matt’s music blog

When I try to think of a way to accurately describe The Incredible Machine, genre wise, I usually fail. The best that I can do is to say that they sound like a mixture of Barenaked Ladies, and They Might Be Giants, with a little Jonathan Coulton thrown in there too. Which is to say, semi silly, sort of geeky lyrics, presented in a very serious fashion. On the other side, very powerful and moving, very lyrically poetic love songs. Also, their command of harmonies, and the interplay between Marrissa’s and Jordan’s voices (The two members) is impressive. I have to say, since I got their album, not a day has gone by that I haven’t listened to it atleast once. And the fact that they are a local band, of which I actually know the members, helps too.

One Time at Choir camp starts off simply with a little piano, and the first verse.

I’m only trying to believe
That you and I weren’t meant to be
I’m much too difficult for you
I couldn’t follow their rules

The tempo kicks up, some acoustic guitar is added, and the piano becomes more bouncy. I’m always reminded of the Freezepop song Science Genius Girl (this isn’t the real music video). I think it’s the chording that sounds similar to me. I dunno. Maybe I’m crazy. Anyway, verse two!

I couldn’t say that I was happy
And you would be the one to know
On these summer nights we’d consecrate our flaws
In hopes our zippers wouldn’t show
Oh, how embarrassing

Oh man. “On these night we’d consecrate our flaws” What a great line. The second part of the verse contains really great  higher, almost haunting, backing vocals from Jordan. Make sure to catch them when they come around.

I want you to dance
I’d like you to sing for me
Regardless of romance
I’ve still got your music to keep me,
company

Verse three continues in a similar manner, the the addition of more backing vocals.

It was the way you looked above me
And it wasn’t just your height
My silly sorrows weren’t enough to tie me down
I’m simply not the type to need
Oh, the comforts of sympathy

I want you to dance
I’d like you to sing for me
Regardless of romance
I’ve still got your music to keep me,
company

Then for the chorus the piano moves into a little pattern that sounds more like it would be at home in a classical composition.  It repeats it’s self twice. The second time around, the addition of “I know too much” in between each line.

pavement, concrete on the street
will never touch her feet
as long as she has you to
lift her tiny shoes from

Then finally we get a cool solid piano and guitar part, accenting the first and third beat, giving you the impulse to tap your foot, or nod your head in time. Also, the “Wah-ah-oh”s  in between each line, are really solid. The song climaxes, and ends in vocalization.

Stop screaming and believe me
that I was right for leaving

It’s over! Okay, so if that wasn’t an amazing song, then I don’t know what is. This is going to be the first of three that I’m going to review. Ideally I would do the whole album. But I think that it might be a bit much. I’d highly encourage you to see them live, if you can get a chance.

-James Out

It’s a wonder to me that I’ve gone such a long time posting on this blog, without doing a Belle and Sebastian song. Especially since they are possibly one of the greatest bands of all time. And it’s also kinda interesting to me, that the first song (I assure you that I’ll be posting on their other stuff too) that I’m doing is coming off a semi-obscure album, that not a lot of people know. Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant, was released in between The Boy with the Arab Strap, and Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and was not very very well received. Understandably, coming off the heels of The Boy with the Arab Strap, it would be a tall order top that album. One of the reasons that I like this album in particular is because it features a lot of the band on vocals, that don’t normally get lead singing roles. But enough exposition on the history, let’s move on to the actual song it’s self.

We start off with a little guitar intro, a drum intro into the verse. I’d like to take this moment to point out that this song is sung by Isobel Campbell, who’s vocals can be previously heard on “Is it Wicked not to Care” Off of their album, Tigermilk. Anyway, the first verse contains possibly some of my favorite lyrics in all of their songs. I think you’ll see why.

Ive been feeling down
Ive been looking round the town
For somebody just like me
But the only ones I see
Are the dummies in the window
They spend their money on clothes
It saddens me to think
That the only ones I see are mannequins
Looking stupid, being used and being thin
And I dont know why I hang around with them

The way they act, Id rather be fat than be confused
The way they act, Id rather be fat than be confused
Than be me in a cage
With a bottle of rage
And a family like the mafia

Okay. So first of all, comparing shallow friends to mannequins? Totally genius. But also, “The way they act, I’d rather be fat, then be confused” Has got to be one of the greatest lines of all time. There’s a bit of tasteful vocalization, some nice backing piano and flute, and then the next verse.

Ive been feeling blue
And I dont know what to do
And I never get a thrill
And they threw me out of school
cause I swore at all the teachers
Because they never teach us
A thing I want to know
We do chemistry, biology and maths
I want poetry and music and some laughs
And I dont think its an awful lot to ask

So wont you please get up off your knees, and let me go
So wont you please get up off your knees, and let me go
Cause Im here in a cage
With a bottle of rage
And a family like the mafia

That perfectly describes my feelings about school “I want poetry and music, and some laughs” The next section could be described as the bridge I suppose, but it’s a bunch or repetitive phrases. Note the addition of a little trumpet part, that, like the flute, just hovers over the melody.

If my family tree goes back to the romans
Then I will change my name to jones
If my family tree goes back to napolean
Then I will change my name to smith
If my family tree goes back to the romans
Then I will change my name to jones
If youre looking at me to be an accountant
Then you will look but you will never see
If youre looking at me to start having babies
Then you can wish because Im not here to fool around
You can wish because Im not here to fool around
You can wish because Im not here to fool around

Pretty great song, if you ask me. I really like Belle and Sebastian’s ability to not only craft really cool sounding lyrics, but create really beautiful instrumentation. If you’ve never really given them a serious listen, I’d strongly encourage you too. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

-James out

My next project is going to be an ambitious one, to be sure. But I think it’ll pay off. The Decemberists have known for writing amazingly good songs, all of which usually tell a story of some sort. With the realease of The Craine Wife, we saw them move closer to a concept album. And finally, with the release of The Hazards of Love, they’ve done it. So what is my task, you might ask? I’m going to go through each song, track by track, and try and figure out: 1) How many story lines there actually are, and 2) How they are arranged cronologically, acording to the stories. Ambitious and Daunting, but ultimatly, will pay off. I’m going to try and fit it all into one giant post, but it might need to be broken up. We’ll see. Also, I’ll be focusing mostly on lyrical content, and very little on the actual musical side of things.

I’ve started off by rolling the prelude and second track (hazards of love 1) all into one, through the magic of FL Studio. Since it’s goning to save us a lot of space, I’m just going to link you to the lyrics, and we’ll talk about them in dept.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-hazards-of-love-1-lyrics-decemberists.html

So the album starts off with the singer’s true love riding out, and coming upon a a wounded fawn. She, being full of charity, tries to set the fawn’s legs. But then, the taiga starts to change, and so does the fawn. This next verse is the one that is kinda vague and confusing. We find out that the subject of the song is Margeret (a major player in this story), and that she makes love to the fawn (hopefully in a human shape, although, once again, it’s not really clear on this point)

http://www.metrolyrics.com/a-bower-scene-lyrics-decemberists.html

So later, I’m going to guess a good 7 or 8 months, Margeret is being chastized by her sister. And  she’s actually starting to show that she’s preggers. So she returns to the taiga, to find her lover.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/wont-want-for-love-lyrics-decemberists.html

This one is pretty simple. Margeret is setting out to find her love, in the taiga.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-hazards-of-love-2-lyrics-decemberists.html

This one is a bit vauge too. But I’m going to go ahead and guess that this is Margeret’s lover (who is still unnamed, and, as mentioned in the first song, used to be a fawn) who’s waiting for her, in the taiga (I’m really milking that word for all it’s worth)

http://www.metrolyrics.com/isnt-it-a-lovely-night-lyrics-decemberists.html

The next song, The Queen’s Approach, is an instruamental, so I’ll roll it into the next one, Isn’t it a Lovely night.

Once again, I think this is about Margeret and her lover. Pretty simple song.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-wanting-comes-in-waves-lyrics-decemberists.html

This one is one of my more favorite ones. Once again, there is very little naming, in this story, but I think that it’s a conversation between Margeret’s lover, and his mother (who’s called The Queen). So basically he’s trying to convince her to let him go and see Margeret. And then she’s trying to guilt trip him into not going. Finally she agrees to let him go, if he promises to come back at dawn, and then give his life to her.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-rakes-song-lyrics-decemberists.html

The next part is a little musical interlude, and then The Rake’s Song. The Rake’s song is a fairly innocolated song (as far as I can tell) because it has no bearing on the rest of the story line. It’s only mentioned again, in a later song, in a reprise. But We’ll get to that later. It’s about this guy that get’s married to a rich woman. Then when she starts having babies, he becomes dissilutioned with the idea. She dies in child birth, and not wanting to deal with the kids, he kills them off in various fashions.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-abduction-of-margaret-lyrics-decemberists.html

For some reason or annother, Margeret gets captured, and her captor has to now cross the river.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-queens-rebuke-lyrics-decemberists.html

Now we find that it’s by the Queen’s command that Margeret has been captured. This song is adressed to Margeret’s captor, sung by the Queen. We learn that it was through the Queen’s power that Margeret’s lover is changed into a fawn, durning the day time.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/annan-water-lyrics-decemberists.html

This one is also a bit tricky. It could be about a few things. It, once again, could be totally isolated from the main story line. Or, it could be sung by Margeret’s captor, who, is crossing the sea, with Margeret in tow, on the Queen’s request.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/margaret-in-captivity-lyrics-decemberists.html

This one is a bit more stright forward. It’s sung by Margeret’s captor. Margeret calls out to her love, but it seems to be in vain.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-hazards-of-love-3-lyrics-decemberists.html

This is a reprise of The Rake’s Song, sung from the point of veiw of his children.

The Next one, is simply a reprise of The Wanting Comes in Waves

.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-hazards-of-love-4-lyrics-decemberists.html

Once again, this one throws me for a loop. Obviously it’s about Margeret, who’s on the ocean, if you remember. But last time that I checked, she was with her captor. Maybe, he’s really in love with her. And that’s why he complied with the Queen’s request? And so, as the ship is going down, he finally confesses is love for her.

PHEW. And there you have it folks. A comprihensive interpertation of the story. Any comments or suggestions are very much welcome.

-James Out

Bang! This song starts kicking in with folky guitar strumming and vocal harmonies that are slightly reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Driving drums keeps us rolling, and gives a really pleasant  feeling of driving down a long stretch of highway, as the sun rises over the horizon. Or at least, it does for me. Beautiful and poetic, yet cryptic lyrics are the order of the day, as it starts out with the first verse:

Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long
The spring is upon us, follow my only song
Settle down with me by the fire of my yearning
You should come back home, back on your own now

More wonderful vocal melodies pass by and we get thrown back into another verse.

The world is alive now, in and outside our home
You run through the forest, settle before the sun
Darling, I can barely remember you beside me
You should come back home, back on your own now

Obviously this is a song about a guy, who is missing is lover, and wants to see her again. Then it slows down, and we get a strange bridge, with basic finger picking, a little bit of egg shaker, and minimal backing electric guitar.

And even in the light, when the woman of the woods came by
To give to you the word of the old man
In the morning tide when the sparrow and the seagull fly
And Johnathan and Evelyn get tired

We now move into this sort of strange, almost Metroid-esc guitar bit. Then, driving bass, and BAM! All the sudden, what happened to that other song we were listening to? Did this just change into another song completly, while staying the same song? (if that makes any sense to you) The answer is yes. This song is actually presented to us in two parts. An A,B format, if you will. I have to be totally frank with you at this point. There are few things that give me a bigger musical hard-on, then ability to pull this off. And friends, Fleet Foxes does it flawlessly.

So we finish off with this little lyric:

Lie to me if you will at the top of Beringer Hill
Tell me anything you want, any old lie will do
Call me back to you
Back to you

And we get to listen to the last part repeated, until they end together. All in all, a masterpiece of song writing, if you ask me. The combination of mostly acoustic instruments, earnest male vocal harmonies, gives this song (and the band, as you will find if you choose to pursue them farther) a old world feel that is compelling and amazing.

-James out

No, that’s not a glitch - .hack//SIGN is a pretty sweet anime series that revolves around a (fictional) MMO called The World. The art is well-done, and while the story tends to drag a little, and features surprisingly little action for being set in an online RPG, it consistently includes incredibly good music. This track, for instance.

First a little phased white noise, quickly joined by a catchy buzzy bassline, reflective acoustic guitar, and spacey vocal pads.

Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile
Tell me of a story never ever told in the past

Take me back to the land
Where my yearnings were born
The key to open the door is in your hand
Now fly me there

I always imagine these words being spoken by a younger sibling to an older one - it’s a hot summer night, two boys are lying sprawled out on top of the sheets, savoring each slight breeze that floats through the window and offers momentary relief from the heat. One boy turns to the other, and begs him to tell the same stories, the old stories that they used to tell each other. “Come with my in the twilight of a summer night for awhile.”

This is powerful stuff, it seriously gives me shivers. Something about the instruments, and the clearly worded vocals - seriously evocative stuff. And then the strings break in - lilting, with an ethnic quality that I’m not able to pin down, a bit like western fiddle, a bit like an irish jig, which is almost like a ‘cue the montage’ moment - the older boy begins his story, conjuring a fantasy world of characters and conflict.

Fanatics find their heaven in never ending storming wind
Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth

Consolations, be there
In my dreamland to come
The key to open the door is in your hand
Now take me there

Is this epic or what? ‘Augury’ is a good word - it has to do with prophesy or folk-magic concerning birds, sometimes migratory patterns, sometimes ritual sacrifice. Storms are brewing, fanatics follow the birds looking for signs, and all of this will rebirth the world. Then, the listener’s repeated reflections on how powerful these stories are to him. Then, a declaration:

I believe in fantasies invisible to me
In the land of misery I’m searchin’ for the sign
To the door of mystery and dignity
I’m wandering down, and searchin’ down the secret sun

The door and the key are important images in the anime, but they’re vague enough references that they don’t stick out amongst the lyrics - I think of the bridge as jumping ahead to see the younger boy as a grown man, or perhaps teenager, now without the presence of his older sibling to guide him, making his way through the world while the stories flit on the edge of his consciousness, driving him to always look for signs of the fantasy world in the mundaneness of every day life. He can’t help thinking about that night, lying in bed, begging for just one more story:

Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile
Tell me of a story never ever told in the past

Take me back to the land
Where my yearnings were born
The key to open the door is in your hand
Now take me there
To the land of twilight

Powerful stuff. It seriously give me shivers to listen to this song. The final ‘twilight’ is drawn out, and fades into an almost Enya-like outro.

As I’ve mentioned before, as much as I like The Decemberists’ singing, playing, and portland-local-band status, it’s easy for me to pick out my favorite track from each album, and Yankee Bayonet (also known as ‘I Will Be Home Then’) is the one I like the most from The Crane Wife.

This song tells a story - and while I hate to disregard the music, that story is so attractive to me that I almost don’t care what they’re playing behind it.

Heart-carved tree trunk, Yankee bayonet
A sweetheart left behind
Far from the hills of the sea-swelled Carolinas
That’s where my true love lies

So the stage has been set - civil-war era Carolina, a girl pining after her soldier love who has gone off to war after carving their names in a heart on a tree. The first two lines describe the scene of this screenplay, and the third and forth are lines of dialog from the sweetheart.

The next two lines begin a conversation between the dead soldier and the sweetheart - delineated by Colin Meloy and Laura Veirs

Look for me when the sun-bright swallow
Sings upon the birch bough high
But you are in the ground with the voles and the weevils
All a’chew upon your bones so dry

She’s remembering his promise to her - that he’ll be back when the birds are singing, in the spring time, when the sun comes out, but she’s lamenting that he’s dead, and rotting under the dirt.

But when the sun breaks
To no more bullets in Battle Creek
Then will you make a grave
For I will be home then

I want ‘battle creek’ to be ‘battlecry’, pronounced like ‘mimicry’, as in, the art or practice of battle. But apparently that’s not what the real words are.

When I was a girl how the hills of Oconee
Made a seam to hem me in
There at the fair when our eyes caught, careless
Got my heart right pierced by a pin

The story of how they met - she lived isolated in her community, and met a boy on the fairgrounds. Also, check out the consistency of metaphor in the second line - ’seam’ and ‘hem’ are both sewing terms, it could’ve just as easily been to ‘keep’ her in, or a ‘fence’ instead of a ’seam’, but since girls were expected to sew, that’s what’s used for this verse.

But oh, did you see all the dead of Manassas
All the bellies and the bones and the bile
No, I lingered here with the blankets barren
And my own belly big with child

Manassas, Virginia was where one of the first big battles of the civil war took place - and it was fought mostly by young unexperienced soldiers - the first two lines reflect the soldier’s horror of the situation. The girl reveals helplessly that while she wasn’t watching her friends die around her on the battlefield, she was at home, pregnant with the soldier’s child. The blankets are barren - they devote a whole line to that statement, and it emphasizes the physical component of her longing for him. Also, the first two lines deal with death amongst others, while the second two deal with life alone.

Stems and bones and stone walls too
Could keep me from you
Skein of skin is all too few
To keep me from you

Even though he’s dead, and she knows it, they can’t bear to apart…

But oh my love, though our bodies may be parted
Though our skin may not touch skin
Look for me with the sun-bright sparrow
I will come on the breath of the wind

So she can’t help feeling that his spirit returns to her in the spring, even though his body has died - and perhaps his body literally comes back, to be buried, as suggested by ‘then will you make a grave?’ in the chorus - although it could as easily be an empty grave, a hero’s grave, a nameless white cross in a field of identical monuments.

Basicly, this song is incredibly sad, lonely, and heartbreaking, but it’s also a song about love. This stuff always gets me.

Though I generally like The Decemberists, I’ve found that it’s easy to pick my favorite track off of each of their past three albums - and The Rake’s Song  definitly qualifies on The Hazards Of Love.

First off, as in most good Decemberist songs, there’s a story to be told:

I had entered into a marriage
In the summer of my twenty-first year
And the bells rang for our wedding
Only now do I remember it clear
Alright, alright, alright

The song builds really well - there’s this super catchy instrumental progression that sort of accomnies the progression of the song’s plot. It starts with simple acoustic guitar, no chords even, just some strumming. Then on the first ‘alright, alright, alright’, some electric bass jumps in, along with guitar chords, and finally a hint of percussion accentuating the next verse.

No more a rake and no more a bachelor
I was wedded and it whetted my thirst
Until her womb start spilling out babies
Only then did I reckon my curse

The percussion comes in full, along with that electric bass, expertly distorted as the song gets a little more twisted:

 

First came Eziah with his crinkled little fingers
Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn
Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery
Mercifully taking her mother along

What can one do when one is widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So my burden I began to divest

The breath of air during the murder verse is perfect, and the growing screaming in the background of the ‘alright!’ sections is another nice touch:

Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath
Eziah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath

And at the end, there’s no moral to the story, which I like - the narrator gets away with the vicious murder of his own unwanted children. The line “her womb starting spilling out babies” is perfect for expressing his disgust with the situation.

And that’s how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
Expect you think that I should be haunted
But it never really bothers me
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright

To be honest, this song is not so much about the instruments for me - a laid back jazz kit for percussion, a nice plucky meandering banjo line, supporting deep strings, that’s not what’s important here. What’s important is the incredible well written lyrics:

So you quote-love-unquote me
Well, stranger things have come to be
But let’s agree to disagree
Cause I don’t believe you
I don’t believe you

The last two lines for each verse (excluding the one bridge) will always be “I don’t believe you, I don’t believe you,” so I’ll skip them after this - but what a way to start out strong: “So you quote-love-unquote me.” It’s an incredibly literary way of expression sentiment - the concept of someone “loving” someone else and the implications of those added quotation marks is delightful.

You tell me I’m not not cute
Its truth or falsity is moot
Cause honesty’s not your strong suit

Intentional use of double-negative also racks up points, and the complicated phrasing in “Its truth or falsity is moot,” is great - what it means it, “Although your statement might be true, it doesn’t matter because you often lie.”

You tell me of what once was
And all about Buck, Butch, and Buzz
How they were not like me because…

Alliteration in ‘Buck, Butch, and Buzz’, but otherwise not quite as interesting as the other verses. And now, for the bridge:

I had a dream and you were in it
The blue of your eyes was infinite
You seemed to be
In love with me
Which isn’t very realistic

It’s a nice little way to break up the otherwise strict AAABB-rhyming format of the verses, and somewhat droning instrumentation - and if you look closely at the bridge, can you see what it is? It’s a limerick: AABBA, with an almost identical rhythm. Neat, huh? Also, the bridge literally straddles the center of the song - three versus, one bridge, and then another three verses.

You may sing me “They Were You”
And I start crying halfway through
But nothing else you say is true

Like ‘Butch, Buck, and Buzz’, this verse isn’t as intricately crafted, although “They Were You”, from The Fantasticks is an interesting reference to make - I’m not really familiar with the play at all.

You may set your charm on stun
And say I’m delightful and fun
But you say that to everyone

Star Trek (or possibly Star Wars) reference with ‘on stun’, which is always appreciated, and finally -

So you’re brilliant gorgeous and
ampersand after ampersand
You think I just don’t understand

Remember the “quote-love-unquote me” line in the first verse? This last verse closes the loop with “So you’re brilliant, gorgeious and ampersand after ampersand,” - once again, it evokes visions of typography, which is incredibly unique - I can’t think of many other songs where this happens. You’re brilliant & gorgeous & & &. It’s like another way of saying ‘et cetera’.

Anyway, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Daniel Handler (also known as Lemony Snicket) is involved with The Magnetic Fields - although as far as I know Stephin Merrit writes the lyrics.

This is one of my favorite Enya songs - as an artist, her music can be a little hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes it’s too ethereal for its own good, and loses its appeal in spaced-out vocals and ‘world music’ instrumentation. Caribbean Blue doesn’t have this problem.

The beginning is a great way to introduce a concept - brief orchestral strings, which fade away to trancey plucked arpeggios and nice bass swells. The beuty of the chord progression is made clear, along with the sort of flowing, lilting rythem of the song. The brief ‘ah’ vocal sting at :25 should make it abundantly clear to anyone listening that this is, in fact, an early Enya song. The swirling vocals immediatly afterwards give way to the enchanting lyrics:

So the world goes round and round
With all you ever knew,
They say the sky
High above
Is Caribbean blue.

More orchestral strings follow, along with more vocalizing, keeping things interesting but not varying much from the original music premise of the song. Next verse:

If every man says all he can,
If every man is true,
Do I believe the sky above
Is Caribbean blue?

More vocals, more orchestal strings, a little stronger this time, with more bass, intensifying things a little until the bridge at 1:58, carrying the song swirling onwards with higher notes, until the last verse comes around, this time transposed upwards a bit:

If all you told was turned to gold
If all you dreamed were new,
Imagine sky high above
In Caribbean blue.

By now we’ve heard all the song is going to give us - things roll onwards to the ending at 3:50, which is as brilliant a way to usher the track out as was the intro to usher it in - everything drops off, leaving a lone vocal pad, which briefly hints at a solo, before abruptly fading down to silence.

What’s the song about? To begin with, there are a few observations we can make about the ‘narrator’ - the fact that “they say the sky” is blue, and that its blueness is questioned in the next verse, and finally imagined in the last, suggests that wherever this song takes place, the colour of the sky is not readily ascertainable. Are they underground? Are they in space? Are they in a world that’s perpetually cloudy? When I think of the colour ‘caribbean blue’, I think of the deep endless ocean off the shore of a tropical island - impossibly deep dark blueness, accompnied by a fring of shallow green and sandy yellow. It sort of feels like a yearning for a lush vegetative island paradise - something the world in the song is possibly missing.

The phrase “so the world goes round and round” pretty explicitly refers to the passage of time - after all, that’s how our chronology works, revolutions of planetary bodies. “with all you ever knew” seems like another reference to time, and perhaps a sort of elder wisdom - a world in the future, where all the secrets of the past are contained somewhere on the planet? A planet which has lost its island paradise? The other lines seem to suggest that it’s possible for this paradise to be reclaimed: “If every man says all he can, if all he says is true… If all you told was turned to gold, if all you dreamed was true…” If the shattered world worked together, imagined progress, dealt honestly, and communicated… would the sky high above once again become caribbean blue?