unbelievers” is a ridiculously complex and witty take on where we stand in this world. What do our beliefs say about us? Do our commitments dictate our fate? Religious themes are
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Ya Hey
|
|
“Ya Hey” has a distinct religious tone. The searcher narrative may allude to some personal testimonies from the band members on the press junket promoting this album. After the
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Arrows
|
|
Based on scenes from Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, “Arrows” was apparently too hot for the American release and was only included on the Japanese version of the debut album
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Diane Young
|
|
“Diane Young” seems to be the “fun” song (about death) on Modern Vampires Of The City, an album full of death. The title, “Diane Young”, is a play on words of “dying young.”
You
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Mansard Roof
|
|
“Mansard Roof” was the first single ever released by Vampire Weekend, and as the opening track, sets the tone for the entire album.
A mansard roof is a type of roof typically
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
|
|
“A-Punk” clocks in at just over two minutes, but its awkward, reference-filled narrative, guitar, prep, and diversity with instruments like the chamberlain allow it to be
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Holiday
|
|
“Holiday” similarly begins life as a ska thrash in the mould of The Specials’ Too Much Too Young with nothing more on its mind than hitting the beach before a submerged bed of
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Sympathy
|
|
The flamenco-tinged “Sympathy” is at times loud and crowded, at times quiet and understated, mirroring a world “where alliances are forged over shared resentment”, ending in a fast
|
|
Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur a Contra
|
|
“I Think Ur A Contra” is a look into the inner workings of a man’s mind questioning a failed relationship–including all the doubts, signs (once ignored) indicating an unhappy end
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Don't Lie
|
|
To provide the most Genius-style explanation of the song possible, “Don’t Lie” is a song about not lying. Truthtelling, realkeeping, you could say “Don’t Lie” is also a double
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend (Ft. Steve Lacy) – Sunflower
|
|
“Sunflower” was released alongside “Big Blue” as the third and fourth singles from Vampire Weekend’s album Father of the Bride.
The track features guitarist Steve Lacy from The
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Horchata
|
|
Although “Horchata” isn’t a rap song by any means, its lyrics are reference-y enough and potentially even influenced enough to warrant a comparison. Weirdly, New York Magazine
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Cousins
|
|
“Cousins” features long, complicated guitar riffs and disjointed vocalizations in the background, but it’s still good enough to serve as Contra’s second single and gain critical
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – 2021
|
|
With its melancholic reflection on the passing of time, “2021” is one of six singles from Vampire Weekend’s fourth album Father of the Bride.
The song features a refrain from
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Giant
|
|
“Giant”, the bonus track from Contra, seems to be a token rap track with its mentions to California, Thrasher Magazine, and yachts. However, within the context of the almost-faux
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Unbearably White
|
|
The title “Unbearably White” plays with Vampire Weekend’s reputation as a group of milquetoast Ivy League grads, but the lyrics avoid discussions of race or privilege to focus on a
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Hudson
|
|
“Hudson” is drawn from a poem Ezra Koenig once wrote about Henry Hudson. The Hudson River looms large over New Jersey and Westchester County, New York as the path into the city’s
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
|
|
“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” is a weird class-parable type song, and the fourth track on Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut.
Remember when people used to call Vampire Weekend’s style
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Worship You
|
|
“Worship You” is a direct message to God. Although the lyrics are hard to understand with Ezra’s fast-paced vocals, it’s clear to see while reading them it’s an affirmation and
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend (Ft. Danielle Haim) – We Belong Together
|
|
“We Belong Together” is the third and final Danielle Haim/Ezra duet on Father of the Bride. Koenig set out to write a simple love song, and described it as the “most wholesome
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Run
|
|
“Run” is essentially Vampire Weekend’s take on the themes of Drake’s “Over” (“I know way too many people here that I didn’t know last year–who the fuck are y'all?!”), which may be
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Hannah Hunt
|
|
“Hannah Hunt”, according to Ezra Koenig’s interview with Carrie Battan of Pitchfork, is “named after a girl the singer sat next to in a Buddhism class in college (who also happens
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Ladies of Cambridge
|
|
“Ladies Of Cambridge” is based off of E.E. Cummings 1922 sonnet, the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls, which negates the idea of privileged women living an insular life
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Stranger
|
|
Speaking to Pitchfork, Koenig said
With a song like “Stranger,” even the name of it compared to “Oxford Comma” or “Mansard Roof”—it’s inexpensive. No expensive words. I still
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Taxi Cab
|
|
“Taxi Cab” deals with the darker side of a relationship that Ezra was slowly exposed to (even as their affection deepened) before the inevitable consequences caught up with the
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Rich Man
|
|
Rich Man is a tongue-in-cheek ditty built off a sample from “Please Go Easy With Me” by Sierra Leone guitarist S.E. Rogie.
The track plays as both a touching love song and a
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Walcott
|
|
“Walcott” is the named after the main character in Ezra Koenig’s college attempt at an East Coast version of The Lost Boys entitled Vampire Weekend. Sound familiar?
The name
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Campus
|
|
Rostam Batmanglij, the primary writer of the song, based “Campus” on “Cruel Professor,” a short story in Ezra Koenig’s collection Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa from his senior honors
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Bambina
|
|
Another track off Father of the Bride that covers religion, the upbeat “Bambina” describes an old chant that translates to
bye, bye, baby
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Big Blue
|
|
“Big Blue” was released alongside “Sunflower” in the second of three early two song releases for Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride. It talks about the emotion felt when around
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – White Sky
|
|
Synth foam, perky digital rhythms, joyful whoops and African-flavored guitars…“White Sky” is the sound of a young band discovering how much is possible. Or just a song.
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – My Mistake
|
|
[Verse 1] / Skin under sun / Summer breeze, summer break / Oh, I was young then / Hadn't made my mistake / Unaware of the fall / Unaware of my fate / There was peace in the valley
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend (Ft. Danielle Haim) – Hold You Now
|
|
“Hold You Now” describes the intensity of a promising but unstable relationship and the love shared between two people. It is Vampire Weekend’s first collaboration with HAIM member
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Everlasting Arms
|
|
“Everlasting Arms” is a riff on the hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”, which is covered by artists from multiple genres. On Grantland, Steven Hyden pointed out the inclusion
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – How Long?
|
|
[Verse 1] / Tough choice? Don't make me laugh / My life's a joke, your life's a gas / You broke my heart at midnight mass / Now I'm the ghost of Christmas past / The only choice
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Jerusalem, New York, Berlin
|
|
“Jerusalem, New York, Berlin,” references three cities that are important to world history, but are especially important to Jewish identity. Jerusalem is the holiest city in
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – Bryn
|
|
“Bryn” is one of the earliest VW songs. It begun at the end of Ezra Koenig and Rostam Batmanglij’s freshman year at Columbia (they formed the band senior year)
The song is about
|
|
|
Vampire Weekend – California English
|
|
Offering keen commentary on snobbish east coast attitudes, “California English” stands out for being one of the most bright, jittery, and hyper songs on an album full of them.
It
|
