• Norgur@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I wanted to do a “to be fair here, Cash had songs with stupid lyrics, too”, but all I can think of is “Ring of fire” and that one is just a harmless metaphor about love.

    • NABDad@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’d argue that Ring of Fire is a metaphor about forbidden love that you know is damning you but the feelings are too powerful to resist.

      Rather than a harmless metaphor, I find it an incredibly powerful metaphor about the pain and suffering caused by helplessly loving the “wrong” person.

      Plus, there’s an opportunity to make STD jokes.

    • bufordt
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      1 year ago

      Ring of Fire was written by June Carter, and first released by her sister Anita Carter.

      • TopShelfVanilla
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        1 year ago

        He didn’t write several of his songs. That’s really common. Many writers are not performers.

    • zaphodb2002
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      1 year ago

      Ring of fire is my song to sing when I’ve had too much Mexican food and beer.

    • Tigbitties@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I don’t think modern country even uses metaphors anymore. Before anyone comes at me, I’m well awair that there’s some fantactic country writers out there.

      • Endorkend@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        That’s because modern country is squarely focused on (far) right leaning people and they are utterly deaf, dumb and blind to any sort of metaphor, sarcasm and subtlety.

        It’s why these pricks go nuts for songs like Killing in the Name, not realizing it’s a song that explicitly hates on them saying stuff like “some of those who work forces, are the same that BURN CROSSES”.

        They only see and hear that title and have no fucking clue what it and the rest of the song is actually about.

          • Endorkend@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Way back when Nirvana, Tool, RATM and all the great early 90’s bands were coming up, there was another.

            A dingy Swedish band named Clawfinger.

            They had a debut, self released album named Deaf Dumb Blind and it’s most well known song was named Nigger.

            The song sprung outrage with the conservative right in the US, because back then they pretended they were against racism and the use of that word.

            Clawfinger was similar in lyrical meaning with Rage Against the Machine, most of their songs were protest songs.

            These are the lyrics.

            (guess I’ll link it as I can’t find how to do spoiler tags …)

            • Tigbitties@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              Rember when Cobain wrote “rape me” becuase he had to hit people in the head with the message because the song “polly” went right over it?