What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
The person James Blake is talking to is clearly lonely. But it’s their fault that they’re lonely, because it was a subjective reality they created for themselves.
Painting Reference Lonely by Casey Bingham
A similar theme of solipsism can be found in Radiohead’s “Just.”
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
She is almost finished, something like the home stretch. Don’t get tripped up and stumble when you’re almost there, almost done.
Life throws us obstacles, but it’s our job to jump over them, otherwise you could end up like this:
Where once we watched the small free birds fly
Our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
It's so lonely 'round the Fields of Athenry Dropkick Murphys – The Fields of Athenry
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Athenry is a small farming village outside of Galway, Ireland. The two narrators in the song were lovers in the village and they are reminiscing about the times they spent in the village in love, the last line foreshadows the impending loneliness of their once idyllic village
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day, you'll drink the night away
And forget about everything Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Gerry Rafferty lived on Baker Street for a short time while attempting to get himself withdrawn from a management deal. During that time he was forced to commute to London – specifically, to a friend’s house on Baker Street – from the town in Glasgow where he and his family lived. This resulted in a lot of discontentment and financial turmoil that probably led to his drinking.
So cruel a fate to will them
There’ll be no consolation for the coal board’s washed their hands
Of the blood of those young children in the town
Of Aberfan Dulahan – Aberfan
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
The Aberfan disaster was a catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip in the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, on Friday 21 October 1966. 144 people died in the Aberfan disaster: 116 of them were school children. About half of the children at Pantglas Junior School, and five of their teachers, were killed.
It was caused by a build-up of water in the accumulated rock and shale, which suddenly started to slide downhill in the form of slurry.
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti Toto – Africa
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Tanzania, the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895 meters (2,977 meters higher than Olympus) or 19,341 feet above sea level.
Mount Kilimanjaro
Saying Mount Kilimanjaro “rises like Olympus” isn’t exactly hyperbole, but it is incorrect to locate the mountain in the Serengeti. The Serengeti, while also in Tanzania, does not contain any mountains; however, it is still a notable region in Africa. It is an ecosystem that hosts the largest terrestrial animal migration in the world, making it one of the ten natural travel wonders of the world.
An image of the Serengeti
Find a friend
Find a home
Find a dog
Settle down
Out of town
Find a dream
Shut it down The Strokes – One Way Trigger
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
During his Berlin Period, Bowie spied Tony Visconti kissing backing vocalist Antonia Maaß by the Berlin Wall. Their love was doomed, as Visconti was married.
Wanting to stop his friend’s affair from coming to his wife’s attention, Bowie anonymised the song, and filled in details from his imagination. As Rolling Stone put it, “Bowie wails with crazed soul about two doomed lovers finding a moment of redemption together — just for one day.”
The song was written with Brian Eno, who plays a droning EMS VCS3. Robert Fripp of King Crimson plays guitar with pitched feedback, whilst Tony Visconti produced Bowie’s finest vocal performance by moving the microphone away from him as the song progressed, forcing him to shout just to be heard.
The song was not initially popular, but is now widely considered one of Bowie’s best. It is frequently played at sporting events and awards ceremonies, and features in many soundtracks in film and television.
It’s believed the track was inspired by German band Neu! whom Bowie was a fan of at the time. Neu! guitarist Michael Rother had been in conversation with Bowie a few times during Bowie’s time in Berlin and they had discussed the possibility of Rother playing on the album, but it didn’t happen due to a miscommunication.
This song has always moved me to tears. And now that it stands to move into the Top 10 for the first time ever (post mortem), it’s almost too much to take, great sadness and joy simultaneously.
240
Bowie had also stated this song was about 2 lovers that where alcoholic.
385
the song was played in the regular show finale
217
It’s believed the title track is a nod to the German band Neu who Bowie was a fan of at the time.Neu guitarist Michael Rother had been in conversation with Bowie a few times during Bowie’s time in Berlin and they had arranged the possibility of Rother playing on the Album.In the 2011 BBC documentary Krautrock the rebirth of Germany Rother discussed his conversations with Bowie “I was talking with Bowie and he told me those two tracks from the Album (Neu 75) Hero and After Eight are my favorite”.
Heroes was the only album of the Berlin trilogy to be recorded in Berlin and it’s rumored that Bowie wanted to record the Album with German musicians, Rother picks up the story in a Nov 3rd 2009 interview with thequietus.com ..
“David and I had discussed details about the music, etc., instruments I should bring along. We were both very excited about that. But then someone else called me and said ‘I have to tell you that David changed his mind, you don’t have to come to Berlin after all.”
Rother continues..
“It took about 20 something years until I stumbled upon interviews David Bowie gave where he said ‘I invited Michael to record with me but unfortunately he turned me down.‘ My guess at what happened is that people in his team where a bit anxious – sales were going down because his experimental approach to music wasn’t commercial enough, his fans wanted a continuation of the Ziggy Stardust era. It’s so strange to me that 20 or 30 years later his three Berlin albums are considered to be his best by many fans and critics. But at the time it was different. The sales were dropping considerably and maybe it was decided that David Bowie would make better pop music without another German guy as inspiration on his team. It was strange 20 something years later to hear him tell a very different story. But it’s no use now crying about the fact that Heroes was made without my guitar and without my input. But who knows, maybe I would’ve destroyed the album.”
Robert Fripp and Carlos Alomar’s guitar alongside Brian Eno’s EMS VCS3 synthesizer is highly reminiscent of Michael Rother’s playing style.
113
A version of this song, “Heroes” by Peter Gabriel was played in the final episode of Stranger Things 3. It was the very last song to play in the series, and it brought many of us to tears. What a beautiful song.
113
A version of this song- “Heroes” by Peter Gabriel -was played in the final episode of Stranger Things 3. This was the last sing to play in the series. It really is a beautiful song, and made us all cry, because it was during the goodbyes scene.