metaphorically speaking, volume 1

I love metaphors, especially in music. There's just no better way to turn abstract concepts into concrete pictures in a person's head (watch out for slippery oxymorons in that one). That said, here's the first in an occasional series of posts highlighting my favorite metaphors in lyrics. Feel free to chime in with your own examples as well...

I ripped this song off of an article in Esquire last month. Their writing is sooo much better than i ever expect from a magazine filled with many ads for thousand dollar watches and shoes. Can't beat the imagery of that metaphor though, the catalyst for this whole series of posts...

"I went stumbling through the fog trying
to find a reason for the things I told her
She woke up sunny side down and I was still thinking
I was too proud to flip her over"
-- Gravity's Gone, Drive-By Truckers

Let's face it, U2 songs don't exactly have the best lyrics on the planet. Sure, they're a step above Chris Martin's drunken ramblings on a smeared bar napkin, but they're far from poetry. Then again, this has been one of my favorite U2 songs since hearing it for the first time in high school (almost 15 years ago, ack!) and this was a great excuse to post it.

"I must be an acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that"
-- Acrobat, U2

I never really understood this song, until hearing Ben explain it on the Live in Perth album where he played with the West Australia Symphony Orchestra (i would have posted that version but i don't like it as much). To quote the man himself... "this is a song, it is about going to sleep. But it's the kind of going to sleep that you can't help. I always kinda related it to... there's a kind of narcolepsy that when you're overstimulated in any kind of way, you just go right to sleep. And i realize that there's lots of guys out there that do this emotionally, including myself."

"i get upset or happy
i go to sleep
nothing hurts when
i go to sleep
but i'm not tired
i'm not tired"
-- Narcolepsy, ben folds

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