"The Suburbs"
In the suburbs I
I learned to drive
And you told me we'd never survive
Grab your mother's keys we're leavin'
You always seemed so sure
That one day we'd be fighting
A suburban war
Your part of town against mine
I saw you standing on the opposite shore
But by the time the first bombs fell
We were already bored
We were already, already bored
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling again
Kids wanna be so hard
But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard
And all of the walls that they built in the seventies finally fall
And all of the houses they built in the seventies finally fall
Meant nothin' at all
Meant nothin' at all
It meant nothin
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling and into the night
So can you understand?
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young
I wanna hold her hand
And show her some beauty
Before all this damage is done
But if it's too much to ask, it's too much to ask
Then send me a son
Under the overpass
In the parking lot we're still waiting
It's already passed
So move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass
Cause it's already passed
It's already, already passed!
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling
Sometimes I can't believe it
I'm movin' past the feeling again
I'm movin' past the feeling
I'm movin' past the feeling
In my dreams we're still screamin'
We're still screamin'
We're still screamin'
One of the lyrics that I found to be pretty important to the story was,
ReplyDelete"Kids wanna be so hard, But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard"
The style I notice from this lyric is that the artist is describing how things could be from ones point of view, but then they show how they really feel about the situation, or how they want tthe situation to be in "their dreams".
The second lyric that popped up to me was
"So move your feet from hot pavement and into the grass, Cause it's already passed"
The style that is shown here in the song is that the artist is kind of calling to action to those who are listening by saying what they should do.
I think that maybe part of the writers intention of these lyrics were to talk about how some people can be stuck in the past because it might be more appealing at times in life. But instead of living in the past, you have to move your feet and start living in the now.
"Kids wanna be so hard
ReplyDeleteBut in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard"
The style is optimistic. The author starts off with a negative connotation about kids, saying how they want to be tough. Then the word "but" contradicts the pessimistic view on kids. In the author's dream, where a dream is a utopia, the kids are playing in the yard and yelling innocently.
The lyrics say that kids want to act like they're tough nowadays, but in the author's dreans, or memories, the kids still act as careless children, playing out in the open without the fear of war.
"And show her some beauty
ReplyDeleteBefore all this damage is done"
I think the author is trying to evoke an emotion from the audience. I believe the author is trying to say that people in general don't enjoy the "now" and should look at the beauty in the world, because the beauty is there if you look. They also could be using sarcarsm to make fun of people who worry so much about the future, and think the world is only getting worse.
The second chorus, followed by "I'm movin' past the feeling and into the night" stood out to me. It suggests a darker undertone to the seemingly playful lyrics beforehand.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the lyrics following the second chorus mention having a daughter and showing her the beauty of the world before it all goes to waste. "But if it's too much to ask, too much to ask,send me a son" suggests that the son will be tough enough to handle the war that has sprouted. The daughter represents childhood, the son war.
"Sometimes I can't believe it
ReplyDeleteI'm movin' past the feeling"
Although x, the fact is y
x= Sometimes I can't believe it.
Maybe he can't believe that what was happening to everyone else is now happening to him and his family and friends.
y= I'm moving past the feeling.
I think this means that he is now aware of the situation and he is going forward now a little wiser.
I think that maybe this music video is about how we tend to not really believe or see that injustice done unto others will eventually be done to us. When they came for me, there was no one else left to save me.
Two lyrics in the "The Suburbs" that seemed to represent the author's style of writing are "We're still screamin',We're still screamin'." The author uses repetition a lot in order to get the point across in a much stronger manner. Every time the author repeats a lyric, he is trying to emphasize an idea or motif. "We're still screamin', We're still screamin'", the author tries to get across the point that even though on the outside people may seem calm and collected, on the inside they could be troubled by things in their lives that are happening or that have already passed.
ReplyDeleteThis song is emphasizing the "struggle" of living in the suburbs and maturing as a teenager. The music video makes a point of displaying the fantasies of a bored suburban child.
ReplyDelete"Before all this damage is done" stands out to me because it proves the writer is concerned with the future. The writer of "The Suburbs" is aware of the changes going on with his youth and his transformation to a suburban adult. It seems to me that the "damage" being done is just the elimination of immaturity from the writer’s life. Yet the last lyric "In my dreams we're still screamin'" contradicts this total elimination of youth and rather points out that no matter how old you are, you'll still have memories of your childhood shenanigans.
The song "The Suburbs" by Arcade Fire has many possible meanings in it but one part stuck out to me more than anything. The lyrics say
ReplyDelete"Kids wanna be so hard
But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard."
Arcade Fire is trying to say that kids try to look and act big, to be part of the real world but really in their dreams all the kids want to do is have fun and not worry about anything. This quote has a contradictory style to it. Arcade Fire first says the kids want to be tough but then they say the kids are just running and screaming through the yard. Over all Arcade Fire is try to show how we want to grow up but then it actually happens and we can't beleve it however, we move on anyway.
I think you're on to something.
DeleteMy brother used to call himself Vinny.
I believe the "Go-To" sentence from the lyrics was, "Kids wanna be so hard, But in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard." I think that the author is trying to make the listener imagine a time when they were kids and didn't have anything to worry about. Also, they ended the song with the line "we're sitll screaming". The author was trying to show that no matter what horrible things are going on in the world, there was a time when things were easier and not as complicated. Mostly, I think the authors intention was to make a great song with an intense video. It leaves a lot of questions about what was going on, but it gets the listener interested in the band and the conflict in the video. However, I really hope that the point wasn't that the United States is on it's way to a "martial-law" state. It would just be an overly used, shock tactic, to sell records.
ReplyDeletePeople still buy their music?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"I'm movin' past the feeling/ Sometimes I can't believe it."
ReplyDelete"I wanna hold her hand/ And show her some beauty/ Before all this damage is done."
The author is using an "I am x..." style of writing. He is specifically explaining what he is and what he wants. The author is sure of himself and declarative making a strong statement.
I think that there is some sort of problem happening ("damage is done"), he is running out of time and wants to express himself before it is too late. However, "I'm movin' past the feeling" leads me to believe that he has accepted that the "damage" is inevitable and he wants to get over it before he gets hurt.
"Your part of town against mine
ReplyDeleteI saw you standing on the opposite shore"
Here the author wants to draw a picture of the line drawn between whatever two opposing forces are here, and that the division even goes between childhood friends. This lyric offers a point of view, how everyone was on a side, and everyone had to be for or against a group, regardless of the relationships in the crossfire.
"I wanna hold her hand
And show her some beauty
Before all this damage is done"
The video shows the law, and the effect it has had on the spirit and feeling of the area. The writer remembers the way things used to be, and how carefree and perfect it was. He says that he wants a daughter young to emphasize his point, explaining that he wants a daughter young so that she can at least have a glimpse of the way it used to be before it completely vanishes because of the conflict.
"Kids wanna be so hard
ReplyDeleteBut in my dreams we're still screamin' and runnin' through the yard"
I think that the author is saying that when kids want to be something they try their hardest. Every kid goes through phases trying to figure out who they are. Eventually kids want to grow up so badly, but in their minds they're still kids. the author is choosing to focus on a time where life was easy and care free, a time where he didn't have a worry in the world.
"But by the time the first bombs fell
ReplyDeleteWe were already bored
We were already, already bored"
"In my dreams we're still screamin'
We're still screamin'
We're still screamin' "
The style of these two parts of lyrics is when something happens, we are/were......
And this style emphasizes on the feeling and use the words,like already and still to make readers get the stronger feeling and impression.
I discovered that this whole lyrics have a lot conflicted expression,
such as "Sometimes I can't believe it/I'm movin' past the feeling".It seemed to show a kind of selfconfused style.
"Under the overpass
ReplyDeleteIn the parking lot we're still waiting
It's already passed"
The above lyrics contradict themselves in a way. The second line states that they are waiting for something to happen, but the third line tells of how whatever they were waiting for has already passed or that the time for waiting is finished.
Based off both the lyrics and the video for this song, I think that these lyrics represent a memory. The song opens with a memory of the singer and the following lyrics suggest more memories. When he says he's still waiting in the parking lot it could be that he is playing back scenes from his youth in his mind, and the following line saying that it has already passed could be that he feels regret but cannot change his past.