David Gray

David Gray's songs sometimes leave alot to interpret.. everyone has "thier own story to tell" as he says.. so what's yours?

Pick one song, any song.. it could be your favourite, it could be your least-favourite... or you could be WILD and pick a song at random

..and say what it means to you.. what it makes you think about, what you feel it may represent.. anything really.. keep it creative and express your opinion.

I'll start with a well known DG Favourite:

Babylon - With this song, David's been fairly open about it being a struggle to get the passion into it.. but when its there its definately noticable. To me, its a song about finding your feet and knowing where you stand with everything and everyone... and i find this quite hard at times. But when you do have those moments.. where everything sorts itself out and things are finally clear, i like to play this song. The fact that its gained its fame is also a blessing.. because singing along with a thousand other people to the words really did make me happy beyond words ..And to see David himself scream the chorus ..well it just shows that he too has found his feet.

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If you think of a song and feel like posting a story or an opinion of it, i will be very interested to read through your thoughts

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Looking down from the Highrise,
Staring back with your own eyes,
Playing games with the numbers,
Messing around with the dates

Teem...you rock!!!!... this is an awesome topic for conversation... youre the master...lol

gonna have to think about this one... 

love the challenge you've given here to take it all to deeper level...

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"And there are traces left for sure
On every mouth you ever kissed

So I’m returning to the word
To find my place between the lines"

I agree, great topic Teemto. Just need to decide if I can describe in words what some of them mean to me....

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"...I'm life sweet life itself."

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"And there are traces left for sure
On every mouth you ever kissed

So I’m returning to the word
To find my place between the lines"

I couldn't agree more - very well said

And I am too tired, jet lagged and jammed to even approach this one today lol (or before the gigs for that matter.....) but agree very good idea Teem - and interesting on Babylon - hear you on that as well!

Great topic, hard to answer!

It really varies from song to song.. I think more than with any other artist I listen to the lyrics real closely. Sometimes it's the whole thing that just clicks and sometimes it's just a line or a verse that really pulls me in. Now knowing YDTM, he is obviously talking about What Am I Doing Wrong which is a perfect example of a song that has pretty simple lyrics and just by doing an amazing vocal delivery on a few lines like "what am I doing wrong" or "you don't telephone me" the whole thing suddenly becomes alive.. you know, you don't need anything else.

Sometimes I like a song because it just sounds good. Destroyer is one of those songs that I liked for a long while without having a clue what it really was about. Then there are songs that I don't connect on any level, like Transformation. And when both the lyrical and musical side hit me, it's something brilliant like Sail Away. I guess I'm a sucker for the more simpler, sappy and more naive stuff

David's really been into the trippy writing for a while and that is sort of a hit or a miss for me. I'm a huge fan of Nemesis and in that context it really works. David described this kind of lyric writing pretty well in that recent interview, stating "“In some of my songs, it gets really abstract – as if there’s a sea of images that’s tied together by the music itself. It’s just like walking through a gallery with different pictures on the wall. By the time you come out the other side, everybody’s got a different story going through their heads.”", then there's something like Davey which I just can't get into at all.

ANYWAY

I know I was supposed to pick one song and not just ramble about lyrics and stuff and what I like about them. Well, tough luck Teemto. I can't do it! I don't want to write down my interpretation and then have someone else come up with a better explanation and ruin it for me lol

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You're staring at the sky, but the moon ain't gonna pay our bills.

You crack me up Ak. 

I was reluctant to to pick one and blather on about my 'feelings, nothing more than feelings' too. But I'll play along because I too am such a sap. And because DGs music has been my salvation over the last year.

When I first joined this board last Aug , I was a wreck emotionally  . Most of you know this already. Hell most of you probably figure I still am! And you're probably right!  Hoonie-who...

Following on to what you said Ak about 'sometimes the whole, sometimes a line or verse' - I am the same way. It's a rare song that every line means something to me. 

But, Nemesis. David said this was one of those songs that just came to him basically all at once, just flowed out from him. I can relate to that. I have done paintings like that where I feel like I am simply a brush holder being manipulated by something/someone else. And it isn't work at all, it is pure joy and always 'my' best output. And it happens very quickly. But, I digest. I can't explain my feelings about that song. Way too personal. Way.

So, let's see, I'll do Kangaroo!  kid-ding.

Serially, Easy Way to Cry . While I've never been a one-night stander, I can relate to what he is saying. You start to lose faith in real love if all you have is one meaningless tryst after another with people you don't even know or care about. It says a lot about yourself, your feelings toward yourself  when you do that. And then, it happens; maybe you have another night of drunken debauchery   , or maybe you meet someone at an emoticon convention (they have those?) but now you find yourself moonstruck and all "twitterpated," to quote a cartoon. And as you stand alone watching them leave your phony little existence, you wonder how real it could've been with "that one."  But it's too late, because they've now lost faith   in you, your way of life , and your words   are empty. So you resolve to finally say "so, right now, enough." I'm gonna slow  down, drink , get a job  and let love find me.

Maybe I should've done Kangaroo.

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"...I'm life sweet life itself."

What an interesting thread Teemto. Excellent once again. It's so interesting to read everyone's answers and I am hoping for more to come. Especially the ones about Kangaroo... Which is the one song by David I simply do not get what's all about. Lol.

SmellOfIt i second a lot you have said, about songs being too personal and about paintings that just seem to flow out of the brush and then turn out to be the best output. But I doubt the 'too late' and 'they have lost faith' bit in the later part of your post. Because you never know. If they indeed have. Never underestimate faith. And there is no 'too late' until the final curtain. Just a thought.

 

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SmellOfIt:

I was reluctant to to pick one and blather on about my 'feelings, nothing more than feelings' too.

Yeah, this is just one of those things that I'm slightly uncomfortable about writing. I'm not sure if I actually connect any single song to some personal memory or anything like that, but obviously a lot of songs are interpreted through your own experiences and thoughts (if that makes any sense) and it's kinda hard to write down what some song really means to you. Also, nice analysis with the emoticons and all Looking forward to you ripping that Kangaroo

Well, okay.. here's one, it's my fav.. Sail Away: Now I haven't been falling in and out bars or wanting to sail away with some woman I messed up... so nothing too personal here. But I've kind of understood this song as a romantic one but more than that, it's about escapism. I mean, that's why people get wasted in bars because they want to get their mind off the everyday life. And sailing away with a loved one is definitely a fantasy for most people. And if you watch the music video, that's what it definitely is about. David's probably on the street on that video thinking "well, I don't really want to be here getting drunk, but it's all I have". Once in a while when I'm out to town and go home at night and it's just drunken people everywhere and you seem to be the only relatively sane one around the thought pops to my mind that hell.. David's had this exact same moment.

HA! I was able to put something personal into it!

So yeah, I really like the songs about drinking. They are awesome.

Ask me tomorrow morning and I'll definitely have a Brick Walls moment going to work.

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You're staring at the sky, but the moon ain't gonna pay our bills.

I knew I should've done Kangaroo! I absolutely agree Rena, it is never too late. I was trying to make the point (apparently unsuccessfully) that people who have given up on real love should keep the faith. It'll find you when you have given up and are not looking for it, or for what you thought 'it' was. It does exist and you never know where or when it will come. I can vouch for that. 

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"...I'm life sweet life itself."

Too funny. You like drinking songs, me too. So, you have heard "Have a Drink ya Bastards?" "One for the Road?" I think I could write about what those mean to me. (just kidding here Teemto, and I will get a serious post here on this topic. Just building the courage. ;o)

"The only relatively sane one around." Relatively. Every mind in the place was wondering the same thing on some level. I have been to that every-bar moment too. More than once. ha! Don't get me wrong, I still imbibe on occasion, mostly at home now though. My taste has changed from the early days what most American's refer to as 'beer' to Belgian, English and Irish real beer, to the grape. Like DG I may have a bit of the Alex Ferguson from the Joy of Wine too. 

A rousing verse and chorus of Living Room should cheer everyone up at that bar! or Made up My Mind!

Yeah, Kanga. I'll have to read, reread and re-reread that one. He's probably snickering about us still trying to figure that one out. 'Let's see, kangaroo could mean, uh, bag lady or, no, wait - I've got it - suitcase!"

And it doesn't mean anything at all. 

 

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"...I'm life sweet life itself."

Hey, thanks for all the current responses!

You dont have to pick a song.. i'm just interested in hearing what people have to say, any input is really appreciated.... really ^^.

Oh and to Ak11 and SmellOfIt, i agree too well on those songs that go better with a drink or two, and i'm sure David will agree.

I mean lets be honest, the song and the video imply that Late Night Radio was one of those nights... lol

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Looking down from the Highrise,
Staring back with your own eyes,
Playing games with the numbers,
Messing around with the dates

and YDTM, Ak.. i like your initial responses ... Typically i connect with different songs on different days for reasons unknown to me.

I'm listening to Easy Way to Cry now because Smell has reminded me what an amazing song it is.

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Looking down from the Highrise,
Staring back with your own eyes,
Playing games with the numbers,
Messing around with the dates

Ak11:

Now knowing YDTM, (SHE)  is obviously talking about What Am I Doing Wrong which is a perfect example of a song that has pretty simple lyrics and just by doing an amazing vocal delivery on a few lines like "what am I doing wrong" or "you don't telephone me" the whole thing suddenly becomes alive.. you know, you don't need anything else. 

 Funny how things turn out... when i first read Teems post, my first reaction was that I would do Lately, as its the most played song in my life since first hearing it back in 05 and the most deeply ingrained to my heart for the moments in life that it has comforted me and then helped me carry on.

"Honey Lately... I've been ....."

But I began remembering the first time i heard It ...and then began recalling the same for other heavy favorites of his,  and then the whole process I described in my first post came into realization...and as I typed that above reply--I  also realized I was indeed defining "What am I Doing Wrong" .. a song that I had mostly passed over for years, till a late night, long drive, and I really "heard" it for the first time...

And as AK says.. its a simple song on the surface...very repetitious but it was the way he nailed it vocally... as well as some brilliant pauses in the arrangement..a bridge that always makes me smile at his instincts,(listen at 2:57) as well as its unusual ending... it just fades out almost as if he didnt know how to finish it...but then you make the connection to the lyrics...

"Ghost on the highway
Bird with metal wings

Crowd all around me
Just don't hear a thing"

SO... to finally answer Teem's request.. lol... I think the song is about being on tour..the isolation of the road--the long bus rides and flights, and being away from loved ones for an extended time and the toll it takes on a relationship...the desperation in not being there to make things right, and knowing long distance leaves you falling short of saving it....

"What am I doing wrong
What am I doing tell me

You won't telephone
You won't telephone me"

the missed connections...the knowing somethings been lost.....

and then the verse that is like a kick in the chest....

"You never spoke a word
But it's over
I saw the way you turned your head
You never spoke a word
But it's understood"

amputation put into words.... whew..........

and that ending I mentioned? fades off into the night..the "ghost on the highway"....

the whole thing brought full circle....

pure genius..............

thanks again for reading...

Janet

 

 

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"And there are traces left for sure
On every mouth you ever kissed

So I’m returning to the word
To find my place between the lines"

ok my two cents................

first of all this is precisely why i do not like videos because it tends to too narrowly define the song - I think the variety of interepretations to songs both on this thread and on others shows how differently different folks can relate to a song

second I don't agree with AK's interepretation of Sail Away - for me it has always been an optimistic song about acknowledging mistakes made the process of getting through that and ultimately giving up of oneself to put "my heart in your hands" - again the video is driving his interpretation of the song........I may be completely off base and david very well may agree with AK - who knows - but again for me it is my reaction to the song and the lyrics - not some contrived video to satisfy some schmuck sitting in a producers chair trying to get air time on mtv

true love is not about reconciling the bridge from the gaga stage to ok lets have a go at it - it is perserverance as much as anything - truly hard work and a committment on each other's behalf to make it work - of course you still need to look into the eyes of your lover to see her soul and rest easy - but it isn't always just that simple

I do agree I would have loved to have been around the boys around the time of sell sell sell though - pretty clear to me DG was quite the raucous partier in his day lol!