 Genius Meanings
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St. Vincent – Cruel
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Cruel to be kind.
That’s how Annie Clark described the core theme of Strange Mercy. In the single “Cruel”, the former is explored as she details the subtle cruelties society
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Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer
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“Cruel Summer” narrates the fragility and uncertainty at the beginning of Taylor’s relationship with Joe Alwyn. The two met officially at the Met Gala in May 2016, although she was
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St. Vincent – Cheerleader
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In “Cheerleader,” Clark reclaims her dignity and self-worth against those she felt she had to uproot her lifestyle for.
The idea of being a cheerleader denounces Clark’s
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St. Vincent – Down
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[Verse 1] / You've hit me one time / Imagine my surprise / When you hit me two times / You got yourself a fight / I was a patsy / You were a creep from the cheap seats / Thinking
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Bon Iver & St. Vincent – Rosyln
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“Rosyln” a melancholic ballad by the indie folk band Bon Iver and rock pioneer St. Vincent. The collaboration itself was used in the second movie of the Twilight trilogy, Twilight
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St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
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In “Strange Mercy,” the album’s title track, Clark reflects back on the imprisonment of her father in 2010 following his involvement in a stock fraud scheme, and how her family
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The Maine – cruel summer
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[Verse 1] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price / You know that I bought it / [Pre-Chorus 1] / Killing me
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St. Vincent – Hang on Me
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Mixing peppy production with Clark’s breathy and inviting vocals, album opener “Hang on Me” sets the scene for the emotions and connections that MASSEDUCTION has in store for
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The Animal In Me – Cruel Summer
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[Verse 1: Laura Vierra] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it) / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price / You
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Versus Me – Cruel Summer
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[Verse 1] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price / You know that I bought it / [Pre-Chorus] / Killing me
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St. Vincent – Dilettante
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“Dilettante” is the ninth song on Indie/Art Pop-artist St. Vincent’s 2011 album, Strange Mercy.
It was her third full studio album, and came to be with Clark writing in an
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Taylor Swift (Ft. LP Giobbi) – Cruel Summer (LP Giobbi Remix - Extended Version)
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[Verse 1] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price / You know that I bought it / [Pre-Chorus] / Killing me
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Megan and Liz – Cruel Summer
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[Verse 1] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price / You know that I bought it / Killing me slow, out the
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Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer (Live from TS
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[Intro] / Oh, hi / [Verse 1] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it) / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
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St. Vincent – Year of the Tiger
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“Year of the Tiger” is the last track from St. Vincent’s third album, Strange Mercy.
2010, the titular Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar, was a personally “difficult” year
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The Shins – Saint Simon
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A song about how much we don’t know and the questions that, according to Mercer, can’t be answered by science or religion. Mercer opts out to face the harsh winds of life admitting
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St. Vincent – Neutered Fruit
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A fruit is a ripened ovary of a plant, so a neutered fruit would be an infertile ovary. This is an analogy for loveless love or a relationship that is lacking love from one person.
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St. Vincent – Surgeon
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“Surgeon” was born out of a single line Annie Clark found while reading Marilyn Monroe’s diaries.
Best, finest surgeon – Lee Strasberg, come cut me open
In an NPR interview in
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St. Vincent – Champagne Year
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[Verse] / So I thought I'd learned my lesson / But I secretly expected / A choir at the shore / And confetti through the falling air / [Refrain 1] / I make a living telling people
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Taylor Swift (Ft. LP Giobbi) – Cruel Summer (LP Giobbi Remix)
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[Verse 1] / Fever dream high in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it (I want it) / Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price / You know that I bought it / [Pre-Chorus
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St. Vincent – Chloe in the Afternoon
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The opening track of St. Vincent’s third album, Strange Mercy describes a sexually active dominatrix and her loyal wounded client who’s desperate for some emotional connection
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Ghost – Spillways
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Impera’s third track, “Spillways” is a dancing track, hardly inspired by a lot of the 80s pieces. Tobias told Metal Hammer about the song:
This is an elegy for the darkness that
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St. Vincent – Hysterical Strength
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[Verse 1] / Hey, it's your blood / That makes my veins run / It's true / So I tried to give it back to you / Young one, look at me / It's not your beast to leash / Oh, don't hold
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St. Vincent – This Wave
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“This Wave” is a bonus track off Strange Mercy. It was left off the finished record but included on the Japanese release. Delicate and unnerving, it stands as one of Annie Clark’s
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St. Vincent – Northern Lights
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[Verse 1] / If you say it is, then I guess it is / What you say it is, but I don't feel anything / 'Cause your pendulum is in swing again / Yeah, your pendulum hasn't swung back in
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KIDZ BOP Kids – Cruel Summer
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[Intro] / (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) / [Verse 1] / Fever dream there in the quiet of the night / You know that I caught it (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it) / Bad, bad move, shiny
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John Vincent III – Highway Woman
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[Verse 1] / I never wanna see you cry / Just tell me one thing I could do / To make this world feel a little less cruel / I never wanna hurt you again / [Chorus] / Just call on me
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Portishead – Glory Box
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“Glory Box”, the final track on Portishead’s Dummy, is one of their most well known songs, most notably for its unique use of “Ike’s Rap II” by Isaac Hayes, a popular sample in
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St. Vincent – Something On Your Mind
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[Verse 1] / Yesterday, any way you made it was just fine / So you turned your days into night time / [Chorus] / Didn't you know, you can make it without ever even trying? / And
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Olivia Rodrigo – deja vu
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“deja vu” is the second single from Olivia Rodrigo’s debut studio album, SOUR, and her first release since the breakout success of her debut single, “drivers license.” This song
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Swans – Nathalie Neal
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[Intro: Nathalie Neal] / So the chapper is dance with the partner so you do the part now / And you put your hand on your partner’s buttock / And then you do very little steps, it
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Santana (Ft. Rob Thomas) – Smooth
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“Smooth” is a collaboration between Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas and Latin rock band Santana. Written by Thomas, and Itaal Shur, “Smooth” won three Grammys for “Song of the
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Florence + the Machine – What Kind of Man
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“What Kind of Man” is the lead single of Florence + the Machine’s third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, and was premiered on BBC Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on February 12
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Rolling Stone (Ft. Taylor Swift) – October 2019 Cover: Taylor Swift
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This page is an annotated version of Swift’s October 2019 Rolling Stone interview.
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