its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Mama been laid off
Papa been laid off
My brother's been laid off
For more than two years now
Ooh can't get a job
Billy can't get a job
Ooh they gotta listen to the blues
Help them to strive
Help them to move on
Help them to have some future
Help them to live long
Help them to live life
Help them to smile
Don't let them stay home and listen to the blues
Papa been laid off
Mama been laid off
Billy can't get a job
For too long, too long
Don't let them lose
We gotta give them a chance
It's gonna come back on everyone
If you don't make them dance
Don't let them stay home, and listen to the blues
There's nothing sacred (why, why, why)
Breathing hatred
We have to face it (why, why, why)
No one can take it
And feel no pain
Mama been laid off
Papa been laid off
My brother's been laid off
For more than two years now
Ooh can't get a job
Billy can't get a job
Ooh they gotta listen to the blues
Help them to strive
Help them to move on
Help them to have some future
Help them to live long
Help them to live life
Help them to smile
Don't let them stay home and listen to the blues
One day we're gonna wake up
And the ghetto's all around
All over my friend
Have you ever seen a man break down
Do you know how that feels
To walk the street with your head held high
Why, why, why
Oh Lord have mercy
Did you ever see a man break down
There's nothing sacred
Breathing hatred
We have to face it
No one can take it
And feel no pain
Oh, did you ever see a man break down
Papa been laid off
My brother's been laid off
For more than two years now
Ooh can't get a job
Billy can't get a job
Ooh they gotta listen to the blues
Help them to strive
Help them to move on
Help them to have some future
Help them to live long
Help them to live life
Help them to smile
Don't let them stay home and listen to the blues
Papa been laid off
Mama been laid off
Billy can't get a job
For too long, too long
Don't let them lose
We gotta give them a chance
It's gonna come back on everyone
If you don't make them dance
Don't let them stay home, and listen to the blues
There's nothing sacred (why, why, why)
Breathing hatred
We have to face it (why, why, why)
No one can take it
And feel no pain
Mama been laid off
Papa been laid off
My brother's been laid off
For more than two years now
Ooh can't get a job
Billy can't get a job
Ooh they gotta listen to the blues
Help them to strive
Help them to move on
Help them to have some future
Help them to live long
Help them to live life
Help them to smile
Don't let them stay home and listen to the blues
One day we're gonna wake up
And the ghetto's all around
All over my friend
Have you ever seen a man break down
Do you know how that feels
To walk the street with your head held high
Why, why, why
Oh Lord have mercy
Did you ever see a man break down
There's nothing sacred
Breathing hatred
We have to face it
No one can take it
And feel no pain
Oh, did you ever see a man break down
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Siberian Kiss
Glassjaw
Glassjaw
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Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
such a beautiful and moving song about poverty.
i think during the time in which this song was written, there was a painful increase in lay-offs and poverty. something like this needed to be sung. it's heart-wrenching, really, when you actually listen to it. the beat intentionally hits hard, just like suddenly losing your job, suddenly struggling, suddenly poor.