I'd like to get back to this topic regarding the label. Somebody else wrote that the record starts with Teardrop as a song about the label-trouble and ends with Burning Bridges, another song about it.
I somehow got the feeling that the whole album is about the split up with the record company.
In the following I'm gonna tell you why
Some thoughts might appear weird or too far away, but let's see:
1) A Teardrop To The Sea: has been discussed already
2) We Don't Run:
Take a look around you / Yeah the sky is falling / Sinners say your prayers /
This train is off the tracks --> Richie's quit, insecure future of the band
Nothing is forever when / Tomorrow's calling --> 30 years of label loyalty is over
Dancing with the devil --> label
Not afraid of burning bridges / 'cause I know they're gonna light my way --> leave the label, publicity that Bon Jovi's a free agent
Like a phoenix from the ashes / Welcome to the future / It's a new day --> signing with Azoff, they'll be back
You could play this game with the second verse as well.
3) Saturday Night Gave Me Sunday Morning
I know, it's supposed to be a Circle outtake. But does anybody know the original lyrics?
I was living my life like a long-lost weekend / Never felt nothing, jumping right into deep end --> felt safe for a long time under the label's big umbrella
I wasn’t missin’ nothin’ that was ever worth getting / Never hung around enough to regret it --> but never curried favor to the reps
You came walking in late but just in time / You ended my excuses with a ten-cent rhyme --> Azoff!?
Saturday night gave me Sunday morning / Opened my eyes now it’s a new day dawning --> realised that he doesn't want to be pushed by the label anymore
Think I might have pushed my luck a time or two --> too many discussions about his artistic freedom (see LH)
When you're driving down a street that’s only going one way --> labels wish for Greatest Hits, radio-friendly songs
You should know I still got something left to prove --> staying relevant
Remember those nights staring out at the lights / Making time with our feet in the sand / Making up words to our favorite songs / Laughin’ loud with those drinks in our hands -->the good old times, when it was Bon Jovi against the world and they hit it big
4) We All Fall Down
Don't be afraid to lose your way / Take that step, don't hesitate,
Your time is now, aha / Don't be afraid to scrape your knees / On the streets of shattered dreams, stand up and be proud / I'm telling you now, yeah --> he stood his ground by leaving the label
Climb every mountain / How high doesn't matter / Don't ever be afraid to fall,
Walk out on that wire --> wire = label, contract, commitments
climb every ladder / Keep your back against the wall / And don't be scared to hit the ground / Cos we all (all), fall (fall), down, --> he might hit the ground by leaving the label but who dares wins
--> or the label loses, too, by letting Bon Jovi go
5) Blind Love
Well, I gotta admit that this one is the toughest in my theory because I can't quite connect it to my thesis.
The "Don't wanna go home to the TV / Dont' wanna go down to some bar" line is to me the new "sitting here wasted and wounded on this old piano" or "I can't write a love song the way I feel today / I can't sing no song of hope, I’ve got nothing to say" (the meaning, not the song quality
).
So I'm thinking the love in this song might be the music to Jon where he tries to get back to after leaving the label (Is guiding every step I take / It's one less I got to make / Till I find my way home / Try love)
6) Who Would You Die For
When you walked into the party / The guests all disappeared. --> unpopular label reps
I don’t care if the devil’s keeping score. --> the label just concentrating on records sales
Will you write me lipstick letters / And miss me when I'm gone? / Wake up tangled in the sheets / Still aching for my arms? --> will the label regret letting Bon Jovi go?
The way you move it's almost holy, --> no objections against the label are welcome
7) Fingerprints
I gave you my fingerprints / Left them all over you --> his written songs are his fingerprints he gave to the label, they have all the rights (or big parts)
The last time that I saw them /They were running through your hair --> pretty romantic approach with the label being a woman
You held one between your lips / And brought another there --< label concentrating on other artists as soon as they weren't cool anymore
No matter who or what I touch / I leave no evidence / I gave you my fingerprints --> the lack of support from the record company leads to Bon Jovi not being relevant anymore
I said I'd give you everything / But who'd thought you'd take it all / Does a promise really break / If nobody sees it fall? --> the deal with a senseless Greatest Hits?
That china box I gave to you / Was all there was to me / All it was to you /
Was just a faded memory --> maybe Jon's wish to play China and now that they quit the label it's the first time they play over there? I know, pretty bumpy
I gave her my fingerprints / Guilty or innocent / I had to ask myself / Would I do it all again? / Would I? --> self-critical, maybe some regrets that he didn't take this step earlier, asking himself if he would sign with such a big label again if he was 20 these days
Life Is Beautiful
Try to walk on water / You’ll sink just like a stone --> arrogance of the big record companies
Said you’d get home early / But you always stay too long / You've got all the answers / But the answers are all wrong --> oversleep of developments, wrong strategies in todays music business
I can't save you from my sins / Innocence, my long lost friend --> Jon's leitmotif from his grey summer, the innocence that was gone
No wind, no rain can wash away / These hallowed words my mouth won't pray / You fly, you fall --> he's not on the same page as the company is, they fly to high and will fail
9) I'm Your Man
This one could be either about his recovered love (music) or a foot in the door for Richie
When your heart is hungry / When you want a secret you can keep / You know that you can call me /Anytime for anything you need --> brotherhood
No job that I can't handle / There ain't much that I ain't done --> seen a million faces
I'll be that one call that you get / When you can't call no one / When the room is dark and empty / There's no need to explain -- brotherhood
We know not to ask questions / So no one has to lie / We both know without hello / There won't be no goodbyes / No promises that we won't keep / No more to understand --> it's all about brotherhood
10) Burning Bridges
No need for explanation.
Alright, I know some parts a pretty bumpy and probably enough lines are over-interpreted or even made up.
But nonetheless, your thoughts, please!
08-26-2015, 10:14 PM
