Eagles similes and metaphors

[sodascouts]

I was teaching figurative language in poetry today, and we discussed similes and metaphors. I asked them to think of some examples, maybe from song lyrics. Well, since everyone knows my obsessions at school, I threw in some Eagles and Fleetwood Mac.

"An example of a simile would be 'Life goes on like a broken-down carousel where somebody left the music on.'" We then proceeded to analyze it a bit. "Does this image give you a positive or negative overall impression? Why would the author choose a carousel - what kinds of connotations and associations do we have with carousels that make this an effective simile? Why doesn't the author simply stop with the broken-down carousel; how does the continuance of the carousel's music reflect the emotional state of the person whose 'life goes on'?"

A student asked me which song that was from, which made me wish I had picked one I liked better as I sheepishly answered "You Never Cry Like a Lover". It made me wish I'd picked a song I liked better; I told him to listen to more than just that song if he wanted to check out the Eagles, lol.

It made me think though - it would be fun if we could list some of our favorite similes and/or metaphors from Eagles songs! Solo songs are OK, too.

For those who don't remember what a simile or metaphor is from your high school days, here's the definitions courtesy of Dictionary.com:

Simile: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.” (Nancy's Note: unlike a simile, it does not use "like" or "as").

Fire away!

[MaryCalifornia]

Would "life in the fastlane" be a metaphor?

[MaryCalifornia]

"two people who lived through years in the dark"

Edit: I'm unsure if something is a metaphor or just imagery - like "she got the moon in her eyes" - there is so much of this in Eagles' songs! Fun topic.

[thelastresort]

Ah, this takes me back to the many hundreds miserable English language lessons I had where we had to analyse text after text for stuff like this ;)

Anyway, 'Like a bluebird with its heart removed; lonely as a train' gives an example of both I believe.

[Freypower]

The Road. See Take It Easy, Hotel California, This Way To Happiness. The road or highway is a metaphor for the journey through life.

[sodascouts]

I'm unsure if something is a metaphor or just imagery - like "she got the moon in her eyes" - there is so much of this in Eagles' songs! Fun topic.

Hey, we can extend the topic to any imagery so you don't stress out about whether or not something is technically a metaphor / simile - I won't be grading you. ;)

FP, I was thinking more in terms of specific lyrics, but certainly that concept gets used a lot.

[Freypower]

OK, from This Way To Happiness:

On some endless road just south of nowhere
Always searching but never really free

From Take It Easy:

Well I'm running down the road
Tryin' to loosen my load

[Keith]

One of the best lines... ever. "So often times it happens, that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key."

[thelastresort]

This is my own take on Take It Easy and I'm not sure others think, but I'd always thought the 'seven women on my mind' referred to the days of the week...

[Keith]

From a great songwriting team: "Your prison is walking through this world all alone."

[WalshFan88]

"Half the distance takes you twice as long" from After The Thrill Is Gone.

My other favorites have already been mentioned.

[UndertheWire]

How about "his jacuzzi runneth over" as an example of an excess of luxury? Would it also count as a parody?

[Keith]

This is my own take on Take It Easy and I'm not sure others think, but I'd always thought the 'seven women on my mind' referred to the days of the week...
Interesting. Could be a double meaning there. I prefer the literal interpretation... except for the two with the rocks!

[thelastresort]

Interesting. Could be a double meaning there. I prefer the literal interpretation... except for the two with the rocks!

Indeed :lol: I was kind of working on 'four they wanna hold me' - Mon-Thu at work; 'two they wanna stone me' - Fri-Sat relax and have a good time (perhaps literally stoning ;); 'one says she's a friend of mine' - Sunday recovering from the previous two! It's a bit sketchy and not 100% convincing but it kinda fits.

[Brooke]

Waiting in the Weeds is full of 'something' but I haven't gotten my head wrapped around just what yet! :lol:

"and he's the darling of the chic
the flavor of the week is melting
down your pretty summer dress
baby, what a mess your making"

and

A small gray spider spinning in the dark
In spite of all the times the web is torn apart

Are these one of what your talking about, or both?

This song just boggles my mind when I think about it! I love it!

[thelastresort]

'But some nights, oh she looks like an angel' from Hollywood Waltz. Always really liked that line for some reason.

[Keith]

"I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass!"

[WalshFan88]

Hahaha I love that one too!!! That song is full of great lines.

[irga]

Have been listening to Expando lately, cherishing both Timothy's music and lyrics. Some gems:

"Let's go look for hidden treasure, I wanna dig it up while the moon is bright"

"Roll that big world right off your shoulders"

"When you’re stuck in overdrive and you’re longing for home
It's time to change your altitude and open up your parachute"

"If you could read my mind, would you be able to see where I hide?"

Love it.

[Keith]

"Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy."

[Keith]

"How we knock each other down just like children on a playground."

[tjh532]

Indeed :lol: I was kind of working on 'four they wanna hold me' - Mon-Thu at work; 'two they wanna stone me' - Fri-Sat relax and have a good time (perhaps literally stoning ;); 'one says she's a friend of mine' - Sunday recovering from the previous two! It's a bit sketchy and not 100% convincing but it kinda fits.

I love this analogy! I always thought when he said 'two that want to stone me' was a drug reference as well :)

Brooke - Waiting in the weeds is one of my absolute favorites as far as lyrics go - especially the line about the small gray spider. Kind of heartbreaking to think about some one toiling away (or waiting) for something to happen, and it never will. Yet they just keep on hoping.

[WalshFan88]

"If you could read my mind, would you be able to see where I hide?"


I like this one.

[Zanny Kingston]

"Oh it seemed like a holy place, protected by an amazing grace
and we would sing right out loud the things we could not say"

From the sad café.

[GlennLover]

"Empty pages and a frozen pen" from ATTIG. I have always loved this line.

[sodascouts]

"and he's the darling of the chic
the flavor of the week is melting
down your pretty summer dress
baby, what a mess your making"


I love this one. I take it to mean that the relationship that she thought would be great turns out to be just another failed love affair, and one that's ending badly. (you know, the "messy" breakup). So freaking clever to take the cliche "flavor of the week" and turn it into a multi-layered metaphor. Instead of being long-lasting, he's just the "flavor of the week," and what once gave her pleasure (like ice cream does) now is causing her grief. The "pretty summer dress" adds a bit of scorn for female vanity into the mix or, removing the gender aspect, illustrates how something that was supposed to be light and fun is now ruined. The "mess" could not only be figuratively referring to her breakup, but perhaps even her life.

Another great bit from that song:

"If finding love is just a dance
Proximity and chance
You will excuse me if I skip the masquerade"

While the "finding love is a dance" metaphor isn't exactly original, his expansion of it and his connection of it to the pretense of a masquerade renders it more complex, avoiding what could have ben cliche.

[ktdids]

I love this one. I take it to mean that the relationship that she thought would be great turns out to be just another failed love affair, and one that's ending badly. (you know, the "messy" breakup). So freaking clever to take the cliche "flavor of the week" and turn it into a multi-layered metaphor. Instead of being long-lasting, he's just the "flavor of the week," and what once gave her pleasure (like ice cream does) now is causing her grief. The "pretty summer dress" adds a bit of scorn for female vanity into the mix or, removing the gender aspect, illustrates how something that was supposed to be light and fun is now ruined. The "mess" could not only be figuratively referring to her breakup, but perhaps even her life.

Another great bit from that song:

"If finding love is just a dance
Proximity and chance
You will excuse me if I skip the masquerade"

While the "finding love is a dance" metaphor isn't exactly original, his expansion of it and his connection of it to the pretense of a masquerade renders it more complex, avoiding what could have ben cliche.

Starting my day off with WITW in my head now....

[Brooke]

That's a good thing, ktdids! :lol:

This from After the Thrill is Gone:

Same dances in the same old shoes
You get too careful with the steps you choose
You don't care about winning, but you don't want to lose

[irga]

A little off-topic ;-)

Being an English-Polish interpreter and translator, I must say I really enjoy this thread. For 15+ years I've been trying to find the right meanings to English words, so to say, and many times it has painfully struck me that there's more than the one level of understanding, so hard to capture and convey in my mother language. Now the added value of this thread for me - an Eagles lover - is the great subject matter, Eagles lyrics. So please continue with it as long as you can :-)
By the way, for some time I've been working on Expando CD lyrics traslations into PL, just for my own satisfaction. Interesting and fun :-)

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Wow there are so many great memorable lines from Eagles songs. One of my favorite lines ever is "They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along".

[sodascouts]

There's an ambiguous metaphor in "Business As Usual" at the end - "barrel of monkeys." What's he referring to? Is he equating it with the "band of renown" from the next line (presumably the Eagles)?

The larger context:
"Business as usual
Day after day
Business as usual
Feel like walking away
A barrel of monkeys
A band of renown
Business as usual
Is breakin' me down"

I think the "barrel of monkeys" - which derives from the old phrase "more fun than a barrel of monkeys" - might be the Eagles ("band of renown") in the sense that obviously, they are a business entity that he's felt like walking away from on occasion, yet it's supposed to be fun. The connotation of "monkey" outside of the phrase can extend to the image of the circus monkey trained to dress up, do tricks, and act silly all in the name of entertaining the masses. In that light, it's a demeaning comparison and thus would be expressing a cynical view of the band as professional entertainers.

[UndertheWire]

How can a train can be lonely?

[tjh532]

This may be a bit off topic-

I had a teacher I work with use the phrase 'Life in the Fast Lane' yesterday, and of course the song immediately became stuck in my head! But she isn't the type to have listened to the Eagles much (she admittedly doesn't listen to much music at all).

It got me to thinking about this thread, and how sometimes the lyrics of a song become part of our vernacular without us ever realizing it. Can anyone else think of a line from an Eagles song that has become a common place phrase? ( or adage, since we are talking about figurative language!)

[Freypower]

This may be a bit off topic-

I had a teacher I work with use the phrase 'Life in the Fast Lane' yesterday, and of course the song immediately became stuck in my head! But she isn't the type to have listened to the Eagles much (she admittedly doesn't listen to much music at all).

It got me to thinking about this thread, and how sometimes the lyrics of a song become part of our vernacular without us ever realizing it. Can anyone else think of a line from an Eagles song that has become a common place phrase? ( or adage, since we are talking about figurative language!)

Life In The Fast Lane as you said, and 'you can check out any time you like/but you can never leave'. I think the phrases 'Tiffany twisted & 'Mercedes bends' are thrown around from time to time.

To answer UTW about 'lonely as a train' I think of it as a train speeding across the plains of America in the middle of the night, with nothing else in sight. Think of the 'lonesome whistle' in Hank Williams' I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.

[shunlvswx]

Lines on the mirror, lines on her face.

I've been thinking about that one for a while. I guess that line could mean that the lifestyle that her and her husband is living is making her age quickly. I could be wrong. I also thought about cocaine for the lines on the mirror.

[Freypower]

Lines on the mirror, lines on her face.

I've been thinking about that one for a while. I guess that line could mean that the lifestyle that her and her husband is living is making her age quickly. I could be wrong. I also thought about cocaine for the lines on the mirror.

That's exactly what it refers to.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Soda - I absolutely agree with your analysis re: Business As Usual and also shun's interp of the 'lines' in LITFL.

And to add another little line as one of my favorites, which I'm surprised hasn't already been mentioned - probably one of the most well-known lines in all of music ... "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave"!

[thelastresort]

How common a phrase was 'Take it easy' pre-Eagles?

And yeah, the 'lonely as a train' line only really works if you think about it in an American (or even Australian) context - the huge locomotive meandering it way through canyons and over plains in the dead of night with no-one else around (let alone awake) for miles around. We don't really have the same set-up in Britain!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Thanks, tlr. I also meant to comment on both of these things that you brought up. I agree with everyone's assessment of the 'lonely train'. As far as the phrase 'take it easy' even though Jackson song didn't invent the phrase, it was not until the success of the Eagles recording it that it became widely used as part of the everyday vernacular like it is now.

[thelastresort]

Thanks for the info IABAD.

Another one - The Last Resort (we could be here all night dissecting it, but there's just a couple of lines I wish to focus on!) - there's a couple of lines in it which to me seem to lay the blame Christians for how America turned out:

'And you can see them there, on Sunday morning' - I think is quite clear cut;
'And Jesus people bought 'em' - is that a reference to Christians, or just the use of Jesus as an exclamation and blaming people in general?

[UndertheWire]

Thanks for the "lonely train" explanation. I'm now picturing the Midnight Flyer rather than a crowded commuter train!

[Freypower]

Thanks for the info IABAD.

Another one - The Last Resort (we could be here all night dissecting it, but there's just a couple of lines I wish to focus on!) - there's a couple of lines in it which to me seem to lay the blame Christians for how America turned out:

'And you can see them there, on Sunday morning' - I think is quite clear cut;
'And Jesus people bought 'em' - is that a reference to Christians, or just the use of Jesus as an exclamation and blaming people in general?

'And Jesus! People bought 'em'. Exclamation.

[Freypower]

Soda - I absolutely agree with your analysis re: Business As Usual and also shun's interp of the 'lines' in LITFL.

And to add another little line as one of my favorites, which I'm surprised hasn't already been mentioned - probably one of the most well-known lines in all of music ... "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave"!

I had actually mentioned this just above your post.

[StephUK]

Life In The Fast Lane as you said, and 'you can check out any time you like/but you can never leave'. I think the phrases 'Tiffany twisted & 'Mercedes bends' are thrown around from time to time.

To answer UTW about 'lonely as a train' I think of it as a train speeding across the plains of America in the middle of the night, with nothing else in sight. Think of the 'lonesome whistle' in Hank Williams' I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.

I've always thought the same about 'lonely as a train'. A train is an inanimate object, so it has no feelings - but to us it conjures up a picture of loneliness.

[StephUK]

From LROOE,

'Bloated with entitlement, Loaded on propaganda'

From No more Cloudy days,

'Staring at the pouring rain, Falling down like lonely teardrops'

From Business as Usual,

' We're burning time, bleeding grace'

and even the title of, 'Hole in the World' is a metaphore expressing how we all felt after 9/11; disbelief & loss of something we can't quite describe.

[sodascouts]

Definitely some good ones there.

[Elizasong]

One of the best lines... ever. "So often times it happens, that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key."


This is my favorite!!

2nd is "Life in the fast lane surely make you lose your mind."

[Elizasong]

Another one I like is

"I'd like to take your inner child and kick it's little ass."

[NYC Fan]

Great thread and choices!

I don't think I saw this one yet, but it's always been a favorite of mine.

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy, she'll beat you if she's able. You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet.

So many great lines from that song, but that one always gets me...

[DJ]

'And Jesus! People bought 'em'. Exclamation.
Agreed Freypower!!

[Houston Debutante]

From LROOE,

'Bloated with entitlement, Loaded on propaganda'



From Business as Usual,

' We're burning time, bleeding grace'

Both of those songs are filled with terrific lyrics, Don is such a great lyricist, it's one of the reasons why I love him so much.

[thelastresort]

Within the Henley-Frey songwriting partnership is it usually Don who does the majority of the lyrics with Glenn chipping in as and when and doing musical structure, or does it vary? I think Glenn once commented that Don was the 'primary' lyricist (on the F1 extras I think).

[Freypower]

Within the Henley-Frey songwriting partnership is it usually Don who does the majority of the lyrics with Glenn chipping in as and when and doing musical structure, or does it vary? I think Glenn once commented that Don was the 'primary' lyricist (on the F1 extras I think).

In my opinion it varies more than people have been led to believe.

I would have thought that on the songs Glenn sings he has had more input into the lyrics.

[thelastresort]

In my opinion it varies more than people have been led to believe.

I would have thought that on the songs Glenn sings he has had more input into the lyrics.

Thanks. I know the HOTE doc said Henley wrote the words to Witchy Woman in one evening; but on the other hand I can't actually find a song Henley was written solely, unlike Glenn, who has a few.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I do think there is a general perception that Don wrote most of the lyrics. However, there are lots of interviews that I've read, which indicate that Don and Glenn were a true team with regard to writing the song lyrics. I think as they began spending more time apart, then their song-writing collaboration probably suffered as well. Off the top of my head, the only song that I can think of that Don wrote totally alone is A Month of Sundays.

[UndertheWire]

This is from a 1982 interview with Glenn:

With Don, I handled more of the music, because he was the drummer. And he handled more of the lyrics because he was the English literature major. Besides that, he was just really good lyrically. We wrote more lyrics and music together up until Hotel California and then Don really sprouted some fantastic lyrics on his own, so he started shouldering more of that. I was more the guy who wrote chords for my songs and then also helped with the chord progressions that Walsh and Felder brought in. I helped get Henley and Felder's stuff together. I was the go-between for a lot of that. I think I backed off lyrically a little bit and I shouldn't have. Now, with Jack Tempchin, we write about the same amount of lyrics. Of course, we both play guitar and piano.

Sorry, I'm taking us even more off-topic.

Back to similes and metaphors, I wondered what people make of "Take it to the limit". In the documentary, Randy seems to be saying it took on a different meaning after he took it to Henley-Frey.

[thelastresort]

Back to similes and metaphors, I wondered what people make of "Take it to the limit". In the documentary, Randy seems to be saying it took on a different meaning after he took it to Henley-Frey.

I remember that, he seemed a little blunt (almost p*ssed off) whilst he said it. The lyrics do still give the impression of literally 'taking it to the limit' though, so I would be intrigued to see what changed and what caused Randy to look displeased.

[Houston Debutante]

I didn't think he looked pissed off, I thought he was grateful for their help.

The Hotel California is a metaphor for the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle, right?

[Freypower]

I didn't think he looked pissed off, I thought he was grateful for their help.

The Hotel California is a metaphor for the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle, right?

Not just that; the decline of California & America into decadence; the 'bloated with entitlement/loaded with propaganda' mentality they skewer so effectively in Long Road Out Of Eden. They use the celebrity lifestyle to dig deeper which is how they eventually end up with The Last Resort.

Speaking of LROOE; I know not everyone loves this song as much as I do, but the metaphor of Eden/the Middle East as Paradise Lost is used very effectively.

[sodascouts]

As far as the phrase 'take it easy' even though Jackson song didn't invent the phrase, it was not until the success of the Eagles recording it that it became widely used as part of the everyday vernacular like it is now.

For the past few days, I've been watching a bunch of film noir and detective movies from the 30s and 40s lent to me by someone at the university.

In almost every one of these movies, the gangsters and "gumshoes" holler "TAKE IT EASY!" at someone who's worked up. I'm watching one right now called Jigsaw and the bad guy yells at the hysterical, screaming flame to "TAKE IT EASY!" before he shoots her dead! I was like "Well, I guess she's taking it easy now!" lol

Perhaps the phrase was really popular in the 30s and 40s, fell out of favor, and was revived by the song in the 70s. It certainly looks like it was a part of the vernacular back when these movies were made, though.... especially among "tough guys.'

[tjh532]

I didn't think he looked pissed off, I thought he was grateful for their help.

The Hotel California is a metaphor for the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle, right?

I always thought too, that it wasn't just the Hollywood lifestyle, but their own lives were feeling a little out of control as well. It's like the line from Sad Cafe about how 'fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free'. Don says that each album was a statement about how they felt about the music industry. Maybe they were starting to feel a little trapped by fame. They really had no life outside of their careers. And even though it was what they had dreamed of, they didn't realize the price that would be paid as well.