SongMeanings is my favorite song lyrics site because it has a comprehensive database of songs, accurate lyrics, people’s interpretations of songs’ meanings, and no nasty pop-up ads like so many other lyrics sites.
I’ve added the site to After The Show’s Links page.
A great case study of how fun and informative SongMeanings can be is the song “A Man/Me/Then Jim” by Rilo Kiley.
As its title indicates, the song is told from the switching perspective of three characters (a man, me, and Jim). The man narrates the first verse, “me” (meaning the song’s narrator or singer) relates the second verse, and Jim tells the third verse. The third verse also happens chronologically before the first and possibly before the second verse.
This song is a complex story and SongMeanings exposed me to new perspectives, helped me realize connections in the song’s lyrics, and created new questions. For example, maybe the “woman selling things” was married to Jim, the man’s “ex-first love” is the “me” of the second verse, and the “me” is Diana. Did the woman in the second verse come to the house or just call it?
Live version:
