David Gray Music

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:48:36 GMT

Cheers Telephone! Lovely to hear from you again.

Yes, i love that line too... its pretty much the pinnacle of the song - that amazing feeling of reaching the top, finding just what you wanted

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:48:47 GMT

I go through phases of which song speaks to me the most. I've been going through some inner struggles lately, and I keep wanting to put something down on this thread, but I can't even decide which song to do. Songs like Kathleen, Nightblindness, Flame Turns Blue, etc. leave me struck with awe, but it's ones like Gathering Dust, Lately, and Force of Nature that echo what I've been going through. It's hard for me to even sort it out, but it makes perfect sense when I listen.

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:01:30 GMT

So, thought I'd partake in the exchange of "what this one means to me." Shine. because that's where I am at this very moment. Not a regular place for me - to this point in my life - but I am working on it.

I can see it in your eyes - we've all seen "those" eyes

What I know in my heart is true - I know it, but can I, do I want to, face it?

That our love it has faded - and there's the big matzo ball
Like the summer run through - where he's from the summers are short but sweet (mine are long, lingering and for the most part, dreadful - wonder how he would've phrased it if he was from here? I'll give it a shot - "that our love it has faded, like a sun-burned tattoo"...)

So we'll walk down the shoreline - let's be civilized about this
One last time together - key words "last time"
Feel the wind blow our wanderin' hearts - neither one of us is really in this
Like a feather - take it lightly, go with the flow

But who knows what's waiting - nobody ever knows
In the wings of time - what tomorrow or next year will bring
Dry your eyes - stop your whining
We’re gonna go where we can shine - we're both going to be fine, probably great

Don't be hiding in sorrow - what would be the benefit of that?
Or clinging to the past - what use is that?
With your beauty so precious - and you know what I'm talking about
And the season so fast - it's not gonna last forever, sweetness, so get with it

No matter how cold the horizon appear - your future looks, well, frigid now, but it is really just a mirage (see third verse, line 1)
Or how far the first night - it wasn't that long ago, summer's are short here, remember?
When I held you near - cause your beauty is, well, was so precious
We’re gonna rise from these ashes like a bird of flame - this thing's burned out, but hey I'm feeling pretty good, sort of reborn

Take my hand - cause you're getting mighty close to that cliff
We're gonna go where we can shine - we're gonna be great, probably fantastic

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na - no no no no no no don't cry
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na - no, really don't
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na - c'mon, stop
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na - seriously?

Shine - we've got really bright future's ahead of us, blinding, really. Look, sunglasses!

For all that we struggle - we keep trying to make this work
For all we pretend - but it's all an act
You know it don't come down to nothing - none of it matters
Except love in the end - if we don't both feel it in our souls, and frankly...

And ours is a road that is strewn with goodbyes - it's not the first time, probably won't be the last, even though our future's are really, really bright
But as it unfolds, as it all unwinds - when you're sitting by yourself realizing what the h*ll just happened
Remember your soul is the one thing - well, maybe your heart too, but let's go with soul...
You can't compromise - you should never sacrifice what your soul wants, because it will HAUNT you...I'm telling you

Step out of the shadow - seriously, it looks creepy
We're gonna go where we can shine - bright!
We're gonna go where we can shine - monumental!
We're gonna go where we can shine - magnanimous even!

(And look, and look and look and look) - open your eyes
Through the windows of midnight - it appears to be dark, but

Moonfoam and silver - look what we always have to remember our time together? Moonfoam.

Peach and ginger tea sounds great YDTM

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:08:15 GMT

I love that line too! I find it so funny how some lyrics just jump out at you if you're going through a certain situation in life. Yet if that's not where you are at the moment, they kind of just fade into the background, only to come out at another time. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to some songs and just thought "Meh.". But in a different time and space, the same words can speak directly to your soul.

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:02:34 GMT

So great to see this thread revived....just re-read all the posts while faves from LISM play in the back ground...along with my steaming mug of ginger peach tea & a lovely sunrise...tis' the perfect way to start the day...

I found some much needed reminders here in all the exploring and sharing, so thanks again to all who invested....and as I read back pages--I'm struck by how much things can change in just a years time...or maybe its just that I've changed.. *sigh & shrug* ...but the need and love for the music never fades....the 3 new songs feeds that need... Force of Nature is the one speaking to me the most...

love the new entries ... thanks for sharing your insights Christine and Teem ..

love this line ...

"I climb the winding stairs; into the world of dreams; and i read what's written there; and i know just what it means".

cheers ;)

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:52:27 GMT

Ok nowhere near as good as christine... but feel free to help me out guys! (or write your own....)

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:51:27 GMT

Superb! Thankyou so much for that story, inspired me to do my current fav:

~Dancing with Both Feet~

First off, just looking at the title of this song is great. I get the image that we all love of DG dancing up and down.

And the meoldy that he plays is so bouncy and full of energy, it is as if someone is dancing on the piano.. don't be embarassed if you start dancing yourself, i think it's intended! (...we could start a line dance... ?). But there's also this image of jumping to a higher, better place.... rather than the broken, stoney ground.. Its trying to let go of embarassment or fear in order to reach your potential.

Like Snow in Vegas, this is all about celebration and joy with love, but i think more in a "first crush" type of way; the song carries a lot of youth and spirit.

"I had but half a life, before i went with you"* - Looking back on when you were meeting someone for the first time, the sort of 'love at first sight' feeling.......The day before just seems like nothing. "Baby i like your style" - That uncertainty of the exactness of this feeling, to put it easiest: you love everything about them!.... their quirks, their approach.... their... style!

The proceeding verse is awesome (lyrics and piano)... "live for that old red grin". Changing your entire life for the first time..... Seeing that smile and forgetting everything else bothering you........ but this feeling is so empowering, each day better than the last, you want to do so much more; "no mother doubting me! ... The best hasn't.....happened yet!"

But when it all calms down for a bit...you get a good look at the situation, its as if we've been together for years.... "Kind of nostalgia for what's not even happened yet"*.

"I climb the winding stairs; into the world of dreams; and i read what's written there; and i know just what it means".

Without looking at the love connotations, its about releasing your inner self. Sometimes we all feel perhaps shy or cautious of trying different things in life when they may have significant impact......but if we get that courage, then afterwards we feel invincible... "smashing through armoured plates".

Remember to dance with both feet off the ground! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwQbPgouUYo Albeit, this may look weird at a gig....)

* - Uncertainty of lyrics

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:10:38 GMT

Yes! Dancing with Both Feet Off the Ground has a similar theme of rediscovery of the magic of love. Coming on the heels of recent songs like We Could Fall in Love Again Tonight and When I Was in Your Heart, it seems like there has been a real turn. I guess things are good in the life of DG!

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:06:14 GMT

awesome

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 03:54:12 GMT

I could write a story for just about every one of DG's songs! That's why I like them so much, because they resonate with me. Anyhow, this one hit me hard, so I might as well gab about it:

Snow in Vegas

This is probably one of the most joyous songs I've ever heard. In many ways, it's the happy ending to The Rice and Jackdaw that I'd always wanted! (She met him on the Other Side!!) The theme, for me, is the celebration of finding new life in a love that you thought had plateaued... and as a result, experiencing the sense of gratitude invincibilty that comes with it.

You see, for me, snow in the desert represents two things:

1) An event of grace that defies logic and the laws of nature

2) Relief from drought and the heat... another juxtaposed image.... heat/cold, dry/preciptation, nature/fabricated

Anyone who's been in a long term relationship knows that after a certain time, you kind of get to thinking that maybe the best times are behind you. "Just when I was thinkin’ we’d come about as far as this old road could take us..." And you just want that sense of connection again with the one you love "Hey now baby, where you been so long? I miss you like a river that's deep and strong."

There's this whole image of marriage and love that we somehow buy into, but we're not happy with... the settling, the complacency, the routine... we're told that's "just how it is" after a while. "That huckster of life says, hey, here ya’ are..."

So, for some reason it happens, and you can't really explain it... where it came from or why (Like snow in Vegas) and you're graced with this resurgance of emotion and connection with the one you love. It's just what was needed (relief from heat/drought), and you can't help but just stop in your tracks and be in awe of it all. "Time to pull it on over, baby, yeah, just stop the car, and let it fall like snow in Vegas."

Overcoming this obstacle, you feel invincible "Now pigs can fly and I'll command these breakers" and you just want to revel in the feeling... "and we’ll hang that sign up on the door so the hotel maid don’t wake us."

There are certainly bigger problems in the world, and it seems selfish to focus on losing that "spark" when you have to much to be thankful for... "We’re vain and we’re greedy, We’re selfish and we’re needy..." But we are built/broken down by love; that's all we really have in this life... "that’s just the way God made us."

So... let's celebrate this... "If I won a million dollars I'd blow it on champagne...." Even if we don't understand it, and even if it's not a miracle to the rest of the world... it is an answer to our prayers. With this, anything is possible...

"Now pigs can fly and I’ll command these breakers."

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:47:53 GMT

Go right ahead. I've thought of reviving this thread myself.

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 04:43:41 GMT

I miss this thread!!! Are we allowed to post more than once? I'm really feeling Snow In Vegas...

Christine

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:38:42 GMT

SO many lovely versions to choose from..thanks for that exhaustive list YDTM! I've made it through about half :) I agree that the ones that really milk the cello are the best. It literally feels like the cello bow is playing all the major arteries in my heart!

The live versions also really accentuate some of the lines that hold special meaning for me: he really belts out "wear it like and iron skin" unlike the studio version, and in some versions he sings in a soft comforting voice and repeats "know that the light don't sleep"...that one really hits home because that's really the reminder I need to hear over and over. There is a constant and IT IS YOU!! Love it! Love it! Love it!

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:37:41 GMT

Doesn't Witnness have that tease where he doesn't actually the sing the first chorus at all? I like that original arrangement best, the LISM tour one with the cello is cool too but I don't think it quite has the same punch as the original. Tim's piano is really good on the LATP version and you get these crowds shots with people singing, such a great atmosphere to it all.

And yes, David's the best musical therapy by far. I've kind of understood Silver Lining's message as that you you take all this ***, but you have to know there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. And these people that "drag you down" have forgotten that "wild hope" and innocence that once was there. AND because it's easter I'd sort of mirror it to that line from the bible "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." I don't know if that really makes sense.

Re: Tell Your Side of The Story

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:32:03 GMT

other Point version 2005 http://www.archive.org/details/dgray2005-12-02

I think my most fave ones are Witness, Tower and the 2 Point versions...and of course the version from the Live Slow Motion dvd

many of them are pretty similar overall..but some have those special moments with the vocals or piano or cello etc.. to define it for me...

totally agree with you on the music being the best therapy ..Ive spent the better part of the last 5-6 years sitting in hospital waiting rooms etc and Id be completely bonkers if it wasnt for having my i-pod.

my family jokes that my earbuds are going to grow roots to my head ..I can think of worse things...lol